PLE: Based on our readings and class discussion, how will you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning? Now consider you CSEL case study, develop a full continuum of responses for dealing with the misbehavior of your case.
In class last week, we discussed what our ideal classroom environment would be like. I wrote down that I wanted mine to be organized, interactive, literacy-rich with posters, books, labels, etc, structured with the rules and expectations clearly defined, colorful, creative, inviting, comfortable, bright, and flexible. By providing my students with a literacy-rich classroom, I am complimenting my goal as a teacher to instill in my students a love for reading and a motivational drive to challenge my students to increase their reading skills. By having an organized classroom environment, I am modeling to my students the idea of organization, while also establishing structure. In addition, by creating an interactive learning environment, I am complimenting my goal of having my students be actively engaged in the lessons that I teach. In writing these ideas down, I drew from my past experiences when I was an elementary student and what classrooms I loved and remembered the most. My classrooms growing up were colorful and interactive and full of resources and supplies. Classroom management is one of the aspects I worry most about as a future educator. However, this is an important factor in terms of creating a conducive learning environment. After reading chapter 13, I have a clear idea of how I will create a learning environment conducive to learning.
The first aspect I will tackle when creating a conducive learning environment will be the arrangement of my classroom. I want to arrange the students' desks in a way that encourages student interaction. For example, I plan to arrange the desks in small groups to facilitate working together as a classroom community and plan to rotate the groups around so that my students learn how to work together with all of their classmates. By having my students work together in groups and as a whole, I am promoting a sense of community and belongingness, showing my students that they are all important and valuable members of the classroom. The classroom climate is also important in creating a conducive environment for learning. Therefore, I will be sure to regularly communicate my caring and respect for my students as people. This can be done by greeting them at the door each morning with a warm smile or complimenting them. I also want to establish a goal-oriented environment for my students where they are motivated to master subject matters. While it is important that my students know I am in charge of the classroom, I also plan to give my students some control over class activities. This could be done by allowing my students to set their own deadlines for assignments or allow them to choose how they want to spend their class time after they have completed their work. Choices could be activities on the computer or reading a book from the class library. Overall, I want to create a loving and comfortable environment for my students that has organizational structure to it. I want my students to respect me as I will respect them as individuals. Most importantly, I want my students to constantly be engaged in productive, worthwhile activities.
Regarding my case study, I have come up with a full continuum of responses for how I would deal with Lisa. After noticing that Lisa's small group is having a hard time staying on task and completing projects and that Lisa is the catalyst for her group's problems, I would first go over with the entire class the proper behaviors that they should be exhibiting when working in groups with their peers to reinforce how cooperative small groups should work together so that I am not singling out Lisa. I would then remind them that if I see group members not cooperating with their group that they will put a mark by their name on the classroom behavior chart. If this reminder did not change the way Lisa acted in her small group, I would try putting Lisa in a different small group and monitor this group more than others to see if a change in scenery for Lisa would change her behavior, maybe the peers in her prior group just weren't the right fit for Lisa's personality. If this still did not change Lisa's behavior, I would then pull Lisa aside to discuss her misbehavior and also just talk with her to see if I can get to the root of the problem. I would also remind Lisa of how I expect for my students to behave in small groups. If this still did not work, I would then have a meeting with Lisa's parents to inform them of Lisa's behavior and find out if there might be a particular reason Lisa is acting this way. I might also ask the advice of another teacher in my grade level to see if they might have some ideas on how to handle this situation without identifying that the student I am referring to is Lisa. My last response if none of the above responses worked would be to involve either the guidance counselor or the principal. I would let them know of the different responses I have already tried out to fix the situation and then let them decide how this case should be handled.
Building A Classroom Community (click on link)
This link is a great article on how to build a classroom community. The article states the importance of classroom communities because students who feel a sense of identity in a group are known to be the most successful in school. Creating this classroom community is vital to establishing an environment conducive to learning and this article provides great steps on how to accomplish this task. This will be especially beneficial for me as a new teacher.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Motivational Theories
Learning about the different motivational theories has been really interesting this past week, especially when applying them to myself as both a student and a future teacher.
The first motivational theory that I find helpful is the Expectancy versus Value Theory. This theory is helpful to me because it explains why I expect a lot out of myself when it comes to school. This is due to the fact that I have always been successful at school throughout my academic career and because of this, I have built a high self efficacy. Therefore, it is easy for my expectancy of my performance to be higher than my peers. This is both good and bad for me. It is good because I expect that I will always perform on a high level in school. This expectancy pushes me to work hard and perform to the best of my ability. This expectancy is also bad because it makes me more vulnerable to feeling like a failure when I do not perform to the high ability that I expect myself to. In addition, I have also realized that value plays a role in my motivation. Value can be high or low due to importance, utility, interest, and cost. For example, my freshman year of college I struggled through the class Anthropology, even though I absolutely hated it, because it was a means to my desired goal of graduating and therefore it had the value of utility. This theory, as a whole, will affect my students because they are more likely to engage in a particular subject area or behavior if they have an expectancy of success while also finding value in the subject area or behavior. Value affects the choices my students will make which contributes to their effort and achievement due to their expectancy of success. As a teacher, it is my job to show my students that what they are learning in school has a high value while also building their expectancy of success at that particular subject.
The other motivational goal I found both instructive and helpful was the Goal Theory, especially in the area of learning goals and performance goals. As a whole, goals drive our motivation whether they are short-term or long-term. Goals give you something to work towards and accomplish and can possibly raise your sense of expectancy and value towards a specific behavior. Last week in class, we looked at learning goals and performance goals. Learning goals, known as mastery goals, are the desire to acquire additional knowledge or master a new skill. Performance goals are the desire to demonstrate high ability and make a good impression. Prior to last week's class, I was not aware of the distinction between different types of goals, goals were goals in my eyes. However, this theory is instructive and helpful in making a clear distinction between the two and the ways they affect one's motivation. This theory will affect my students' motivation in several ways. For instance, if my students set learning goals for themselves, they will have the motivation to engage in activities that will help them learn. This includes paying attention in class, learning from their mistakes, and realizing that learning involves trying hard and continuing to persevere even in the face of failure. In addition, my students will benefit from performance goals if they are combined with mastery goals. Performance goals by themselves can be less beneficial to my students' motivation. For example, as learners, students will exert only the minimum amount of effort to complete a task, may be tempted to cheat in order to get good grades, and prefer short, easy tasks. As a teacher, it is my role to pick-up on characteristics of this type of goal and use it to my benefit in order to motivate my students. For example, I can post the highest or best work on the bulletin board. This will increase my performance goal students to work hard to get their work on the board in order to look competent in the eyes of their peers. I can also remind my students of the importance of good grades for success. On the other hand for my learning goal oriented students, I can insist that they actually understand a subject matter rather than just simply memorize the material. I can also have my students make short-term concrete goals to increase their motivation to learn.
There are several other motivational goals but, these two types of goals are the ones that stuck out most to me and were the ones I was most able to relate to as both a student and a future educator. While researching about motivation in elementary children, I came across the website "KidsHealth" (click to view website). This article on "Motivating Kids to be Active", made an interesting connection between being physically active and motivation. It discusses the importance of kids being physically active and how this directly affects them being academically motivated, alert, and successful. In addition, physical activity can also build self-esteem, which plays a part in motivation to learn. I found this particularly interesting because as a teacher, I can create lessons that involve forms of physical activity in the classroom because when kids enjoy an activity, they are more likely to want to engage in it and do more activities like it. I think this article made a vital connection between living an active lifestyle and the benefits its brings not just physically, but cognitively and its application to motivation.
The first motivational theory that I find helpful is the Expectancy versus Value Theory. This theory is helpful to me because it explains why I expect a lot out of myself when it comes to school. This is due to the fact that I have always been successful at school throughout my academic career and because of this, I have built a high self efficacy. Therefore, it is easy for my expectancy of my performance to be higher than my peers. This is both good and bad for me. It is good because I expect that I will always perform on a high level in school. This expectancy pushes me to work hard and perform to the best of my ability. This expectancy is also bad because it makes me more vulnerable to feeling like a failure when I do not perform to the high ability that I expect myself to. In addition, I have also realized that value plays a role in my motivation. Value can be high or low due to importance, utility, interest, and cost. For example, my freshman year of college I struggled through the class Anthropology, even though I absolutely hated it, because it was a means to my desired goal of graduating and therefore it had the value of utility. This theory, as a whole, will affect my students because they are more likely to engage in a particular subject area or behavior if they have an expectancy of success while also finding value in the subject area or behavior. Value affects the choices my students will make which contributes to their effort and achievement due to their expectancy of success. As a teacher, it is my job to show my students that what they are learning in school has a high value while also building their expectancy of success at that particular subject.
The other motivational goal I found both instructive and helpful was the Goal Theory, especially in the area of learning goals and performance goals. As a whole, goals drive our motivation whether they are short-term or long-term. Goals give you something to work towards and accomplish and can possibly raise your sense of expectancy and value towards a specific behavior. Last week in class, we looked at learning goals and performance goals. Learning goals, known as mastery goals, are the desire to acquire additional knowledge or master a new skill. Performance goals are the desire to demonstrate high ability and make a good impression. Prior to last week's class, I was not aware of the distinction between different types of goals, goals were goals in my eyes. However, this theory is instructive and helpful in making a clear distinction between the two and the ways they affect one's motivation. This theory will affect my students' motivation in several ways. For instance, if my students set learning goals for themselves, they will have the motivation to engage in activities that will help them learn. This includes paying attention in class, learning from their mistakes, and realizing that learning involves trying hard and continuing to persevere even in the face of failure. In addition, my students will benefit from performance goals if they are combined with mastery goals. Performance goals by themselves can be less beneficial to my students' motivation. For example, as learners, students will exert only the minimum amount of effort to complete a task, may be tempted to cheat in order to get good grades, and prefer short, easy tasks. As a teacher, it is my role to pick-up on characteristics of this type of goal and use it to my benefit in order to motivate my students. For example, I can post the highest or best work on the bulletin board. This will increase my performance goal students to work hard to get their work on the board in order to look competent in the eyes of their peers. I can also remind my students of the importance of good grades for success. On the other hand for my learning goal oriented students, I can insist that they actually understand a subject matter rather than just simply memorize the material. I can also have my students make short-term concrete goals to increase their motivation to learn.
There are several other motivational goals but, these two types of goals are the ones that stuck out most to me and were the ones I was most able to relate to as both a student and a future educator. While researching about motivation in elementary children, I came across the website "KidsHealth" (click to view website). This article on "Motivating Kids to be Active", made an interesting connection between being physically active and motivation. It discusses the importance of kids being physically active and how this directly affects them being academically motivated, alert, and successful. In addition, physical activity can also build self-esteem, which plays a part in motivation to learn. I found this particularly interesting because as a teacher, I can create lessons that involve forms of physical activity in the classroom because when kids enjoy an activity, they are more likely to want to engage in it and do more activities like it. I think this article made a vital connection between living an active lifestyle and the benefits its brings not just physically, but cognitively and its application to motivation.
Monday, January 14, 2013
First Day of Class
During the first Educational Psychology 401 class, we discussed several things. We first go to know each other and listen to why each of us decided to go into teaching. This was a great part of class, because it was inspiring and uplifting to hear everyone's thoughts on what led them to go into teaching. In addition, we heard about what led the interpreting majors to pursue a career path of interpreting whether that included teaching or interpreting in the medical field. It was fascinating to hear about their reasons for going into this field and the expectations they have for themselves in this career. The overall feel of the class was comfortable and relaxed, which made it easy to express my opinions and openly have conversation with my peers.
My objectives for this course are to obtain a thorough and better understanding of educational psychology. I am looking forward to enhancing my knowledge on how/why students learn and develop throughout the educational process as they grown and mature into adults. I would also like to learn about the different behaviors that children portray and the reasons such behaviors exist in a learning environment.
My concerns for this class are being able to thoroughly understand the reading enough to demonstrate my knowledge on the subject matter in class, especially since each of the chapters in the book are pretty lengthy and loaded with informational material. In addition, I am also concerned class participation. I always make a conscious effort to participate in class discussions, but fear that sometimes I might not understand the concept well enough to discuss it and therefore won't receive participation points for that particular class. As a whole, I am looking forward to the experiences that this class will bring and the information it will provide me with that will foster my growth as a future educator.
My objectives for this course are to obtain a thorough and better understanding of educational psychology. I am looking forward to enhancing my knowledge on how/why students learn and develop throughout the educational process as they grown and mature into adults. I would also like to learn about the different behaviors that children portray and the reasons such behaviors exist in a learning environment.
My concerns for this class are being able to thoroughly understand the reading enough to demonstrate my knowledge on the subject matter in class, especially since each of the chapters in the book are pretty lengthy and loaded with informational material. In addition, I am also concerned class participation. I always make a conscious effort to participate in class discussions, but fear that sometimes I might not understand the concept well enough to discuss it and therefore won't receive participation points for that particular class. As a whole, I am looking forward to the experiences that this class will bring and the information it will provide me with that will foster my growth as a future educator.
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