RAFT Hands-On Education

Did you know that each year on December 4 th in the United States people observe National Dice Day?  Many games use dice as a way to add random challenges by generating numbers from a toss of the dice. The value of the toss is determined by the uppermost face of the die after it has come to rest.             Dice are used as  gambling  devices for games like Craps and are also used in non-gambling  tabletop games. Dice are often used in board games to decide the distance a playing piece will move on the board.  Backgammon and Monopoly are two such board games that use dice.           A traditional die is a  cube , with each of its six faces showing a different number of dots ( pips ) from 1 to 6. When thrown or rolled, the die comes to rest showing on its upper surface a random integer from one to six, each value being equally likely. A variety of similar ...

By Elisha Burns, RAFT Fellow This is the time of the year when I think of all the things that I am thankful for having in my life. Materials found at RAFT With all of the extra expenses that come with a teaching career I am happy to learn of any ways to lessen my expenses. One of the cost cutting resources that I love having access to as a teacher is RAFT. With the dawn of Common Core and the push for project-based learning comes the need for organizations like RAFT. As a teacher at a STEAM academy I am expected to bring my lessons to life, however my school only provides me with a small budget for materials. Teachers need to create dynamic hands on lessons and RAFT offers the resources necessary to teach.  Every time I come to RAFT I leave with a cart full of items and ideas. I might find a stack of obsolete product boxes that become the foundation for my student’s historical diorama. Walking around I might see a display showing an innovative way to use corporat...

By Elisha Burns, RAFT Fellow Let me be one of the first to say there is an elephant in the room of education and it is called content knowledge.  As a teacher that has spent a few years teaching I can honestly say that the new Common Core curriculum has really opened my eyes to some of my own educational weaknesses. Have you seen some the questions that our students are being asked in the new curriculum? I consider myself an educated person (I do have my Master's degree in Elementary Education), but some of the questions being presented to my students really makes me question my level of content knowledge. It's not that I can't solve the problems, but I find myself spending quite a bit of time working out the problems so that I can teach my students how to tackle them. In the era of Common Core comes the new problem of teacher knowledge, especially in high needs areas. Gone are the days of catchy rhymes and memorizing factoids, the new standards requir...

By Earlene Coleman B.A.,M.Ed   It can be a little unsettling when you think you're teaching the perfect lesson and actually very few students are paying attention.  Teaching has often been called a “noble profession," one requiring diligence, patience, and a great sense of humor. At times it has been called “art.” However, for those in the trenches, we realize that more is needed and that nothing requires such focus, attention, dedication, and refinement of one’s teaching abilities as keeping all students engaged in classroom learning. After all, Learning is more than merely taking in facts or being able to recall information. When students walk through the door, you feel the hope and eagerness of teaching them something new. You select from a bag of tricks to enhance the clarity of the lesson being taught, and as teachers; we need to be creative in order to reach the hearts of your students. I've observed many teachers in the classroom devel...

By Betty Ko, Director, Lovely Taiwan Foundation Tricycles made of chairs from bus and classroom In the center of a busy and bustling Taipei, lies a cleverly titled building called the Creative Reuse Center (CRC). The CRC is a place that's based on creativity as well as sustainability - two features that are extremely important to Taiwan's future development. Only opened in October 17, CRC has received scrap materials, excess inventory, from more than 40 enterprises. The center will offer workshops teaching how to turn these materials into art. In November and December alone, we will be holding 20 workshops. Volunteers’ workshop Within one month of opening, CRC has experienced numerous visits   and attention from schools, families, businesses, media, and artists with favorable responses. As a director of the Lovely Taiwan Foundation, CRC’s funding organization, I’m proud to say that our inspiration came from my visit t...