Student Learning

One of the most important things in the classroom is that the students are in charge of their learning, they're motivated to learn, and the teacher has placed them first. I know sometimes I tend to think of myself when teaching. I'm the teacher. I have the lesson plan. I know where we're going in the unit. I know about theatre and what is good and what isn't. I learn this way so that's how we're all going to learn. But instead of thinking about me as the teacher, I should be thinking about the students and always monitoring whether they are learning and are excited about learning. Student-centered learning has to be a the forefront of everything that is done. Lessons should be changed to fit how the students are learning and at the pace they learn. When I learned about this concept I thought back to my drama teacher, and I have gained more and more respect for him because at how well he had planned his class. Everything we did was beneficial to us and we enjoyed what we were doing. Because we enjoyed it we were motivated to do more and learn more. Even the students who did nothing in other classes put forth effort in his class because they wanted to. Additionally, it was a teacher-student environment, it was a student-student environment. Students worked with each other on their work, on their projects, and if they didn't pull their own weight, other students learned really quick not to work with them. Everything was centered around the student and they're learning. To put this structure and environment in my classroom I want to really critically think about the work we do and if it is completely beneficial to the students. Also, making sure they are active, mentally and physically in the activities they do.