Chaper 1: From Speculation to Science (2)

“Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.”

I need to cultivate this attribute of learning environments that Chapter 1 has introduced. I need to stop sounding like a commander: “I need you to practice this music piece and memorize it.” “I will be introducing this new song to you.” “I am requiring you to take a survey of your family’s music tastes.” Rather, the chapter recommends that we, as “learner-centered teachers”, present material that is “challenging enough to maintain engagement, but not so difficult as to lead to discouragement.” My approach should change to “You will be practicing this music piece so that you may share your talents with the wider community. Hopefully, you will inspire someone at our performance to spread your message of peace.” I now realize that I hardly share or explain further, my objectives for each lesson. While the objectives are stated in my syllabus or in my lesson plan book, I fail to make my students understand why they do such activities or learn specific types of music. Also, I need to ask for feedback—what music they are interested in nowadays and if a particular music piece worked for them or not.

In addition to designing the classroom environment as “learner-centered”, chapter 1 presents another attribute of the learning environment which I support as well. This attribute “to provide a knowledge-centered classroom environment, attention must be given to what is taught, why it is taught, and what competence or mastery looks like,” will definitely be in my mind every time I begin a new lesson. This attribute will remind me that I must maintain a “learning with understanding” mindset to ensure that my students are able to understand and apply the lesson at hand when they leave the classroom.

I am always open to new approaches and ways to improve my delivery in the classroom. Why? I, along with my fellow colleagues, need to "develop ways to link classroom learning to other aspects of students' lives."