Empowered+-+Student-Centered+Classrooms

What does a student-centered classroom look like to you?

List some of the things you'd see in a student-centered classroom below.

=A student-centered classroom......= most students are offering ideas, they are participating talking students 30 working computers HOPEFULLY NOT 30 students students on task NOISE a teacher's desk "in the back of the room" or the teacher can be in the back of the classroom--a monitor Students asking questions and answering each other's questions. Students deciding what they are going to work on in the class period or what medium they may be using to produce the outcome. Teacher doesn't know how the end of the class period will turn out because the students' actions will persuade the lesson. Organized chaos--looks like chaos, but the students are having fun!!
 * where the teacher is not the focus
 * They are not all necessarily working on the same task or in the same way.

Students leading the discussions, less focus on the "test" more on the child as a whole

Every student is contributing to the learning, giving individual responses(perhaps whiteboards, CPS systems, today's meet, wikis, etc...)

Students making choices about how they will learn concepts the teacher has determined everyone should master

Students are engaged and accountable for their own learning.

A student-centered classroom might involve standards-based grading. One teacher implemented this very well... his students are given a list of state standards / skills / content for the entire year and must demonstrate proficiency in each of these to the satisfaction of the teacher and themselves. They can progress through the skills at their own pace and in their own order. Instruction and projects are still given, but there's flexibility. If they master something int he 4th marking period that was covered int he 2nd, he actually goes back and changes their grades. They can learn at their own pace and their grades don't depend upon WHEN they learned something... just THAT they learned.


 * How to keep them on task?**
 * How to have them utilize the class time and not just finish the project at home.**
 * Do we use grade contracts?**
 * Student-Centered classroom lends itself to specific curriculums and not so much in others (at lease not all of the time)**
 * Student-Centered classroom lends itself to specific curriculums and not so much in others (at lease not all of the time)**


 * If the focus is on authentic learning and project based education, why are we looking at cutting the programs that ARE project based!?!?!??!?!!**