How do scaffolds lead to intellectual satisfaction? - Conversation with Andy
Ten Strategies for Getting Students to Take Responsibility for Their Learning
Author(s): Sara Jane Coffman
Source: College Teaching, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Winter, 2003), pp. 2-4
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27559118 .
Notice this about students and teachers: "...unfortunately, it often seems that when students walk into our classrooms their brains are set on the lowest possible setting. One reason students may not feel com pelled to prepare (or be in the proper mind set for learning) is that they don't mind being shortchanged. In our consumer-driven society, where more is supposedly better, education is the one area where people are content to settle for less: Want to make a class happy? Let them out early.
Instead of letting them leave early, we have embrace our position "...to help students learn two important lessons: (a) to be less dependent on external authorities, and (b) to take ownership and responsibility for their own lives.
10 Strategies:
- Ask your students why they are taking the course. Many students enter the classroom without having thought out why they are there? Make your students put their reasons for taking your course in writing. This will get them to think about their commitment to the course and give you some valuable information about their needs, expectations, and goals. One EET instructor makes the following assignment on the first day of class:
- "Please read the syllabus carefully and skim through the textbook. Then, write a short essay describing your expectations for the course, given what you know about yourself as a student and relating your experiences to what you see in the syllabus and in the textbook." In this way, he gets his students to read the syllabus, buy the textbook, and begin making a connection to the course.
- Get your students to come to class prepared. There are several ways to get your students to come to class prepared. (Study guides, interesting questions, quizes, etc - also, consider what it means to be prepared. Come with a question or reflection on your reading.)
- Help your students attain the proper mindset for class. Can you imagine what would happen if students brought the same level of concentration to our classes that they use when playing a computer game or watching Friends on TV? Instructors can help their students get into the proper mindset by making clever use of the time before class begins. ...Studies have shown that students are most alert and attentive during the first ten minutes of a class (Hartley and Davies 1978); so pay particular attention to how you use this time. Students enjoy classes that start in unusual and interest ing ways. Put an engaging question on the board. Start with a surprise, a mystery, or a table full of props (for your visual learners). Set up a problem that you'll solve during the lecture (for your logical learners). The idea is to not begin the meat of the lesson until you have your students hooked. (STRUGGLE: http://numberwarrior.wordpress.com/2009/01/19/hint-tokens-getting-students-to-struggle/)
- Make participation and interaction integral parts of the course. According to Magolda, classrooms can be a place for young people to learn to defend their views, hear alternative perspectives, andredefine their belief systems. Use discussions and questions as often as possible. Explain to your students that it's important for you to hear what they're thinking so that you know whether or not they're processing the information. A positive classroom climate can greatly facilitate learning. Have your students learn each other's names and get to know each other as quickly as possible. (NO HANDS - Call on everyone, mix up seating) One professor asks her students to sit in a different seat each time so that they'll meet everyone in the class by the end of the semester. If it's a large class, have them use name tents.
- Make your students responsible for each other.
- Group work with group norms and ptotocols.
- Model higher cognitive skills. Students can expand their curiosity and learn to ask questions by watching you be curious and ask questions. Teach your students not to skim over the top of a topic like a jet skier, but to put scuba diving equipment on and go down to examine underlying causes and relationships. When you ask a question, don't let students who give one-word answers off the hook. Ask them to elaborate.
- Reflection: Have your students analyze their learning experiences. Give your students a learning styles inventory to help them understand how they process information. Your teaching style may differ from their learning styles, and this will give you a chance to discuss what you both might do to bridge the gap. In addition, give your students several opportunities throughout the course to give you feedback on how the course is going and to suggest changes that would help them learn better. According to Magolda (2002), giving students a chance to evaluate the course is another way for them to challenge their reliance on external authority.
- Finally, make your students give each other feedback (either formative or summative) on speeches and papers. Most students are hesitant to give their class mates feedback?they don't want to get involved, or they don't know how to give feedback. But giving feedback is a skill they'll use on the job and in every aspect of their lives. The classroom is a good place for them to learn to do it.
- End class in a meaningful way. The last ten minutes of a class can be as important as the first ten. Make your students responsible for the lecture by having them write a short summary or take a short quiz before they leave. Another good way to end class is to ask, "Why did we do this?" "Why did we study this?" or "Why is this important?"
- Don't try to save your students. Having compassion and extending a deadline when a student has a crisis is one thing; trying to save a student by extend ing a deadline because of his or her lack of planning is quite another. Even some thing as insignificant as bringing pencils for your students to borrow on exam days teaches students that they don't need to be responsible for bringing them.
