Student Centered Instruction

Lowell- October 3, 2012

What is Student Centered Instruction?
Learning is meaningful when topics are relevant
to students lives and interests.

Thinking about students learning

Focus on how they learn, what they experience,

and how they engage with their learning
What is Student Centered Instruction?
Contd.
Students are actively engaged in constructing
their own knowledge (discovery, inquiry,
problem solving)

The student learns how to learn- what the

student needs to achieve this.

Learner is viewed as a knowledge seeker with

constantly changing learning needs.
The Look Fors
Teacher Centered Model
Teacher gives information,
students receive (passive role)
Students quiet. Appropriate time
to talk would be when called
upon to answer a question.
Rote memorization, repetitive
practice of same types of
problems
Teacher focused on activities and
teacher plan (First were going to
do this, next this- not a lot of
thought into why)
Student Centered Model
Cooperative/peer problem solving
Teacher as a facilitator/guide-asks
questions, plants seeds to further
the exploration
Students exchanging ideas and
justifying their thinking through
various forms (physical
representations, visual
representations, verbal)
Problems/Tasks are performance
based; require construction of ideas
Teachers focus is on the level of
understanding and deepening the
understanding.
The Perfect Grid
http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyClxRb0KIA&featu
re=channel&list=UL

Please take Notes on the video clip analysis

graphic organizer at your table. Look for examples
of student centered instruction.
What did you see that were
examples of student
centered instruction?
Constructing Ideas
Read p. 2: Constructing Ideas (3 paragraphs)

Discuss with your group an example of your own

new learning and how you developed
understanding by constructing ideas.
What does it mean to UNDERSTAND?
Knowledge- Understanding-
You either have or dont have. The measure of the quality of
connections that an idea has with
existing ideas.
Example:
Fractions- 6/8
Know- Students may be able to label the numerator and denominator
Understand- Can they explain what the 6 and 8 tell us about the fraction?
Know- They know that 6/8 can be reduced to 3/4
Understand- Do they understand that 6/8 and are identical numbers?
Some students will think that reducing the fraction made it smaller. Those
with better understanding will be able to explain using a variety of models that
they are the same quantities.
Each student brings a different set of dots to his or her knowledge.
Each understands in a different way.
According to Van De Walle et. al. (2010) in
the real world of problem solving there are
no teachers with answers and no answer
books doing mathematics is about using
justification as a means of determining if
an answer is correct.
Lets Practice
1. Choose an upcoming lesson and use the student centered lens
to plan for your students.

What do my students know What is the new learning of

that will be needed for this this lesson and what
lesson? connections will students need
to make to deepen their
understanding?
Reflection: exit slip
Is math all about knowing the right answer?

Traditional model would say yes.

Student Centered Instruction model would say no.

What do you say??

Please explain your thinking