Learning Notes

One concern I have about managing the learning environment is having to deal with bullying in the classroom.  From what I have studied so far in the Teach-Now program, it is possible that one day I will have a situation where I am unaware that it is occurring and a student is afraid to inform me of the situation.  In order to minimize the likelihood of this occurring, I will attempt to creative a positive and open environment in at least two way.  For one, I will consider the physical environment and place posters which serve to remind all of the students that bullying is not acceptable and that coming forward to me is the best thing victims can do.  The other strategy I will employ is to get feedback from students about how the class is going for them so I can support their social and emotional needs.

Another concern is that there will be times when the class is simply out of control and I am not able to get it back in order without calling for assistance.  This was presented to me a few times in the Tough Young Teachers videos I viewed and the fear has stuck with me.  To deal with this, however, I think I will take a preventative measure by first of all employing withitness to the best of my ability.  Another strategy I can try to use is to greet the students at the door each day before having them sit down.  I think this is a good way to personalize the class.  In other words, if the students see me more as a person who knows their name and things about them, they might be less likely to disrupt class.

A third concern I have is not being able to calm down a single student who is out of control.  This is a fear because personally I do not like physical confrontation and do not want to be put in a position that requires it.  However, from what I have learned in this module I have ideas about how to handle this, if it were to occur.  For example, I will avoid a competitive power struggle with the student and try to calm them down by repeating what they need to do (e.g., “You need to sit down”).  Overall, I have to remember not to take it personally and reintegrate the student back into the classroom, when appropriate.

In conclusion, there will be elements of the classroom which I lose control of from time to time, but using the strategies in module four of the Teach-Now program should help me to mitigate them.  I also think by engaging in some professional development activities such as registering for online webinars, or attending teaching workshops near where I teach, I can continue to build up a good supply of knowledge for managing the classroom, even if the concerns and fears continue to linger in the back of my mind.

The following blog entry serves as an annotation for and commentary on this video for managing ADHD in the classroom.

Teacher Strategies with Analysis of Effectiveness

• 2:50 : Every day James starts class with a Do Now activity which he keeps on PowerPoint so not to waste time writing on the board. He also keeps it up there to hold students’ attention.  For example, this time he has students write about what a legend is. This is quite effective because it does not take away from valuable class time and it does not provide any extra distractions for the students.  A way to improve this strategy would be to provide the students with clear instructions of precisely what they are to do in addition to projecting it on the board.
• 4:20 : When transitioning between activities, James tells students “we’re going to start now” while the other teaching assistants pass out materials.  This is not so effective for ADHD students because they have multiple pieces of information to remember like what materials they need and where to put homework.  A more effective way to handle transitions would be to keep checklists on the students desks so they can keep track of the steps involved at their own pace.
• 6:30 : In this scene, a student comes in late and needs to get back on track. He speaks to her softly and praises what she has accomplished so far. As the mentor said, there was not much more he could have done so I believe his approach of being kind and agreeable is very effective.
• 8:50 : James uses both verbal and written cues when giving instructions by not only having the instructions projected on the wall, but by verbally indicating his precise expectations of the class.  This gives foresight into what the lesson will actually be about and is much more effective than his original Do Now strategy from the beginning of the video.
• 9:20 : James now uses a timer to place some pressure on the students to finish on time.  He says you cannot just leave a timer up there without making it competitive, so his choice to implement gamification is an effective way of applying the right amount of pressure to keep the students on track.

Mentor and Teacher Relationship Analysis and Examples

Overall, I think that the relationship between the teacher James and the mentor was very cordial and honest.  For example, in their meeting she immediately praises him for his Do Now activity where he projected a PowerPoint directive on the wall, but she also was not afraid to provide constructive criticism and tell him he needs to make his expectations more clear to avoid confusion.  Another example of their positive relationship was when she recommends that his students place checklists on their desks to improve transitions.  In response to this, James agreed that this was something he needs to improve on and was open to advice.

There was one point, however, where I felt James began to push back a bit.  This occurred when the mentor recommended that he place a timer on the wall for all the students to see when completing a project.  James felt that he had already tried this and really did not want to place additional pressure on the students, but the mentor again asserted that it would be helpful and finding the right amount of pressure to get students’ adrenaline pumping would help them finish projects on time.  Ultimately, he took her advice and was pleased with the results.

These examples show me that although the mentor was brought in to give constructive criticism, James had a certain humility about him which made it clear this was not so much about him but about improving the conditions for the students.  The fact that he accepted and implemented the mentor’s strategies shows a teacher who is willing to keep growing.  Additionally, when James pushed back a bit with his own opinions, the mentor listened very carefully and did not attempt to tell him he was wrong, but rather, continued to assert her expert opinion.

Recommendations for Teacher Based on Previously Learned Material in this Module

If I were the mentor to James there are a few other suggestions I might give him based on what I have learned so far in the Teach-Now program.  These would have to do with improving his transitions as well as his overall approach to presenting information to the class.

First, with regard to transitions, I would suggest that he try to use a Word of the Day strategy, as was discussed in Unit 4 of the program.  James is an English teacher and the option to teach new vocabulary would be relevant, but more importantly, the consistency throughout the day of using the same word would be helpful to students with ADHD.  As the mentor explained, there are many components involved in transitions that students have trouble focusing on, so being able to expect a certain key word would help reduce the anxiety these students may feel.

Another piece of advice for him would be to more fully implement the Gradual Release of Responsibility method in his classes.  When viewing him I noticed that he tends to present and explain an activity, and then tell his students to get started.  In addition to what the mentor mentioned about providing explicit expectations, I would ask him to try the process of first demonstrating the activity himself, doing it together with his students, having them try it in groups, and finally setting them free to attempt it on their own.  Overall, what James should add to his teaching style is more scaffolding so that students are not overwhelmed by the task at hand.

Strategies from Video I Will Use with Explanations

After watching this video, I think there are some strategies which I may be able to try out in a secondary ESL classroom some day.  Although I found all of the advice to be generally insightful, I was particularly interested in the use of a timer on the wall and the advice James received about using verbal and written cues when presenting activities.

Transitions are an integral part to an ESL classroom in that we are often going between speaking, writing, listening, and reading exercises.  Often, however, as some of my students are not able to comprehend my directions, the transitions take a long time for everyone to be on the same page.  If I were to pass out a transition checklist to each student at the start of the school year, I think they would be able to keep it on their desks for reference.  For example, I might even add some phrases in the students’ native languages so that they can understand what is expected of them (e.g., close books and take out a sheet of paper).  After a few weeks I expect that transitions would be more fluid.

Additionally, the combined use of verbal and written cues is something I should make more of an effort to have before activities.  Although I always rely on the Gradual Release of Responsibility method, I do not always have written instructions available for the students to see.  In my case, I am working with students who have different linguistic strengths and weaknesses.  Some students might have stronger listening skills whereas another might be stronger readers.  I hope that when I start teaching I will have a smart board (or some other technology) where I can easily project instructions while I explain. As James correctly states, this is a great way to give students some foresight into the upcoming activity.

A large part of classroom management is knowing when and how to give either positive or negative reinforcement for desired and undesired student behaviors.  This blog entry serves as a reflection upon this issue as discussed in The Art and Science of Teaching by Robert J. Marzano and attempts to provide appropriate examples of how to apply rules and procedures in the classroom.  Although the following is applicable to grades K-12, I will focus my examples on the secondary level as that is what I plan on teaching.

Positive Reinforcement for Following Rules and Procedures

According to Marzano (2007), there are some common and effective ways to apply positive reinforcement in the classroom.  One is to simply use verbal and nonverbal recognition.  For example, verbal recognition might include a teacher expressing to a student that he or she did a good job, or recounting good behavior in detail.  To do the latter, a teacher might explain to a class that it was appreciated that they came in quietly, sat down, and began to work after they had indeed done so.  Nonverbal recognition, however, might simply include nods or smiles to indicate satisfaction.

Another form of recognition is tangible recognition, and this includes the use of a token economy within the classroom.  For instance, students might be able to collect points when they follow directions which would eventually lead to a reward, such as extended iPad time.  Tangible recognition might also include the use of a daily form where if expectations are met, points are written down.  This would serve as a physical reminder to students of how they have improved.  Finally, a third method might involve the use of color coded cards that a teacher places on the desk to indicate the student is behaving or not.  The benefit of this is that improvement can be reinforced in front of their eyes (e.g., replacing a brown card with a green one to indicate a job well done).

A third form of positive reinforcement would be to include the student’s home in various ways.  For instance, a teacher could call or send emails to the parents to recognize good behavior on a particular day.  Additionally, a teacher might even consider creating certificates to print out and send home with students to indicate how well they have done.

Example:

Let us consider an imaginary student named Logan who has begun to show improvement following the classroom rules and procedures regarding entering the classroom quietly and sitting at his own desk.  In this example, positive reinforcement is applied in a progressively strong manner to emphasize teacher satisfaction.

In the beginning of the year, Logan would enter the classroom loudly and either refuse to sit down or sit at a peer’s desk.  One day Logan enters quietly but does not sit at his own desk.  In recognition of his entering quietly, the teacher privately thanks him for this and presents him with a form where he can receive points for continued proper behavior.  Over the course of a few weeks Logan eventually reaches the stage where he has followed the rules and procedures for five days in a row amassing enough points for a reward (e.g., additional computer time).  In the evening after school the teacher calls Logan’s house to recognize his vast improvement.

Negative Reinforcement for Not Following Rules and Procedures

Marzano (2007) also discusses ways to apply negative reinforcement for not following rules and procedures in the classroom.  One obvious way is to be proactive in trying to be aware of events outside of the classroom which might be causing students to act out in class.  Another way to be a proactive teacher might be to give students private signals (e.g., lightly tap on their desk) to indicate that their behavior is becoming unacceptable without having to disrupt the class.

One more negative reinforcement strategy is to exercise withitness by occupying the entire classroom.  What this means, for example, is a teacher not remaining stationary but walking around the whole room in order to keep an eye on each student.  The benefit of this is that the teacher is able to notice potential problems before they escalate into something more serious.  Additionally, teachers might consider using graduated actions as they occupy the classroom such such as first looking at a student, then moving towards him or her, and finally having to stop class to address the issue.

In the case that the previous strategies were ineffective, a teacher might consider applying direct-cost consequences such as timeouts, or even overcorrection (e.g., having a student push in everyone’s chairs if they refused to do their own).  These strategies are intended to emphasize that students can lose access to privileges they have if they do not follow the rules and behavior, but if they do not work it might be time implement group contingency.

Group contingency might look like a teaching holding the entire class responsible for the poor decisions of a single or few students.  When considering this, there are two options which include interdependent and dependent contingencies.  The former depends on the success of the entire class in attempting a rule or procedure whereas the latter is essentially peer pressure from the majority of the classroom to accomplish some behavior.  As this can be quite intense on students, this sort of dependent peer pressure is often reserved for extreme cases of misbehavior.

Finally, if all strategies have not worked well, it is likely time to bring the student’s parents or guardians into the situation.  When home contingency comes into play, it is a good idea to not simply speak with the parents, but to also draw up a program or behavior contract where all members (including the teacher) can sign and be held accountable for.  While this is quite intense for the student, there are times where even this is not useful.  As such, teachers should have a mental plan prepared for dealing with students who are out of control and possibly dangerous.  Doing so should focus on calming the student down until help can arrive.

Example:

Let us once again consider the imaginary student named Logan who continues to talk and look at his cell phone in class.  In this example, negative reinforcement is applied in a progressively strong manner to emphasize teacher dissatisfaction.

In the beginning of the year, from time to time Logan speaks to the person next to him as well as plays around behind the teacher’s back in various ways such as poking his classmates.  The teacher notices this and decides it is time to occupy the whole room by walking around and keeping an eye on Logan to make him understand she is aware of his actions.  The next day Logan continues the same behavior so the teacher exercises graduated actions by first looking at him, then eventually moving towards him, and eventually having to stop the class to draw attention to his misbehavior.

For a few days this has worked and Logan is generally cooperative until the next week when he starts talking in class again and even takes out his cell phone when the teacher is writing on the board.  The teacher notices this and applies the direct-cost consequences of holding his cell phone at her desk as well as removing his privilege to use the computer during free time.  Logan does not like this and complains, which results in the teacher implementing interdependent group contingency.  To not single him out, however, the teacher says that computer-use will only be allowed if all students are able to make it through the day without talking out of turn.

Logan understands this is likely because of him and completes the day successfully, but when he comes into school the next day he purposefully talks even more out of turn and begins to play a game on his phone out of spite.  The teacher now has reached the point where weeks of applied strategies have failed and decides it is time to contact the parents.  That afternoon when they all meet, the teacher, Logan, and the parents draw a up behavior contract which they all sign.  In this contract are explicit promises to follow the rules as well as consequences for misbehavior.  Additionally, the consequences extend outside of school to Logan’s home as well now.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a behavior reinforcement plan will allow teachers to both reward and reprimand students in a systematic and clear manner.  The following is a simple flowchart which illustrates the steps a teacher can take in the classroom:

Marzano, R. J. (2010). The art and science of teaching: A comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

The following entry contains my observations of the six new teachers featured in the reality TV program Tough Young Teachers over their first term.  As I watched the first two episodes, I took detailed notes on rules and procedures, student organization, activities, interactions, misbehavior, withitness (i.e., classroom awareness) along with generally positive and negative strategies employed.

The teachers include Charles (English), Chloe (geography), and Meryl (English) at Lanfranc, Claudenia (science) and Oliver (business) at Crown Woods, and Nicholas (math) at Harefield.

Rules and Procedures

Are they in the classroom?

How are they applied?

What is the impact on student behavior?

Charles’ classroom did not have any visible rules and procedures posted on the walls, but instead his method was to tell the students what he wanted them to do as the issues occurred.  For example, on the first day he had a seating chart on a projector and asked the students to find their desks.  The impact of this was that most students did so, but it also gave others the freedom to freely walk around in an unstructured manner.  Another norm in his classroom is having students copy their homework assignment word for word from the board.  In general, it appeared as if Charles would remind the students of this on a daily basis, but to his frustration some would not listen and resisted the procedure.

Chloe would make it a point to meet her students at the door and have them enter one at a time quietly.  I could not notice any written rules and procedures on the walls, but in the videos she would often remind them not speak during her lecture, and to sit down at all appropriate times as well.  Overall, her verbal reminders seemed to be effective as she spoke with a certain authority in her voice.  However, there were a few times when the students spoke over her and she lamented the wasted learning time.

Meryl herself was late on the first day and did not have a seating chart.  She then led them into the classroom and spent a long time attempting to find where they all were to sit.  Once class was able to begin, she projected her rules and procedures (e.g., quietly wait outside before class begins) on the wall.  Another norm she often verbally reminded students of was to be quiet and push in their chairs before exiting the classroom.  Overall, I did not notice any fixed postings of rules or procedures in the classroom, and as such Meryl had to frequently remind students of what she expected, often in a state of frustration.

Oliver had the students’ names placed on their desks for them to find their own way.  As this was the first day, students had some confusion, but ultimately were able to sit down successfully.  I was not able to notice any rules or procedures written on the walls, but a norm in his classroom is to play classical music as they enter, and to subsequently teach them a new quote each day from a famous person.  Overall, the students tended to respond somewhere between interested and apathetic, but finding seats and sitting down in general does not appear to be one of Oliver’s main problems with misbehavior.

Claudenia’s classroom did not have any visible rules or procedures written on the wall, but she made a point to often remind the students not to speak over her, sit down, take off their jackets, and of course pay attention.  In general, her approach as well was to apply verbal reminders in a very stern voice.  At times when the classroom was out of control, she had to bring in an assistant, which worked while he was there, but was rendered ineffective after he left the class and it returned to its original state of rowdiness.

Nicholas makes a point to greet his students at the door at the top of each class and directs them to their seats.  In terms of written material on the walls, he has a merit board on which he writes the names of students who perform well and deserve recognition.  Overall, the students tend to appreciate his effort to recognize their efforts.  Additionally, issues such as not being able to find desks are not present, but the occasional students who spoke out of turn was certainly noticeable.

Student Organization

How are they organized (i.e., seating)?

How does this affect their behavior?

Charles has students seated in groups of four around the classroom.  Overall, from what I can tell this tends to create islands of different personalities with some groups being more studious than others.  The benefit of which I noticed, however, was that he can move a student to another group to alter the dynamic.  For example, he once was asked an unmotivated student to move to another group in order to sit next to a studious one.  In the short term this was effective as she was quite nice to him, but quickly he returned to his original uncooperative state.

Chloe has the desks placed around the perimeter of the classroom as well as in the center with four students per row.  This allows her to walk around the room and more easily help or discipline students.  For example, she once on the desk of a student who was not cooperating and calmly explained to her what she needed to do without having to squeeze in between.  In other words, her students are accessible to her.

Meryl has her desks placed very close to one another.  It seems to me that this allows the students to more easily talk and play around during class.  It is also more difficult for her to access them for discipline or help.

In one of Oliver’s classes, he placed the students in rows of desks.  This is a pretty standard layout which allows for less interested students to sit in the back of the classroom.  In another business class, he has students sitting at computers placed around the perimeter of the room.  The positive aspect is that he is able to easily access individual students to help them, but the negative aspect is that they can go into their own little worlds with headphones on.

Claudenia has her students sit at high desks around the classroom which are all very close to one another.  I think the proximity of the students allows for them to more easily speak and play around, but for the purposes of her science class, it allows for easier movement in the front and center of the class when she requires group participation.

Nicholas has his desks setup in traditional rows from the front to the back of the classroom.  Although this allows for more unmotivated students to sit in the back and attempt to slack off, Nicholas’ is quite engaging and moves around the room a lot, possibly because he is aware of this.

Activities

What activities are students engaged in?

How does this impact their behavior?

One activity which Charles did was to have the students stand up, say their first names, and to mention something they liked which begins with the first letter.  The students seemed to not resist much, but did not have much enthusiasm as they completed the activity.

Chloe’s activities did not receive too much attention in the first two episodes, but one included her asking students to read and analyze a cartoon about the changing economic structure of the UK.  Afterwards, they were to reflect upon it in a journal.  Overall, the writing portion of this seemed excessively challenging to students and highlighted their unwillingness to learn, as Chloe put it.

At one point Meryl had their students write about what they did over their summer holiday before starting this new school year.  In general, it was a real struggle for her to even get students to write a few sentences, let alone a paragraph.  At the end of the activity she was left frustrated and deflated.

An activity which I Oliver did with his class was to have them write about their self-expectations for the year.  From what I could gather from the video, most students only wrote very little, but some students wrote a little about the particular grade they might want.

On Claudenia’s first day she blew up balloons in her class to demonstrate different reactions to fire.  In general, this younger-aged class found it very exciting and were very engaged in the project.  On another day with older students, she had them line up and clap to demonstrate how sound travels.  This time, however, the activity was not accepted so well by students who could not understand the basic concepts involved or why Claudenia bothered to have them line up in front of the class.

A particularly memorable activity Nicholas had his students complete was to write a persuasive letter to their head teach explaining why they should not have to stay after school for extended study time.  As this truly motivated the students, quite a few wrote expressive essays which the head teacher came into the class to praise.

Interactions

How do student interact with one another?

How do students interact with the teacher?

How does this impact their behavior?

Charles tends to have an argumentative tone with the students he feels are not living up his expectations and a general business-like attitude with the others.  At one point he said that he could not remember students’ names and it was not his fault, and in my opinion that generally summarizes his interactions with them.  Another point I noticed is that he does not have eyes on the back of his head, so to speak,  This is evident as he often is focusing on a single or group of the students while others mess around or put their heads down.  Overall, the students in the class, however, tend to cooperate well with one another, possibly uniting over their dislike of Charles.

Chloe has a very patient and gentle way of interacting with her students.  She attempts to call them by their names and maintain eye contact.  When students misbehave or do not participate she makes a point to speak with them and calmly explain what they must do without making it personal.  I think the students appreciate this as they seemed to be generally calm as well.

Meryl tends to speak to her students in a consistently stern tone of voice.  Overall, she does not have much control over her class and cannot gain it without the assistance of other school staff.  When speaking with students she does not get angry often, but a sort of drained patience is very audible.  I think the students pick up on this and likely do not feel the motivation to improve.

Oliver is generally pretty calm with his students and repeats what they need to do. For example, one student complained he did not teach them the basics before giving them independent work so he decided to take a different approach by having them work on a single topic at a time. This was the result of the advice of his adviser, and the results were positive.  Overall, most of his students are quite calm but their motivation seems to be quite low.  

Claudenia stated that she is not friends with her students and I think this generally summarizes the way she interacts with them.  Overall, she maintains a stern tone of voice and does not often smile.  From her point of view, maintaining this is the key managing behavior and from my point of view she is quite effective at it.  Her students do at times speak out of turn and fool about, but she has the power to bring the class back to her, most of the time.

Nicholas generally goes out of his way to interact with students and create a warm relationship with them.  He also likes to often use analogies (e.g., a descending scuba diver) to simplify his math problems, as well as personalize his lessons with stories about his youth and his troubles with learning in school.  Another impressive aspect of his class is that he “breaks” his own rules at times as a reward to students for good behavior.  One example of this was by giving them treats in class to take home.  His students tend to get along well and his classroom has a positive atmosphere, but he will not hesitate to assign detentions to those who misbehave.

Misbehavior

What was noticeable?

How did the teachers respond?

A student named Caleb in one of Charles’ classes is where most of the misbehavior was focused on in the episodes I watched.  Some examples included him not wanting to do work in class, not wanting to write down his homework, and arriving late.  Charles tends to deal with it by asking him to leave the room or stay after to discuss.  In general, these interactions do not lead anywhere productive and the misbehavior continues the next day.

Chloe had some students facing away from her in class and another refused to take of their jacket.  She dealt with these cases by maintaining a calm tone of voice and simply stated what the students needed to be doing until they complied.  Overall, she is assertive with them, but she tends to take misbehavior personal, as she puts a lot of time into lesson preparation.  The students in general tend to misbehave in typical ways such as talking during class, but are also compliant for the most part when Chloe calls them out.

Meryl’s class had many incidents of misbehavior which she generally could not sort out by herself.  Some examples include students drawing on themselves, standing up, or jumping over desks.  Meryl raised her voice once or twice which the students see as a weakness to take advantage of.

Oliver tends to speak in a mild way so I think the students take advantage of his lack of presence in the classroom.  For example, one student came to class late and after she explained why in a sort of annoyed way, Oliver backed off quickly.  This signaled to other students they can get away with certain things.  Overall, the students tend to have low motivation, but misbehavior in terms of fighting was not really noticeable.

Claudenia had some typical problems including students refusing to sit down, speaking too much during her lesson, and drawing inappropriate things in class.  In the case of the inappropriate drawing, she dealt with it by first consulting with other teachers, and then speaking with the student the next day.  She let him off with a warning that his parents would be called next time.  Overall, I think her students mostly misbehave in typical ways and she is able to discipline them with her strong personality.

Nicholas had some students who were not motivated to get their work done, so he threatened to have them all stay after school until they finished.  After they finished he had them write a short persuasive essay as to why they believed they should go home on time.  After reading these, he selected the best ones and presented them to the head teacher for her to praise in class the next day.

Conclusions

How did the teachers exhibit withitness?

Which positive and/or negative strategies were employed?

Charles’ general level of withitness was quite low in my opinion and this is noticeable in that he focuses on certain individuals or groups while the other students begin to act up.  One particular positive strategy, however, was to place the less motivated student(s) next to a high performer in the hopes of good behavior rubbing off.  A negative strategy, however, was the speed at which he removes students from the class or asks them to stay after.  In doing so he does not solve the problem but merely postpones it until next class where it reappears.  Overall, Charles would find it beneficial to learn more about his students then to write off the ones who he feels are not willing to commit to the class fully.

Chloe tends to stand at the front of the class, stand sideways while writing on the board, and maintain eye contact with her students.  As such, I feel she has a high level of withitness.  Another indicator is her ability to easily walk around the classroom thanks to her desk organization.  Doing so keeps her engaged  and I would call this a positive strategy.  One other strategy in particular which was memorable was that that she wrote down the names of students who performed well on a merit board to emphasize her appreciation.  Overall, she is quite calm and assertive, but she might want to consider speaking in a louder voice at times to show she means business.

Meryl’s level of withitness is not very high in my opinion as I observed her being quite frustrated as students misbehaved in groups around the classroom.  Often times, most of class time is spent trying to control them and not much work gets done.  Later in the second episode she is even placed on watch from her head teacher as a cause for concern.  Despite her weaknesses in class, one positive aspect of her teaching is calling the students’ parents and talking to them about their misbehavior.  I think this demonstrates her willingness to engage with them outside of the classroom, but unfortunately not much improvement was noticeable for her.

Oliver gradually improved his withitness as the episodes progressed.  In the beginning, as aforementioned, he would sort of gloss over the the main ideas of his lesson and then quickly assign independent work.  This often left the students confused to the concepts and requirements of the day’s lesson.  After accepting advice from his adviser and breaking up the lesson into digestible parts and discussions for formative assessment he was able to gain a greater awareness of where his students were at.  Overall, I think he learned that the way a teacher represents his or her expectations is ultimately reflected in their students’ behavior.

Claudenia consistently made a point of be very present and aware in the classroom so I would rate her withitness as quite high.  This is noticeable in her choice to keep the front and middle of the classroom open so she can be physically and mentally present for her students, and not just a talking head at the front of the room.  One positive strategy she employed was to consult with her fellow teachers about the inappropriate drawing she found because she simply did not know what to do.  I think this led to the best outcome where she simply spoke to the student and warned him without directly going to punishment.  One thing she can do to improve her class is to make sure she pre-teaches content before putting them in groups, as was evident in one activity where the students did not understand what they were supposed to be doing or how it related to how sound travels.

Nicholas, in my opinion, has the highest level of withitness.  This is evident in how he constantly keeps his eyes on the class, as well as his willingness to take the time to get to know his students at a reasonable level.  A particular memorable strategy was his ability to get students to relate to him by discussing how he too had problems studying when he was young until he decided to put in the work and eventually made it into a prestigious university.  Another strategy he describes was to first present students with very simple challenges to build up their confidence before gradually increasing the difficulty level.

As I am currently living and teaching in Japan, I would like to reflect a bit on both the academic and behavioral expectations held of students in secondary school, the level at which I may be teaching one day.  In doing so, I want to first discuss why it is important to hold high expectations in the first place as a way to provide context for my interest with Japan.  Additionally, I want to compare my perceptions of student performance, and the reasons for it, with the Programme For International Student Achievement’s (PISA) triennial survey of 15-year-olds which tests mathematics, reading, science, and general problem solving skills.

First of all, I should make it clear that as Marzano (2010) states, a teacher’s behavior towards students is ultimately a reflection of their thoughts regarding their performance expectancy.  For instance, if I truly believe a student to be not capable of doing well, I am more likely to avoid eye contact, call on, or generally praise them in general.  On the other hand, if I am able to treat each student as if I believe they are capable of improvement and eventual high-performance, I will be more likely to engage with them positively.

Having lived in Japan for a while now, I have come to have to perceptions about the expectations of teachers, schools, and parents of middle school students.  For instance, a vast majority of teenagers I have met attend an after-school supplementary institution known as a juku (i.e., cram school) to ensure they pass their tests and entrance exams for both high school and university.  To me this is a reflection of the importance parents place on high academic performance in conjunction with their teachers at school who do not hold back on the amount of homework they provide.

Similarly with regard to behavior and general attitude towards school, I have mostly noticed positive evidence in Japan.  For example, when I ask students about school, they often reply that they truly enjoy it, love their lunches, and appreciate their after-school sports clubs.  To me this indicates a strong sense of belonging which I know as an American student was absent from the educational culture.  Additionally, generally speaking, I witnessed consistent punctuality and completion of assignments when working in private language schools.

In short, the advice Marzano provides seems to be common knowledge in Japan as it is clearly reflected in students’ academic and behavioral performances, as far as I can tell.

Next I would like to look at the results of PISA’s 2012 exam in Japan, along with Germany and the United States to garner a more global perspective, and see how they relate to my subjective perceptions.  Furthermore, when discussing the reasons these results, I would like to pay particular attention to the role of the teacher in setting high or low expectations.

Overall, Japan found itself to be one of the highest PISA performers in 2012.  Out of the 65 participating nations and economies, Japan’s 15-year-olds ranked seventh in math performance and fourth in both reading and science.  In Europe, Germany ranked between 13th and 17th in math, between 13th and 22nd for reading, and between 8th and 17th for science.  Finally, over in North America the USA ranked 26th in math, 17th in reading, and 21 in science.

So what might account for Japan’s performance?  One indicator is that Japan tends to ensure equity in education opportunities.  This means that students across the nation are generally able to have access to the same quality of materials and teachers who invest in their learning both financially and emotionally.  Additionally, while socioeconomic factors are in play, Japanese students  tend to beat the odds even in less fortunate situations as their resilience level is at 11.4%.  That is, there must be another factor responsible for their performance.

The answer to this may have to do with the high behavioral expectancies (e.g., classroom management) and adherence to them.  For example, Japan reported only 9% students arriving late for school out of 35% OECD average in 2012.  Additionally, students tend to have a very strong sense of belonging in school, which may be a result of the extremely orderly classrooms.  Finally, a third finding from the PISA 2012 report is that Japanese schools enjoy a high level of autonomy in terms of resource allocation.  That is, the administration and teachers were able to choose what they felt best matched the needs of their students.

What these results demonstrate to me are high levels of academic and behavioral expectancy first and foremost from teachers, but from the parents as well who reinforce school norms and procedures.  However, unsurprisingly, it is not expectancies alone which lead to high PISA exam performances, but the combination of a dedicated effort by the government to provide equal opportunities for everyone despite their individual socioeconomic status.

References

Marzano, R. J. (2010). The art and science of teaching: A comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

PISA 2012 Results. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm

 

For this week’s Teach-Now assignment, I was tasked with analyzing three videos which demonstrated teaching strategies to be used in the classroom.  The first one was a project-based STEM exercise which reminded me of task-based language teaching in my field of TESOL.  The second and third ones were heavily behavior-oriented and relied upon group cooperation and repetition to complete the lesson successfully.  In my world of English language teaching, these strategies reminded me of the outdated Audio-lingual method.

The following blog entry reviews the norms and procedures along with both the academic and behavioral expectations found in the three videos.

Video 1: Roller Coaster Physics

This teaching-learning example was project-based and tasked the students with using their knowledge of energy and motion to design their own roller coasters.  In doing so, the students had to work to together to first demonstrate their designs on paper, which was then followed by repeated testing using limited materials (e.g., rubber tubes, sandpaper) and simulation software.

Academic expectations

The academic expectations were high here because the students actually had to problem solve by themselves.  Solving included designing, trying, failing, recording why they failed, and trying again.  In the end, if they were successful it was because they used systematic thinking and did not simply regurgitate a memorized answer. Additionally, they had to solve with many constraints (i.e., limited materials). This made them better problem solvers because they could not simply complete this project through brute force (i.e., trying until successful without knowing why), but used their minds to come to the best solution. For example, they had to write out the specific type of loop and force (e.g., kinetic) they were referring to on paper.

Behavioral expectations, norms, and procedures

The norms, procedures and behavioral expectations here were moderate because cooperation and communication were necessary, but individual opinions were valued.  For example, in the chiming exercise, students had to present discoveries and problems they had had and then other students were to chime in, making them all more knowledgeable. Another example is that everything they used cost money, so they had to be fiscally responsible.  Overall, to ensure these norms and procedures ran smoothly, students were assigned roles such as manager or accountant.

Video 2: Chinese 3rd Grade Math

In this video, students in a Chinese language immersion class were learning arithmetic.  The class was fully teacher-guided and the students were tasked with chanting the numbers in unison.  Towards the end the teacher called on students as they solved a subtraction problem together.

Academic expectations

I would argue that the teacher holds high academic standards for the students who get the answer correct, but the group nature of this does not allow for every student to be tested and challenged.  It is good that she selects students to answer and guides them along, but I am not sure that this is a very effective way of checking for understanding.  

My first impression was that this teaching-learning approach was a bit similar to the gradual release of responsibility method where at first the teacher fully demonstrates her thought processes and then she guides them in solving a problem together.  The weakness, however, of this Chinese 3rd grade math video is that there are no opportunities for the students to work together and independently demonstrate knowledge.

Behavioral expectations, norms, and procedures

As far as I could tell, this is an immersion lesson and their behavior expectations are to participate in group counting, sit and raise their hands to be called on, and of course speak in only Chinese. I think this is fine in that it is unambiguous what the students must do and the teacher enforces it very well.  I imagine if this type of environment is continuous throughout the year, behavioral issues are minimal.

Video 3: Whole Brain Teaching

This style of teaching in the video tasked students with using their entire bodies to participate in the lesson.  For example, when discussing latitude and longitude, both the teacher and students moved their arms horizontally and vertically.  Another example was called the “Crazy Professor” where the students had to mime the information they read from a textbook aloud while their partners copied them.

Academic expectations

Similar to the Chinese math lesson, I am not very convinced that the academic expectations of the students are very high here.  For example, in the “Crazy Professor” activity it is clear that the goal is to use kinesthetic learning to further cement the material in the students’ minds, but in no way is it clear that the learners are doing so.  Therefore, I have no choice but to conclude that the academic expectations were not very high.

Behavioral expectations, norms, and procedures

On the other hand, behavioral expectations are exceptionally high and integral to lesson success.  For example, in the video the teacher has the students repeat classroom norms and procedures (e.g., sit down at your desks on time) in unison.  My first impression was that this is similar to behavioral modification exercises found in the military, an institution grounded in obedience. As such, I was impressed with the behavior and adhered to the classroom procedures by students.  Furthermore, I was impressed by the seemingly warm relationship between the students and the teacher.

Summary: Setting High Performance Expectations Among My Students

After watching and considering these teaching-learning environments, I have come up with some ideas of how I would like to set high performance expectations among my future middle school ESL students.  To set the context, I am imagining myself teaching international students with various language backgrounds.  Additionally, I am imagining them to be around 15 years old.

First of all, I would like to return to the second and third videos which I felt to be very behavior-focused.  While, as I stated, these were not exceptionally beneficial for learning, I do feel there is a benefit in group chanting when teaching English.  For example, often times students are not familiar with the prosody of new vocabulary words.  Beginning a lesson with group chants (which I lead) can serve to both introduce the students to how these words truly sound as well as help the students to settle down and focus on the lesson at hand.  In other words, I can do this as a behavioral management exercise hidden within a vocabulary lesson.

For the majority of my teaching though, I would prefer to focus on project- and task-based learning exercises.  Language is a communicative activity, and the assignment of roles and problems to solve help to expedite the learning process.  In order to do this, I would use some combination of the gradual release of responsibility method, which at its core uses scaffolding, along with an assigned task.

For instance, one task might be to have the students imagine they are on a deserted island and they have to ration their supplies.  One student might be assigned to write and record their findings, another to research (e.g., food expiration dates), and a third to report their findings and final decisions to the class at the end of the day.  As with the STEM exercise in the first video, I would emphasize cooperation, communication, and utilize constraints by setting a reasonable time limit.

 

For this week’s Teach-Now activity I was tasked with recording myself using the gradual release of responsibility method (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983).  In short, this method involves a focus lesson (i.e., “I do” part) where the instructor walks through their thinking and demonstrates how to complete some task.  Next, teachers conduct guided instruction (i.e., “we do”) with their students and complete some task together, which can serve as formative assessment.  After this, collaborative learning (i.e., “you do it together”) occurs where students work together to apply what they have just learned.  Finally, during the independent work phase (i.e., “you do it alone”) students are given a task to complete and another chance to demonstrate understanding.

This method is quite familiar to me as a university English language teacher as it is similar to the task-based approach and scaffolding in language teaching.  As such I was able to incorporate the gradual release of responsibility to students regarding the zero conditional in English grammar, as they too are familiar with this instructional model.

To begin my lesson I first explained to my students that the zero conditional is used to express ideas that are generally true.  Next, to demonstrate my thought process I explained that “If I have an exam, I study a lot” in response to a question inquiring about such.  Within my explanation I made it clear that I must use the simple present in my answer for it to be the zero conditional.  Overall, as this is simple if-then logic and that I was able to clearly demonstrate how to construct this type of sentence on the blackboard, the students responded and understood the objective of the lesson well.

Next, for the “we do” component I wrote “What do you do when you are lonely” on the board and completed a sample answer while eliciting ideas, vocabulary and the correct grammar from the students.  This part was successful as well as I had just demonstrated how to do this a few moments before.  In Japan students tend to be a bit reticent so the answers took longer to emerge than a typical class in the USA, but I was confident they had a good understanding of the zero conditional pattern.

Continuing on, I moved to the collaborate part of the strategy by assigning them in groups to complete a series of questions in their textbooks.  To complete this activity properly, students had to read the question as well as write down their partners’ answers to further demonstrate competency of the subject matter.  As I walked around the classroom I heard most students confidently reading the questions and jotting down answers.  Some common mistakes, however, included forgetting to use the simple present throughout their answer as well as being at a loss for certain vocabulary.

After this collaboration, I tasked the students with independent work by having them write three more questions regarding the general behaviors of their partners.  My thought process here was that if the students could reverse-engineer their replies by making inquiries, it would be further proof of understanding.  Once again after completing their questions the students interviewed their partners.

Overall, while the gradual release of responsibility method is a nice fit for the language teacher’s classroom, the independent work phase is not ideal.  The reason for this is that language is best learned though practice, which is of course speaking with at least one other person.  In other tasks such as teaching multiplication, for instance, it would be more appropriate to ask the students to complete an assignment on their own, but I try to not do that too much in my courses.  Having said that, short essay composition is a subject area in my course which I would indeed find the “you do it alone” phase to be most appropriate.

References

     Pearson, P. D. and M. C. Gallagher, “The Instruction of Reading Comprehension,” Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, 1983, pp. 317-344.