3
Concepts from Chapter 3:
1) Teacher-Centered
and Student-Centered Approaches
Teacher centered teaching refers to the “old” type of
teaching. This approach usually has the teacher standing at the board and
giving a lecture while the students read textbooks or take notes. This is
considered the traditional way of teaching called transmission teaching. The
goal of the teacher is to instruct in the most effective way so that students
may learn the information needed to excel.
Students centered teaching is focused on the students and
allows them to be a part of the lesson planning, activities, assessment, and
learning process. The goal of the teacher is to create learning that students
can participate in problem solving with real-life scenarios and thoughtful
learning.
Between the two approaches, assessments are different.
Teacher-centered assessments are usually worksheets, tests, and quizzes. Student-centered
assessments are based on projects, performances, and portfolios.
“Teacher-centered
and student-centered methodologies identify opposite ends of a teaching and
learning spectrum with many versions and variations” (Maloy, 2014).
The following video was very helpful with explaining the
difference between the different approaches:
As future educators, it is important to understand the
different approaches to teaching and to see which we feel more comfortable
with.
2) Communicating and
Collaborating
There are numerous ways that students can communicate and
collaborate outside of the classroom. Our textbook discusses the link between
communication, collaboration, and technology for students. Students can perform
this by using social networks, online polls/surveys, digital games, online
website publishing, and translation software.
Group work allows students to work and collaborate
together. Students can use computers in small-groups to work and collaborate on
assignments. Students can also use computers individually and still communicate
with other classmates via computer discussion boards.
It is
important for teachers to provide enough group work to match the time spent on
work individually. Both types of work allow students to communicate and
collaborate effectively.
3) Expressing
Creativity
Students
are able to express their creative side using technology. The students are able
to create words, pictures, symbols, and numbers to express their creativity.
This can be achieved by using word processor, paint, drawing, and design
programs on the computer or other electronic device. Students often prefer to
use technology when being creative because it is faster and allows them to use
all forms of creative programs to edit their work.
Technology also allows students and
teachers to express creativity through social media. They are able to
communicate with classmates, share ideas, and upload graphs, pictures, or
charts they created. This is a great opportunity for students to communicate
with others while being creative. It is important for educators to remind our
students of internet safety and how to use the technology the right way and
respectfully.
Conclusion:
This was a very
interesting chapter to read as it showed the connection between collaboration,
communication, and technology use. Before reading the chapter, I thought about
how I could tie these three factors into one. After reading the chapter, I
learned about the different tools on the computer that are used to achieve this
connection. Students are able to be
creative using different word processors and editing program on the computer.
Communication and collaboration are possible using small-group learning using one
computer and also individually using a class set of computers (like being in a
computer lab). This chapter also showed
the difference between teacher-centered and student-centered approaches. The
textbook and internet did not say one approach was better than the other.
Personally, I would like to find a way to use both approaches. I want my
students to have a say in their learning process and assessments. I also believe that the teacher is the head
of the classroom and should be in charge of instructing.
There is, of course, a continuum from the one end of teacher-centered to the other end of student-centered instruction and hopefully, there will be appropriate times for both extremes and a good amount of time somewhere in between. But I do think that the benefits of student-focused learning increases engagement and if you can't engage the students (i.e., with teacher-centered), where is the learning?
ReplyDeleteYou mention the textbook in your post, but it is not listed as a resource - please remember to add that to each blog post. The expectation for the video is to actually embed it in your post and not to put the link (any URL looks 'messy' and advised to avoid unless required as for APA style references). Even if you want to reference another website in your text, you will want to hyperlink it and not put the URL in as done here.