Students First – It’s in the Standards
Who is in charge in your classroom?
Is your instruction designed for student learning or for adult comfort?
International, national, and statewide standards call for student-centered learning design in which learners are called upon to think critically, collaborate, create and communicate. These standards require students to engage in inquiry, research/investigation, and evaluation. And yet, too often I continue to read and hear phrases such as “I Do, We Do, You Do”, “Teachers need a textbook adoption”, “I don’t understand kids these days”, and “I’m not good at technology”. It is not about you. The standards are centered on students.
Each of the aforementioned phrases I have heard from educators focuses on the adult first. Students are merely implied, almost as an afterthought. Not one of these phrases focuses on student learning as the primary goal. Instead, each panders to adult conceit and discomfort, an ironic mix. As these teachers focus on a direct instruction/textbook centered model in which the adult or textbook company is presented as the ultimate expert and dispenser of knowledge, they simultaneously admit an inability to comprehend the modern world in which their students live. The standards themselves call for student-centered learning design. We must flip the model and place students at the center of all we do.
Curiouser and Curiouser – Evoke Wonder
Students are born with a sense of wonder. Spend a few minutes with a toddler and you will be asked an infinite number of questions as this little learner works to construct knowledge through inquiry. Then the student enters school, and everything flips. Suddenly, curiosity is killed little by little, as the learner is directed to follow instructions, to color within the lines, and is reprimanded for daring to ask his or her teacher “why”. This is a travesty.
When we squash wonder, we fail students. We cut off the love of learning and turn school into a place designed to force learners to conform, to regurgitate facts, and to copy the teacher in an “I Do, We Do, You Do” environment. The focus turns away from student learning and instead leads to an environment that celebrates compliance. The #BookSnap pictured echoes this mindset, taken from John Spencer and A.J. Juliani’s book Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student, with a quote from George Couros, author of The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity.
Flip the Model – Students in Charge
How do we flip the model? How do we begin to foster student-centered learning in our classrooms?
We start by modeling curiosity ourselves. As educators, we must show students what it is that causes us to wonder. We must admit that we do not have all the answers, that we ourselves are always learning. The Next Generation Science Standards urge us to begin lessons with an engage activity in which we ask students to view a phenomena (whether via video or a real life experiment). This provokes curiosity and gives students a reason to research, to hypothesize, to create a model and change variables to test and learn by doing. Similarly, in Project Based Learning and Design Thinking processes, we begin by asking students an open-ended question that Google cannot answer. Students then consider what theyneed to know to answer the question. In this way, students have a reason to research and learn.
As educators, we were once taught to front-load vocabulary, to tell students what it is they would be learning, to post learning objectives. Not only does this squash the joy of mystery and wonder in the learning process, but it also robs students of constructing knowledge on their own. Research shows that the brain is always seeking to connect learning to prior experience, to have a contextual basis on which to cement new concepts. By providing students an opportunity to build context through experience first, we ensure that new vocabulary, facts, and concepts last beyond rote memorization. We must flip the traditional model and instead encourage students to first wonder and then explore. This wonder and exploration will naturally lead to learning. Rather than “I Do, We Do, You Do”, we begin with students. The model is flipped.
Role Change – Teachers Set the Stage
In a student led learning environment, the teacher’s role is to set the stage for students to showcase their learning. To begin implementing a student-centered learning environment, start by giving students voice and choice. Begin by asking students how they would like to demonstrate their understanding of the content they are learning. This goes deeper than a “choice board” in which students are given options. Rather, ask students how they like to learn things outside of the classroom. Do students visit the internet when they want to learn how to advance in a video game? Suggest they create a website. Do students go to YouTube when they want to learn a new dance move? Encourage them to create a video. And here’s the secret…as the teacher, you do not need to know how to create a website or make a YouTube video. Students who are motivated to share their learning in this way will often spend the time to learn this method themselves. These students can then become experts who teach their peers.
Teachers – Students Need You!
Even in a student-led learning environment, teachers have an important role. Teachers need to ask guiding questions to ensure students are meeting learning targets in a timely fashion, lead students to additional resources as necessary, and facilitate collaboration in a systematic way that fosters peer feedback to meet learners’ specific needs. Teachers can help identify student “experts” to build upon strengths and allow students to learn from each other.
The teacher is similar to the director of a jazz band or a coach on the soccer field, whose role is to identify the strengths of each player and maximize individual and collective potential. This requires educators to be observant, and to focus on building a collaborative culture in which each member of the classroom is valued for the individual value they bring to the group. How do we foster inquiry in the classroom? When students ask me a question, I answer with another question or an I wonder statement. For example, “I wonder if there is a website or app that can help you find the answer to your question…” When we answer a question with another question or with an I wonder statement, we honor student curiosity and validate learning rather than knowing. We create an environment that shows we value the process of learning rather than the attainment of knowledge. Facts and information are available to students via the touch of a button via technology (just ask Google, Alexa, or Siri), therefore we must teach students to move past facts and to think critically, to prepare for a future that is unknown. Teaching is about students, not about teachers. As an educator, you have the power to change lives by empowering the learners in your classroom. Flip the model. Put students in charge. And always remember, teaching is not about instruction, it is about students.