Seeking a classroom style that empowers students to achieve

We set out educational research throughout our class in order to investigate students’ achievements. We hope that our findings will help us design an environment that can empower students for their learning in other subjects.

During the semester we set up a mixture of styles for classroom environments. Also, in the classroom we set out specific actions, explicit teaching and learning processes associated with learning achievement by students.

Sometimes we adopted a frontal teaching or a lecture-based style. We taught the content step-by-step while students passively listened to the content and followed up on the instructions. 

But this teaching style seemed to be boring to students at times. By eye-contact techniques, we found that students paid less attention to our lecture and were distracted to other things, even though we had completely prepared the class material and explained the content clearly to them.

Alternately, in some weeks, we used a project-based learning style for students. We presented the learning goals of the day clearly. We assigned them hands-on group work and explained things to them from time to time while practising in class. 

We focused on discussion, allowing students to raise their hands for questions and answers. Some students worked alone and some worked as a group. 

It meant that whoever finished their assignment in advance then turned to be co-tutor in the class. The knowledge spread quickly and students moved from one exercise to another smoothly. 

We all walked and moved around the class. This made the class less tiresome and created energetic learning inside the class. It seemed to give more power to students and some learned to lead the group work in class.

Every action by everyone in the classroom was completely purposeful. We also had after-school tutoring support by our TAs.

What is different in those two scenarios? 

In order to evaluate effective teaching and student learning, we investigated our classroom both via personal observation and from video analysis in order to gather qualitative evidence of action in the classroom. We also reviewed our course syllabus, class materials, assignments and students’ work. 

Indeed, we monitored the information on how much students were learning, while at the same time examining teaching action in the classroom. We hoped to see common patterns among effective teaching for lecturers or teachers. Significantly, we found that classroom strategies have something in common with the six general principles – so called “Teaching as Leadership” – as reported by “Teach for America”.

To challenge students to achieve dramatic academic success, highly effective teachers – according to “Teacher for America” – should work to the following six general principles:

- Set big goals – that are ambitious, measurable, and meaningful for students;

- Invest both students and their families – through a variety of strategies to work hard to reach those goals;

- Plan purposefully – by focusing on where students are headed, how success will be defined, and what path to student growth is most efficient;

- Execute effectively – by monitoring progress and adjusting courses to ensure every action contributes to student learning;

- Continuously increase effectiveness – by reflecting critically on their progress, identifying root causes of problems, and implementing solutions;

- Work relentlessly – on their conviction that they have the power to work past obstacles for student learning.

The above guidelines hint at ways to improve teaching practices in any classroom setting. In other words, this is a framework of teacher action to enhance student learning in order to gain more academic success.

As we seek a general pedagogical framework in developing teaching plans, feel free to implement and deploy the above strategies, which can be used in classrooms regardless of students’ grades and subjects.

 

PRIYAKORN PUSAWIRO

Learning scientist

Computer Engineering Department

King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi

[email protected]