We need to shift the paradigm

 

My Blog for Educators

Why ‘My Blog for Educators?

It’s simple! This is a blog that promotes authentic teaching and learning. It is a blog that believes in theory and practice not just content. It is a blog where Educators, great Teachers and Learning Leaders are raised and supported to deliver greatly in the classroom. In this blog, Educators, Teachers and Learning  Leaders are greatly inspired to teach authentically.

Here, our mandate is to rebrand teaching ,learning and expand our horizon.  What we do with the learners is pivotal in bridging the learning gap. We need not only to know, but we also need to practice, reflect and research to ensure continuous learning.

 Therefore Educators, Teachers and Learning  Leaders are all welcome here to learn and brainstorm together.

However, no matter how we want to bring the moon down, one thing is obvious; we cannot teach authentically if we do not believe in authenticity. Am I Correct? 

Therefore, belief system counts. Most times our belief system shuns authentic teaching which  is in agreement with student-centered Learning  rooted in constructivist philosophy. Constructivist philosophy is an approach that shows that learning is based on mental construction.

In fact, Journal of Research & Method in Education by. Bada, S.O. and Olusegun, S. (2015) revealed that

‘’ Constructivism is an approach to teaching and learning based on the premise that cognition (learning) is the result of  mental construction”. 

The journal went further to say that ''students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know’'.

Therefore we have to find a way to shift the paradigm  from thinking ‘content’ (teacher-centered approach ) which is where the game has been to construction. This is because that is where the game is now. That game is the SCL-Student Centered Learning or learner-centered Approach(LCA)

May I shock us to say that this game shifted since the time of Socrates, so it’s not today? It is just that some of us refused to embrace it.

It is important to know that shifting our minds to something positive has a way of triggering our actions to positivity too. It only begins with the mind.

Now is the time. Come let us dive into the best of the best so that our learners will learn authentically for our future to be preserved and protected.

Hold on! Before we dive into the best practices, let us reconsider where we were before, that is in teacher centered circle where the teacher dominates the classroom?. How has it been with that ?. Yes, your content is delivered but did your learners learn as much as they should?

Take time to look at the picture below to see what happens in  Teacher- Centered Learning classrooms👇

Research has shown that in Teacher -Centered Learning(TCL), learners are conformed to absorb content from the teacher without having to be allowed to deploy their mental construction. Rooted in behaviorist theory, learners respond to anything the teacher dished out powerlessly and passively.

 In this type of approach, learning can only take place at the lowest order thinking skill instead of higher orders. I believe this is not what we want to settle for nor where we want to settle. We all want to be great educators, great teachers and great learning leaders. So we need to do something.

The principle is the principle. The moment we sow the right learning atmosphere and conditions for learners. they will learn,  not just learn but learn authentically. A person that sowed orange seed in fertile soil with great nurture and the one that dropped his own on a rock cannot expect the same harvest. Let us take time to cultivate, nurture and grow our learners. They need us.

Join me in this drive by reading below

What is  Student-Centered Learning(Approach)-This is simply the type of learning where the focus, concentration, interest and attention is on the learners (students). The learners lead learning. In this type of learning, the answer is not the most important but the process prior to the answer unlike in Teacher- Centered Approach. Here, mental construction is the key. Learners engage to produce meaningful learning that will benefit the future.

The picture below will guide you more about student-centered learning and what you expect to see in that type of classroom

Watchout out for our weekly tips on the skills and practices that can promote Student Centered Learning

 

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