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Student-Centered Learning
Recently, the buzzword for school wide educational reform is student-centered learning. My last year teaching, the administration threw around this term, yet no in-services were in place on this subject in order to accomplish the goal. Even Atlanta Public School's strategic technology plan uses the common student-centered learning phrase, " Teachers will move from mentor in the center to guide on the side." However, very few teachers actually use this approach in their classrooms. One example of an excellent student-centered learning activity was "Biomes in a Box." A colleague of mine used this project, her students work in teams to research and create a biome of a particular climate of their choosing. I observed students using various forms of media including the Internet and CD-ROM resources to research their particular biome. They constructed the climate conditions of that biome using various raw materials at their disposal. In the end, they presented their biome to the class with an oral discussion of the climatic elements involved with that biome. The students were so proud and so actively involved in their learning. It was a great success. I am sure that "Biomes in a Box" will be one lesson those students learned in that school.
Even though some teachers use this new approach successfully in their class, my concern is that not all of the teachers can or even know how to change from the "mentor in the center" to "guide on the side." Has the school systems come up with way to change the mindsets of these teachers and show them how to make their classrooms active learning environments? No, they are just content to throw the phrase around without determining how to bring about student-centered learning in the classrooms. So what is Student centered learning? Is it the cure all for the ailing public education system? What tools need to be in place in order to facilitate a student-centered learning environment? What kind of in-service or extra training will be necessary in order to foster the student-centered classroom? In this paper, I will define student-centered learning, explain the key attributes to this type of learning process, and identify the tools that will facilitate its growth.
From Mentor in the Center to Guide on the Side
"Students should be presented with real life problems and then helped to discover information required to solve them" John Dewey
Dewey had a holistic child in mind as he developed his theory. Dewey encouraged teachers to involve students within their learning environment (Webb, Metha, Jordan 2013). Dewey wanted each child to learn through experiential means. This meant the task at hand for teachers was to change their teaching methods and to encourage their students to play a part in their learning. This changed education by allowing students to ask questions and to learn by trying direct experiences. John Dewey wanted teachers to take on a whole new thinking process when approaching education in their classrooms. This approach was meant to get rid of the scientific approach and to embrace a new child-centered approach (Schrag 2009). A large area that Dewey influenced and continues to today is within the early education classrooms. Although Dewey helped teachers to make advancements, the Cold War brought up a new challenge; the Science and Math Education
... to do. I favor parts of Dewey’s philosophy because it is a hands-on approach to learning. However, I believe that the students need instruction. I believe that everyone can be educated to the furthest of their abilities if given the proper tools to learn. There is no shame in vocational schooling because society as a whole needs people for every job. Plowing a field is just as important as writing poetry, and some people are destined for both. Overall, with philosophers like Froebel, Dewey and Dewey, Strike and Soltis, and DuBois, I have gained knowledge that I will take with me forever and apply in my classrooms.
It is chosen and foreordained, and he only holds the key to his own secret.” (102) In “Education”, Ralph Waldo Emerson provides his thoughts on what he believes to be a true education. Emerson wrote that the student should be allowed to determine what type of education he or she receives. He is stating that the student should have the opportunity to learn what is needed for them to succeed in life. He also makes a point that educators should direct their teachings towards factual knowledge only, keeping lessons that should be taught in the real world separate from the classroom. Emerson makes this point because students should not have to learn morals or life lessons in the classroom out of a book, students should get to learn from experiences, so they benefit more from
Stage, Frances K. et al. "Creating Learning Centered Classrooms: What Does Learning Theory Have to Say?" ERIC Digest, 1998. ED422777.
Seven-foot, blonde haired, blue-eyed super-humans bearing the swastika and marching in perfect Aryan rhythm, bred to be smarter, stronger, superior. This is a typical image when people hear the word eugenics, but there are two distinct branches: negative eugenics, which looks at removing undesirables and degenerates from society, and positive eugenics, which looks to promote the positive hereditary traits within society. In this essay I will Look at both sides of the eugenics argument in order to find a conclusion.
McCombs, B., & Miller, L. (2007). Learner-centered classroom practices and assessments: Maximizing student motivation, learning, and achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
"Update: Animal Testing." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 31 Mar. 2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
My most basic, fundamental belief in education has always been that every student is capable of learning. The learning may not take place on my desired timeline, but each child has the capacity to learn. I have always considered myself to be child-centered, rather that teacher-centered, in the classroom. I hold that most learning is accomplished when new information can be integrated into previous knowledge, and I also find that a balanced approach to any learning includes the repetition of information and a varied approach in delivery.
Eugenics is defined as “a science that deals with the improvement (as by control of human mating) of hereditary qualities of a race or breed (1).” The principles of eugenics have been used in many different countries for various reasons. In the United States, eugenics reached its peak in the pre-World War II period. It was believed that the most efficient way to deal with social problems, such as mental illness, poverty and crime, was to inhibit reproduction among people with such characteristics. Involuntary sterilization laws were enacted in many states. The United Kingdom’s government Mental Deficiency Committee stated in a report that “birth control was the best method to eliminate the hoards (sic) of weak, unhealthy, and tainted poor children whose dependence on tax-supported welfare programs prevented the overburdened middle classes from producing more children of good quality (1).” The goals of the eugenics movement were “the 'improvement of the human stock' and the avoidance of financial drain on society (1).” Supporters argued that people could be enhanced, and thus 'improved', by genetic treatments and manipulation. They maintained that if they could select children that were not disadvantaged, then they should.
"Eugenics". Unified Medical Language System (Psychological Index Terms). National Library of Medicine. 26 September 2010.
Zuckerman, M. B. (2005, October 10). Classroom Revolution. U.S. News & World Report. p. 68. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
When created in 1923, the American Eugenics Society exemplified an air of reform with a seemingly positive purpose, however this cannot be further from the truth. In reality, the society polluted the air with myths of weeding out imperfections with the Galtonian ideal, the breeding of the fittest (Carison). The founder of the society, Charles Davensport , preached that those who are imperfect should be eliminated(Marks). From the school desk to the pulpit, the fallacies of the eugenics movement were forced into society. Preachers often encouraged the best to marry the best while biology professors would encourage DNA testing to find out ones fate (Selden). A...
John Dewey was one of the most influential American philosopher born in Vermont in 1859. He graduated from the University of Vermont and eventually got his Ph.D. and went on to teaching at other universities. In his book Experience and Education he talks about traditional education, the theory of experience, criteria of experience, social control, the nature of freedom, the meaning of purpose, progressive organization, and at the end he raps it up with the means and goals of education. Dewey was a well-known philosopher and his ideas travel all around during the early 20th century. He had two main principles; the principle of continuity and the principle of interaction that led to what he believed was the proper way to educated students.
Posing questions on materials covered and the quality of materials selected can create the desired environment for students to thrive. I want to inspire my students to think outside the box and to ask questions. Society needs thinkers not robots. The classroom plays an important part in aiding the growth of an individual. It is my duty as a teacher to impart knowledge because ideas have a way of changing lives. Examining and discussing ideas with students allows them to move to a new level of understanding, so that ultimately, they may be transformed.
Dewey, John, and Reginald D. Archambault. John Dewey on education; selected writings.. New York: Modern Library, 1964. Print.