Chapter 1 Reflection

Chapter 1: Partnering

            Chapter 1 explains the basic ideas of a new pedagogical way of teaching called partnering.  Speaking from personal experience, students no longer respond well to teachers talking at them.  This chapter explains how many students interviewed say that their most memorable experiences at school were during school trips, working with their peers or even teaching their peers.  However, it goes on to say that “Partnering” is merely a term for many teaching practices that already exist; for example: project-based learning, inquiry learning and active learning to name a few.  The author, Marc Prensky, defines partnering as, “letting students focus on the part of the learning process that they can do best, and letting teachers focus on the part of the learning process that they can do best.”  The chapter then goes on to explain the new roles of the student and the teacher in a partnering relationship. 

            Each of the new roles helps to build on the strengths that both the teacher and the student already possess.  Students today have a strong technological background that can be used to help them research the answers and come up with great ways to explain and show their knowledge and the answers to “guiding questions.”  Students are given these guiding questions by their teachers and then research the answers to them.  Students also assume other important roles such as: technology expert, making sense of information researched and the importance of becoming a self-teacher. 

            The teacher’s roles may seem to be really diminished in a Partnering setting, however it is the complete opposite.  Instead of the teacher being the only outlet for information, they become more of a guide or coach that helps facilitate the self-learning of the students.  This way the teacher can come up with a specific learning track for each student, because they know the strengths and weakness of each of them. 

             This is very close to the approach that I have been trying in my chemistry classes this year.  I have flipped my classroom and tried to make it a more student-centered, rather than a teacher-focused class as it had been.  Now, instead of the students getting direct instruction from me during class and them attempting practice problems at home by themselves, they watch instructional vodcasts explaining the content and then work on the practice problems, group work, labs, research projects, reflections, etc. during class. 

            Many of the hesitations alluded to by the author I felt as well.  It was hard letting go of complete control of my classroom and I have to admit I am kind of scared sometimes what people think when they walk by my room and the noise is very…very loud.  The class may seem like complete chaos, but there are actually many activities going on at once.  For instance, one group may be working on practice problems while others work on labs, inquiry activities, or peer tutoring. 

As the Book Suggests, having a principal and parents that support you fully makes a huge difference and has for myself.  I think it would have been very hard to change the culture of my classroom without the administrative help and support technologically and in other respects.