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Science Workshop

An SCC or student-centered classroom actively engages students through discussions, problem solving, and other methods related to active learning. This places more responsibility on students than passive lectures, but instructor guidance is still important. Active learning involves students performing multiple concurrent actions like reading, analyzing, and applying material, using all their senses. This engages more areas of the brain for better retention compared to passive listening. While conventional teaching has students passively listening for most of class, true active learning involves students simultaneously performing 3 or more cognitive actions.

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Nahla Mohammad
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42 views

Science Workshop

An SCC or student-centered classroom actively engages students through discussions, problem solving, and other methods related to active learning. This places more responsibility on students than passive lectures, but instructor guidance is still important. Active learning involves students performing multiple concurrent actions like reading, analyzing, and applying material, using all their senses. This engages more areas of the brain for better retention compared to passive listening. While conventional teaching has students passively listening for most of class, true active learning involves students simultaneously performing 3 or more cognitive actions.

Uploaded by

Nahla Mohammad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is meant by SCC?

SCC, or a Student-Centered Classroom is a class that involves actively engaging students with the course
material through discussions, problem solving, case studies, role plays and other methods, which is very closely
related to active learning. Active learning approaches place a greater degree of responsibility on the learner
than passive approaches such as lectures, but instructor guidance is still crucial in the active learning classroom.
In class, students practice skills, solve problems, struggle with complex questions, make decisions, propose
solutions, and explain ideas in their own words through writing and discussion.

Having defined what active learning is, can you draw a comparison between it and the conventional methods
of teaching? Which one do you think is better? Why?

Why active learning?


Besides the commonly known benefits of SCC, along with the ones discussed by my colleague, there are also
some other important benefits for the teachers themselves such as:
1. Teachers may gain more insight into student thinking by observing and talking with them as they
work.

2. Knowing how students understand the material helps teachers target their teaching in future
lessons.

Some of the Conventional Teaching Methods Problems:

The conventional thinking in the last 5 decades didn’t demonstrate any major breakthrough. Most educators
and teachers still believe that because their learners spend 80% of their class time actively listening to their
teacher, they are using active learning. However, this is not necessarily the case; this can be a simple case of
what is called conscious passive learning.

To differentiate active learning from passive learning, we recommend a simple rule:


 If a learner performs 1 or 2 actions while learning – he is doing conscious passive learning.
Examples: Reading and listening, or watching and listening, or speaking.
 If a learner performs 3 or more actions while learning concurrently – he is doing subconscious
active learning. Example: Simultaneously reading the text or listening to the teacher, analyzing
what is being received, and applying it to a real-life experience/ lab experiment.

The difference between the conscious passive learning and the subconscious active learning of is similar to the
difference between flat-earth thinking and round-earth thinking.
Active learning lessons engage all the senses, not just listening. In multi-sensory learning, we read or
listen, analyze, and apply at the same time, using all our senses. This activates more areas of your brain, so you
retain more of what you learn.

Talking to students about active learning


Many students are beginning to expect their classes should include some interaction and opportunities to
practice, discuss, or apply what they are learning. The best way to ensure that you and your students have a
positive experience with active learning is to be transparent about how you will use it and why.
On the first day of class:
 Let students know that your course uses active learning and that they will be expected to
participate.
 Explain why you are using active learning and how it will help them succeed in your class.
 Use a quick icebreaker or two to help students become comfortable working with one another.
 Introduce an active learning activity to set the expectation for an interactive class.

Active learning works best if there are well-articulated goals in mind. Clear objectives help teachers construct
and facilitate activities that allow students to achieve mastery while also learning how to participate in groups
and in their own learning. Though there are challenges with active learning, they can certainly be overcome with
thoughtful planning.

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