Letting Go
This year in my math class I followed what I called a "self-paced" model in my classroom. Students took notes from pre-recorded lectures that I had created, completed practice problems online and were assessed online as well. I though that I was letting go of control, because students worked independently so often and I was able to work with students in small groups or one on one. This really allowed me to differentiate their pacing.
After reading and listening to this week's resources, I see that I really did not let go of control at all. I create math guides that walked students through the exact resources the should use and the order they should use them. We we did our project at the end of a unit, I still directed what that end product should look like. Yes, my students were independent learners in some aspects, but they still were following a predictable script based on the math guides I had created.
In reading the article "Great Teaching Means Letting Go" by Grant Wiggins I realized that I had made great personal progress this year in regards to this self-paced model I had implemented
in my classroom, but I still had a ways to go to reach a place where my classroom is full of autonomous learners. The following quote from his article really resonated with me;
"But every coach also knows what many teachers seem not to know: unless you back off completely, on a daily basis, in scrimmages as well as games, to see whether or not students draw appropriately from the repertoire in a timely and effective fashion in challenges that demand it, you really have no idea what they can do on their own."
Additionally, Chris Lehmann also shared his ideas on how technology can be used to foster strong teaching and student growth. He shared his ideas on how assessments should change to find what students are doing and producing, rather than simply what they know which is what most standardized test measure today. Both the video and Wiggins' article helped me to see how I can change the current model in my classroom, which does already utilize technology, to one that allows for more student-led inquiry and assessments that are more open-ended that allow for students to show their mathematical process.
After reading and listening to this week's resources, I see that I really did not let go of control at all. I create math guides that walked students through the exact resources the should use and the order they should use them. We we did our project at the end of a unit, I still directed what that end product should look like. Yes, my students were independent learners in some aspects, but they still were following a predictable script based on the math guides I had created.
In reading the article "Great Teaching Means Letting Go" by Grant Wiggins I realized that I had made great personal progress this year in regards to this self-paced model I had implemented
in my classroom, but I still had a ways to go to reach a place where my classroom is full of autonomous learners. The following quote from his article really resonated with me;
"But every coach also knows what many teachers seem not to know: unless you back off completely, on a daily basis, in scrimmages as well as games, to see whether or not students draw appropriately from the repertoire in a timely and effective fashion in challenges that demand it, you really have no idea what they can do on their own."
Additionally, Chris Lehmann also shared his ideas on how technology can be used to foster strong teaching and student growth. He shared his ideas on how assessments should change to find what students are doing and producing, rather than simply what they know which is what most standardized test measure today. Both the video and Wiggins' article helped me to see how I can change the current model in my classroom, which does already utilize technology, to one that allows for more student-led inquiry and assessments that are more open-ended that allow for students to show their mathematical process.
I think as teachers it is really hard to let go and let students learn on their own. It seems like as teachers we want to give them the highest chance of success possible, and we want to do all that we can to help but sometimes it's too much. We have to learn as teachers to make students the best learners we can and to be able to think for themselves and be able to make decisions on their own. Too many times during the end of course test and other test did students ask me for help and during those moments you as a teacher cannot help them. To fix that we need to make students more responsible for their own learning and to teach them how to work on their own without our constant guidance
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