For this comment I want you to read Chapter 6 in Dr. Jensen’s book, and then think about your future teaching practice. Effective teaching demands an inordinate amount of time for preparation, but it is worth it. This chapter synthesizes the core ideas of the book, and this will assist you in thinking about how you can apply the practices you have learned about in this book in your future classroom.
“The phrase ‘instructional light and magic’ refers to your ability to shine a spotlight on what matters most.”
Read the chapter and then choose three practices that you will consider using in your classroom. Focus on the factors that matter the most to you, and emphasize the strategies that will reshape the brains and enrich the lives of your students.
For example, health is really important to me, so one of the strategies I chose was “Framing the Content” on page 148. “This powerful strategy creates an intentional bias toward what follows so that the students are more likely to buy into the content.”
The framing is the setting of the stage for the lesson, it’s the “hook”, information that appeals to the student so that they want to learn more. Jensen writes that it “creates an emotional invitation to learn”. I like that. He gave an example of a story by reading a passage that engages the students and gets them thinking about the lesson. He told about an African American man who was drafted during the Vietnam War. So, this man was out there in a war, fighting for his country, but he could not vote in his country or in his home town because of illegal voter registration quirks.
The reading of the passage caused a conversation to ensue about prejudice, both at the national level and at school. Prejudice is an excellent topic to discuss with your students if it is developmentally appropriate. It relates well to health.
I like the idea of framing the content, and I love telling stories that I can relate to content. I also know that stories and bits of anecdotal data can break up a lesson and reduce the boredom of dry lecture material.
Okay, now it is your turn. What three practices would you choose from chapter 6, and tell me why, and provide an example.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
The first concept I like from chapter 6 would be “building relationships”, I like this because it makes me think of the classroom as a community or a family. I believe that building a trust with the students begins with the relationship you have with them. The child may not have someone that they can talk with at home, the parents may work late and they may stay with an older sibling who does not interact with them a lot. They may just need a hug each morning to let them know that someone cares. With children who are in early childhood, feelings play a major part in what they are going to learn for the day. If they start out with a hug or some kind words as the door each morning, then they realize someone does care, and someone looks forward to spending the day with them. Going the extra mile to talk with the child about things they like or things that interest them help to foster a good relationship and hopefully a trusting family atmosphere for healthy learning. Greet your class at the door each morning with a smile, a few kind words and a hug!
Creating a positive physical environment is another area that appeals to me as a future teacher. I think that everything down to the colors you choose to put on the walls should be considered when you are setting up your classroom space. I believe that vibrant colors in some areas can help engage students while calm more warm colors in others can make sure that the students are not over loaded with distractions. So I can see warm colors on the walls with vibrant rugs, posters / pictures, and lots of light in my future room. I also like the idea of pillows on the rugs so that the children have something to sit on will help them to not fidget as much and allow them to listen more closely. Having important posters at eye level rather than up at the ceiling is another thing that appeals to me, you can use the upper area for storage, but bring those bright posters and eye catching pieces down for the little eyes to see. I also like the example of music to start the day, it’s a great idea with small children to find engaging music to play throughout the day to break up activities and give them a chance to stand up and move a bit.
I find the idea of class teams doing clean up a great idea. I’ve actually seen it at work, and the children love the jobs, it helps to ease them into the frame that the end of the school day is upon them and it helps to show them that they are important. How can it show they are important? Simple, talk to them about it being a job, and a responsibility, help them to see that by cleaning up their classroom they are making it easier on everyone the next morning. It is also a good self-esteem building practice. They know that you are counting on them to do their best, and they will strive to accomplish that goal. You should also let them know that each task, no matter how small is important to the whole project. Therefore, the student who pushes in the chairs that day has just as important of a task as the student making sure the desks have all been wiped down. Everyone works together just like a family! It also helps to show the children that it’s not just a girls or a boy’s job to do certain things, all people can do the jobs!
The first practice that I really like and would want to use in my classroom would be the way Mr. Hawkins conducts his first ten minutes of class. He greets the students every Monday morning to set the week off right. In a primary grade classroom I could greet the students just like this to get the week going and make the students feel like I am glad they were able to make it to school that day. I feel like I would want to greet my students like this every morning though. Yes, Mondays set the mood for the week but I feel like every day is important and I want my students to know I am happy they are there each day, not just one. Also during the first ten minutes of class Mr. Hawkins starts by telling his students a personal story about his life. Every Monday he gives them a story about his weekend. In my opinion this is a great way to build relationships with your students. Some students seem to forget that teachers do not live in the school. Teachers do have lives and families and do things other than grade papers and make lesson plans. Students should realize that their teachers are real people and have feelings, problems, and families of their own just like they do. By telling our students little bits and pieces of our own lives, they can relate and have a relationship with us. The fact that Mr. Hawkins asks his students to help him solve his problems can really help their problem solving skills and build on the ability to deal with situations in their own lives later if they are ever in the same situation. I can start practicing these skills with my students even if they are young. Any activity can be made easier or harder.
The second practice Mr. Hawkins used that I really liked was his ability to get his students out of their seats and moving around the classroom. I really like the Jigsaw idea where the students visit other teams to gain information and then come back and share it with their own team. Not only is that getting the students to learn more about topics but it is building their social skills and getting them up and moving instead of sitting in their desks bored. In an early childhood classroom I could use this same idea with my students. For example if we are practicing addition problems, students can collaborate with their neighbor to see if they have the right answer. If one of the students does not have the right answer the other students can tell them their strategy to obtain the correct one. This will get the students socializing, up and out of their desks, and learning from their peers. I also really liked the idea of allowing one student to lead the class in a dance or “energizer” activity. Younger children have shorter attention spans and therefore get the “wiggles” a lot. Allowing time for an activity that will get rid of those wiggles will help the students stay focused and have time to exercise during class.
The last activity that Mr. Hawkins uses that I would like to implement into my classroom is using a song to help the students clean up as quickly as possible. Early childhood classrooms can get extremely messy throughout the day with all the students working and running around and every teacher needs a way to get his or her classroom back to its organized state before leaving for the day. If I play the same song everyday and the students get accustomed to having that amount of time to clean up each day they will get in a routine of cleaning their area quickly and help maintain their nice classroom. As a motivation for my students I would give them a prize each time their group cleaned up in their area in time and did it correctly. At the end of the week they could collect the prizes they gained that week and take them home. Younger children need schedules and motivation so I really want to use this activity in my own class.
One of the practices that I want to use in my classroom is building relationships. I like how Mr. Hawkins greets his students every Monday. As a teacher, I think that’s very important to do with your students. When you greet your students at the door, they feel like they matter and that you care about them. I want my students to know that I care and I’m ready for them to learn. Building relationships with your students helps build confidence in speaking and also helps them feel important like they are not invisible to you. The only difference that I would make from Mr. Hawkins is that I want to greet my students every day they come in. An example for this would be that one of my students didn’t have such a good morning getting to school. Instead of them walking in the classroom with a sad attitude, I want to change that attitude before the attitude interferes with my other students or me. I want my classroom setting to feel peaceful and friendly atmosphere. With that negative attitude coming through my door will affect the atmosphere I plan to have for my classroom. So when one of my students has a bad morning, I will be at the door to greet them with a smile and say kind words. I will say “Good morning Mary! Would you like to be the line leader for today?” First, I directly spoke with her with a kind voice. Finally, I made her feel important by giving her an important job. By greeting Mary, I changed her attitude from a negative to positive. My second practice that I would incorporate in my class would be creating a positive physical environment for my students. When I was in elementary school, I hated to be confined to my desk and look at boring posters on the wall. I want my students to be able to freely move around the classroom and look at colorful posters. I would like to use music in my classroom throughout the whole day. So my students are free to hum, dance, sing throughout the day. My classroom setting is very important to how I want my students to learn. An example for creating a positive physical environment would be when we learn our months of the year. The song for the months of the year is very catchy and to incorporate movements in the activity I can have my students sit down on the rug and assign them a month so when we sing the month’s name; they pop up and sit back down really fast. This is a fun way for them to learn their months of the year. My third practice that I would like to use in my classroom is cleaning up. When teaching little ones, my classroom can look like a mess at the end of the day. Right before they leave to go home, I can play the “cleanup” song! This song is very catchy and pumps them up to straighten their area before leaving school. This helps them to learn responsibility to their own area and also if they are done to help others. If I incorporate it at school, they will most likely be able to clean up their area at home. An example for cleaning up would be that I read them a book about the Easter bunny and at the end of the book; I gave them an activity to make a bunny with a paper plate, cotton balls, and paper ears, eyes, nose and mouth. At the end of this activity, I played the “cleanup” song and they automatically knew to start cleaning their area to go home. They cleaned of their areas and I put the bunnies up in the classroom for decoration until Easter! I really enjoyed chapter 6 because this helped me to see all of the other different practices that I can use in my classroom.
One of three practices that I want to use in my classroom is building relationships. I admire how Mr. Hawkins chose to great his students each Monday morning. As a teacher I think that concept is very important to your classroom environment. Being able to greet your students shows the student that you care about them and that you are interested to see how they are or how their day has started. By doing so it allows my students to know that I am excited for them to be there and excited for them to learn. Building relationships with your students allow them to feel important and not invisible in the classroom. Building relationships also helps with their confidence and public speaking skills. The only thing that I think I would do differently than Mr. Hawkins is that I would greet my students on a daily basis and not just on a Monday or one day out the week. Why I would choose to greet them every day is so that I have the opportunity to change their attitudes before it affects others or changes the classroom environment. If a student had a bad day, I want the opportunity to be able to change that before they start their work in the classroom. The second practice that I would want to incorporate into my classroom is that of a positive physical environment. I can remember back to being in second grade and always being confined to the desk. To go along with this I would also like to incorporate music into my environment because I think it allows the child to hum and move freely throughout the day. Also to help with positive physical environment I want my students to be able to freely move around in the classroom and be able to get their activity or their work off of a shelf just allow movement and freedom to stretch. Also incorporate dance into a lesson, this is huge! While learning about the different parts of the body, why not allow the kids to stand in a circle and point to the different parts of the body such as the arms, legs, and toes. This allows the child to move and stretch and can also remove boredom. The third and last practice that I would like to use in my classroom is clean up. Having a room full of kids can create a classroom disaster. While they are cleaning up you could even play the cleanup song. Allowing the child to clean up after himself which teaches the child order and responsibility. These are all very important skills in leadership and also life skills. And most of the time the children love to help clean up. It can also help with the student applying the clean up to the house and being more responsible there as well. Chapter 6 was my favorite chapter because it showed practical ideas that I can apply to the classroom.
In my future career of a teacher, there are many practices that I plan on incorporating into my classroom. One strategy that I will use in my classroom is “Creating a positive physical environment” (Jenson, 144). I think that this strategy is very important, because if the classroom is not a positive place then the students will not have a good experience. To create a positive environment, I will have a brightly colored classroom with posters and word walls and much more to increase my student’s ability to learn. By having a happy environment, the students will feel more comfortable in the classroom and be ready to learn. If the classroom does not have a positive environment then the students will have more of a difficult time focusing on how much learning is fun.
Another strategy that I will use in my classroom is “Building Relationships” (Jenson, 145). It is very important to build positive relationships with the students in the classroom, because they need to feel that you care for them. To build a relationship with my students, I will stand at the door each morning and afternoon to greet them or tell them goodbye with a smile on my face. I will also make sure to ask them how they are feeling or something that relates to them on a personal level. I think that this is important because sometimes the only time that child sees a smile or feels cared for may be in the classroom. Not only is it important to meet them at the door, but also make sure throughout the day that a positive relationship is being built. By building a positive relationship with the student you are a model of how they should show their emotions towards others. It is a way to promote health in the classroom, because if that morning they are not feeling well, they are expressing their emotions in a good way by telling the way that they feel.
The third strategy that I will include in my classroom is “Getting Physical” (Jenson, 147). I think that this is a good strategy to use in the classroom, because students often have a hard time focusing throughout the day when they are not allowed to get up and move. Jenson provides examples of how Mr. Hawkins involves physical movement in the classroom, such as having the students select a team member and lead the group into a dance. I think this is a great idea, because it allows the students to not only see how important movement is to their health, but also to see their creativity in dance moves. In my classroom, I will make sure that all of my students get moving throughout the day, by providing a song that gets everyone excited to dance. I will play this song frequently throughout the day when I notice my students are struggling and getting stressed. This will allow my students to get their stress release through dance and have some fun during the day.
I believe that all three of these strategies are very important in the classroom. Promoting a positive environment is one way to have students feel comfortable in the classroom to learn. Also having a positive relationship with each student is also important because it allows the student to feel that they are cared for by the teacher and they are comfortable around the teacher. Getting the students moving throughout the day is also a great strategy to use in the classroom. Making sure that the students get up and move during the day is a way to promote healthy habits and allows their brain to relax. I plan on using all of these strategies in my future classroom.
After reading chapter six I have learned about the classroom when it comes to things that I wouldn’t have given much thought to. After reading about Mr. Hawkins’s classroom I have paid attention to the smaller things. I like how Jensen broke down this chapter into different parts of the day from before class all the way til the end of the day. There are three parts of the day that stuck out to me the most and they were creating a positive physical environment, building relationships, and assigning homework. I feel like I would really like to incorporate these three things into my future classroom because I feel like my class would benefit most from these.
The first one that really stuck out to me the most was creating a physical environment. I think this stuck out to me the most because I want my students to be excited when they come into my classroom and I want them to know I am proud of them. Since I am an early childhood major and will have younger kids I want to make sure the classroom is very inviting. I want there to be colorful posters on the wall and have their work displayed throughout the room. I want there to be positive words on the walls spread out through the classroom like “Great Work”, “Good Job”, and “Never Give Up”. I like the idea of playing music when the students arrive because it is a great way to start the day. I would probably play Disney songs like “Hakuna Matata” and “Under the Sea”.
The second one that I really want to try and incorporate is building relationships. Relationships with students are a big deal because you spend so much time with them. I want my students to feel comfortable coming to me with any issues they are having and to enjoy my class. In the book Mr. Hawkins greets his students at the door only on Monday mornings to start the week off right. In my classroom I would like to greet my students at the door every morning. I want to greet them each day as they walk into my classroom so that they know I care about them. Also after coming back to school after a break whether it was just the weekend, winter break, or spring break I want ask my students how their break was and tell them something about mine. This way I can find out more about my students like what they like to do with their free time and they can learn about me.
The third thing that caught my attention was the part about assigning homework. I agree with Mr. Hawkins that homework shouldn’t be mandatory but optional. I wasn’t a big fan of homework growing up as a child and used to hate how it was required to complete and that a grade was given out for it. In my future classroom when and if I give out homework it will be optional. Also if I choose to give out homework I will make sure to give time at the end of class for it to be completed. I think it is important to give time for the homework to be completed because some students do not have the home environment that can help them properly finish the homework. Also by giving time at the end of class my students can get one-on-one help from me with completing their problems.
It is important to me that these things are incorporated in my future classroom because these things will help me make my classroom a whole. I find these three tips crucial to running a smooth classroom because they are all important. Building relationships with my students is just as important as assigning the homework. I have found this Jensen book very helpful because it shines light on some of the small things that I would have never given much thought to before like how to set up my classroom for the day.
After reading Chapter 6 I have learned a few new teaching strategies to incorporate into my own classroom. These strategies are making the content relevant, building hope, and building a child’s operating system. These strategies are important to me for many reasons. By making the content of each of my lessons relevant I am actively engaging my students in the learning process. Jensen gives the example of Mr. Hawkins who says “Today, you’ll learn how an entire election was stole by one presidential candidate, right in front of everyone’s eyes. And it was legal! How do you think he pulled it off?” The example given tells the students factual information, but in a way that makes what they are learning about real to them. By making the course material into a “figure out how an election was stolen question” and not a having the students just memorize facts your allowing them to make their own connections and thoughts. You are giving each of your student’s the opportunity to find meaning in what they are learning themselves. That makes the content that much more important for each of them, especially when working with older students who constantly question why what they are learning is important.
Of all the strategies that I listed building hope is the most essential for a child’s learning. Children, especially young ones need to have some type of goal to aspire to. A child without hope is a child would isn’t going to try. Why try when there is nothing to try for? Instilling in your students that they can do anything no matter how silly or strange it maybe should be the goal of every teacher. This is especially important for students of low socio-economic status. These children often feel hopeless and just quit. Children of Low SES are more likely to drop out of school, and end up in jail. Lacking hope is a major contributor to this. If these children simply had someone telling them that they believed in them, that their dreams were possible, they would not end up in these situations. As a teacher a simple thing like having your students tell you their dreams each day and saying “I believe in you” or “Hey I can help you by showing you how to do (insert task here” can make all the difference you’ll ever need in a child’s life.
Lastly, if you want your students to improve you must essentially retool their operating system. By this I mean you must look at how the students thinks and processes information. Then, teach the child new ways to learn the same amount of material and more. Students who have issues processing information must first be taught how to think and to study before any progress can be made academically. When you just present students with information and expect them to spit it back out at you, you are doing a disservice to them. Students need to be taught how to think so that they can form their own ideas and thoughts. Being about to recite things teaches them nothing. A child needs a firm grasp on all content, and the only way to achieve this is by teaching them how to think, and how to use what they already know. This is a struggle for students of low SES. There are very few programs that exist to help them learn, and those that do exist don’t end up reaching every student. As a classroom teacher I will model for my student different strategies they can use to study and improve their own thinking process. I will make sure I engage all learners on all levels.
One practice I found important in my classroom is creating a positive physical environment. I believe students learn better when they are comfortable in the environment. Students are in one place for over seven hours a day, so their classroom environment needs to be a place they want to be at. One way to make sure students are in a positive classroom environment is to make the room colorful. Don’t just put posters on the walls, but include students’ artwork. It is their classroom too, and having their work in it shows them that they are a part of it. In the book, Mr. Hawkins talked about how he played upbeat music in the morning upon students’ arrival. I think having music playing in a classroom is very important. Not only in the morning, but also playing soft music throughout the entire day. Another way to make a classroom more cozy and friendly is to use lamps instead of the overhead lightening. Another practice that is important to me in a classroom is boosting social status. It is important for every student to feel included in a classroom. Having the students sit in groups help to make students feel like they are a part of a team. As a teacher, I would make sure that each group member has different responsibilities, and everyone is included. Students learn how to work together as a group, and the importance of team work. This practice is also good for teaching, because it is evident that students learn from each other. One student may struggle more, but his or her peers may have a different way for them to understand, other than the teacher. If a student who is doing poorly in his or her subjects, and is grouped with a more advanced student in the class, he or she may strive to make better grades, like the group member. I believe this is why groups in classrooms are so important. It helps students strive to do their absolute best work, so they are on the same level as their peers. A third teaching practice I read and hope to use in the future is making it relevant during core class time. It is one thing to teach a lesson to students, but it’s important to make sure the lesson is relatable to their lives. I plan to teach kindergarten or first grade, and I know everything I teach will have to be on their level. It is important to plan fun, hands on activities that can go along with the lessons planned for the appropriate grade. There are many different teaching practices found in chapter six that are very important when teaching not only children, but also children of poverty.
While reading chapter six, I came across a few practices that I hope to use in my future classroom. The first practice that interests me is planning. I think that planning is vital to maintaining classroom management. If a teacher walks into a classroom without having done any thinking about how he or she plans to teach the class that day, there will be chaos. I, as a future teacher, will need to plan out my lessons according to what I think will work best in my classroom. For instance, if I am teaching my students a lesson on subtraction I will need to put forth the effort to decide how to teach this to them. I will need to think of a way to make it interesting and clear for them to understand. I cannot just come into the classroom and “wing it.” Any lesson will take preparation if I want my students to learn.
Another practice I plan to use in my future classroom that is especially important to me is “building relationships.” I think that it is important for students to know and trust you so that they will be comfortable in the classroom. I also think that getting to know students is important because it will improve the way in which I teach them. Getting to know each student will help me to know how they learn. For instance, if I have a student in my class who is interested in basketball, I could somehow incorporate this sport in my lesson. I could use a word problem in math that deals with adding and subtracting players on a basketball team. This will keep this student interested in what I am teaching because he or she will see basketball as a fun subject. As a student, I have always found it easier to learn in a classroom when I felt the teacher cared about me. I want my students to feel comfortable asking me a question in class if they do not understand something. Building a positive relationship with my students will help them to learn.
Finally, the last practice I want to use in my future classroom would be “making it relevant.” I think that making a lesson relevant to the class is very important. In the past, I have found that it is easier for me to learn something when I feel it is something that I need to know. When I am being taught something that I feel I will never use I find myself getting easily frustrated thinking, “when will I ever use this?” When students feel like they are learning something that is necessary for them to know, I believe there is a better likelihood of them trying to understand it. For instance, if I was teaching my students to tell time, I could tell them why it is important for all of us to know how to tell time. We may have a doctor’s appointment at 2:30 that cannot be missed because we are sick. If we cannot tell time, how will we get to the doctor? How will we get well? I think making lessons relevant to everyday life makes students stop and think about how important it is for them to learn.
The first practice that I would make sure to incorporate into my lessons would be “Getting Physical.” It is so easy for an adult, and even more for a child to sit still through a complete lesson. It states that “working memory needs dopamine for optimal functioning” and I support that completely. By allowing my students to get up and move around it will keep them more engaged in the lesson and less distracted. I will set my lessons up where every 15 minutes my students will have the opportunity to get up out of their seats and move around. I will have my students simply get up, touch each wall, and find a partner. They will then have the opportunity to share with each other what they have learned so far in the lesson.
The second practice that I will use is “Elaborating and Correcting Errors”. I agree that it is important that students are able to see their mistakes and fix them. Learning from one’s own mistakes is the best way to succeed. They are able to see that they have the wrong answer themselves instead of the teacher having to lecture them on it. In order to practice this I will give my students a short quiz once at the beginning of the week and again at the end. Their quiz will be returned to them in time for them to reflect on what they did wrong and how they can fix it for the quiz later on in the week. I will make sure to make myself available for any questions that they may have also.
The last practice that I will use is “Strengthening Memory”. So many students learn the material simply for tests, and then after the test forget everything. In order to make learning easier for them later down the road it is important for them to remember what they have learned in the past. In order to help my students with this I will make time at the end of every class to have a class discussion or game on things that they have learned in past lessons and how they relate to what they are learning now.
I believe that it is so important to tie in all of these practices, if not more. Students need structure more than anything. Many children do not have this at home so bringing it into the classroom is vital. Most of all learning must be FUN in order for students to enjoy themselves and learn the most that they can.
According to Dr. Eric Jensen there are several practices that can be used as “instructional light and magic.” “The phrase ‘instructional light and magic’ refers to your ability to shine a spotlight on what matters most.” From reading his practices I believe the most important ones to me would be collecting data, building relationships, and closing the day.
Collecting data on your students is very important. This information can be used as a great tool to know how to teach your students and of the needs that they may have. This practice can be very simple. I would let the students have social time in the morning before class starts and then also sit with them at lunch and observe their conversations without them knowing. As a teacher you can learn a great deal by just observing and listening to your students.
Building relationships is another practice that can be very simple. Students learn better from you if they feel a connection and a relationship with you. In the morning it is good to take time to chat with your students and tell them something about yourself so that they feel connected to you. I would tell them about something I experienced or ask them what they think about something that I heard. An example would be, I went to the gas station and I spent $60.00 filling up my car and I think that is just too much to charge for gas. What do you think? This question would let the students see your frustration as a person and they may be able to relate to it because of their parents paying for gas and then you could talk about what you would do if you didn’t have to pay for gas and what would they buy if they had extra money. This would also let you know how they think and what their likes are.
Closing the day is the last practice that I chose. I feel that this is a very important practice because the students need to conclude their school day with positive note. When reviewing the day’s lessons and what was learned, praise the students and encourage them. Let them know that you are proud of them and that they can do anything that they put their minds to do. It is important to instill these all through the day but especially at the end because many will go home and not have positive reinforcement. Tell them how you look forward to the next class and what you will cover together and make sure they know that you will think of them while they are away. This ends the day with positives and also builds your relationship with your students.
In Dr. Jensen book Mr. Hawkins has some really good and interesting methods for his class. What I enjoyed reading about was about how he assigned homework to the class. I think homework is important because it lets you know as a teacher exactly what your student knows and what they might need extra help with. In my class I would give my students a calendar where each day has an assignment they can do. The assignment has to be turned in so I can see what they understand. Students will be allowed to choose which homework assignment they want to do.
I also liked Mr. Hawkins ideas on cleaning up. Giving each student their own job to do in class allows them to develop relationships with other students and me as the teacher. It also shows them the importance of following through with a job. In my class I would also assign jobs in groups to my students where they are able to rotate jobs each week. This will allow students to work with others in different groups and have better relationships with each other. I would have such jobs as folder collector, board eraser, assignment collector, pet feeder, lights, and table wiper.
Another thing that was interesting was connecting with real life. It’s important to let your students know that you care about them and I believe asking them about their weekend can help with that. In my class I also plan on telling my students about my weekend and asking about theirs. The next thing I would do is ask my students to act out different scenarios and for their classmates to give their own thoughts on how they think things should have played out.
If I could choose three practices from Chapter 6 they would be planning, connecting with real-life and delivering the content. Planning accordingly is very important if you want to teach effectively to your students. In my future classroom I will dedicate a lot of time and hard work when planning my lessons and activities. Planning should be put together right because this is the part where you get to keep hyped about what your children will learn that day. Just like Mr. Hawkins, you ask yourself questions like “How will I engage students?”, “How will I make the content come alive?” and “How will I ensure that it is memorable?” These questions are preparing you as the teacher to be well prepared when knowing how and what to teach your students each day. When I plan well I make sure everything available for me such as my worksheets, materials, lesson and etc. I want to ensure my kids will be successful in any and everything they do. Then when it is time to teach I can connect that with real-life situations. When you give students prime examples of what is happening in the real world with the lesson, they can connect their daily life to it and comprehend better. I agree with Mr. Hawkins that this fosters the students’ problem solving and deal with their life situations. This plays a big role when they grow older and get out into the real world by themselves. They will know how to think, act and encounter the problem. When I teach I want my students to give me examples of things they deal with and elaborate on how it goes with the lesson I teach. Getting the kids interacted with me and other classmates help to open their cognitive skills more and to learn about different experiences happening around them. Last but not least delivering the content to the students is important also. The way you give the lesson should be very powerful, meaningful and should be fun. Kids are energetic, interested, giggly, lovable, physical and all of the above. As a teacher it should be a duty to be just like them. That means interact with them in a way such as how they will receive, understand, communicate and learn the materials. I will find engaging activities to get them to collaborate with one another. Whether it is independent work, class groups, together as a class or by them competing against one another helps them to get involved with the content. I can deliver the content to my students based on the way they learn and by making it fun for them to learn. We can play a variety of class games to help them learn the content. Also I can assign questions or scenarios from the lesson and have them figure out what to do. Those three practices will help me to build a relationship with my students and use other practices from this chapter into my classroom.
1. Creating a positive physical environment-When I was in high school, I somehow wound up in a honors level math course. Math and I got along, just not at an honors level. When ever I would get stumped on a math test, and start to get frustrated, I’d look above the board. My teacher had a poster that said “failure is not an option”. That kept me from getting frustrated on those hard math tests.
2. Getting Physical-I picked this element for two reasons. 1. Obesity is showing up more and more in the classroom. I feel like any movement, even if it isn’t exercise, is better then no moment. 2. ADHD students and younger students aren’t developmentally able to handle being in a chair for long extended periods of time. They need to get up and move. Having time that they can get up and move will proactively help the students since they won’t be yelled at for being out of their seats.
3.Strengthing memory- It is crazy to me how fast students cover content material in classes. I will use strengthening memory time to review all the material we’ve covered in the past two weeks and/or in the current unit. This will help keep students on the same page.
Dr. Jensen talks about Mr. Hawkins classroom and different strategies he uses to create an effective classroom. After reading the chapter I found 3 strategies I felt would be important for my classroom and my students. The three I believe that were most suited for my future classroom is Collecting data, building relationships, and creating a positive physical environment.
Collecting data is a very important strategy for the classroom. It will help me to learn more about my students. I can learn what my students like to do. Also I can learn what areas they exceed in and what areas they need improvement in such as math, writing, reading, etc. Also by collecting data from my students, I can learn a little about their family history. I can learn if they have any siblings, are their parents together or do they live in a single parent home, also I can learn what they do outside of school. Another benefit of collecting data from my students is I can learn if they have any allergies, illnesses, or disabilities. This is important to know because I want to give out daily snacks for my students. Some students may be allergic to some ingredients in foods such as nuts. Also if a student has an learning disability I can help prepare an IEP for that student. Also I can better accommodate their needs. I would hate to be in a classroom with students and not know anything about them. Collecting data is one of the most important things to do when teaching especially if you are new to teaching.
Building relationships with my students is also an important strategy I want to use. Not only do I want to build relationships with my students but the parents of the students as well. I plan to be a caring, warm, fun, supportive teacher to each of my students. I believe that if I open up to them and be a good listener they will do just the same. Being a listener and giving advice to my students will make them more open to talk. Communication helps build relationships and communication will be a top priority in my future classroom. I plan to greet all my students with a hello, good morning, or hey every morning along with a hug and a smile. I believe if your students see you in a positive mood they will accompany your mood with a good one also. Building relationships with your students helps you to get to know a lot about them. Each student is different and unique in their own way, when a teacher builds a relationship; he/she learns the students’ uniqueness.
One other strategy I will use in my classroom is Create a positive physical environment. I want to create a relaxed and appealing classroom for my students. I want to hang up positive quotes posters in my classroom. For example, I want to put up a poster that says, “If it is to be, it is up to me!” These types of posters will encourage my students to do their best and strive at each of their dreams and goals. Also I want to hang up number lines and letters of the alphabet to aid my students in learning to read, write, count, and speak. Also I want to include a reading station in my classroom so my students can read a variety of books. Along with a reading station I want to include a audio station so my students can listen to different works in order to hear words and see how they are spelled and used in different sentences. I want my classroom to be organized and I want it to include a section for student belongings, hand washing, art supplies and other learning tools such as paper, pencils, and erasers. Creating a positive environment will make my students want to learn and come to class every day.
The first strategy I would you is that of collecting data. It is important when trying to understand others or empathize with them, that you get background demographic information on the students. This can be done by a quick survey or questionairre on the first day of class. By asking simple questions such as favorite things then moving on to social and family information. By collecting this information, it allows the teacher to know what issues to address and what to stay away from. This can also provide insight into the students fears, strengths, and weaknesses. Lessons as well as classroom themes can be planned accordingly with this information. Another strategy that I would use during core classroom time is hope building. Often times we see that children of poverty rarely receives positive words of reinforcement in the home, so it is important as teachers that we make sure that the students know that their dreams are reachable and have support from us. Away to this would be to have students bring in one item that relates to their future goals/career options. By doing this we can incorporate it into show and tell and allow the students to tell the class why they want to be in that field as well as explain a little about the positions. This can tie into relevant classroom lecture by relating current job aspirations to people from the community as well as in the media. By making this linkage, children see that their goals are attainable and with the right guidance and resources can accomplish whatever they set their minds to. By making this relevant and relatable, it is also another important strategy of delivering content. By allowing students to discuss their career aspirations, we can incorporate them into our social studies lessons, with this it is important that we make the connections in the students mind. One way to do this would be to incorporate a student career fair where they not only come dressed as their future career but I as the teacher will actually bring in leaders from the community all relating their message to social studies and providing ways for the student to see the relation and importance. After this I would hope to stem a question and answer session to where students can feel free to ask all things that may be on their minds to me or the other adults. I want them to have an open forum to get a true glimpse at life as they age and what it takes at such a small level. After all foundation is key to building a brighter future in my opinion.
Post a Comment