Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Ch 13/ CSEL

When I think of creating a learning environment conducive to learning I think of a class room that is open with communication. My favorite classes were the ones I could talk to the teacher and not be worried I was wrong. Students should feel comfortable talking to one another and with me. Classes should be organized with labels where everything goes such as homework and assignments. I found some websites online but I couldn't get the pictures to work but the class and teacher came up with a list of 8 rules that the class would abide by. After they wrote out the rules everyone agreed and signed the bottom and they hung that up in the room. I really liked that idea. They get a say of what behavior should be like in the classroom. On that note I'll talk about the CSEL.

When dealing with the case study I would try to talk to the group as a whole without trying to single out Lisa in front of the other students. I think maybe the circles where the students talk would help this group. There seems to be problems with how they work together. If there is a break in the day or time to talk to Lisa, I would try to talk to her and see what is bothering her. She is having difficulty working with a group I need to try to understand why. I want to let her know I understand getting frustrated but not try to blame her for causing difficulty. Also with that she and the group need to learn that we don't always get our way and have to do things we don't always like but it is part of responsibility and growing up. They can work together and practice problem solving.

I wasn't sure what to do if Lisa still refuses to work with the group so I went to google. I found an article that provides dialogue and advice on how to work with kids that aren't wanting to work with the teacher or group. Here is the link but I added the main portion of the article.

http://www.sheknows.com/how-to/articles/5992/how-to-handle-a-stubborn-kid

Don't set yourself up to lose
Let's work backwards on this. We will study a situation in which a teacher creates a minor disaster in her classroom. Her attempts to control a situation result in a "blowout" by the student, creating a need for other professionals to be involved. Then we will look at how this could have been avoided in the first place. Once we have done this, we will take a look at the use of this technique in our own homes with our own children:
Teacher: (speaking from across the room.) "Jessie, why are you moving your chair? You don't need to do that. Move it back where it was!"
Jessie: "Brittany is going to help me."
Teacher: "You don't need her help. Now move your chair back where it was!"
Jessie: "But I need help on this."
Teacher: "Move that chair, or you're going to get sent to the recovery room."
Jessie: "I don't have to. You can't tell me what to do. You're not my mother!"
At this point the situation deteriorated. Jessie was ordered to leave the room. She refused, and was threatened with disciplinary action. Hearing this, she ran screaming out of the room and other professionals were drawn into the situation.

A "nobody loses" approach

Here is another approach to the very same situation. No battle line is drawn. Regardless of how the child reacts, she is actually obeying the adult's request. Both the dignity of the adult and the dignity of the child can be maintained. Disciplinary action to help Jessie learn the wisdom of cooperating with the teacher can be provided at a later time if necessary:
Teacher: (walking up the student and whispering.) "Jessie. I need you to move your chair back. Would you consider doing that for me? Thank you." (The word, "consider," takes away any threat and eliminates the opportunity for Jessie to be defiant.)
Jessie: "But I want Brittany to help me."
Teacher: (still whispering.) "I'm sure that's true, and I'd like you to consider moving."
Jessie: "No. I don't have to."
Teacher: (still whispering.) "Thanks for considering it. Do you really think that it's wise to refuse when I ask in a nice way? Personally I don't think that's a wise decision. We'll talk about that later." (The teacher walks away and Jessie remains where she is provided she does not create a disturbance.)
Since Jessie was not ordered to move, she has already complied with the teacher's request. She was not told to move, only to consider moving. Nobody has lost a battle at this point. The other students are not aware of the problem and the teacher's authority has not been challenged in front of the group. Jessie's teacher now has the time to muster her forces and figure out how to deal with Jessie's lack of cooperation. If discipline is necessary it can be done in private.

The teacher added some character education into this confrontation and the situation never got out of hand. 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Motivation

The theories of motivation that were most helpful for me were the extrinsic/intrinsic motivation and goal theory. I feel like I learn and am more motivated by rewards and my interests in the material. If I like the subject or assignment then I put more effort into it. Also if I am competing or working towards a prize I will work harder. I think kids will be motivated the same way. If the student or class sets a goal then the motivation will follow. The homework passes work as motivation for better grades or a class pizza party if everyone makes the goal. I also think reinforcement is a great motivator. Reinforcement needs to come after a specific behavior like staying on task and it needs to be at random. Reinforcement can be stickers, pencils, candy or any treat that will motivate the kids.

I found a video on youtube that I thought was a great motivator for the individual kids along with the whole class. It is about 4 minutes long but worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHVUSizMa0

The teacher is helping the students prepare for standardized testing coming up. This is a stressful time for teachers and students. She uses their review packet to make a game for the kids. The kids are motivated to find the right answers so their team can win the prize. The students rely on each other to be right and together they earn points. Each child enjoys getting theit time at the board and can show the class what they know. If they get the answer wrong they get to see how they missed it and fix their error. The competition motivates them but also helps them review in a less atressful way.  

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

PLE #1


When I think of assessment these pictures sum up my thoughts. A goal for me this semester is to learn more about assessment and see what the kids know without stressing them out about standardized tests. I also want to explore classroo management more.  It is overwhelming to think about my own classroom but I think educational psych will help with that. I am concerned about the CSEL but I think it will make more sense as the semester moves along.