Hello all!
1) This week, we read another work by Tobin which related to us many different metaphors for the teaching experience. Some sounded a bit more appealing to myself than others (preacher typically doesn't come with great connotations in my opinion but I could be the only one). In any case, which positions/metaphors do you think develop a "student-centered" classroom, and why?
2) Tobin poses the question, and I'd like to hear some other thoughts on this: When it is appropriate to take control of the class conversation, or one-on-one conference conversation?
- Liz
Regarding your second question, I think Tobin's account of his class going wrong highlights how this process of taking control needs to happen on a case by case basis. A teacher can have some guiding ideas for how they generally want to run their class, but different groups of students, different institutions, and even just different days will affect how interpersonal interactions go. There are some situations where a little silence will be needed for students to figure out an answer or figure out how to put their ideas into words, but there are other times (perhaps the students are having a bad day or they are unprepared) where a conversation won't happen unless the teacher drives it. I think this is one of those areas that's more of an art than a science, and managing when to take or give up control is something that a teacher has to learn over time.
ReplyDeleteI think, also, for more quiet students, sometimes after an initial push (where they realize it's okay to speak up or to have an idea without fear) they will open up more. So sometimes a class or conference that is more even in student/teacher contribution might need to be more teacher driven at first.