Moving Away From the Teacher Centered Classroom

According to Gainer & Lapp (2010) we need to engage students in a motivating way to shift the classroom dynamic from the teacher distributing information for students to absorb to one in which the students take the front seat. Student responsibility is possible with the inclusion of technology and digital literacy in instruction. Since students have so much going on in their out of school  lives, it is important to bring these experiences into the classroom.

“Many educators agree that what constitutes instruction for adolescent learners must be more attentive to their interests and strengths and less focused on the whole-class reading of novels and content-specific textbooks, which do not seem to be working for many adolescents” (Gainer & Lapp, 2010, p. 6).

Then vs. Now- Edutopia and PBL Essential Elements

Question: Is this teacher centered model still prevalent in today's schools? Why or why not?

Edutopia video of HS project. This teacher incorporated multiple literacies into a project. She incorporated community members and student choice in instruction.

Buck Institute and Project Based Learning

This video focuses on ACE Leadership, a school in New Mexico that works with at-risk students and students who have dropped out of traditional schools. This school has a specific focus on engineering, construction, and architecture. From the student interviews in this videos, the students have interests in going into these fields of work when they get out of school.

Literacy and PBL

• This article discusses the importance of literacy in project based learning. Students investigate a problem and need to use "need to know" questions to help them solve that problem. Students have the desire to learn about and use literacy skills because they need them to help complete the project. This is a way to diverge from skill and drill teaching approaches and bring real life skills into the classroom. 

Resources to incorporate literacy:

These resources allow flexibility in topic choice and presentation for students. They also bring technology into students academic worlds. Technology that enhances student experience, but also engages them in building and practicing important literacy skills.

NEWSELA- This is a great source for current events articles for secondary students. Students can adjust the reading level of the articles, annotate, and take mini quizzes. Teachers are able to view student progress in the teacher binder.

Common Lit -Short stories, poems articles intended for middle school students sorted into three levels. Options include guided reading which has the text chunked and revealed as questions are answered and a read aloud mode. This is great for general population, but also for students who struggle with reading.

Question: Gainer & Lapp (2010) discuss the fact that many schools lack the resources to provide opportunities to engage in new technologies in the classroom. How can schools who lack these resources still be engaged in these literacies in the classroom?

References

Gainer, J. & Lapp, D. (2010). Literacy remix: Bridging adolescents’ in and out of school literacies (pp. 1-16). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.