In this blog post I will address the Wiggins article where he shadowed an average student at school. According to the author these were the key takeaways or things he learned from his experience.
I noticed that my students sit for a long period of time and my classes are 2 hours long. The first thing I thought was that the students needed to take a break and walk around or stretch to get their blood flowing. I have more recently planned activities where students have to get up and interact with one another. These types of activities seemed to have helped with my classroom management too.
I also noticed that the times I lectured my class for a long period of time I ended up exhausted and my students looked exhausted too. I have tried to do less lecturing and have students do more work on their own with my assistance.
I do really understand that students feel like a nuisance being told to constantly be quiet and sit down. I don't really know what can be done about this. Teachers only have a certain amount of time to work with the students and they need the full attention of the class in order to accomplish the goals. I think the teacher needs to work to make the students feel like its their classroom and that the rules set forth are for the good of the learning environment.
Wiggins, G. (2014, October 10). A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/a-veteran-teacher-turned-coach-shadows-2-students-for-2-days-a-sobering-lesson-learned/
- Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting.
- High School students are sitting passively and listening during approximately 90% of their classes.
- You feel a little bit like a nuisance all day long.
I noticed that my students sit for a long period of time and my classes are 2 hours long. The first thing I thought was that the students needed to take a break and walk around or stretch to get their blood flowing. I have more recently planned activities where students have to get up and interact with one another. These types of activities seemed to have helped with my classroom management too.
I also noticed that the times I lectured my class for a long period of time I ended up exhausted and my students looked exhausted too. I have tried to do less lecturing and have students do more work on their own with my assistance.
I do really understand that students feel like a nuisance being told to constantly be quiet and sit down. I don't really know what can be done about this. Teachers only have a certain amount of time to work with the students and they need the full attention of the class in order to accomplish the goals. I think the teacher needs to work to make the students feel like its their classroom and that the rules set forth are for the good of the learning environment.
Wiggins, G. (2014, October 10). A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/a-veteran-teacher-turned-coach-shadows-2-students-for-2-days-a-sobering-lesson-learned/