From
looking at the class transcripts, the pattern that really stands out to me is
that if you label the teacher, T, and the students, S, the overwhelming pattern
is T-S-T-S-T-S. As we discussed in class
on Friday there are different reasons for this: giving students encouragement
and direction (both on topic, and who speaks next).
As for what
I hope to accomplish with class discussions, one of the main goals is for all students
to feel comfortable speaking and sharing ideas.
I understand the need to keep discussions moving in a certain direction,
but I believe that comes after first setting the tone, or atmosphere where
everyone is encouraged to speak. The idea of right and wrong and
superiority/inferiority has been touched on many times during our discussions,
and is one area I hope to keep in mind while teaching—I believe that it is very
important to put a lot of time in at the beginning of the year, or semester to
set a kind of tone where everyone feels their point of view is valid. I was watching a TED Speaks talk about
education and creativity, and how the older we get the more worried are about
making mistakes. The speaker made a
point that has resonated with me ever since “learning is a process of making mistakes.” In my classroom, I want to encourage my
students to make mistakes, I want to encourage them to question each other, and
question me. I hope my classroom is a
place where students do not feel afraid to speak out of a fear of making a
mistake. I hope that my students are
learning from me and each other what they think for themselves by having
discussions. I realize that efficiency
is important, and time is limited, but I hope that I am not just plowing
through information and steering students towards answers just to save time. There may be a place for this kind of
teaching, but I would not call it a discussion, it is lecturing.
Now I think
I am done Gregging! I look forward to
more discussions.
I think you make such a valid point when you mention the TED article. It's unnerving to think about how true that fact is. I would definitely agree with you when you say you want all your students to be comfortable enough and confident enough for them to voice their own opinions.
ReplyDeleteI agree that learning happens through making mistakes, but it is still difficult for students to put themselves out there to let them happen. I commend you for making it a goal to make your students feel more confident in the classroom, it is a goal I have as well. I would like for my students to discuss in order to further explore a topic and get their questions answered instead of doing so to try to get a better grade or simply because they think it will please their teacher.
ReplyDeleteAwesome insights! I completely agree with your ideas that students should be allowed to make mistakes. In retrospect, I realize that I was shy and withdrawn in classroom discussions for a long time because I was worried about being "wrong" and falsifying my identity as the "smart kid." Thanks for the encouraging and tolerant view you take of education. I learned a lot from your post.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your dedication to your classroom tone. I forgot to consider or mention this factor when thinking about my own classroom discussions. Not much will be achieved through discussion if students are afraid of speaking or speaking incorrectly. This relates to the story you posted to my blog about the "guru" teacher you spoke to. She explained the importance of setting a tone and detailing expectations early on. I would like to emulate this in my classroom as well!
ReplyDelete