Module 5- Motivate, Expect, and Errors

In chapter twelve, I found it interesting reading about motivation. There are many different types of students in a classroom. On page 430, it talks about how a teacher has assigned an assignment and then there are different types of reactions by students. One is an "hopeless Geraldo". These students will not start the assignment and they repetitively say they do not understand. Then there is a "Safe Sumey". Theses are the students that check in with you about every step to make sure they are doing things perfectly. They are only interested in what is on the test or on the homework. Then there is a "defensive Daleesha". They are the students who pretends to do the work, but actually spends the majority of the time mocking the assignment and goofing off. They will sneak answers from others when the teacher is not looking and does not want to put effort into the homework in fear of failing and looking dumb. Last there is the "anxious Amee". These are the students that are good in most classes, but on certain subjects they freeze up on the tests and "forget" everything. With these different types of students, they all require a different type of motivation. They all need to be reinforced and led in a different way. As teachers, we need to explore and learn how to motivate in more than one way for our students. I always thought of encouragement as kind words that will build up a student, but after reading this I realize that all students need to hear different things and some students need to see the encouragement, not just hear it.

The end of chapter fourteen talked about teacher expectations. I found the section particularly on whether or not teacher expectations affect the outcomes of students and their achievements. Woolfolk says, "Even though it is clear that teacher expectations can affect student achievement, the effects are modest on average and tend to dissipate somewhat over the years." (539) I was very surprised by this. I truly believed that the expectations that I will hold for my classes will be high and that it will affect my students learning greatly. The reason why I believed this so strongly was because of my experience in a first grade classroom in a low income area, with high crime rates. This school was not known for producing high achieving students, but the classroom I was in was above and beyond where any other school or classroom was. I have never seen such diligent and hard working students before. Despite it all, they were going above and beyond. Why? There teacher held such high expectations for the class and for their learning. I was amazed at how much she expected of them, but more amazed with their results. Therefore, I do not know if I would take what Woolfolk says so  seriously, because I believe that high expectations will bring high outcomes, because you believe that your students can lean and will do well. All they need is a little faith, encouragement, help, and guidance.

Lastly, chapter fifteen talks about testing. Specifically the section on errors in score got me very interested. I always struggled with tests and never found myself to be a consistent test taker. I felt like something was always hindering me from doing well. Woolfolk also says that there are errors in every testing situation. The errors can help you and can hinder you and your score. It also says, "There are also sources of error related to the test itself--the directions are unclear, the reading level is too high, the items are ambiguous, or the time limits are wrong." (551) Despite all of these things, there are ways of reducing these errors and that leads to the question of reliability. The more reliable the test is, the less errors there will be. Teachers need to make tests and be aware of standard error of measurement and estimated how much the scores will vary based on many students taking it. I thought that this section was helpful to read and be reminded of as I start my Test Construction Project this week. I need to form questions that will have less room for errors and plan accordingly.

Module 4- Reading and Learning Together

Chapter nine speaks of metacognition. This was a new term for me. The book says that "metacognition literally means cognition about cognition--or thinking about thinking" (318). It involves three different kinds of knowledge and involves action. It can often be confused with a routine or habit, but it is not that. There are different ways that students can involve metacognition when approaching a learning task. The best way is to "set goals, organize their activities, select among various approaches to learning, and change strategies if needed." (319 This was something new that I learned about when reading chapter nine, and it led into learning strategies, problem solving, and critical thinking.

In the tenth chapter, it talks about a broad range of things, but the section that stuck out to me was on problem-based learning. "The goals of problem-based learning are to help students develop knowledge that is useful and flexible, not inert." (367) Students are able to work on finding motivation and skills that involve collaboration and decision making. This type of learning is giving the students room to work on a problem through evaluating, investigating, sharing, and engaging. I think that this type of learning is essential and something that I plan to have in my future classroom. Students need to be presented with issues, find facts, ask questions, explore, and share. This is extremely beneficial and give the students room to solve their own problems and share their ideas. I plan to use this type of learning in my classroom someday.

Chapter eleven talks about social cognitive theory, modeling, self-efficacy, self-regulated learning, and other theories of learning. I related specifically to the section on modeling. Modeling is learning by observing others and is a key element of the social cognitive theory. There are many influences that cause students to model and act or behave in a certain way. Some of these things are the developmental level of the observer, the status of the model, and similar behaviors and people affect how someone would also behave. (400) There are several elements of observational learning such as attention, retention, production, motivation, and reinforcement. (401-402) I just started nannying for the summer, and I decided to read my kids a novel. I took Children's Literature this past semester and learned how important reading is for learning. I also learned that is is good to read books that are above a child's reading level to them, so that they can learn what a good reader sounds like. This helps them model this behavior later on in their reading. This is a little different than classroom behaviors, yet I related this to the reading when coming across modeling.

I look forward to spending more time reading to Seth and Emmarie (the kids I nanny) this summer and working on math facts. So far, it is a success! The first day they grumbled when I told them we were going to read together, but just today they asked if we could read more at the end of the day. I am having a lot of fun applying some things I learned and am learning with them. It is always fun when you can play teacher during the summer too!

Teacher Interview

For my project on classroom management, I did an interview with my friend Jessie VanderZee. She is currently a teacher at Zeeland Early Childhood Center. During my interview with her, the video stopped because my memory was full. Unfortunately I did not get the full 10 minutes of the interview on tape, but I did get the first couple questions. I asked if we could rerecord some of the questions, but she was pressed for time. Instead I will share some of the answers that she shared with me that we were unable to get on tape.

Jessie told me that here philosophy for teaching is that all students can learn. She challenges and holds high expectations for all of your students because she knows that they all can learn. When it comes to managing her classroom, she tries to prevent bad behavior, not react when it happens. She does sometimes use "time outs" as a form of punishments, but it is more of a time to take her students away from what is causing them to misbehave. She truly believes that she can teach her students what is wrong and right by explaining why and in turn preventing issues for later classes. Woolfolk would agree with this. "The aim of classroom management is to maintain a positive, productive learning environment." (473)

Since she has been teaching, her classroom management has changed due to different coworkers, new students. They have taught her new strategies and challenged her in different ways causing her to grow and change. Jessie believes that there are some disadvantages to punishment for specific students. All students are different and with differences comes different ways to handle misbehavior and punishment. Not all students react in the same way to a time out. Also, when  managing her classroom, with her older students she has set up some contracts with how behavior should look in the classroom. In chapter seven, Woolfolk mentions how there can be contracts and toke reinforcement. "The teacher draws up an individual contract with each student, describing exactly what the student must do to earn a particular privilege or reward." (264) Jessie used these types of contracts with students, but she did not use rewards. She used contracts simply because it is what she expects of her students. She said she is hesitant with giving her students things, but she will use stickers. She uses encouraging words and peer modeling.

Lastly, I asked her if she could give an example of how she gets parents involved in reinforcement of positive behaviors. She answered with two examples. One that is a "school to home" and another that is a "home to school" example. First, she shared that there was a boy that had problems with whining and not acting his age. He loved dinosaurs, so she placed small dinosaurs on his desk and would take away a dinosaur when he would misbehave. If he had a certain amount still left after a day, then his mother would reward him at home with ice cream or something else. She had discussed the prizes with the mother before had and could gently remind her student that if he behaves he will be able to have ice cream with mom later. The other example was with a girl who would not listen to mom at home. She would not eat her breakfast or put her shoes on before school. Jessie told her mom to send her to school without to show her that there are consequences for her actions. The girl learned quickly that she cannot participate in class without having eaten her breakfast or putting her shoes on. This caused her to start doing this before school for mom. Jessie was able to work with parents to help children's behaviors at home and at school.

I really appreciated what she had to say about classroom management and how to handle punishment and positive reinforcement. In Jessie's examples of the student and parent behavior plans, we see what the book labels as "presentation punishment" (252). This is showing that if the students does good behavior, they will be rewarded for it, by presenting something to look forward to, like ice cream with mom.

Although I could not get all of the interview on tape, I did get some and had a great time hearing how Jessie handles her classroom and creates the best learning environment for her students.

Module 3- Punishment and Team Bonding

In chapter 7 of Woolfolk talks a lot about classroom behaviors. I found the couple pages on punishment quite interesting. It talks about how sometimes negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment. The difference between reinforcement and punishment is that reinforcement is always strengthening behavior whether it is negative or positive. Punishment is always trying to decrease or suppress behaviors. (252) There were two types of punishments mentioned. The first type is presentation punishment. This is the type of punishment where students have to do extra work or run extra laps. The second type is removal punishment. This is when students have privileges taken away from them such as classroom help, recess time, and more.

I experienced a time in my class when observing that a student was talking over the teacher. She asked him several times to stop and moved onto teaching. After multiple reminders she finished her instruction and asked him to come to her desk to chat. At her desk she explained to him that she asked him to stop talking and it was not fair that he talks over her. She told him he can decide whether or not he wants to be quite now and do his work or keep talking and stay in during his break and do his work. This is an example of the removal punishment. She told him that if he did not stop talking that he would have his recess taken away from him.

Closely related to behaviors, teachers need to make sure that they are forming an effective environment for learning in their classrooms. In chapter 13, it talks about classroom management, rules, routines, bullying, and discipline. I enjoyed reading about consequences in the classroom and who can set them. I never really considered having my students involved in setting consequences, but after reading, it sounds like a pretty good idea. It would help my classroom become more self-managed and easier to find time for teaching rather than punishing and handing out consequences. Some things that I learned is that in order for this to work, students need to trust the teacher and the situation. Also, it is important to develop rights and responsibilities rather than rules. "'Teaching children that something is wrong because there is a rule against it is not the same as teaching them that there is a rule against it because it is wrong, and helping them to understand why this is so' (Weinstein, 1999, p.154)" (480)

I think is is unbelievably important to make students feel like they are a team. It is also important to have students understand why or why  not they do can or cannot do things. This helps them form a better understanding to help them develop and work together to have the best classroom atmosphere as they can.

Module 2- Back to the Old Stomping Grounds

This week I have been blessed with the opportunity to go back to my old 5th grade classroom at West Side Christian school and observe my old teacher. It was excited to be in such a familiar building with familiar faces. It was also a cool opportunity to sit in that classroom with such a different point of view, the teachers. Also, I was able to recall things that the cooperating teacher did when I was there and still does to this day. 

In Woolfolk chapter four, she talks about a spectrum of topics that range from intelligence to learning challenges, to gifted students. Specifically, I liked the section on students with learning disabilities. I thought that it related to a conversation I had with my cooperating teacher this week. In the book Educational Psychology, it says a learning disability is "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculation." Although this is the definition the book gave, it also recognizes that definitions can vary. In the 5th grade classroom, there are four students that struggle specifically with reading and mathematics. My cooperating teacher discussed with me how it is difficult to know what to do when you have such a range of abilities in a class. She also expressed her concern with these four students and how she has handled their learning. This year , she chose to have them pulled-out during reading and mathematics so they could have individual help in the "learning lab" or resource room. She said that this has been very effective.

In chapter five, Woolfolk talks about language development, language diversity, and special challenges. I thought that this chapter was very interesting learning how to teach students who are bilingual or speak other languages. I specifically liked the section on how language actually develops. There are indeed milestones for early childhood language. With this, there are also ways to encourage the language development for specific ages. I really enjoy first-graders, so I thought it was intriguing to see where the students should be and how to encourage them. They should have a vocabulary of about 10,000 words, know spatial relations, opposites, understand same and different, and use all types of sentences. To encourage them, you need to praise them and have them talk about feelings. Also you can sing songs, use rhymes, talk to them like adults, listen, carry on conversations, ask questions to get them to think, and read books everyday. 

Chapter six talks about cultures and diversity. This is important to know all about how to handle various genders, families, cultures, religions, and races in your classroom. A section of this chapter also talked about low expectations and how this affects students learning. Woolfolk says, "Low expectations, along with a lower-quality educational experience, can lead to a sense of learned helplessness, described in Chapter 4." I have found this true from my observations. I have seen both sides; a side where teachers expect a lot from students no matter what and a side where teachers ask little of students because of situations. I can tell you first hand that if you ask more of yours students, they will step up to meet your needs. If you ask little, students will do even less. It is important to set high expectations for all of your students no matter where they come from and how much they do or do not have. If not, it will become a habit for students to get away with not trying and doing poor work, eventually this will not work for them in life. Always expect more and have faith that each student can indeed exceed and meet those expectations.

Like I said earlier, I was able to go back to the old stomping grounds and observe in my old 5th grade teachers classroom. I also mentioned that she is still doing similar things that she did nine years ago with me. I also noticed some changes. It was cool to compare both. Something that she still does and I admire greatly is pair devotionals at lunch. When the students eat lunch, there is a pair of students that has to prepare a Keys For Kids devotional. Another thing I remember is a poster on the wall. It was her "ACTS" poster. This stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and sanctification. This is a prayer model that she taught us and I still remember to this day. Some things that I noticed were different were her techniques. She has become more interested in active learning. Some examples of this are giving the students less time of instruction and more time actually doing. They did this through "body posters" and "outdoor math". Students were asked to make a large poster of  a specific body system, draw, color, label, and give facts. After doing this, they have to present it to the class and answer questions. The outdoor math was another awesome thing they did. Students reviewed in class what they have learned about perimeter and area and then were sent outside with a worksheet to try and complete. An example of a question was, "Estimate the perimeter around the school in fee. Now find the perimeter of the school building in feet by pacing..." I thought this was an awesome way to interact and actually do what you are learning. 

Overall, I had a really nice time going back and getting to know some students. They were a really great bunch of kids. The students were excited about learning and showing me what they have done this year. It was refreshing to see this in school. I was able to follow some students into the resource room and experience what they do there and help out with a math sheet. I really enjoyed my time in the class, but I could tell that it was the last week or so of school. My cooperating teacher was quite overwhelmed and did not have a lot of instruction time while I was there because students are finishing up projects and more. I asked if I could get a few more hours next week, but it is a three day week and she thought it would be best to end this week. I was a bit bummed, but understanding with how hectic it is getting grades in and collecting work this time of year. I appreciated the time I had there and felt I learned quite a bit. Good to be back on the old stomping grounds.