Everyday we as educators are given a new list of to do's. The list generally includes making sure all students are reading at the right level, and every lesson you teach can be tied to a standard and lead to better test performance, and make sure you are incorporating the six pillars of character, or the bullying prevention lesson, or the new study skills desing, and the list goes on. It is a list we never see the end of we just check off the same tasks everyday and there they are back staring at us tommorow. So with all of these things on the list that WE are being help responsible for can we really allow students to direct their learning? Is student led discussion or cooperative learning groups the most effective way to check things off the list? After all the students haven't been trained in the newest reading/writing/math/ insert new program here.
This weeks chapters have lead me to think that the student led classroom might just be the most affective at achieving all of these goals. Afterall who do the students listen to and trust above all else? Their peers! Yes I know we would all love to believe that it is their parents or educators but c'mon people five minutes in a high school hallway and you will know what I am saying is true. So I have now come to see my job in a different way--my job is not to be the sole provider of all the information that needs to be imparted in the days lesson. My job is to give the students the skeleton and the tools to add the meat onto the bones. Now this does not mean I can be absent and walk away from the process. I still need to be a good pilot of the plane and gently and unobtrusively guide it to the right landing pad, but I need to work on allowing my students to take the controls more and lead themselves to the landing pad of information. The benefit being students working together to reach the right answer have ownership which leads to pride which leads to good feelings and with any luck a desire to try it again!
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I agree that it is nearly impossible to keep track of all the things educators are suppose to accomplish in a given period. To check all the boxes would take as much time as the lesson. Respective of this, can we expect the students, when working in cooperative groups, to check all the boxes? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteI believe we must acknowledge the standards and understand what we wish to achieve or what outcomes should be mastered once the lesson is completed. We need to share these with the coopoerative learning groups and ensure that both individual and groups goals have been established prior to the lesson. Then, as you mention, become a facilitator and coach; help guide students through the process of learning so they can achieve and have "buy in" in their own education. Upon completion of the lesson we hope the cooperative groups have mastered the outcomes and met the standards. This won't happen in all cases, but we already know it doesn't happen in all cases when there are instructor led lessons.
I would add, I believe individual lessons and respective outcomes should be considered and weighed in on prior to determining if that lesson is suited for a cooperative learning setting. Not all lessons are good fits.
To say that the list of things that we have to consider when teaching is large and growing is an understatement. It can be overwhelming as a teacher to try and get everything in and do it in the proper format. I sometimes feel that we have so many things on our plate that it takes a toll on our teaching. How many times have you put less time into a lesson because you were trying to make sure that standards were being covered or because you need to squeeze in more math or reading?
ReplyDeleteYour comments on student led learning is great. I find that getting students to want to learn and to get excited about doing new things can be one of the most challenging aspects of our job. It is a goal of mine that all of my students in my class will come wanting to do work and learn about new things. I doubt that I will ever get an entire class to that point, but always striving to achieve it is what makes us teachers. Students definately learn better when it is something that they care about and can have fun doing.