Elements of a Student Centered Classroom What should a good classroom look like? Activity: Chris Finelli, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium Posters: FIRST II Institutional Teams at LUMCON (LaFIRST) What is inquiry? From January 2003 LaFIRST Institute Inquiry Summary Loaded word with many meanings No precise definition (I cant define it, but I know it when I see it. Keywords from January Student centered Models scientific process Interactive Student paced Our goal Can we develop a framework for identifying a good student- centered classroom? Observational Protocols A number of OPs exist for evaluating classroom performance student teachers peer evaluations tenure and promotion Each OP is different depending on goal and audience There are some commonalities, especially in broad categorizations Some common themes found in OPs Classroom action Who is active? What is the action? How long is the action? Pace What is the pace of the lesson? Who controls the pace? Is there sufficient time for comprehension? Some common themes found in OPs Flow Does the lesson follow a logical sequence? Who controls the direction of the lesson? Content What is the goal of the lesson? What is the emphasis of the lesson (facts/vocabulary, concepts) Relationships How does the teacher relate to the students? How do the students relate to each other? Does the content relate to common experiences? Task #1 Work in groups of 3-5 people Each group is assigned one of the common themes (e.g. action, pace, flow, content, relationships) Groups should define the criteria they would look for in a student centered classroom with respect to their theme (criteria should be ideal Report back to the whole group using posters Task #2 If classroom videos are available, apply the criteria to real classrooms Discuss how each criteria applies to the observed class Refine criteria as appropriate Action From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute Learner Performs Describes Relates Teacher Guides Facilitates Assists Evaluates Student and teacher share control Teacher Sets begin/end Ensures on task Students Students Self-paced when in groups Class Management Plan ideal, but implement flexibility Activity Begin/Do/End Pace From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute Flow From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute Begin Review and assessment of prior knowledge Main Multiple potential courses Student control with teacher guidance End Review Relate to real world/broader course goals Content From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute What: Explicit statement of content Outcomes Connections to real world/broader course How Lecture Short intro or assessment Follow-up Inquiry experiments Students perform meaningful activity Cooperative learning Peer learning Collective understanding Out of class Students accountable for assignments Emphasis More Inquirt/Cooperative, Less Lecture More Concepts, Less facts Relationships From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute Student/Teacher Mutual respect Listening Responsive Open/Approachable Student/Student Professionalism Cooperation Content Progressive/building Consistent Connected