Welcome to my class. As you may or may not know, our district has adopted
a cooperative learning approach to all classes grades 1-12. Below are some
common questions and answers about this student-centered approach to learning.
What does student-centered learning mean? Student centered learning means that instead of your teacher being the center
of attention and lecturing the entire class period, the students will be discussing
the concepts with each other; helping to teach each other and ensuring that
everyone in the team understands the lesson.
Does this mean the students are supposed to teach themselves? No, your teacher will still present and explain the concept for the day.
However, it is YOUR responsibilty to use active listening and take notes so
that you can practice the skill with your team. You must practice the skill with
your team and make sure you understand the concept before leaving the class.
You will again practice the skill when you do your homework. When doing your
homework, be sure you know the vocabulary and can explain the concept you
learned. The next day you will learn a new lesson and repeat the cycle. You
must keep up with the vocabulary and concepts daily!
What if I need extra practice or don't understand a concept? If you need extra practice, you can do the extra practice provided in your
textbook and/or online. If you still need additional practice, you can ask your
teacher for some extra practice worksheets. If you don't understand a
concept, you can call a study buddy from class, you can come to the weekly
after school help sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or you can get a private tutor.
What if a team member doesn't participate? Does that mean I am going
to have to do all the work and then get a bad grade anyway because
someone in my team doesn't care? With the Power Teaching approach, everyone participates. No one team member
will be doing all the work. Basically, the teacher explains the concept and shows
examples. Then the team works together to practice a few problems. Next, each
member practices individually to make sure the concept was learned. Finally,
each team member does homework reinforcing the concept learned in class.
Homework, quizzes, and tests are all individual grades- based on
what YOU know.
So basically my teacher still explains the concept to me, but I have a
team available to me to explain the concept in different ways so that I
can understand better?
Yes! The benefit of Power Teaching is that you learn from both your teacher
and team members. First your teacher presents the lesson with examples, next
you do a few problems with your team, then you do a few problems on your own
(but your team/teacher is still there if you need help), and finally you master
the concept by completing your homework.