Creating High Performance Learning Environments

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

Establishing a Positive Classroom Climate

Establishing a Positive Classroom Climate

It is the first day of school. My hands tremble as I grasp the doorknob to open my classroom door and walk into the room I have been preparing for the past few days. The bulletin boards greet me with their colourful displays - some filled with pictures, plans and schedules, and some bare, waiting for the students to fill them with their pictures and work. What does it take to make a room a welcoming and inviting place? Will my students want to sit in this room? Will they want to work here? More importantly, will they want to learn here?

The Classroom Setup:

The first thing the students will notice as they come into the room is how it is set up. It says a lot about how learning will take place. To make it a positive learning environment, I have to think about how my students are going to learn: in groups, whole group and small groups, in pairs, or individually. I have to ensure that every student will have easy access to all the learning materials. The special needs student shouldn’t have to struggle to get to the pencil sharpener in the corner. 

A reading corner, where students can sit on cushions or on a rug, is always a good idea. Bookshelves filled with their favorite books, written by their favorite authors would help them to spend some productive time in this corner. To these, I would add my own selection of books, which would include genres reflecting different reading levels, interests, and cultures.

The Classroom Culture:

Creating a Positive Classroom Culture: What can I do to ensure that every student feels valued and respected in this class?

First, it is important to create an environment in which every student feels safe and secure. Relationship and community- building activities in the first week (and subsequent months) will help students to get to know each other. Games and ice-breakers can be used for students to learn each other’s names, their likes and dislikes, their families, and other details. Putting students in groups for these activities will further help to establish a sense of community.

My students come from diverse cultures, language groups, religions, socio-economic backgrounds and other social constructs that separate and divide people. Scharf (2014), in Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education, talks about the importance of “genuinely seeing diversity as a strength and an opportunity, rather than as an “issue” or problem.” This diversity in my class gives me an opportunity to teach my students to understand and embrace diversity as it exists in the real world. To prepare my students to live and work successfully in the community, I should help them to appreciate diversity by focusing on understanding each other’s cultures and on what we can learn from, as well as do for, each other.

Making our classroom a safe and secure environment would mean teaching them to respect each other, and treating each other well. While focusing on relationship-building is important, I would also need to educate my students on issues like bullying and other forms of abuse that can happen in schools and communities. In teaching about bullying prevention and intervention, I need to focus on helping them to understand what bullying is, and what everyone needs to do to establish a safe and secure environment in the school; that it is not only about not bullying others, but also stepping in to stop it, or doing something about it when they see it. In addition to educating them on all these issues, I would need to ensure that I never let any disrespectful remark or behavior go unaddressed. Brownstein (2009) calls this ‘zero indifference.’ I need to practice ‘zero indifference.’

Discipline and Behaviour Management: It is important for any class to have a well-thought out and understood system for the way things are done. My students would need to know what the expectations are in reference to behavior as well as completing assigned work. When students have a say in their classroom rules, they will have a sense of ownership, which in turn, will make them more responsible. And with regards to implementing consequences, Sharf (2014) recommends ‘restorative justice’ which emphasizes “repairing harm and restoring relationships rather than simply punishing those who have engaged in misconduct.”

Instruction and the Learning Culture:

Every student in my class comes with different experiences and skills. I have to think of ways to get them to share these experiences and skills.  Researchers report that students learn more from their peers when they work in groups, and as a teacher, I should look for opportunities to let them work on projects and other activities in groups. Working with their peers will enhance their social and communication skills as well.

Keeping in mind the learning styles, capabilities, and interests of the students will help me to craft lessons that will reach every learner. I have to ensure that each culture is addressed and celebrated in our class. Culture, as defined by Scharf (2014), “can refer to an individual’s race, class, gender sexual orientation, religion, immigration status and age, among other things.” Marzano recommends bringing students’ interests- which can include any of the factors listed by Scharf- into content and personalizing learning activities. Knowing the range of diverse cultures in my class will enable me to personalize learning activities and make learning relevant and meaningful for my students by connecting it to their real-world experiences.

How will I as the teacher pull all these threads together to make our time together in this class a meaningful and worthwhile one? Do I know the cultures of all my students? As an Asian teacher, I do not know all the ins and outs and nuances of other Asian cultures, let alone the cultures of other races. I need to educate myself by designing my professional development plans to include learning about the cultures represented in my class, which can and should include parents as a resource.

In conclusion, to create a positive classroom climate for my students, I would need to get to know each one of them. I would need to let them know that I’m interested in them as individuals, and that their interests and dreams matter to me. A positive attitude will help me to get the message across that I enjoy having them in my class. I can show them that I care by showing respect, trust and a caring attitude. Teacher-student relationship, according to Marzano is the ‘keystone’ of effective management, and that “teacher behavior is the language of that relationship.” There’s so much that I need to learn.

For now, I will begin by greeting them at the door.

References

Brownstein, Rhonda. (2009) Pushed Out. Retrieved from

http://www.tolerance.org/pushed-out

Scharf, Amy. (2014). Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education. Montgomery, Alabama. Teaching Tolerance.

 Marzano, R.J. (2007). The Science and Practice of Teaching and Learning. Alexandria, VA. ASCD.