I will be the first to admit that I have a long way to go
before I become an “effective teacher” as described in the “Effective Group
Management Practices” segment. The
pacing of my lessons could certainly be more brisk, my students less
“satiated,” and I probably have slowed the momentum of my classes on more than
one occasion to deal with a minor issue.
In fact, there were some points that I never even thought of such as the
first component in “group alerting” in which a teacher attracts students’ attention
by asking a question before calling on a student. Since I want to be the best teacher I can be,
I will do my best to implement these management techniques into my classroom
and reduce off-task behavior.
That said, there is a concern I have about one of the
practices: avoiding satiability. Of
course, I would love it if my students were engaged all the time and never felt
sick of any activity I presented them with.
When I think of my students being prepared for college, however, I fear
that in teachers’ well-meaning attempts to make lessons more interesting, they
might also be lowering their tolerance of educational approaches and subjects
that might not be perceived as stimulating.
In college, most people experience sitting in lecture halls and taking
notes for two or more hours – and that’s it.
There is often no variety.
Unfortunately, I do not see some students faring well in such an
environment in which their stimulation is clearly not a priority.
I wanted to agree with your concerns about preparing students for success after high school. We develop lessons and various activities in class based on research that allow students to do well in our classes, but what will happen when they transition from this style to sitting in a lecture hall of 100+ students for 3 hours taking notes based on what a professor is saying. I find that my students are not willing or do not have the skills to study for assessments. When I gave my first assessemnt this year I was amazed when students were suprised that they weren't allowed to use their notes and asked what was the point of taking them if they couldn't use them on the test. I have one student that reguardless of the transition in the classroom it seems to trigger an OCD attack for and he needs to leave the room. This student has some extreme issues with being in groups adn in general being around other students. Does any one have any suggestions that might be useful that might keep him in the room to learn the content?
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the toughest "balances" to achieve. How do we keep kids engaged and yet not "water down" our expectations? In my mind, I look at my "engaging" lessons as ways to build rapport with my kids. Once that happens, they are more likely to engage with the more "boring" lesson or to do the extra work needed to bring up thier grade. I think some days can be about the "fun" and others can be more traditional and aligned to success after high school. -Kellie
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that having student engagement is a priority in our practice, and it is challenging to achieve and maintain. I want to know how to vary the levels of engagement so that its not always the same kind, always with the same people. Then how do you transition them between engaging activities to one's where it is more lecture style so that the students aren't wild, or vice versa. Even if one lesson is more engaging and the next not as engaging, how do you balance this along with assessment and building them to the point that they can learn in a collegiate atmosphere?
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ReplyDeleteI wanted to say that you are not the only one who is having pacing issues in the classroom. I split between 2 schools. At Allderdice I have a great pace and we are moving along. I started at Perry at the end of October and there was a sub for several weeks. We lost a lot of ground in the transition. When I started teaching, they did not remember a thing! I began teaching from the beginning because most kids did even know how to say their name or to ask how someone is doing. We have been moving at a snail’s pace. We have only just finished the alphabet. This is a major issue in my classroom management. I want everyone to be on the same page when we move on, but there is no urgency or motivation to learn when things are moving so slow. If the material is flowing the students will need to pay more attention and be on task more frequently. It is hard with a foreign language to move on knowing that some students still do not grasp the material, but, it is necessary. It kind of forces the students to keep up with the pace.
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