Being in charge of up
to 30 students’ learning and development is a really important responsibility
placed on teachers. Therefore, it is important that teachers are well prepared
for every class. They must know their lesson plans inside and out because not
everything goes as planned. A teacher should think on her toes at all times,
since the outcome of a lesson changes with the students. Teachers hand over
control to their students in all their lessons because the students are the
ones who are responding to the teacher’s lessons. If the students understand
the lesson quickly, the teacher has to modify her lesson plan in such a way to
make sure that the students are still engaged. Vice versa, if the students take
a while to grasp concepts, then the teacher has to change her teaching style to
accommodate the students.
In my field
experience, students had control over various things. They were assigned jobs
every week, such as paper passer, line leader, lunch counter, desk cleaner, etc.
These jobs allowed students to have control over different things in the
classroom. They were also able to choose the way they wanted their desks to be
placed in the classroom and who they wanted to sit by. The students were also
able to use the ELMO projector to show their work. The teacher had control over
a variety of things, like how much time each student spent in a certain
station, or how much time she wanted to spend going over tests or warm-ups.
Motivation increases
when students have control over their situation. They want to do better when
they are in charge of something, to show that they are capable of handling
something important. However, I do think some control should be left in the
teacher’s hands, just so she can maintain some discipline and still give
students a reason to continue learning and follow directions.
I like how Zahra discussed how the students in her class had jobs. I notice in almost every class that I have been in, "jobs" are integrated into the classroom. This allows for students to feel like they have responsibility in the classroom, and that they are there for more of a purpose than just to learn. Having a job increases the student's responsibility in the classroom, and allows for the teacher to rely on a student for a certain task. This increases the relationship between the student and the teacher, and allows for students to feel like they have some control in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that students are motivated to learn best when they have control, but that teachers need to have control as well. If teachers did not have control in the classroom the class could turn chaotic. Students need to have some freedom but it needs to be structured by the teacher so that the students are learning the required material.
ReplyDeleteMy class also did something similar to yours. The kids were in charge of being line leader and the caboose for when the class went to recess, lunch, etc. My students were young so they were not able to choose their seats or anything like that. I agree that there is more motivation when the students are in control, like my students are more motivated when they get to choose what activity to do.
ReplyDelete