The three videos were interesting and fun to watch. I think each teaching style is based on the premise that ‘it’ is the best way to teach in
that particular context.
Roller Coaster Physics:
Academic Expectations: This teacher holds her students to
high academic expectations. It is evident in the way she assigns work and
interacts with the students as they work on their project. The students are
researching, discussing ideas, predicting, experimenting and testing their
theories on a simulation before the actual experiment. At each step, the
teacher is asking questions and pushing them to give reasons for their answers,
using appropriate vocabulary. The students are building, measuring, sharing
ideas and taking notes. In ‘chiming,’ students discuss the problems they faced
and ideas on how those problems can be solved. I think adding constraints to
encourage them to become better problem solvers is a great strategy.
Behavior Expectations: It is evident that the students are
held to high standards of behavior. All students are engaged in different
activities and no one is off-task.
Norms and Procedures: Norms and procedures that build
strong performance here is a strong collaborative culture, which is evident in
the way they work together, listen to each other as they discuss ideas and take
notes. Group members have assigned roles, and each one seems focused on
carrying out his/her assigned job.
3rd Grade Chinese Math:
Academic Expectations: The teacher is delivering
instruction based on the belief that “routine practice is the most efficient
way to learn.” Kan Wei (2014). The kids
are learning math facts by saying them aloud after the teacher in a rhyming
fashion to help them to memorise the facts, though one wonders how much is being absorbed. Whole class instruction and
feedback are important components of these classes. I think that
due to the rigid regulations and test-oriented education system in China, math
teachers are focused on teaching concepts and processes and not so much on
real-world applications. However, based on the results, this system seems to
work for the Chinese, and when it comes to memorising facts like multiplication facts, perhaps this
strategy will work as well as, if not better, than some other strategy that we
use in our classes.
Behavior Expectations: The students are expected to pay
attention at all times. Chanting the multiplication rhymes would help to keep
the children focused and engaged. And most children are willing participants in
a group activity.
Norms
and Procedures: Students are seated in rows, facing the teacher and the
board. They raise their hands to speak, and seem comfortable and confident in
sharing their answers.
Whole Brain Teaching: This method uses signs, gestures,
and verbal responses to get students involved in their learning.
Academic Expectations: The students are held to high
expectations because they are constantly kept ‘on their toes’ as they interact
with the teacher by way of verbal responses and actions and gestures. The
teacher teaches small sections at a time, after which the students teach each
other what they learn from the teacher. The teacher will not move to the next
section unless he/she is satisfied that all the students have learned the new
concept.
Behavior Expectations: Expectations for behavior are very
high in this teaching strategy. Students need to listen and pay attention to
what the teachers says in order to give the right responses. The class goes
over the rules at the beginning of each class. One of the rules is to follow
directions quickly. Points are earned for good behavior, or taken away if
students do not follow the rules.
Norms and procedures:
This class
appears to have well-established
norms and procedures. They listen to the teacher and respond with appropriate
actions or words. A lot of communication takes place through actions. For
example, the action for permission to speak is ‘raise hand and bring down to
head and make a talking motion.’
Setting
high performance expectations among my students
All three
videos employ strategies that are unique and effective in each situation. There
are some strategies that I can employ in my upper elementary classroom to
create high performance expectations. In the roller coaster activity, the
students are actively involved in discussions, note-taking, building,
measuring, testing and crystallizing their ideas. All these take place in a
positive learning environment where students are encouraged to share their
ideas and work together to find solutions. This is a learning environment I would like to create in
my classroom.
In the
Chinese math class. Students are expected to know their basic math facts, and
the teacher employs what she believes to be the best strategy, which in this
case, is routine practice. Whole class instruction and practice seem to be the best
practice for this. My version of this would be to add some actions as in ‘skip
counting.’
I believe
there are many ‘take-aways’ for me in the whole brain teaching strategy. The part I like in whole brain teaching is
where the students work in pairs and take turns to teach each other (switch). I
think this is a great way to reinforce learning and can be used right after
teaching a new concept in math or other subjects. The ‘Class-Yes’ and the other
repetitive responses and actions seem to me to be a bit much. But I can see how
some of these actions and responses can be useful in a language class or in
teaching students with special needs. For example, in geography, drawing a
vertical line in the air with your hand for longitude and a horizontal line for
latitude might help some students to better understand the concept.
In
conclusion, although these are great strategies, I would need to consider the
age group and comfort level of my students before using the strategies,
especially the ones which involve actions and chanting in unison. Therefore, my first step should be to get to know my students well as only a good knowledge
of my students' needs, interests, and abilities would enable me to employ strategies that would create a high performance
learning environment that would meet their needs.
References:
Chen Crystal. 3rd Grade Chinese Math. [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7LseF6Db5g
Migdol, Donna. (n.d.). Roller Coaster Physics: Stem in Action. [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-stem-strategies
Roxishayne. (May 31, 2011). Whole Brain Teaching Richwood High- The Basics. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iXTtR7lfWU&feature=youtu.be
Wei, Kan. (March 25, 2014). Explainer: What Makes Chinese Math Lessons So Good. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-makes-chinese-maths-lessons-so-good-24380
Whole Brain
Teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://ashleytipton.weebly.com/whole-brain-teaching.html
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