Upon entering the field of education over 4 years ago, I was immediately brought back to memories of all the teachers I once had. The days of elementary school in the 80's where you were expected to sit still, in nice neat rows, and listen to the teacher throw information at you. I clearly remember daydreaming and looking out the window because I couldn't bare to hear it anymore. I was craving ACTION! PARTICIPATION! CONVERSATION! No, no, no, that would have to wait until recess or lunch. The teacher continued on with her long winded lesson on the Great Explorers as we followed helplessly along in our textbooks. The words would start blurring together as my head inched closer to the desk in hopes of a short nap. Who are these people we are reading about? Why did the come here? What were the name of the boats they came in? Then, next would come the dreaded worksheet that we would work on individually for what felt like an hour while the teacher sat at her desk "reading." This is not to say that all the teachers I had were focused on worksheets, lectures, textbooks, and drill-n-kill activities, however, there were certainly a few that made learning painful in my days. :)
Fast forward to the year 2006......I was ready to embark on my journey to becoming a teacher. I was initially fearful of this idea because of the thought of standing in front of a sea of children expected to be a HUMAN ENCYCLOPEDIA, oh and wearing a smock, handing out worksheets as spitballs were flying behind my back. Well, I'm happy to report that this fear was immediately squashed, when I applied to the Stanley British Primary Licensure Program for teachers. It was a relief to see that the role of an educator had in fact changed. No more "Sage on the Stage" instead it was more of a "Guide on the Side". This shift in the teachers role in the classroom has lead to all sorts of research on student motivation and implementation of best teaching practices. So my question to you today is, how do see teachers motivating students to learn in the year 2010?
Here are a few key motivators that can be used in any classroom to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning:
* CHALLENGE THEM by asking "I wonder" questions
* Build on their strengths
* Offer Choices
* Use Rewards and Punishments with caution
* Build a classroom community that promotes risk taking
* Teach students how to set goals and self-evaluate
* Avoid "power struggles", don't control but guide
* Have clear expectations and rules generated by students
* Explain the objectives to lessons, the "whys?"
* Provide purposeful feedback and purposeful questions
* Celebrate student growth
* Incorporate technology
* Use cooperative learning groups
I have enjoyed my "Guide on the Side" role and hope you do to. Say goodbye to the days of the "Sage on the Stage"..... and with that said, Happy Learning!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Attribution Theory - Do you recognize any of these students?
This week, my post will focus around Attribution Theory. This theory was pioneered by Bernard Weiner. Attribution Theory, in my own words, is the excuses we make for our successes and failures in life. Have you ever said things like, "If I just had more time, I would work out." Or "I am just not good with taking tests." If so, you have applied one of the attribution theories. I am going to highlight how I have observed attribution theory in my 4th grade classroom, by introducing you to a few of my students (names have been changed) and their behavior patterns.
As you read about each of these students, please take note if you recognize any of these students. Perhaps it is your daughter, son, brother, sister, friend, or even YOU! Let the introductions begin, INTRODUCING..................................
Sam - Sam is a 9 year old boy that comes from a bilingual home, Spanish and English. He has an extremely tight knit family that is always emphasizing how hard work opens doors for opportunities. I have met both his parents and they are true examples and models of hard work. Sam is a charismatic and engaged learner. He always ask questions in class despite what we are learning and is always willing to help others. Generally, Sam is a straight A student. In the event of receiving a grade lower than an A, he will say, "Aw, Ms. Lavalley, I must have went to fast on this part. I totally knew the answer, I just went too fast." Then, he will be eager to show me that he can demonstrate his knowledge. I would consider Sam to be in the "mastery pattern" because of his high sense of self. I'm always pretty confident he would say he is the "master of his own fate!".
Shaw - Shaw is a 9 year old girl that is bi-racial, African-American and Caucasian. She lives with her caucasian mother and grandmother and her two older brothers, that tend to get into mischief. Shaw has never met her African-American father. She was recently given an IEP for reading, writing, and math. Shaw is a bit bigger than the other girls, (both physically and developmentally) and is often seen playing with the boys. She exudes an "outer toughness" about her with her peers as well as her teachers. During class time, Shaw often seems distracted and uninvolved regardless of the lesson. She takes frequent trips to the bathroom and uses excuses like, "I couldn't do my homework last night because I lost my planner", or "I wasn't here when you went over that". I would consider Shaw to be in the "failure avoidance pattern" because of her need to protect her self-image through lack of academic effort.
Madeline- Madeline is a 9 year old girl. Madeline has moved around a great deal over the last 9 years due to her parents need for employment. When Madeline came to our classroom, her mother and father both worked long hours at a factory. After school, Madeline is left to the care of her 12 year old sister to tend to her homework. During the first month in my classroom, I noticed Madeline would spend time daydreaming, doodling, and playing with things in her desk. She would avoid eye contact with me while teaching, frequently make visits to the restroom, avoid asking for help when needed and pouted when I tried to help her. When I sat her down to discuss this behavior with her, she told me "I have an IEP so my parents don't care as long as I try." That opened up a whole conversation about the word "try", which I had the parents come in for.
Casey- Casey is a 9 year old boy that is Gifted and Talented. When I first met Casey, I noticed he was extremely quiet and uncomfortable speaking up in class. Casey and I worked on that for the first half of the school year and he started to make growth. Then right after the holiday break, I noticed a change in Casey. The quality of his work was poor, he was not engaged in class lessons, and seemed a bit defiant and negative towards learning. When I sat him down to discuss this behavior, he said to me in a very monotone voice, "I guess I could try harder." In my gut, I knew something was wrong and I wanted to make sure I addressed it appropriately. The next step was to sit down with his parents for a conference to explain to them what I was seeing at school. Sure enough, my gut was right, mom and dad were having problems at home and were getting a divorce. Dad said Casey was spending a lot of time on computers and that was the only interest to him lately. That pattern continued in the classroom. If the lesson I was doing didn't involve something technology focused, then Casey found it boring. I would consider Casey to be in the "bright but bored pattern", as well as having feelings of lack of self-worth due to his parents separating.
Today, I leave you with the question, how do you as a teacher or parent, assist these children to achieve. What strategies have you used? Were you one of these kids? If so, what did a teacher do to assist you? Do you still have tend to have that attribution?
Until next post, HAPPY THINKING!
As you read about each of these students, please take note if you recognize any of these students. Perhaps it is your daughter, son, brother, sister, friend, or even YOU! Let the introductions begin, INTRODUCING..................................
Sam - Sam is a 9 year old boy that comes from a bilingual home, Spanish and English. He has an extremely tight knit family that is always emphasizing how hard work opens doors for opportunities. I have met both his parents and they are true examples and models of hard work. Sam is a charismatic and engaged learner. He always ask questions in class despite what we are learning and is always willing to help others. Generally, Sam is a straight A student. In the event of receiving a grade lower than an A, he will say, "Aw, Ms. Lavalley, I must have went to fast on this part. I totally knew the answer, I just went too fast." Then, he will be eager to show me that he can demonstrate his knowledge. I would consider Sam to be in the "mastery pattern" because of his high sense of self. I'm always pretty confident he would say he is the "master of his own fate!".
Shaw - Shaw is a 9 year old girl that is bi-racial, African-American and Caucasian. She lives with her caucasian mother and grandmother and her two older brothers, that tend to get into mischief. Shaw has never met her African-American father. She was recently given an IEP for reading, writing, and math. Shaw is a bit bigger than the other girls, (both physically and developmentally) and is often seen playing with the boys. She exudes an "outer toughness" about her with her peers as well as her teachers. During class time, Shaw often seems distracted and uninvolved regardless of the lesson. She takes frequent trips to the bathroom and uses excuses like, "I couldn't do my homework last night because I lost my planner", or "I wasn't here when you went over that". I would consider Shaw to be in the "failure avoidance pattern" because of her need to protect her self-image through lack of academic effort.
Madeline- Madeline is a 9 year old girl. Madeline has moved around a great deal over the last 9 years due to her parents need for employment. When Madeline came to our classroom, her mother and father both worked long hours at a factory. After school, Madeline is left to the care of her 12 year old sister to tend to her homework. During the first month in my classroom, I noticed Madeline would spend time daydreaming, doodling, and playing with things in her desk. She would avoid eye contact with me while teaching, frequently make visits to the restroom, avoid asking for help when needed and pouted when I tried to help her. When I sat her down to discuss this behavior with her, she told me "I have an IEP so my parents don't care as long as I try." That opened up a whole conversation about the word "try", which I had the parents come in for.
Casey- Casey is a 9 year old boy that is Gifted and Talented. When I first met Casey, I noticed he was extremely quiet and uncomfortable speaking up in class. Casey and I worked on that for the first half of the school year and he started to make growth. Then right after the holiday break, I noticed a change in Casey. The quality of his work was poor, he was not engaged in class lessons, and seemed a bit defiant and negative towards learning. When I sat him down to discuss this behavior, he said to me in a very monotone voice, "I guess I could try harder." In my gut, I knew something was wrong and I wanted to make sure I addressed it appropriately. The next step was to sit down with his parents for a conference to explain to them what I was seeing at school. Sure enough, my gut was right, mom and dad were having problems at home and were getting a divorce. Dad said Casey was spending a lot of time on computers and that was the only interest to him lately. That pattern continued in the classroom. If the lesson I was doing didn't involve something technology focused, then Casey found it boring. I would consider Casey to be in the "bright but bored pattern", as well as having feelings of lack of self-worth due to his parents separating.
Today, I leave you with the question, how do you as a teacher or parent, assist these children to achieve. What strategies have you used? Were you one of these kids? If so, what did a teacher do to assist you? Do you still have tend to have that attribution?
Until next post, HAPPY THINKING!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A Vision of K-12 Students Today
Good day to all you "learners" out there!
Today, my educational post will be focused around a YouTube video titled, A Vision of K-12 Students Today. You can view this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8.
I first saw this video at a staff meeting at our school to promote 21st Century Teaching in the classroom. I clearly remember how I initially felt at that moment as a teacher.....frustrated. Frustrated, mainly, because it all makes sense "on paper" or in a "perfect world". If you give your students more opportunities to learn through the use of technology, it is a "no brainer." OF COURSE they are going to be more engaged and most likely walk away with a higher level of understanding of the content whether it be reading, writing, math, science, or history.
However, the part that made my frustrated was the reality of what teachers are really up against everyday. That reality is TIME, MONEY, and RESOURCES! I work at a fairly "middle of the road" school in Adams County. A large majority of my students, 4th graders, have computers, iPods, and cell phones and we often have technology day. This is a day when they are allowed to bring in their "technology" to use for a portion of the day. They bring in all sorts of "gadgets" like DS's and Ipods. I must say they get a real kick out of "teaching their teacher". I honor that world they live in and agree we need to get these 21st Century Learners involved with technology throughout the course of their day at school.
To make that happen, educators need RESOURCES. Most schools only have a few computers in the actual classroom and ONE computer lab. At my school, the computer lab is a very popular place to be these days, making it hard to get those technology lessons in.
We also need TIME. My experience, thus far, has been that most of our time as educators in public education is used on data meetings that are primarily focused on CSAP. Educators need time to re-vamp their units to include lessons with technology. To plan these lessons and gather resources, grade level teams need to commit their time to collaborating on these units. It seems to me that some of our schools keep doing the same thing in the classroom and keep getting the same results on paper. Sadly enough, the data still looks the same! So, with that said, we DO need to change our teaching to meet our 21st Century Learners needs or we will never get any results.
I am aware that change takes time. I often talk with my students about how one day perhaps all desks will be equipped with a mini desktop computer. We could all log in together, go to work on some activities, log off and then DISCUSS what we learned. However, until that day, we need to also teach our children to persevere and be disciplined enough to create their own learning. To set goals and achieve those goals, whether with technology or not. I often joke with my students that I am not a Wii or a DS, that I am a HUMAN and they will have to just make the best of it. I believe strongly that it is healthy for these children to NOT always being engaged. Their brains need to time to download just like a computer and just do what they might consider "boring" tasks. We sure did our share of "boring" tasks and I would like to think we turned out alright. :)
So, overall this post is focused around balance. Balance as human beings to become part of the 21st century technological era but to also embrace the learning that takes place via human interaction. The 21st Century Learners need BOTH of these elements to succeed in life and it is our duty as educators to teach them this balance.
In the words of Frederich Froebel, "play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." The question I will leave you with is, to play with technology or to play outside building a secret fort? Perhaps it is a bit of BOTH. :)
Today, my educational post will be focused around a YouTube video titled, A Vision of K-12 Students Today. You can view this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8.
I first saw this video at a staff meeting at our school to promote 21st Century Teaching in the classroom. I clearly remember how I initially felt at that moment as a teacher.....frustrated. Frustrated, mainly, because it all makes sense "on paper" or in a "perfect world". If you give your students more opportunities to learn through the use of technology, it is a "no brainer." OF COURSE they are going to be more engaged and most likely walk away with a higher level of understanding of the content whether it be reading, writing, math, science, or history.
However, the part that made my frustrated was the reality of what teachers are really up against everyday. That reality is TIME, MONEY, and RESOURCES! I work at a fairly "middle of the road" school in Adams County. A large majority of my students, 4th graders, have computers, iPods, and cell phones and we often have technology day. This is a day when they are allowed to bring in their "technology" to use for a portion of the day. They bring in all sorts of "gadgets" like DS's and Ipods. I must say they get a real kick out of "teaching their teacher". I honor that world they live in and agree we need to get these 21st Century Learners involved with technology throughout the course of their day at school.
To make that happen, educators need RESOURCES. Most schools only have a few computers in the actual classroom and ONE computer lab. At my school, the computer lab is a very popular place to be these days, making it hard to get those technology lessons in.
We also need TIME. My experience, thus far, has been that most of our time as educators in public education is used on data meetings that are primarily focused on CSAP. Educators need time to re-vamp their units to include lessons with technology. To plan these lessons and gather resources, grade level teams need to commit their time to collaborating on these units. It seems to me that some of our schools keep doing the same thing in the classroom and keep getting the same results on paper. Sadly enough, the data still looks the same! So, with that said, we DO need to change our teaching to meet our 21st Century Learners needs or we will never get any results.
I am aware that change takes time. I often talk with my students about how one day perhaps all desks will be equipped with a mini desktop computer. We could all log in together, go to work on some activities, log off and then DISCUSS what we learned. However, until that day, we need to also teach our children to persevere and be disciplined enough to create their own learning. To set goals and achieve those goals, whether with technology or not. I often joke with my students that I am not a Wii or a DS, that I am a HUMAN and they will have to just make the best of it. I believe strongly that it is healthy for these children to NOT always being engaged. Their brains need to time to download just like a computer and just do what they might consider "boring" tasks. We sure did our share of "boring" tasks and I would like to think we turned out alright. :)
So, overall this post is focused around balance. Balance as human beings to become part of the 21st century technological era but to also embrace the learning that takes place via human interaction. The 21st Century Learners need BOTH of these elements to succeed in life and it is our duty as educators to teach them this balance.
In the words of Frederich Froebel, "play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." The question I will leave you with is, to play with technology or to play outside building a secret fort? Perhaps it is a bit of BOTH. :)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Entering the 21st Century
Well, here it is.....I have now entered the 21st century. Those of you that know me, will get a chuckle from the creation of this blog. Yes, I have resisted entering the "online world" of facebook, twitter, and whatever else lies in cyberspace. However, now the time has come where I do not have a choice in the matter, as this is a requirement for one of my courses to complete my Masters in Educational Psychology, and is a requirement for me to truly connect with my 21st century students.
Since, I do believe there is a silver lining in every experience that comes our way, here are my thoughts on this particular assignment. It has actually been a very fun and humbling journey. To some this assignment may have been a "walk in the park" or "smooth sailing" however for me, it has been full of trial and error. Whispering questions to myself like: What in the world is a gadget? I thought that was something you use in the kitchen!
So for this moment, I walk in the shoes of my students and am hopefully practicing what I preach, "Don't fear the unknown! Jump in with two feet and arm yourself with an excellent attitude, a huge smile, and before you know it you'll be enjoying the experience." I am on my way to being an expert blogger! My students would be proud. :)
Since, I do believe there is a silver lining in every experience that comes our way, here are my thoughts on this particular assignment. It has actually been a very fun and humbling journey. To some this assignment may have been a "walk in the park" or "smooth sailing" however for me, it has been full of trial and error. Whispering questions to myself like: What in the world is a gadget? I thought that was something you use in the kitchen!
So for this moment, I walk in the shoes of my students and am hopefully practicing what I preach, "Don't fear the unknown! Jump in with two feet and arm yourself with an excellent attitude, a huge smile, and before you know it you'll be enjoying the experience." I am on my way to being an expert blogger! My students would be proud. :)
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