Northeastern Urban Ed. Program Emphasizes Hands-On Learning
Teaching intern James Heffron can't use English to teach the concept of surpluses in his 6th grade social studies class--half his students rely on Chinese as their first language.
So, instead, he chooses a currency known to nearly all 11-year-olds: M&Ms. One recent autumn day, Mr. Heffron, 27, distributed handfuls of the rainbow-colored chocolates to each child at Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston, encouraging them to trade with each other by modeling the behaviors he hopes to inspire. Some of the students ended up eating their stash, but others got his point, swapping oranges for reds, and greens for blues.
"Its been difficult," Mr. Heffron confided after the class. "In all the activities, I have to use props. At first I relied on dialogue, but I quickly...
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