I hope that this blog will be useful for you in your encounters with people, especially children. Learning how people learn is essential for being able to progress in society. I have struggled learning different concepts has I have gone further in my college career, and I have found that there are so many ways of teaching kids, some that work, and some that don't.
I wasn't really sure how to start this entry off other than defining what my focus is...teacher v. student-centered learning.
Teacher centered learning relies on
- focus on the instructor
- Focus is on language forms and structures (what the instructor knows about the language)
- students listening to the instructor while he/she talks
- Students working alone
- Instructor monitoring and correcting every student utterance
- Instructor answering students’ questions about language
- Instructor choosing topics
- Instructor evaluating student learning
- Classroom being quiet
This is what I grew up with; this is where I struggled in college because I expected to be told what to do.
Student-centered learning relies on
- Focus being on both students and instructor
- Focus being on language use in typical situations (how students will use the language)
- Instructor modeling; students interacting with instructor and one another
- Students working in pairs, in groups, or alone depending on the purpose of the activity
- Students talking without constant instructor monitoring; instructor providing feedback/correction when questions arise
- Students answering each other’s questions, using instructor as an information resource
- Students having some choice of topics
- Students evaluating their own learning; instructor also evaluates
The classroom is often noisy and busy. To me this is too distracting, and as a future music teacher, it is alien to me.
So, I will be exploring different ways of teaching musical contexts with both approaches and seeing what works best. I have heard that the north of the United States favors student-centered learning, and the south prefers the teacher-centered, but I haven't seen that much research or talk of it...yet. :)
Let me know how you were taught when you were growing up and if it was effective or not!
I don't think you're the only one who had some sort of difficulty when transitioning to college from the "Let's force feed kids ALL THE KNOWLEDGE" typical American high school. The style of teaching definitely affects student performance. In my world history class in high school the first semester the teacher taught in a lecture style, which I absoloutlely loved. The second semester we had a different teacher who loved group projects and I hated that class until the very end. I can't wait to see your research!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! That's really interesting that you absolutely hated group work, although I can see why. Some groups that I was in were great because we had a lot of fun doing our project (like my freshman year Geography class in high school), but others were terrible because I ended up doing ALL of the work :P
DeleteEveryone has a different learning ability so I think that a successful learning community is one that accommodates many students.If a teacher only teaches one way, he or she will alienate some of the students and bore the others. I was not taught in a learning environment where regurgitation was favored over higher order thinking. I remember wanting to voice my opinion and being told to hold my thought until the end of the lesson or the next day in which I had forgotten my thought.
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so sorry that happened. I had very accommodating teachers throughout all of my schooling. But, there was one class last year (History of Western Music)that was completely lecture, and not really any student input. That was SO HARD to get all of the information down because the professor talked so FAST!
DeleteIt's hard figuring out how much guidance kids need sometimes. Of course, the point of teaching is the students, so priority should be given to making sure they know how to learn and are gaining knowledge. But I know a lot of kids that will do as little as possible, and things like discussions and group activities end up giving them leeway and placing the burden on those who are willing to work for a higher grade. It's hard to know where to draw the line in encouraging students to learn throung interaction and making sure everyone is participating and trying to learn.
ReplyDeleteThat is especially true for classes like history or (now) education courses. I honestly can't see this way of teaching being applied to an entire band because there are over 50 students in one room. The only time that we did group work was when we split up to work on UIL ensembles in the spring, and the max was like 5 or 6 per group.
DeleteMy mom is actually an elementary school teacher at a fine arts academy that has now implemented technology into the mix. She is not a teacher anymore but a "facilitor." The school is based only on projects that the kids do themselves and they are meant to ask for seminars if they don't understand something. Plus! A third of their day is going to either band, orchestra, choir, drama etc. A lot of kids can't handle a school like this. I know my mom says that sometimes she,"closes and locks the door so she can teach." Teachers have to develop and adapt around their students and their needs, every single one of them.
ReplyDeleteOne good thing about this school is that they have projects were they can fire people who aren't helping and all get a chance to be the leader of the group with each project. I think this helps the students find the strengths that they have for themselves. Personally, I was always that kid who took charge, managed the rest of the group and did all the extra work that the others didn't or couldn't do. Good blog. :)
LOL me too! We're such over-achievers :)Thank you for sharing your mom's experiences. I bet that can be really frustrating. It's hard to teach concepts to students if they are not all on the same page, but it sounds like that school has something worked out!
DeleteI believe that learning would help from a little of both of the styles you talk about. Because yes student learning is set up in a better and easier way to learn and I get that. I also agree with using it. But not every situation is set up in that manner. Sometimes it will have to be only the professor instructing and students listening. So teaching students that both way will be the way it is I think that will bring out the maxium knowledge from learning.
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ReplyDeleteOh thank you!
DeleteI actually forgot about this blog lol. It was a project for my English class and I got busy with my student teaching this past spring. So, I have learned a lot in the art of teaching first hand, but I was quite busy so I didn't have time to write everything done. Now that I'm on my way to get a teaching job I guess I can start it up again :)
Where are you from? Are you a teacher too?
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ReplyDeleteHi Ashlyine,
DeleteSorry I haven't done any recent posts. I just got a job at Nixon-Smiley independent school district and I'm trying to prepare for summer band, it's been very hectic! I will write about some of those experiences soon! Is there anything in particular that you would like me t focus on?
~Rachel