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Responses to Merrill
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Responses to Merrill
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I definitely remember that in my favorite classes in high school, my teachers would always be able to relate the material to things that were important in our lives. For instance in my psychology class, we got to make a video about applying a particular psychological theory to counsel a celebrity of our choice that could benefit from it. This way, we learned to apply the information in a fun and creative way while working cooperatively and with a good amount of our own discretion.
ReplyDeleteI certainly think that relating the material to your students' lives would be effective today. If your students can see how they might benefit from your instruction, motivation becomes more intrinsic. Ever since I got into the education program, this procedure is one that I hope to use as often as I can. I hope to apply it when I do my two lessons in this field experience.
When I was in elementary, our teachers would do fun energizers and use motivators. One teacher in particular, before starting almost any lesson, and for sure before any unit, would do some form of energizer or introductory activity. Usually it either got us up, moving around, and talking with our peers, or it allowed us to show some form of art expression. This could simply be drawing a picture, or even acting out our thoughts. This really got me interested in what we were doing, and made me want to learn.
ReplyDeleteAlso, our teachers would get us motivated by promising us "fun activities" if we were good. Some of these activities were read and feed, extra recess, class fiestas, and so on. They would have a token system and each child had 5 tokens for the day. And if everyday for a week or so each kid in the class had atleast 3 tokens left, then we got our fun activities. Not only did this motivate us, but it made us realize how our actions would affect other people. Nobody wanted to be the person who ruined the chances for the class, so people acted really well in order to not let down other classmates. This also taught the students alot about interpersonal relations, got the classroom to work together, and made the kids realize how their actions affect others.
In elementary, and maybe even middle school, teachers would keep a jar in the room and put marbles in the jar if the students were behaving. A marble or jelly bean was taken away if students were misbehaving. Once the jar was full, the class would get something fun in return, such as a popcorn party.
ReplyDeleteThe process of a adding marbles to the jar didn't seem to motivate my classmates or me very often. Taking away a marble, though, got the class back on task.
I have seen this technique used many times during my time at UNI, but I am not sure how well it works as far as motivating student learning. Students need to be motivated by more than just the promise of a fun half-hour activity, so this strategy is probably not the best one.
In my high school Spanish class, my teacher kept participation points. When a student volunteered to translate a word in Spanish to English or vice versa, the student received a point. The points were averaged at the end of each unit and were figured into the overall grades of the students. If students were not comfortable talking in class, they had an opportunity to come in before or after school to practice their Spanish with a friend or the teacher to make up missed points.
I think this worked really well because participation is one of the best ways students can learn. And if students are getting points each time they participate, students are more motivated to do so. Therefore, I do think this technique would be effective in classrooms today.
In several of my middle school classes we had this review day where we would play 'trashit-ball', which is basically basketball with a couple of pieces of paper taped together and a trash bin, a long with a few tape strips to indicate the point lines. The teachers would divid the class in groups. The teacher would then ask a student a question, lets say, in group 1. If the student in group 1 got the question right, they would get to try and get points for their team by getting the ball in the trash bin. If the student got it wrong, the other groups had the chance of answering it. The teacher would then ask a question to other individuals in the other groups. This process keeps going until the class period is over.
ReplyDeleteAs a student, I loved this game. Not only did it help me review for the test the next day, but it was a fun way to do it. I think it motivated us to study before the review session so we could get the questions right and win. This also kept us awake during the previous class times to write notes.
I think that this review technique is very effective. Not only in helping the students stay motivated in learning, but also because it is fun. At the time, only my socical studies teacher did this review, but several other teachers picked up the idea.
I remember having teachers that used star charts and treats to promote motivation throughout my elementary years. Especially during lower elementary and for assessments in math and spelling, most of my teachers had star charts where everytime you got a 100% or achieved the best in class you received a "star" on the chart. The chart was placed in front of the class and most students competed for who got the most. The person who won at the end of year would earn something such as a pizza or money. I can also remember teachers who had candy buckets and would pass out candy to those who did well in order to motivate other students.
ReplyDeleteEven though the start chart seemed to work well for motivating some students, others who were behind seemed to just give up and start trying due to the heavy competition and stress. At this age, I do not believe in the "star chart" and would not use it. However, I could see myself passing out candy to those who do well as an incentive for others. I would not use this tool every time nor would I have preferences.
Similar to many others, I had many sticker charts throughout elementary school. The one I remember the clearest took place in the first grade. Each Monday we picked 2-3 books to check-out for the week. We needed to return the books by the end of the week, along with a signed slip from our parents stating that we had read the book. For each book read, we got to put a sticker next to our name. Once reaching 10 stickers, we would get to pick a toy from the gift box.
ReplyDeleteThis strategy can be very effective and ineffective at the same time. It can be effective because students like rewards and prizes. Unfortunately, the reward system can also serve as a downfall. Seeing other students get rewarded will either motivate students to keep working hard to also get a prize, or unmotivate students by forming jealousy, embarressment, or upset. If the sticker chart is available for all students to see, some may be unaffected, while others may not want their progress to be shown to everyone. For younger students, a prize for stickers may not be needed, as sometimes the sticker itself may serve as a reward. I have seen sticker charts still used today in a few classrooms. Stickers could be effective for students, depending on the meaning of each sticker, its purpose in the classroom and assessment, and if the stickers are posted in public or for personal viewing.
One motivation technique that I remember and still think about to this day is from way back in 1st grade. In my class, we had a huge spider web at the back of the room with spiders hanging off and under each spider, there was something fun to do. Things such as, going to Dairy Queen, extra recess, walking to a nearby park, etc...Instead of using the "spider web" for other things like keeping the class on task, or taking one way for bad behavior, it was used for time when we accomplished something we had learned in class. If there was a science unit that we were learning and all the students tried our best and was able to come through with a good report when our teacher assessed us, we were able to pull a spider from the web.
ReplyDeleteThis really worked for us because we were so young and a lot of young students don't have goals in their learning. This was a simple, fun way to get us ready and focused for our learning. We all really wanted to see what was under that next spider so we tried our hardest to do our best on our work and listen so we could understand.
I think this technique would be effective in classrooms today still. Like I said, I don't feel there is many ways for teachers with young students to make them understand that the things they are learning are crucial to their future grades. Therefore, this is a good way that you can get the students to have a goal and they know what they need to do to accomplish that goal(spider) It's not that when they would receive the spider it meant they knew the information 100% but that they were motivated to try and they did their best and that's what it should be.
In sixth grade, all of the sixth grade teachers put a homeroom store together. Each teacher gave a certain amount of points to students according to the amount of homework the student completed. Every Friday during homeroom the students were able to go to the store and buy little treats or small toys with the points that were earned throughout the week on completed assignments. The teachers had a few "big" prizes that were worth more than the average prize. If a student wanted, they could save their points and earn the large present over a period of time.
ReplyDeleteThis motivation strategy did not work well with me, but it seemed to work for a majority of other students. Friday homerooms were always a day to look forward too, as school seemed like an arcade.
I don't feel that this strategy is a good strategy to promote student learning. Students seemed to be more focused on filling out the answers and not caring what the answer was, as long as it was turned in. I do not feel that this technique would be effective today.
I think my favorite motivation technique came in second grade. My teacher had a jar of skittles that she kept on her desk. Every day, the jar started out empty. As we (the class) did "good" things throughout the day, skittles were added. If "bad" things happened, skittles were taken out of the jar. At the end of the day, we got to eat the skittles that were in the jar. I think this was a good motivator because it not only kept us on track and doing "good," but it made us work together as a class and hold each other accountable for each other's actions.
ReplyDeleteI think it would still be useful and effective today because kids still respond to treats. It also creates a community of sorts because it makes the kids work together to keep the jar full.
Another technique that was used on me in sixth grade was what they called the "ladder." This was a ladder for good behavior, and at the beginning of the year each child started at the middle of the ladder.It had ten "steps" and the teacher, based on our behavior, would either move us up or down the ladder. When we were up on the ladder, we got more privileges,and when we were down, we got things taken away from us.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think I would use this technique. It was very public, and every student could see who was up or down on the ladder. It made the kids who were down feel bad about themselves and like they let the class down. Also, the teacher that did this, in my opinion, was not fair about her moving. The pricipal's son was always on the top of the ladder, even though he was one of the worst behaved kids in the class. She always kept him on top though, just incase his dad would come in. He always laughed about it and tried to do as much as he could to see if he could get moved down, and he never would. He knew the system, and that it worked to his benefit.
I think a private ladder for each child might work. You could tape it inside their desk or in a folder or something. I don't think making it public is the best idea. When someone got moved down on the ladder in my class, everyone would bombard them with questions as to what they did to get moved down and when. Sometimes kids didn't mind sharing, but others were more ashamed of it, and didn't want everyone in the class to know they got in trouble. The ladder was used more in a negative way in our classroom, rather than a positive. It was rarely ever people got moved up, but people got moved down every day.
In kindergarden and first grade I remember my teachers using props to introduce their lessons. As a young student it was always fun to see something in the classroom that was not typically there. The anticipation of waiting to see what the object would be used for was exciting.
ReplyDeleteI think that this technique worked very well in my classrooms. I can remember the comments and reactions that were made by the students were always positive and excited. Bringing props in to start a lesson grabbed the attention of the students very quickly.
I believe that props would have worked well for me throughout all of my school years and would still be effective today. As a teacher, I want to use props and costumes in my class to show that I am excited about the subject and to get the students excited for what they are soon to learn.
A technique my fourth grade teacher used was the use of student leadership roles. Each week, five students were given a role for the week. They included line leader, door holder, lunch counter, etc. Holding a weekly position encouraged us to behave without realizing it. For instance, if you are holding the door for the class, you wanted to make sure everyone got through the doorway in a timely fashion and eliminated you from causing disturbances with other children while in line. I always found that when I was the line leader or the door holder, I found out what it felt like to have other people in the class not listening to me. I then became more conscious of my behavior because I knew what the teacher felt like when others weren't listening. I believe these techniques would still be effective in classrooms today. I have seen them in classrooms that I have observed in and found them to be successful. As a student, it can be exciting to be a leader and get the chance to be in the spotlight, even if for a brief moment.
ReplyDeleteI just thought of this and realized what a great motivation technique it had on me throughout fifth grade. Every week at my elementary school we had "cross-guard" duty which I am sure takes place at other schools and involves students where they are in charge of making sure younger students get across the street safely and to their destinations. The fifth graders who were doing well in school were given the priviledge to be a "crossguard" which was looked up to and at that age everyone got excited and competed for the role. When I look back now I can see how a great motivation tool this was for students and how it promoted responsibility and good communication. I would recommend this technique for schools that do not do this and also encourage the idea in my school. If a student is not able to play in this role it is not displayed for everyone to see and the other students do not know about it. Motivation techniques seem to work great when it is not overly competitive and lowering the self-esteem of students, which seems to be the case often.
ReplyDeleteOne strategy that really helped me stayed motivated in school was receiving positive feedback from teachers in relation to how I was doing in school or on a particular subject. I remember sitting down with my parents after there was a parent-teacher conference and listening to my parents tell me what feedback my teachers gave them. This was a motivator to either keep up the good work or a way I could improve.
ReplyDeleteAnother way teachers really connected with students was by helping students find personal meaning and value in what we were covering in class. Being able to connect with a reading through an experience each student had really kept our attention and made us more willing to be involved. One specific example was when I was in algebra, I had a hard time finding the purpose to what we were learning. I always had in the back of my mind, “How am I going to use this information or formula in my daily life?” And when one student finally asked my question, the teacher started giving examples of when this information was going to be useful to learn. By providing us with an example, more of the students turned in completed homework and tried harder on the tests because they understood why the certain math problem was important.
In response to lfischer, I remember some of my teachers employing the same technique. I agree and think it's an excellent way to motivate students to behave. Of course, we didn't know it then, but it was good way to keep us in line. We also took pride in our little "jobs" and wanted to do well in front of the other students.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be an effective technique today, but as always, it depends on the school and particular class environment. If you had a large class full of students with moderate to severe behavior problems, you may need a more authoritarian approach, at least to set up conditions for this technique.
One of my most memorable units in school was in first grade. My teacher had a unit on farm animals. My dad is a vet, so I have had a love for animals all of my life. I already knew a lot about farm animals, so I was quickly bored with the lessons and wasn't that impressed. However, one day, my teacher brought an incubator and 12 chicken eggs to class. From that moment on, everyone in the class excelled in learning about the farm animals. My teacher explained to us what was happening with the eggs we had and that if we took good care of them, the eggs would hatch into baby chicks. Day by day, we'd learn more about the process the baby chicks were going through in order to be fully developed and ready to hatch. As first graders, we knew more about chickens than just about any adult would. Everyone LOVED learning in that unit, so my teacher had our whole day (all of the subjects had to learn... math, reading, etc.) revolve around our baby chickens. Finally, our baby chicks hatched, and everyone was SO excited. Thankfully, the learning didn't stop there, and we continued learning about and with the chicks, until the day they left to live on a farm. The teacher's way of bringing the lesson to life, quite literally, was an incredibly strategy for getting us excited about learning. I know it isn't always possible to bring live chickens into your class, but bringing learning to "life" in whatever way possible is one of the best strategies for motivating students to learn!
ReplyDeleteThe best way to motivate me was to make a connection with me. If a teacher cares about what I do in the class them I'm willing to work hard for them. The teachers that didn't care about me were that teacher that I could care less about how I did in their class. That was one of the hardest things for me to deal with in college. Most of my teacher in college look at me as a number. That when I had to start caring about myself and how I did in class. If students know that you care, they are willing to work twice as hard for you.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I just did my first lesson for this Level II experience. I can't say I wasn't a little nervous on how the kids were going to stay motivated throughout the lesson on adjectives but it went beyond what I expected. I feel the thing that kept them motivated the most was that the activities were engaging and they had to discover things on their own. Even though there filling out a worksheet was involved, they were motivated to see if they could accomplish the task assigned. They were engaged with the lesson because it was half hands on, half discovering the adjectives in the book. Having the students motivated made it so much easier to teach the lesson and interact with the kids while they had individual work time because they actually wanted to do it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andy's comment. I think when a teacher cares about your grades, it gives you motivation to well. I have always cared about how I do, but having that extra push from the teacher to cheer you on and make you feel good about your accomplishments is always helpful and productive.
ReplyDelete