Strategies for Student Centered Learning

1. Strategies for Student Centered Learning While solving a big problem, we will participate in several STTS, share ideas on teaming, and look at how learning occurs. Cheryl Tucker

2. Whatisstudent centered learning? Think-Pair-Share

3. Please SHARE your ideas:Whip-aroundParticipants randomly have an opportunity to say something briefly about Student Centered Learning

4. From Wikipedia: • Student-centred learningis an approach to education focusing on the needs of the students, rather than those of others involved in the educational process, such as teachers and administrators. This approach has many implications for the design of curriculum, coursecontent, and interactivity of courses.

5. Student-centred learning, that is, putting students first, is in contrast to teacher-centred learning. Student-centred learning is focused on the student's needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles with the teacher as a facilitator of learning. This classroom teaching method acknowledges student voice as central to the learning experience for every learner.

6. The recommendation for a shift of emphasis in responsibility from teacher to student is common in contemporary pedagogy. In a summary of the characteristics of effective learners, de la Harpe, Kulski and Radloff (1999) noted good learners: • Have clear learning goals, • Have a wide repertoire of learning strategies and know when to use them, • Use available resources effectively, • Know about their strengths and weaknesses, • Understand the learning process, • Deal appropriately with their feelings, • Take responsibility for their own learning, and • Plan, monitor, evaluate and adapt their learning process

7. How are your teams working? DYAD: • Each person is given equal time to talk • The listener does not talk, it isn’t a conversation • Confidentiality is maintained • Maintain eye contact and good body language Topic: What are some benefits of using teams?

8. How are your teams working? Some Benefits: 1. Study teams of four can reduce the number of students in the class from thirty-six to nine. 2.More of the teacher's time can be spent dealing with questions of substance. 3.Students have the continuous presence of three others to whom they can explain their ideas. 4.Students get the opportunity to teach and to refine their ideas, questions, and approaches in the security of a small study team 5. Students become more willing to try because there is less to risk in a study team of four than in a whole-class setting.

9. Research has shown that the most effective way to consolidate learning and enhance retention is to explain what you think you know to someone else.

10. GUIDELINES FOR STUDY TEAMS 1)  Each member of the team is responsible for his or her own behavior. 2)  Each member of the team must be willing to help any other team member who asks for help. 3)  You should only ask the teacher for help when all team members have the same question. 4)  Use your team voice.

11. Team Roles • Facilitator- makes certain all know what is going on, understand the task • Recorder/reporter- can be the person that does the writing and reporting for the group, person who raises hand to ask teacher questions • Resource manager- gets materials as needed • Task manager- keeps the group on-task, watches the time

12. As you organize your teams, here are some thoughts regarding RESPONSIBILITIESfor students, teams and teachers

13. I will… • Read the problem out loud • Re-read the question • Look for information in the book • Try a different strategy • Look around the room • Figure out what I already know • Think differently • Ask my teammates • Look at previous work • Look at my toolkit or learning log or notes • Take a guess and check to see if it works • Ask another team • Skip the question and come back to it

14. My Team will… Help me if I ask Keep helping me until I understand Speak kindly to me Use their team voices Figure out a solution with me Ask me for help

15. My teacher will… • Ask me good questions to help me think • Give me suggestions or ideas • Help me to understand • Support my team so that it is successful • Make sure I feel comfortable asking questions

16. NOW……. 1. Gather in your “teams” • Decide your role. Facilitator makes certain all know what is going on, understand the task Resource Manager gets materials as needed Task Manager - keeps the group on-task, watches the time Recorder/reporter can be the person that does the writing and reporting for the group, person who raises hand to ask teacher questions Let’s begin our “work” for the day!

17. FIND THE HEAVY COIN You have a set of coins, one of which is heavier than the rest. You can have any number of coins weighed for $1 and your job is to find the heavy coin as cheaply as possible. You must weigh all of the coins in whatever group you are weighing, so you cannot simply stand at the scale and drop them on one at a time

18. For example, suppose you have ten coins which are each supposed to weigh one ounce and break the ten coins into three groups to weigh- group A with 5 coins, group B with 4 coins, and group C with 1 coin. You find out that group B weighs more than 4 ounces, so you know the heavy coin is in group B. At this point you have spent $3. Now you weigh each of the four coins in group B separately, at a cost of $4, and find the heavy coin for a total cost of $7. It will not surprise you that this is not the cheapest way the task could have been done.

19. Your job is to find an optimal way to find the heavy coin among N coins as cheaply as possible for any value of N. In particular, how much will it cost you to find the one heavy coin among 50? Among 500?

20. FIND THE HEAVY COIN (Part 2) Chris noted that the problem could still be solved even if not every possible coin is weighed. In the example given before with 10 coins, you could ask about only two groups: A with 5 coins, and C with 1 coin and learn that neither group is too heavy, so group B must contain the heavy coin. This question only costs you $2 but you have as much information. Now what is your optimal strategy? Is it the same as before or can you do better?

21. Strategies used during the problem solving: 1. Team mates consult 2. I spy 3. Swap Meet 4. Huddle

22. Fortune Cookie In the envelope are some questions for you to talk about in your teams. • One person takes a question out of the envelope • Read the question aloud, answer it then pass it to your left. • Next person gives a response. • When all have answered, the last person to respond takes the second question out. • Repeat the process. • Today, there are 6 questions

23. On your table are the CPM philosophy and the CCSS philosophy You just finished working on a BIG PROBLEM. Where and how were the philosophies involved in your team work?

24. CCSS Philosophy • Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. • Reason abstractly and quantitatively • Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. • Model with Mathematics. • Use appropriate tools strategically. • Attend to precision. • Look for and make use of structure. • Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

25. CPM Philosophy Mastery takes time, effort, and support. Change takes time, effort, and support. Students must be actively involved in their learning. Teachers are responsible for actively guiding, supporting and summarizing. Teachers need to establish and maintain effective study teams. Assessing what students understand requires more than one method. In a balanced program, skill development is based upon problem solving and beginning understanding.

26. Where are you “on the road” to having very strong teams in your classes? Please do a small team whip-around to discuss this question

27. IN SUMMARY, • Common “definition” for Student Centered Learning • Team roles • Participation in team while working on a problem • Study team strategies used • Philosophies and learning • Closure • Formative Assessment (coming up…)

28. On you evaluation sheet,please write one “take away” thought from your experience today Your EXIT TICKET OR a formative assessment….

29. THANKS for PARTICIPATING!Cheryl TuckerTucker.cherylj@gmail.com