Week 5 - Tired From The Fight

I felt a very deep personal connection to class this week, given that our discussions and readings focused on student-centred learning. Learner-centred approaches go hand-in-hand with 21st century skills and developing and focusing on ICT integration into pedagogical practices is important in today's classrooms.

My main goal this year is to focus on developing a more learner-centred classroom in my science classes, while also encouraging and supporting the staff in my department to take similar risks. For example, project-based learning (PBL) is being integrated in some of our junior and senior science courses. I've personally experienced some backlash from both parents and students; their perspective is that a teacher is not teaching if he/she is not standing and lecturing at the front of the room. While I know this is not true, it is challenging to continue on this path when there is so much negativity and questioning of my professional judgement. I'm wondering if this mindset is more prominent in a science classroom, since it is a content-heavy subject by nature. This idea really links with the quote that Lorayne asked us to comment on this week, from Spector (2016) who defines learning as "a change in one's abilities, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and/or skills".

There are many questions that I have been left with this week that I am struggling with in my practice. I think the biggest questions I have are around student and parent buy-in, since student-centred and technology enhanced teaching approaches are very different from "traditional" teaching models. I feel like this issues never get addressed and discussed; typically readings about student-centred learning focus on the benefits only. I'm curious if there is research out there that looks at issues such as parent/staff/administration buy-in or the time/energy needed to create resources. This week's class has left me with the realization that I need to learn more about how to overcome these challenges.

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Week 6: An Introvert's Perspective on Class

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