I just read the article in our Alludo course by Allyce Barron, “Teaching Learners To Fish” about making
time in the class more focused on on student skill development and less on teacher delivery of
information. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on progress made this year and over the years –
and to consider how I still need to grow in terms of my thinking/planning/teaching/engaging with
students.
information. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on progress made this year and over the years –
and to consider how I still need to grow in terms of my thinking/planning/teaching/engaging with
students.
Last year when I sat down with Jen for my year end evaluation we identified student centered learning
one of my goals for the 2018-2019 school year. I wanted to change the dynamic of my classroom. This
desire started to present itself when I was selected as a founding teacher at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit –
a brand new school whose mission it was to deliver high quality/college prep education to students in
underserved communities. Teaching the way I had taught for more than a decade didn’t work with the
students from CRSJ. They were low income students who suffered from the generational trauma of
poverty and discrimination. Their test scores were coming in on average at the 3rd to 5th grade level
in every area. Most had never been to a Catholic school. I worked there for three years and learned
how to adjust just about everything about my teaching. Instead of the starting place being me and what
I was going to do with the content – it became my students.
one of my goals for the 2018-2019 school year. I wanted to change the dynamic of my classroom. This
desire started to present itself when I was selected as a founding teacher at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit –
a brand new school whose mission it was to deliver high quality/college prep education to students in
underserved communities. Teaching the way I had taught for more than a decade didn’t work with the
students from CRSJ. They were low income students who suffered from the generational trauma of
poverty and discrimination. Their test scores were coming in on average at the 3rd to 5th grade level
in every area. Most had never been to a Catholic school. I worked there for three years and learned
how to adjust just about everything about my teaching. Instead of the starting place being me and what
I was going to do with the content – it became my students.
Coming to Carondelet was a huge change again – Carondelet has its unique culture/community and our
girls have their own needs/challenges. My task is to create lessons where students are involved,
invested, and can appreciate the value of the class. My vision is that while doing so they will
experience their intellect, their spirit, their capabilities, their gifts AND value one another. Ultimately –
teaching is about relationship for me – relationship, love, service, justice. I strive to help my students
be their best selves so that they can change the world and fill it with love.
girls have their own needs/challenges. My task is to create lessons where students are involved,
invested, and can appreciate the value of the class. My vision is that while doing so they will
experience their intellect, their spirit, their capabilities, their gifts AND value one another. Ultimately –
teaching is about relationship for me – relationship, love, service, justice. I strive to help my students
be their best selves so that they can change the world and fill it with love.
Over the course of this last year I’ve utilized articles (some by ISTE), websites (i.e. Students at the
Center Hub), and podcasts (I love Jennifer Gonzales’ Cult of Pedagogy) from a variety of sources to
help me adapt my teaching style and make it more student centered.
It helps me to think about student centered learning in this way – shifting the attention from
-
How am I teaching? to How are you learning?
-
Was I successful (was the lesson engaging)? to Was the student successful (was the
lesson engaged)?
-
What am I doing? to What is the student doing?
I try to keep myself focused by asking myself these questions:
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Do my students know what they are learning (goal/objective) and how they’re learning it (method
or strategy)?
-
Do they see value in it? Will it be useful to them months and years from now?
-
What are my students doing during the lesson? Are we collaborating to determine what happens
in class?
-
Can they locate accurate information about the topic? from multiple perspectives if necessary?
-
Do my students know the success criteria and are they involved in assessing themselves?
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Is the classroom climate one of trust? care? challenge? community?
I’ll share an example from my Church History class … I designed a hyperdoc unit where students had
to move through a series of lessons at their own pace (they took a tour of the scavi below the Vatican,
watched edpuzzle videos, reflected on the Nicene Creed, etc.)
to move through a series of lessons at their own pace (they took a tour of the scavi below the Vatican,
watched edpuzzle videos, reflected on the Nicene Creed, etc.)
It took a boat load of time to put it together but I was delighted with it afterwards. I gave them a week
to complete it – and during that time I moved from student to student or group to group encouraging
them and having interesting conversations about the content. Did the students like it? I did an
evaluation after – by and large students found it engaging – but I would need to tweek it before I would
use it again. I’d want students to be more actively creating meaning from the material instead of just
moving from task to task. But I learned a lot and enjoyed the process.
to complete it – and during that time I moved from student to student or group to group encouraging
them and having interesting conversations about the content. Did the students like it? I did an
evaluation after – by and large students found it engaging – but I would need to tweek it before I would
use it again. I’d want students to be more actively creating meaning from the material instead of just
moving from task to task. But I learned a lot and enjoyed the process.
I keep rearranging things in my head and imagination to make my teaching more student centered.
What is gained and what is lost with this approach? … What’s gained is a new attitude, new tools, and
a more energetic classroom energetic. I really can’t think of downsides to it. Some people might be
concerned that a teacher would throw the baby out with the bathwater – that when the focal point
becomes the student and not the material (or the teacher), the discipline/content/teacher could lose
value in the classroom. And yes – there is a real change in the energy of the classroom when the
student is the center – the student becomes engaged in the lesson because the lesson is about the student.
It’s a different mindset – a different philosophy – the classroom becomes a collaborative space. For self
absorbed teachers this will be problematic (LOL) and even for some students it’s stressful because they
can’t hide any longer. But when students and teacher are aware of the new approach and why it’s being
used (DATA says it’s effective) then it’s successful.
What is gained and what is lost with this approach? … What’s gained is a new attitude, new tools, and
a more energetic classroom energetic. I really can’t think of downsides to it. Some people might be
concerned that a teacher would throw the baby out with the bathwater – that when the focal point
becomes the student and not the material (or the teacher), the discipline/content/teacher could lose
value in the classroom. And yes – there is a real change in the energy of the classroom when the
student is the center – the student becomes engaged in the lesson because the lesson is about the student.
It’s a different mindset – a different philosophy – the classroom becomes a collaborative space. For self
absorbed teachers this will be problematic (LOL) and even for some students it’s stressful because they
can’t hide any longer. But when students and teacher are aware of the new approach and why it’s being
used (DATA says it’s effective) then it’s successful.
Martina, I'm so glad I read your post–even though it's months after you posted. The Bio Honors course that Ian and I are rolling out this year puts an emphasis on students working in teams to discover connections and concepts instead of us just dumping it on them. I love the series of questions you have and they are a great checklist for us to think about as we plan each new lesson. Thanks for sharing your work!