Classroom Environment
Setting up a positive environment in your classroom is key for effective communication between the teacher and students, and even student to student communication. The environment in the classroom sets up how comfortable students will feel with expressing themselves. How you arrange desks, decorate walls, and even what materials you have in the classroom speak volumes to the type of environment you want to create. The way the teacher interacts with her/his students sets up much of the communication for the class. If the teacher takes the time to individually talk with each student and get to know them, then the students will more likely be comfortable in the classroom and excited about learning. Also, the way the teacher talks to the students sets a tone. If the teacher laughs and builds up the students, or if the teacher is serious, or heaven forbid, the teacher talks down to the students, this all shows the students what's acceptable, what's expected, and what the teacher feels about them. I directly correlate seating arrangements to my mood about classes I had in elementary school. Usually the teachers who I thought were mean and cold were the teachers who had us sitting in rows and columns and rarely changed seating arrangements. Now, anytime I see a classroom that is arranged that way, I immediately want to move all the desks together and create a friendlier environment.
Classroom Routines
It is so important to be flexible while also sticking to routines. Teachers cannot always remind each student about every little thing they should or should not be doing. That is why it is so important to teach expectations to your students and go over procedures thoroughly. This is a great way to get students to be self-starters and interested in their own learning by being responsible for it. There is so little time in the classroom and usually more students than you'd like to have, so it is hard not to want to just do things for them and get it done faster. Students do not learn that way, they need to do it for themselves and learn to become autonomous. When I was in the classroom teaching, I taught an assignment that the students had done something like it before, so I was not too worried about going over procedures. That was a mistake. It was a carousel activity of sorts, and I put the cards in a different order than they were used to and that caused chaos. Moral of the story: make sure your students are clear about expectations and that they know the procedures clearly.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
How Teachers Need To Respond
Five Elements to Teacher Responses
1. Invitation
2. Opportunity
3. Investment
4. Persistence
5. Reflection
1. Invitation
The teacher needs to invite their students into their classroom and make them feel welcome. It is important for teachers to get to know their students and what their interests are, not only for academic purposes, but for the students' self-esteem and self-worth. Students need affirmation and teachers need to provide it for them. In the first week, I made it a point to learn the name of each student. I began to learn different things about each child and it really helped me to develop relationships with them.
2. Opportunity
Teachers provide their students with opportunities to grow. Once you know your students, you can begin to provide them opportunities to grow based on where they are and what is meaningful to them by creating goals. Students need to feel important and be open to new possibilities. Teachers can show these things to students. I think that school is a wonderful place for students to try new things and experiences that they possibly would not receive at home.
3. Investment
Teachers invest time, energy, and well... everything for their students and they love it! Teachers put forth effort to make school successful for each student and ensure growth. Teachers and students work side by side to reach students' goals. Teachers who are invested will create personally engaging tasks for their students. I was only in the classroom half days, and I was very invested in the students and desired to find tasks that I knew the students would enjoy.
4. Persistence
Classrooms do not go as planned. It takes persistence to make things work. Teachers are constantly adapting to the needs of the classroom. Teachers also need to instill in their students that they are never done growing and that excuses are not permitted, but support is always available. During an assignment in the classroom, I had a student who wanted to give up because his paper did not look like the example. I insisted he persist and that we could fix it to make it fit the assignment. We eventually came to an agreement and he finished the assignment.
5. Reflection
Teachers listen to their students, and learn what they need to change to help the students learn. Teachers are constantly reflecting on the students work and their own. It does nothing to just reflect without taking action on the things you learn from your reflections. Students deserve to be taught in various ways that benefit their learning. When I was in the classroom, I encouraged students to reflect on their learning and how they got the answers they did. It was a great way for me to see where they were at and for them to establish what they were learning.
1. Invitation
2. Opportunity
3. Investment
4. Persistence
5. Reflection
1. Invitation
The teacher needs to invite their students into their classroom and make them feel welcome. It is important for teachers to get to know their students and what their interests are, not only for academic purposes, but for the students' self-esteem and self-worth. Students need affirmation and teachers need to provide it for them. In the first week, I made it a point to learn the name of each student. I began to learn different things about each child and it really helped me to develop relationships with them.
2. Opportunity
Teachers provide their students with opportunities to grow. Once you know your students, you can begin to provide them opportunities to grow based on where they are and what is meaningful to them by creating goals. Students need to feel important and be open to new possibilities. Teachers can show these things to students. I think that school is a wonderful place for students to try new things and experiences that they possibly would not receive at home.
3. Investment
Teachers invest time, energy, and well... everything for their students and they love it! Teachers put forth effort to make school successful for each student and ensure growth. Teachers and students work side by side to reach students' goals. Teachers who are invested will create personally engaging tasks for their students. I was only in the classroom half days, and I was very invested in the students and desired to find tasks that I knew the students would enjoy.
4. Persistence
Classrooms do not go as planned. It takes persistence to make things work. Teachers are constantly adapting to the needs of the classroom. Teachers also need to instill in their students that they are never done growing and that excuses are not permitted, but support is always available. During an assignment in the classroom, I had a student who wanted to give up because his paper did not look like the example. I insisted he persist and that we could fix it to make it fit the assignment. We eventually came to an agreement and he finished the assignment.
5. Reflection
Teachers listen to their students, and learn what they need to change to help the students learn. Teachers are constantly reflecting on the students work and their own. It does nothing to just reflect without taking action on the things you learn from your reflections. Students deserve to be taught in various ways that benefit their learning. When I was in the classroom, I encouraged students to reflect on their learning and how they got the answers they did. It was a great way for me to see where they were at and for them to establish what they were learning.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
What Students Need
Five Elements Students Seek
1. Affirmation
2. Contribution
3. Power
4. Purpose
5. Challenge
1. Affirmation
Students need to know that they are safe and accepted at school. Teachers need to encourage positive self-esteem in their students. The way to increase self-esteem is to be successful at something challenging. That is number five, but students seek the praise and encouragement teachers provide. It is so important to let your students know that you believe in them. Even in small ways, it means a lot to them. In the classroom, once I started to get to know the students better, I began to praise them for real accomplishments I noticed. It was as simple as telling them, "Wow, you figured that out fast!" or "Class, Jimmy found a new way to solve this, let's listen up and have him explain it to us." Their faces lit up at the recognition.
2. Contribution
It is detrimental to your students that they feel like they make a difference in your class. It is the teacher's responsibility to recognize and embrace each students' abilities and uniqueness. I believe this is the root of feeling accepted at school and what gives some students the ability to make friends. Too often a lonely student continues to go unnoticed. I believe that teachers need to show each student that they matter to them, and to the rest of the class. One day, I didn't know the protocol for lining up, so I said, "We can't walk down the hall without a line leader, who amongst you will lead us?" That is when the students informed me that they had assigned jobs and one of the shier students in the class was the leader. It gave her a chance to be noticed by her classmates as an important part of the class.
3. Power
Show students that what they learn in school is useful to them. They need to know what is expected of them, how things are ran, and what quality work looks like. These things all vary from teacher to teacher, but that is why we tell students our expectations and procedures for how we want things done in our classrooms. Students also need to be allowed to make choices. The student needs to have power in your classroom. Teachers do not need to be the control freaks they really are deep down because their students are part of the classroom too. Yes, order needs to be in place and students need structure, but that does not mean that they cannot be a part of the process. I have seen teachers who are too strict, and their students lash out, and I have seen teachers who are too lenient and the students walk all over them. The classroom is a place of give and take; that goes for power as well.
4. Purpose
Students are always asking, "Why do I have to do this?" and as a teacher, you better have an answer for them. If you cannot answer that question, your lesson is useless and a complete waste of time. Students need opportunities to see what they do in class reflects on them as a person and that they make a difference in the world. In math, I constantly asked the question, "When will I use this in real life?" and there were plenty of things I learned that I have not used since then, but it taught me how to think differently and challenged me to work through the problem. It is so important to discuss this with your students. Show them that they are thinking in new ways and make a point to that changing their lives. Math will not seem so pointless after that.
5. Challenge
Zone of proximal development is constantly being thrown around in the education world, and for good reason. Students need to be challenged, not only to advance, but to stay focused and interested in school. This, in my opinion, is the most important thing teachers do for students; appropriately challenge each and every student. It is so important to show students that it is okay to fail, as long as something has been learned, but they cannot always be failing. Students need to see that they are successful. All students should be trying to push themselves to improve in all areas at school. My biggest belief in school is that every student deserves to gain a year's growth, in a year's worth of school. The only way this is possible is by challenging each of your students.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Hallmarks of Differentiation (Volume Two)
5. A "way up," usually through multiple and varied pathways, and never a "way out."
Teachers need to push their students, using a support system. In order to do this, a teacher needs to "teach up" to their students by including opportunities to scaffold. Teachers need to avoid the mundane drill and practice and work toward strategic lessons. Students need the effort put forth by their teachers to push them toward success. Never cheat your students by giving them work that is not helping them move forward.
6. "Respectful" and engaging work for all students.
Each student should be thinking on their highest level and assigned work that is inviting and important to them. When needed, adjust quality rather than increasing or decreasing the quantity. Students need to be challenged and it is the teacher's responsibility to continue to keep these students challenged. Continually assessing students is how you know what will challenge your students and keep them engaged in their work. Students who need to be "kept busy" is the teacher's fault for not challenging them and giving them busy work that does not challenge, nor engage them.
7. Proactive thinking and planning for different pathways.
This hallmark is all about planning ahead for what each of your students will need from your lesson. This includes planning ahead for re-teaching, remediating, accommodating, and modifying instruction. Good teaching always includes planning ahead, but differentiated teaching includes planning ahead on all fronts for your students. In field, as I began teaching, I realized one of the students couldn't see the board, and stopped working. I began to fit it into my lesson that any student who couldn't see the board while we were working could come sit on the carpet in front. This way, I didn't single him out, and as it turns out, a few other students had a hard time seeing the board as well.
8. Flexible grouping.
At different times of the day, and through different lessons, students will be grouped in different grouping. Some lessons you need to pair/group students by similar/different interests, learning profiles, and random or guided leadership. In the classroom I was in, my cooperating teacher had "clock partners". At the beginning of the year, she gave each student a little square sheet of paper that had a clock on it and at each hour was a spot to put someone's name. The rules were that they could not put the same person twice, they had to leave 12 and 6 free and she would assign those, and that their one o'clock partner had to have your name at one o'clock and so on for the rest of the hours. She assigned 12 o'clock partners with other's who were on the same math level, and 6 o'clock partners with those on the same reading level. This method alleviated the need to pick/assign a partner every time she wanted them to pair up and got the students to interact with various classmates throughout the day.
9. Flexible use of time, space, and materials.
This includes the teacher arranging the classroom in a variety of ways and formats. The teacher should also use a variety of materials for all students at every readiness level and/or interests. Their timing of lessons need to be flexible as well. I plan to change my seating arrangements once a month, or once a week if I feel that my students need that. I prefer to put their desks into groups, but I am willing to arrange the classroom in any way that I think would best benefit my students. I love hands-on learning and I am always looking for, and hoarding, knick-knacks that I think could be used in a lesson. I am a big believer in a wide variety of materials for students. Everyone learns in a different way, and it is our job as teachers to provide them with what they need to learn.
Teachers need to push their students, using a support system. In order to do this, a teacher needs to "teach up" to their students by including opportunities to scaffold. Teachers need to avoid the mundane drill and practice and work toward strategic lessons. Students need the effort put forth by their teachers to push them toward success. Never cheat your students by giving them work that is not helping them move forward.
6. "Respectful" and engaging work for all students.
Each student should be thinking on their highest level and assigned work that is inviting and important to them. When needed, adjust quality rather than increasing or decreasing the quantity. Students need to be challenged and it is the teacher's responsibility to continue to keep these students challenged. Continually assessing students is how you know what will challenge your students and keep them engaged in their work. Students who need to be "kept busy" is the teacher's fault for not challenging them and giving them busy work that does not challenge, nor engage them.
7. Proactive thinking and planning for different pathways.
This hallmark is all about planning ahead for what each of your students will need from your lesson. This includes planning ahead for re-teaching, remediating, accommodating, and modifying instruction. Good teaching always includes planning ahead, but differentiated teaching includes planning ahead on all fronts for your students. In field, as I began teaching, I realized one of the students couldn't see the board, and stopped working. I began to fit it into my lesson that any student who couldn't see the board while we were working could come sit on the carpet in front. This way, I didn't single him out, and as it turns out, a few other students had a hard time seeing the board as well.
8. Flexible grouping.
At different times of the day, and through different lessons, students will be grouped in different grouping. Some lessons you need to pair/group students by similar/different interests, learning profiles, and random or guided leadership. In the classroom I was in, my cooperating teacher had "clock partners". At the beginning of the year, she gave each student a little square sheet of paper that had a clock on it and at each hour was a spot to put someone's name. The rules were that they could not put the same person twice, they had to leave 12 and 6 free and she would assign those, and that their one o'clock partner had to have your name at one o'clock and so on for the rest of the hours. She assigned 12 o'clock partners with other's who were on the same math level, and 6 o'clock partners with those on the same reading level. This method alleviated the need to pick/assign a partner every time she wanted them to pair up and got the students to interact with various classmates throughout the day.
9. Flexible use of time, space, and materials.
This includes the teacher arranging the classroom in a variety of ways and formats. The teacher should also use a variety of materials for all students at every readiness level and/or interests. Their timing of lessons need to be flexible as well. I plan to change my seating arrangements once a month, or once a week if I feel that my students need that. I prefer to put their desks into groups, but I am willing to arrange the classroom in any way that I think would best benefit my students. I love hands-on learning and I am always looking for, and hoarding, knick-knacks that I think could be used in a lesson. I am a big believer in a wide variety of materials for students. Everyone learns in a different way, and it is our job as teachers to provide them with what they need to learn.
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