I originally considered the idea of autonomy after listening to my students express their frustration over not understanding why they would be asked to complete certain assignments or why they were reading certain texts. I wondered if there was a way to increase their senses of autonomy in the class room so that they felt more comfortable expressing their opinions and criticisms.
I also noticed in the first few months that because many students did not understand the rationale behind particular assignments, it seemed they were not realizing the importance and value in many of the skills they were practicing. I then thought more about metacognition and how to get students more aware of what they were learning.
Our public education research unit brought both of these concepts to the forefront of my thinking because there was little or no space for student autonomy and reflection on learning. While students were able to choose a topic, there were so many other parameters placed on the assignment, that it was difficult for many of the students to really focus on what interested them. Also, other than two discussions at the beginning of the unit, there was very little time or opportunity to reflect, examine, and comment on things they had been reading and learning.
This unit was also difficult because from the beginning there was no clear direction or understanding of what kind of final product would be expected. I quickly realized how essential it is to, at the very least, have a solid idea of the scope of a unit. If the teacher clearly understands where the unit is going to end, then that message can be conveyed to students so that they can make sure they are meeting all of the requirements and expectations. From this, I began to think about transparency, a teacher’s open communication with students about the reasons behind reading or analyzing a certain text, or giving an assignment, or expectations for a lesson.
I thought about transparent teaching as a means for more student independence and choice, feedback, and awareness of overall learning objectives. As I considered transparency from a teacher perspective, I also thought about what I could bring in from a student perspective. A component of transparency is open communication which invites more active collaboration with students, which could connect back to my earlier interests of autonomy and consciousness of learning.
At this point I am still trying to work out the specific focus of my inquiry question. I know that I want to focus on transparency, but I would also like to incorporate an element of student collaboration or student feedback. I have been wondering how transparency in teaching could lead to or promote a more collaborative classroom, looking at transparency being an approach I would take as a teacher, and collaboration being an interaction between student and teacher.