by Pitel
This quotation and picture exemplify the shift in teacher and students' role when considering the changes that are suggested in the article "Working Inside the Black Box: Assessment for Learning in the Classroom" (Black et al., 2004).
No longer is the teacher the sole source of knowledge, a person that stands at the front of the room dispensing crucial information, but rather a guide that helps direct students towards information. Students themselves move away from being passive recipients of knowledge who are required to recall and regurgitate information. Students shift to taking responsibility for their learning, for working with their peers to ensure a more thorough understanding of the information.
The shift from traditional expectations to new roles and responsibilities will require courage and faith, as much courage as jumping off a plane takes and faith that your parachute will open, but when those leaps are taken the results can be exceptionally rewarding. The first attempts at taking this leap in changing teacher and students expectations in the classroom may have some rough patches but with the teacher guiding the class success will be possible.
How do we encourage students that this shift to responsible learning will be beneficial to their learning when it changes drastically their expectations of their role in the classroom?
The hard part about doing this is that often times shifting the learning onto the students actually makes it more difficult for them, even though it's better for them in the long-run. I guess the key is to emphasize this idea right from the get-go, but that's difficult to do because they often come to us conditioned to be passive learners and you have to try to break that habit and change that mentality, and then instill the idea that they have a say and a stake in their learning. As with all of life's big questions, I don't really have an answer, just more questions...
ReplyDeleteI would NEVER jump out of a perfectly well maintained aircraft. Would you or have you?
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