I Used To Think...

I used to think...

I used to think that the students need to first learn the concepts and then application comes much later. I used to think that a lag between learning and application is only normal because application of concepts only happens when you start working. I used to think that teacher is needed to impart the knowledge and it is teacher’s responsibility to somehow make the student get the content matter. The amount a student learnt was dependent on how much student listened and how attentive he or she was when the teacher was teaching.

I used to think that a classroom where all the student desks are facing the whiteboard and seating arrangement where students do not interact with one another is the most effective seating arrangement. I used to think that a teacher has to stand behind the podium and be able to lecture so that she or he can deliver the content in the most efficient manner.

 I used to think that the student’s ability to succeed depends on how effective a note taker he or she is and how well he or she performs in traditional assessment.

Teaching high school dispelled all these misconceptions. In a short period of first six months I discovered that if I were to expect my students to learn something, I needed to first motivate them. Building meaningful experiences into their learning and letting them take ownership of their learning by actively doing and interacting with professionals created relevance of learning and real world connections were illustrated.

Project based learning resonates with this thought process and gets the student in a figuring out mode. Problem solving and collaboration are the two hallmarks of PBL and also construct the spine of the SC graduate profile or 21st century skills. It is important for the students to understand the connection between the projects that they do in the class and the 21st century skills because it allows them to see how the skills learnt in this process help them in the real world.