Student Centered Learning

This week’s readings discuss ways to increase student-centered instruction in the classroom.  Students learn better when they are engaged and when they can analyze and apply the information they are learning (Slavin, 2018, p. 188).  

Teachers should be designing meaningful lessons for students who should need to work with the content in order to gain a deeper understanding.  Allowing students partners or groups to work with provides them with the opportunity to discuss with and learn from peer interaction.  Many professions provide a mentor and allow new employees to learn while on-the-job, cooperative learning is the same concept (Slavin, 2018, p. 189).  This allows for timely corrective feedback where a student can learn from his/her small mistakes and immediately correct them before making a large error.  Education has traditionally consisted of a teacher telling a student information and providing the student with a book to read that also tells the student the information, yet real learning is much more likely to occur if the teacher acts as more of a guide or mentor who corrects the student along a path of discovery (Slavin, 2018, p. 190).  

I use several methods of student-centered learning in my classroom, but I have work to do in order to use it with fidelity.  I particularly love the Jigsaw method of learning, yet I have moved away from it in the last few years most likely because it was easier for me to use in US History than in Economics. I plan to find ways to incorporate at least one jigsaw into each of my economics units for next year.

I have never used the Learning Together strategy as a summative assessment.  I am interested in learning more about how to hold each student accountable for his/her role in the group in order to provide group feedback.  I like the idea of each person in the group assessing each other, for a start.

Another method that I particlulary like for accountability is the Random Reporter.  This could be used not only as a method of assessment, but also an information delivery tool.  The teacher could call a random reporter from each group and ask them to relay information regarding the assignment/lesson back to the group.  This prevents the teacher from having to go to every group to say the same thing.

Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Instructional Methods

The focus of our weekly module has been on instructional strategies.  While the purpose of education has remained consistent in the last century that we need to education children to be productive working members of our society, our society has changed significantly.  Education and schools must adapt learning strategies to meet the needs of the learners, but also to meet the changing societal demands for human capital.

The factory-like educational system of the early and mid 20th centuries may have done well to prepare individuals to work on an assembly line in the U.S.’s growing manufacturing industry, but that industry is now declining and our educational system needs to prepare individuals for the 21st century.  We have attempted to move from standardized processes to standardized content, but have not yet completely closed the door on the ways of the past.  Many schools still incorporate scripted lessons from which teachers may not deviate to meet the needs of his/her learners.  And while some schools are incorporating technology, they are using it in the ways of the past rather than ways of the future. (ex. just using it for a multiple choice quiz/test, rather than for interactive and cooperative research).

I have a difficult time differentiating to meet the specific needs of every one of my learners.  I try to utilize multiple instructional strategies based on the the content and what I know about my students.  What works one year or even in one class may not work the next year or even an hour later with a different group of students.  I have a few tried and true activities that I love using every year, but I have some that I have thrown out in order to add new ones.  I am working on utilizing technology in a more cooperative and engaging fashion to prohibit “sharing answers” and encourage real growth in learning.

Wiburg, K. An Historical Perspective on Instructional Design: Is it Time to Exchange Skinner's Teaching Machine for Dewey's Toolbox?. Retrieved 3 June 2020, from http://michel.delord.free.fr/bibli1998/instructional_design.html