Week
six consisted of three articles and a video that discussed both motivation and
classroom management techniques. The articles were (37) The Perils and Promises of Praise by Carol S. Dweck, (41) Middle School Students Talk about Social
Forces in the Classroom by Kathleen Cushman and Laura Rogers, and (43) From
Ringmaster to Conductor: 10 Simple Techniques Can Turn an Unruly Class into a
Productive One by Matthew A. Kraft. The video was titled Motivation and
Emotion and was produced in the Discovering Psychology series.
Article
(37) discusses the effects that praise has on motivation. There are two main
views of intelligence that this article focuses on, fixed intelligence and
developed intelligence. In education we must stress the latter. Those that view
intelligence as a trait that can be developed and improved are more often to
exhibit traits associated with success in both school and life. On the other
hand those that viewed their intelligence as fixed “become excessively
concerned with how smart they are, seeking tasks that will prove their
intelligence and avoiding ones that might take a back seat” (Dweck, 1999,
2006). Students with a fixed mindset will often seek out activities that they
know they will succeed in and avoid challenges in fear of failure. Students
with a growth mindset will take more risks in the hopes of learning more. The
main difference between these two types of students in their view of effort.
Effort is seen as a positive attribute in the developed intelligence students,
whereas it is seen as a negative thing to students with a fixed intelligence
perspective. In order to deal with these types of students and create a
developed intelligence view in your classroom, one should praise effort as
opposed to intelligence. For example a teacher should proclaim, “I really enjoy
how hard you are working on the problem.” As opposed to saying how smart a
student is for completing a task. If we, as educators, are able to convey the
fact that intelligence is learned we will see a greater effort out of our
students and it starts with praising effort.
Article
(41) looks at the perspectives middle school students have about their
education and time spent at school. There are many factors (social, emotional,
sense of belonging, etc.) that help determine how a student will act in school.
This article stresses the importance of relating to your students and knowing
the many internal and external factors that will shape a student’s behavior. In
this article students are interviewed and quoted. Their answers are sometimes
entertaining, informative, and sad. It offers a perspectives that easy to
overlook. Of the 42 students interviewed there were many common themes that
resonated that teachers should be aware of.
1. Social
factors often dominate behavior. Students do not want to act too well and be
labeled as a “goody-goody”. They are also hyper-sensitive when it comes to the
opposite sex at this age. Teachers should be aware of these notions and do
their best to accommodate the students concerns.
2. Being
different hurts. Students easily notice the differences that exist in the
classroom, whether it is race, intelligence, personal hygiene, etc. teachers
need to emphasize acceptance in the classroom and be willing to offer help to
students struggling to fit in.
3. Students
need to find a common ground with other students. Teachers should try their
best to encourage group activities, take interest inventories, and play ice
breakers to get students off on the right foot. School is much more enjoyable
when it is spend with people you enjoy spending company with
4. Teachers
must treat the students fairly and have clear cut rules to avoid any
misinterpretation of what is fair and what is not fair.
5. Students
want and need to be part of the conversation. Students need a voice in the
classroom. It is our job to give those students that voice. Some ideas would be
to have the class make their own set of rules that that can police themselves.
Another example would be to choose projects that students have interests in.
make school relatable to their own lives.
6. Students
want to be treated with the same respect. Do no give attention only to those
acting out and refuse to play favorites. Students are very sensitive to whom the
teachers favor and teachers should try to avoid that behavior.
7. Teachers
should guard a student’s right to a fair decision. Teachers should talk openly
with students about issues of bias. Students will often think you are letting
the kids that misbehave get away with things, or be treating one race different
that another. These situations should be nipped in the bud with open
communication.
8. Hold
up the norms that were agreed upon. Establish clear cut rules and remain
consistent. Avoid subjective situations and do not make so many rules that they
are hard to follow.
9. Students
want to be rewarded with things they like.
10. Help
students learn from mistakes. Do not embarrass students in front of everyone.
Try to pull students aside and have them learn from their mistakes.
11. Students
need supervision. Students like knowing they are safe and want teachers around.
Teachers should try their best to make themselves available to the students
If teachers can uphold these 11
underlying themes they will be taking a major step in ensuring a safe and
healthy learning environment.
Article
(43) discusses ten techniques to help teachers with an unruly class. There are
two major areas of focus when dealing with a class with issues, classroom
management and behavior management. There are five tips for each.
Classroom Management
1. What
you teach. Make your curriculum as interesting as possible. Relate the content
to your audience.
2. Nonnegotiable
rules. Instead of creating many rules that are hard to police, have a set of
non-negotiable rules that are always clear and specific.
3. Clear
expectations. Establish classroom protocol and always make it clear what you
expect of the students.
4. Managing
transitions. Eliminate down time with bell ringer activities for when the
students enter the room. I tend to have a trivia question of the day in my
health classes and have stations set up in my P.E. classes.
5. Getting
attention. Do not yell over the students. Rather you should set some sort of
attention grabber to begin class such as a bell or turning off the lights. Only
raise your voice when needed so your voice remains strong.
Behavior Management
1. Behavior
modification systems. Have a clear cut system in place for behavior issues. One
technique I began last year was a restorative justice approach where I sat down
two or more students involved with the problem and had them discuss. Most of
the time they came up with their own punishments and was much more effective
than me giving a typical punishment.
2. Avoiding
public confrontations. Do not single out students in public. Use eye contact or
body language to help get students back on task.
3. Private
conversations. If a student is a constant disruption, pull them aside and have
a conversation to see what the problem is. Many times it can be something
outside of the classroom that is eating at them.
4. Overcome
the discipline myth. Tell the students that you are not there to be a
disciplinarian. You are there to teach lessons, and the worst part of your job
is yelling at students. Try to relate to them and their behavior will fall in
line.
5. Communication
about moods. Have an open communication with your students. Make it a two way
street where students can convey their feelings towards you and you towards
them.
These ten rules will help any
teacher, of any level, not matter how rookie or veteran they are.
The video,
Motivation and Emotion by Discovering Psychology, discussed the relationship between
motivation (why we do things) and emotion (how we feel about them). Motivation
are often related but considered separate things. Emotion often is involved in
what motivates us to do things. People are motivated by many sources.
Motivation can be self-oriented, social, sexual, environmental, etc. Motivation
is linked to movement. Our motivation is what causes us to do what we do. Our
motivation and emotion culminate into two outlooks on life, optimism and
pessimism. Optimism is the thought that when negative things occur it is a
one-time thing or they are bound to turn around, whereas pessimism is
hopelessness where one blames themselves for the things that go awry.
We can learn a
lot from motivation. As educators we have a job to not only motivate ourselves,
but the hundreds of students we encounter each year. Finding your own personal
motivation will go an extremely long way to having a successful life.
Motivation is what makes us tick, and knowing that I can make a difference in a
student’s life by offering them a type of motivation is just one of the many
reasons I love my job.
References
Cauley K. M., Pannozzo G.M. Annual Editions: Educational Psychology
12/13. New York: McGraw-Hill
Dweck, C. S. (2007). The perils and
promises of praise. Educational Leadership,
October. pp 34-39.
Cushman, K., Rogers, L. (2008).
Middle school students talk about social forces in the classroom. Middle
School Journal, 39(3). pp. 14-24.
Kraft, M. A. (2010). From
ringmaster to conductor. Phi Delta Kappan,
April. pp. 44-47.
