English

1

Student 1

Inspiring Future Students

Nilansh Upadhyay

IGU

ENG102

11/7/2020 

In this video, Joe Ruhl talks about the five Cs, which are very important in the classroom setting. These C's enable a learner-centered form of teaching. They include choice, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity (TEDx Talks, 2015). In retrospect, this video provides a detailed explanation of how to inspire students in the classroom by giving students choices to make when learning, facilitating team work and enhancing creativity.

Choice

This aspect is of great interest to me. In this, Ruhl explains a scenario when he was the teacher on duty during lunch. He observed that the students had various cafeteria choices and thought to apply this aspect in the classroom (TEDx Talks, 2015). In this, he made the class be learner-centered by giving students diverse learning activities to choose from. At the beginning of every unit, he created a menu that describes the various learning activities students can choose from and still meet the class's objectives (TEDx Talks, 2015).

Collaboration, communication and critical thinking

In this, Ruhl explains how our hominid ancestors of the early ages used to track a wooly mammoth through teamwork and collaboration. Collaboration also requires communication. At the end of the day, they would sit and narrate how they hunted together (TEDx Talks, 2015). Ruhl applied this in the classroom, whereby students would collaborate to perform laboratory activities or conduct some website activities online. In this, problem-solving and critical thinking skills essential in the 21st century are easily instilled in students.

Creativity

Creativity, like critical thinking, is vital to the 21st century. The learner's creativity should be used rather than the creativity of the teacher. Ruhl applies this in her class by including the arts and entertainment part in every unit (TEDx Talks, 2015). Students develop a project or a form of presentation of what they've learned in class. This segment is usually very interesting to the students since they apply their creative ideas.

In conclusion, a learner-centered approach involves allowing the student to make their own choices by giving them various learning activities to choose from but also meeting the objectives. It also includes enabling collaboration, communication and critical thinking whereby students work as a team. Also, creativity should be encouraged among students, according to Joe Ruhl