Great class research

It isn't exactly a research article but it was about a classroom survey about what makes a classroom great. So I thought it sort of counted. It was from Remote access and the link is http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/remote_access/2008/11/great-classroom.html

The article started out by asking the students "What things would make a classroom a great place to be and learn?" What would the teacher be like? What kinds of things would the students be doing and be involved in? How would the day be spent?

The results of the research/survey found several trends from students. They thought that a great class is fun, but their explanation shows they meant that the learning was engaging. They also wanted more time outside of the school. Not to avoid work or learning, but to see what jobs are like and to take field trips. Finally they expressed that classrooms should bring more reality in instead of just always preparing for real life.

I think kids are right. They need to be engaged. They need more exposure to the real world. But we are constantly worried about portfolios, tests, IEPs, and following laws about what good education is we miss it. We find ourselves bogged down in lesson plans, paperwork, teacher meetings, parent conferences, required content, and anything that keeps us from really teaching the kids anything.

There may be a few unstated assumptions. First, it is that kids would actually have any idea what a good classroom is. Second is that they would tell you what a good classroom is without being selfish and just thinking of what would make it better for them as opposed to what is best for them. Another major assumption would be that this is a representative sample set of students. Perhaps they represent the world or USA as a whole or perhaps they are an outlier in the land of representation and don't even adequately represent their county as a whole. It would be better if the survey was across classes and schools. Perhaps it could cover a district. The bigger the sample size the better. I realize that if you are focusing on your school you may be tempted to only go as far as your school, but is it possible that anyone outside your school would have a good idea? Maybe.