Part one and two of this series was about the breakfast menu: the
opening ceremony of a student-centered classroom. Maple soaked pancakes, the
greeting at the door. Both enticing and alluring, a sense of wonderment and
hunger. The oozing eggs setting the tone for the genesis of the lesson, the
yellow yolk dripping over the onset of learning, bringing with it curiosity and
intrigue for the rest of the meal or activity of the day. The main event, or
entree comes layered integrating all aspects of learning: visual, auditory,
tactile and kinesthetic. The menu still open, substitutions welcomed, anticipated.
New creations appearing as collaborative efforts, bring together ideas,
objectives and intentions. Students in control and tasks determined by necessity
and desire much like our appetites direct us to our sustenance, interest and
relevance lead us to knowledge.
As animals, humans, we eat for
nourishment: to gain energy, endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine. The
chemicals that inspire, drive, motivate and make us feel like we belong. They
bring us to the dining table, help us have dinner conversations and enjoy the
company of others. These armaments also increase our acuity and passion for
learning by giving us the focus to be both creative and innovative. They remove
doubt and build both confidence and resilience. This sustenance and maintenance
occurs from our interaction and collaboration with others as well as our choice
of diet. A student-centered classroom embodies both: encapsulating a student
need to own their personal menu, individual ingredients and every course of
their learning. The classroom is the restaurant, the venue, the banquet hall
where the daily specials change frequently and where chefs are taking risks and
creating new and exciting entrees at every turn. Samples offered and new
inspiration gained regularly. It is the arena where spice meets sweet, savory
meets sour and salty combines with bitter and umami to form a perfect union.
Each taste integral to the learning process. Every bud of knowledge blooming
through choice and commitment.
An open menu is the foundation
of a student-centered classroom. Flexibility and freedom are not the only
important aspects that drive this style of learning. A pacing waiter, pressuring
the patrons to order does not create a sense of urgency but one of frustration.
When we instill hunger, desire, and independence we set the flow. When we stay
in the shadows providing plenty of time for them to make decisions, they make
the best choices for their needs. How can we urge our students along, gently
while still leaving time for them to peruse the menu? Write one word, or a
sentence or two on the board; objectives, components of the main course, giving
the 'star ingredients' for the day. The goal, the entree. Then allow students
to get themselves there, using the makerspace, the vocabulary and their
imaginations. It means much more to be given the trust to satiate your own
curiosity then it does to be lead there through routine and expectation. If we
place limits, they will cease to push them. If we set clear solutions they will
be locked into an orbit of completion, when they should be rocketed to the
unknown, acquiring knowledge by observation, exploration and discovery. The
framework is scary at first because it is vast, every student creating their
own idea of learning and accomplishment, we must stay out of their way no
matter how much we want to intervene.
I worked in many restaurants,
during my college years and the number one thing they tell waiters is to
"push the specials." This is because the fish is aging, they bought
too much of a certain vegetable etc. They want to make sure nothing goes to
waste. This outlook however can be detrimental to a student-centered classroom.
By 'pushing the specials', it means we as teachers already have the result in
mind. We already have a plan, the ingredients lied out and the combination of
objectives and goals in place. If we do this, we are limiting our students. If
teachers have a lesson plan, flexible and open-ended, then this tunnel vision
will not occur. If through a makerspace or just some imaginative mystery items,
we can see possibility, students will come up with ideas we couldn't even see
coming. They will look at a simple object and see a million uses. All we must
do is not narrow their thinking. Not place expectations but let them see the
objective. Not organize until there is only one solution but to let them find
the route and the destination independently.
The framework for a
student-driven, student-led, independent learning environment is a simple one:
1) Do not set expectations, but
achievements
2) Do not "push the
specials" but provide a supermarket of opportunity and supplies
3) Do not take yourself so
seriously, there will be failures, but more often there will be leaps and
bounds of growth, that students will thank you for
4) The flow of the class
depends NOT on you but that of your students
5) Personalities are fluid and
attitude malleable all we must do is create a safe haven and students will
enter willingly and mindfully
6) Laugh, play and be yourself,
students will trust you and follow you anywhere if they believe in you
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