FRIT 7235 - Student-Centered Learning
- 1. Meagan Harrelson FRIT 7235 Student-Centered Learning Student-centered learning is a model of instruction wherein the teacher is not the focus and is not simply dispensing information, but rather is providing students with the resources and tools they will need to discover instruction. In this type of instruction, the teacher simply serves as mediator/facilitator. The students are able to use their resources and ideas and communicate with each other, therefore using one another’s knowledge to scaffold their own understanding of a new topic. I fully agree with this learning approach and believe it to be one of the best methods of instruction. When students are given the opportunity to take control of their learning and be accountable for their learning, many times they are more interested and engaged in the material. With this approach, students are able to voice their own ideas and teach one another, something they may not always get to do in a teacher-directed instructional setting. Student-Centered Learning Lesson Plan: Socratic Circle Monday ALCOS/CCRS OBJ. 10th Standards: RL1, RL2, RL3, RL5, RL7, SL1, SL5 Outcome Students will be able to: Participate in collaborative discussions concerning theme, author's choices, character development, and subject representation across multiple texts related to The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Use new and existing information to scaffold new ideas and knowledge concerning topics presented. Use technology to add to classroom conversation.
- 2. Before Students must come to class prepared for Socratic Circle. Preparation must include: 1 annotated poem (from a selection provided by teacher), 1 nonfiction source related to themes or topics discussed in The Lovely Bones (found from a curated list of websites provided by teacher), 3 thoughtful comments for each piece, along with textual evidence for each comment, and 3-5 questions. Teacher will briefly review the rules of Socratic Circle. During Students will divide into two groups; one sitting on the inner circle and one group sitting on the outer circle. The students in the inner circle will use the materials they’ve prepared to participate in collaborative discussion and come to educated conclusions for the questions they’ve prepared. Students sitting on the outer circle will silently use technology to participate in a chat session on Today’s Meet about the current discussion. The chat session will be projected in the front of the classroom, and can be referred to by the inner circle when the conversation seems dull or when the teacher directs attention to something on the screen. During the Socratic Circle, the teacher will only listen and redirect conversation when necessary. The teacher will also be taking notes on important comments and questions that arise. Halfway through the period, students will stop and the inner circle will move to the outer circle, and vice-versa. After The teacher will review her notes with the class and revisit necessary comments and questions that arose during discussion.