I am fortunate this year to have in my grade 7 class students with whom I am very familiar. Several of them I taught in kindergarten, many were in the Amazing Class 62 and all had me as their French teacher last year.
We know each other well.
This has provided us with a very unique opportunity. Rather than having to spend time on get to know you activities in order to build connection, the bond is already established. The trust is there. This has given us the luxury of spending time discussing how we can make the learning environment in the classroom better. It has been an interesting process.
We have had some very honest discussions on techniques and processes that teachers use that actually interfere with learning. We've taken time to consider learning styles and identify how particular lessons will be easier for some students than others simply because of the way they are structured. Students are learning to recognize why they become distracted at certain points in a class. "It's not me; it's you!" (Humbling, but useful to know!)
We have developed a system of communicating - a way that learners can quickly let me know that they've got a concept and I can stop blathering on, or that I've lost them or that they need to take a quick break before continuing.
We've explored the power relationships between students and teachers and wondered why it is that most students do not feel comfortable saying, "The way you are teaching this is actually not helping me learn," and perhaps offering an alternative. They are slowly learning to speak up, advocate for themselves and trust that together we can devise a better way. We are not yet experts in this process, but are becoming more comfortable with it.
We are learning to quickly assess activities: Was this useful? Why was it useful? Have you learned? Should we ditch this for something else? Rather than sitting politely through to the end, students are beginning to speak up, not in any way that would be considered disrespectful, but with a willingness to identify where and why learning is going wrong and how it might be improved. I have learned to ask them point blank after I've taught something. Did this work for you?
The environment has become quite casual and we've had a few moments where we've had to discuss using learning time effectively, but what I've noticed is that because a level of openness has been achieved beyond anything that any of us have previously experienced, interesting things are beginning to happen. There is a sense of the possibility of it all!
We know each other well.
This has provided us with a very unique opportunity. Rather than having to spend time on get to know you activities in order to build connection, the bond is already established. The trust is there. This has given us the luxury of spending time discussing how we can make the learning environment in the classroom better. It has been an interesting process.
We have had some very honest discussions on techniques and processes that teachers use that actually interfere with learning. We've taken time to consider learning styles and identify how particular lessons will be easier for some students than others simply because of the way they are structured. Students are learning to recognize why they become distracted at certain points in a class. "It's not me; it's you!" (Humbling, but useful to know!)
We have developed a system of communicating - a way that learners can quickly let me know that they've got a concept and I can stop blathering on, or that I've lost them or that they need to take a quick break before continuing.
We've explored the power relationships between students and teachers and wondered why it is that most students do not feel comfortable saying, "The way you are teaching this is actually not helping me learn," and perhaps offering an alternative. They are slowly learning to speak up, advocate for themselves and trust that together we can devise a better way. We are not yet experts in this process, but are becoming more comfortable with it.
We are learning to quickly assess activities: Was this useful? Why was it useful? Have you learned? Should we ditch this for something else? Rather than sitting politely through to the end, students are beginning to speak up, not in any way that would be considered disrespectful, but with a willingness to identify where and why learning is going wrong and how it might be improved. I have learned to ask them point blank after I've taught something. Did this work for you?
The environment has become quite casual and we've had a few moments where we've had to discuss using learning time effectively, but what I've noticed is that because a level of openness has been achieved beyond anything that any of us have previously experienced, interesting things are beginning to happen. There is a sense of the possibility of it all!
Hello, my name is Tyler Davis and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. While I was reading your post I could not stop shaking my head yes to what you were mentioning. I like how you said that since you have had those students in the past, it made it easier for them to come to you now and tell you if they were not learning. I know as a college student, I would be scared to go to my professor and tell them that I was not learning anything, but if I know them on a personal level it makes it a lot easier for me to go to them to get help. I like the trust that you have with your students, and I hope that I am able to achieve that in the classroom when I become a teacher.
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