Chapter 2 reviews strategies and techniques that teachers can use in the classroom as a whole to motivate students. These are organized as the “six C’s” of a motivating classroom. With this Chapter including so much information, I’m going to break it into two posts.
Creativity, Community, and Clarity
Creativity – If I’m watching a TV show and it’s about
exciting as paint drying on the wall, what do you think I’m going to do? Change the channel! Kids can’t exactly change the channel in your
classroom, but they can put their head down, zone out, or entertain
themselves. How do they usually
entertain themselves? By acting out,
talking, and disrupting your lesson. To
keep kids engaged, we have to think “outside the box” sometimes and create
lessons that they can relate to and use their creativity. Think about it. Adolescents today live in a world where all
of life’s answers are just a click of a mouse, or a swipe of a touch-screen
away. Is that worksheet that you’ve been
using for the last 5-10 years really going to get your kids excited about
learning? If the answer is no, then
maybe you need to rethink how we can really reach our kids.
Community – I feel this entire section of the book (p.
55-72), is extremely beneficial to anyone who feels that their class isn’t
really working according to their expectations.
The following list is the same list I forwarded to you in the e-mail
this past week. I have it in my office
to glance at each day, to make sure I’m doing my best. When you read this list, think about your
favorite teacher and check off how many apply:
·
Greet the students at the door of your classroom
as you would a guest in your home. Smile
and make eye contact. Call them by their
preferred nickname (but don’t assume every William is “Bill” and every Robert
is “Bob”).
·
Use attentive, active listening when talking to
students, even during informal conversations.
·
Attend school plays, games, and other activities
that your students may be involved in.
·
Criticize in private; praise in public.
·
Circulate around the room in a natural
nonthreatening manner; walk and talk.
·
Acknowledge student progress, accomplishments,
efforts…and birthdays.
·
Inquire about their health after an absence.
·
Always avoid humiliation, ridicule, impatience,
anger, or disappointment when dealing with students.
·
Use their names when writing comments on
assignments. (“Great improvement,
Jenn.”)
When I read this, I think of Mrs. Groseclose, my 6th
grade English teacher, and the best teacher I ever had. You worked for Mrs. G. because you knew she
cared about you. You knew she cared
about you because she did all of the things on this list.
Clarity – Understanding
the rules and expectations of the community. It’s one thing to explain the rules, have
them up in the room, and put them in the syllabus. It’s another to continuously teach our
students the rules and expectations. We
expect all of our students to come in and have an understanding of the basic
laws and manners of society. A lot of
our kids don’t have those expectations for the other 16 or 17 hours-a-day
outside of school. The only structure
they have is here at Jackson. Why do you
think they come every day? It’s because
even though they might not like the rules, they like to know that there rules. Take a minute to review “Effective Classroom
Rules” on p. 74 and “Giving Effective Instructions” on p. 76. We know all of these things already, but if
we don’t review it once a while and self-reflect, we tend to develop bad habits.
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