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Designing a student centred classroom is all about creating a community within the classroom. As a foreign language teacher this means creating opportunities for students to engage with each other. A student entered classroom will give students the opportunity to share their individual views, thoughts, and opinions. In a first grade EFL classroom this can look like students in groups of three. The teacher can be the facilitator, providing students with flashcards and a short demonstration and then allowing the students to engage with each other as they practice the language. In this way students take control of their learning by asking each other questions. As the teacher monitors the class, they can help provide grammar support and pronunciation support to individual groups rather than the all to frequent, call and repeat. Technology can be incorporated by giving each group an iPad, small quizzes can be uploaded using websites like kahoot. If the students have access to headphones websites with stories and games such as The British Council’s Learn English Kids could be used to watch stories and listen to songs. The students could then teach the songs they learned to the class as a whole, thus giving them confidence and a voice in the classroom. Online student centred classrooms for EFL first grade students seems much more challenging. However, it is still possible, with the support of adults in the home, students could be placed in zoom breakout rooms to practice with their classmates.

Alber, R. (2015, August 17). How Student Centered is Your Classroom. Edutopia. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-student-centered-your-classroom-rebecca-alber

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Total Physical Response - or TPR as it is widely referred to, is an approach in which children learn language through physically moving and acting out meaning. Especially when teaching young children, this method can help with understanding and their need to move their bodies. My favourite activity that involves TPR is a modified version of Walk the Talk from Fluent U. Students line up in an equal number of lines. With classes of 30 students I would suggest students lining up in lines of 10 students. The first student from each line comes to the front of the room and is whispered a word or sentence for example “I am eating ice cream”. The students run to the end of their lines and whisper it to their classmate. The classmates turn and whisper it down the line (like the game telephone) til they get to the last student the student then goes to the front of the room and acts out the sentence while saying it. The fastest line gets a point. This activity has the students moving and interacting and in my experience they love it.

D., S. (2021, January 30). 5 TPR Activities for Kids to Get Their Wiggles Out. Fluent U General Educator Blog. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator/tpr-activities-for-kids/

Total Physical Response - TPR. (n.d.). British Council Teaching English. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/total-physical-response-tpr

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Evaluate students based on their level of participation. How many different opinions did the students give about the class? How does the student approach new materials? Ask questions such as Have you tried various things? For example, in my art class, there was a printmaking class, but the materials prepared were limited, so new ideas from the students were needed. When the first results of the printmaking did not turn out well, the students expressed various opinions and began to participate directly and actively in the class. In addition, since printmaking is not just drawing, it is a process of printing, it is necessary to plan and predict the finished result in advance. Students who were dealing with all materials for the first time participated more independently in the class, such as using transparent paper and drawing a preview of the expected result of the drawing picture. In addition, they experimented with the characteristics of other materials such as acrylic paints, watercolor paints, and oil paints while making artworks. The reason that the students were able to participate independently was unexpectedly thanks to the “absence of the teacher’s instruction”. I only provided materials for the students' attempts, but I watched as a bystander as they tried and failed. The students re-established the solution they found by sharing it with their classmates and putting it back into their work to create results.
"SEL element 1 (S1): connected, safe, and welcomed; It was found that exchanges made in a safe space where students' opinions are respected, elements such as ”, increased student participation in class and improved academic results.
Reference
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-here-are-top-sel-strategies-that-can-help-improve-student-engagement-right-now/2020/12?utm_source=eb&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=cte&utm_content=SEM

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Here Are 3 Top SEL Strategies That Can Help Improve Student Engagement Right Now (Opinion)

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The No. 1 need we have heard and addressed here in helping schools improve since the start of the pandemic has been how to improve student engagement. Collectively, we have over 100 years of experience improving student engagement within our own schools and supporting educators across North America, so we wanted to provide three key elements and an SEL strategy for each that are tried, tested, and known to work.

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Student-centered approaches require students to be given certain tasks. When students have their roles, responsibility arises. In my art class, I once had students do an activity similar to role-play. For example, if a student mainly works with oil pastels, call that student an oil pastel master and have other classmates share the material characteristics of oil pastels and how to handle them. The students showed a willingness to do their best in the task assigned to them, and they felt proud to know that each student had a material they handled well. In addition, students could learn how to collaborate while sharing and communicating with other classmates about art materials that may be different for them.

Reference
https://www.earlystartgroup.com/nursery/importance-of-role-playing
As mentioned on this website, the benefits of role-playing are varied, and as an educator, the role-playing role I look forward to the most is “Children learn to empathize with others; taking part in a role-play activity would usually mean that you are taking on the role of character which will teach children about the empathy and understanding of different perspectives. and Allows children to act out and make sense of real-life situations”.to empathize

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The importance of role playing can be highlighted as an effective way for children to make sense of the world around them.

Key benefits role playing for children

Develops communication and language skills

Allows children to act out and make sense of real-life situations

Allows children to explore, investigate and experiment

Develops social skills as children collaborate with others

Children learn to empathise with others; taking part in a role play activity would usually mean that you are taking on the role of character which will teach children about the empathy and understanding of different perspectives.

Helps children learn about different cultures

Encourages children to express their ideas and feelings in a relaxed environment

Develops children's awareness of themselves and others

Gets children learning more as learning is disguised as play

Sparks creativity and imagination

Role play is especially beneficially for developing language, both for children with English as an additional language and for native English speakers. As well as vocabulary and language, role play develops toddlers communication skills as they communicate with each other in a safe environment. Role play is the most effective way of acquiring language.

How to support your child's learning:

Ask focused, open ended, not closed questions.

Take on a role/join in children's role play and dressing up. This gives value to their play and reinforces the nature of role play.

These are the reasons we like to highlight the importance of role playing! Allow your child to lead their play!
Visit the parenting pages for more information!

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Importance of Role Playing - Early Start Group

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The importance of role playing can be highlighted as an effective way for children to make sense of the world around them.

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Teaching English Through Drama

Acting out a drama (play, dialogue, skit) requires students to be completely engaged while moving their entire bodies. Students are more likely to eagerly participate in dramas while learning and developing their reading, speaking and listening literacy skills.

In My Classroom

My students are always excited to play the role of their favorite character in a story they have recently read, a video they have watched, or a short dialogue that they are currently learning. They are also motivated to make their own masks and dress up in costumes as we prepare for our class plays.

Benefits of Dramas

The students can repetitiously practice their lines without it feeling monotonous.

The students are able to memorize their lines which reinforces their vocabulary and improves their English fluency.

Acting out the drama provides context and a better understanding of the story for the students.

Students are able to relax their minds, use their imaginations, move around and have fun.

Students gain confidence through practice, memorization, and successful communication.

New Adaptations

A new adaptation for dramas in the classroom could be improvisational theater (improv). Students can use their imagination and vocabulary to act out an unplanned or unscripted performance. This method might be more appropriate for older learners, but it could potentially be scaled down for younger learners.

References

Kawasaki, J. (2022, May 13). Using Drama as an ESL Teaching Method. BridgeUniverse - TEFL Blog, News, Tips & Resources. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://bridge.edu/tefl/blog/using-drama-as-an-esl-teaching-method/

Prins, H. A. S. (2008, July 7). Benefits of the Arts in Kindergarten – An ESL Perspective. Iteslj. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from http://iteslj.org/Articles/Prins-ArtsInKindergarten

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Kinesthetic Learning (Physical learners) 【Ben】

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Kinesthetic Learning (Physical learners) 【Ben】

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Kinesthetic learning links the process of learning to physical activity. It is a learning style during which the learner has to feel or move in order to learn more effectively.

A kinesthetic learner would rather perform physical activity to learn something, as an active participant, instead of passively listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration.

Reference: (Jan. 25, 2022). Bay Atlantic University. What Is A Kinesthetic Learner? (bau.edu)

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Book reports are an effective way to give students agency in their own learning. Rather than assigning specific material, allow students to choose their own text (perhaps within a certain genre/criteria). This approach gives students the freedom to discover text that appeals to their own interests.

After reading, challenge students to create some physical presentation that captures the main ideas of their book. This may be a story board, poster, painting, video clip, etc.

Hold a class gallery walk in which the students' work is put on display. Have them disperse around the room and view their peers' creations.

Once the viewing period is over, the teacher can elicit further discussion by asking students about their thoughts and experiences.

References
Facing History & Ourselves. (2022) Gallery Walk. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/gallery-walk

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Approaches to include physical movement in the class. 【Ben]

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Approaches to include physical movement in the class. 【Ben]

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Break up long lessons into smaller chunks, change teaching location (sit on rug, sit in desks, go outside, switch seats, etc.)

Give them plenty of outdoor time.

Their attention follows their hands. Encourage them to draw sketches or diagrams of what they are hearing in a lesson.

Let them use flashcards with information they are learning.

Major, Sarah. (Feb. 3, 2016). Child 1st Publications. Teaching Strategies that Meet the Needs of Kinesthetic Learners – Child1st Publications

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Sarah Major, M.Ed. is passionate about working in harmony with a child's immaculate design to support their learning strengths. As a Title 1 Program Director and Designer, Sarah earned awards for creating her own multisensory educational resources that have now been sold in all 50 states and over 150 countries. By design, Sarah's materials have proven to be effective for kinesthetic learners through the use of movement, stories, and visuals.
Often, kinesthetic learners are misunderstood. Their need for movement is sometimes viewed as a behavior problem. These are the students who are constantly being told to "sit still" in their desks. Unfortunately the more we urge kinesthetic learners to sit still, the more they seem to need to move.

Once we understand that movement IS a learning style, the more success we will have with these very special learners. We can learn to make the need to move work FOR us.

Two other important strategies that are powerful for kinesthetic learners are story and visual. So, to recap, the three best strategies to use when teaching a kinesthetic learner are:

Child1st addresses the needs of the kinesthetic learner by incorporating hand and body motions, visuals, and story in every concept taught. This is why we are here. We have spent years developing teaching resources that by their very nature are multisensory and meet the needs of visual learners, kinesthetic/tactile learners, and right-brain learners. Those designations cover a multitude of different learning styles and preferences.

What are the strengths of the kinesthetic learner?

Learns best through movement

Will focus on the whole picture

Learns best with 3-D materials

Needs to move while processing new information, but with very little external stimulation that would distract (let the body move but limit objects and visuals in the environment that would capture their focus away from the lesson)

Needs to learn using hands-on activities to process learning

Is often highly intuitive

Needs to physically process what they are learning. Let them actually do the work rather than listen to how it is done

SnapWords® on a clothesline makes for a great kinesthetic learning activity!
What are good practices that benefit kinesthetic learners?

1. Give them plenty of outdoor time. According to an article by Tara Parker-Pope in The New York Times, "A small study of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder last year found that walks outdoors appeared to improve scores on tests of attention and concentration."

2. Let them move! They will learn more quickly and effectively if you let them stand at their desk, swing their legs, pace the floor - as long as they are not disrupting other students.

3. Break up long lessons into smaller chunks, change teaching location (sit on rug, sit in desks, go outside, switch seats, etc.)

4. If you are teaching steps for solving a problem, have students imagine themselves following the steps.

5. Their attention follows their hands. Encourage them to draw sketches or diagrams of what they are hearing in a lesson, or when doing a sheet of math problems, teach them to point to each problem they come to. Let them use flashcards with information they are learning.

Resources designed for kinesthetic, tactile, & visual learners

Teach letter sounds, shapes, and vowels to your visual, kinesthetic, or tactile learner. Alphabet Tales uses stories, visuals, and hands-on activities and crafts for each letter that make learning and remembering letters and their sounds a snap.

SnapWords® are designed to capture attention, hold attention, and be easily remembered. They are the best resource for active learners because the words can be captured in a glance and each word has a related body movement. Try SnapWords® for free and see the difference!

Easy-For-Me™ is a complete program for teaching reading for K-2nd grade. It is effective because the multisensory approach to learning engages your child on all levels, and utilizes their own learning style strengths. Every skill is taught using visuals and body movement so the active child is fully engaged.

The Right-Brained Math Series teaches math concepts using elements that work for children who learn best with visuals, patterns, stories, hands-on activities, and body movements (kinesthetic, tactile, and visual learners).

It is important to understand as much as possible about the learning strengths of each of our children. Believe me, they don't all learn the same way!

Kinesthetic learners generally are gifted with their bodies. They are aware of their body in space and have great balance. They are coordinated. They learn sports and other body skills easily. Read more about kinesthetic learners.

Leave a comment and tell us what kind of learner your child is!

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Teaching Strategies that Meet the Needs of Kinesthetic Learners

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Often, kinesthetic learners are misunderstood. Their need for movement is sometimes viewed as a behavior problem. These are the students who are constantly being told to "sit still" in their desks. Unfortunately the more we urge kinesthetic learners to sit still, the more they seem to need to move.

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The concept of a Toolbox for Care is originally intended to help students process and reflect on global events or news that may be painful or traumatic. The idea is that students create a collection of "tools" that will help them themselves and others through stressful situations. While participating in this activity, students are challenged to explore their own personal needs as well as to think empathetically about others. It also gives the teacher valuable insight into how students perceive their own state of well-being.

Overview

Ask students to consider times in which they felt emotional pain/discomfort or traumatic events. What would have comforted them in those situations? What kinds of "tools" can they use to use to help others?

Students collect or create physical representations of their tools. These can be inspiring quotes, comforting images or objects, personal notes, etc. You can also have the class create a collective toolbox into which they all contribute something. Here are some questions to help students explore and choose what they'll include in their toolbox:

"

What will I have in my toolbox that will help me do “small acts” of goodness on a daily basis?

What will I have in my toolbox that will help me turn those small acts into something bigger and more impactful?

What will I have in my toolbox that will help me choose kindness over indifference, especially during difficult times?

What will I have in my toolbox that will help me take care of myself?

What will I have in my toolbox that will help me build connections with other people?  " (Facing History & Ourselves , 2022)

Students can share their tools with others, comparing an contrasting their ideas. This will give them insight into the specific needs of their classmates. Encourage students to utilize these tools when they face an adverse situation.

References
Facing History & Ourselves. 2022. Toolbox for Care. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/toolbox-care

Vienneau, N., 2017, April 6. Building Your Own 'Self-Care ToolBox'. Blue Monarch Health. https://bluemonarchhealth.com/new-blog/2017/4/4/self-care-tool-box

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Learning strategies. Knowing these can help know the right teaching techniques. (Ben）

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Learning strategies. Knowing these can help know the right teaching techniques. (Ben）

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Work with quiet music in the background

Close your eyes and trace words or images with your finger

Make games, puzzles out of what you are learning

Read notes while pacing

Teach others what you are learning

Write notes and draw

Get comfortable – some learners like to lie on their back while listening or reading

Fidget or eat snacks if you need to – some tactile learners tap pens in rhythm on the desk

Work in groups

Think of real-life examples of the information you are learning

Reference: (Jan. 25, 2022). Bay Atlantic University. What Is A Kinesthetic Learner? (bau.edu)

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Bay Atlantic University - Washington, D.C.

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Have you ever seen someone doodling while listening to a lecture in class? What if we tell you that that can help some people learn better? In fact, this type of learning has long-term benefits as well. Through kinesthetic learning, mind and body are combined to achieve the best learning results. If you are now wondering, "What is kinesthetic learning?" or, "What is a kinesthetic learner"? - this article is for you. Read on to learn more about kinesthetic learning and its characteristics, benefits, and strategies to implement when teaching such learners.

What Is Kinesthetic Learning?

Before we try and define what kinesthetic learning is, let's first check a definition of the word 'kinesthesia'. The Cambridge Dictionary defines kinesthesia as 'the ability to know where the parts of your body are and how they are moving.' So, kinesthetic learning links the process of learning to physical activity. It is a learning style during which the learner has to feel or move in order to learn more effectively. Also referred to as 'tactile', 'hands-on', or 'physical' learning, kinesthetic learning is part of the VARK model. The latter consists of three other main learning styles: visual, auditory, and read and write.

How Do Kinesthetic Learners Learn?

After establishing kinesthetic learning, let's move on to a kinesthetic learner definition. Kinesthetic learners use body movement and interact with their environments when learning. To better understand something, they need to touch or feel it; hence practical information is usually preferred over theoretical concepts. A kinesthetic learning experience can be that of learning how to skate. You can read about it, listen to instructions, or watch videos of how to skate-but deep learning occurs when you're physically involved and start 'doing' it.

A kinesthetic learner would rather perform physical activity to learn something, as an active participant, instead of passively listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration. That is why the best way of learning something new is by having your hands-on those things you are trying to learn. For example, when learning about wind energy, while a visual learner might learn how wind turbines function by watching a video, a kinesthetic learner would prefer to build a pinwheel and make connections between the pinwheel and wind turbines to learn more about how wind energy works.

Therefore, kinesthetic learners may learn easier in classes that incorporate practical examples into the curriculum rather than through lectures.

Characteristics of Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic learners retain information by doing, rather than (only) by seeing or listening. When they engage in some physical activity during learning, that's when you can expect the best learning outcome. From an early age, they will show interest in building sets; and they will often tear things apart in order to learn more about them. When a child wants to touch and hold something they are interested in rather than look at it, most probably they are kinesthetic learners.

Some typical kinesthetic learner characteristics include:

Understand more when learning through hands-on experience

Tend to get bored in a traditional classroom

Learn through movement

Enjoy sports and physical activity

Enjoy being outside the classroom when learning (field trips, expeditions)

Like to build things and work with their hands

Love experimenting and testing things

Tend to use their hands when talking

Enjoy working with tools or instruments

Love trying new things

Tend to trust what they can experience or perform

Remember spelling words better when they write them several times

Tend to gesture while speaking

Tend to be killed at solving puzzles and completing mazes.

Think more clearly when able to move

Tend to need frequent study breaks to keep focus

Prefer making posters or charts for group projects rather than gathering information

Benefits Of Kinesthetic Learning

Kinesthetic learning is a style of learning through which students are physically interacting with the material. Therefore, this style shares many beneficial elements frequently observed in active learning. Some of the many benefits of kinesthetic learning include the development of various skills, knowledge, and critical thinking.

Cognitive development

Research conducted on the brain reveals that thinking and movement are connected. This connection between cognitive and motor processes happens due to the fact that movement increases the amount of oxygen present in your blood which then helps fuel the brain. So, physical activity helps the brain positively affect your cognitive performance.

Increased comprehension through physical activities

Generally, lectures are delivered in a teacher-centered format, causing students, especially those who utilize kinesthetic learning, to reach only basic levels of comprehension because they do not interact with the material physically. So, to support the cognitive development of such students, the inclusion of kinesthetic strategies and techniques is necessary and highly beneficial.

Social skills development

When you participate in creative kinesthetic activities, one of the skills you will further develop is that of communication. Being around other people while engaging in kinesthetic activities, like group roleplaying, will help promote positive social interactions that teach you about teamwork and cooperation.

Stronger creative thinking

Creativity is closely linked to the kinesthetic type of learning. While participating in different learning activities, you usually need creative thinking to be able to grasp more from that particular activity. Furthermore, learners often explore their creativity by approaching learning from different perspectives when learning using the kinesthetic style, which in return contributes to an overall more robust creative thinking.

Better problem solving

Kinesthetic learning helps critical and analytical thinking skills, which may improve through experimentation with various techniques and strategies in interacting with studies. The kinesthetic learning style encourages students to be active in the study process and find new ways of solving problems instead of being passive and simply observing demonstrations or listening to theories.

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Better observation

Lastly, having a hands-on approach to your studies will help you skillfully engage with your surroundings and materials, making you a better observer of any change and easing the process of noticing unique features. Generally, ways to improve observation skills include being concentrated, engaged, and interactive with the information-all of which you can achieve through kinesthetic learning if it is your style.

Teaching Methods For Kinesthetic Learners

For teachers, understanding the ways in which students retain information is crucial for effective teaching. With kinesthetic learners preferring physical engagement when learning something, various strategies can be implemented by the teacher in order to help them learn. Below you can find some teaching methods to ensure effective learning for kinesthetic learners.

Include a variety of kinesthetic-friendly activities in your lessons. Since kinesthetic learners tend to get bored and can't focus long on a traditional lecture, try keeping your lectures as short as possible. Instead, try to include different activities such as surveys, roleplays, demonstrations, dances, projects, experiments, and more. You can ask learners to work in pairs or make small groups moving their chairs to work together on a particular assignment. Introducing various activities in the class keeps kinesthetic learners from getting bored while also helping them learn.

Allow them to move. Some teachers find standing during lectures unacceptable, but did you know that it is beneficial for some students? Allowing kinesthetic learners to move in class helps them learn more efficiently. Standing, doodling, tapping the leg, and more - are all the types of movements that would help a physical learner focus and learn more quickly. In addition, if you see that the kinesthetic learners in your class are not able to focus during lectures, pause and have the class switch places, jump, stretch, or do something similar to get some energy.

Motivate them to create their notes. Creating their own notes using pen and paper, highlighting parts in a book or notebook, underlining different parts - helps kinesthetic learners remember information more. Choosing between colored pencils and highlighters is a mini activity that requires motion and encourages kinesthetic learners who may be tired of sitting all day in class.

Teach outside. Whenever possible, or whenever you can make a connection to the lesson - teach outside of the classroom. Since learners understand best with real-life examples, you can take them outdoors, to a park or, the school backyard to learn plants. This way, they can touch the plants and feel them, instead of just reading about them and seeing pictures. Take the students outside to play different games or just observe. As a benefit, they will be actively learning.

Try to provide a practical component to the lessons. Since kinesthetic learners learn best by touch, whenever you can, offer your students things they can interact with physically. These include puzzles, blocks, and cubes, wooden numbers and letters, modeling clay, globes, maps, drawing materials, and more.

Knowing your primary learning style is crucial for successful learning. This article went through one of the four main learning types - kinesthetic learning. By including the kinesthetic learning definition, its characteristics, and benefits, we provided a general understanding of this learning style in order to help you identify whether you are a kinesthetic learner or not.

If you are a teacher, this article can help you understand your students, identify your kinesthetic learners in your class and use the strategy list we provided, consisting of various teaching methods for kinesthetic learners.

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Read this article to learn more about the kinesthetic learning style, its benefits, and kinesthetic learner characteristics.

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Warming Students Up to Collaboration -Gamifying & Think, Pair and Share - Nick

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Warming Students Up to Collaboration -Gamifying & Think, Pair and Share - Nick

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Gamifying
Teenagers can be challenging sometimes to open up and discuss topics with each other. Often is the case the previous lesson may have been a lecture-style lesson and the students have become mentally introverted. This makes collaboration quite difficult later on in the lesson.

An exercise I use is having a quick competition, spilt the class into 2 groups and play a game such as Hangman, Charades, 20 questions or I might play a speaking game that incorporates the whole class. My three favourites are;

1. Create a class story - but each person can only say one word and the next person has to carry on the sentence with another word.

2. I went to town and bought - Each student will say "I went to town and bought an (object)" the next student will have to say the previous person's object plus their own. I will often finish it by me trying to remember everyone's objects. I try to get it wrong every time to show to students it is ok to be wrong.

3. Count to 20 - Students will close their eyes so as to not see each other. Then I ask the students to count to 20, however, only 1 student can say a number each time. If 2 or more students say the net number at the same time the class goes back to 0.

Think, Pair and Share
Collaboration can sometimes be difficult for teenage students to go straight into cold. Using the Think, Pair, and Share approach is a great way to warm students up to collaboration and a topic.

How to do it?

First, give the students a problem and have them spend some minutes quietly thinking about their solution.

Then ask them to partner up and explain their solution to a peer. I will try to partner struggling students with stronger students. As sometimes the weaker student may not have a solution yet. This allows the partners to have a soundboard for their idea(s)/solutions.

The pairs will then share their solution(s) with the whole class. During this sharing is when the teacher will try to facilitate further constructive discussion. Usually littered with "what if's."

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For students at the high school level, the sense of the classroom as a learning community with the teacher playing a less prominent role is important. Students grouped by 4 or 6 facing each other so as to facilitate discussion and reducing the reliance on the teacher to move the class forward. The teacher floats around to each group to act as a resource. Each student has their own laptop so they have control of the information right in front of them rather than looking at a whiteboard at the front  of the room. This maximizes the level of interaction that students have with the topics and content being covered in the classroom. Inspirational words and images decorate the walls of the classroom and student creativity is displayed with equal or greater importance.

Reference:
Designing Learner-Centered Classroom Environments (and Why You Should Do It). Retrieved on June 20, 2022 from https://www.tetonscience.org/designing-learner-centered-classroom-environments-and-why-you-should-do-it/

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If you close your eyes and create a mental image of the classrooms where you spent your school years, we're betting it looks a little something like this: a teacher's desk and chalkboard at the front of the class, rows of desks facing the board or a semi-square of tables surrounding the perimeter of the room with space in the middle for a projector. You likely spent anywhere from 45 - 90 minutes in this one room before the bell rang and you moved on, through hallways lined with lockers, to the next classroom that was set up in a similar fashion. For most, the school building itself was probably designed 30 to 50 years ago based on learning models that were primarily teacher-centric and preparatory for institutional and industrial workplaces.

Sound familiar?

The fact is, if you walked into an average learning environment today you'd probably witness a similar design model. The times have changed, but this "cells and bells" model ( Kohn, 1999 ) is still widely practiced. And from what we know, "this type of design...is in direct contrast to what we know about how students learn, how tomorrow's teachers will need to teach, and all that we understand from educational research about the impact of learning space design" ( Sheninger and Murray, 2017 ).

And we get it, renovating and building new schools costs money...a lot of it. Around $12 billion annually to be exact. But if we put the financial aspect aside for a minute and really looked at this gap between design and the needs of our learners, we have a hunch it has more to do with a misalignment, and even understanding, of values than anything else.

(Although, yes, dollar bills matter, too).

21st century success requires 21st century design

For the most part, our school administrators and teachers have good intentions when it comes to the design of their learning environments. When we spoke to a few, words like motivate, inspire, feel good, and feel safe were popular answers when we asked what they hoped their classroom design communicated and evoked. They described rooms that were brightly colored, decorated with inspirational quote posters and catered to specific learning styles through varied seating arrangements. Most were designed by the teacher, based on their likes and what they considered motivational, inspirational and welcoming. When we asked if the students had any agency throughout the year to influence the environment or if they felt the space reflected the values of the students, the answers were comparatively quiet - "Um, no. I never thought about that", "I'm actually not sure", "That's probably a good idea." So, good intentions, but still very much teacher-centric.

If we take a look at modern workplaces like Google, Apple, Pixar and even collaborative workspaces like WeWork, we see that more and more organizations are representing the core values of their business (and their people) through intentional design within their work environments. Knowing that ideals like collaboration and innovation are important, they're engineering "casual collisions" or interactions to provoke unexpected conversations and new ideas . In their book, Learning Transformed: 8 Keys to Designing Tomorrow's Schools , Sheninger and Murrary note that:

"These types of workplaces have embraced the mantra that a creative work environment motivates and inspires innovation...To get better results, they intentionally incorporated elements that foster creativity, collaboration, flexibility, and communication" ( Sheninger and Murray, 2017 ).

So, new-age companies are designing workplace environments that not only matter to the people who work there, but contribute to better organizational outcomes overall. But what about schools? Can school administrators and teachers take a cue from modern workplace design and create learning environments that are inspirational, intentional, learner-centered and most importantly, foster improved student outcomes?

We think so. (And, no it doesn't have to necessitate a Google-sized budget.)

Uncovering values and aligning intention

When we here at Teton Science Schools enter a school we're working with for the first time, one of the first things we do is identify their values. Sometimes it's as simple as looking them up on the school website, other times its more complex and involves conversations with the principal, head of school or a group of willing teachers. For us, uncovering these values helps us to identify the school's intentional culture and align the work we're doing with the ideals of the school and its stakeholders. And we do this in a number of ways .

When it comes to translating values into the design of the learning environment, it's important that it not become an exercise in decorating and "Pinsperations," but rather approached through a lens of mindfulness and constructive learner representation. So how can this be done?

We have a couple of suggestions:

1. Bring words to life - If you like hanging inspirational posters in your classroom, try bringing those words to life in a different way. Give your students inspiring quotes and have them create their own visual images or ideas about how these words might be reflected in their classroom environment. A quote like,"Every person needs a place that is furnished with hope" by Maya Angelou may evoke images of nature, or home, or even summer camp. From there, your class can brainstorm ideas that translate those ideals into the space - maybe it's a few plants they'll tend to, maybe some comfier chairs, maybe a bigger space for quiet time. Whatever it may be, you'll know that it's reflective of your students' values and that they had agency in creating it with you.

2. Get creative - Depending on learning styles, students will have different ways of bringing values to life. Give students choice in how to translate their ideals by guiding them through an exploration of values and then allowing them creative freedom to express those ideals through writing, sketching, painting, or even song. Start by giving each student an index card to write down a value they'd like to see represented in their learning environment (either the physical space or social-emotional space created through rituals, policies and routines). Collect the cards and group them into similar categories. Then break students into groups to creatively make meaning of these abstract ideas and from there, brainstorm how their creative interpretations translate into practical examples.

However you choose to go about it, remember that it's likely that it will (and should) change. As Lella Gandini, leading voice for the Reggio Emilia approach, expresses:

" In order to act as an educator for the child, the environment has to be flexible: it must undergo frequent modification by the children and the teachers in order to remain up-to-date and responsive to their needs to be protagonists in constructing their knowledge."

At the end of the day, investing in intentional learning environments is investing in learners and the least we can do is make sure they feel intrigued, respected, and eager to spend their days living and learning in a classroom they helped create.

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If you close your eyes and create a mental image of the classrooms where you spent your school years, we're betting it looks a little something like this: a teacher's desk and chalkboard at the front...

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Student centered approaches and techniques to use to support differentiation varies depending on the subject, age-group, and abilities of the class. It is important to remember as teacher to differentiate to individual students.

One way this can be supported is to allow for student choice. Providing student choice allows for engagement and empowerment in their own learning.

Some techniques you may wish to use:

1. You may have the student complete research or PBL assignment. When giving the task it is important to allow the students to choose their own topic for assignment. This way students will undertake a topic they know they can achieve and they also feel they have an input in the learning process.

2. Another way to approach differentiation is by letting the student present their PBL assignment in anyway they wish. Some students can present their work through a PPT, a video, a website, blog etc.

3. Allow plenty of time for the assignment - letting the students know the deadline in advance will help them to decide how they approach the project. Let the students set their own deadlines for each stage of the project will help keep them on track.

4. Let the students choose who the project/presentation/assignment is intended for - is it for their classmates, the grade level, students in another school etc.

Spencer, J. (2016, September 26). 10 ways to empower students with choice. YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://youtu.be/L08wNizulOY

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Physical Environment - Display Student Work (Jammie)

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Physical Environment - Display Student Work (Jammie)

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Display Student Work

Instead of shopping online to buy classroom decorations, allow the students' work and projects to be displayed around the classroom. This method encourages students to do their best on every project and it is a great way for the students to showcase their accomplishments and build confidence. Furthermore, it provides a daily review of past projects which reinforces the previous lessons.

Student Centered Classroom Decorations

Here is a list of some fun ways to decorate your classroom:

1. Use clothespins to post work

It’s very simple and inexpensive. You will just need a few ribbons, tape, and clothespins.

2. Craft Bobbleheads

Students and parents enjoy seeing pictures of themselves displayed around the classroom. It’s even better when their work is associated with them. All you need to do is craft a tiny body and add a larger than proportional photo of your student’s head to it.

3. Memory Book

Hang up fastener folders around the classroom and allow the students to add their work to it over time. At the end of the semester, the students can take their memory books home.

In my classroom

During the holidays, my students work together to design clay turkeys, lanterns, and Christmas boots. We display these projects and other projects around our classroom during the school year.

New Approaches

Displaying the students’ work over the year could create quite a bit of clutter. This issue can be resolved by using newer technology; For example, teachers can display the students’ work by using a digital bulletin board or digital frames. Both of these items allow mass storage of work and can display multiple images throughout the day.

Online Toolkit

My students are currently in kindergarten, therefore there isn’t much online instruction. However, I do regularly send them review videos of our lessons and educational songs that they can sing at home.

References:

Staake, J. (2021, September 13). 18 Clever Ways to Display Student Work In the Classroom and Online. We Are Teachers. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://www.weareteachers.com/display-student-work/

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What are some student-centered approaches or techniques for reading?

Student-centered approach to reading considers the reader as an active and empowered role player in the reading, understanding and learning process. There are few techniques to explore when thinking about teaching students to engage in this approach to the reading activity. One of the biggest factors in reading is to make sure that the reader is interested in the subject, if not, the task becomes a bit more daunting in that an active way of attracting the reader is to be encouraged and not forced.

One technique will be to encourage students to ask purposeful and meaningful questions before, during, and even after the reading to check and share their understanding of the text.

Another technique is to start off the reading process with a prediction of what the students think the reading is about, get the students involved in actively asking questions they think the reading could answer. They could discuss what outcomes the reading could have. In this process the students should take responsibility to activate their prior knowledge to engage in getting to know the topic.

Making connections and inferring information is something that students in my class struggled with in terms of English language learning when reading some materials. The aim would be to teach the students the technique to use their prior knowledge and schema to identify and relate to what they know within the text they are reading. The student’s  language ability may deter them from making connections or inferring the meaning of the text, give the students vocabulary, work on what the meaning of the words are and then allow them to search the connections. Help the students to highlight important information and guide them through activities that can get them to use their knowledge and the information learned in class, collaborating on projects like connection idea boards, I think, now I know cards and many more where they work individually and in groups using what they read to expand on their understanding.

There are other techniques like summarizing, monitoring  and evaluating what students read, they can use all the prior mentioned techniques to restate the main ideas, write or discuss a different ending to the text, writing a report or even giving a presentation on data they think the text represent.

These techniques are just a few, there are many more that should be explored and discussed. Students are too often thought of as receptors of information where reading is concerned and reading is usually more of a chore than a joy. This view should be changed, students should be encouraged to read for fun, enjoying the process and participating in and engaging with what they read instead of just receiving information for them to be ‘tested’ on the memory of what they read.

References:

Dong, Y., Wu, S., Wang, W., & Peng, S. (2019). Is the Student-Centered Learning Style More Effective Than the Teacher-Student Double-Centered Learning Style in Improving Reading Performance?. Frontiers In Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02630

MaineDOEComm. (2013). Learner Centered Literacy: Owning Their Own Reading [Video]. Retrieved 18 June 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxx0P_euuSw.

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Learner Centered Literacy:  Owning Their Own Reading

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Utilizing a project based learning approach within the classroom can allow for a student centered engagement and learning environment. For PBL (project based learning), students begin with a driving question and then investigate through a variety of materials, utilize critical thinking skills, and communicate and collaborate with their peers to discover and learn more about the questions they would like to know more about. This approach also engages the students in topics they are interested in and questions they would like answers to that are relevant within their own daily lives. As a kindergarten teacher, we utilize this approach within our classrooms to provide more of a student centered learning environment. Instead of teacher to student instructions, we guide the children to discover their own answers through projects and self discovered research. Our job as teachers is to provide a classroom full of appropriate materials and tools for the children to utilize during this process. Now due to the children being so young, less technology is utilized and more physical materials and tools are used. However, there are still ways to utilize technology within this approach for such a young age. One part of the PBL approach is documentation. What the children have observed throughout the process of their projects. Sometimes this can be done through drawings or writings, as shown in the video above. However, technology for documentation can also be used. Providing the children with cameras to take photos or record videos of interviews with their fellow peers is one way to do this. Or taking photos of what they have observed in their environment for discovery (for example, if the children are working on a project about tree houses and determining how to create a tree house for the birds and the structure of support that the tree will provide, they can take photos of the tree they will use and learn more about its structure prior to constructing their project). This allows the children more access to their own learning through the use of simple technology and a way to reflect on their own work and the learning process. Another way is through utilizing smart board access. Although my school does not have smart boards, this could be another technology utilized within the classroom for the PBL approach. Providing students with a way to touch a screen to expand a world map or draw our their own designs on the board could allow more expansion into their self-discovery. By providing appropriate tools within the classroom for the students' age, and guiding the students through a PBL approach, we as teachers are allowing the children more control over their own learning and creating a student-centered classroom.

Reference: https://education.vermont.gov/sites/aoe/files/documents/edu-project-based-learning-a-student-centered-approach.pdf

https://www.edutopia.org/kindergarten-project-based-learning

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Process portfolios can be used as a form of assessments within the classroom that are geared towards student centered learning. At my school, each level of kindergarten have yearly portfolios for each student to display their work, understand their own processes and growth and discover what areas they would like to or want to improve upon. Within these portfolios are the six main learning domains our school focuses upon. Each unit we learn about/month we focus on these domains and the students have autonomy as they progress to determine which pieces of work they would like displayed within their portfolio. This portfolio is accessible at all times for the students to look at, share with their friends, and share with their parents. These portfolios are a great way for the children to self-assess and peer assess as well. They help engage students in their own creation and growth and help them to determine their own goals, aside from their parents or teachers.
Other ways of a student centered assessment approach could be the use of exhibitions to showcase the students' work. Portfolios are progressive, while exhibitions are more summative. An exhibitions can be used as a conclusion to a unit or to the year. It is another way for the students' to self-evaluate and peer evaluate their progress in determining if they met their initial goals. Both progressive portfolios and exhibitions can also incorporate the use of technology. Photographing students' work into a collective process or recording videos of their work as well can become a way for self-assessment through the use of technological advances.

Reference:
https://studentsatthecenterhub.org/resource/assessment/

https://studentsatthecenterhub.org/wp-content/uploads/3_SATC_AssessTools_ProcessPortfolio_042413.pdf

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Some general techniques to keep in mind for collaborative learning (Ben)

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Some general techniques to keep in mind for collaborative learning (Ben)

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Create learning opportunities that are complex

One way to do this is through rigorous projects that require students to identify a problem and agree—through research, discussion, debate, and time to develop their ideas—on a solution which they must then propose together.

Prepare students to be apart of a team

Establish expectations and norms for working together.

Create small groups of no more than four or five people. When there is less room to hide, nonparticipation is more difficult.

Assign meaningful roles, such as manager, monitor, or leader for each subtask of the activity. This can allow the teacher to assess students based on successful completion of these roles.

Build in opportunities for discussion and consensus

Don't always focus on the product and dividing labor. Rather, focus on engaging the students in a shared intellectual experience.

Key takeway about techniques for collaborative learning: teachers can promote real collaboration by shifting their role from instructor to coach—promoting team autonomy, checking in on students and providing instant feedback, and helping them increasingly learn to work together productively to attain a common goal.

Reference: Burns, Mary. (Nov, 22, 2016).

5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration. 5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration | Edutopia

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One simple technique that can be used is giving a book or other material to a "leader" student. Once this tag has been placed on the student, sometimes magic can happen. The student can facilliate some question and answers with a small group. In the best situation, they collaborate/discuss the material.

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Project-Based Learning: Raising Student Achievement for All Learners - YouTube

Here are some key questions to help teachers plan for a PBL scenario.

What skills will students need in terms of the language?

What vocabulary instruction might they need?

What sort of speaking and listening skills should we scaffold?

What functions of the language must be considered?

***Teachers should give students tools for showing what they know about the content. Provide sentence starters and stems to ELL students.

***Many of PBL projects are authentic and reach real audiences to make real impact in the world around us. Instead of demanding only products in English, ask for products in both English and another language to broaden the project's audience and impact.

Reference: Miller, Andrew. (July 9, 2015). Supporting ELLs in PBL projects. Supporting ELLs in PBL Projects | Edutopia

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Project-Based Learning: Raising Student Achievement for All Learners

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Cathal Burke -  What are some student-centered approaches or techniques that are based on or require collaboration?

Activities that require student collaboration within the classroom is a great opportunity for learners to establish a greater and more nuanced understanding of what is possible when working as part of a team, group, or collective. It also awards the students a greater deal of autonomy in shaping the trajectory of their own lessons. Ideally, I hope the students in my elementary school class can enjoy opportunities for collaborative group activities, and ultimately take away a greater appreciation for the power of working together to achieve a common objective.

Fishbowl

This fishbowl activity is great when you want to make sure all students participate in a classroom discussion or brainstorming session. It can help the learner gain a greater understanding of what exactly strong, open discussion can achieve. If successful, the Fishbowl should aid the students greatly during future collaborative efforts. The activity also helps when the group is brainstorming activities for either individual or group projects or as a warm-up in preparation for mapping out writing assignments. I like the autonomy it gives participants;  the fishbowl allows students to structure their discussions in a manner that is of their own choosing.

Note* - I work with Elementary school students and recommend this topic for fifth-grade students and up. Lower grades can benefit from the activity also but they require a far greater degree of scaffolding in my experience.

What is the ‘Fishbowl’

The “fishbowl” is a teaching technique that aids students as they practice conversation skills. The students perform the role of being both contributors and listeners in a discussion environment. Students sit in a circle and ask questions, share information and present their thoughts and opinions, when they sit within the “fishbowl”. Meanwhile, students on the outside observe the process. After a set period of, time the two groups exchange roles.

The Fishbowl Schematic.

1. Select a Discussion Prompt

Keep the topic open-ended and broad. This should allow students to go in many directions with their prompt and allow for a diverse set of opinions.

Here is one my sixth graders discussed recently

1. Is introducing a toll for motorists driving within Taichung city (their home city) center on weekends a good way to reduce pollution within the city?

2. If not what other strategies do you recommend?

2. Setting up the room

A circle of chairs will be “the fishbowl” and we leave enough room around the circle for the remaining students to observe what is happening in the “fishbowl.”

3. Preparation

Give the students time to think independently before joining the group. I usually allow five minutes and ask the students to write down what they are thinking so they won’t forget. This way allows me to give some hints to expand on points they have noted on the paper

4. Establish rules and boundaries

I allow discussions to last 10 minutes and then call for the changeover. I also stress that students need to allow each other students the opportunity to have their say. So I have to stress, before each discussion break-out, the importance of listening to each other and keeping a consistent volume so we can avoid shouting each other down or drowning out a classmate.

5. Reflection

After the discussion, you can ask students to reflect on how they think the discussion went and what they learned from it. I ask the students to select a point made by another student that they thought was good. I generally like to highlight some points made by students, that I took note of during the discussion, it helps to jog students' memories if the need arises.

References
1. Student-Centered Learning,(2019, October 20) Question 2 Student-Centered Collaboration. https://sites.google.com/view/student-centered-learning/question-2-student-centered-collaboration

2. TeachLikeThis. (2013, November 14). How to do a Fishbowl - TeachLikeThis [Video File]. Taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkWl9b0FZSE

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Gamification in education is a technique in which elements of the learning environment are structured to resemble games or elements of games, with the goal of creating a more stimulating and engaging experience for students. Gamification can be particularly effective when physical movement is also incorporated, as students (especially younger students) tend to enjoy any opportunity to be up and out of their seats. My 2 favourite student-centered activities that incorporate physical movement are;

1. The King Game - Select 6 students from the class to sit in a 3-2-1 triangle, and have the rest form 3 lines, one in front of each student at the bottom of the triangle. The students in that bottom row will ask the student at the front of their line a question, which can be as open-ended ('What will you do tomorrow?') or as direct ('What grade are you in?') as the needs of the lesson dictate. After the question is answered, the students play a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, and the standing student either moves on to the next tier to be asked a new question if they win, or returns to the back of a different line if they lose.
This activity offers them a chance to use their bodies and move around the classroom while also interacting with their peers, and the role of the teacher is largely facilitating the game.

2. Running Dictation - Post a number of sentences in various locations around the learning environment. Organize the students into groups, with each group receiving a sheet with incomplete versions of the sentences on them. ('1. The hat is ________.') One student from each group will
hunt down a completed sentence, read it, and return to their group to dictate it to another member who will fill it in on the paper. Students then swap roles.
This activity also incorporates physical movement in the learning process while keeping the focus and the pace of the activity largely centered on the students.

Reference: Waterford, 2019.

How to Use Gamification in Your Classroom to Encourage Intrinsic Motivation.

https://www.waterford.org/education/gamification-in-the-classroom/

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How to Use Gamification in Your Classroom to Encourage Intrinsic Motivation - Waterford.org

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Learn about gamification as a learning strategy and how to create game-based activities that avoid the common mistakes that make it less effective.

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Paired reading is a technique aimed at compensating for a lack of fluency by having students read certain texts aloud to each other. The reading material can be as simple or as complex as the needs of the class allow. Learners who are proficient enough can select their own materials they wish to practice reading, and those requiring greater structure can be given selected passages. Partner selection can be done by the students themselves to allow for greater social cohesion, or by the teacher to better balance the learning and socialization needs of the students.

In an ELL or EFL context, a passage can first be presented by the teacher to the class with a focus on listening and comprehension before organizing students into a paired reading activity. A further check on comprehension can be included by having pairs read the passage aloud to the teacher when they feel they've grasped the material thoroughly enough.

The following video offers a demonstration of a paired reading activity in an elementary level class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dUrS_4GHa4

References

The Balanced Literary Diet (2011, November 29). Pal Reading: Developing Fluency and Comprehension with Paired Reading. YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dUrS_4GHa4

Reading Rockets (2011) Paired (or Partner) Reading. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/paired_reading

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Pal Reading: Developing Fluency and Comprehension with Paired Reading

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Learner centered assessments approach should be focused on clear, specific learning progression, rather than learning being a grade focused process.  Student-centered approach allows for all involved to follow the students’ progress based on projects, tasks and regular formative assessments and reporting whether students are mastering certain tasks rather than achieving certain grades. The ‘old grade achieving test taking approach’ does not always show the amount of information learned and is often done through summative assessments, normally at the end of the school semester which cannot really be accepted as a timeous manner as it might be up to three months after a student learned specific materials. Thus, revisiting this approach and looking at a more learner friendly approach centered around what the learner has done and giving the learner the opportunity to show their knowledge in a timely manner instead of memorising is becoming an increasingly important factor in the learning sphere today (Heick, 2022).

According to Frisella (2019), students today need assessment and feedback in a timely manner as this will aid them in improving rather than waiting with work bulking it till the end of the semester and then lacking in the way we do feedback to students as it is long forgotten or never given to students, thus a loss of information occurs. Snelling (2021), claims that the turn of the 21st century has provided teachers with technology and online learning challenges due to Covid poses a new continuous assessment query, how to do this remains a challenge, thus, she propose three ways to check for understanding namely Assessment of learning, Assessment for learning, Assessment while learning.

Assessment of learning should be done in real-time or as the student is learning. Thus, this could involve actions like self-assessment or review, group discussions, playing games and doing a project where the teacher can clearly see the students’ understanding of the subject and know where to improve and what more needs to be done from these results, if anything else needs to be reviewed or revisited. For these forms of assessments teachers could use applications and or real-time in class checking like Kahoot or self-assessment forms for students to check their work.

Assessment for learning could involve peer assessments as this will allow for immediate feedback, students taking ownership of the assessment as well as presenting the feedback means they learn to think critically, communicate the other’s mistake and learn how to not make the same mistakes. There are tools like Flipgrid or a similar application that could help students to teach and reach others. Peer-assessment forms can be created online (anonymously) through a host of form creators to help give students confidence to be critical and honest to their classmate without fearing feedback hatred, and if a student has a query they approach the teacher to clarify openly what they struggle to understand or disagree with.

Lastly, Assessment while learning is an interactive way to assess whether students understand, know and comprehend the tasks, information and subject matter by exhibiting or creating portfolios of what they think the lessons are about. They can create these tasks again with or without technology and teachers could use a platform that they can follow the students’ progress or in class use low-tech ways to follow student performances, give and allow for input from others and give students the opportunity to check on each other through pair work or peer-review strategies where they can share ideas.

There is still room for a lot of assessment improvement and all education stakeholders should continue to search for best practices to ensure that both students and teachers’ needs are being met.

References:

Frisella, C. (2019). Measuring what matters. Iste.org. Retrieved 20 June 2022, from https://www.iste.org/explore/measuring-what-matters.

Heick, T. (2022). What Are The Best Examples of Student-Centered Teaching?. Retrieved 19 June 2022, from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/student-centered-teaching/

Snelling, J. (2021). It’s Time To Re-Evaluate K-12 Assessments. Iste.org. Retrieved 20 June 2022, from https://www.iste.org/explore/professional-development/its-time-re-evaluate-k-12-assessments.

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Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Assess Learning

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Student-centered approaches that are based on collaboration:

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Student-centered approaches that are based on collaboration:

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Collaborative learning is a student-centered educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product.z

Defining a student-centered learning approach is hold more complexity than
you may imagine. First of the words themselves, student-centered learning can't be defined without using the word in the name itself — it’s a teaching approach that’s centered on the student and their experiences

- This approach takes the following segments into consideration:

* Academic and life goals

* Learning styles

* Culture

* Interests

* Learning needs

Some activities that include collaboration include:

-       Think pair-share (TPS)

-       T : (Think) Teachers begin by asking a specific question about the text. Students "think" about what they know or have learned about the topic.

-       P : (Pair) Each student should be paired with another student or a small group.

-       S : (Share) Students share their thinking with their partner. Teachers expand the "share" into a whole-class discussion.

This style of learning can be used in almost all subjects form of learning such as language art, math, social studies, science

It helps students to think individually about a topic or answer to a question.

Another is group-writing assignments.

This learning activity involves collaborative work that culminates in a group‐authored document. Assign groups to write (and submit) Wikipedia entries on course‐related topics or create study guides for the course.

Reference:

https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think-pair-share

http://tnaugust17cohort4.pbworks.com/w/page/120465129/Student-centered%20approaches%C2%A0or%20techniques%20that%20are%20based%20on%20or%20require%20collaboration

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Understanding Differentiation

Once I began researching the topic of student-centered approaches or techniques to address differentiation, I learned that there is quite a broad field of information and approaches in existence already, and results of practices will vary greatly depending on the environment, age, subject, and ability. However, one thing that was a constant across all of these different sectors, is the need for differentiation within the classroom. Differentiation should be a part of every classroom in fact. Each student is their own unique combination of experiences, abilities, and of course needs. Differentiation within the classroom can cater to all of these experiences by providing a dynamic and proactive, student-centered experience that blends both group, and individual education practices.

Incorporating Differentiation Within the Classroom

Shaelynn Farnsworth identifies four areas teachers can incorporate differentiation within the classroom.

Assessment – Understanding what students have learned and what they still need to work on.

Content – What do students need to learn and what will allow them to access this learning.

Process – Here we have activities the student will engage in that should allow them to understand or master the required content

Products – Projects or activities that allow the student to display or expand upon what they have learned.

I decided to examine the fourth category ‘Product and here I discovered the activity ‘Book Creator’. Generally, after the learning is done and we are approaching the review stage the student is required to display their understanding of what they learned through some sort of activity that summarizes their thoughts. ‘Book Creator’, should free the student from this restrictive approach and instead allow them to get creative, by transforming those lessons into a product of their own making, through the ‘Book Creator’ program.

What is book creator?

Book creator is an application which allows the students in the classroom to take what they have learned in the classroom and create their own projects or books from it. This allows students to get as creative as they like with their books and display what they have learned in a manner that is unique to them.

Sample Activity (Taken from my Sixth Grade ELL Reading Class)

We recently got finished reading two different abridged books ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and ‘The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood’. I split the class into groups of two and gave them the following prompt when creating their books.

How did reading these books make you feel? Which did you enjoy more? Create a book to share your thoughts?

After that, I gave the students three periods to plan and create their lessons. At the end of the time period, we printed out the books and made a mock display in our school library, and asked the groups to share their books with their classmates.

Take Away

Students were able to share their takeaways from the two books with their peers in a creative manner. They were later able to compare and contrast how those feelings were individually expressed by sharing their books with their peers and having their peers share their books with them.

References

Shaelynn Farnsworth, 4 EdTech Ways to Differentiate in a Student-Centered Classroom (February 9, 2019), Taken from https://shaelynnfarnsworth.com/2018/02/05/4-edtech-ways-to-differentiate-in-a-student-centered-classroom/

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Students love it. Teachers love it. Book Creator is the simplest, most inclusive way to create content in the classroom.

Learn more and get started for free at https://bookcreator.com.

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Collaborative learning is a student-centered educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product.

Defining a student-centered learning approach is hold more complexity than
you may imagine. First of the words themselves, student-centered learning can't be defined without using the word in the name itself — it’s a teaching approach that’s centered on the student and their experiences

- This approach takes the following segments into consideration:

* Academic and life goals

* Learning styles

* Culture

* Interests

* Learning needs

Some activities that include collaboration include:

-       Think pair-share (TPS)

-       T : (Think) Teachers begin by asking a specific question about the text. Students "think" about what they know or have learned about the topic.

-       P : (Pair) Each student should be paired with another student or a small group.

-       S : (Share) Students share their thinking with their partner. Teachers expand the "share" into a whole-class discussion.

This style of learning can be used in almost all subjects form of learning such as language art, math, social studies, science

It helps students to think individually about a topic or answer to a question.

Another is group-writing assignments.

This learning activity involves collaborative work that culminates in a group‐authored document. Assign groups to write (and submit) Wikipedia entries on course‐related topics or create study guides for the course.

Reference:

https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think-pair-share

http://tnaugust17cohort4.pbworks.com/w/page/120465129/Student-centered%20approaches%C2%A0or%20techniques%20that%20are%20based%20on%20or%20require%20collaboration

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Student- centered approaches or techniques that are based on collaboration - Bermet

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Student- centered approaches or techniques that are based on collaboration - Bermet

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Collaboration activities are always great to start a class whether it would be English or math. Having students collaborate helps to build a relationship and creates a friendly atmosphere where everyone is free to contribute their answers.

Starting a class with a warm up is great introduction to collaboration. While I get ready with last minute preps, I have my students work in groups to solve the warm up questions that are on my screen. Students work in pairs to solve the problem, then share their answer with another group before giving their final answers to the teacher(me). This benefits the students in a way that reduces anxiety and helps them be prepared to cover the material.

Another activity that I like conducting in my math classes is to have students create 1 Kahoot, where everyone can contribute a question and at the end, everyone can play the game. This way of collaboration enables students to ask questions from each other and then play it all together.

Project-based learning is one of my student's favorite ways to cover a unit. In geometry classes, students have built their marshmallow spaghetti tower, built their 3D constructions, 3D Maps, Hexa-flexagons, and many more hands on activities that require collaboration.

One last activity that I would like to share is the game Mafia, which follows the same rules are as the traditional Mafia game, except every action whether it would be to kill, cure, or justify someone is followed by a math problem in which they have to solve and prove/justify their answer to the rest of the group. Usually, this game can be used as a unit review before the test or just as an enrichment activity.

References:
Paterson, James. “Building a Culture of Classroom Collaboration.” NEA, https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/building-culture-classroom-collaboration.

“Student Centered Learning - Question 2 - (Student-Centered Collaboration).” Student Centered Learning - Question 2 - (Student-Centered Collaboration), https://sites.google.com/view/student-centered-learning/question-2-student-centered-collaboration?authuser=0.

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Student-centered learning assessments - Bermet

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Student-centered learning assessments - Bermet

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Student-centered learning assessments are multidimensional;  and are one way of getting rid of test anxiety and pressure, instead adding real life applications where students are tested on the whole idea of learning through projects, experiments which adds more knowledge and repetition.

The main purpose of assessment is to retrieve the information taught, but this method of retrieval can be done in various ways.
- Project based assessment
- Point of Mastery after every class
- Exit tickets after every class
- Student self assessments
- Mini quizzes
- Rubrics that clearly state what is expected of them
- Portfolio assessments

Through student-centered assessments, students are able to peer review, collaborate and find answers together and take pride in accomplished projects.

References:
“Student Centered Learning - Question 3 - (Student Centered Assessment).” Student Centered Learning - Question 3 - (Student Centered Assessment), https://sites.google.com/view/student-centered-learning/question-3-student-centered-assessment?authuser=0.

Vanoni, Juan Carlos Córdova. “Student-Centered Learning: Essential Conditions.” Student-Centered Learning: Essential Conditions, 1 Jan. 1970, http://eflshire.blogspot.com/2017/09/student-centered-learning-essential.html.