Chapter+8


 * Doug**

I completely agree with with idea of teachers leaving the stage. There will never be a time again where teachers are the ones with the infinite wisdom at the front of the room lecturing the entire class period. Students need to be the driving force behind their own learning. The teahcer's role must turn into more of a facilitator than the information giver. I love the visual given to us of Dale's Learning cone (This active learning site shows us the cone in different terms then the book). Not only is that how students learn, but I think that that is how our classroom instruction should be planned out. Students should still spend a little time reading or listening to the teacher to gain some background knowledge. They should spend more time hearing and seeing the information. Most of the class time, however, should be spent actually doing the work/projects and talking about their own work and discoveries to others in the class. The more active learners there are in the classroom, the more knowledge they will retain.

Cindy- Teachers must leave the stage. As I read this chapter title, I think of the old vauldeville theater where a large cane comes across the stage and pulls the actor off the stage. Well, maybe we don't have to leave the stage that dramatically; but, there might be in a few situations where some administrators would like to do this with a few teachers. However, on a more serious note again this chapter proposed some dramatic ideas particularly presented by Ted McCain suggestion that "resisting the temptation to tell" is quite an interesting concept. His article [|thinking skills]he once again emphasizes the importance of teaching higher level thinking skills. Secondly, he discusses the "post-secondary myth" [|think.sk green] which is a misconception that critical thinking skills are not taught until the college level..shame on them! These skills could be even taught in a primary level if directed properly and correlated with standards that teachers are required to cover in class. Thirdly, I like the idea of project based approach. Now, I have been doing projects for years, designing United States- state floats, building enivronmental dioaramas,and those famous places projects the whole" shabootin bang". However, incorporating the ideas of the four D's will definitely put another swing to these projects and I am thinking about putting the four D's on poster so that I could refer to it in a lot of the various subject areas and lessons.


 * Nick**

From Chapter 8 I liked the idea of teachers getting off the stage and becoming more of a facillitator than talking on and on during the entire class. By giving up some of the control in the classroom and giving the students a sense of ownership over what and how they are learning gets them involved on a much grander sscale than archaic teaching methods. While direct instruction does have its place in the classroom at times it cannot be the only method of instruction. Students need to be "doing" the content through assignments and projects that they are given an increased level of autonomy in so they can feel that sense of ownership. the idea of project based learning is an excellent way to do this but it must also be incorporated into other teaching methods like direct instruction (on as much of a minimal level as possible) so teachers can make sure students stay on the right track. The following site provides teachers of any subject ideas and easy to implement projects to help teachers get off the stage and get their students involved in their learning: [|project based learning ideas]

I think the idea of teachers “giving” the information days are over (has been over). I remember in college this was highly discouraged because students are to construct their own meaning from knowledge (become problem solvers). I think having students’ see themselves as problem solvers promotes accountability and responsibility-they know they have something to share. I think that if we can incorporate problem based learning into the classroom, we can engage students in problem solving actives (higher order thinking) and learning will be more relevant, and meaningful to them-all of which we have been discussing. However, with all the demands that are put on teachers to raise standardized test scores, it makes it challenging to do things differently (I have heard of different districts wanting teachers to follow strict pacing guides, etc. which don't leave too much room for creativity). Under my last post (Chapter 7) I had found a website with takeaway tips for PBL, check out the “give me shelter” video/slide shows to see some examples of PBL here. Here is a website with some examples/resources to utilize PBL
 * Felicia**

I love the detailed description of the learning cone presented in the book. I also thoroughly enjoyed checking out the link that Nick gave for project based learning ideas. I also really liked the examples of problem solving strategies, specifically the idea by Ted McCain encompassing the 4D's.
 * Adam**

Here is a link to a blog from a professor of science at the U. of Wisconsin. Here, he has listed a brief summary (if you will) of McCain's idea's and ways to incorporate the thoughts into action. **Ted McCain**

I feel, like many others above, that teachers do have to step off the stage and be more of a guiding figure as opposed to a tecture-based educator. McCain's idea has children learn by getting involved in role-play scenarios where a real-world problem must be addressed (authentic). Similar to what we discussed Tuesday, students become equipped with the means to solve the problem that has been given to them, instead of just given an answer.

"Teachers Must Move Off the Stage" Performers come in variety of forms—dancers, singers, actors, comedians, and the like. Since the very existence of humanity, performers have taken center stage to entertain their audiences. The talents and skills of performers are learned, practiced, and eventually shared with their audiences, who for the most part, actively watch and listen. And when the performance is finished, the entertainer takes a bow while the audience applauds. This scenario is a continuous and ongoing process that has been around for centuries. Quite simply, it is a give-take relationship—the performer gives a performance as the audience takes in that same performance. Interestingly enough, the performer-audience relationship is very much like that of the teacher-student relationship as the authors point out. In other words, by taking center stage, the teacher gives the information as the students take in the information, albeit, some view this relationship as teacher //controls// information and students //receive// it. Whatever the case may be, the authors emphasize that this relationship is not working in our 21st century classrooms simply because the proverbial digital learners don’t seem to be applauding much these days. Basically, it’s a fundamental mismatch. In order for learning to occur, teachers must move out of the spotlight and be willing to share center stage with their students. This new relationship calls for teachers and students to be co-constructors of learning and knowledge instead of co-demolishers of it. Here is a great article about what 21st century's schools should look like [|Article]
 * Diane**

Jen
While reading this chapter, I was reminded of a Moravian class I took last summer - Managing the Constructivist Classroom. The constructivist approach is exactly what we read about - leaving the learning up to the students so he/she gets the most out of their education. To quote the Moravian brochure, we must move from the "Sage on the Stage to the Guide on the Side". We need to realize and admit to our students that we don't know everything and that we are there to help guide them along this educational journey.