I would say that through the years of being in the classroom, I have definitely come a long way and reflected on my teaching to create a curriculum that is more student centered. All of my lessons include some form of “I do-we do-you do” strategy where I lead the facilitation of information, then we work through some of the work together before I let the students go on their own to complete the work. This strategy is also called a ‘gradual release’ strategy. Gradual release allows the teacher to set up the basic concepts for the students, the students then have guidance through the first set of problems to solve and they are then released to finish the class on their own with guidance from the teacher (Reha, 2019). With the class that I am currently teaching through enrichment in leadership all of my lessons, assignments and projects need to directly be student focused. As very little can be teacher centered, I have set modules up so that the student can make choices in assignments and projects and move at self pace. This encourages students to hold themselves accountable, be reliable and maintain their level of leadership in our school community. Student-centered classrooms, or learning environments, involve community, trust and communication. They also integrate technology, maintain mutual respect and a desire for continuing education. Homework should be replaced by engaging projects that endure over long periods of time. When students feel they have a project to finish at school, they are less likely to ditch school and find time doing something else. Students also need to be given the opportunity to lead and be involved in their own performance evaluation (Loveless, n.d.). I would say out of all the student-centered strategies for learning that I listed, I am proficient at implementing all of them. However, there are always ways to reflect and improve the art of teaching. I would say that I need to work on integrating technology into the classroom. Obviously, those of us who are teaching online have no choice but to go that route with technology. Although had it not been for the pandemic, I probably wouldn’t have pushed so hard for our student athletes to download activity and nutritional apps on their phones to monitor their activity, especially during the ‘stay-at-home’ order. As an educator for over 20 years, I cannot urge younger teachers enough that they should always be reflecting. It is vital for the future of education to continuously grow and seek the opportunities to improve technique.
References:
Loveless, B. (n.d.). Developing a student-centered classroom. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.educationcorner.com/developing-a-student-centered-classroom.html
Reha, M. K. (2019, August 30). How to use "I do – we do – you do" in teaching. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.gcu.edu/blog/engineering-technology/how-use-i-do-we-do-you-do-teaching
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