Yesterday, I reflected on the activities that Westwood students do on a daily basis in the different subjects. So, what I have been able to observe is that all the classes have a theoretical beginning. If it´s a new topic the teacher does a brainstorm, where she explains the subject and makes the children activate their previous knowledge. In the event that it a topic of the previous day, there is always a review where the children actively answer questions, the teacher always plays and perform a game called Teacher versus Students and she asks questions, the students accumulate points and students always win, It is super fun.
In most classes students have activities where they use their body to simulate actions, make letters with their hands, they are always in constant movement. They sit on the carpet, they listen to the teacher, interact, get up to look for books, read in groups or individually, they always share and discuss with their classmate about questions (Think Pair Share). In each unit they have a project to develop which usually includes the 4 skills, they always read the topic, do an analysis and summary. This week they had been working on an amazing museum, of the Mayan, Aztec, Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures. It is amazing how children have created all sorts of sculptures and artifacts to represent their cultures, using ipads and their imagination. In Westwood, being an IB school, they try to develop values and activities such as risk-taker, thinker, knowledgeable, open-minded, principled, communicators, inquirers, and reflective.
Based on these strengths students are more focus and have their minds set on learning every single new topic the teacher try to teach them.
I understand that in Panama there are very few schools with this teaching style but I would like to implement part of this ideology, where children have more responsibility for their own learning, the teacher is only a guide and facilitator. Children should always analyze and think, they should ask themselves how to solve a difficulty and take the risk of treating that alternative. For this reason
majority of the activities are developed mostly by children.
In Panama the children are always guided by the teacher's instructions, most of the classes are teacher-centers, and the students usually repeat. Few activities are done because the students have bad behavior or because the conditions do not allow to do them.
Have you ever heard this question, "What came first: the chicken or the egg?" That question comes to mind as I read your post.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "In Panama the children are always guided by the teacher's instructions, most of the classes are teacher-centers, and the students usually repeat. Few activities are done because the students have bad behavior or because the conditions do not allow to do them."
I wonder whether (a) few activities are done because Ss have bad behavior or (b) if Ss have bad behavior because few activities are done.
Even if the latter option is true, eventually the former becomes true because the it becomes embedded within the entire school/education culture.
Nevertheless, think about some of these questions: Would you act in a responsible way if no one ever gives you a chance to be responsible for yourself? How motivated would you be if someone always told you exactly what to do and gave you no opportunities to be creative? How excited about work would you be if you never had a chance to decide what to do? How would you feel if (in the TTP program, for example), we talked AT you the whole time, and only asked you questions with obvious right or wrong answers?
I think a lot of what Ts do in essences steals from them opportunities to experience joy, curiosity, discovery, ownership, and self-confidence with respect to learning. Would you have much motivation to behave when much of what make education interesting and/or fun was forcibly taken from you?
Some thoughts to consider.