Chapter 6: Sharing Control and Giving Choices
"SMART" Learning Objectives:
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Justify how sharing power and providing choices in the classroom leads to a better learning environment
- Generate strategies for sharing power in your teaching sessions
Chapter Summary:
Why should we share teaching power with our students?
Students feel in control of their learning when they are given some choice over how it will happen. Class time should emphasize what works best for our learners rather than what is easiest for us as instructors. When students play a role in formulating class policies, they share the responsibility of following them. Sharing power and giving our learners some choices creates a more positive learning environment (Doyle, 2011).
Students feel in control of their learning when they are given some choice over how it will happen. Class time should emphasize what works best for our learners rather than what is easiest for us as instructors. When students play a role in formulating class policies, they share the responsibility of following them. Sharing power and giving our learners some choices creates a more positive learning environment (Doyle, 2011).
What are some strategies we can employ to share more power with our students?
Teachers can share responsibility for instruction with their students in several different areas including when forming course policies, deciding exam dates or grading scales, defining learning outcomes, forming groups, deciding topics for discussion, and guidelines for self evaluation (Doyle, 2011). Essentially, any area of instruction from learning objectives to assessment strategies can be discussed with our students with some general guidelines set in advance by the instructor.
Teachers can share responsibility for instruction with their students in several different areas including when forming course policies, deciding exam dates or grading scales, defining learning outcomes, forming groups, deciding topics for discussion, and guidelines for self evaluation (Doyle, 2011). Essentially, any area of instruction from learning objectives to assessment strategies can be discussed with our students with some general guidelines set in advance by the instructor.
What are some barriers to sharing control with our students?
Students are used to instructors having all the power in a classroom based on their previous learning experiences. The novelty of having choices may be daunting to a student who may be afraid of making the wrong ones. It is our role as instructors to support them in their journey towards becoming independent learners.
Students are used to instructors having all the power in a classroom based on their previous learning experiences. The novelty of having choices may be daunting to a student who may be afraid of making the wrong ones. It is our role as instructors to support them in their journey towards becoming independent learners.
What are the key take-home points from this chapter?
Students learn better when they are given choices about the learning process. Sharing the power of learning with our students may be difficult initially, but is an important step in creating responsible and independent learners.
Students learn better when they are given choices about the learning process. Sharing the power of learning with our students may be difficult initially, but is an important step in creating responsible and independent learners.
References:
Doyle, T. (2011). Learner centered teaching: Putting the research on learning into practice. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
Connections to Medical Education:
The transition from the first two years of medical education (pre-clinical years) to the last two years (clinical years) requires the student to transition from a passive learner to an independent learner. Once our students are in clinics, they my receive a few structured didactic lectures, but are mainly personally responsible for reading about their patients and researching strategies to manage their problems. Without adequate preparation in the pre-clinical years, this transition is quite difficult for most students. Whenever we replace or supplement our lectures with active learning sessions or require students to figure out the best way to learn more about a specific disease process using problem based learning, we encounter student resistance. We try to help them by explaining that they will no longer have an expert lecturer with them when they go out into their clerkships and the sooner they learn to teach themselves, the easier it will be when they get there. Active learning strategies are meant to cultivate their ability to think independently and reason critically which will be valuable to their future practice in medicine.
The transition from the first two years of medical education (pre-clinical years) to the last two years (clinical years) requires the student to transition from a passive learner to an independent learner. Once our students are in clinics, they my receive a few structured didactic lectures, but are mainly personally responsible for reading about their patients and researching strategies to manage their problems. Without adequate preparation in the pre-clinical years, this transition is quite difficult for most students. Whenever we replace or supplement our lectures with active learning sessions or require students to figure out the best way to learn more about a specific disease process using problem based learning, we encounter student resistance. We try to help them by explaining that they will no longer have an expert lecturer with them when they go out into their clerkships and the sooner they learn to teach themselves, the easier it will be when they get there. Active learning strategies are meant to cultivate their ability to think independently and reason critically which will be valuable to their future practice in medicine.
Suggestions for Implementation:
Here are some ways I have attempted to provide my residents more control over their learning:
- Every year I discuss the learning process with our new group of dermatology residents. We discuss ways they learn best and I have adjusted my teaching process from didactic sessions to mostly digital and slide-based review sessions based on their input.
- I solicit resident input into the textbook they wish to read for the year, thus making them accountable to come prepared for our sessions.
- We have discussed their lack of practice tests and questions and I am currently creating some practice tests to be administered quarterly for self-assessment.
- I solicit feedback from my residents periodically and make changes to the teaching structure as necessary.