Letting Go- Blog #4
How do I create a classroom that is more student centered? A classroom where students have to think for themselves and apply their knowledge?
In the article, "Great Teaching Means Letting Go", the author mentions that transfer is the bottom-line goal of all learning, not scripted behavior. Transfer means that a learner can draw upon and apply from all of what was learned, as the situation warrants, not just do one move at a time in response to a prompt. I feel that most teachers would see the importance of a learning environment that allows students to think for themselves and be in charge of their own learning. The problem would be knowing the steps you would need to take and having the resources available to make changes in your classroom. I have never observed a classroom that focused on student centered learning on a daily basis. It is hard for me to imagine how I could do that and still be able to meet the demands of state standards and district expectations to follow a specific daily schedule. It would be amazing to learn how to make that possible.
I found "Chris Lehman's webinar: Inquiry- the first step in learning" to be very interesting. What a great opportunity it would be to visit his school in Philadelphia. There were a lot of good points mentioned in the video: the importance of a caring institution, allowing students to have questions and find the answers, collaboration with experts, and students creating something of their own. They also mentioned that teaching is not about control but support. My school would be more like the librarian's that was part of the webinar. We did get wifi last year, but I still only have one computer in my classroom. That makes it difficult for technology to be a major part of my classroom and instruction. Even without technology, I need to find more ways to "let go" in order to allow my students to think critically and apply what they have learned.
In the article, "Great Teaching Means Letting Go", the author mentions that transfer is the bottom-line goal of all learning, not scripted behavior. Transfer means that a learner can draw upon and apply from all of what was learned, as the situation warrants, not just do one move at a time in response to a prompt. I feel that most teachers would see the importance of a learning environment that allows students to think for themselves and be in charge of their own learning. The problem would be knowing the steps you would need to take and having the resources available to make changes in your classroom. I have never observed a classroom that focused on student centered learning on a daily basis. It is hard for me to imagine how I could do that and still be able to meet the demands of state standards and district expectations to follow a specific daily schedule. It would be amazing to learn how to make that possible.
I found "Chris Lehman's webinar: Inquiry- the first step in learning" to be very interesting. What a great opportunity it would be to visit his school in Philadelphia. There were a lot of good points mentioned in the video: the importance of a caring institution, allowing students to have questions and find the answers, collaboration with experts, and students creating something of their own. They also mentioned that teaching is not about control but support. My school would be more like the librarian's that was part of the webinar. We did get wifi last year, but I still only have one computer in my classroom. That makes it difficult for technology to be a major part of my classroom and instruction. Even without technology, I need to find more ways to "let go" in order to allow my students to think critically and apply what they have learned.
I really enjoyed our reading and webinar this week, mainly because I can immediately transfer it into the classroom. I am guilty of not allowing my students to figure it out. Sometimes it's because of time, sometimes I think it's because of student ability, and sometimes it's because my students don't know how to find different strategies that will work to solve the problem. We just finished the school year, but next year I am going to focus on the finding of both of these sources in order to let it go!
ReplyDeleteMeredith, I like the shared questions you started your post with, because they are great to think about in a reflection. How can we give our students more control? When we can give them more control, they are able to take responsibility for their learning and be able to trasfer that knowledge into other areas.
ReplyDeleteI agree, we have to be able to take the right steps in the classroom to make neccessary changes for your students to have tht autonomy. Especially when we have the high pressure from all the state standards and not to mention other demands that come within the individual schools.
Yes, how cool it would be to check out Chris Lehman's school! We all could learn something from his teaching! It is crazy to hear that there are still some schools that really lack technology. I hope that your school, and others, will soon get the resources they need. On the other hand, I guess it is the "normal" and you make-do with what you have!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Meredith! I would also love to visit Chris Lehman’s school in Philadelphia. I found his perspective on teaching and learning to be extremely inspiring to me as a teacher and a mother. One concept referenced in the video is that students need adults. Even though all information a student could need is available on a computer, children still need adults. While this idea seems very basic, I think it is important for schools to remember the importance of having adults mentor and lead students and not just placing students in front a computer for all means of learning. This argument could possibly benefit the defense of library media specialist job. Children need adults. Just like you described, I also need to be purposeful in “letting go”. In my blog, I described myself as “type A”. Type A adults struggle with “letting go”! I enjoyed reading your post!
ReplyDeleteMeredith, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. In the article, "Great Teaching Means Letting Go", the author mentions that transfer is the bottom-line goal of all learning, not scripted behavior. I can see how this would be a problem for you because you are at a school where technology is not available to your students. I know as teachers we have to stray away form "scripted behavior." I know that students would learn a lot more if they were in control of their own learning. This is something I struggle to do in my classroom. I need to plan more inquiry based lessons so that students can take control of their own learning and not have to just rely on "scripted" learning. I really liked how you put this in your post, "They also mentioned that teaching is not about control but support." As a teacher and a coach I have to constantly remind myself that my job to support my students/players in their learning and development.
ReplyDeleteYou made a good point on how it must be difficult to maintain a student-centered classroom every day. I am certainly no expert on the matter, and I too would love to learn the art of giving students autonomy in their learning while also meeting the district demands. I believe one way to start involves working on a single subject at a time. Maybe students and teachers cp-create learning paths for science. After reviewing all of the standards, students are able to determine how they learn best, how to measure their learning, and what remediation tools they need to take place. It will not happen over-night, but with dedication and hard-work I believe we can achieve our goal of a successful student-centered classroom where the teacher feels comfortable and confident to let go.
ReplyDelete