JOIN USHow students learn is a very interesting topic which has engaged educationists and psychologists alike. There are several theories which have tried to explain this phenomenon. With the research findings gathered over the years, several variations have been tried out. As there are many factors which influence learning, controlling all the factors is not an easy task. Nevertheless, educationists are not deterred in search of an effective learning theory.
In most of the methods adopted, the ‘teacher’ and ‘teaching’ take precedence over what in reality should be ‘learner’ and ‘learning’. Our schools should be learner centric rather than teacher centric. The reason for this is very simple. Learners have varied learning styles and they deserve to learn in an environment which suits them most. If some are visual learners, others are aural or kinesthetic.
But there are challenges to have a paradigm shift. Everybody enjoys a comfort zone and they resist any changes which are challenging. To design a student centered class is far more difficult than a teacher centered class. One needs to know how students learn best and also how to cater to the varied learning styles in order to come up with a teaching plan.
‘Learning together’ is an idea which is built on related ideas such as ‘peer learning’, ‘cooperative learning’ and ‘participatory learning’. Learners come together in mastering concepts. They assist each other based on their strengths and skills. All learners get a chance to participate in learning process actively and in a collaborative manner.
Group Formation: The first step in ‘Learning Together’ would be formation of groups. Large classes would pose a problem. Without disturbance to the furniture arrangement in the classroom, we should plan for group formation. Learners have to be grouped consisting of mixed abilities.
This is crucial as it helps in developing cooperative skills. The teacher has to ensure that all the members have a specified role to perform. Care is to be taken to see that the bright ones do not dominate the slower ones. Ideally, the group should have students with varying learning speeds. When the class size is smaller, sociometric grouping can be tried out. Each student would exercise a choice with whom he or she would like to work. After drawing a sociogram on the basis of the survey, groups can be formed.
Goal Setting: The objective of the task has to be specific and clearly articulated by the teacher and should be clearly understood by the students. The time, resources available, the ability to accomplish the goal by the students, students’ activities, and teacher interventions should be clearly spelt out. In a language class, comprehension could be the task set. Each group can work on a few questions depending on the time available for the exercise as well as presentation to the class. The students can use text book or other resources. The students have to e encouraged to interactmong themselves.
Expressions of Students: We should ensure students express themselves about their activities. A group member can record all the activities and one of them can present it to the class on behalf of the group. They develop their presentation skills through this stage. All the students should get a chance for the presentation by turns. The presentation can be in an audio visual mode also through charts and posters or a power point presentation. A role play or a skit to reflect their learning would be interesting.
Carrying out assessment:Evaluation has to be carried out for the teacher and students. Every activity has to be assessed for its effectiveness. This helps in planning similar activities in a better way in future. Students can also be assessed at the end of each activity to test their learning. Process is as important as product. Participation of learners is very important for the success of learning together. Teacher acts as a facilitator by way of planning and implementing the programme. The responsibility of the teacher is quite high as she has to go beyond the exclusive dependence on text books alone. She has to be innovative and creative to balance with resources and varied abilities of students.
(The author is a retiredassistant commissioner of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghatan)