Ongoing Reflection Part III: Independence
Third Theme: Independence
What are some ways I could give students the reins, so that they are in charge of their work process?
How can I help students creatively work through problems?
posted by Lydia @ 4:51 PM
2 Comments:
A few opportunities emerged over the course of the semester for students to work on individual projects. I have one student in the class who created a tri-fold brochure promoting a business he is starting. Another student wrote a letter to me about artistic responsibility, an issue that had captured his interest outside of class. These students habitually do no classwork or homework. There are other issues at play here, but seeing these students work hard on independent projects made me realize that their diligence and their achievements belie the assumptions that we so easily make about kids who lag for whatever reason behind the herd—that they are lazy, or less capable, or elsewise uneducable. A link between independence and motivation emerges.
There are routines of dependence scripted into our daily lives in classrooms. Everyone works on the same project at the same time, the teacher gives instructions and students follow the letter if not the spirit of the activities that are assigned. How can we find opportunities for every student to seek their own path? I return again and again in my head to the workshop model or the art class, where the teacher acts as a kind of advisor while each student works on an independent project. This brings me back around to my fears that students will be overwhelmed without lots of teacher guidance, but I remember that learning probably should not be consistently underwhelming, nor on a neatly-timed schedule.
One of the ways I encourage independence in my students is by using the Writer's Workshop model in my classroom.(it's great! you can find out more by googling..) Because it is so imbued with choice, they are able to find their own way to communicating with me. Instead of the answer always being something that someone else has (that they must guess/discover), the Writer's Workshop encourages them to look for an answer independently. It's amazing, actually, the transformation in their general classroom demeanor. I take what they say seriously and give them the time to find their own way (even if I could help them do it faster!) Because, with independence and true choice comes responsibility and some occasional maturity.
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