I have been in school for seventeen years of my life. Considering I am only twenty years old, this means I have spent a great majority of my life deeply invested in my education. However, I have only experienced a few types of learning within the classroom. This week, I was asked to read an article about a different type of class which I have never experienced before.
In the schools I have attended, I distinctly remember a typical classroom with one teacher, a group of noisy students, and possibly a teachers aid. We were always told to sit quietly and listen intently to the teacher speak while taking notes. We were rarely allowed to work in groups and when we did, a very small portion of our communication was actually about the topic at hand.
In elementary and middle school, teachers were the equivalent of gods in our minds; but by high school they were the evil adults that supplied us with never ending assignments and stress. Everyone was expected to keep up with the material and compete for the highest grade in the class. If someone fell behind in class, everyone knew about it and the person was considered to be unintelligent. There were even awards at the end of each school year for the students who achieved the highest average in each class. This awards ceremony was dominated by only the smartest students and left a large majority of the class feeling defeated.
In Keller’s article called Goodbye Teacher, I was introduced to a totally different form of learning that I had never experienced before, “a course through which you may move, from start to finish, at your own pace” (Keller 2). In this model, students were allowed to learn at the pace they desired and retake tests as many times as they needed without being penalized. The student was only allowed to move on from a unit once they had a clear and complete understanding of the material; but were never rushed to finish within a certain time period.
Keller also created a three-tiered education system with the professor only performing administrative work, such as creating a lesson plan, as well as holding lectures. All tests were given by teacher’s assistants which created a teaching environment that was based off of a community of educators rather than a monarchy of one professor. This type of classroom strategy was completely different than anything I had ever experienced.
However, there were a few flaws to consider, especially when applying this model to schools around the United States and the world. For instance, many of the teachers assistants were receiving credit for helping to assist in this class; but many colleges pay for teachers assistants. It would not make financial sense for colleges to employ so many assistants for each class when the material can be compiled, taught, and graded by one professor. Also, many smaller, community colleges would never be able to afford this type of model even if it was for only one class.
It would be interesting to experience Keller’s classroom learning model although it is often unrealistic in practice. However, it does imply that maybe there is a better way to be teaching students. The standard model many schools use today has not been adapted in decades. We, as a society, have modernized and learned so much more about development and the best ways to learn new material. The next challenge should be to modernize how everyone is taught, not just to benefit the smartest students.
Resources:
Keller, F.S. (1968). “Good-bye, teacher…” Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 79-89.
