Dive Brief:
- English teacher, adjunct professor, author, and consultant Jay Meadows recommends teachers stop lecturing and instead engage students with hands-on activities, class discussions and opportunities to choose their own assignments.
- He writes for Edutopia that students are more likely to disengage when teachers are at their podiums, no matter how impassioned their lectures are, so alternative strategies to foster engagement and discussion include asking students to work in small groups, circulate through learning stations, or use Socratic circles to discuss class topics.
- Giving students opportunities to choose among assignment options builds motivation, integrating popular culture or real-world problems can pique their interest and taking advantage of games in lessons, units or entire classroom structures will ensure students don’t fall asleep in class.
Dive Insight:
The idea of engaging students with hands-on activities and moving away from lecture-based lessons is wrapped up in this idea of School 2.0. The 19th and 20th century versions of school primarily featured teachers giving students the knowledge they needed to memorize. The 21st century model more often asks teachers to help facilitate learning rather than be the sole mouthpiece of it.
In addition to engaging students and giving them more power over their learning experience, School 2.0 emphasizes personalization. Many districts are turning to computer software to help personalize lessons, giving students an opportunity to move at their own pace with programs that tailor support to their specific needs. These shifts can present challenges for teachers who never learned in a School 2.0 model nor received training in it, making professional development and administrative support critical.