Essential Questions for Reflection
  • Blog
  • About
  • Connect

HOW CAN YOU CREATE A STUDENT-CENTERED ENVIRONMENT?

8/9/2017

32 Comments

 
Picture
I recently had the honor of writing a guest blog with Microsoft titled, "Integrating technology in class for great results: 6 tips from an expert". I looked back on that post recently and wanted to go further with each tip in a series of blog posts. I'm going to dive into my second tip of, "Shift to a Student-Centered Environment" first. Based on the limitation of words I had to adhere to in the original post, I never went into the actual physical space as part of the environment. It is a good time to reflect on this at the start of the new school year when many teachers are focused on setting up their classroom environment. Before I expand on the tip further, here were my original thoughts:

Stand back and release control. There are a variety of student-centered pedagogies to explore such as inquiry, project and/or problem-based learning, design thinking, and culturally responsive teaching. The end goal is to give students ownership into their learning.
​

For instance, use creative discovery time when introducing a new tool. Instead of giving step-by-step instructions, let students discover and interact with one another. Imagine a class of students starting on Minecraft: Education Edition for the first time. Do you really need to be the expert, or can your students play that role?
​

The physical environment you set up for your students  can lead to a deeper focus on student learning, collaboration, and communication. It was one area that my tip did not touch on, but can easily be tweaked by not only the teacher, but also the students. Most teachers getting ready for "Back to School Night" feel like the room has to be perfect, like the pictures you see on Pinterest. I wonder... could it be a blank slate ready for your students to help you design?

Classroom Redesign

Dani Nyffeler, is a sixth grade teacher in our district that recently earned an endorsement in Instructional Technology Leadership. Part of that endorsement program really pushed Dani to look at not only her learning activities in class, but to look at the whole learning experience. She developed a strong interest in Project Based Learning (PBL), and I shared with her the book, "Hacking Project Based Learning" as a great book to provide a starting point. The book opened with the first chapter, "Develop a Space that Promotes Risk Taking". The authors outlined the following steps:
  • Step 1 Build relationships
  • Step 2 Foster learner agency through your physical environment
  • Step 3 Create a resource-rich classroom
  • Step 4 Teach Students to ask good questions
  • Step 5 Promote risk-taking
Dani started shifting her physical environment last year with the help of her students' input. It was a learning experience for all of them as they realized what learning spaces worked and didn't. This year she is excited to start the year with the physical space for student learning in mind. Check out some of her latest tweets showcasing her classroom and students learning in the space she has provided. With a new group of students she may find that she needs to adjust spaces that worked for her group last year.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Resources

The learning space can include the physical: seating, lighting, decor, but also the way students use the space in different ways such as individual, collaborative, and/or creative learning. When looking for ideas, it is great to check out what other schools are doing to redesign their learning spaces. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Check out this one from Baltimore County Public Schools for all things focused on the learner:
The Learner Centered Environment
It is an ocean of resources, and a whole section is dedicated to "Classroom Arrangement". Below is one example of an interactive it displays on using your space for a variety of learning stations. 

​
Picture

For even more examples from this district, they have a page dedicated to their Lighthouse Schools: Learner Centered Environments with photo galleries showing students interacting in their physical environment created for student learning.

2. As you embark on redesigning your classroom, view some of the tips from Edutopia: 8 Tips and Tricks to Redesign Your Classroom. One thing you will notice through the tips is how involved the students are in the process. This is the key!

Focus on more than the physical Space


Setting out to redesign your classroom may seem like a lot to take on. It is not something that may happen in a day or perhaps even a week, but like Dani it can be worked on over a year and tweaked for each group of students. The physical environment is not all that is involved in making a Student Centered Environment. It is just one step, but can be overlooked or held back on as a task that is too hard.

As our district sets off to open buildings this coming week to 52,000 students, I was out working with teachers on their first professional development days last week. I could see the look of worry in their eyes as their thoughts were more on setting up their classroom than the meeting they were sitting in. Some had the typical classroom to set up, which is an arduous task. However, one of the schools I walked into that was in the midst of construction honestly looked like a bomb had gone off in it. Construction was still in progress, wires hanging from the ceiling, boxes needing unpacked, and rooms still empty. No matter what, the students are coming and that building will be open and ready.

The physical space can be worked on as the days go by, but the one thing that needs to be forefront for all staff, no matter the worries in their mind, is number one on the list-- Build Relationships by making the students feel welcome and cared for. That is all that really matters to them.
Picture
32 Comments
Rob Dickson link
8/14/2017 05:46:09 pm

Great post Eileen. Your initial thoughts "stand back and release control" are resounding for every teacher that initially lets loose of control to let student centered learning work. Also showing your increased circle of influence as shown from the ITL program. Much of the resources reminds me of what was in chapter 4 of #LT8Keys about designing learner centered spaces:

"If learning is going to be transformed, then the spaces in which that learning takes place must also be transformed. Instead, the classroom ought to focus on assimilation and application of knowledge to new contexts."

Good stuff - keep posting.

Reply
Rich Molettiere
8/17/2017 05:37:43 am

Enjoyed the read and passed it on to our instructional lead team.

Reply
essay writing company uk link
12/12/2018 06:35:40 am

You need to let your students feel that they are in the school. An environment wherein they will leaner something yet they also get the chance to dossier something about themselves through their own ways. As a teacher, I know how difficult it could be to deal with students who are divided but their personalities. But it is also part of your job to bind them as one and have one goal. I know that it's pretty hard, but I am pretty sure that everything will be worth it. Just be passionate on what you do and it will make sense at the end!

Reply
Tammie Houston link
11/8/2021 11:58:59 pm

You made a great point when you said that the physical environment around a child also affects their capacity for learning and creativity. It will be important that you make that aspect of their environment as cheerful and productive to the experience as possible. My mother loves kids and as such, I thought it'd be a good idea to give her the opportunity to run her own daycare center so I plan on getting one built for her. I'll be sure to hire all the best school lighting installation professionals, as well as painters and builders to make the most conductive space for learning possible.

Reply
MckimmeCue link
4/26/2022 03:25:47 am

What an exquisite article! Your post is very helpful right now. Thank you for sharing this informative one.
If you are looking for coupon codes and deals just visit coupon plus deals dot com

Reply
takipçi satın al link
8/1/2022 03:30:47 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://takipcisatinalz.com/takipci-2/

Reply
instagram takipci satin al link
8/2/2022 07:22:57 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://takipcialdim.com/ucuz-takipci-satin-al/

Reply
okex kayıt link
8/9/2022 03:33:43 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://www.smsbankasi.net/2022/01/okex-nedir-nasl-kayt-olunur-nasl.html

Reply
walmart yurtdışı kargo link
8/9/2022 05:35:24 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://www.smsbankasi.net/2022/08/amazon-shopify-aliexpress-walmart-ebay.html

Reply
Mobil ödeme Bozum link
8/19/2022 01:51:02 pm

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://guvenbozum.com/

Reply
Salient Nulled link
9/5/2022 08:01:28 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://freecodezilla.net/download-salient-wordpress-theme/

Reply
mobil ödeme bozdurma link
9/12/2022 12:08:40 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://odemebozdurma.com/

Reply
web site kurma link
9/30/2022 01:53:24 am

It's great to have this type of content. Good luck with your spirit. Thank you. https://bit.ly/site-kurma

Reply
kiziltepe escort link
10/5/2022 12:04:44 am

I think this post is useful for people. It has been very useful for me. Looking forward to the next one, thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/mardin-escort/kiziltepe-escort/

Reply
buyukorhan escort link
10/5/2022 11:25:32 am

It was a post that I found very successful. Good luck to you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/bursa-escort/buyukorhan-escort/

Reply
caybasi escort link
10/5/2022 05:46:19 pm

I follow your posts closely. I can find it thanks to your reliable share. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/ordu-escort/caybasi-escort/

Reply
kirkagac escort link
10/6/2022 02:08:38 pm

I support your continuation of your posts. I will be happy as new posts come. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/manisa-escort/kirkagac-escort/

Reply
uluborlu escort link
10/7/2022 04:47:49 am

I think the content is at a successful level. It adds enough information. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/isparta-escort/uluborlu-escort/

Reply
saraykent escort link
10/8/2022 12:57:35 am

Thank you for your sharing. I must say that I am successful in your content. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/yozgat-escort/saraykent-escort/

Reply
susuz escort link
10/8/2022 02:32:14 am

Thoughtful and real content is shared. Thank you for these shares. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/kars-escort/susuz-escort/

Reply
Korsan Taksi link
11/11/2022 10:59:51 pm

Sitemizi ziyaret et: https://taksikenti.com/

Reply
evde iş imkanı link
11/21/2022 07:32:53 pm

Sitemizi ziyaret et ve evden is imkanina bak: https://sites.google.com/view/evden-ek-is/

Reply
betinfo link
11/22/2022 04:46:11 pm

It was a successful post.These types of posts are very helpful.

Reply
mrbahis link
12/6/2022 09:11:56 pm

Congratulations for the successful article. I can't wait for the sequel.

Reply
mrbahis link
12/8/2022 02:45:05 pm

This is nice work. Seeing good works on good days gives one peace of mind.

Reply
instagram beğeni satın al link
12/9/2022 09:46:24 pm

İnstagram beğeni takipçi satın al: https://takipcialdim.com/instagram-begeni-satin-al/

Reply
tiktok takipçi satın al link
12/9/2022 09:50:54 pm

Garantili Tiktok takipçi satın al: https://takipcialdim.com/tiktok-takipci-satin-al/

Reply
sportsbet link
12/10/2022 05:38:50 am

I follow your work closely. Congratulations for this beautiful content.

Reply
takipçi satın al link
12/15/2022 04:52:19 pm

takipci satın almak için tıkla: https://takipcim.com.tr/

Reply
sms onay link
12/15/2022 04:54:16 pm

Tıkla: https://www.smsonay.com/

Reply
casino siteleri link
12/28/2022 03:08:51 am

hemen göz at casino oyna: http://haikuboy.com

Reply
Jimuel Borja link
5/3/2023 01:25:22 am

Excellent! Thank you for this post. This is very helpful and resourceful article. Congrats and keep posting!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    About Me

    Mother, wife, teacher, learner, information seeker, outdoor lover, & I guess now a novice blogger.

    Archives

    April 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All
    21st Century Learning Design
    21st Century Skills
    4Cs
    Big 6+ Inquiry Process
    Blogging
    Curriculum
    Global Goals Project
    Project Based Learning

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Blog
  • About
  • Connect