Ruminate on the ideas put forth by Deborah Stern on co-created classes. What aspects seem doable and which ones seem far fetched? What place does this type of inquiry have in America's classrooms?
My mentor recently told me about a friend of hers who works down in Baltimore schools. One day before class started she was given the class list with 60 names on it. She was concerned, and reasonably so--not only is that an outrageous number of students for one classroom, but there were only 30 desks in the room. There was no way they would all be accommodated. She hastily called the school, who told her not to worry. They wouldn't all be there. The number who actually showed up for school on that first day? 10.
In an environment such as that, or in Chicago urban schools for which Stern teaches, the co-created classroom is an exciting idea. Well, it's exciting anywhere, but it's both exciting AND plausible. In that Baltimore school, I'm sure there would be a much stronger reaction to a lesson about “real” things that the students are facing than your typical teacher-centered curriculum. Students would be learning about the world around them in a more recognizable way. They would get the chance to discuss topics they are passionate about, concerned about, and involved in. These students are growing up in a difficult environment. Ignoring problems or presenting them in vague, difficult to reach ways will do nothing to help our students thrive in society. Let them talk about violence, or sexuality, or good vs. bad. People get excited about topics. One of my favorite quotes of the article is that the teacher should be able to ask anyone for a source and they would be able to give one. People really care about these things, and the idea sticks with them when they recognize it in the world. It would perform no magic trick, but maybe students would gradually filter back into those seats if they hear about the chance to do things they love in a safe environment. Much of the struggle there, as we’ve discussed a bit already and will do moreso in a few weeks, is censorship. It was refreshing to me to see Stern throw profanity out there. I’m sure it was for her students, as well. If they’re constantly self-censoring, they don’t get to be themselves and start to become comfortable. Still, one must be careful when discussing such volatile topics or including controversial words. Creating units around a theme should be very do-able: We’re about to do it ourselves in this class. The content of those units tends to be the problem. I think her idea of the teacher selecting a few minor works to go along with the theme is very possible. Student-created assessment is also an exciting concept. I don’t think, however, that all schools will be open to her willingness to discard the curriculum for a student-created one. It must still be rooted in the traditional mandates. They must have that rationale.
This is especially true outside of urban environments. The co-created curriculum would have to be very gradually phased in, with just one unit or so for students. The curriculum is much too tight in schools where most students are gearing up for post-secondary education, as Stern mentions. However, it should still be very possible to include a few small resources, such as pop culture references, as chosen by the students (as long as it is teacher reviewed beforehand). Student-created assessment is a great technique to ensure that all students are understanding the information as long as you stress deeper-level thinking. Students should be allowed to explore topics in which they are interested as well as what the school thinks they should be interested in. Stern makes a very convincing point that even though the teacher may pay particular attention to what topics are relevant and what ties in with student interest, it will still be looked down upon as teacher-selected. We must create a regulated classroom filled with individual student input.
As I was reading the article, I kept imagining the 7th grade class I am currently teaching and whether co-creating could be possible. I really think they are more than capable of making decisions about their learning. But on the other hand, most of them are still very immature. I think it would be a good idea to try to brainstorm possible topics they would like to discuss. But will they actually be able to be responsible for a presentation and actually complete their own assinments? I struggle to answer this just because they complain about a one page homework. They complain about reading, even if they were given a choice to pick their own book. They complain about not being able to talk to friends....but, it was amazing to see how engaged the students were reading "Forged by Fire", they asked questions, made predictions, debated and were truly involved in the activities. Seeing such interest gives me hope.
I really am glad you brought up the immaturity - it's something we really have to keep in mind, especially us interns who are placed in middle school classrooms. I'm not sure about your kids, but I've seen many girls carrying around the Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey series - not something any english teacher would want in their curriculum.
I think maybe if they were given options would help, but here's the twist - the teacher provides the options. This way, the students would still get that power to choose and mold their curriculum, but the teacher would still have the final word. I do think it's important to stress the importance of creativity and give students as much of an option as we can give them.
Although I'm not positive about how realistic this is in every classroom, I really enjoyed reading it! McCaskey has a very strict curriculum that needs to be followed, so it doesn't leave much (read any!) room for teachers to pick which novels their students will read. However, I think that students could be shown what a unit will consist of ahead of time, and pick which themes they would like to see, or even pick themes from a list of themes that go well with a unit. I will be teaching the book Night in a unit about the Holocaust in January, and my students will hopefully be taking a trip to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. in November. With this I hope to give the students a day to discuss the trip afterwards, and use their questions and knowledge from the trip to help formulate parts of my unit to get them more involved in the unit planning. To update the idea of student-made lesson plans for a day based on music or video we could use YouTube to find material that our students would like. For example, I want to start looking up songs I like that relate to our units and have students listen/analyze them for their Do Now's as they come into the classroom, and I think that this would be a great thing for my students to do as well. As they recognize themes in our texts, look for them in popular culture, and we can show them to the class and have the class analyze the song just as they would with one that I gave them. This takes away from the responsibilities of students bringing in music as a homework assignment, but at the same time, most students don't even have CDs at home with music that they could bring in since most students use iPods and other MP3 players. I think that technology makes this aspect of student involvement much more realistic because I don't know many students that leave home without their music with them every day.
Integrating this would definitely be a balancing act for new teachers who are trying to establish their teaching style and exhibit control over their classrooms, but I think that it can be an invigorating way of learning for students who are used to having little to no say in their classrooms. My students complain if they have to finish class work for homework and many times just hand in their "homework" with whatever had been done the day before and no progress made over the night. I would think that if a student were to co-create a unit that it would encourage them to want to do work outside of the classroom, so this would be interesting to see, especially with students who tend to be fairly apathetic when it comes to anything related to school.
I don't want to sound too harsh, but this article reminded me of of butterflies and unicorns. It all sounds awesome, but when I think about the classroom I'm placed in, I really don't think all of Stern's ideas are possible. The first, and probably biggest issues with this are curriculum and time. Conestoga Valley runs on a block schedule, which means the kids only have English for half of the year. This gives teachers very little time to complete the required curriculum. I just worry that if you gave the students that much power they would never finish anything.
If, however, you were brave enough to try this co-created classroom you would need an AIR-TIGHT and INFALLIBLE rationale to back it up. I'm imagining the head of the English department barging in and asking what on Earth is going on and how it applies to Common Core. I'm also picturing parents calling in complaining about your classroom management skills.
While I think it is important to give students some kind of choice in their education (aka choosing their own book from a list for a literature circle), I think giving them that much power would be opening a HUGE can of worms.
What if you frame the power the students are getting in a different way? Their power comes from you, the teacher, thus you are empowering them rather than losing control. It is your classroom, and it can even be THEIR classroom too, but I don't necessarily think it means you (the teacher) would lose power. You just give choice (and how much choice is up to you.) Whether they are picking their own books or ideas to learn about, you can control and have the ultimate say in the final decision. Stern would offer choices between certain chapters, which is still a choice.
Giving them choices and empowering them without proper expectations and guidelines could certainly get out of hand. But Stern's experiences show that when given ownership, the students usually seemed to do a good job of stewarding and self-regulating in some ways. "With great power comes great responsibility" (I can't believe I just used that quote). But seriously, I think it could really work to let kids feel they are part of the learning process in their classroom.
Anyway, here's to trying just to see if it will succeed (or fail)!
Ashly, I appreciate your candid concerns about Stern's approach. Whenever we come across any new approach to teaching, we must ask ourselves, "how feasible is this?" On that note, I surprisingly found Stern's co-created classroom something we all could implement at some point in our classes. I usually view most pedagogical approaches as the "butterflies and unicorns" you describe, but I think Stern's approach champions the practical and pragmatic. It will be difficult to give up control of our classrooms because we probably never experienced an English classroom like this. If you think about her suggestions, she advises that teachers do not have to plan out learning destinations, those goals of understanding we try to reach, prior to the school year. Teachers have the option to play it by ear. The interest surveys given at students become meaningful data to determine what the students want to get out of class. I also think Stern makes the important distinction between giving her students a say in learning outcomes and control of the class. She gave her students the chance to work with interesting texts that they chose, like the music lyrics, but Stern maintained authority and held them accountable for their work. When one student did not come prepared, Stern reverted back to traditional texts and assignments showing the students the importance of follow through in self guided learning. I think it's doable if we never let the student assume they control how the classroom operates, only the material they are allowed to explore.
I'm glad you approached this with a realistic eye, because you're right - giving them the complete option would open a huge can of worms. Especially in a middle school classroom like mine where Twilight overshadows Shakespeare and the Bronte Sisters.
I like your idea of the literature circles, because it gives them the freedom and creativity to choose and mold their learning while still giving us the final word. Total control should never be given to students, but I think they definitely deserve a say in what goes into their little noggins - we need to find a way to make it fun for them somehow rather than trap them in a building for eight hours a day.
I initially wanted to say that I was unsure about this idea of co-created classrooms, but I have to say that I think I actually favor them. It seems like most of the texts we read have for our education classes are either far too theoretical to help a beginning teacher, or are written by such super hero teachers that I cannot fathom how I could come close to imitating their style. For me, Stern's ideas fell pretty close to the middle of the spectrum, and thus almost within my reach. I can see this working for me, but I will have to reach for it, I will have to put myself out there and see what happens.
I love the idea of students finding that THEY actually know things. Stern's descriptions of her own students realizations of discovery and joy in learning made me pretty excited. Practically speaking, there is always something that can go wrong, or a group of students who won't respond as well, but I think when I become more comfortable managing my classroom, this would not frighten me as much.
As I reflected on my RPG on questioning, I found new possibilities for learning that revolve around answering some questions using inquiry. These ideas can easily into the common core and to existing curriculum if we want them to. (I say easily here because I do believe that once I have more experience, some of this will actually be pretty straightforward). Stern says she would offer choices between units or ideas she already considered or planned on doing. And she didn't even have to do them once the kids voted or decided. I think that if the students could be an active part of the thinking and learning, everyone can benefit.
Yes to everything you said. This was also the first time I read something and thought "yeah, this could actually work." I do, however, think that it requires teachers to first build a foundation of resources and strategies to pull from before this can be totally successful. I agree with your comment about how there is always something or someone that could ruin the experience, but I think that, with practice, we can learn how to steer students as they take responsibility for their learning. It is all about getting to know your students, realizing what they can or cannot handle, and then managing the classroom effectively. This excites me as well! I really wish I could see this in action, but maybe it will be something I can work up the courage to try within my first few years of teaching.
I went to a department meeting with my mentor earlier this week where they were discussing the teacher evaluation changes that will be happening over the course of the year. Teachers at Conestoga Valley are being asked to create goals for themselves and then compile evidence in order to display to outside sources how they are meeting those goals within their classrooms. As they were discussing the differences between being labeled a "proficient" and "distinguished" teacher, I noticed that the main difference was student involvement; a student-run and student-centered classroom has become the new ideal. After reading Stern's article on co-created classrooms, I saw how her approaches could be tied in with this concept. Although I see it's practicality, I also (like anything) worry how successful it could actually be in a real-world setting. I don't doubt her success, but I always question why I haven't seen these types of things in the classrooms I have observed in before.
I do believe this is possible, but it would require a well-practiced teacher to constantly steer students in the right directions. With allowing students the freedom to choose the course of the curriculum, it is also crucial that the teacher have a foundation of resources to pull from that could be incorporated into a student-created unit. Of course, it will take time to build that foundation, which is why I appreciate Stern's practical advice of how, when trying this for the first time, to "continue with your regular curriculum as you get a rough plan together." I don't think that we should have students suggest ideas when we are first getting started because I can see first-year teachers falling flat on their faces (especially when forced to explain their rationale to administrators or, even worse, parents). However, if evaluations are saying that the only way to be a distinguished teacher is to have a classroom centered and run by students, then this concept should be embraced rather than criticized.
I am actually rather excited to see classrooms begin to move in this direction. While the teacher should still maintain the power in the classroom, we do still need to stop white-knuckling our control. We need to genuinely listen to the input of our students because while students still might take interest in the topics we choose, Stern mentions how they still view it as "school." However, we do need to know our students for this to truly work. Some classes may be able to handle certain topics that may be too heavy for others.
When I was reading this, I was a bit torn between whether or not co-created classrooms could actually exist or not. I think it can, but has to be closely monitored by the teacher. When my mentor and I first went over the cannon books for this year, she rolled her eyes at a few, saying how they were boring and the students never really like them. When I asked why, she said it was such a lengthy process to change anything, and most proposals were shot down without much explanation.
On top of that, as someone previously mentioned, I'm not sure if the students understand fully what kinds of literature and material they actually NEED for their futures. Sure, they may want to pick something, but chances are, they're going to pick the easiest way out possible, especially if the subject at hand isn't their strongest one. The only way I can honestly think of a co-created classroom a possibility would be for the teacher to give the students choices - but the choices would come from books of the teachers' choosing.
That's not to say that other aspects of the classroom can't be co-created, but just the cannon books, or if the curriculum is too strict. I do believe that students need some more say in the classroom, and the teachers sometimes need to let go of the reigns. School squashes the creativity out of students, and it's important to savor any creative juices they have left - offer an variety of assessment options, hear what they have to say and take a few of their ideas. Put THEM in the driver's seat. Make it fun - find out what they're interested in and take away the common idea of school being a "jail" for eight hours a day. The idea of a co-created classroom is possible (to an extent, of course), but it's up to the teacher to get the ball rolling.
I like what Stern has to say at the bottom of the seventh / top of the eight page of the PDF. She highlights how, when students have ownership over what is going on in the classroom, they will be more engaged with the creation of units and lessons. The idea that the students must take ownership and be responsible with their time in order to have a fun and enthralling lesson is almost like a sneaky, subversive way to convince students to engage. Instead of punishing students in ways that leaves them behind, punishing them with monotony seems much more effective.
This reminds me of something my mentor told me, about something as simple as cell phone usage. Overhearing me tell a student that if I saw their cell phone one more time I'd have to take it (unfortunately, school policy...the new principal is pretty serious about it), she asked me what my plan was if they said no. Was I going to create a disruption? Was I going to let them win? If students win when they fail to bring work into class, they're not going to have any motivation to be proactive about their education. She told me, instead, to give the students ownership. "You're not going to make me take that away from you, are you? I really don't want to have to do that..." Likewise, if we convince students that we don't want mundane assignments and worksheets...that these things are as much of a last resort for them as they are for us...we can motivate them to engage perhaps more than we once thought possible.
I love what you have to bring to the discussion, Seth. Having students take ownership in the classroom is a huge idea that Stern pushes and I like that you take it to the academic level and the behavioral level. I have been struggling with classroom management and knowing what to say to get students to take ownership of their actions. I will try using your mentor's advice of simply rewording a disciplinary statement from "If I see that out one more time I'm going to have to take it." to "You're not going to make me take that away from you, are you?" Instead of having the students test their boundaries with the first statement, you turn it around for them to take responsibility for what they are doing. Genius! I hope I can effectively reword my behavior management statements for my students to gain ownership of their behaviors.
Also, Stern's idea of students taking ownership of their education in a cocreative classroom is an idea that I see as very plausible. I can see it best working in regards to students in my classroom at Manheim Township Middle School constructing their rubric for assessment when it comes to giving their speeches throughout the year. Little by little, my mentor and I have been giving the students opportunities to be in front of the class to present something about themselves. It has served as a great community builder for the classroom and anxiety reliever as we have all shared a little more about each other with each new presentation. However, some students don't quite know what a "quality" presentation should look like, sound like, or how it should be presented. They all have schemas built up about how to give a presentation, but that knowledge has never been worked out for them to see what key aspects of a presentation make it an effective and quality presentation. I see Stern's cocreative classroom ideas of students taking ownership of their education by exploring what they believe a good presentation looks like where the class as a whole can build the key bullet points together that we will be assessing the students on. And yes, I said "we." I'd love for my class to not only construct a class rubric for our speeches, but evaluate each other giving feedback to their peers about what he/she did well and what he/she could improve based on the rubric bullet points that we decided would be our way of assessing a good presentation! I'll try this cocreative classroom idea out and report back with my discoveries!
I absolutely love Stern's idea of a co-created classroom! This would be very difficult to put together, and it would take a lot of effort and dedication not only from the teacher, but the students too! However, I believe that if that effort is put in, then the results could be pretty incredible. It is our job as teachers to place the power and responsibility of learning back in the hands of the students. Teachers should not be the bearers of knowledge, nor should students be considered empty buckets waiting to be filled with knowledge. The classroom is the STUDENTS' classroom, and they should own that! The very best thing for the students is for them to realize this and take ownership of it. Having a teacher to help guide them and keep them in check with their explorations and learning sounds like a pretty incredible thing. I would be very interested in trying to make something like this in my own classroom one day, but my only fear would be that I would miss something with the planning or not have a solid way to tie it to the curricullum. I definitely would like to research a bit more about this idea of a co-created classroom on my own to figure out a few of these issues. I will also speak with my mentor teacher and see if she has any light to shed on the idea!
My mentor recently told me about a friend of hers who works down in Baltimore schools. One day before class started she was given the class list with 60 names on it. She was concerned, and reasonably so--not only is that an outrageous number of students for one classroom, but there were only 30 desks in the room. There was no way they would all be accommodated. She hastily called the school, who told her not to worry. They wouldn't all be there. The number who actually showed up for school on that first day? 10.
ReplyDeleteIn an environment such as that, or in Chicago urban schools for which Stern teaches, the co-created classroom is an exciting idea. Well, it's exciting anywhere, but it's both exciting AND plausible. In that Baltimore school, I'm sure there would be a much stronger reaction to a lesson about “real” things that the students are facing than your typical teacher-centered curriculum. Students would be learning about the world around them in a more recognizable way. They would get the chance to discuss topics they are passionate about, concerned about, and involved in. These students are growing up in a difficult environment. Ignoring problems or presenting them in vague, difficult to reach ways will do nothing to help our students thrive in society. Let them talk about violence, or sexuality, or good vs. bad. People get excited about topics. One of my favorite quotes of the article is that the teacher should be able to ask anyone for a source and they would be able to give one. People really care about these things, and the idea sticks with them when they recognize it in the world. It would perform no magic trick, but maybe students would gradually filter back into those seats if they hear about the chance to do things they love in a safe environment. Much of the struggle there, as we’ve discussed a bit already and will do moreso in a few weeks, is censorship. It was refreshing to me to see Stern throw profanity out there. I’m sure it was for her students, as well. If they’re constantly self-censoring, they don’t get to be themselves and start to become comfortable. Still, one must be careful when discussing such volatile topics or including controversial words. Creating units around a theme should be very do-able: We’re about to do it ourselves in this class. The content of those units tends to be the problem. I think her idea of the teacher selecting a few minor works to go along with the theme is very possible. Student-created assessment is also an exciting concept. I don’t think, however, that all schools will be open to her willingness to discard the curriculum for a student-created one. It must still be rooted in the traditional mandates. They must have that rationale.
This is especially true outside of urban environments. The co-created curriculum would have to be very gradually phased in, with just one unit or so for students. The curriculum is much too tight in schools where most students are gearing up for post-secondary education, as Stern mentions. However, it should still be very possible to include a few small resources, such as pop culture references, as chosen by the students (as long as it is teacher reviewed beforehand). Student-created assessment is a great technique to ensure that all students are understanding the information as long as you stress deeper-level thinking. Students should be allowed to explore topics in which they are interested as well as what the school thinks they should be interested in. Stern makes a very convincing point that even though the teacher may pay particular attention to what topics are relevant and what ties in with student interest, it will still be looked down upon as teacher-selected. We must create a regulated classroom filled with individual student input.
As I was reading the article, I kept imagining the 7th grade class I am currently teaching and whether co-creating could be possible. I really think they are more than capable of making decisions about their learning. But on the other hand, most of them are still very immature. I think it would be a good idea to try to brainstorm possible topics they would like to discuss. But will they actually be able to be responsible for a presentation and actually complete their own assinments? I struggle to answer this just because they complain about a one page homework. They complain about reading, even if they were given a choice to pick their own book. They complain about not being able to talk to friends....but, it was amazing to see how engaged the students were reading "Forged by Fire", they asked questions, made predictions, debated and were truly involved in the activities. Seeing such interest gives me hope.
ReplyDeleteI really am glad you brought up the immaturity - it's something we really have to keep in mind, especially us interns who are placed in middle school classrooms. I'm not sure about your kids, but I've seen many girls carrying around the Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey series - not something any english teacher would want in their curriculum.
DeleteI think maybe if they were given options would help, but here's the twist - the teacher provides the options. This way, the students would still get that power to choose and mold their curriculum, but the teacher would still have the final word. I do think it's important to stress the importance of creativity and give students as much of an option as we can give them.
Although I'm not positive about how realistic this is in every classroom, I really enjoyed reading it! McCaskey has a very strict curriculum that needs to be followed, so it doesn't leave much (read any!) room for teachers to pick which novels their students will read. However, I think that students could be shown what a unit will consist of ahead of time, and pick which themes they would like to see, or even pick themes from a list of themes that go well with a unit. I will be teaching the book Night in a unit about the Holocaust in January, and my students will hopefully be taking a trip to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. in November. With this I hope to give the students a day to discuss the trip afterwards, and use their questions and knowledge from the trip to help formulate parts of my unit to get them more involved in the unit planning. To update the idea of student-made lesson plans for a day based on music or video we could use YouTube to find material that our students would like. For example, I want to start looking up songs I like that relate to our units and have students listen/analyze them for their Do Now's as they come into the classroom, and I think that this would be a great thing for my students to do as well. As they recognize themes in our texts, look for them in popular culture, and we can show them to the class and have the class analyze the song just as they would with one that I gave them. This takes away from the responsibilities of students bringing in music as a homework assignment, but at the same time, most students don't even have CDs at home with music that they could bring in since most students use iPods and other MP3 players. I think that technology makes this aspect of student involvement much more realistic because I don't know many students that leave home without their music with them every day.
ReplyDeleteIntegrating this would definitely be a balancing act for new teachers who are trying to establish their teaching style and exhibit control over their classrooms, but I think that it can be an invigorating way of learning for students who are used to having little to no say in their classrooms. My students complain if they have to finish class work for homework and many times just hand in their "homework" with whatever had been done the day before and no progress made over the night. I would think that if a student were to co-create a unit that it would encourage them to want to do work outside of the classroom, so this would be interesting to see, especially with students who tend to be fairly apathetic when it comes to anything related to school.
I don't want to sound too harsh, but this article reminded me of of butterflies and unicorns. It all sounds awesome, but when I think about the classroom I'm placed in, I really don't think all of Stern's ideas are possible. The first, and probably biggest issues with this are curriculum and time. Conestoga Valley runs on a block schedule, which means the kids only have English for half of the year. This gives teachers very little time to complete the required curriculum. I just worry that if you gave the students that much power they would never finish anything.
ReplyDeleteIf, however, you were brave enough to try this co-created classroom you would need an AIR-TIGHT and INFALLIBLE rationale to back it up. I'm imagining the head of the English department barging in and asking what on Earth is going on and how it applies to Common Core. I'm also picturing parents calling in complaining about your classroom management skills.
While I think it is important to give students some kind of choice in their education (aka choosing their own book from a list for a literature circle), I think giving them that much power would be opening a HUGE can of worms.
What if you frame the power the students are getting in a different way? Their power comes from you, the teacher, thus you are empowering them rather than losing control. It is your classroom, and it can even be THEIR classroom too, but I don't necessarily think it means you (the teacher) would lose power. You just give choice (and how much choice is up to you.) Whether they are picking their own books or ideas to learn about, you can control and have the ultimate say in the final decision. Stern would offer choices between certain chapters, which is still a choice.
DeleteGiving them choices and empowering them without proper expectations and guidelines could certainly get out of hand. But Stern's experiences show that when given ownership, the students usually seemed to do a good job of stewarding and self-regulating in some ways. "With great power comes great responsibility" (I can't believe I just used that quote). But seriously, I think it could really work to let kids feel they are part of the learning process in their classroom.
Anyway, here's to trying just to see if it will succeed (or fail)!
Ashly, I appreciate your candid concerns about Stern's approach. Whenever we come across any new approach to teaching, we must ask ourselves, "how feasible is this?" On that note, I surprisingly found Stern's co-created classroom something we all could implement at some point in our classes. I usually view most pedagogical approaches as the "butterflies and unicorns" you describe, but I think Stern's approach champions the practical and pragmatic. It will be difficult to give up control of our classrooms because we probably never experienced an English classroom like this. If you think about her suggestions, she advises that teachers do not have to plan out learning destinations, those goals of understanding we try to reach, prior to the school year. Teachers have the option to play it by ear. The interest surveys given at students become meaningful data to determine what the students want to get out of class. I also think Stern makes the important distinction between giving her students a say in learning outcomes and control of the class. She gave her students the chance to work with interesting texts that they chose, like the music lyrics, but Stern maintained authority and held them accountable for their work. When one student did not come prepared, Stern reverted back to traditional texts and assignments showing the students the importance of follow through in self guided learning. I think it's doable if we never let the student assume they control how the classroom operates, only the material they are allowed to explore.
DeleteI'm glad you approached this with a realistic eye, because you're right - giving them the complete option would open a huge can of worms. Especially in a middle school classroom like mine where Twilight overshadows Shakespeare and the Bronte Sisters.
DeleteI like your idea of the literature circles, because it gives them the freedom and creativity to choose and mold their learning while still giving us the final word. Total control should never be given to students, but I think they definitely deserve a say in what goes into their little noggins - we need to find a way to make it fun for them somehow rather than trap them in a building for eight hours a day.
I initially wanted to say that I was unsure about this idea of co-created classrooms, but I have to say that I think I actually favor them. It seems like most of the texts we read have for our education classes are either far too theoretical to help a beginning teacher, or are written by such super hero teachers that I cannot fathom how I could come close to imitating their style. For me, Stern's ideas fell pretty close to the middle of the spectrum, and thus almost within my reach. I can see this working for me, but I will have to reach for it, I will have to put myself out there and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of students finding that THEY actually know things. Stern's descriptions of her own students realizations of discovery and joy in learning made me pretty excited. Practically speaking, there is always something that can go wrong, or a group of students who won't respond as well, but I think when I become more comfortable managing my classroom, this would not frighten me as much.
As I reflected on my RPG on questioning, I found new possibilities for learning that revolve around answering some questions using inquiry. These ideas can easily into the common core and to existing curriculum if we want them to. (I say easily here because I do believe that once I have more experience, some of this will actually be pretty straightforward). Stern says she would offer choices between units or ideas she already considered or planned on doing. And she didn't even have to do them once the kids voted or decided. I think that if the students could be an active part of the thinking and learning, everyone can benefit.
Yes to everything you said. This was also the first time I read something and thought "yeah, this could actually work." I do, however, think that it requires teachers to first build a foundation of resources and strategies to pull from before this can be totally successful. I agree with your comment about how there is always something or someone that could ruin the experience, but I think that, with practice, we can learn how to steer students as they take responsibility for their learning. It is all about getting to know your students, realizing what they can or cannot handle, and then managing the classroom effectively. This excites me as well! I really wish I could see this in action, but maybe it will be something I can work up the courage to try within my first few years of teaching.
DeleteI went to a department meeting with my mentor earlier this week where they were discussing the teacher evaluation changes that will be happening over the course of the year. Teachers at Conestoga Valley are being asked to create goals for themselves and then compile evidence in order to display to outside sources how they are meeting those goals within their classrooms. As they were discussing the differences between being labeled a "proficient" and "distinguished" teacher, I noticed that the main difference was student involvement; a student-run and student-centered classroom has become the new ideal. After reading Stern's article on co-created classrooms, I saw how her approaches could be tied in with this concept. Although I see it's practicality, I also (like anything) worry how successful it could actually be in a real-world setting. I don't doubt her success, but I always question why I haven't seen these types of things in the classrooms I have observed in before.
ReplyDeleteI do believe this is possible, but it would require a well-practiced teacher to constantly steer students in the right directions. With allowing students the freedom to choose the course of the curriculum, it is also crucial that the teacher have a foundation of resources to pull from that could be incorporated into a student-created unit. Of course, it will take time to build that foundation, which is why I appreciate Stern's practical advice of how, when trying this for the first time, to "continue with your regular curriculum as you get a rough plan together." I don't think that we should have students suggest ideas when we are first getting started because I can see first-year teachers falling flat on their faces (especially when forced to explain their rationale to administrators or, even worse, parents). However, if evaluations are saying that the only way to be a distinguished teacher is to have a classroom centered and run by students, then this concept should be embraced rather than criticized.
I am actually rather excited to see classrooms begin to move in this direction. While the teacher should still maintain the power in the classroom, we do still need to stop white-knuckling our control. We need to genuinely listen to the input of our students because while students still might take interest in the topics we choose, Stern mentions how they still view it as "school." However, we do need to know our students for this to truly work. Some classes may be able to handle certain topics that may be too heavy for others.
When I was reading this, I was a bit torn between whether or not co-created classrooms could actually exist or not. I think it can, but has to be closely monitored by the teacher. When my mentor and I first went over the cannon books for this year, she rolled her eyes at a few, saying how they were boring and the students never really like them. When I asked why, she said it was such a lengthy process to change anything, and most proposals were shot down without much explanation.
ReplyDeleteOn top of that, as someone previously mentioned, I'm not sure if the students understand fully what kinds of literature and material they actually NEED for their futures. Sure, they may want to pick something, but chances are, they're going to pick the easiest way out possible, especially if the subject at hand isn't their strongest one. The only way I can honestly think of a co-created classroom a possibility would be for the teacher to give the students choices - but the choices would come from books of the teachers' choosing.
That's not to say that other aspects of the classroom can't be co-created, but just the cannon books, or if the curriculum is too strict. I do believe that students need some more say in the classroom, and the teachers sometimes need to let go of the reigns. School squashes the creativity out of students, and it's important to savor any creative juices they have left - offer an variety of assessment options, hear what they have to say and take a few of their ideas. Put THEM in the driver's seat. Make it fun - find out what they're interested in and take away the common idea of school being a "jail" for eight hours a day. The idea of a co-created classroom is possible (to an extent, of course), but it's up to the teacher to get the ball rolling.
I like what Stern has to say at the bottom of the seventh / top of the eight page of the PDF. She highlights how, when students have ownership over what is going on in the classroom, they will be more engaged with the creation of units and lessons. The idea that the students must take ownership and be responsible with their time in order to have a fun and enthralling lesson is almost like a sneaky, subversive way to convince students to engage. Instead of punishing students in ways that leaves them behind, punishing them with monotony seems much more effective.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of something my mentor told me, about something as simple as cell phone usage. Overhearing me tell a student that if I saw their cell phone one more time I'd have to take it (unfortunately, school policy...the new principal is pretty serious about it), she asked me what my plan was if they said no. Was I going to create a disruption? Was I going to let them win? If students win when they fail to bring work into class, they're not going to have any motivation to be proactive about their education. She told me, instead, to give the students ownership. "You're not going to make me take that away from you, are you? I really don't want to have to do that..." Likewise, if we convince students that we don't want mundane assignments and worksheets...that these things are as much of a last resort for them as they are for us...we can motivate them to engage perhaps more than we once thought possible.
I love what you have to bring to the discussion, Seth. Having students take ownership in the classroom is a huge idea that Stern pushes and I like that you take it to the academic level and the behavioral level. I have been struggling with classroom management and knowing what to say to get students to take ownership of their actions. I will try using your mentor's advice of simply rewording a disciplinary statement from "If I see that out one more time I'm going to have to take it." to "You're not going to make me take that away from you, are you?" Instead of having the students test their boundaries with the first statement, you turn it around for them to take responsibility for what they are doing. Genius! I hope I can effectively reword my behavior management statements for my students to gain ownership of their behaviors.
DeleteAlso, Stern's idea of students taking ownership of their education in a cocreative classroom is an idea that I see as very plausible. I can see it best working in regards to students in my classroom at Manheim Township Middle School constructing their rubric for assessment when it comes to giving their speeches throughout the year. Little by little, my mentor and I have been giving the students opportunities to be in front of the class to present something about themselves. It has served as a great community builder for the classroom and anxiety reliever as we have all shared a little more about each other with each new presentation. However, some students don't quite know what a "quality" presentation should look like, sound like, or how it should be presented. They all have schemas built up about how to give a presentation, but that knowledge has never been worked out for them to see what key aspects of a presentation make it an effective and quality presentation. I see Stern's cocreative classroom ideas of students taking ownership of their education by exploring what they believe a good presentation looks like where the class as a whole can build the key bullet points together that we will be assessing the students on. And yes, I said "we." I'd love for my class to not only construct a class rubric for our speeches, but evaluate each other giving feedback to their peers about what he/she did well and what he/she could improve based on the rubric bullet points that we decided would be our way of assessing a good presentation! I'll try this cocreative classroom idea out and report back with my discoveries!
I absolutely love Stern's idea of a co-created classroom! This would be very difficult to put together, and it would take a lot of effort and dedication not only from the teacher, but the students too! However, I believe that if that effort is put in, then the results could be pretty incredible. It is our job as teachers to place the power and responsibility of learning back in the hands of the students. Teachers should not be the bearers of knowledge, nor should students be considered empty buckets waiting to be filled with knowledge. The classroom is the STUDENTS' classroom, and they should own that! The very best thing for the students is for them to realize this and take ownership of it. Having a teacher to help guide them and keep them in check with their explorations and learning sounds like a pretty incredible thing. I would be very interested in trying to make something like this in my own classroom one day, but my only fear would be that I would miss something with the planning or not have a solid way to tie it to the curricullum. I definitely would like to research a bit more about this idea of a co-created classroom on my own to figure out a few of these issues. I will also speak with my mentor teacher and see if she has any light to shed on the idea!
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