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From a general perspective growing up, when I imagined a classroom setting and a learning environment, it involved a number of students and one teacher. When I imagined a typical classroom lesson, the tasks and activities were not, however, solely directed by the teacher. I believe this was largely attributable to my Montessori education, whose philosophy is very much student-directed learning, with the teacher as a guide and facilitator. This essay will demonstrate that teaching should not be a solely teacher-driven exercise and that ultimately, students need opportunities and strategies to construct and direct their own education according to their interests. There are many benefits of teacher-driven tasks and activities. These include that the teacher can act as a facilitator and instructor to impart knowledge. The teacher also acts as a guide to ensure students remain focused and on-task. Teachers also act as assessors and have the ability to create the best conditions and learning environment for the students. However, solely teacher-driven tasks and activities has its limitations. These limitations include that teachers have their own inherent bias and understand the world through a lens sculpted by their individual experiences and upbringing. As such, this could serve to limit student engagement and restrict students' ability to relate and develop strategies to explore their own interests and formulate their own opinions. In contrast, student-directed tasks and activities allows students the opportunity to develop a vast range of necessary skills. These skills include critical thinking and problem-solving. It also encourages student engagement in lessons as they are given the opportunity to directly participate and contribute their ideas to the curriculum. Students are empowered to take control and value their own education, they are able to explore areas of individual interest more so than in a solely teacher-driven context. Other crucial social skills that would be developed include building student confidence, being able to work collaboratively with others, and developing the ability to listen and communicate effectively. Developing the ability to listen to other students' voices and opinions allows students to value the contribution of others and to respect varying opinions from a young age. As I prepare to embark upon a teaching career, I personally want to tailor my lessons and curriculum to be a mixture of teacher-driven and student-driven tasks and activities, but predominantly the latter, where possible. I think it is important to structure the lessons in the following format: as the teacher I will give the initial instruction, then the students will be encouraged to collaborate with each other and contribute ideas by engaging critically with the material. Any new material introduced to the students will be delivered clearly and with detailed instructions for each step. This is especially important in a multi-lingual and multi-ethnic environment. I believe that this mixture of teacher-driven, yet predominantly student-driven, tasks and activities is the only authentic way to ensure the lessons and learning environment is truly student-centric and accommodating their needs. However, as a teacher, I understand it is also important to be adaptive to the individual needs of the classroom and to be flexible. This is only possible by ensuring lesson structures are not too rigid and by being responsive to what each individual class presents.
