Karaganda RURL

On Wednesday, February 8 Sylvie Young, Regional Program Officer for SCA, Office of English Language Programs,U.S. Department of State, visited AC Karaganda. She was a moderator of a  workshop on “Student-Centered Classroom”  for more than sixty teachers  from the  Regional Association  for Teachers of English. Silvie Young shared her ideas of the topic.

A student-centered classroom is one in which students take an active interest and are directly involved in the process of learning. The teacher structures the lessons taking into consideration the needs of the students both as individuals and as a group; and encourages them to take charge of their own learning.

Students are encouraged to work in pairs or in a group to develop skills like communication, cooperation, respect and value for others by assisting and learning from classmates. The role of the teacher is that of a facilitator, i.e. the teacher directs, guides, and assists in their learning process.

The same day Taryn U’ Hailie, English language fellow organized a workshop on “Cooperative Learning Strategies“.

Cooperative  Learning has been proven to be effective for all types of students, including academically gifted, mainstream students and English language learners (ELLs) because it promotes learning and fosters respect and friendships among diverse groups of students. In fact, the more diversity in a team, the higher the benefits for each student. Peers learn to depend on each other in a positive way for a variety of learning tasks.        

Students typically work in teams of four. This way, they can break into pairs for some activities, and then get back together in teams very quickly for others. It is important, however, to establish classroom norms and protocols that guide students to:Contribute, Stay on task, Help each other, Encourage each other, Share, Solve  problems, Give and accept feedback from peers. These events were of geat interest to the students and teachers.