What does learner-centered education look like, and how can we best put it into practice? This helpful book by experienced educators Don Mesibov and Dan Drmacich answers those questions and provides a wide variety of strategies, activities, and examples to help you with implementation. Chapters address topics such as positioning students at the center of the lesson and teachers as coaches, making tasks relevant and engaging, incorporating the affective domain and social-emotional learning, assessing learning, and more. Appropriate for new and experienced teachers of all grades and subjects, this book will leave you feeling ready to help students take control of their own learning so they can reach higher levels of success.
Author(s): Don Mesibov, Dan Drmacich
Publisher: Routledge/Eye on Education
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 271
City: New York
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Frontispiece
Acknowledgments
A Message from the Authors
Introduction
Public Education Today
Is This the Reality of Public Education?
Why Does It Matter?
Learner-Centered Education: A Way Forward for All Students
What Do Learner-Centered Practices Cost?
What This Book Offers
Who It Is For
Who Are the Authors?
Section One: Why Do Schools Need to Change?
Chapter 1: Learner-Centered Education (LCE) and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): You Can’t Have One without the Other
What Are SEL and LCE?
True or False: If It Is Group Work, It Is Learner-Centered
Strategy 1: Critical Thinking Activity
What Are the Authors’ Experiences with SEL and LCE?
Chapter 2: The Iron Is Hot
Commonsense Conclusion
Note
Chapter 3: Research Supports the Need for Change
Two Schools of Thought
Constructivist Theory
Three Myths about Constructivism
Why Has It Taken So Long for Learner-Centered Practices to Gain Traction?
Chapter 4: Best Practices Are for All Students
Why Does It Matter If Our Classrooms Are Teacher-Centered or Learner-Centered?
Chapter 5: Many Students Are Bored and Unmotivated
Section Two: How Do the Teachers’ and Students’ Roles Change?
Chapter 6: It All Starts with the Teacher
Understanding Student-Centered Schools
What Is Missing from These Recommendations for School Reform?
Traditional vs. Learner-Centered Teachers
Chapter 7: Prioritize What Impacts Student Learning
Chapter 8: Student Needs, Interests, and Learning Styles should be at the Center of a Lesson
Challenge Students
How Do We Know a Classroom Is Learner-Centered?
A Four-Item Checklist for a Learner-Centered Lesson
What to Learn and How to Learn It
Chapter 9: Motivation Is Derived from What Students find Interesting, Relevant, or Just Plain Fun
Making the Subject Matter Relevant
Offering Fun, Interesting, or Challenging Lessons or Activities
Designing Activities That Are Likely to Yield Student Success Experiences
Chapter 10: Teachers Are Classroom Coaches
Engagement Must Precede Explanation
Chapter 11: Critical Thinking Is the Main Focus for Student Learning
Why Is Critical Thinking an Important Skill?
Schools Must Teach Children How to Discuss an Issue
Using Project-based Learning to Challenge Students to Think Critically
Advice to Marsha Hunt from Her Husband
Chapter 12: Advisories, Journaling, and Conferencing Are Essential
Status of Advisories, Student Conferences, and Journaling in Schools
Chapter 13: Music and Art Facilitate Learning in All Disciplines
Why Is the Use of Music or Art an Effective Way to Reach ALL Students?
Chapter 14: Students Need a Vision
Let Us Not Ignore the Unhappiness of Many Children
Chapter 15: Introverted (or Quiet) Children Require Special Strategies
Chapter 16: Educators Can Make Use of Lectures and Be Effective
Section Three: Is There Room for the Affective Domain?
Chapter 17: Content and Social-Emotional Learning Are Compatible
SEL Increases Content Retention
Parents and Students Want Lifelong Learner Outcomes
To Summarize
Chapter 18: Let All Students Know They Are Liked as Individuals: The Classroom Culture Sends a Message to Students
Raising the Bar
Chapter 19: Teaching Good Citizenship Prepares Students for Life and Raises Student Achievement
Students Need to Be Taught How to Participate in a Democratic Society
Good Parents Raise Their Children to Be Good Citizens
Chapter 20: More Activities to Start the Year or to Use Any Time
Section Four: Do Students Find School Relevant?
Chapter 21: Classroom Tasks Must Be Meaningful and Authentic
A Significantly Underutilized Format for Designing an Authentic Activity
Equalize Learning Opportunities by Offering Options
One More Example
Continuum of Authentic Tasks
Checklist for Designing an Authentic Task
Chapter 22: 9/11 and COVID-19: Opportunities for Student Learning
An Activity for Students to Share Experiences
An Activity for Students to Develop Questions
An Ambitious Activity
Section Five: How Do We Test What Students Should Be Learning?
Chapter 23: Assessment Practices Drive Instruction
The Correlation between Performance Assessments and Rubrics
Helping Students Understand Their Task
Discussion Is Required to Clarify a Rubric’s Criteria
Words to the Wise
Peer and Self-Assessment
Assessment by Teacher Observation
Chapter 24: Standardized Tests Directly Impact What Teachers Teach, What Students Learn, and How Students Learn
Teaching Effectively while Living with Standardized Assessments
Standardized Tests Are Inadequate for Assessing a Student’s Understanding or Ability to Apply Knowledge
It Is Wrong to Use the Same Standard for Students of Diverse Backgrounds
Standardized Tests Are Racist
The Fallacies of Standardized Testing
The High-Stakes Standardized Test Crisis
What about the Need for Students to Be Prepared for Standardized Tests?
Section Six: What Should All Teachers Understand?
Chapter 25: How to Interact with Disruptive Students
It Is Not Enough to Simply Neutralize the Behavior of a Disruptive Student
Is It Justifiable to Use Suspension?
Practice Rational Detachment
Threats Often Backfire
Using Critical Thinking Skills to Address Student Problems and Behaviors
Chapter 26: Schools Must Be Trauma-Sensitive
Storytelling Can Be Effective
Trauma Triggers
What Do We Mean by Extreme Trauma?
Addressing the Challenge of Traumatized Students in the Classroom
Self-Assess Your Level of Sensitivity to Trauma
Homework Considerations: When the Home Is Not Conducive to Work
Chapter 27: Social Justice Is a Critical Element of Good Citizenship
Why Teach about Social Justice?
Adapting Activities and Lessons for Younger Children
How Widely Is Social Justice Currently Taught?
Learner-Centered Pedagogy Based on Constructivist Theory Is Social Justice in Action
Chapter 28: Addressing Controversial Issues with Civil Discourse through Effective Use of Student-Centered Practices
Using Critical Thinking to Address Issues of Racism, Bullying, and Bigotry
The Risk of Controversy
Begin with a Process of Conducting a Civil Dialogue
Teach Students a Process for Engaging in Civil Discourse
Emphasize the Importance of Listening Skills
Additional Tips
Set Ground Rules for Class Discussions
The Mood Meter
An Activity to Address Religious Discrimination
In Support of Cooperative Learning Activities
Chapter 29: Lessons from COVID-19: Online Instruction and Utilizing Technology Can Support, Not Replace, Good Teaching
A Transformational Perspective
What We Have Learned from COVID-19
Effective Use of Technology
Chapter 30: Change How Student Progress Is Reported
Suggestions for Improving Communications about Expectations for Quality Work
Three Cautions as You Consider New Approaches
Additional Considerations for Rating Students
Section Seven: Is Meaningful School Reform Possible?
Chapter 31: Agents of Change, Please Step Forward
Chapter 32: There Can Be Major School Reform at Minimal Cost
Epilogue: Opportunities for Students Are Inequitable
Appendix A: Resources for Advocacies and Journaling
Appendix B: Resources for Teaching Good Citizenship
Appendix C: Resources for Teaching Social Justice
Bibliography
