1. Students should give more than they ‘get.’
Every day, students should leave school feeling cognitive stretched and intellectually agitated. Changed. And for this to be sustainable over time (a critical component of the Inside-Out Learning Model), it has to come not from teachers, but students themselves.
This isn’t a new idea. There are other efforts that either paraphrase or support his effort. For years, teachers have been admonished to ‘never work harder than the students.’ Progressive education often refers to the shift for the role of the teacher from the ‘sage on stage’ to the ‘guide on the side.’ Suggesting that students ‘be the loudest voices in the room’ is parallel here, too.
Students should create, practice, collaborate, and design–more than they ‘sit and get.’
And so on. The big idea here is shifting the roles between teachers and students–and not just ‘holding students accountable’ any more than school districts seeks to ‘hold teachers accountable.’ Rather, this about tone and climate. Perspective.
And this can, in part, be accomplished by empowering students through self-direction, process ownership, cognitive engagement, and meaningful autonomy.
2. Every day, students should ask more questions than they answer.
Why should students ask more questions than they answer? Of course, quantity isn’t the point. But merely insisting on quality isn’t enough, either. More than anything else, a student’s tendency to consistently ask more–and better–questions is an indicator of not only ‘student engagement,’ but of curiosity, ownership, autonomy, and hope. (Imagine a student with no confidence or hope consistently asking great questions. It’s unlikely.)
One Strategy: How can you help students ask more questions than they answer? Start small. Maybe they can simply improve their questions–start with a question and make it better.
And in a perfect world, they’ll do this on their own, unprompted, using their own questions they asked to begin with. In the meantime, you may have to help them practice this skill in cognitive (i.e., their ability to do so) and behavioral (i.e., their will and tendency to do so).
3. Transfer what they know from the classroom to their lives.
Because if they don’t, what’s the point of it all?
One Strategy: Learning journals that help students think, where students take a few minutes each day or night to reflect on the transferability of the knowledge they acquired and/or their tendency to do so. (And if they can’t do either, this is a great starting point to talk about curriculum, assessment, instruction, and so on in your school and district.)
4. Every day, students should feel a sense of progress and hope.
In other words, grow.
Progress and hope won’t always be equal or even clear. Some days, they both might be scarce. But any day that passes when a student feels no confidence, hope, improvement, or growth is a failure by everyone and thing who could’ve made it otherwise.
Of course, ‘hope’ is a vague concept that thankfully extends well beyond the classroom. The possibility of educating children with no hope (for today or the future) is a sobering one. And ideally, progress in the classroom yields a sense of hope at home if the relationship between curriculum and living is sufficiently direct.
Brilliant Tutions' best online teaching methods help students to learn and improve in their subjects effectively. Brilliant tutors help students to understand fundamental concepts and incorporate versatile instructional practices to make them comfortable with the subjects. Brilliant Tuitions - one of the best online Math & Science tuitions in Dubai, specialising in both - British curriculum and CBSE syllabus, enhances students' learning skills by involving them in seminars, quizzes, daily recaps, home works & periodic tests.
Our experienced Math Tutor in Dubai & Science Tutor in Dubai concentrate more on fundamentals and strive to provide the best online tutoring in UAE.
We help students to discover their inner potential, gain overall confidence, and boost their performance.
Comments