Student-Centered Classrooms

21st century classroom used to mean technology integration. It is amazing this turn of phrase is still being used as we are well into the century. It also surprises me that many teachers feel that if they are incorporating technology into their classrooms that that is enough to make them 21st century ready. There are naysayers of change at every school. There are also forward thinking, innovative, inspiring teachers at every school. It does not matter if your school is affluent or not, if it is urban or suburban, busting at the seams or a one room school house, positive culture comes from everyone involved having similar goals. This positive school culture can be felt as soon as your enter the building.

Having clear vision and a well-defined mission are key to any school being successful. Creative and supportive teachers leave their mark where ever they go. They smile in the hallways, greet students and other teachers. They keep their doors open and welcome anyone to come and visit. Students never want to leave their room. They linger during lunch, breaks, and after-school. These teachers have found a way to unite not divide, inspire not deflate, and encourage not discourage risk-taking and student independence.

To be an invested thinker one must let go of control and allow a power shift. Committed teachers understand that they are not the 'sage of the stage' but rather an 'observer of ferver.' students are bustling and talking and collaborating, while the teacher is quietly an onlooker of student-driven discussions and activities. A makerspace, Genius Hour, PBL's and various other student-centered activities allow students to find their passion, create a personal vision and implement it. They are merely tools though. True ingenuity comes from a patient, giving, relentless teacher guiding and nudging a student toward their own path of learning.

This path should include bumps and challenges that force failure and inspire redesign and a shift in mindset. Discrepant events lead to diversion and implementation of new ideas. Students have to problem-solve and discover better ways in which they themselves can learn. We can not tell a student the best way to learn, we can show them successful strategies, but ultimately self-discovery and trial and error cements a students love of learning, motivation, and independence. The best way for students to find their voice is for teachers to be quiet and let them hear it.

A student-centered classroom by design should have flexible seating but also students should be able to chose where they sit. Have procedures and responsibilities in place. Trust students to follow directions. They will listen if you engage them. Be silly, ask them questions, gesture, move about the room, engage them. I have done this for many years and I have very little issues with talking out of turn.

Students love to create the rules and procedures in fact they often create stricter rules than I do. They then take ownership of them and enforce and follow them. We boil them down to three things, respect-everyone and everything in the classroom, responsibility-be honest, be truthful, always listen, rigor-expect a challenge and rise to the occasion, always do your best.

Parents are also an important piece in the puzzle of classroom dynamics. Keep them in the loop. Parents do not want to be inundated with letters and updates, make communication meaningful and relevant. Keep them integrated into the discussion. Students will behave better and be more likely to be involved in the classroom if they know there parents are involved. Using Seesaw or other online portfolios provides parents an option to see their child's work daily or weekly. A classroom blog will also show pictures of activities and podcasts students have recorded.

Students deserve to be involved in almost every aspect of classroom life. They are the reason we are here. Teachers need to forge great relationships with students and parents for a student-centered classroom to be successful. Students need to feel safe to ask questions and make comments in class. They need to feel secure that if they fail they will have opportunities to retry and be successful without penalty. Students will be interactive, collaborative, and love their classes if they feel that what they are learning is relevant and has value to them. It is a teachers job to design the stage for this to happen. Teachers are the set designers, prop masters, art directors, and even the script writers. Students are the actors and the directors of their masterpiece. Teachers need to let them soar, rather than being a critic be a fan.