Reflection- Station Teaching and Asking Questions

Reflection- Station Teaching and Asking Questions

One of the strategies my mentor teacher and I have been using recently is station teaching. Science is certainly a great subject for student-centered learning, and having a second teacher in the classroom allows you to split the class up and get more done in less time. The recommendation to use more station teaching came from our school’s principal himself, so we’ve made a conscious effort to better use the space and resources available in our room. When we introduced the various organelles to our students, for example, we used three stations. At the first station, students used their textbook to label and color plant and animal cells. The second station required students to use the prepared PowerPoint to complete a table of the organelle functions. Finally, students at the third station completed a Venn diagram that compared animal, plant, and bacteria cells. This approach to the organelles is definitely more student-centered than lecturing the class for an extended period of time, and it prevents the students from becoming disengaged because they have the right amount of time to complete their task before switching stations. The stations have worked so well thus far, we’ve decided to use it again to review for their upcoming exam. It’s also nice from a classroom management perspective because both teachers are responsible responsible for only half the room, and I can better meet the needs of struggling learners with the reduced student-to-teacher ratio that station teaching provides.

   

    I recognize that station teaching isn’t always a possibility in classrooms for obvious logistical reasons, but I think if the opportunity presents itself to use station teaching, it’s certainly worth a try. Our foundations-level class, for instance, has an aide that works with them during every period of the day. For the first few weeks of the school year, she helped students stay organized and on-task, but recently, the shift to more station-teaching has given her a more active role in the instruction. This approach utilizes her abilities better than a more traditional approach, and makes classroom management much easier. On the days I’m there, having three teachers means that each of us has responsibility for a small group of students and a single activity, which I prefer when compared to having a primary teacher and two assistants. During whole class discussions, I’ve noticed that certain students can become disengaged and fall off task, forcing the teacher to slow everyone else down by addressing the issue. With small groups, student behavior is much improved, and having stations that appeal to different learning styles should support differentiation, too. Utilizing stations in a classroom with one teacher has some problems, but if I ever have the opportunity to co-teach, I’ll use my internship experience to design lessons that maximize engagement and learning with stations.

    One of the practices my mentor teacher does that allows students to pursue knowledge of their own interests is ask them what they want to learn at the beginning of a new unit. She’ll show the students a video or demonstration that introduces the next topic, then ask the students what they want to learn by the end of the unit. As members of the class shares their responses, she writes these questions down on post-it notes so that she can check-off the questions as they’re answered throughout the unit. For questions that would otherwise remain unanswered, she does some research on her own to ensure that no student is unsatisfied. I think this approach is interesting because it allows my mentor teacher to work with the natural curiosity of the students. Then, at the end of the unit, students can look back on these questions and reflect on how much they’ve learned since those questions were asked. In my future classroom, I hope to use a similar technique in conjunction with learning objectives to serve as progress bars for student learning. At the beginning of each unit, we’ll go over the learning objectives for that unit, and students will add questions of their own to the list. If this list is displayed prominently in the classroom, it can serve as visual reminder to students of their progression. Then, we can consciously reflect on these at certain points of the unit. For example, I can ask students to respond to questions such as the following in their journals: “Right now, how confident are you in your ability to complete this learning objective?” or “Now that we’re halfway through the unit, are there any more questions you’d like answered?” Encouraging students to reflect on their learning will ideally encourage self-regulation, a crucial skill to learn in adolescence.   

    The idea of using student-generated questions appeals to me because different students will want to take different things away from the same class. The learning objectives created by the school district and/or teacher outline what all students should be able to do by the end of the class, but having students create their own personal “mini-objectives” by asking questions and setting goals allows me to help them to tailor the learning to their own interests. When I was a student, I didn’t pay much attention to the learning outcomes listed in the course syllabus. I understand their importance now more than ever, so I hope to have students be more cognizant of them and perhaps even take a more active role in their construction when I become a teacher. If nothing else, I expect this approach will help some students see the value in what they are learning even if they don’t pursue a career in the sciences.