【國外編輯部專欄】學生在專業發展上扮演何種角色?

 

作者/Suzie Boss

編譯/施文

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學生在專業發展上扮演何種角色?

蓋爾‧夏肯斯想幫助蒙大那州的老師運用地理資訊系統(GIS)讓他們的學生學習批判性思考,為此她找了些專家規劃專業發展(professional developement)。

Chester-Joplin-Inverness高中的學生已將GIS落實各社區企劃,如做出精準的拓荒時代公墓地圖。由學生們規劃、實際動手操作,反過來替他們的老師上了一課。

「你聽過翻轉教室吧?」夏肯斯問到。「我稱這為翻轉教師。」由學生帶頭,這些平時在國高中小的老師,學習使用休閒型全球定位系統,透過腦力激盪將此系統與他們教授的科目做連結。

許多學生已開始積極參與他們老師的專業學習。舉個例子:在一場主題為設計思考的研討會上,學生們分享他們關於改善高中的想法。學生們的自身經驗分享有助於老師了解以使用者為中心的重要性,尖銳的問題也迫使老師們重新評估原先的教案設計。

在設計為期一學期的實驗性課程中,老師訪問學生他們最喜歡和最討厭的學習經驗。老師們訝異學生竟然在課外進行了許多自主學習,如自行安排暑期實習和線上學習等。

老師忙於規劃專題課時,學生也沒閒著,參與相關講習,試圖改善PBL教案。

我在上篇文章「自造者文化成功建立優秀的學習社群」中,提到費城的一所新高中正在推動自造者計畫,讓提倡自造者的「公共工作坊(Public Workshop)」帶領學生動手改善校園環境。

後來公共工作坊的總監艾力克斯(Alex Gilliam)透過email告訴我,那所高中的老師和學生代表還共同組成了一個專業發展會議。他說,首先他們會快速評估教室環境,我們再一起根據需求排定改造任務的先後順序。我們會優先改造最需要的部分,之後再以這些成品當作模型教材,訓練全體學生如何快速打樣和使用工具,並傳授基本設計概念。在一開始評估時我們發現需要工具箱和方便拿取的櫥櫃,所以之後的步驟便是將大家分成數個小組,讓各組試著自行摸索如何複製模型並成功打造一模一樣的成品。

這樣一來,學生教老師工具的使用方式和安全注意事項,老師教學生如何測量,而父母則能兩者都教,這樣的互動非常棒。

那你的經驗呢?

這樣的學習方式並不常見,原因可想而知。畢竟大部分的學校花在專業發展的時間有限,課程又往往超出學生能吸收的範圍。關於學生參與專業發展的優點,雖然我無法列出任何研究證據(不過若有人研究這個主題,我非常希望能深入了解),但這些故事讓我想問各位讀者幾個問題:你的學校有讓學生參與專業發展嗎?學校又是如何設計體驗過程呢?開放學生參與讓你學到什麼?學生對於能分享自己的專業知識及同老師一起學習,又有何反應呢?

歡迎大家留言分享自己的經驗!

 

【作者介紹:Suzie Boss】

是記者也是作家,著有Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World,合著Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age。PBL專題式學習的擁護者。

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Should students have role in professional development?

When Gail Shatkus wanted to help Montana teachers understand how they might use geographic information systems (GIS) to get students thinking critically about local issues, she enlisted some experts to lead professional development.

Students from Chester-Joplin-Inverness High School have been using GIS for a variety of community projects, such as creating accurate maps of a pioneer-era cemetery. Who better than students to plan and facilitate hands-on learning experiences for their teachers?

“You’ve heard of flipping the classroom?” asks Shatkus, assistant professor at Montana State University-Northern and veteran career-technical education teacher at the high school. “I call this flipping the teacher.” With students leading the way, teachers from elementary through high school enjoyed the chance to learn how to use recreation-grade GPS devices and brainstorm connections to their curriculum areas.

Student Input: In Action

In a variety of contexts, I’ve been seeing more and more examples of students playing an active role in their teachers’ professional learning. For example: At a workshop to introduce teachers to design thinking, students shared their perspective about how to improve high school. Their stories helped teachers understand the importance of empathy in the user-centered design process. Students’ provocative questions got teachers thinking about everything from assessment to unit planning.

At a retreat to plan a new, semester-long experiential education class, students were interviewed by teachers about their favorite (and least favorite) learning experiences. Teachers were surprised at the amount of self-directed learning that was happening outside the classroom, from summer internships to online learning that students had arranged for themselves.

During staff planning time devoted to project-based learning, students took part in a critique session to improve PBL plans and fine-tune driving questions to increase engagement.

In my last post, How Maker Culture Builds Stronger Learning Communities, I described the maker projects under way at a new high school in Philadelphia where students are improving the built environment.

In a follow-up email, I heard from Alex Gilliam of Public Workshop about a professional development session at the same school, attended by both teachers and key student leaders. He described how it unfolded:

First they did a quick needs assessment of their classrooms, ultimately prioritizing top needs for which, together, we can create solutions. We will then turn the top choices into products and use them as professional development tools, to train the entire team in rapid prototyping, basic design skills, and tool use. Afterwards, we took a previously identified need — toolboxes and accessible storage — and, in small teams, had the entire group try to figure out how to copy and build our prototype.

This is a great example of students teaching teachers on tool use and safety, teachers teaching students on measurement, and parents teaching both. It was pretty awesome.

What’s Your Experience?

It’s easy to imagine why learning experiences like this don’t happen more often. After all, time for professional development is already too limited and overcommitted at most schools.

Nor can I point to any research about the benefits of inviting students to take part in professional development (although I’m eager to hear from anyone who is investigating this topic).

But these anecdotes have me wondering: Does your school involve students in professional development? How do you structure the experience? What do you learn from offering students a seat at the table? How do students respond to the invitation to share their expertise or learn alongside their teachers?

 

【Author:Suzie Boss】

Journalist and PBL advocate. Author of Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World and co-author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age

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圖片來源:《edutopia.org

原文經合作媒體:《edutopia.org》授權編譯,未經許可不得轉載

 

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