Student Learning

"...learning must be done by the student."





  by  USM MS photos 

Working Inside the Black Box; Black et al (2004)

If this is true, how can we give more ownership of the learning and of the classroom to our students?

In your classroom who is doing more work - you or your students?

The emphasis has to be on making thinking public

  by  dkuropatwa 

"The emphasis has to be on students’ thinking and making that thinking public."
Working Inside The Black Box; Black et al. (2004)

If learning is seen as a competition then students are aware that there will be losers as well as winners...

  by  frozi

  

"If a learning exercise is seen as a competition, then everyone is aware that there will be losers as well as winners, and those who have a track record as losers will see little point in trying."

Working Inside the Black Box; Black et al (2004) 

• Teachers need to be mindful of the design of their learning activities.  
• It is not about competition or sorting of students based on ability, but rather about improved learning for all students.  
• Learning opportunities need to be designed in a way that will support all learners in achieving the intended learning outcomes.   
• All students have the ability to learn and it is our duty to create the conditions that will facilitate the learning process. 
• How can we engage all students to want to learn?

Effective questioning is also an important aspect of impromtu interventions teachers conduct once the students are engaged in an activity.

Korny Kreations by mindfrieze, on Flickr" title="Korny Kreations by mindfrieze, on Flickr" border="0">
by mindfrieze

This quote and picture exemplifies what a teacher's effective questioning does to keep a class engaged, confident and enthused.

Do you ask questions that use recall or understanding?

"The students have to change from behaving as passive recipients of the knowledge offered by the teacher to becoming active learners"

by Susan NYC


"The students have to change from behaving as passive recipients of the knowledge offered by the teacher to becoming active learners who can take responsibility for and manage their own learning" Working Inside the Black Box, Black et al. (2004)

This picture evokes images of teaching at the front of the class, either talking, or putting something on the bored. Often, teachers may as well just ask students to ignore the information because they are bored, may not find it relevent, and thus do not take responsibility for the learning. Maybe, teachers just have not given students the opportunity to take responsibility.

As teachers I believe that we must switch our practice from being the deliverers of information to the facilitators of knowledge. Students will be able to engage in a much higher level of learning only if we as teachers make it possible and encourage students to become more responsible.

Far too often students become passive learners, and are disengaged with classroom activities, but can we blame them? Do we allow students to have enough responsibility? Enough power? Are teachers afraid to engage in this shift?

Students will invest effort in a task only if they BELIEVE that they can achieve something.

They may not be able to perform the task YET, but they BELIEVE they can and they will. Do you make them believe?
by Locator

Encouraging Students to Become Active Learners

by woesis

"The students have to change from behaving as passive recipients of the knowledge offered by the teacher to becoming active learners who can take responsibility for and manage their own learning" (20)
Working Inside the Black Box, Black et. all (2004)

When we approach a crosswalk, we all have a goal: get to the other side of the street. However, if we stand and wait for someone else to push the button for us, it may take a very long time before we actually get to cross the street. The same is true in the classroom; if students have to wait for the teacher to give them the information, it may take a very long time before they are understanding the material. Rather than pushing the button for the students, we have to give them the tools to push the button for themselves - then they can decided when they are ready to cross the street and reach their goal.

How can we empower our students to become active learners? How do we let them know it's okay to get out of the desk, check other books, look for online resources, share and ask questions with their peers, and discuss their thoughts with the teacher in a non-threatening manner?

"The teachers shift their role from presenters to leaders of exploration."

by Janet E Davis

This quote resonates with me because I spend much of my time learning the material I am teaching the next day. I have to remember that being only a presenter is not my job.

The picture of the lone presenter makes me think about a picture of a teacher sitting with the students in the class

Being the sage on the stage will not provoke the kind thinking that is required for developing problem solving skills.

What can I do each day to lead my students to discover and practice these essential skills?

A Way to Compare Themselves with Others...

by mojmir_ch

"Students given marks are likely to see it as a way to compare themselves with others."
Working Inside the Black Box; Black et al. (2004)

This picture inspires in me a sense of equality among the husky dogs. The dogs are not concerned with comparing themselves with one another, nor are they concerned with being faster, bigger or stronger. They look like they are happy to both be huskies and both be experiencing life together, albeit from a different perspective and a unique point of view.

My biggest concern with young people is that I hope they do not compare themselves to others. I wish my students would worry about being the best that they can be as opposed to being the best, period. Furthermore, I hope that they see the possibility of becoming better than they are right now, that they don't see themselves as being stuck in the same position they are in right now.

I try my best not too give too much emphasis on THE MARK - I try to give corrections, comments and the opportunity to redo work, with the hopes that the students will work to improve on their work rather than just worry about being "good" or "not good" once they reach a certain mark.

In a perfect world, the students would see one-another as sharing the same journey - a journey toward becoming the best that they can be, not only in French class or Math class, but in life...in respecting others and doing their best, regardless of the natural ability they were born with or perhaps even the challenges that they've faced in their lives (schooling or not) so far.

Because at the end of the day, all human beings share the same journey - a journey toward finding our place in the world, a journey toward finding meaning in life and a journey toward loving ourselves. I share in that same journey with the students and in some ways that makes us equals...so I want to help! I want them to love themselves and to try their best...I don't want them to think about "80%" or "50%" when the look in the mirror. I want them to think that they're individuals that have value in the world and that I believe in them and give them a chance even when they haven't done anything to earn it and sometimes may not deserve it...

But unfortunately it seems as though there are a lot of students who just care about seeing "80%" and "50%" in the mirror, and then they're willing to stay stuck in that box. Rather than sharing in the journey toward individuality and seeing their education - not necessarily their marks, but the experience - as something that will help them find their place in the world, they see their classmates, their teacher and the content as an obstacle to finding meaning in life ("What a waste of time!" and "This is so boring!" and "Why are you reading us a novel? This is so stupid!").

How can we get students to see education as an experience which can help enrich their lives and allow them the opportunity to grow and develop as people?

(For the record: I think polynomials and French grammar can help you find meaning in life, but then again that's probably why I'm a teacher...).

Students achieve a learning goal only if......

Students Achieve a learning goal only if :

they understand that goal and

can asses what they need to do to reach it.


These boys know their end goal, get to the other side of the bridge, and obviously they understand what they need to do to get there.

So often we think that the learning of our students falls on us as their teachers. But truly we should be showing our students what their end goal should be and give them the tools and information they need to get there.

How can we get our students to the point where they

are the driving force behind their own learning?
by DavidDennisPhotos.com

Everybody's expectations - that is, what teachers and students think that being a teacher or being a student requires you to do - have been altered.

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?

Comments become useful feedback only if students use them to guide future work

by myrrh.ahn

I found this to be a very striking visual due the the vast number of sticky notes that are posted on this wall. To me, it seems as if they're serving no clear purpose.

We know that comments can be a very tangible form of descriptive feedback and they really can serve to drive the learning forward for all of us.

The main reason I chose this pull quote from 'Inside The Black Box' is that commenting is tied directly to blogging. The comments really are what make spaces like these tick - knowing that everyone can have a role to play in the way these conversations unfold.

Now that you've had the opportunity to post something on this blog, think about how you could use the power of commenting to further explore some of the other ideas that have been shared by other authors on this blog...

Have you left your voice (comments) on any other blogs? What about your students?