What does Learning Mean to You?

Today we had a great discussion about what learning means to us. Students come to school every day and learn every day, but they don't necessarily stop to think about what that process looks or feels like. We want to help our students to learn about the process of learning. We want them to explore what learning is, when do we do it, and most importantly, understand how we learn best. Through this exploration, they will be setting themselves up for success for the rest of the year. 

So today I wrote this sentence starter on the board: Learning is...

I asked the students to complete this sentence on a piece of paper. I didn't give them a lot of instruction or guidance, because I was curious to see what were some of the things they were thinking of. Take a look: 

Learning is learning about something that you really want to know.

Learning is a big or small experiment.

Learning is Everything. 

Learning is experience. 

Learning is something that is new, that is hard, that feels good and lots more.

Learning is when you play or when you study.

Learning is gardening because you can save the trees. 

Learning is almost anything that might happen anywhere.

Learning is exciting because it is fun.

Learning is fun because it is exciting. 

It was eye opening to see what each student thought learning meant. For some, it simply meant when you learn information, for others it was more about experiences in or out of school, and for others learning is more of a feeling of excitement and fun. 

Ask yourself this question: what does learning mean to you?