Chapter 4 - From Lecturer to Facilitator
Learning Objectives
After reading and discussing chapter 4, students will be able to accomplish the following tasks.
- Given case scenarios, participants will identify traits of a facilitator in a learner-centered environment.
- Participants will create a list of feedback principles and how they can be applied to their current teaching situation.
- Participants will modify a traditional "lecture" lesson plan, using Doyle's 4-step approach, to create a facilitator teaching environment.
Chapter Summary
To have a true learner-centered environment, teachers need to move away from the lecture style mode of dispensing knowledge and move to a facilitator mode of helping students discover, practice, and retain the information in long-term memory. The difference you will see in a classroom will be less lecture time by the teacher and more active learning by the students. Whereas the lecturer's job is to tell students what they need to know, the facilitator's job is much different. A facilitator will support students and provide them with opportunities to participate in their own learning. By actively engaging students with the content (do research, group projects, case scenarios, practice problems, etc.) a facilitator will optimize his students' learning. A necessity of being a facilitator is thoughtful planning. A four step planning process is outlined below (Doyle, 2011).
Step #1 - Objective
Creating a well-designed lesson plan begins with deciding what you want the students to be able to know or do by the end of the lesson. Once you have decided what they should know, then you must have in place a means to measure if the learning was accomplished. So the first thing you should do in your lesson planning process is to write a statement that clearly identifies what the students will learn along with how they will demonstrate they have learned it. |
Step #2 - Action Plan
Now that you know WHAT you want the students to learn, you must plan the actions that will be taken to accomplish that learning. What will you, the teacher need to do -- lecture? demonstrate? What materials will you need? What materials will students need? How much time will each step of the process take? Will students work in groups or independently? How will you identify if the lesson and the learning has been accomplished? Whether you write a format action plan or jot a few notes, be sure to think through the questions and have a plan in place. |
Step #3 - Practice
This is often thought of as the "homework" phase. Keep in mind that the more students have meaningful practice, the more they will retain the information. There are many items to consider in this phase. One of the most important things to think about is if the student needs feedback on their current work before doing additional practice. If a student's initial thinking is incorrect, and he is sent to do more practice with no feedback, then his practice will be incorrect as well. This will only serve to engrain incorrect understanding of the content. |
Step #4 - Feedback
An effective facilitator provides quick and meaningful feedback. First, quick feedback should be given as soon as possible so students can realize early on if their understanding of the material is correct. Next, for feedback to be meaningful, students must read, understand, and follow the suggestions in the feedback. Providing good feedback is a critical skill that is essential for a good facilitator. It is so essential that the next section will describe more details of effective feedback. (Doyle, 2011). |
Feedback Strategies (Doyle, 2011):
- Discuss with students the purpose of feedback.
- Provide prompt feedback (don't let too much time lapse before students know if their work is correct).
- Make sure the feedback is specific and in language that the student will understand.
- Break down assessments so students are required to use the feedback before continuing to the next step.
- Connect the feedback to the overall assessment of the learning.
- Ensure students understand the feedback from an instructional perspective, not just as needed corrections.
- "Feedforward" - comments that guide the student to think of how they can advance their skills.
- Feedback can be used to engage the student in self-evaluation.
- When appropriate, use peer feedback.
Personal Connection
Feedback has always been something that I have valued as a student and something I strived to use in meaningful ways when I was a teacher. When I started teaching, there was no Internet in the classroom and very few computers. All work was done on paper and graded that way. Writing feedback on many papers became tiring and my penmanship would get very sloppy. Even my most insightful comments were probably missed due to students not being able to read them. Jump forward to today and it is much easier to give feedback. Using online tools, such as Google Docs, a project can be given feedback while it is still a "work-in-progress." Although I am no longer in the classroom, I have teachers tell me all the time how much more they are able to do when students share a file in Google Drive. The teacher can see the progress a student is making and add comments along the way. Kids also love this feature as well. I'm not promoting a product here (there are many options nowadays) but Google Drive and Docs has become a real impetus for teachers to provide more feedback, quicker feedback, and more instructional feedback. It really opens doors for individualizing learning.
Suggestions for Implementation
My suggestion for moving from a lecture-style environment to a facilitator would be to start with revamping a lesson that is almost full lecture. Completely start from scratch and see how the action plan can move from lecture and note taking to more student active learning. Go through the entire four-step lesson planning process, focusing on how to get students more active and engaged in the learning. Consider all facets, such as giving students feedback, providing meaningful practice activities, to how to assess the learning and so on. A veteran teacher will quickly see if the students are more engaged as well as if the final assessment meets or exceeds previous years' goals. Opportunities for teacher peer support should be available. Teachers can share experiences and use each other as sounding boards as they transition from a lecturer role to a facilitator role.
RESOURCE:
Doyle, T. (2011). Learner-centered teaching: Putting the research of learning into practice. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
Doyle, T. (2011). Learner-centered teaching: Putting the research of learning into practice. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.