2018 STARTALK Spring Conference
CREATING AND MANAGING A LEARNERCENTERED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ali Moeller
Xianquan Liu
SESSION OUTCOMES
• Icandescribestrategiesthatbuildpositivestudentteacherrelationshipsinthelanguageclassroom
• Icandescribeclassroommanagementapproachesthatfocusandengagealllearnersinthelearningprocess
• Icanidentifyandusetechnologytoolsthatprovideformativefeedbackandinvolvelearnersininteractivelearningtasks
?• STARTALKPrinciple:FacilitatingaLearnerCenteredClassroom
• SessionFocus:CreatingaLearner-CenteredClassroom
• KeyWords:ClassroomManagement;LearnerCenteredness;PositiveLearningEnvironment
WHY THIS SESSION?
What is a Learner Centered Classroom?
Learner-Centered InstructionIn a student-centered class, students:
•don’t depend on their teacher all the time•communicate with each other•value each other’s contributions•they cooperate and learn from each other•don’t decide what they want to learn •work alone, in pairs or in groups
A student-centered classroom may be teacher led:
•teacher gives instructions•helps with pronunciation•gives feedback•offers suggestions•makes corrections
•planner•learning environment creator•motivator•assessor•facilitator•guide
Role of the teacher
Learner-Centered Instruction
Role of the student
•participant•listener•doer•self-assessor•learner
http://www.learner.org/libraries/tfl/french/terry/analyze.html
Control
In a learner-centered classroom, the teacher gradually releases control of the learning to the learners
Motivation3 elements of motivation–Autonomy–Competence–Relatedness
Relationship with learners (relatedness)
Relationships are Important
§ Relationship does NOTmeanfriend
§ Establish trust§ Students will not want to disappointyou.
§ Students morelikely to participateinclass.
Learning is cognitive and emotional
The Importance of “Showing Care”
Relationship-buildingisidentifiedas“themostimportantfactorineffectiveclassroommanagement”(Holt,Hargrove&Harris,2011)
To establish relationships…
§ Find outwhat students areinterested in
§ Participate inactivities with students
§ Talk with them before class
§ Askif they areokaywhen they seem down
Knowing your students
Fostering positive peer relationships
TeamBuildingideas
Choice/Voice (autonomy)
Task based instruction (competence)
Information Gap Pair Work1.Eachpartner(A&B)hasapictureofamale2.Thereare10differencesinappearancebetweenthepicturesthatpartnerAandpartnerBhave
3.Usingonlythetargetlanguageenhancedbyanynon-verbalsorstrategiestrytoidentifythe10differencesbetweenthesetwomen
4.Circlethedifferencesasyouidentifythem5.Youhavefiveminutestocompletetheactivity
Pair Work
Numbered Heads Together
Numbered-Heads Together§ Teachergivesaquestionstowholeclass.
§ Allstudentshavethinking+writingtime
§ Studentsputheadstogether…discussuntilconsensus.
§ Teacherselectsanumberatrandom
§ Numberedstudentsrespondinavarietyofways.
Howcanweasteachersestablishclassroommanagementinourclassroom?
§ Settingupthephysicallayoutoftheclassroom.§ Developingrulesandroutines.§ Planandimplementengaginginstruction.§ Involvinglearnersactivelyinfirstfourminutes§ Developingrelationshipwithandamongthestudents§ Addressdisciplineissueswhentheyarise.
(Garrett,2013pg.48)
Establishing Classroom Management
Clock Partner
Popsicle…
Getting Students Talking
Authoritarian vs Authoritative
• Dictatorial&unresponsivetostudentneeds• Highstandardsandempathetic&supportive
Authority+Warmth
Warmthority
GOLDEN Rules• Befriendly,butfirm• Beanally• De-escalateratherthanDe-fensive• Balanceauthorityandapproachability• Modelcorrectbehaviorandrewarditinstudents• Keepcoolanddon’tbebaited• Beawareofyourvoiceandnon-verbals
Fair and firm enforcement of rules with a dash of humor
Relate to Learners
Behaviors
• Minormisbehaviors–Noisiness,socializing,daydreaming
• Moreseriousmisbehaviors– Arguing,failingtorespondtodirective
• Nevertoleratedmisbehaviors– Stealing,intentionallyhurtingsomeone,destroyingproperty
Cellphonestorage
Keep calm
§ Haveacalmoutlook.Ifyoucan'tleavetheroombutaregettingannoyed,countsilentlybackwardsfrom10andcollectyourself.
§ Smile,communicatecalmandconfidence
Adjust the Volume
§ Withloudclasses,avoidraisingyourvoice
§ Loweringyourvoicecanbemuchmoreeffective.Ifthevolumeofyourvoiceisalwayshigh,itlosesitseffectanddoesn'thelptocontrolthesituation
Move around • Yourpresenceisextremelypowerful
§ Movearoundanddon'tallowthestudentstobecomedistracted.Talktothemabouttheirtask.Givethemadefiniteindicationregardingwhenyouwillbebacktocheckontheirprogress.Forexamplesay:"I'dlovetoseehowyouanswerthenextquestionwhenIcomebackinafewminutes”
§ Thenwalkandvisitanotherstudent/pairbutmakesureyoucomeback
It's your classroom
§ Controlyourspace
§ Standatthedoorastheyenter.Talk,changemoods.Greetthestudentsandmakeeyecontact
Be positive
§ Dealwithlow-leveldisruptionsbyusingpositivelanguage"Wedon’tusecellphonesbecauseitdistractsyoufromfullyengaginginthelearningprocess."
§ Itdoesn'tgivethelearnertheopportunitytooptoutbutalsosetstheexpectation
Have routines
§ Havingaroutineinyourclassroomcanhelp.Studentsneedtofeelsecureintheirclassroomandwiththeiractivities.
§ Startandendwithcandostatementsthatareperformancebasedlearningoutcomesthatpromotemotivationandself-assessmentandself-regulation
Pyramid of Responses• Donothing
• Proximity
• Callonthem
• Pausemeaningfully
• Genericplenarycomment
• Privatetalk
• Papertrial
• Publicconfrontation
• Exclusion
Non Verbal Intervention
• The”teacherlook”
Level 1 Interventions
§ Teacher look
§ Proximity
§ Tap desk
§ Quiet one-way conversation while otherstudents arebusy
§ Whole group positivecorrection
§ “Thanks for keeping your
computers closed”
§ Thanks for listening to the speaker
Level 2 Interventions
§ Public Correction– “Ricardo,Ineed your eyes uphere.Thank you”– Then keep going!– These should bespecific phrases
§ Hallway– Send the student to the hallway– Get other students started– Go have aprivate conversation with the student– Use“I”phrases– Setupaquick game plan– Let the student get adrink before coming backinside
Level 3 Interventions
§ Office– Usethis sparingly!– Follow upwith student/administrator
§ After school detention– Make it productive– Have aconversation (Boys v.Girls)– Help the student formulate the solution to theproblems he/she is experiencing intheclassroom.
– Clean slate when they comeback
Level 4 Interventions
“Withitness” Factor– Kounin, 1970
Knowwhat’sgoingonallovertheroom&studentsknowtheteacherknows
“Withitness” Eyes & Ears EverywhereHone observational skills
Teacher Observation
§ Rethink“monitoring”à thinkofgroupworkasanobservationalopportunity
§ Achancetoseehowstudentsinteractanduseinformationtoguideclassroommanagement—acknowledgequestionswitheyecontact,nod,handgesture– Seeaproblem,stepupandguide– Don’tlinger(lessthan30seconds)– Listenbeforejumpingin
Observing Students in Action
§ Useyoureyes:visuallyskim
§ Useyourears:eavesdropping
§ Useperspective:movefronttobackandsidetoside
§ Useproximity:standoff—wideangleview– Standclose—inconversationaldistance
Building Learner Centered Classroom through Digital Tools•PearDeck
ExampleSlides
Building Learner Centered Classroom through Digital Tools• SockPuppet
sockpupptexample
Building Learner Centered Classroom through Digital Tools• Seesaw
SeesawLink
Learner engagement
Can-Do Statements
• Icandescribestrategiesthatbuildpositivestudentteacherrelationshipsinthelanguageclassroom
• Icandescribeclassroommanagementapproachesthatfocusandengagealllearnersinthelearningprocess
• Icanidentifyandusetechnologytoolsthatprovideformativefeedbackandinvolvelearnersininteractivelearningtasks
Xianquan [email protected]