Student Centered Learning

As a senior through high school, I have learned a lot. Well, maybe not a lot. I know I memorized more then I learned. From vocab words to mathematical formulas, I forced the information in and held onto it long enough to spew it out just in time for a test. I would be lying if I said that it was a good way to learn things. After not using it, everything seems to slip away like a cat in the night.

This is a trend that seems to be growing more and more everyday in high school. Not very many people are interested in the classes they're taking because it just doesn't interest them. They do the work to get the grade, nothing more. So how do we get more students such as myself interested? How do we get them to LEARN something, not just memorize it?

Student based learning. But isn't all learning based on the students? Well, yes and no. The things we learn in our classes are based on the things that we are looking to learn, things that are going to later help us in the future with our job options. But it is also based on the things that the teachers feel they should learn, a curriculum that is usually set so strictly that most teachers never really think about straying far from them.

Student based learning, in my opinion, is a fabulous thing. And, I am very excited to see how it is going to work. This is a new technique that my 8th period class (21st Century Global Studies) is taking on, a new challenge for us to work through. But what is it?

To put it into simple terms, you have the students ask a question. Normal right? Students ask questions all the time. The catch is, the student has to pick their own question. There are no guidelines to the questions that they can ask. As long as they are interested in it, they can use it. The goal is to have them go out and, with their question in mind, find a way to answer or solve it. In the end, we are going to create a project of any form (something that, once again, the student is in charge of developing) to present it to our class mates. The goal isn't to completely solve anything, just form an idea that could assist in the progression of a solution.

Over the next few days, I am going to be talking to class mates, getting their feed back, and sharing it with the world. Maybe this is an idea that you would want to use. Take a shot, steer away from your comfort zone, and allow the students to take over for a while. You just may be surprised at what you find they can come up with.