With all the studies, research, and new theories  imposed on educators over the past hundred years, how much has learning really changed? Is the classroom still a place with a big desk for teachers at the front and many small desks for learners laid out in rank and file like soldiers before the all knowing Captain?

 

Are teachers still imposing rules, structure, and expectations in the face of near open insurrection? Do teachers still the classroom as their sovereign domain? I hope not.

 

Engagement is the holy grail of learning, and the more teachers impose, the more learners resist. If you find yourself struggling for control, consider a different approach.

 

Bring your learners into the teaching sphere. Open the challenge up to them and ask for their ideas. If they have a special sphere of interest, ask them to research and share their knowledge. Give them a role in the process.

 

Steven Brookfield, in Becoming a Critically Reflective teacher, talks about democracy in the classroom. He doesn’t espouse total democracy, as least, he remains the chief executive officer, but the suggestion is that if you want rules, invite your learners to help write them. I think this is excellent psychology: we are more apt to follow rules we have a hand in creating.

 

The same is true about learning when we have a hand in creating learning, we are much more invested in the process. We learn much better that way too.

 

Your challenge should be to let learners be more active in the teaching than the teacher. If you think that learners can’t be effective without a very active teacher, check out Sugata Mitra on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk60sYrU2RU).

 

 

Tomorrow’s post will introduce Flipped Learning and it’s attempt to change classroom dynamics.