In traditional classrooms the teacher is seen as the information
giver; knowledge flows only one way from teacher to student. In contrast,
the methods used in a collaborative
classroom emphasize shared knowledge and decision making.
Teachers may have a great deal of difficulty learning how to share control
of instruction with students.
helping students make their own decisions will conflict
with some teachers' learned experiences as well as their feelings about
being in charge.
For some teachers
this is a most difficult challenge
Similarly, students who are used to relying on teachers to give them
so much structure, direction and information will have to learn to start
asking themselves
"What can I do before I ask an adult?"
Some psychologists point out that fostering self-determination
and personal efficacy can conflict with our goals for collaborative work
(Sigel) unless we find ways to mold both goals into our instructional programs
self-direction can refer
not only to the individual but to a group, a class of students, that decides
upon goals, designs strategies and collaboratively evaluates progress on
a group basis. As Vygotsky (1978) notes,
learning to think occurs within
a social context; group speech gradually becomes internalized as personal
self-talk about confronting life's difficult, complex situations.
Finally, personal efficacy means taking control of one's destiny
school restructuring and change
Some critics (Apple, 1979) suggest that
schools help students reproduce knowledge of a dominant social, economic
class, and not engage in producing for their own knowledge.
Further, many parents are concerned that a reorientation toward student
self-direction and personal efficacy will diminish the influence of home
and school and inadequately prepare students for the work force.