Unit 3 Teaching Strategies Discussion

The responsibility of learning is put on the student…students are gradually adjusting. At first, they wanted specifics, and gradually starting taking the learning style in a more positive minor.

This approach works with the kids. They are more engaged and willing to do the projects. It was hard at the beginning but as time has gone on we are working better as a team.

As a teacher this teaching style takes a little getting used to if you are the structured type like myself. However, I believe it is growing on me. This style leads to more creativity in lesson planning. I do believe that the effectiveness of this method of teaching does somewhat depend upon the maturity of the students in the class. One of the major benefits that I have been able to witness for students with this teaching style is that all students are able to shine, not just those who you expect to be your A+ students.

I have noticed that students are more interested in an assignment when they are in the lead role. Students become more engaged.

In my class I’ve noticed students becoming comfortable with managing their own style of learning. Some students work at different paces than others; I enjoy watching them complete tasks at their own pace.

Inquiry and Equity have allowed my students to learn to work together, but more importantly to grow together. They enjoy learning from one another and enjoy the fact that there is multiple ways in which they can all be successful.

I have noticed that my students have become more independent. They collaborate with their classmates instead of coming to me to answer all their questions. The students enjoy not listening to me talk non-stop.

For the most part students have responded well to the more college approach as I call it allowing them the freedom to learn at their pace. The few that have struggled have struggled with the time management aspect. Overall, I’m excited about this teaching style.

What benefits have you noticed in your class with this style of teaching so far this year?
As a teacher it’s much easier to come prepared with intriguing questions rather than a transcript of a lesson plan.

What benefits have you noticed in your class for your students?
It encourages some students to actively explore and learn.

How have your students responded to this style of learning?
Students appreciate learning things for themselves as I throw out intriguing questions for them to consider.

A word of caution
We must be careful that being a coach/facilitator doesn’t end in the foolishness of relativism aka “no-right-answerism”. Even coaches have to teach the proper way to play the game, keeping with the rules, teaching and demonstrating the best strategies, etc. Surely, there are many ways to solve a CS problem as we demonstrated throughout Unit 2, but getting the correct answer and understanding why it’s correct is important. Our postmodern culture suppresses this truth; however, it’s always necessary to emphasize that there are right answers and wrong answers to the problems that computer scientists face. There are efficient solutions and inefficient solutions. There are ethical solutions and unethical solutions.

What benefits have you noticed in your class with this style of teaching so far this year?

I think it allows me more time to work with struggling students and creates an overall more inviting environment for students.

What benefits have you noticed in your class for your students?

I think that it allows the students much more time to think about and struggle with the content thus developing critical thinking skills.

How have your students responded to this style of learning?

My students have had some experience with this style of learning before so I think that they are fairly comfortable with it. However, there were a few points during the first two units where I realized that more direct instruction was needed in order to get a few key points across.

my questioning techniques have improved, and I get more time with students who are struggling with the content. My stronger students get to work independently or in small groups more often. I see more genuine engagement also.

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These are important discussions for students who can be trained that there is only one right answer and there is only one way to get to it. I think students do need to realize that sometimes there are problems with no right answer or ones with a best answer based on constraints. Sometimes, there is one correct answer but different ways to obtain it. They need to value their process and be able to justify their answer. The justification part bring in ethics and the other issues you brought up and provides the basis for a very rich discussion.

Andrea

I’ve noticed that more students participate, especially when they have the opportunity to discuss things with the people at their table instead of the larger group. This has allowed struggling students to work with students who have a better grasp on the material, instead of feeling as if they’re in competition with them.
Most students enjoy this style of learning, but there are still students who would rather work by themselves, and not with a group.

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Students are more open to suggestions from other students and me. They help others with their program issues. By running the daily “conferences” where students can voice their issues with their individual programs and the others suggest solutions, they find success in their own programs as well as the success they facilitated in others’ programs.

Students become very proactive in their approach to learning and gain confidence in helping to facilitate others learning. This in turn can help foster a positive environment where each student is respectful of how each other learns and gear their discussion based on that.

I’ve noticed students are starting to like this style of teaching. They feel more at ease when I tell them I’m not the expert and that we are here to learn together. Some students have become leaders in this environment that I would not have expected to be leaders while others that are used to leading are taking a backseat, but seem okay with that too. Most of all, I think I am learning from them!

Having my role be more of a coach than a lecturer has been great for the most part, allowing my students to really determine their pacing and level of depth of this unit. I am finding that several of my students really got into the HTML and CSS of the unit and enjoying learning more advanced content, whereas some other students really struggled with learning the initial steps and I could assist them through that process. Once the advanced students got far enough, they also became coaches and helped their peers which was totally awesome!

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Shifting my role to more of a facilitator and/or coach has promoted more self-direction, collaboration, and ownership of learning among my students.

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Students are more focused within groups. Fewer questions while students are thinking because they are collaborating with each other. Increased sharing of ideas. Increased questioning of each other. Fewer students trying not to speak. Everyone has a voice.

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I teach in a very small school so the student-teacher ratio is low. Due to this, the students generally have the feeling that they can contribute what is on their minds. I think the students enjoy the teacher having more of a facilitator role because then it enables them to share constantly. In a way, it makes the classroom feel informal and everyone is just having a conversation and the students don’t realize they are learning in the process.