How are teachers keeping students locked in their cage?

Lack of choice for expression

Are teachers providing child-centred options for children to express what they have learned?  Children should be able to use numerous viable tools to communicate their learning.  They should be aware of their learning style and strengths, and know the tools that allows them to express their learning most effectively.

Does anybody have any examples of exemplary choices provided for students?

Lack of Project-Based Learning

A teacher who uses textbooks for teaching their class cannot be meeting the needs of his or her class; unless they wrote the textbook with their class in mind!  Project-based learning opportunities can provide students with real-life problems to solve, giving them chances to guide their own learning and co-operate with peers to solve relevant problems.

Lack of leadership opportunities

Parker and Begnaud (2004) concluded that leadership development should be the primary goal for the brightest students.  This leads me to ask should teachers always the leader in the classroom?  Each student has unique strengths.  A gifted student may display exceptional leadership skills and teachers should be providing opportunities to develop and strengthen these leadership skills in an appropriate fashion.  For example, a musically gifted student could lead the class in performing a composition of her own.  I’d love to hear stories about how you have provided leadership opportunities for students in your class.

Why are teachers keeping students caged?

Afraid of Change.  Some teachers use traditional styles that keep the students under control; they may feel that having the students predominately perform independent work keeps them focused and on task; giving them freedom will surely create the potential for  negative behaviour. I have to admit, to a certain extent, I would place my old self in this category.  I worked in areas of high need with a substantial behaviour issues, but I needed to step out of my comfort zone.

Seeing out the final years until retirement and unwilling to change.  I think back to one of my own teachers and I can honestly say that he was basically seeing out the last few years until he retired.  They may feel that spending a vast amount of time changing their teaching is not worthwhile because what they have been doing works anyway.

“This teacher taught me for two hours a week for three years.    I remember quite vividly lessons would generally follow the same path:  

1. assignment of pages and questions to be answered;
2. answering the questions (he’d sit at his desk and mark);
3. class marking of the answers.

The topics, such as studying different areas of the world, we covered were ripe for fruitful learning experiences, however, they were never exploited.  One peer was incredibly intelligent but due to the unexciting learning activities channelled his energies into incredibly negative behaviour.” Me! Darren Charlton, 2012.

What can you to do help release children in your school?

Lead by example.

Is textbook style teaching still the predominant method in your school?  Trying leading by example.  Generate excitement and engagement in your classroom by creating exciting Project-Based Learning opportunities for students.  See students rush into your class, ready to share a brainwave they had last night that might lead to an exciting development in their solution of a real world problem.  Who knows, it might get other teachers thinking about how engaged children are in their classroom.

Share Ideas

Be open to questions about the learning in your classroom.  Invite teachers in to the classroom to see what is happening and how you made it happen.  Invite the principal or Board Office employees into your classroom.  Help them spread the word!

Be excited by the change

Positivity is hard to ignore.  Children feed off a teacher’s excitement.  What is more, teachers feed off children’s excitement.  An excited, focused, industrious classroom with enthused teachers and student will help generate school-wide enthusiasm for a classes full of freedom of expression and focused learning; freedom-focused learning!

I would love to hear what any teachers out there have been doing to release their children from their learning cages.

What happens when a creative bird is unleashed?  Click on “Unleashed Birds” to see the difference a facilitator can make.

 

Professional Goal:  Plan one PBL unit per term.

Goal for Students:  Students should express their opinions about learning activities provided.

 

Question:  Have you ever helped a teacher release a learner from a cage?