Elements of a Student Centered Classroom What should a “good” classroom look like? Activity: Chris Finelli, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium Posters: FIRST II Institutional Teams at LUMCON (LaFIRST)

What is “inquiry”? From January 2003 LaFIRST Institute

“Inquiry” Summary Loaded word with many meanings No precise definition (“I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.” Keywords from January  Student centered  Models scientific process  Interactive  Student paced

Our goal … Can we develop a framework for identifying a “good” student- centered classroom?

Observational Protocols A number of OP’s exist for evaluating classroom performance  student teachers  peer evaluations  tenure and promotion Each OP is different depending on goal and audience There are some commonalities, especially in broad categorizations

Some common themes found in OP’s Classroom action  Who is active?  What is the action?  How long is the action? Pace  What is the pace of the lesson?  Who controls the pace?  Is there sufficient time for comprehension?

Some common themes found in OP’s Flow  Does the lesson follow a logical sequence?  Who controls the direction of the lesson? Content  What is the goal of the lesson?  What is the emphasis of the lesson (facts/vocabulary, concepts) Relationships  How does the teacher relate to the students?  How do the students relate to each other?  Does the content relate to common experiences?

Task #1 Work in groups of 3-5 people Each group is assigned one of the “common themes” (e.g. action, pace, flow, content, relationships) Groups should define the criteria they would look for in a student centered classroom with respect to their theme (criteria should be “ideal” Report back to the whole group using posters

Task #2 If classroom videos are available, apply the criteria to real classrooms Discuss how each criteria applies to the observed class Refine criteria as appropriate

Action From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute Learner  Performs  Describes  Relates Teacher  Guides  Facilitates  Assists  Evaluates

Student and teacher share control Teacher  Sets begin/end  Ensures “on task”  Students Students  Self-paced when in groups Class Management  Plan ideal, but implement flexibility Activity  Begin/Do/End Pace From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute

Flow From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute Begin  Review and assessment of prior knowledge Main  Multiple potential courses  Student control with teacher guidance End  Review  Relate to real world/broader course goals

Content From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute What: Explicit statement of content  Outcomes  Connections to real world/broader course How  Lecture  Short intro or assessment  Follow-up  Inquiry experiments  Students perform meaningful activity  Cooperative learning  Peer learning  Collective understanding  Out of class  Students accountable for assignments Emphasis  More Inquirt/Cooperative, Less Lecture  More Concepts, Less facts

Relationships From May 2003 LaFIRST Institute Student/Teacher  Mutual respect  Listening  Responsive  Open/Approachable Student/Student  Professionalism  Cooperation Content  Progressive/building  Consistent  Connected