Collaborative Learning
I realized that there was a difference between an “open” class as it was described during the presentation of the Ethnography Forum, and my understanding of a “transparent” class. “Open” describes the atmosphere of the classroom environment and the way that students interact with one another. Open classrooms rely much more on students’ motivations and desire to take more control over their learning experiences. “Transparent” describes the teacher’s methods and practices which can help to create an environment that invites student choice and independence. Transparent classrooms have a set curriculum for the year, but there is flexibility, and the teacher gives students the opportunity to develop intrinsic motivation and invites student feedback and input, but does not require it.
Rather than attempting a full, open class, teacher transparency that encourages student opinions and suggestions by providing the reasoning behind classroom processes is more feasible in traditional secondary schooling environments, because not all students will want to take so much control over their learning or they may not feel comfortable expressing their ideas. So while this presentation did not speak directly to teaching in high school settings, I did like many of the ideas that were addressed and it inspired me to consider how I could take elements of this concept and translate them into something that would work in a high school classroom. While there are unique school models that promote more student agency and inquiry, traditional schooling positions teachers as experts and students as learners. I wondered if I could ever create a space where students felt comfortable challenging this traditional model.
Suzanne Hudd (2003) utilizes collaborative teaching and learning, a more temperate version of open syllabus education, in her introductory undergraduate sociology courses. While the context for this research is still an undergraduate college course, Hudd (2003) notes that a majority of students are freshman who are simply taking the course to fulfill a requirement rather than because of a deep interest in sociology, a population which more closely resembles the students I am working with than that of the open syllabus research. The first class of this semester-long course introduces the format of the course and different collaboration and decision-making techniques so that students can begin to prepare for the task of designing their activities and assignments for the semester. The students are placed into small groups and have to create a list of assignments that they want to complete so that Hudd can assess their performance in the course that semester. After discussion among the entire class, a final list of assignments is agreed upon, and while this list often reflects the traditional assessments that students are familiar with (quizzes, exams, papers, etc.), Hudd (2003) notes that her students are often more successful, the classes are more interactive, and students seem more personally invested in the class after taking control in the decision-making process.
Whether students are given full responsibility and ownership over syllabus creation - meaning they determine which topics to study, what to read, what activities and assignments they will complete, how they will be assessed in the class, and other class policies – or they are given partial ownership with many opportunities for their voices and ideas to be heard – meaning the professor or teacher has identified course topics and readings, the tentative order they will go in, and general class policies, but the students decide on the assignments to complete and how those assignments will be evaluated – it is evident that there are many benefits of this open, collaborative learning. Students are able to build social, problem-solving, and decision-making skills; they participate in active learning, becoming “co-creaters of knowledge;” and they often exhibit increased satisfaction, effort, persistence, engagement and motivation (Hudd 2003, pg. 196).
Rather than attempting a full, open class, teacher transparency that encourages student opinions and suggestions by providing the reasoning behind classroom processes is more feasible in traditional secondary schooling environments, because not all students will want to take so much control over their learning or they may not feel comfortable expressing their ideas. So while this presentation did not speak directly to teaching in high school settings, I did like many of the ideas that were addressed and it inspired me to consider how I could take elements of this concept and translate them into something that would work in a high school classroom. While there are unique school models that promote more student agency and inquiry, traditional schooling positions teachers as experts and students as learners. I wondered if I could ever create a space where students felt comfortable challenging this traditional model.
Suzanne Hudd (2003) utilizes collaborative teaching and learning, a more temperate version of open syllabus education, in her introductory undergraduate sociology courses. While the context for this research is still an undergraduate college course, Hudd (2003) notes that a majority of students are freshman who are simply taking the course to fulfill a requirement rather than because of a deep interest in sociology, a population which more closely resembles the students I am working with than that of the open syllabus research. The first class of this semester-long course introduces the format of the course and different collaboration and decision-making techniques so that students can begin to prepare for the task of designing their activities and assignments for the semester. The students are placed into small groups and have to create a list of assignments that they want to complete so that Hudd can assess their performance in the course that semester. After discussion among the entire class, a final list of assignments is agreed upon, and while this list often reflects the traditional assessments that students are familiar with (quizzes, exams, papers, etc.), Hudd (2003) notes that her students are often more successful, the classes are more interactive, and students seem more personally invested in the class after taking control in the decision-making process.
Whether students are given full responsibility and ownership over syllabus creation - meaning they determine which topics to study, what to read, what activities and assignments they will complete, how they will be assessed in the class, and other class policies – or they are given partial ownership with many opportunities for their voices and ideas to be heard – meaning the professor or teacher has identified course topics and readings, the tentative order they will go in, and general class policies, but the students decide on the assignments to complete and how those assignments will be evaluated – it is evident that there are many benefits of this open, collaborative learning. Students are able to build social, problem-solving, and decision-making skills; they participate in active learning, becoming “co-creaters of knowledge;” and they often exhibit increased satisfaction, effort, persistence, engagement and motivation (Hudd 2003, pg. 196).
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