Monday, July 12, 2010
Blogs in my classroom
After using this blog and discovering how very easy it is, I would love to try to incorporate it's use into my classroom. Apparently, there's something even better than a blog for elementary students and it's called a glog. Towards the end of the year, I saw a few students using a glog with our librarian (who is very technologically savy). I'm not sure how exactly it's different from a glog, but it's something I'll definitely look into for next year. I think it would be fun to use a glog to motivate students to do something that they normally don't like to do, like write about their reading. Maybe they could write book reviews and add pictures to their glog and then read and comment on other students' book reviews. That way they would be using technology, writing and reading. I'd love to research other forms of technology to use too.
Classroom Environments that Promote Motivation
Check out this Ron Clark video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odWYNnO5hy8
"It’s not like another school. It’s a different school because at my old school I couldn’t really concentrate on learning because the teacher was always yelling at somebody else but at thisschool everybody is on point and now I can learn things that I never learned at my old school."
-Rashad
"I love everything about this school especially the way the teachers work with you. They won’t just tell you do this one time. They work with you over and over again and make sure it sticks in your mind and make sure that you understand it and when you understand it then you can move on. They want you to succeed in what you do. "
-Dasia
When students say these kinds of things about school and teachers, you can bet that the school has a social context that motivates and engages students. Ron Clark's students have a lot of fun and they learn a lot, largely because of the classroom management techniques that Ron Clark uses. He mentions that he can be described as being strict and orderly, but that he also has a lot of fun. The reason why students are able to have so much fun is because Ron Clark has very strong discipline. Also, the songs that they sing stem from a clarity of purpose-they are used for learning and motivation. They also create successful experiences for students because the songs help them learn material faster. These songs are one of the ways that the teachers provide support for their students. Teachers want to engage students in ways that are innovative and exciting so that students will be more motivated to learn. Clarity of purpose, support from teachers, and successful experiences, are all essential for social bonding according to Alderman.
I’d like to end with a quote that sums up the power of social support, particularly, teacher support. Ron Clark told his staff, “Listen y’all. I feel that one of the students that we have here at the Ron Clark Academy is going to eventually become president of the United States of America. Now, I don’t know which one of the students it’s going to be so we best prepare all of them.”
This fundamental belief that students’ potential is limitless is imperative to creating a classroom environment that promotes social bonds, engagement and motivation. When teachers believe that their students can do anything, they create a social environment that is conducive to achievement. Students will work hard for teachers that believe in them. As teachers we can’t underestimate the power of what we believe our students can do and the classroom environment that we create to help students maximize their potential.
"It’s not like another school. It’s a different school because at my old school I couldn’t really concentrate on learning because the teacher was always yelling at somebody else but at thisschool everybody is on point and now I can learn things that I never learned at my old school."
-Rashad
"I love everything about this school especially the way the teachers work with you. They won’t just tell you do this one time. They work with you over and over again and make sure it sticks in your mind and make sure that you understand it and when you understand it then you can move on. They want you to succeed in what you do. "
-Dasia
When students say these kinds of things about school and teachers, you can bet that the school has a social context that motivates and engages students. Ron Clark's students have a lot of fun and they learn a lot, largely because of the classroom management techniques that Ron Clark uses. He mentions that he can be described as being strict and orderly, but that he also has a lot of fun. The reason why students are able to have so much fun is because Ron Clark has very strong discipline. Also, the songs that they sing stem from a clarity of purpose-they are used for learning and motivation. They also create successful experiences for students because the songs help them learn material faster. These songs are one of the ways that the teachers provide support for their students. Teachers want to engage students in ways that are innovative and exciting so that students will be more motivated to learn. Clarity of purpose, support from teachers, and successful experiences, are all essential for social bonding according to Alderman.
I’d like to end with a quote that sums up the power of social support, particularly, teacher support. Ron Clark told his staff, “Listen y’all. I feel that one of the students that we have here at the Ron Clark Academy is going to eventually become president of the United States of America. Now, I don’t know which one of the students it’s going to be so we best prepare all of them.”
This fundamental belief that students’ potential is limitless is imperative to creating a classroom environment that promotes social bonds, engagement and motivation. When teachers believe that their students can do anything, they create a social environment that is conducive to achievement. Students will work hard for teachers that believe in them. As teachers we can’t underestimate the power of what we believe our students can do and the classroom environment that we create to help students maximize their potential.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Teacher Expectations and Efficacy
I read chapter 6 accidentally this week, and I'm glad I did. Chapter 6 dealt with teacher expectations for student success and their efficacy (confidence in their ability to teach effectively). I'm really glad I read this chapter because expectations and efficacy are a passion of mine. As an inner-city public school teacher I often think about why so many students in the public education system are failing. I recently watched this trailer for a documentary coming out this fall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKGNmvhqxzs&feature=PlayList&p=0EBA8B7C80856B76&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=16
As the Geoffrey Canada pointed out, "Either the kids are getting stupider every year or something is wrong in the education system." Obviously, nothing is wrong with the students we have. So how do teachers work within a system that's plagued by low achievement, especially among poor, non-white students?
I believe that the expectations teachers have for their students and the teacher's confidence in their ability to help their students succeed is one of the biggest factors of student success. The reason I feel so strongly about these topics is because I've seen many students limited or empowered by the expectations that their teacher has for them.
As pointed out in the book, expectations can work really positively or really negatively, depending on how we use them. Expectations are bad when teachers expect less of certain students or don't push them to achieve at higher levels because they perceive that the student isn't capable. Expectations can be a good thing if a teacher notices that a student is not performing well and refuses to accept it.
Expectations are very powerful because they often define how students get treated in the classroom, and thus define how a student views themselves. When teachers do not believe that students are capable, they will ultimately give students less challenging work and accept poor performance. Students, in turn, don't try as hard because the bar is not set very high. They internalize the low expectations that their teacher has for them.
Students can only go as far as we push them. When they aren't even given the same opportunities that other high acheiveing students receive, then how can we expect them to move beyond where they are currently performing? Instead of simplifying the curriculum or withholding opportunities from our students because we think they can't handle them, we need to believe they can do it and give them ample opportunities to try-even if they don't speak English well. Even if they don't have a lot of support at home. Even if they're already 3 years behind grade level. High expectations mean that there are no excuses for why a student isn't achieving. The best teachers don't make excuses for why students aren't achieving, they reflect on their own teaching practices and find ways to meet their student's needs so that they can push them to the next level.
High teacher efficacy is foundational to providing high expectations for students. Teachers with high efficacy are confident that they have the tools to help their students succeed. They believe students are not "stuck" at their current level of performance, that intelligence is incremental and that all students can learn. In districts lacking material resources as well as sufficient teacher training and support, it can be hard to maintain a sense of confidence but if there is one thing to take away from this chapter it's this: don't give up too quickly. Don't give up on our ability to teach any student and don't give up on our students' abilities to go farther than we ever thought possible. If our students are not achieving. Try agian. Try something different. Ask colleauges for help, read research about effective teaching, watch videos of succesful teachers, take classes. Do anything, but don't give up. After all, we expect at least that much of our students.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKGNmvhqxzs&feature=PlayList&p=0EBA8B7C80856B76&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=16
As the Geoffrey Canada pointed out, "Either the kids are getting stupider every year or something is wrong in the education system." Obviously, nothing is wrong with the students we have. So how do teachers work within a system that's plagued by low achievement, especially among poor, non-white students?
I believe that the expectations teachers have for their students and the teacher's confidence in their ability to help their students succeed is one of the biggest factors of student success. The reason I feel so strongly about these topics is because I've seen many students limited or empowered by the expectations that their teacher has for them.
As pointed out in the book, expectations can work really positively or really negatively, depending on how we use them. Expectations are bad when teachers expect less of certain students or don't push them to achieve at higher levels because they perceive that the student isn't capable. Expectations can be a good thing if a teacher notices that a student is not performing well and refuses to accept it.
Expectations are very powerful because they often define how students get treated in the classroom, and thus define how a student views themselves. When teachers do not believe that students are capable, they will ultimately give students less challenging work and accept poor performance. Students, in turn, don't try as hard because the bar is not set very high. They internalize the low expectations that their teacher has for them.
Students can only go as far as we push them. When they aren't even given the same opportunities that other high acheiveing students receive, then how can we expect them to move beyond where they are currently performing? Instead of simplifying the curriculum or withholding opportunities from our students because we think they can't handle them, we need to believe they can do it and give them ample opportunities to try-even if they don't speak English well. Even if they don't have a lot of support at home. Even if they're already 3 years behind grade level. High expectations mean that there are no excuses for why a student isn't achieving. The best teachers don't make excuses for why students aren't achieving, they reflect on their own teaching practices and find ways to meet their student's needs so that they can push them to the next level.
High teacher efficacy is foundational to providing high expectations for students. Teachers with high efficacy are confident that they have the tools to help their students succeed. They believe students are not "stuck" at their current level of performance, that intelligence is incremental and that all students can learn. In districts lacking material resources as well as sufficient teacher training and support, it can be hard to maintain a sense of confidence but if there is one thing to take away from this chapter it's this: don't give up too quickly. Don't give up on our ability to teach any student and don't give up on our students' abilities to go farther than we ever thought possible. If our students are not achieving. Try agian. Try something different. Ask colleauges for help, read research about effective teaching, watch videos of succesful teachers, take classes. Do anything, but don't give up. After all, we expect at least that much of our students.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Possible Selves, Self-Regulation, and Volition
What do you want to be when you grow up? It's a question that we often ask young children. The responses to that question can vary greatly by race, class and gender. I've often struggled with the answers given by the inner-city students I teach. I've heard things like race-car driver, McDonald's cashier, dog catcher, or, even worse, "I don't know". My heart sinks when I hear those things because I look at their faces and I see untapped potential. What I hear from those responses is a lack of vision for what they can achieve and become in their lives. Their possible selves aren't developed.
Without possible selves, students lack motivation, self-regulation and volition which greatly affect their overall achievement. As teachers, we must give students a vision for their future when they don't have one. It all ties together with what we've been talking about all along. First, students must believe they can achieve, thus they must believe that their ability and their intelligence is incremental and can grow over time. The must attribute their successes to effort and the must have high-self efficacy before they can even begin to dream big about their possible selves.
Once students have a vision of the things they want to become, they can set goals for their learning and for their future. These goals are developed through volition, or, more simply put, perseverence. Volition is the ability to get rid of distractions and focus our attention to meeting our goals. Without it, many well-intentioned people fail.
Here are some really practical things I want to do to help my fourth grade students develop their possible selves and increase their volition. Most of these ideas were taken from Chapter 5 of Motivation for Achievement by M. Kay Alderman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=j8SHYjKuHxc&feature=related
Without possible selves, students lack motivation, self-regulation and volition which greatly affect their overall achievement. As teachers, we must give students a vision for their future when they don't have one. It all ties together with what we've been talking about all along. First, students must believe they can achieve, thus they must believe that their ability and their intelligence is incremental and can grow over time. The must attribute their successes to effort and the must have high-self efficacy before they can even begin to dream big about their possible selves.
Once students have a vision of the things they want to become, they can set goals for their learning and for their future. These goals are developed through volition, or, more simply put, perseverence. Volition is the ability to get rid of distractions and focus our attention to meeting our goals. Without it, many well-intentioned people fail.
Here are some really practical things I want to do to help my fourth grade students develop their possible selves and increase their volition. Most of these ideas were taken from Chapter 5 of Motivation for Achievement by M. Kay Alderman.
- Create a possible selves-tree with branches of possible selves relating to what they want to be in the future. Green leaves would be for things that they hope to become and red leaves for things that they're afraid to become. The trunk would symbolize all of the tools we have to become our possible selves such as working hard in school, persevering when things get tough, asking for help when we need it, focusing on our goals, etc.
- Define successful, positive role-models and read about what they did to accomplish their goals.
- Invite successful people, with similar backgrounds of the student to come in and talk about their careers and how doing well in school, persevering and working hard helped them accomplish their goals.
- Ask students to list the things that are holding them back from achieving their goals and ask them to think of ways they can overcome those barriers.
- Give students a planner so they can write down assignments and help them make a plan about when and where they will get their homework done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=j8SHYjKuHxc&feature=related
Friday, June 25, 2010
Self-Efficacy
I've always hated team sports. Why? I'm just not good at them. As a kid, I was the one picked last for the team. I could feel my anxiety level rise every time I had to go to gym. I'd try to be as inconspicuous as possible in the game, hoping, praying, that the ball wouldn't come anywhere near me. I spent so much time worrying about playing the sport that I didn't have any opportunity to actually get better.
Self-efficacy is a belief one has in their capabilities to accomplish a certain task. It serves as a strong predictor of success, regardless of the skills one has. Clearly, I did not believe that I was very good at sports. Because of that, I worried a lot while playing and generally avoided any situation where I would be stuck playing a sport. In essence, I set myself up for failure. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It's amazing that our beliefs about our abilities can be so powerful. It makes me wonder what I've done in my classroom to help students overcome low self-efficacy issues. Once a student feels like they aren't good at something and that they can't do anything to change it can sometimes feel like pulling them out of quicksand. I had a student that had very low self-efficacy. He was always moping around saying how stupid he was and how he couldn't do anything. It seemed like no matter what I said about how smart he was, he wouldn't believe me.
One of the only ways I was able to reach him, was by pointing out his successes. I would graph is reading growth over time or I would show him how he succesfully completed a math problem. He was very performance goal oriented, so if I did not show him what his strengths were and how he was growing, then he would always find a reason that he wasn't as good as his peers. Every now and then I would see smile of pride spread across his face when I said, "Wow, you grew another level in your reading!" Completing these tasks successfully was a very important part of raising his self-efficacy as well as helping him see that his intelligence was incremental.
I love how this chapter gave me more ideas about how I could help students like Jose. I love the idea of having peer coping models so that everyone has the chance to think of themselves as a "teacher" and students who have more difficulty feel like learning is within their reach. I also like the idea of allowing students to take their tests over because it emphasizes a learning goal orientation and enforces the idea that intelligence is incremental.
Self-efficacy is a belief one has in their capabilities to accomplish a certain task. It serves as a strong predictor of success, regardless of the skills one has. Clearly, I did not believe that I was very good at sports. Because of that, I worried a lot while playing and generally avoided any situation where I would be stuck playing a sport. In essence, I set myself up for failure. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It's amazing that our beliefs about our abilities can be so powerful. It makes me wonder what I've done in my classroom to help students overcome low self-efficacy issues. Once a student feels like they aren't good at something and that they can't do anything to change it can sometimes feel like pulling them out of quicksand. I had a student that had very low self-efficacy. He was always moping around saying how stupid he was and how he couldn't do anything. It seemed like no matter what I said about how smart he was, he wouldn't believe me.
One of the only ways I was able to reach him, was by pointing out his successes. I would graph is reading growth over time or I would show him how he succesfully completed a math problem. He was very performance goal oriented, so if I did not show him what his strengths were and how he was growing, then he would always find a reason that he wasn't as good as his peers. Every now and then I would see smile of pride spread across his face when I said, "Wow, you grew another level in your reading!" Completing these tasks successfully was a very important part of raising his self-efficacy as well as helping him see that his intelligence was incremental.
I love how this chapter gave me more ideas about how I could help students like Jose. I love the idea of having peer coping models so that everyone has the chance to think of themselves as a "teacher" and students who have more difficulty feel like learning is within their reach. I also like the idea of allowing students to take their tests over because it emphasizes a learning goal orientation and enforces the idea that intelligence is incremental.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Attribution Theory
An attribution is a reason someone gives for why an event turned out a certain way. The most frequent sources of attribution are ability and effort, but can also include task difficulty, luck, or strategies. Our goal as educators is to help students attribute success to effort. We also want students to believe that ability is something that can be learned. In other words, it's not a stable or consistent factor. When a student feels like their doomed to fail because they have a history of failure, they start to attribute their lack of success to lack of ability as a stable and internal factor. They feel like no matter what they do they're always going to fail and they simply give up. This is called learned helplessness. So what can be done to make sure that students don't attribute their successes and failures to ability as a factor outside of their control? How can we, as educators, inspire students to put forth the effort necessary to experience success?
Here are a few suggestions (some are my own, but most are taken or adapted from Motivation for Achievement by M. Kay Alderman, Chapter 2):
Here are a few suggestions (some are my own, but most are taken or adapted from Motivation for Achievement by M. Kay Alderman, Chapter 2):
- Believe that every student is able and let them know you have high expectations for their learning.
- Teach students how to ask for help when they need it through modeling and role play.
- Let students know that asking for help is not a sign of weakness by praising students for asking questions and seeking help when they need it.
- Give students strategies for learning that will result in success. Then, point out when using those strategies contributed to success.
- Make comments attributing students' successes and failures to effort rather than ability.
For example, when a students does well you may say, "I can tell you really studied for this test. You improved 10 point since the last one." Or, if a students doesn't do well you may say, "You could have gotten a much better score if you would have shown your work or checked your answers." - Discourage students from comparing themselves to their peers. Try giving them a chart to graph the progress they've made in reading or math so that the focus is on improving rather than outperforming peers.
- Create a rubric that defines what effort looks like. Have students rate themselves according to how much effort they put forth for a specific task. Then, have students correlate the amount of effort they put with a chart showing their improvements. Point out specific areas where students put forth a lot of effort and scored well.
- Utilize heterogeneous grouping so students don't get pegged into the "low" group.
- Help students process a good or bad score. If they did poorly, ask them what they could do to improve their score. If they did well, ask them what they did that helped them get a good grade.
Friday, June 11, 2010
A blog?!
This is my first attempt ever at creating a blog. As a fulfillment of my human motivation class, I've set this up and hope to post throughout the semester on topics related to motivating my students. I hope to surprise myself with how much I can learn and do on this blog. The ultimate goal is to try this out so that I can somehow use a blog, among other forms of technology, with my students. I really think they would have a lot of fun with something like this and I hope I do too.
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