A teacher's role in the classroom?

Question

Why would a teacher choose to give students a specific set of activities to explore without allowing the students to explore their own questions and collect and interpret their own data?

Answer 1

so that you learn a specific lesson i guess but i'm not really sure what you mean more detail might help but i can't really give to great of an educated guess because the question doesn't supply enough information to really say but i'm guessing the teacher has its reasons for what its doing although you might think about asking your teacher what his or her intent is or wait and see.

Answer 2

Your question is so vague.

I can give some generalized answers:

1. If I'm looking to explore a specific standard, I will create a set of questions that will explore every facet of that standard. I spend a lot of time crafting questions and activities so that it will be focused and complete. Students exploring on their own may miss a facet I was looking at conveying. A more constructivist approach might also lead to the same results, but it would take much longer as I would have to set up guidelines and benchmarks, checking as we went along. Sometimes you simply do not have enough time in class.

2. Supplies and materials. If you set up a situation where students are allowed to explore, you better have the stuff for where it leads! I don't set up situations in my classroom for failure. I have to think through every activity and every minute part of where it will lead.

3. time. Constructing meaning takes time. sometimes you just dont have it.

Here is a very specific example from my own classroom in this last week: I want the kids to understand animal classification - the phylums. Students coming into seventh grade have a limited idea of what animals are and any examples I want to use in class are not recognized as animals to my kids. (they think animals are simply big vertebrates) Now the standards have nothing to do with classification, yet this is backgraound knowledge for some activities I want to do later in the year. so... I have specimen collection- 90 or so animals in jars - porifera to vertebrates)

I created a small set of activities over three days for them to understand the classification of animals simply using my set of materials - they created classification charts and a dichotomous key.

Why didnt I have them simply go into nature, find their own animals do the same activities? I didnt think that they would come back with all phylum examples - But now that they have the idea, they can do this on their own.

Why didnt I use the internet, have them find all animals they could - surely they would be able to cover all phylums? time.

Often a teacher will have a mix of activities, those that involve student choice are advantageous, but you never want to sacrifice learning.

good luck to yoU!

Answer 3

Mystery Girl,
There must be a specific reason why your teacher wants you to explore specific questions.
I usually explain to my students beforehand how a specific exercise is going to help them, so that they are motivated, but it is not always easy for a teacher to give explanations about his methods, and also it is not right to do it.
Though, he could take advantage of your interest to learn something, even if it is not what he originally planned.
It is sure that you will enjoy learning something that you're interested in, and that's a real profit.
Ask your teacher why you wouldn't be allowed to choose the questions that you are interested in.

Answer 4

Teachers don't just make up what they want to teach. They have to teach what is in the curriculum. They have specific and overall expectations that each student must learn before the year or term is over. Your teacher giving you specific questions allows them to ensure that all students are meeting these expectations.

Answer 5

I am a teacher and I am given specific standards that students must know according to state mandates. I am held accountable for them through high stakes testing (unfortunately). When my principal walks into the room I'd better be teaching set standards or my job is on the line.

Answer 6

Sure, there are many teachers who can not give up "control"! Sometimes there may be a good reason, like an unruly class other times they just aren't that good a teacher- but guess what? Even in college and graduate school you get dumb teachers- you can't avoid it. Next semester, maybe you get a good one.
Could be she/he had some family emergency and threw a lesson plan together that day, too.

Answer 7

The teacher is also teaching mass discipline in the classroom as human being tend to have animalistic view within themselves sometimes especially if one is being lead by the other. People tend to follow all the time and if there's no one to discipline and lead people on something good, people will do the best destructive thing which they think a fun thing to do among them especially younger people.

Answer 8

Because that's the teacher ideas and concept, trying to answer your question out of his or her ideas. If that ideas not suitable to your own idea it is time to share your ideas and the teacher will give another idea out of your own concept and idea. As a teacher everybodies idea and concept is accepted excluding the nonsense ideas.

Answer 9

Duh....TEACH???!!!