T.I.P.R.- Motivation

Now that I've been observing the class regularly for over a month, I've seen a development in the relationship between this teacher and his students. This class meets after lunch time and the students are often high energy when class begins. As far as I've observed, it doesn't appear that any of the students have gone hungry during lunch. It could be a possibility, but from my observations, the students look and feel happy. I have not seen any type of physical threats between any of the students, but the teacher did take about 15 minutes in one of the class periods to talk about cyber bullying. I don't know if it was initiated by the school administration, or if the teacher took it upon himself to address the issue.

The discussion went really well with the students participating and giving good feedback and ideas to the teacher. A couple students shared personal experiences and even got a little emotional. This teacher did a wonderful job in trying to promote kindness in his classroom. He encouraged the students in the class to think of each other as a family and to look out for one another. He extended the invitation to the students to think of the entire school as one big community.

From the comments and experiences that were shared in the class, I got a real sense that this teacher has created a very safe classroom for his students. They feel comfortable enough to share with the teacher and their peers. It is obvious that they belong to different circles of friends, but in this class, they worked together. When they participate in group work, there is a great mix of students, and it is great to watch the social interactions between all of them.

I asked this teacher how he has been able to achieve this within the class. He laughed and mentioned that for some reason, this particular class period has really caught on to what he is trying to do. It doesn't always work out as beautifully, but when it does, it encourages him to keep at it, year after year.

I've been able to observe this teacher meeting one on one with a few of the students. They were actually reviewing an exam and how they performed. I noticed that one of the students really had a desire to do much better, and the teacher gave each student the opportunity to re-take the test if they wanted to, with certain criteria to meet. I was curious and asked the teacher after class if this was something he had always done. He said he started doing this 4 years ago, and started to see that students would take the opportunity to do better. As long as they met the criteria, and stipulations he had set in order to re-take the test. He loved the fact that students would take advantage of this opportunity to do better. This was a great example of Self-Actualization to me. The students desired to be the best that they can be.

Self Actualization  can only come in the classroom when the students basic needs have been met. With Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the students Physiological Needs, Safety Needs along with their sense of Love and Belonging, have all built their Self- Esteem, which in turn has led them to Self Actualization!

M&M&M Analysis

Metacognition

In the classroom I'm observing, metacognition is happening all the time. The teacher I'm observing continually asks the students to think about eh way they learn. In one class, the teacher had the students take a minute to review the assigned readings from the prior class. It was a very short reading, and the told the students that as they review, they need to think of how they would most effectively learn and remember this information. He gave them clues to think about the way they learn best as an individual.

The teacher then had the students gather into their preassigned groups and present their ideas to others in their group. He encouraged them to be creative, and reminded them that the classroom was a safe place for them to express their ideas. As the groups talked, the teacher walked around, and he invited me to walk around and listen as well.

In one of the groups I listened in on, one of the students wrote a quick little reap about some of the information. It wasn't more than 2 minutes long, and he mentioned that it was incomplete, but with more time, he could finish it. I asked him how this would help him or others learn about the topic. He said that he loves music and th

at he was the best rapper in the school. When he made those connections in his brain, he retained them and they would stick with him. I was amazed!

I heard other similar ideas about writing songs, or poems. Other students said that pictures would help them learn the information best. There were many ideas and this pointed to the fact that people learn differently from each other.

At the end of class, this teacher handed out exit slips, but this time he didn't ask the students to fill them out. He simply told them to put them in front of the assignment folder and review them after their next reading of homework assignment. He told them that he would follow up with them.

After class, I asked him for a copy. The exit slip had these questions:

1. What do I already know about this topic?
2. This reminds me of...
3. I am wondering...

I didn't see anything that I had not seen before, but he told me that he had his students fill these out often. They get in a routing, but this time, he was hoping that some of them would really take the time to reflect and understand the purpose of these questions. He wanted them to use them while they study and learn. I thought this was very powerful!

I really like this teacher's approach to metacognition, and I would love to incorporate this way of learning how my own students learn. I plan on using exit slips in my classroom, and I may include questions that will help me get a better grasp on how I may need to adjust my own teaching. An exit slip containing the following questions:

1. On a scale from 1 to 5 (1 meaning mastery and 5 meaning you need more understanding)
2. I need to more about...
3. I have concerns about...
4. I enjoyed...

Mindset

The Growth Mindset is something that I see this teacher use very effectively. The class recently took a unit exam, and in the class I observed, the teacher was reviewing the tests with the students. One of his students raised their hand and said that he "bombed" the test. The teacher asked him why he felt this way. The student said he received a D on the test. The teacher asked if any of the other students felt that they "bombed" the test. Half of the class raised their hands.

Before continuing the test review, the teacher took a minute to ask the students a couple questions:

1. What am I missing? Students mentioned that they just don't get it. He took time to help the students with the test review as they focused on some of the most commonly missed questions.
2. Is it really my best work and effort? Many of the students admitted to not studying as hard as they could have. He then helped them with their Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations.
3. Can I improve? Most of the students acknowledged that improvements could be made. He made sure to encourage them to know that improvements can be made and that he would help them. He helped them understand where some mistakes were made, and how to make them better and learn from them.

He then made sure to ensure that all his students understood that they were on the right track. It would take some time and effort, but they would all be able to figure it out. 

I feel that promoting a growth mindset in my classroom will very important. I would love to have a graphic in my classroom with the following displayed:

What can I say to myself? 
Try Thinking:

1. What am I missing?
2. I'm on the right track
3. I'll use some of the strategies we've learned
4. This may take some time and effort
5. I can always improve so I'll keep trying
6. I'm going to train my brain to understand History
7. Mistakes help me to learn better
8. I'm going to figure out how to do it
9. Is it really my best work?
10. Good things to come!

Motivation

In this classroom, this teacher really emphasizes a positive working environment and promotes positive behaviors. In speaking with him, extrinsic motivators are easy. Students receive extrinsic motivators come in the form of grades, competition with other students, and rewards or punishment for good or bad behavior. He has made a conscious effort to incorporate things in his classroom that will increase the intrinsic motivation in his students.

This teacher firmly believes that a positive working environment and promoting positive behaviors will help his students in his class, and in life. He said it takes a lot more effort, but making sure that his assignments are meaningful and have a purpose are really important to him. The students appreciate assignments that have a purpose other then to just keep them busy, or having homework just for the sake of having it. 

This teacher told me that on the first day of class, he tries to establish a classroom community where everyone feels safe and free from intimidation. By doing so, students will feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas, and even concerns in the class. He feels that this leads to better and more effective group work and class discussions.

The teacher told me that he has decreased the amount of assignments over the years as he tries to make sure his lessons and assignments have a clear purpose that students can see and understand. With less assignments, he is able to give more effective and timely feedback. He believes that all of these factors improve the intrinsic motivation in students and lead them to give more effort in their assignments and studies.

This teacher uses current events to make History relevant to his students lives. I want to use current events in this way and also find ways to make their assignments relevant to their world. I believe that by sparking their interests and curiosity, their effort and motivation will improve. I believe that extrinsic motivators can be very effective. Students enjoy praise and other types of rewards too.

T.I.P.R.- Growth Mindset

The teacher I am observing has a great approach to using the Growth Mindset. Because the content area is History, he often hears his students say that they "just don't get it", or "that was history, so how does this apply to me?"

In several of the history classes that I've observed, this is a common theme and struggle for some students. They do not feel a connection to the information and they do not learn. It seems that they just memorize dates and facts. Often, students don't like history because they feel it is boring, or "why does it matter?".

The teacher I'm observing will start class with current events. He asks the students to come to class with a current event a discussion about the events. He has a way of being able to tie in a current event to the lesson and information that he is presenting that day. On a couple occasions that I have observed, I've seen the "light" turn on for several of the students. The discussion and comments show that the students are making connections to "their world".

I spoke with the teacher I'm observing and he felt that he was cultivating, as he put it, a "Mindset to Grow". He felt that through sharing current events, and helping the students see how their current world is relevant to things in history, that they were able to also able grow their mindset to also help in other content areas of their studies.

When the students made connections, it increased their curiosity and peaked their interests in history. He found that they put much more effort into their research, and group work. The assigned readings, which he made sure were very short, became more meaningful and had a purpose. He says this type of preparation takes much more preparation on his part, but it makes it easier for the students to actually learn, and in the long run, makes thing easier for him, especially when creating their assessments. With the different types of assessments he plans, he anticipates more a more in depth display of knowledge and interest. He is very excited about the level of engagement he is experiencing with his students!

T.I.P.R.- Assessment

In the classroom I'm observing, the teacher is frequently using Informal Assessments with his students. He often asks them to get into groups and participate in group discussions and he actively listens to the students while they talk. He interjects and gives positive feedback. I asked him after a class about his informal assessments and how he measures if the students are understanding and learning. He says he listens for vocabulary and terms from the unit and observes how engaged the students are.

This teacher also frequently uses exit slips at the end of class. With these, the students are able to give him feedback on how well they understand the material and what they might need extra help on. Hey looks through these exit slips and makes adjustments to the next day's lesson plans.

I asked this teacher about his summative  assessments, and he said he was going to implement something new this coming school year. In past school years, he has offered two different options for students to "show" what they have learned. Typically, he offers them the option of writing a paper, or giving an oral presentation. This school year he wants to still offer these two options, but he also wanted to include two other options. He wants to offer media project in which students would be able to create short 2 to 5 minute documentary. They would present information from the units and share their presentations in class. The other option he wants to try is similar, but rather then a documentary, they could present a photo journalistic project using images they find from primary sources, which are about the information they've learned about the unit.

I have seen both of these options as assessments in my college courses, but not yet in a classroom, so I will be really interested to see how this works for this class!