Teacher Control vs. Student Control

I think teaching with a lot of control is easier than letting the students have some control, because if the teacher has full control, he/she knows exactly what is being taught, and is in control how the information is presented.  When the students are handed some of the control, the teacher now becomes responsible for managing the progress and learning of the students.  The teacher takes more of an observational role rather than a direct instructional role.  In order to effectively hand over some control to the students, I think collaborative learning is essential.  Setting the students in groups and allowing them to collaborate and learn from each other on projects, worksheets and initiating experiences allows for a more well rounded education.  However, the teacher now becomes responsible for making sure each student is presented with the same information.

In my field experience, I observed the teacher in control when leading discussions on a novel.  The teacher would discuss vocab words, as well as, go through subject and predicate grammar books.  The teacher gave control to the students on a group project about the book, but observed the work of each group, making sure that they were all getting out of the book what was needed.

The students are less excited with teacher controlled scenarios.  When given the option to do the project with their friends they are excited about the outcome and really try to do their best work.  They are significantly less excited about doing grammar books or learning vocab words.  While these are necessary, the freedom they experience with the group project is what they love.