The cerebrum -- which is just Latin for "brain" -- is the newest (evolutionarily) and largest part of the brain as a whole. It is here that things like perception, imagination, thought, judgment, and decision occur. I hope you are thoughtful as you leave your comments on this blog.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Chapter 3: Think People and Passions Rather Than Classes and Content
How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful?
Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms.
I think knowing your students' passions is important for the learning process. Because a teacher expects certain things of their students. And the students have expectations for their teachers. One of those expectations is to have their teacher care about them. It also goes back to the mutual respect between the teacher and their students, because if you respect them and they respect you, then you will learn their passions, and getting them to become actively engaged becomes easy once that type of relationship is built.
The teacher and student roles are different than what we traditionally see in the classroom because is asked more often to be a coach or a guide than an instructional expert. But, to be a coach and guide you have to be able to have the students want t o be engaged, this is why it is important to know your students' passions. So instead of the teacher being in front of the class and instructing, the teacher should be walking around asking open-ended questions allowing for the students think and express their thoughts, and it will be in this dialogue that the students will learn.
The students instead of sitting there, listening, and taking notes. They will be able to research at times, use technology, and think critically about a topic. The students are also encouraged to talk about their thoughts with their classmates instead of the with the teacher. The students are able to learn from each other better than if they were to learn from the teacher because the students can know where one another's struggles are and exactly how to help them. I remember when i was in school, if there was a misconception a classmate was having i would know exactly what they were confused about and how to explain it to them. The good teachers that i had would ask if someone knew how to explain it to the struggling student, while the bad teachers would continue to try to explain it themselves as if they are the only ones that can help.
How is knowing your students passion helpful? Knowing a student’s passion or their interest helps you to create an individualized instruction for each student. Knowing their passion helps you be the best guide or coach you can be. It helps you to separate students and formulate for better group work. Making a connection between a student’s passion and his classwork is amazing. Students will realize that you know and care about their interest and not just the content you are teaching them. This tactic will help motivate students. This information also allows teachers to ask certain guiding questions specifically in reference to different paths, activities and projects in the classroom.
Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in our classrooms. In partnering it is recommended that teachers receive direct feedback from students on a consistent basis. In traditional classrooms teachers rarely ask students for feedback. In partnering teachers act as a coach and guide working alongside students, assisting them rather than directing them. In a traditional classroom the teacher is more of a dictator telling students what to do, and what not to do. The most important role of the teacher in partnering is asking and not telling. In partnering teachers work to ask all of the right thought provoking questions.
Students in partnering will be utilizing more technology than children in a traditional classroom. In partnering students can do group work with people aside from their classmates through the use of modern technology. In partnering students will be researching, exploring and gathering information to complete assignments. In a traditional classroom students will be sitting listening to lectures and note taking. Many students will lose interest because this technique is far from involving their passion. In partnering students feel more equal with the teacher as opposed to a traditional classroom where students feel inferior to the teacher. In a traditional classroom students don’t let the teacher know what works and what doesn’t. In a traditional classroom a student that tells a teacher her lesson is not working will more than likely be reprimanded, in partnering they will be applauded. Teachers in a traditional classroom make executive votes without the input of the students. This leaves students in an unhappy place, more susceptible to failing. Children in partnering, unlike traditional classrooms are also taught to be world changers. Students must try to relate every single thing they learn to making the world a better place.
I truly believe that knowing your students passion if key to success in a classroom. It shows that you really care for your students and want to learn about them and what interests them instead of just teaching the material you are given and "doing your job." Once the students realize how much you actually care about each student as an individual they will respect you and be motivated to give their best effort. There will be a level of comfort and the students will enjoy learning and will be engaged in the material given to them. There is a major difference between partnering and traditional classrooms. In a partnering classroom, the educator work with their students and help guide them in the right direction. On the other hand, a traditional classroom is more direct with the students. They basically tell them what they should and should not do. The environment in these classrooms would be different and I believe that working alongside with your students is the best option. In a partnering classroom, students get to use Amazing tools given to them such as technology. After given an assignment, they will be able to do research and explore new things on their own or with their groups. This will keep the students excited and engaged. In a traditional classroom, the students will be bored from being lectured and the information being taught to them will go in one ear and out the other. Fifteen years later, I can still remember my favorite teachers verses the teachers whom I disliked. The tea hers that involved cooking, group work, and role laying into their lessons were the ones I enjoyed most becaus I learned the material and was excited to go to school. The teachers who made me copy from the chalk board were the ones that I dreaded going to each day.
I truly believe that knowing your students passion if key to success in a classroom. It shows that you really care for your students and want to learn about them and what interests them instead of just teaching the material you are given and "doing your job." Once the students realize how much you actually care about each student as an individual they will respect you and be motivated to give their best effort. There will be a level of comfort and the students will enjoy learning and will be engaged in the material given to them. There is a major difference between partnering and traditional classrooms. In a partnering classroom, the educator work with their students and help guide them in the right direction. On the other hand, a traditional classroom is more direct with the students. They basically tell them what they should and should not do. The environment in these classrooms would be different and I believe that working alongside with your students is the best option. In a partnering classroom, students get to use Amazing tools given to them such as technology. After given an assignment, they will be able to do research and explore new things on their own or with their groups. This will keep the students excited and engaged. In a traditional classroom, the students will be bored from being lectured and the information being taught to them will go in one ear and out the other. Fifteen years later, I can still remember my favorite teachers verses the teachers whom I disliked. The tea hers that involved cooking, group work, and role laying into their lessons were the ones I enjoyed most becaus I learned the material and was excited to go to school. The teachers who made me copy from the chalk board were the ones that I dreaded going to each day.
I read an article in another class called “Lessons from Skateboarders” by Richard Sagor. It described different kinds of motivation and the need to incorporate this in our classroom. A boy might spend 4 hours after school practicing tricks on his skateboard. He might fall numerous times, but he continues to get up and try again. This same child might not do his homework or participate in class. Maybe he’s labeled “unmotivated” and yet, he seems so motivated after school. Some teachers who have very athletic students wonder why their efforts shine on the ball field and not in their classrooms. Why? They’re passionate about sports.
I think it is essential to know your students and to know their passions. In my opinion, it might actually be the most important thing a teacher does. Knowing your students on an individual basis makes the students feel comfortable, cared for, and respected. If your student feels this way he or she is more likely to trust you and this fosters the concept of partnering.
In addition, if we know about our students’ passions, we can incorporate them in our lessons and activities. If a student is passionate about sports, maybe when learning about statistics, that student can focus his or her studies on statistics in baseball. If we incorporate their passions into their learning, the students will become passionate about their learning. It makes topics that don’t seem relevant to students become more meaningful.
As discussed in the last chapter, the typical classroom looks like the teacher on stage performing and the students quietly watching as the audience. The students are not meant to participate, but rather, to see what the teacher can do and then regurgitate what they’ve seen. Partnering is completely different. There is no stage. The teacher is the coach, guide, and instructional expert. The student is the researcher, technology expert, thinker, world changer, and self-teacher. It is the teacher’s job to support and encourage the students, and to guide them in the right direction dependent on content and objectives. However, the student must find the answers by exploring and using the resources provided to him or her. The student must think about and reflect upon their findings.
Being aware of the students' passions are a critical part in the learning process. If the topic is not something the students are interested in they will see no point in paying attention. If we are able to create and differentiate a topic to focus on students' particular passions they will be more engaged in the classroom. Also, relating a topic to students' passions may help them understand a topic more in comparison to traditional teaching style. This also makes students feel that we care about their interests and we want them to contribute their ideas in discussions. If students see that we care and are interested in their thoughts they may be more likely to engage.
The traditional teacher role is standing in front of the classroom, lecturing and telling students to take notes. There is hardly any classroom discussion or engagement. In partnering, the teacher takes a seat next to a student and engages them with open-ended questions about a topic to make them think critically and come up with their own ways of finding the answers. The teacher is treating their students as equals and shows interest in what they have to say. Teachers are guides, not dictators.
The students traditional role is basically to just sit, listen and write notes. There is no engagement with the teacher or even their peers. In partnering, students are constantly communicating with the teacher and peers. They are researchers and self-teachers. The students find their own ways of pursuing answers to questions with the appropriate guidance and support from their teacher.
Chapter 3: Think People and Passions Rather Than Classes and Content
Knowing students’ interests and passions allows for teachers to appeal to what their students enjoy and value. When students are given choices and allowed to research topics of their interest, they are motivated to respond to the challenges created for them. Individualized instruction is the goal and learning your students’ interests makes learning meaningful and memorable for them. If we begin to think about our students as individuals with differences and passions, then we will be more likely to view them as our partners in the learning process. Students enjoy sharing what they know and if they are given opportunities to do so, they will become increasingly engaged I the classroom.
The partnering model requires teachers to hold an active position in the classroom, but rather as a guide, questioner, and content expert. Most of our involvement is in the planning and discussion/debate stages of instruction. We establish goals and create guiding questions for our students as we plan and guide, redirect, and clarify as we participate in class as a partner. Students are much more accountable for the own learning in this model. They play a much more active role in the learning process and rely on their peers to develop certain skills and utilize technology effectively in order to get the most out of each instruction period together.
Students' passions can play a key role in their learning process. There are various types of passions, some of which students are well aware of but a students' passion may be still hidden from his or her own self-knowledge. Students want their teacher to care for them and respect whatever his or her passion might be. This helps the mutual respect between teacher and students'. A teacher cannot just touch the surface when it comes to their students' passions and rely on that. They much delve deep and learn it in much more detail. These passions are the routes in which partnering teachers can create individualized learning that will actually stick in the students' minds and be of some value in their lives. If you can do this then you leave them wanting more. Student learning and work can be filtered through their personal preferences, likes, and dislikes.
Traditionally, in the classroom we will see a lot of direct instruction and lesson plans designed with no student preference involved. The classroom has teachers at the center stage and students viewers from the audience. The students roles in the classroom amount to answering and asking various questions related to the material being taught during lecture.
In this different approach of partnering, we see teachers taking on the role of coach, guide, and instructional expert. The teacher's role as a coach involves approaching students in a much more individual and personal way and helping each student find and pursue their passion. Serving as a guide for students' revolves around knowing their passions and where they want to go. He or she is the helper of the motivated. Finally, the instructional expert will utilize all their knowledge and creativity to create lessons that meet the preferences of the students'. Giving something new and fresh almost every day.
Students are the researchers in partnering. They discover and research things that have a real purpose in the world. Knowing the research actually matters makes a world of difference. Students strive to be world changers in partnering with all their work having some sort of relation to problems this world faces. The other change from the traditional classroom is how the students' can self-educate themselves on topics, without requiring the direct instruction that is so common.
I always find that teachers who involve students’ opinions and ideas in their teaching experience are likely to be respected and become effective teachers in the future. Teachers should learn what activities and lessons are appealing to students so therefore their teaching experience may very successful. What we find in many schools today is that students who are not interested in learning are less motivated and put minimal effort in completing their academic responsibilities. Then, teachers also respond with, “that there is nothing wrong with my teaching, I am a good teacher. The student has a problem because he does not do anything in my class. I think the work is too difficult for him.” Now if teachers asked these students why they do not want to learn, some of them may be shocked to hear that students’ disinterest in learning is because they find the class lessons tedious and disengaging. Students’ opinions matter and can help teachers become successful and seen as strong teachers. When we contrast the students and teachers’ role in partnering to their roles in traditional classrooms one can find a great difference in terms of positive educational outcomes. In partnering, the purpose for teachers and students to collaborate in the learning experience is so that no authoritative role will be present. Teachers prepare students with the necessary resources to help students explore and research answers to questions and problems that are essential to students learning experiences. Students are encouraged to practice what they learn in the classroom outside of the classroom and generalize what they learn to novel learning experiences. When I compare partnering to traditional teaching, I find that partnering promotes more learning opportunities for students than traditional teaching. Students’ mastery of skills can be met by practicing and applying skills to real-life experiences. It is really funny to see how research teaches that Direct Instruction or traditional teaching is not effective, but teachers continue using them because of convenience purposes rather than for promoting learning opportunities.
ary brings up a good point about misdirected motivation; its not that students aren't motivated, it is that they are motivated to do what interests them. To find what interests your students and what they are passionate about begins first with what was said in previous chapters: seeing students differently. As educators we should be valuing and encouraging their passions because teaching in a way that is appealing to them will better their learning process. For example, why not let a student write a research paper on a sports team instead of a medical condition? In 10th grade English I wrote my first research paper on Scleroderma because I was interested in the condition, but we were only given the capacity of medical conditions. With many students, this option could be too limiting. Knowing your students passions through questionnaires, pre assessments, class discussions, and journalling can hep you tailor your lessons to be interesting and engaging with many options and exploration (and options, as stated previously in the book, are important in the classroom). Seeing students passions as valuable and worthy of putting in the extra effort to seek out different books, media, and projects starts with having a partnering classroom and understanding that these interests can be utilized in a way to illicit feedback, participation, and learning. The teacher must act as a coach, motivating the students to perform to their best ability and past it. And as a guide to help them through the learning process, allowing them to do, try, fail, and ultimately succeed. I want my students to be active and learning about both what interests them and the curriculum. I didn't see much choice when I was a student, and even now. Students are given one summative assignment and expected to all apply what they have learned. I think that the only thing that should be constant is that you evaluate student work only depending on their growth and progress in the class. The way a teacher evaluates work for quality and rigor can be the same on different projects. A teacher may question whether a drawing and a paper can be given the same grade of A. Rubrics, reflections about the assignment, and interpreting the work for meaning and connections can help level out the effort each option may require. But the journey is the destination, and summative assignments are not why we teach. The student who is engaged in the class through researching topics that appeal to them in a way that also appeals to them (i.e. using technology, each other) will be thinking more critically about how this relates to other classroom curriculum and the world. These connections made between something they care about and content, I believe, leave lasting impressions and knowledge. Technology, as I have seen it, is usually discouraged, as well as sharing answers or too much noise in the classroom. We have to leave the stigma of the internet and interaction leading to cheating behind; these tools and methods can be successful with the proper guidance, implementation, and iteration.
1) How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful? 1. By knowing and using your students’ passions is helpful because then you can use that knowledge to relate what you are teaching directly to the students. They will be connected to what you are teaching because you can relate it to what they are passionate about and it will stick with them and be useful to them in their everyday lives.
2) Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms. 1. In classrooms today, we see a lot of teachers standing in front of the room and lecturing. The teacher is just giving students information they want them to learn while the students take notes. But in a partnering classroom, the teacher is asking the students guiding questions, teaching them how to find information and different education tools, while students use those tools to find information and learn things for themselves without the teacher just telling them.
It is important for teachers to know what their students are passionate about in order to drive instruction to make it more meaningful and interesting for them. “Students‘ passions are the routes and filters through which partnering teachers create individualized learning” Teachers can use student passion to make connections. Learning will be valuable, it will keep students engaged and motivated to want to learn more. By listening to thier peers, those who do not know what their passion is will understand what it is and figure it out. It will help the teacher know more about who they are as individuals. What we traditionally see in the classroom is direct instruction, where the teacher lectures the students and does not allow for much peer engagement. The student’s traditional role was to sit quietly in class, pay attention and take notes. In Partnering teachers take on the role of a coach where they are training the students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. The teachers focus on the individual learner, while also encouraging peer interaction. In partnering students are given more freedom to explore new concepts through the use of technology and connect with peers and teachers on topics that interest them. Students are encouraged to do "open teamwork" and "peer to peer learning". Partnering allows for more successful outcomes.
I think that if a teacher wants her students to respect her, she needs to learn their interests and passions. This shows the students that she cares about them and that their interests matter in life and in the learning process. Learning students' interests also allows a teacher to individualoze instruction and create lessons that are motivating for all students in her classroom.
In traditional classrooms, the teacher has most of the control.She tends to lecture in front of the class while students listen and take notes. After a unit is over students are usually given a multiple choice or short answer test. There is not much interaction between students or discussion with the teacher.
Partnering allows for discussions and more interaction. The teacher may propose an open ended question to students that encourage more critical thinking. Students may find answers by group discussions, journals, research, technology, etc.... In parterning, students have more control of their own learning. Students are encouraged to use a variety of resources to come to a conclusion. The teacher is there for support and guidance when needed.
I believe that having a real connection with our students is extremely important to have a positive classroom environment. Understanding each individuals passions and interests allows us as teachers to create lessons that consider these interests. Also, students feel as if the teacher really cares about them.
The teacher and student roles in partnering varies greatly with what we have seen in the past traditional classrooms The teacher and students both have an equal role in partnering. They both work together to ensure everyone's experience is positive and beneficial. In the past traditional classroom, children have been lectured to by a teacher. The roles haven't exactly been equal whatsoever. The teacher has the majority of the control and attention of the classroom. Partnering allows us to change all of this and create a whole new perspective of the teacher-student relationship.
Each student in a class has their own personality and interests. No two students in a class will have the same personality, passions and interests. It is extremely important for us as teachers and facilitators in the partnering classroom to get to know our students. It is useful for the teacher to know the students passions and interests. With this information the teacher will be able to reach the student and really make a difference. Knowing the passions of our students we can work to motivate each student on an individual basis.
I feel that knowing the passions of each student will really help during the assessment period as well. As I said, no two students are alike and what one may do great another may struggle with. Being open to different types of assessment may work great in a partnering environment. What I mean by this is, by giving the students options about how they want to present the information they have found. Perhaps one student wants to role play, while another wants to write a song. You may have one student that wants to write a story. It is important to be flexible and allow the students to share what they have learned in a way that works well for them.
Another way we can use passions and interest is to use this information to base our teaching. Student learning can be filtered through their preferences, likes, and dislikes. Using partnering we can see how students learn best and what they want to learn about.
Within this partnering environment it is also important for the teacher to remember that he or she should act as a coach or guide. I agree with Penskey that the teacher should be there to coach the students through the subject and lesson at hand rather than be there to “instruct” them. In this partnering environment, teachers and students can work together to find the optimal learning and assessment mode for every individual.
How is knowing and using your students’ passions helpful? Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms. By learning your students passions and interest you are able to use that and put it into a lesson. This can help the students become more engaged in what they are learning and want to participate more. They will connect to the material because they can relate to it due to their passions and interests. I also feel that when students are connected to the information they are learning in some way they retain the material better and remember the lessons that were taught and the lessons that were not intended to be in the lessons that they learned. When partnering is done in a classroom it is adding to the students education in many different positive ways and teaching the students many life lessons such as accountability and responsibility along with many other lessons. This allows a collaborative setting which after college every profession is. It helps students learn how to work in the real world with others instead of the same old teacher lecturing students and students taking notes. Students gain much more by partnering then they do in a traditional classroom setting.
As states in Chapter 1, most of today’s teachers are “trained to talk” at students and not necessarily take student thoughts and opinions into consideration. The partnering roles of “teacher as coach” and “teacher as guide” are in complete contrast to the aforementioned model. These new roles rely heavily on student feedback (with very little teacher telling) and strive to make students better and more prepared young adults. Students must be willing to “take the journey” created by innovative and energetic teachers who see themselves as only facilitators and providers.
Also stated in Chapter 1, students must hypothesize, explore, research, self-monitor, self-correct, discuss, think, review, as well as any other process that might help them take control of their own education. Partnering allows students to follow their passions and to learn helpful “real world” skills. This is particularly true of technology skills that this new generation has grown up with.
No two students are alike. They each possess different interests. It is important for us as teachers to have a connection with our students. By getting to know each of your students’ passions, we can use to them to help engage the students in classroom work. I agree with Kathryn, this can help to motivate students and give them the freedom to express their individuality through their work.
I think it helps to see students as individuals because most students may be passionate about different subjects or areas. By seeing them as individuals it allows the teacher to differentiate their instruction and reach each student on a more personal level. It also helps you to teach to their interests. As a physical educator in the gymnasium, knowing what students enjoy helps you plan a lesson accordingly. This helps students by getting them motivated to participate in the lesson. For instance, offering lifetime activities like tennis, golf, yoga for students that don’t like team sports. In a regular classroom knowing passions, helps you create the context, or relate the material to the student and keep them interested. For example, if they are not wonderful in math but they love a certain sport you can use baseball to make the material more relatable to the student. By creating word problems dealing with baseball, or the student’s passion, it will make the information being taught seem more relevant to the student. I also agree that passions help create individualized learning “that will stick in student’s minds, be valuable in their lives and make them want more.” It can also help students make connections with what they are learning.
In partnering the teacher gives up some of their power by allowing students to take an active role in the learning environment as well. The teacher is not ruling the class traditionally, but instead students and teachers have mutual respect and are seen as equals. A partnering teacher acts more like a coach, there to help students individually, provide feedback and motivate students in a personal way. Teachers are also a guide to help motivate students and show them how to use their passions in the learning process. They act as an “expert” of their content area with their traditional skills, while bringing in creativity and imagination to make learning engaging. They are also instructional designers (much like traditional teachers) who create the lesson plans. However, partners form guiding questions (similar to learning objectives), suggest activities, and be creative. Partners create more open ended questions to get students to think critically. I think both traditional and partner teachers should set high standards for their students (rigor) and show students to learn to judge their work to see if they have reached the expectation.
Students have different roles as partners. They must ask questions, find answers on their own, use technology to the max, work in groups, think critically, etc. They also take on a more active role as a researcher, responsible for finding things out on their own, rather than just waiting for the teacher to tell them everything. They must also separate fact from fiction throughout their research and use technology by learning from each other. Students are encouraged to teach each other and work together when in the classroom. They must think critically and discuss their opinions with the class and learn to become self- educators. I think the main difference in partnering is that students are given more responsibilities as partners, and must take an active role in their education instead of being a passive listener.
Chapter 3 Traditional teaching has two separate and distinct roles. The first role is that of the educator. The educator holds fast to a mapped out curriculum which contains lecture, dictation, administering disciplined thought processes, (basically telling the children what to think, brain-washing) offering structured rigorous materials with the expectation that the student will restate this information through testing. The educators lessons are expected to result in good test score from the students. The second role is that of the students. The student must take notes, memorize, adhere to the disciplined thought process projected onto them, regurgitate the information, take quizzes and get tested, with the expectation of achieving the highest scores. This traditional method is boring, difficult, problematical but vital to a lot of educational institutions. This practice is considered normal. The educator has the complicated task of being successful under these circumstances; the administrators of the school will judge the educator by the scores that the students achieve. Traditional methods of teaching have completely failed in some school districts. This “Classes and Content” teaching has proven time and again that is it not the most successful method. It does not evoke critical thinking therefore the students will not retain the information beyond the test, if they retain the information at all. A learning experience DID NOT occur. On the other the partnering teaching method is engaging. It involves interaction. It teaches the students to think. When a student’s passion is part of the lesson they will pledge allegiance to the topics and their guide/coach/educator. Allowing the student to explore using technology to find different perspectives on the given topics and mapped out curriculum produces a devoted student. The lesson can be individualized this will bring forth a commitment to the message that the educator is communicating to the class. Passion brings excitement; excitement brings zeal, zeal produces enthusiasm, enthusiasm produces dedication and dedication breeds commitment. Passion is an intricate component of the partnering teaching method. The students are devoted to learning and interested in knowledge they can obtain through exploration with the use of technology. The children will form an allegiance to their classmates in a goal to be productive members of society, and significant people of the future. They will not only learn to think, they will think critically. The difference between traditional teaching and the partnering method of teaching is obvious. Traditional teaching proves that some student will be able to listen, memorize and regurgitate. The partnering method of teaching, with the student’s passion at hand WILL keep the them engaged, explorative, self-teaching and interested. Passionate students are thinkers. A learning experience HAS occurred.
How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful?
Knowing and using your students’ passions in partnering is a beneficial technique. Each student in your class has different interests that can be used in the curriculums or in specific lessons to cater to the interests of each student. Including students’ passion in the learning process increases their interest in the material and the learning process. This technique also causes the learning and material to ‘stick’ with the student after the class is finished. Another reason a teacher should use students’ passions in lessons is that it will motivate the students and show them that you really care about them and their success. Students will also see that the specific class or lesson can relate to their own lives directly through their passion.
Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms. Student and teacher roles in traditional classrooms and partnering are very different. In traditional teaching, the teacher is the main focus of the class. The students must listen to the teacher to receive the information for the lesson/class because the teacher is the sole source of information. Many of the students needs are not met because the teacher typically looks at the class as a whole, rather than individual student. In partnering, the teacher takes on the roles of coach, guide, instructional expert, designed, questioner, context setter, rigor provider, and quality assurer. Teachers are constantly giving AND getting feedback, which is not usually done in traditional teaching. Students and teachers share an equal responsibility on the success on the learning process, and therefore, each responsible party should have an opportunity to give and receive feedback. In partnering, teachers set the groundwork for what they expect students to do and then send students off to do it. Teachers give feedback, check for understanding and process, cater to the needs of each student and their passions, and insert in specific activities and lessons to reinforce student learning. This is very different from traditional teaching where teachers do all the research, the talking, and the most important parts of the learning process.
Students also play an important role in partnering, opposed to traditional teaching. In traditional teaching, students are required to listen to the teacher ‘tell’ and do the necessary work and assignments. In partnering, it is the students’ job to research the necessary information, utilize all of the resources available to them, and learn new ways to teach themselves and others. In partnering, students become researchers, technology experts, thinkers, world changers, and self-teachers. Under these roles, students find their own information relating to the topic and present it to the teacher and the class. Students are challenged to think critically and relate their finding to the world and how to better it. Partnering gives students much more responsibility and freedom than traditional teaching.
As a Physical Education and Health teacher, it is so useful to have students peer teach and self-teach which are forms of partnering. Students find their own information and present it to the class. This not only educates the class on the specific skill or information but, as a teacher, I can assess if the self-teachers understand the skill and can perform it.
Knowing your students passions is integral for differentiated instruction—it allows you to individualize instruction to meet all learners’ needs. By discovering early on what your students are passionate about, teachers can find ways to use this information to reach all students. Students will find learning more meaningful and engaging if the subject matter relates to what they are interested in, and if they feel what they are learning holds value in their lives. Knowing what your students are passionate about also makes them feel like you really care about them and have an interest in who they are as individuals, which can be a great motivating factor or students.
In contrast to what goes on in traditional classrooms, in partnering, teachers offer lots of motivation and feedback, and do very little “telling.” Knowledge is not a one way street; the exchange of knowledge is mutual. Teachers are more open to learning from their students about things they may know more about such as technology. In classrooms that utilize partnering, there is also multi-directional feedback, where students are asked for their feedback in order to gauge factors such as interest level. Students in traditional classrooms are rarely asked for feedback. In partnering, students have much more say on how they are learning than in traditional classes where teachers use direct instruction methods.
It is a simple fact that is a student is not interesting in what a teacher is saying, they will soon tune the teacher out and chose not to pay attention. Therefore, it is crucial for the teacher to make every effort to create interesting lessons that will be effective. By being aware of your student’s interests, it will become easier to focus lessons towards their interests. If a teacher was to use partner teaching in the classroom, they will quickly get an understanding of the student’s individual passions. By allowing students to work with materials that are interesting to them, they will more likely retain the information instead of simply memorizing for a test. Teachers can also create more challenging opportunities for students when they are working with their interests. By knowing your students passions a teacher has a great opportunity to differentiate instruction for a more one-on-one sense of instruction. The partnering role of student and teacher is far more different than the traditional teaching styles seen in classrooms. First by allowing partner teaching to occur in the class and providing students the chance to study what they want to study, will allow the opportunity for the students to educate the teachers instead of the traditional way we view school; teachers educate the children. During partner teaching, the students now have control of their curriculum unlike traditional teaching when the teachers and administrators are in complete control of what they students will learn. With partner teaching, students are able to research and explore their interests and learn through them. Also during partner teaching, the teacher is viewed as more of a coach than a teacher. In the traditional form of teaching, the teacher and lectures the students on the curriculum.
Knowing what your students are passionate about is a way to gain their interest to learn. It’s a great way of incorporating their interest and making a connection to any subject matter to be taught. This promotes a greater chance of success with your students because they will feel you have an interest in their learning. The traditional teacher and student roles involve partnering to a certain degree, it just involves the teacher doing most of the work. With the new partnering that is encouraged now, it promotes a more successful student with the student being more engaged in their own learning due to teachers “leaving the stage.”
1. How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful? 2. Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms To recognize each student as a unique individual with different passions and interests can be helpful for teachers. Teachers can apply students’ passions in their lessons to make students motivated and interested in learning. The goal of the teacher is to have an individualized instruction and by learning each student’s passion will make learning more meaningful. Traditionally in classrooms we see teachers in the middle of the room lecturing a lesson and expecting students to pay attention and take notes (direct instruction). The teacher is the only one that has an active role in the learning process. The student role is to listen and to ask questions when is permitted. In a partnering, teacher’s roles are to coach and guide students by giving them skills. Teachers approach students as an individual and coach them to pursue their passion. They guide students by being the helper of the motivated .The role of students is to research and answer questions that have a real purpose in their life and to share it with their peers. Students can teach teachers and use various tools for their research.
Knowing and using your students passions is helpful like driving a car on a full tank of gas. There are many places you can go. This is definitely an asset to a teacher because you can relate a subject to the student's level of understanding. This guarantees a child will learn. However, with traditional teaching children were not acknowledge or looked upon as individual. This practice pushed children away from learning. It became a routine instead of an adventure and those differences are major when it relates to effectiveness.
How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful? Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms.
Knowing and using your students’ passion is a major component to effective teaching. Students remember better when the learning is accompanied by what they are passionate about. If I can make lessons fun, exciting, happy, and loving by using what students are passionate about they will be more readily to learn and the learning will last much longer.
As the previous chapters discussed, a typical classroom is when the teacher is the center of the stage. The teacher feels that the students could not and would not learn if the teacher is not the one teaching and covering the material being taught. On the other hand, in partnering neither the teacher or the students is on stage. This means that the teacher is the coach, guide, and instructional expert. The student is the researcher, technology expert, thinker, world changer, and self-teacher. The teacher supports and encourages the students, and guide them in the right direction as needed.
28 comments:
I think knowing your students' passions is important for the learning process. Because a teacher expects certain things of their students. And the students have expectations for their teachers. One of those expectations is to have their teacher care about them. It also goes back to the mutual respect between the teacher and their students, because if you respect them and they respect you, then you will learn their passions, and getting them to become actively engaged becomes easy once that type of relationship is built.
The teacher and student roles are different than what we traditionally see in the classroom because is asked more often to be a coach or a guide than an instructional expert. But, to be a coach and guide you have to be able to have the students want t o be engaged, this is why it is important to know your students' passions. So instead of the teacher being in front of the class and instructing, the teacher should be walking around asking open-ended questions allowing for the students think and express their thoughts, and it will be in this dialogue that the students will learn.
The students instead of sitting there, listening, and taking notes. They will be able to research at times, use technology, and think critically about a topic. The students are also encouraged to talk about their thoughts with their classmates instead of the with the teacher. The students are able to learn from each other better than if they were to learn from the teacher because the students can know where one another's struggles are and exactly how to help them. I remember when i was in school, if there was a misconception a classmate was having i would know exactly what they were confused about and how to explain it to them. The good teachers that i had would ask if someone knew how to explain it to the struggling student, while the bad teachers would continue to try to explain it themselves as if they are the only ones that can help.
How is knowing your students passion helpful?
Knowing a student’s passion or their interest helps you to create an individualized instruction for each student. Knowing their passion helps you be the best guide or coach you can be. It helps you to separate students and formulate for better group work. Making a connection between a student’s passion and his classwork is amazing. Students will realize that you know and care about their interest and not just the content you are teaching them. This tactic will help motivate students. This information also allows teachers to ask certain guiding questions specifically in reference to different paths, activities and projects in the classroom.
Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in our classrooms.
In partnering it is recommended that teachers receive direct feedback from students on a consistent basis. In traditional classrooms teachers rarely ask students for feedback. In partnering teachers act as a coach and guide working alongside students, assisting them rather than directing them. In a traditional classroom the teacher is more of a dictator telling students what to do, and what not to do. The most important role of the teacher in partnering is asking and not telling. In partnering teachers work to ask all of the right thought provoking questions.
Students in partnering will be utilizing more technology than children in a traditional classroom. In partnering students can do group work with people aside from their classmates through the use of modern technology. In partnering students will be researching, exploring and gathering information to complete assignments. In a traditional classroom students will be sitting listening to lectures and note taking. Many students will lose interest because this technique is far from involving their passion. In partnering students feel more equal with the teacher as opposed to a traditional classroom where students feel inferior to the teacher. In a traditional classroom students don’t let the teacher know what works and what doesn’t. In a traditional classroom a student that tells a teacher her lesson is not working will more than likely be reprimanded, in partnering they will be applauded. Teachers in a traditional classroom make executive votes without the input of the students. This leaves students in an unhappy place, more susceptible to failing. Children in partnering, unlike traditional classrooms are also taught to be world changers. Students must try to relate every single thing they learn to making the world a better place.
I truly believe that knowing your students passion if key to success in a classroom. It shows that you really care for your students and want to learn about them and what interests them instead of just teaching the material you are given and "doing your job." Once the students realize how much you actually care about each student as an individual they will respect you and be motivated to give their best effort. There will be a level of comfort and the students will enjoy learning and will be engaged in the material given to them.
There is a major difference between partnering and traditional classrooms. In a partnering classroom, the educator work with their students and help guide them in the right direction. On the other hand, a traditional classroom is more direct with the students. They basically tell them what they should and should not do. The environment in these classrooms would be different and I believe that working alongside with your students is the best option.
In a partnering classroom, students get to use Amazing tools given to them such as technology. After given an assignment, they will be able to do research and explore new things on their own or with their groups. This will keep the students excited and engaged. In a traditional classroom, the students will be bored from being lectured and the information being taught to them will go in one ear and out the other. Fifteen years later, I can still remember my favorite teachers verses the teachers whom I disliked. The tea hers that involved cooking, group work, and role laying into their lessons were the ones I enjoyed most becaus I learned the material and was excited to go to school. The teachers who made me copy from the chalk board were the ones that I dreaded going to each day.
I truly believe that knowing your students passion if key to success in a classroom. It shows that you really care for your students and want to learn about them and what interests them instead of just teaching the material you are given and "doing your job." Once the students realize how much you actually care about each student as an individual they will respect you and be motivated to give their best effort. There will be a level of comfort and the students will enjoy learning and will be engaged in the material given to them.
There is a major difference between partnering and traditional classrooms. In a partnering classroom, the educator work with their students and help guide them in the right direction. On the other hand, a traditional classroom is more direct with the students. They basically tell them what they should and should not do. The environment in these classrooms would be different and I believe that working alongside with your students is the best option.
In a partnering classroom, students get to use Amazing tools given to them such as technology. After given an assignment, they will be able to do research and explore new things on their own or with their groups. This will keep the students excited and engaged. In a traditional classroom, the students will be bored from being lectured and the information being taught to them will go in one ear and out the other. Fifteen years later, I can still remember my favorite teachers verses the teachers whom I disliked. The tea hers that involved cooking, group work, and role laying into their lessons were the ones I enjoyed most becaus I learned the material and was excited to go to school. The teachers who made me copy from the chalk board were the ones that I dreaded going to each day.
I read an article in another class called “Lessons from Skateboarders” by Richard Sagor. It described different kinds of motivation and the need to incorporate this in our classroom. A boy might spend 4 hours after school practicing tricks on his skateboard. He might fall numerous times, but he continues to get up and try again. This same child might not do his homework or participate in class. Maybe he’s labeled “unmotivated” and yet, he seems so motivated after school. Some teachers who have very athletic students wonder why their efforts shine on the ball field and not in their classrooms. Why? They’re passionate about sports.
I think it is essential to know your students and to know their passions. In my opinion, it might actually be the most important thing a teacher does. Knowing your students on an individual basis makes the students feel comfortable, cared for, and respected. If your student feels this way he or she is more likely to trust you and this fosters the concept of partnering.
In addition, if we know about our students’ passions, we can incorporate them in our lessons and activities. If a student is passionate about sports, maybe when learning about statistics, that student can focus his or her studies on statistics in baseball. If we incorporate their passions into their learning, the students will become passionate about their learning. It makes topics that don’t seem relevant to students become more meaningful.
As discussed in the last chapter, the typical classroom looks like the teacher on stage performing and the students quietly watching as the audience. The students are not meant to participate, but rather, to see what the teacher can do and then regurgitate what they’ve seen. Partnering is completely different. There is no stage. The teacher is the coach, guide, and instructional expert. The student is the researcher, technology expert, thinker, world changer, and self-teacher. It is the teacher’s job to support and encourage the students, and to guide them in the right direction dependent on content and objectives. However, the student must find the answers by exploring and using the resources provided to him or her. The student must think about and reflect upon their findings.
Being aware of the students' passions are a critical part in the learning process. If the topic is not something the students are interested in they will see no point in paying attention. If we are able to create and differentiate a topic to focus on students' particular passions they will be more engaged in the classroom. Also, relating a topic to students' passions may help them understand a topic more in comparison to traditional teaching style. This also makes students feel that we care about their interests and we want them to contribute their ideas in discussions. If students see that we care and are interested in their thoughts they may be more likely to engage.
The traditional teacher role is standing in front of the classroom, lecturing and telling students to take notes. There is hardly any classroom discussion or engagement. In partnering, the teacher takes a seat next to a student and engages them with open-ended questions about a topic to make them think critically and come up with their own ways of finding the answers. The teacher is treating their students as equals and shows interest in what they have to say. Teachers are guides, not dictators.
The students traditional role is basically to just sit, listen and write notes. There is no engagement with the teacher or even their peers. In partnering, students are constantly communicating with the teacher and peers. They are researchers and self-teachers. The students find their own ways of pursuing answers to questions with the appropriate guidance and support from their teacher.
Chapter 3: Think People and Passions Rather Than Classes and Content
Knowing students’ interests and passions allows for teachers to appeal to what their students enjoy and value. When students are given choices and allowed to research topics of their interest, they are motivated to respond to the challenges created for them. Individualized instruction is the goal and learning your students’ interests makes learning meaningful and memorable for them. If we begin to think about our students as individuals with differences and passions, then we will be more likely to view them as our partners in the learning process. Students enjoy sharing what they know and if they are given opportunities to do so, they will become increasingly engaged I the classroom.
The partnering model requires teachers to hold an active position in the classroom, but rather as a guide, questioner, and content expert. Most of our involvement is in the planning and discussion/debate stages of instruction. We establish goals and create guiding questions for our students as we plan and guide, redirect, and clarify as we participate in class as a partner. Students are much more accountable for the own learning in this model. They play a much more active role in the learning process and rely on their peers to develop certain skills and utilize technology effectively in order to get the most out of each instruction period together.
Students' passions can play a key role in their learning process. There are various types of passions, some of which students are well aware of but a students' passion may be still hidden from his or her own self-knowledge. Students want their teacher to care for them and respect whatever his or her passion might be. This helps the mutual respect between teacher and students'. A teacher cannot just touch the surface when it comes to their students' passions and rely on that. They much delve deep and learn it in much more detail. These passions are the routes in which partnering teachers can create individualized learning that will actually stick in the students' minds and be of some value in their lives. If you can do this then you leave them wanting more. Student learning and work can be filtered through their personal preferences, likes, and dislikes.
Traditionally, in the classroom we will see a lot of direct instruction and lesson plans designed with no student preference involved. The classroom has teachers at the center stage and students viewers from the audience. The students roles in the classroom amount to answering and asking various questions related to the material being taught during lecture.
In this different approach of partnering, we see teachers taking on the role of coach, guide, and instructional expert. The teacher's role as a coach involves approaching students in a much more individual and personal way and helping each student find and pursue their passion. Serving as a guide for students' revolves around knowing their passions and where they want to go. He or she is the helper of the motivated. Finally, the instructional expert will utilize all their knowledge and creativity to create lessons that meet the preferences of the students'. Giving something new and fresh almost every day.
Students are the researchers in partnering. They discover and research things that have a real purpose in the world. Knowing the research actually matters makes a world of difference. Students strive to be world changers in partnering with all their work having some sort of relation to problems this world faces. The other change from the traditional classroom is how the students' can self-educate themselves on topics, without requiring the direct instruction that is so common.
I always find that teachers who involve students’ opinions and ideas in their teaching experience are likely to be respected and become effective teachers in the future. Teachers should learn what activities and lessons are appealing to students so therefore their teaching experience may very successful. What we find in many schools today is that students who are not interested in learning are less motivated and put minimal effort in completing their academic responsibilities. Then, teachers also respond with, “that there is nothing wrong with my teaching, I am a good teacher. The student has a problem because he does not do anything in my class. I think the work is too difficult for him.” Now if teachers asked these students why they do not want to learn, some of them may be shocked to hear that students’ disinterest in learning is because they find the class lessons tedious and disengaging. Students’ opinions matter and can help teachers become successful and seen as strong teachers.
When we contrast the students and teachers’ role in partnering to their roles in traditional classrooms one can find a great difference in terms of positive educational outcomes. In partnering, the purpose for teachers and students to collaborate in the learning experience is so that no authoritative role will be present. Teachers prepare students with the necessary resources to help students explore and research answers to questions and problems that are essential to students learning experiences. Students are encouraged to practice what they learn in the classroom outside of the classroom and generalize what they learn to novel learning experiences. When I compare partnering to traditional teaching, I find that partnering promotes more learning opportunities for students than traditional teaching. Students’ mastery of skills can be met by practicing and applying skills to real-life experiences. It is really funny to see how research teaches that Direct Instruction or traditional teaching is not effective, but teachers continue using them because of convenience purposes rather than for promoting learning opportunities.
ary brings up a good point about misdirected motivation; its not that students aren't motivated, it is that they are motivated to do what interests them. To find what interests your students and what they are passionate about begins first with what was said in previous chapters: seeing students differently. As educators we should be valuing and encouraging their passions because teaching in a way that is appealing to them will better their learning process. For example, why not let a student write a research paper on a sports team instead of a medical condition? In 10th grade English I wrote my first research paper on Scleroderma because I was interested in the condition, but we were only given the capacity of medical conditions. With many students, this option could be too limiting. Knowing your students passions through questionnaires, pre assessments, class discussions, and journalling can hep you tailor your lessons to be interesting and engaging with many options and exploration (and options, as stated previously in the book, are important in the classroom).
Seeing students passions as valuable and worthy of putting in the extra effort to seek out different books, media, and projects starts with having a partnering classroom and understanding that these interests can be utilized in a way to illicit feedback, participation, and learning. The teacher must act as a coach, motivating the students to perform to their best ability and past it. And as a guide to help them through the learning process, allowing them to do, try, fail, and ultimately succeed. I want my students to be active and learning about both what interests them and the curriculum. I didn't see much choice when I was a student, and even now. Students are given one summative assignment and expected to all apply what they have learned. I think that the only thing that should be constant is that you evaluate student work only depending on their growth and progress in the class. The way a teacher evaluates work for quality and rigor can be the same on different projects. A teacher may question whether a drawing and a paper can be given the same grade of A. Rubrics, reflections about the assignment, and interpreting the work for meaning and connections can help level out the effort each option may require.
But the journey is the destination, and summative assignments are not why we teach. The student who is engaged in the class through researching topics that appeal to them in a way that also appeals to them (i.e. using technology, each other) will be thinking more critically about how this relates to other classroom curriculum and the world. These connections made between something they care about and content, I believe, leave lasting impressions and knowledge.
Technology, as I have seen it, is usually discouraged, as well as sharing answers or too much noise in the classroom. We have to leave the stigma of the internet and interaction leading to cheating behind; these tools and methods can be successful with the proper guidance, implementation, and iteration.
1) How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful?
1. By knowing and using your students’ passions is helpful because then you can use that knowledge to relate what you are teaching directly to the students. They will be connected to what you are teaching because you can relate it to what they are passionate about and it will stick with them and be useful to them in their everyday lives.
2) Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms.
1. In classrooms today, we see a lot of teachers standing in front of the room and lecturing. The teacher is just giving students information they want them to learn while the students take notes. But in a partnering classroom, the teacher is asking the students guiding questions, teaching them how to find information and different education tools, while students use those tools to find information and learn things for themselves without the teacher just telling them.
It is important for teachers to know what their students are passionate about in order to drive instruction to make it more meaningful and interesting for them. “Students‘ passions are the routes and filters through which partnering teachers create individualized learning” Teachers can use student passion to make connections. Learning will be valuable, it will keep students engaged and motivated to want to learn more. By listening to thier peers, those who do not know what their passion is will understand what it is and figure it out. It will help the teacher know more about who they are as individuals.
What we traditionally see in the classroom is direct instruction, where the teacher lectures the students and does not allow for much peer engagement. The student’s traditional role was to sit quietly in class, pay attention and take notes. In Partnering teachers take on the role of a coach where they are training the students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. The teachers focus on the individual learner, while also encouraging peer interaction. In partnering students are given more freedom to explore new concepts through the use of technology and connect with peers and teachers on topics that interest them. Students are encouraged to do "open teamwork" and "peer to peer learning". Partnering allows for more successful outcomes.
I think that if a teacher wants her students to respect her, she needs to learn their interests and passions. This shows the students that she cares about them and that their interests matter in life and in the learning process. Learning students' interests also allows a teacher to individualoze instruction and create lessons that are motivating for all students in her classroom.
In traditional classrooms, the teacher has most of the control.She tends to lecture in front of the class while students listen and take notes. After a unit is over students are usually given a multiple choice or short answer test. There is not much interaction between students or discussion with the teacher.
Partnering allows for discussions and more interaction. The teacher may propose an open ended question to students that encourage more critical thinking. Students may find answers by group discussions, journals, research, technology, etc.... In parterning, students have more control of their own learning. Students are encouraged to use a variety of resources to come to a conclusion. The teacher is there for support and guidance when needed.
I believe that having a real connection with our students is extremely important to have a positive classroom environment. Understanding each individuals passions and interests allows us as teachers to create lessons that consider these interests. Also, students feel as if the teacher really cares about them.
The teacher and student roles in partnering varies greatly with what we have seen in the past traditional classrooms The teacher and students both have an equal role in partnering. They both work together to ensure everyone's experience is positive and beneficial. In the past traditional classroom, children have been lectured to by a teacher. The roles haven't exactly been equal whatsoever. The teacher has the majority of the control and attention of the classroom. Partnering allows us to change all of this and create a whole new perspective of the teacher-student relationship.
Each student in a class has their own personality and interests. No two students in a class will have the same personality, passions and interests. It is extremely important for us as teachers and facilitators in the partnering classroom to get to know our students. It is useful for the teacher to know the students passions and interests. With this information the teacher will be able to reach the student and really make a difference. Knowing the passions of our students we can work to motivate each student on an individual basis.
I feel that knowing the passions of each student will really help during the assessment period as well. As I said, no two students are alike and what one may do great another may struggle with. Being open to different types of assessment may work great in a partnering environment. What I mean by this is, by giving the students options about how they want to present the information they have found. Perhaps one student wants to role play, while another wants to write a song. You may have one student that wants to write a story. It is important to be flexible and allow the students to share what they have learned in a way that works well for them.
Another way we can use passions and interest is to use this information to base our teaching. Student learning can be filtered through their preferences, likes, and dislikes. Using partnering we can see how students learn best and what they want to learn about.
Within this partnering environment it is also important for the teacher to remember that he or she should act as a coach or guide. I agree with Penskey that the teacher should be there to coach the students through the subject and lesson at hand rather than be there to “instruct” them. In this partnering environment, teachers and students can work together to find the optimal learning and assessment mode for every individual.
How is knowing and using your students’ passions helpful? Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms.
By learning your students passions and interest you are able to use that and put it into a lesson. This can help the students become more engaged in what they are learning and want to participate more. They will connect to the material because they can relate to it due to their passions and interests. I also feel that when students are connected to the information they are learning in some way they retain the material better and remember the lessons that were taught and the lessons that were not intended to be in the lessons that they learned. When partnering is done in a classroom it is adding to the students education in many different positive ways and teaching the students many life lessons such as accountability and responsibility along with many other lessons. This allows a collaborative setting which after college every profession is. It helps students learn how to work in the real world with others instead of the same old teacher lecturing students and students taking notes. Students gain much more by partnering then they do in a traditional classroom setting.
As states in Chapter 1, most of today’s teachers are “trained to talk” at students and not necessarily take student thoughts and opinions into consideration. The partnering roles of “teacher as coach” and “teacher as guide” are in complete contrast to the aforementioned model. These new roles rely heavily on student feedback (with very little teacher telling) and strive to make students better and more prepared young adults. Students must be willing to “take the journey” created by innovative and energetic teachers who see themselves as only facilitators and providers.
Also stated in Chapter 1, students must hypothesize, explore, research, self-monitor, self-correct, discuss, think, review, as well as any other process that might help them take control of their own education. Partnering allows students to follow their passions and to learn helpful “real world” skills. This is particularly true of technology skills that this new generation has grown up with.
No two students are alike. They each possess different interests. It is important for us as teachers to have a connection with our students. By getting to know each of your students’ passions, we can use to them to help engage the students in classroom work. I agree with Kathryn, this can help to motivate students and give them the freedom to express their individuality through their work.
I think it helps to see students as individuals because most students may be passionate about different subjects or areas. By seeing them as individuals it allows the teacher to differentiate their instruction and reach each student on a more personal level. It also helps you to teach to their interests. As a physical educator in the gymnasium, knowing what students enjoy helps you plan a lesson accordingly. This helps students by getting them motivated to participate in the lesson. For instance, offering lifetime activities like tennis, golf, yoga for students that don’t like team sports. In a regular classroom knowing passions, helps you create the context, or relate the material to the student and keep them interested. For example, if they are not wonderful in math but they love a certain sport you can use baseball to make the material more relatable to the student. By creating word problems dealing with baseball, or the student’s passion, it will make the information being taught seem more relevant to the student. I also agree that passions help create individualized learning “that will stick in student’s minds, be valuable in their lives and make them want more.” It can also help students make connections with what they are learning.
In partnering the teacher gives up some of their power by allowing students to take an active role in the learning environment as well. The teacher is not ruling the class traditionally, but instead students and teachers have mutual respect and are seen as equals. A partnering teacher acts more like a coach, there to help students individually, provide feedback and motivate students in a personal way. Teachers are also a guide to help motivate students and show them how to use their passions in the learning process. They act as an “expert” of their content area with their traditional skills, while bringing in creativity and imagination to make learning engaging. They are also instructional designers (much like traditional teachers) who create the lesson plans. However, partners form guiding questions (similar to learning objectives), suggest activities, and be creative. Partners create more open ended questions to get students to think critically. I think both traditional and partner teachers should set high standards for their students (rigor) and show students to learn to judge their work to see if they have reached the expectation.
Students have different roles as partners. They must ask questions, find answers on their own, use technology to the max, work in groups, think critically, etc. They also take on a more active role as a researcher, responsible for finding things out on their own, rather than just waiting for the teacher to tell them everything. They must also separate fact from fiction throughout their research and use technology by learning from each other. Students are encouraged to teach each other and work together when in the classroom. They must think critically and discuss their opinions with the class and learn to become self- educators. I think the main difference in partnering is that students are given more responsibilities as partners, and must take an active role in their education instead of being a passive listener.
Chapter 3
Traditional teaching has two separate and distinct roles. The first role is that of the educator. The educator holds fast to a mapped out curriculum which contains lecture, dictation, administering disciplined thought processes, (basically telling the children what to think, brain-washing) offering structured rigorous materials with the expectation that the student will restate this information through testing. The educators lessons are expected to result in good test score from the students. The second role is that of the students. The student must take notes, memorize, adhere to the disciplined thought process projected onto them, regurgitate the information, take quizzes and get tested, with the expectation of achieving the highest scores. This traditional method is boring, difficult, problematical but vital to a lot of educational institutions. This practice is considered normal. The educator has the complicated task of being successful under these circumstances; the administrators of the school will judge the educator by the scores that the students achieve. Traditional methods of teaching have completely failed in some school districts. This “Classes and Content” teaching has proven time and again that is it not the most successful method. It does not evoke critical thinking therefore the students will not retain the information beyond the test, if they retain the information at all. A learning experience DID NOT occur.
On the other the partnering teaching method is engaging. It involves interaction. It teaches the students to think. When a student’s passion is part of the lesson they will pledge allegiance to the topics and their guide/coach/educator. Allowing the student to explore using technology to find different perspectives on the given topics and mapped out curriculum produces a devoted student. The lesson can be individualized this will bring forth a commitment to the message that the educator is communicating to the class.
Passion brings excitement; excitement brings zeal, zeal produces enthusiasm, enthusiasm produces dedication and dedication breeds commitment. Passion is an intricate component of the partnering teaching method. The students are devoted to learning and interested in knowledge they can obtain through exploration with the use of technology. The children will form an allegiance to their classmates in a goal to be productive members of society, and significant people of the future. They will not only learn to think, they will think critically.
The difference between traditional teaching and the partnering method of teaching is obvious. Traditional teaching proves that some student will be able to listen, memorize and regurgitate. The partnering method of teaching, with the student’s passion at hand WILL keep the them engaged, explorative, self-teaching and interested. Passionate students are thinkers. A learning experience HAS occurred.
Mandie Serif
How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful?
Knowing and using your students’ passions in partnering is a beneficial technique. Each student in your class has different interests that can be used in the curriculums or in specific lessons to cater to the interests of each student. Including students’ passion in the learning process increases their interest in the material and the learning process. This technique also causes the learning and material to ‘stick’ with the student after the class is finished. Another reason a teacher should use students’ passions in lessons is that it will motivate the students and show them that you really care about them and their success. Students will also see that the specific class or lesson can relate to their own lives directly through their passion.
Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms.
Student and teacher roles in traditional classrooms and partnering are very different. In traditional teaching, the teacher is the main focus of the class. The students must listen to the teacher to receive the information for the lesson/class because the teacher is the sole source of information. Many of the students needs are not met because the teacher typically looks at the class as a whole, rather than individual student. In partnering, the teacher takes on the roles of coach, guide, instructional expert, designed, questioner, context setter, rigor provider, and quality assurer. Teachers are constantly giving AND getting feedback, which is not usually done in traditional teaching. Students and teachers share an equal responsibility on the success on the learning process, and therefore, each responsible party should have an opportunity to give and receive feedback. In partnering, teachers set the groundwork for what they expect students to do and then send students off to do it. Teachers give feedback, check for understanding and process, cater to the needs of each student and their passions, and insert in specific activities and lessons to reinforce student learning. This is very different from traditional teaching where teachers do all the research, the talking, and the most important parts of the learning process.
Students also play an important role in partnering, opposed to traditional teaching. In traditional teaching, students are required to listen to the teacher ‘tell’ and do the necessary work and assignments. In partnering, it is the students’ job to research the necessary information, utilize all of the resources available to them, and learn new ways to teach themselves and others. In partnering, students become researchers, technology experts, thinkers, world changers, and self-teachers. Under these roles, students find their own information relating to the topic and present it to the teacher and the class. Students are challenged to think critically and relate their finding to the world and how to better it. Partnering gives students much more responsibility and freedom than traditional teaching.
As a Physical Education and Health teacher, it is so useful to have students peer teach and self-teach which are forms of partnering. Students find their own information and present it to the class. This not only educates the class on the specific skill or information but, as a teacher, I can assess if the self-teachers understand the skill and can perform it.
Knowing your students passions is integral for differentiated instruction—it allows you to individualize instruction to meet all learners’ needs. By discovering early on what your students are passionate about, teachers can find ways to use this information to reach all students. Students will find learning more meaningful and engaging if the subject matter relates to what they are interested in, and if they feel what they are learning holds value in their lives. Knowing what your students are passionate about also makes them feel like you really care about them and have an interest in who they are as individuals, which can be a great motivating factor or students.
In contrast to what goes on in traditional classrooms, in partnering, teachers offer lots of motivation and feedback, and do very little “telling.” Knowledge is not a one way street; the exchange of knowledge is mutual. Teachers are more open to learning from their students about things they may know more about such as technology. In classrooms that utilize partnering, there is also multi-directional feedback, where students are asked for their feedback in order to gauge factors such as interest level. Students in traditional classrooms are rarely asked for feedback. In partnering, students have much more say on how they are learning than in traditional classes where teachers use direct instruction methods.
It is a simple fact that is a student is not interesting in what a teacher is saying, they will soon tune the teacher out and chose not to pay attention. Therefore, it is crucial for the teacher to make every effort to create interesting lessons that will be effective. By being aware of your student’s interests, it will become easier to focus lessons towards their interests. If a teacher was to use partner teaching in the classroom, they will quickly get an understanding of the student’s individual passions. By allowing students to work with materials that are interesting to them, they will more likely retain the information instead of simply memorizing for a test. Teachers can also create more challenging opportunities for students when they are working with their interests. By knowing your students passions a teacher has a great opportunity to differentiate instruction for a more one-on-one sense of instruction.
The partnering role of student and teacher is far more different than the traditional teaching styles seen in classrooms. First by allowing partner teaching to occur in the class and providing students the chance to study what they want to study, will allow the opportunity for the students to educate the teachers instead of the traditional way we view school; teachers educate the children. During partner teaching, the students now have control of their curriculum unlike traditional teaching when the teachers and administrators are in complete control of what they students will learn. With partner teaching, students are able to research and explore their interests and learn through them. Also during partner teaching, the teacher is viewed as more of a coach than a teacher. In the traditional form of teaching, the teacher and lectures the students on the curriculum.
Knowing what your students are passionate about is a way to gain their interest to learn. It’s a great way of incorporating their interest and making a connection to any subject matter to be taught. This promotes a greater chance of success with your students because they will feel you have an interest in their learning. The traditional teacher and student roles involve partnering to a certain degree, it just involves the teacher doing most of the work. With the new partnering that is encouraged now, it promotes a more successful student with the student being more engaged in their own learning due to teachers “leaving the stage.”
1. How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful?
2. Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms
To recognize each student as a unique individual with different passions and interests can be helpful for teachers. Teachers can apply students’ passions in their lessons to make students motivated and interested in learning. The goal of the teacher is to have an individualized instruction and by learning each student’s passion will make learning more meaningful.
Traditionally in classrooms we see teachers in the middle of the room lecturing a lesson and expecting students to pay attention and take notes (direct instruction). The teacher is the only one that has an active role in the learning process. The student role is to listen and to ask questions when is permitted. In a partnering, teacher’s roles are to coach and guide students by giving them skills. Teachers approach students as an individual and coach them to pursue their passion. They guide students by being the helper of the motivated .The role of students is to research and answer questions that have a real purpose in their life and to share it with their peers. Students can teach teachers and use various tools for their research.
Knowing and using your students passions is helpful like driving a car on a full tank of gas. There are many places you can go. This is definitely an asset to a teacher because you can relate a subject to the student's level of understanding. This guarantees a child will learn. However, with traditional teaching children were not acknowledge or looked upon as individual. This practice pushed children away from learning. It became a routine instead of an adventure and those differences are major when it relates to effectiveness.
How is knowing and using your students' passions helpful? Contrast the teacher and student roles in partnering with what we traditionally see in classrooms.
Knowing and using your students’ passion is a major component to effective teaching. Students remember better when the learning is accompanied by what they are passionate about. If I can make lessons fun, exciting, happy, and loving by using what students are passionate about they will be more readily to learn and the learning will last much longer.
As the previous chapters discussed, a typical classroom is when the teacher is the center of the stage. The teacher feels that the students could not and would not learn if the teacher is not the one teaching and covering the material being taught. On the other hand, in partnering neither the teacher or the students is on stage. This means that the teacher is the coach, guide, and instructional expert. The student is the researcher, technology expert, thinker, world changer, and self-teacher. The teacher supports and encourages the students, and guide them in the right direction as needed.
Post a Comment