Devon Hanahan

Department of Hispanic Studies

College of Charleston

4 November 2017

AATSP- SC

Learner Centered Teaching Practices

in the Language Classroom

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How do I define success in teaching?

TPACK Model for Integrating Technology

Where is the L?

What is learning?

Knowledge acquired by systematic

study in any field.

A change in

the neuron

networks of

the brain.

(Goldberg,

2009)

My goal: To acknowledge the

neurological aspects of

language acquisition in the

context of learner centered

teaching practices and to create

the best atmosphere to fire up

and strengthen those synapses.

The Goal of Learner Centered Teaching

…is to create learning

environments that optimize

students’ opportunities to pay

attention and actively engage in

authentic, meaningful, and useful

learning. (Doyle, 2011).

Two kinds of classrooms….

Teacher Centered Learner Centered

Lecture predominates.

Students are mostly passive.

Teachers offer help and

solutions readily.

Students are happy because

they can let the teacher do all

the work. Teachers are happy

because they can do the same

routine repeatedly.

Lecture is one of many approaches.

Students are actively engaged.

Students have to figure things out on their own.

Students can get frustrated because they have to work harder. Teachers have to plan more to make this work.

Question

Outside of content knowledge, pedagocial

knowledge, and technological knowledge, what

do you do as a language teacher to increase your

students’ chances for success? Do NOT include

foreign language-specific pedagogical practices

in your answer. Acceptable: I write in huge letters on the board so they can all see.

Unacceptable: I use only the target language in the classroom.

Five highlights for today Establish a personal bond with students.

Teach students that they can improve their ability to learn: they are in control of their success.

Maximize the use of their senses and physical motion to increase learning.

Involve students in the teaching and assessment process.

Ensure that learning is meaningful and challenging.

Practice #1

Establish a personal bond with

students.

The Student/Professor Relationship…

…is like any other human-human interaction.

Showing students that we respect and value them and that their success is important to us helps them fully engage in the learning process.

Emotions and cognition are inextricably bound in the brain.

Three benefits to a good relationship:

Our guidance and criticism are more likely to be valued, accepted, and implemented.

If students trust that we have their best interests in mind they will have the confidence to face challenges and succeed.

The affective filter that inhibits communication will be significantly lower.

Balancing authority and bonding

Rules, routines, and high standards are vital. The effort behind them is proof that you care about their success.

Remind them of the intrinsic value of what they are learning. Knowing that you are providing them with skills they can use in the real world automatically creates a bond.

Create opportunities for success for struggling students and heap on the positive reinforcement.

Practice #2

Teach students that they can improve

their ability to learn: they are in

control of their success.

There are only two kinds of

students in our classes:

Those with a FIXED MINDSET and

those with a GROWTH MINDSET.

(Dweck, 2006)

The Student’s Self-view of.. Intelligence

Fixed mindset Growth mindset

Intelligence is a

fixed trait: you have

it or you don’t. All

I can work with is

what I have now.

Through practice

and effort I can

increase my

intelligence. I can

become as smart as

I want.

Working hard

Fixed mindset Growth mindset

Working hard is a sign that I’m not smart. I just want to look smart in front of others, so I will not let them see me struggle.

Hard work is a sign

of intelligence and

a harbinger of

success.

Challenges

Fixed mindset Growth mindset

I don’t like to be

challenged. If I

don’t try hard, I

have a good excuse

for not doing well.

Challenges will

make me smarter

and stronger.

Criticism

Fixed mindset Growth mindset

Criticism is a

personal attack on

me and makes me

more afraid to try.

Criticism helps me

grow and improve.

I may not enjoy it,

but I can learn

from it.

Success of others

Fixed mindset Growth mindset

Those smart kids in my class make me look bad. I can never be as successful as they are. I’ll just stay under the radar.

Those smart kids in

my class make me

realize that I can

reach that level of

success as well.

Our greatest challenge:

We have to help all of our students achieve a

growth mindset, ….

……but how?

You CAN Grow Your Brain! Let them know straightaway that they can literally grow their

brains, creating new neural pathways, with effort and practice.

Praise students’ efforts and results rather than their intelligence.

When they do fail, focus your feedback on improved strategies for the future and not just on their errors.

Remind them that current performance reflects ONLY their current skills. It is not necessarily a predictor of future results.

Teach them the study skills they need.

Practice #3

Maximize the uses of senses and

physical motion.

Physical Movement

In class: Natural selection favored brains that could solve

problems related to survival while in nearly constant motion.

Our brains have evolved to work best when moving, not

sitting. (Medina, 2008)

Out of class: “The sedentary character of modern life is a

disruption of our nature, and it poses one of the biggest

threats to our continued survival.” (Ratey, 2008)

Production of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine

Promotion of nerve cell binding

Development of new nerve cells

See no language, speak no language,

hear no language…learn no language!

1969 1992 2008

Hearing-

20% recall

Touching-

65% recall

Hearing-

10% recall

Seeing-

30% recall

Seeing-

72% recall

Seeing-

40% recall

Both-

50% recall

Both-

85% recall

Both-

65% recall

Haptics…

…is a branch of psychology that investigates the role of the

sense of touch in acquiring information.

Many studies (e.g.,Mueller and Oppenheimer, 2014) show

that students retain more information and show far more

conceptual understanding when taking notes or writing

papers by hand than when typing on a keyboard.

Practice and repetition

Homework, reading, writing, speaking, listening: There’s no

such thing as too much practice! Class should NEVER end

early!

Help students find patterns. They may seem obvious to us,

but they are not clear to many students.

-SSSSSSSSSS

Downtime after new material

The time between their seeing the material at home and

seeing it again in class gives them the opportunity to process

the new information and be more ready to work with it.

Space out grammar and new vocabulary lessons as much as

possible.

Less is more!

Practice #4

Involve students in the teaching and

assessment process.

Explain Linguistic Status!

You have to do something badly before

you can do it well!

The one who does the work does the

learning. (Doyle, 2008)

vs

Explicit instruction

“The past half century of empirical

research has provided overwhelming and

unambiguous evidence that, for everyone

but experts,…direct, explicit instruction

accompanied by practice and feedback is

more effective and more efficient than

partial guidance.” (Clark, 2012)

Make the students do the work:

1-Flip the classroom! Have them do tutorials and homework

before seeing the material in class.

2-Teach inductively. Help them figure out how to explain it

to you. Build on their previous knowledge.

3-Test cumulatively. Do not allow them to forget previously

learned skills.

4-Allow students to rewrite and retest when appropriate.

5-Don’t forget scaffolding: model, model, model. Start

simply and increase complexity as they gain confidence.

Student input in the teaching process

Vocabulary:

Clues

Flashcards

Word per person

Culture:

Discussion boards

Micro-presentations

Quick lookups

Grammar:

Small groups with roles

“Profesor/a” por un día

Discussion boards/

study groups

Student input in the assessment

process5 I stretched my writing to include details. I used transition

words and paragraphs to organize my thoughts. I used as

much new vocabulary as possible.

4 I included several details and a lot of new vocabulary, but

my writing was not very organized.

3 I wrote enough to cover the topics, but I didn’t stretch

myself or make much of an effort to use new vocabulary.

2 I wrote the bare minimum and made no effort to organize

my thoughts or use new vocabulary.

1 I wrote one or two sentences.

0 I didn’t turn in my blue book.

Learning > Grades

Learning Grades

Practice #5

Ensure that learning is meaningful and

challenging .

Make it count!

Learning activates the reward pathway in the brain just

as physical exercise does. This pathway evolved to

promote activities essential to survival. Increased

challenge means increased rewards. PLUS….

Students are more willing to engage in authentic

(meaningful) learning. So…..

Our material must be

MEANINGFUL AND CHALLENGING

Characteristics of Authentic Learning:

Meaningful and Challenging

Deals with a real world task. Has value beyond the class setting.

Allows a variety of learning styles.

Allows students some control of their learning.

Is student driven and engages the teacher as a facilitator.

Uses scaffolding to assist learning when necessary.

Encourages students to work together and engage in discussion.

Ask students to produce a genuinely useful product.

(Doyle, 2008)

When did you do these in the past week?

When could you have done these?

Establish a personal bond with students.

Teach students that they can improve their ability to learn: they are in control of their success.

Maximize the use of their senses and physical motion to increase learning.

Involve students in the teaching and assessment process.

Ensure that learning is meaningful and challenging.

Class Discussions

1) What do I want the students to learn or practice?

2) How and when will their results be demonstrated or

shared?

3) How will I assess their results?

Maximizing the benefit of class

discussions

Give everyone a specific role: facilitator, scribe, reporter, skeptic,

etc.

Give students input on the content of the discussion or questions.

Make expectations clear: each person must participate, they must

cover __ questions, and they will report back via __.

Monitor the discussions, but resist the urge to interrupt and help

out when there is silence.

Ask students to write a short summary or reflection on their

group’s discussion.

Clearly assess what was learned or practiced in the discussion.

To make learning meaningful and

challenging, we must…

Write clear and observable student learning

outcomes (SLOs).

Come up with a practical action plan to

achieve those goals.

Create opportunities for students to have

additional practice.

Give them feedback.

Most of this is done outside of the classroom!

Your Role Changes from…

Teller of information …to Facilitator of

Learning

Focus on Rewards Outside the

Classroom

ResourcesClark, Richard E. Putting Students on the Path to Learning: The Case for Fully Guided

Instruction. American Educator, Spring 2012. (pp. 6-11)

Doyle, Terry. Helping Students Learn in a Learner-centered Environment: A Guide to Teaching in

Higher Education. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2008.

---. Learner-Centered Teaching. Putting the Research on Learning into Practice.Sterling, VA:

Stylus, 2011.

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House, 2006.

Goldberg, Elkhonon. The New Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes in a Complex World. New York:

Oxford UP, 2009.

Medina, John. Brain Rules. Seattle, WA: Pear Press, 2008.

Ratey, John. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. New York: Little

Brown, 2008.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-

laptop/