The 11th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education

JUNUARY 2013

Sharing Power and Responsibility with Students: A Case Study of an

Education Course

Mariam Abdelmalak

Contents

Introduction1

Theoretical Background2

Method3

Results4

Conclusion5

Introduction:– The instructor has a majority of power

– Students participate minimally

– Students as powerless in their own education

– Students’ lack of taking responsibility for their education – Students’ passivity and lack of interest

(A Traditional model of an instructor-centered classroom)

Theoretical Background:

• Critical pedagogy:• Paulo Freire (1993): “Banking” approach;

student-teacher partnership • Ira Shor (1992; 1996): Mutual faculty-student

authority • Stanley Aronowitz (1993): Student control

Purpose:

The purpose of this case study was to answer the following questions:

1) How the instructor power and responsibility can be shared?, and

2) How do students respond to such sharing of power and responsibility?

Method:• Qualitative Case Study.• Data Gathering Methods:Observation: a graduate education course

for 2:30 hours per week for one semester Students’ interview (4 graduate students)Analyzing students’ course work and course

syllabus. • Comparative Analysis

Results:

Students were involved in the decision-making power in four areas:

• Course textbook.• Course content.• Teaching methods. • Assignment.

Results:The Course Textbook:

Results:The Course Textbook: Giving students some

input, but not complete freedom. One student said: I like the way we did about choosing the textbook, that there were several textbooks, and we had the freedom to choose from these books. This gives students the direction to focus on. Especially in the graduate level, most students work as teachers, so we know where we want to go. This gave students the ownership in class. But, there should be some structure in the classroom because students may choose the incorrect textbook for the class.

Results:

In choosing the topics:• Struggle• “I Know my needs”

Results:• Assignment Decision:

Results:• Assignment Decision: Students chose the

assignment that they felt comfortable with or knowledgeable about. One student explained:

Giving options allows me to focus my work in the area I feel I am very comfortable in or very knowledgeable. It gives me ownership of that assignment. By giving ownership of the

assignment, this motivates me to do a good job, not for the grade, but because it is something I believe in, and reach the level of creativity in completing the assignment.

Results:• The students developed awareness necessary

to function as active responsible learners. As one student explained:

I have input in deciding which topic I want to do. I like that because it let me have a lot of ownership of the class, a lot of responsibility to do the work and do the work well. Giving the ownership of the topic motivated me to do a good job and be creative.

Results:• Students’ learning was enhanced. One student explained:

I learned a lot because I chose the topic and then presented it to my class. I think by doing this, me, the student, have to put more efforts on it, I have to because when the professor is in front of you and just talking, you can just take notes and you are kind of passive, a passive learner. But here it makes me an active learner because you have to know what you are talking about if you are talking in the front of your classmate and your professor.

Conclusion & Implication:• It is important that instructors in graduate

courses allow students to discover what they need to learn rather than giving them what they think the students need to learn. As one student said:

By reaching a graduate school, I think students have a good idea about what they want to do. Guide me in this way, do not

tell me what I have to do, but give me a guide, assist me to reach my goals, but not to tell me do this and that, especially most of graduate students are actively working teachers.

Conclusion & Implication:• There is a need to use methods that shift the role

of instructors from givers of information to facilitators of student learning

• There is a need to create an environment that helps higher education students to practice taking responsibility for their learning, so they take this stand during their formal education and throughout their personal life.

Q & A

Thank You