Cultural dilemmas will emerge between teachers and students as classroom roles and expectations shift with an emphasis on chemical thinking.
Some Examples:
- You mean I’m supposed to take the time to interview my students just to figure out what they are thinking without scoring or grading them?
- My students depend on me to tell them what to do and how to do it. If I don’t teach them, how are they possibly going to learn the truth?
- If they don’t practice what I teach them, they’ll never learn how to do it well.
- My students are mostly SEL, I don’t understand what they are saying and how they think during discussions, but I’m sure they’ll understand me.
- What if my students are taught not to disagree with others in class, but to be quiet, listen and learn?
- Students just want to participate in demonstrations and running labs, they don’t want to participate in figuring out why things happen, they want me to tell them…it is easier for them.
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What you might hear teachers say: |
A question you might ask to encourage discussion about the dilemma: |
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Students just want to participate in demonstrations and running labs, they don’t want to participate in figuring out why things happen, they want me to tell them…it is easier for them. |
How could we communicate with our students that they are responsible for their own knowing and learning by interacting with you and their peers? |
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My students are taught not to disagree with others. They don’t ask questions or critique their peers' ideas. |
How can we establish a culture in our classrooms that encourages questions and critical thinking? |
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Since my students are mostly emerging multilingual learners (ELLs), I assume that they don’t have any understanding of the chemistry |
What are ways to access experiences and knowledge that students bring and use them within the learning community? |