Introduction.
Do you agree that students learn when they are encouraged to become authors of their own ideas and when their thinking is held accountable to key ideas in the discipline? Why or why not? What implications does this point of view have for teaching?
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ReplyDelete:) Laura
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ReplyDeleteI do agree that students learn when they are encouraged to become authors of their own ideas and their thinking is held accountable to key ideas in the discipline. The teacher walks a fine line in guiding these classroom discussions. Not enough monitoring of students' work, thinking, and discussions leads to too much student authority. Too much direction leads to students not trusting their reasoning skills. I also think that a person learns more when they have to explain to someone else why something works and doesn't work and do it respectfully.
ReplyDeleteTeachers will really need to know what the goal is for that lesson and communicate that with the class. I think this moves the teacher out from in front of the board to the middle of the learning. It isn't just the teacher talking anymore, which is refreshing. I think you really have to know your content, know your students, be very prepared, and be a good communicator and listener. Teachers sometimes don't like to listen. Gone are the days of some teaching from their desk.
The first year out is going to be trying, but should get easier each year. I think this levels the playing field in math for students. That doesn't always happen in teaching and it should. We will be able to move more kids toward that math goal.
Love what you said about being "in the middle of the learning." Very exciting to think about. Also your point about leveling the playing field. We have an awesome responsibility for those kids that need it leveled.
DeleteJustin J.
I strongly agree that students learn as authors of their own learning. Their thinking is then their own instead of someone else's. They need to feel like they have as much of a part of it as everyone else. If the students feel like they have a say in what they are learning or how they learn it, they will be more encouraged to continue learning. If they can use their own words to explain how to do the mathematics they will have a better chance at a deeper understanding of how the mathematics works.
ReplyDeleteThis means that the teacher does not have to be the giver of knowledge anymore in mathematics classrooms. They now become a facilitator. They guide students through a maze, letting them explore ways to solve the problem. The teacher's job now becomes to help the students find their own way to solve the problems looking for more efficient ways to solve the problem, or finding where they might have taken a wrong turn. This makes math more exciting to teach in my mind. It is no longer just lecture in the classroom. It now makes students take ownership of finding what works for them.
"...more encouraged to continue learning." How great could this be? :) I hope my classroom is one where students are excited to walk in the door because of the motivation they feel based on past experience of authoring their learning!
DeleteJustin J.
Jenelle Jarnagin
ReplyDeleteI agree students have a stronger understanding of the mathematics they are trying to learn if they can discover it and/or make sense of it on their own or with their classmates. Besides giving them ownership and a voice in their learning it promotes usage of prior knowledge as their starting point which gives them a place to build their new learning instead feeling like starting from scratch everyday.
This means that as a teacher we need to be more of the facilitator of learning instead the dispenser of knowledge. Students will need time and opportunities to build their understanding. As the teacher, I will need a clear goal in mind to help shape the discussion and to lead students to a deeper understanding of the mathematical concepts and ideas.
As I read your sentence: “dispenser of knowledge” it made me think of the Pez candy dispensers. They are great, but only satisfy us for a short while and then the candy runs out.
DeleteStudents may be happy at first when we make learning “easy” by just stating what they need to know, but in the long run they are displeased. So we need to help fill them up the right way.
Justin Johnson
ReplyDeleteChildren can learn many ways, but I absolutely agree that when they take an active role in the formation of that learning, and then have to defend their ideas, they are not only more motivated to learn, but the learning becomes more 'permanent'. I know that from experience, both as a student myself once upon a time, and from watching my children and students, ownership of ideas and the engagement with learning directly correlates to how well the ideas or learning sticks. The implications for teaching are huge. We absolutely must not only facilitate, but foster and grow a classroom where the students want and relish that role of author of their own learning.
I liked how said that we should foster a classroom where students WANT to become the authors of their learning. I always hope that my students want to come into my classroom. When I think about why that is, I think back to the classes I like the best. These were easily the classes where the teachers showed me that my ideas were important to them and everyone.
Delete-Amanda
When students engage in exploring different ways to solve problems, They are doing exactly what Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes, and Pythagoras etc. did. Discuss why you think a certain mathematical path works for a type of problem. Students may not realize it but they are learning and internalizing how and why we use certain strategies to find our solutions.
ReplyDeleteKristy Georgick
Allowing students to “wrestle” with which way to proceed helps them by allowing them to embrace the arguement for or against a certain path. This will allow them to more deeply understand the concepts being taught. Allowing for more growth and helping students to get away from the: just learn it, test it and forget it style of learning.
Do you agree that students learn when they are encouraged to become authors of their own ideas and when their thinking is held accountable to key ideas in the discipline? Why or why not? What implications does this point of view have for teaching?
ReplyDeleteI do agree in general with this concept. You always learn more when you are encouraged to explore, author, and struggle with your learning. I think one big issues comes down to time.. it takes longer to allow your students to make mistakes, talking/coaching take longer than just telling students how to solve. Similar to parenting I guess.. takes longer to have the learning conversations -- always easier to just tell them what is right/wrong. The early learning conversations, pay benefits down the road and we do really want them to learn the math ... they will be adults someday and need to utilize the math inside their work and life.
Amanda Thorsen
ReplyDeleteYes, I do agree that students will learn when encouraged to become the author of their learning. I think this because when something becomes yours, you think about it differently than if someone else were to own this. For example, when we bought our house I had NO idea some of the work it takes. However, since this is now my house I wanted to do the work the best I could. I think the same can be said about the math work. If I encourage students to really take that ownership, they will want to make sure they are doing so in the best way they can. I know this will come with the having to think about the set up of some class differently. Learning to facilitate discussions instead of controlling the conversation will be something that I will need to pay close attention to.
Kate Wonders
ReplyDeleteI do believe that students learn when they are accountable and have ownership in their own learning. Students crave choice and will almost always rise to the challenge when given the opportunity to take ownership and have their own ideas appreciated and celebrated.
Do you agree that students learn when they are encouraged to become authors of their own ideas and when their thinking is held accountable to key ideas in the discipline? Why or why not? What implications does this point of view have for teaching?
ReplyDeleteI do agree students learn when they are encourage to become authors of their own ideas. If we can (and we should) make the shift of giving more responsibility over to our students, they will start to feel more invested in their education. This leads to students coming up with their own ideas and learn to be thinkers. It is also important to guide them to communicate their thinking and give them the opportunities to share their thinking.
For teaching, this is a huge shift for most. It is very easier for us to just stick with what is comfortable but if we know that challenging our students makes them more successful, doesn't that mean we need to do that for ourselves are learners?
Kelsey Burger
I would agree with that. I believe in general ownership is empowering. I do sense there is a shift in accountability in education from a teacher responsibility to a students responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with this. I think it opens up opportunities for students to explore their own ways of thinking and problem solving. This creates a higher level of ownership and potential more buy-in to the learning. The implications for teachers is to create cognitively challenging tasks for their students.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that students need to be authors of their learning and take responsibility to be involved. Therefore if this is what I believe then I have the responsibility to give them that opportunity through the use of tasks and the 5 practices. I think it will require some change in how I plan. It will take changing how students approach math from the past.
ReplyDeleteI agree that students learn by becoming an author of ideas because students become empowered when they make connections, see patterns and create their own way to do mathematics. Empowering my students to do mathematics in their own ways will take a lot more preparation on my part. The anticipation process will become extremely important so I can be prepared for the different students and their approaches in my classroom. I need to provide my students with mathematically rich tasks, allow my students the freedom to think through problems in their own way, and to meet them where they are at to progress their thinking. This will require a significant change in my planning, pacing, and mindset.
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