Global Digital Citizen Post #4

As educators, I think that one of the first things we are taught in courses involves the concept of diverse learners. In other words, students may learn at different paces and it is our job to give them the opportunity to be academically successful, despite their pace of learning. Obviously this can be difficult to some (many) teachers but we can't just give up on students. That is one thing that's not part of our job description at all. Enter learner-centered strategy. When I think of classroom strategies that center around the student (and after a bit of looking online), I immediately consider the types of engaging that can occur in classrooms, namely group work and promoting team work. Among other strategies could include brainstorming, the creation of a project, and in general, leaving lessons in the hands of the learner, to an extent. Now, sometimes teachers may have too much control in the classroom and students may sometimes feel really restricted in what they want to do and what they are capable of doing. In high school especially, I had several teachers who were strict on their expectations and left little to no room for creativity. This leads to, in my experience, a rather boring in-class experience that is not very hands-on nor is it fun. If it's boring, then I am less inclined to do it. This doesn't necessarily mean that the learners would abandon their work, I just think that perhaps students may be less likely to put effort into projects and assignments if they aren't able to make it their own.

To me, this is the general idea being learner-centered strategy. Consider who is learning, how they're learning, and what they are going to do next. Not one learner may have the same plan of attack with what they are expected to do but I think it's important to remember that as teachers, we should let them go about it their own way. Obviously, some supervision should be required. We can't let students run wild but instead, harness their creativity and skills in the classroom. Students should be able to develop their learning skills and practice them.

Recently, we've been doing research as a class about how to integrate technology in specific subject areas to aid in the students' learning, though many technologies may not be readily available in classrooms. In addition, technology may not be very universal in terms of who can use it and how. With technology, it's important to have the proper equipment but also the proper leadership to know how to work the machinery. Before students can learn how to use a certain technology and being able to implement it in their academics, they must learn from teachers who know how to use technology to enhance learning. That being said, equitable access in classrooms is a rather broad subject, from expenses to expertise.  However, once implemented correctly, technology can definitely be used to aid in the usage of learner-centered strategy, helping students get engaged in education as well as collaborating with other students or the teacher.