PLE #3: Conducive Learning Environment

After reading Chapter 13 and having class, I have learned many ways to make my classroom a conducive learning environment. First of all, students need to feel safe and comfortable in the classroom. If they don't feel like they can be themselves and are afraid to speak or make mistakes, then they will not be able to achieve much.

The teacher-student relationship is very important. Teachers need to show that they care about their students, not just academically but emotionally as well. Students should trust teachers and feel like they can go to them when they are in need or need to talk.

The first day of school, teachers should discuss the rules of the classroom and implement them everyday until the students get used to them. They should be short and to the point, such as "listen when others are speaking." Tasks should not be too difficult for students nor should they be too easy either--students will lose interest and find other means of entertainment.

Including students in some of the decision-making can make them feel like they have some control over what happens in the class and they will be more willing to be involved. For instance, if you read out loud to your students, you can take a vote on which book they would like to hear. Having jobs in the classroom, such as someone to pass out papers or to feed the class pet will give them a sense of responsibility.

Another important thing a teacher should remember is that consequences of behavior should be consistent across all students. Even if a student is a high-achiever and rarely acts out, if they do something that is inappropriate, you need to correct them. If students see that you don't correct some students, they will feel like you have favorites and that may cause them to act out.

This is a great video that has 10 tips for classroom management: Top 10 Proven Classroom Management Tips

CSEL Case Study:
I have the Elementary Education Case Study in which Lisa is causing disruptions in her cooperative group. My response would look something like:
Talk with the entire class about effective group work strategies and the pros of working together. Explain that not everyone will get to do what they want and that this is how it is in the real world. Refer back to the classroom rules of listening while others speak.
I would also add individual grades to the group project and have peers evaluate each other on their performance and contribution in the group. I would remind everyone every time they are in their groups that they will be completing these evaluations so it's important to work and participate.

I would see if this has any effect on Lisa. If so, I would make sure to reinforce her with praise when I see her doing what she is supposed to be doing.

However, if this has no effect, I would take Lisa aside and talk to her privately. There could be things going on at home that is causing her to act this way. You never know why a child is behaving a certain way, so talking to her privately would give me some insight.

If she wants to fix the problem, then I would incorporate some sort of point system perhaps and at the beginning of group work, Lisa would start out with 5 points. If she interrupts someone, she subtracts a point. If she does not pay attention when her group prepares for presentation, she subtracts another point. This way she can keep track of her progress and can work hard to do what she is supposed to do.

If she doesn't care about fixing the problem, perhaps a call home to the parents would be appropriate and a parent-teacher or parent-teacher-student conference could take place to discuss the issue and ways to fix it.

PLE Post #2: Motivation Ch. 11

The theory of motivation that most interested me was the Goal Theory. Goal theory has two parts: Performance goals and Learning goals. Performance goals are when other people will observe us and we see an external judgment of competence or we will try to avoid negative judgment. The key point of a performance goal is that we feel like we NEED to do something so we won't get judged.

Learning goals, on the other hand, are internal and we WANT to learn something. This can be more rewarding because we are doing something for ourselves and not for the sake of others.

To motivate students in a classroom, they need to have both learning and performance goals. A child will not want to learn something if they don't want to--you have to include some type of intrinsic reinforcement. For instance, you could have students choose their final projects so they feel as though they have a say in the classroom. You could also figure out what topics students are interested in and want to learn about.

Performance goals are important too. Students love competition and want to look good in front of their peers. Having a game on study day was always motivating to me in the classroom because I wanted to win and look good in front of others. For behavior, you could have a poster board on a wall and if a student is doing what they are supposed to be doing, they can put a sticker next to their name. The first child to receive 10 stickers gets a price, such as a new pencil.

Here is a website that gives more information about goal theory and how it applies to education:
Goal theory

PLE Post 1

I really enjoyed my Educational Psychology 210 class and so I am excited to be taking Educational Psychology 401. Psychology is my major so learning about motivation, theories of learning, and ways to better understand children and adolescents is interesting for me.

My objectives for this class are to learn instructional strategies that I will be able to use for my classroom. I want to have a greater knowledge about why certain ways of teaching will be beneficial for certain children. I want to be educated on how children of different race and ethnicity learn and what they value. I hope I will be able to be creative with this course and with the teacher projects.

This is my first semester to take education classes, so getting hands-on with teaching material is new to me so I don't want to feel intimidated. I like how you (Anne) told us in the first class not to feel overwhelmed, so hopefully I won't be!

Scholastic has a great website that has teaching strategies for a variety of topics, including how to organize your classroom and how to talk to your students about violence.
 http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-strategies