The Big Comprimise

"Letting Go" is the hardest concept to get acclimated to as a new teacher. The concept of teaching has always appeared to be a teacher centered task until I entered Principles of Instruction. Now I can not wait to get back into the classroom to try this new approach because I know that I need to improve as a teacher. I don't feel this way because I think that I have been doing a poor job but because I know that I can do better. In the classroom I can definitely say that I have experienced the type of learning where students don't fully grasp concepts but they follow the steps to get an answer. With all of the pressure of standardized testing getting an answer sometimes becomes the main concern as oppose to students being able to think mathematically and understand the logic of problem solving.
I think that the time to "let go" is after the teacher has encouraged the students to think about a particular familiar concept that will allow them to build onto a new concept. In addition the teacher should also engage the students interest in learning by connecting the concept to something relevant to the student's life. After these things are done I think the students will be motivated to accept challenge and solve problems.
There will be sometimes I think that the teacher will have to intervene. For instance if there is no learning taking place, and the students appear to be lost or confused as the instructor I feel the need to provide guidance. I don't think that giving students one defined method is the answer but providing possible strategies may help. If the students get side tracked away from the main idea of the lesson and spend to much time on something of little importance I would also step in to redirect the students' attention. Overall, I think that letting go will be a much needed challenge for both me and the students. This is the type of challenge that will make us more efficient learners and teachers.