The Classroom: The Basic Dilemma That Teachers Face and Manage
Pick the photos that you think best capture activities that you most like to see when you–as a teacher, parent, supervisor, administrator, community activist–enter a classroom.
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Which ones did you pick? How many did you choose?
Here is my hunch: viewers will choose those photos that best line up with their beliefs about how teachers should teach and students should learn.
Of course, many viewers will pick multiple activities revealed in the photos since in 2020 the mainstream “wisdom” of teaching and learning is that there should be varied activities going on in a classroom over the course of a school day: whole group, small group, independent work. And most teachers organize their lessons to include such activities.
Experienced teachers have learned that–depending upon the age of their students, the subject/skills they are teaching, and their own preferences for what is important for students to learn—multiple ways of organizing classroom space and student work is essential. The photos show the range that often appears in classrooms.
There is “but,” however. What about “personalized learning?” For the past five years, with the ubiquity of classroom CONTINUE READING: The Classroom: The Basic Dilemma That Teachers Face and Manage | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
