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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After a year or two of teaching at Jackson, our teachers become the masters at giving clear, precise, verbal directions. And, eventually the students become adept at following them. (Ex. Shepherd/Littleton in cafeteria) However, the students also become proficient in the classroom at avoiding reading the directions and wait for someone to tell them what to do. Their proficiency becomes further enhanced at waiting for the answers to be given and writing them down. I have started to reread all of the written instructions that I give or project the written instructions on the Smartboard and wait until the students read the directions before clarifying. This takes a tremendous amount of patience and I am NOT a patient person. But I feel it is necessary to keep me from enabling our students in a direction of the learned helplessness discussed in the previous chapter.
ReplyDeleteI use a 3 or me rule that goes like this, if they need help they should 1.think about what the teacher just said 2.consult written directions on board or in text 3. quietly ask a neighbor and finally if they still need help they should raise their hand to get my attention. No calling out "Mrs. Eva!!!" This takes some training to remind then of the steps, but as I say to become an independent learner you must search for the answers yourself, the learning experience will be much more valuable that way.
ReplyDeleteSetting clear expectations, particularly for the middle school student was one of the major differences between year one as a ms teacher and year two. For those who don't know, last year was a bit of a struggle for me. In reflecting on my difficuties, I came to realize that I was too vague concerning my expectations at the beginning of the year. I wasn't clear on exactly what my rules were, and subsequently the kids ate me alive.
ReplyDeleteI came to understand that for our students, very clear expectations give them a sense of comfort. Once they know exactly where the line is, and that you as a teacher are going to hold that line, then they will perform within expectations. (Most of the time...) This year when the students hit the door, I made it very clear my expectations concerning the class, the school rules, and cell phones. I gave them the protocol and the procedural steps I would take. Needless to say, this year is going much better than last, and I credit clear expectations as part of that improvement.
Creativity - I sometimes can't get over how much teaching has changed through the years. I have really begun to embrace the use of the Smartboard,Video clips,and iPods in teaching over the last couple of years. Also teaching with Amanda has broadened my repertoire of ideas. And yes you can do group activities with close to 30 in a class. Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks!
ReplyDeleteReading this makes me think about one thing..loving these children. I have seen so many students change their whole attitude over and over by doing one simple thing...loving them. It's that whole "unconditional love" thing that is NOT easy to do but it works every time..even if they screw up, insult you, do no work in class, if they know that you love them, that will make all the difference. Many of these kids don't have that at home, they definitely don't have the same rules and expectations at home (as we see clearly in their behavior and comments when we try to enforce those rules)...but if they know you genuinely care about them, it can make all the difference in the world.
ReplyDelete