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Post by Admin/ A. Mistretta on Mar 14, 2014 10:38:28 GMT -5
Please choose 2 of the questions listed below and post your response.
1.We know that great lessons equal less disruption. Identify four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students.
2.How can teachers virtually guarantee that their students will complete their homework?
3.How do you gain parent cooperation and support regarding homework?
4.How can teachers use grades and other forms of evaluation to motivate?
5.When is academic competition good? Bad? Why?
6.What are the keys to getting students of mixed ability working cooperatively and effectively in groups?
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Post by virginia on Mar 15, 2014 18:44:10 GMT -5
1.We know that great lessons equal less disruption. Identify four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students.
Lessons that involve variety from the normal tasks in the classroom
help with less disruptions. Instead of lectures let the students compose a song, create a skit, or see a movie clip to demonstrate the lesson.
Teachers should ask compelling questions that allow the student to really think and come up with an answer. The question can relate to something the student might be interested in.
If we challenge students they will rise to the challenge. Sometimes students want a challenge to keep them interested in what is being taught.
Another way to motivate students is to encourage guessing. Students should feel safe to explore and answer questions and come up with different answers. Exploring the who, what, and why is a learning lesson in itself.
2. How can teachers virtually guarantee that their students will complete their homework?
Teachers can give students an option of what nights to have homework. This puts getting the homework done up to the student to fit it in their schedule and know the expectation.
Teachers can allow students to decide how many problems or questions to answer for an assignment. Students will feel they are in control and that is what most students who become disruptive in class want. They want a part in making decisions.
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Post by theresamatheny on Mar 17, 2014 14:05:52 GMT -5
1.We know that great lessons equal less disruption. Identify four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students.
* Allow students to work at different rates, having meaningful work to complete when they finish the main/first task.
* Foster creativity so that there may be more than one right answer to the question.
* Provide activities for students to get out of their seats to complete a task.
* Get students to think of new ideas.
2.How can teachers virtually guarantee that their students will complete their homework?
* make it interesting but not too difficult.
*also, check it, so that students know they are accountable for the work.
* always relate the assignment to what was taught in class.
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Post by virginia on Mar 19, 2014 6:32:58 GMT -5
Providing students a chance to get out of their seats and complete tasks is very important.I think students get to do that so much more in their special classes than they do in their acdemic classes.A few minutes every hour can really get a student refocused and energized to tackle the assignments ahead. As teachers I think we sometimes forget what it is like to sit at a desk all day completing work. Even as adults we want to talk and move around and take breaks from doing the same thing all day.
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Post by Frail on Mar 19, 2014 19:40:21 GMT -5
4.How can teachers use grades and other forms of evaluation to motivate?
Instead of having students think they are competing with others for a good grade, have them compete with themselves. They should have their own personal goal they are striving to meet. Every time they meet a goal expectations should be held high and perhaps set higher in order to increase and improve the child's individual performance, but only if they goal is met. It is important for each child to know that good grades are achievable. When it comes to the evaluation process it is important to involve your students as much as you can. That way they can understand why they received their grade and what they can do to change it.
5.When is academic competition good? Bad? Why?
Academic competition isn't always a good idea for several reasons. First off, it can create aggression and bullying when students are competing against one another for the top spot in the class. Also, if someone is first in the class it means someone is going to be last. The students who are always last may lose hope or give up if they are consistently finding themselves ranking lowest in the class. Also, academic competition can lead students to stop helping one another. In my classroom I encourage my higher learners to help "teach" the lower learners in math and literacy centers and partner writing. I do use academic competition in my classroom at times, but in a healthy way. Typically we will play games and have the teams be girls vs. boys. We make it known that at the end everybody is a winner, but we give dollars (kickboard) to teams we see working together, complimenting one another, and overall showing good sportsman like behavior.
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Post by virginia on Mar 20, 2014 8:07:41 GMT -5
I agree with Ms. Frail about sometimes competition does cause aggression and bullying. There are also many rewarding experiences with competing to. It can challenge students to learn the material they need to so they can compete. It also prepares them for the real world.Most jobs people have to compete to get a raise or move up in their job. You must stay knowledgeable to keep up in the age of technology where everything changes in an instant. Competition is a life skill that will always be there.
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Post by Felicia on Mar 20, 2014 21:17:40 GMT -5
1. We know that great lessons equal less disruption. Identify four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students.
-Show students how achievement benefits their life. Explain to the students that getting good grades, working well, and making an effort do lead to a successful lifestyle. This could mean going to college, getting a job, buying a car, getting a house, and so on. Once you do this, the idea will be planed and they will more than likely think about it! Students are more likely to listen and become more motivated if they understand the purposes behind everything they do.
-Make challenges that students can achieve. If what you're asking them to do is unattainable, the student will become discouraged and may not want to try. Instead, stay with something small and boost their confidence up. Once they see they can do it, they will be able to move onto more difficult tasks in the classroom. It may also be a good idea to ask yourself questions like "Did the student have enough time to complete the assignment?" or "Was the child given enough resources?"
-Establish healthy relationships. If you invest your time to get to know your students, this shows them that you are supportive. Find out things they are interested in or a hobby they do outside of school. Once your students know you care, they are more likely to please you and do the things that are asked of them.
-Give rewards when you see an immediate improvement. Using this strategy can help to a see a quick change in behavior! :-)
2. How can teachers virtually guarantee that their students will complete their homework?
In my classroom, there is a binder where the students each have their own tab with their name on it. When a student does not complete their homework, they must document it as soon as they come into the classroom. They write down the assignment they did not hand in, as well as the date. Once they do this, I have a black bucket in the back of the room. The students place their undone homework in there. The bucket goes outside with us to Recess, where the students have the opportunity to finish their work. If they did not do any reading, they take a book outside and write a brief summary about what they read. If it is Math homework, I have the students show me and once they have all the correct answers, they are allowed to go play. This teaches the students responsibility and also holds them accountable for their actions. The binder is also a great thing to show parents during conferences!
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Post by Felicia on Mar 20, 2014 21:23:56 GMT -5
Providing students a chance to get out of their seats and complete tasks is very important.I think students get to do that so much more in their special classes than they do in their acdemic classes.A few minutes every hour can really get a student refocused and energized to tackle the assignments ahead. As teachers I think we sometimes forget what it is like to sit at a desk all day completing work. Even as adults we want to talk and move around and take breaks from doing the same thing all day. I really agree with this statement! Students need the opportunity to get up out of their seats. Children often become tired and need the chance to move around; this will help energize the class and give them the focus they need to finish assigned tasks. Just like singing songs help us to remember certain things, doing activities with movement have the same effect. They are more likely to recall something when it involved a fun activity! We have had numerous professional development workshops where we have learned Brain Gym Activities. It's important to introduce brain breaks to children of all ages  |
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Post by Monka on Mar 21, 2014 11:52:04 GMT -5
4.How can teachers use grades and other forms of evaluation to motivate?
-Teachers can use these to motivate students by first, just simply showing them their grades. I think it's important for students to see what their grades are and what they correlate to. I think it's great to motivate them by showing them what they got on a preassessment and then how much growth they showed on their post assessment. Especially in the upper grades, it's a great way to get students to try harder next time, if they are unhappy with how they originally performed.
5.When is academic competition good? Bad? Why?
Academic competition can be good at times, like when students are playing a game like Jeopardy together on teams. There is always going to be competition in life, and it's good for students to experience that. Times that it's bad is when students feel like they need to be better than someone else otherwise they aren't good enough.
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Post by Monka on Mar 21, 2014 11:54:06 GMT -5
4.How can teachers use grades and other forms of evaluation to motivate? Instead of having students think they are competing with others for a good grade, have them compete with themselves. They should have their own personal goal they are striving to meet. Every time they meet a goal expectations should be held high and perhaps set higher in order to increase and improve the child's individual performance, but only if they goal is met. It is important for each child to know that good grades are achievable. When it comes to the evaluation process it is important to involve your students as much as you can. That way they can understand why they received their grade and what they can do to change it. 5.When is academic competition good? Bad? Why? Academic competition isn't always a good idea for several reasons. First off, it can create aggression and bullying when students are competing against one another for the top spot in the class. Also, if someone is first in the class it means someone is going to be last. The students who are always last may lose hope or give up if they are consistently finding themselves ranking lowest in the class. Also, academic competition can lead students to stop helping one another. In my classroom I encourage my higher learners to help "teach" the lower learners in math and literacy centers and partner writing. I do use academic competition in my classroom at times, but in a healthy way. Typically we will play games and have the teams be girls vs. boys. We make it known that at the end everybody is a winner, but we give dollars (kickboard) to teams we see working together, complimenting one another, and overall showing good sportsman like behavior. |
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Post by appleby on Mar 21, 2014 15:14:26 GMT -5
1.We know that great lessons equal less disruption. Identify four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students.
Four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students are: using familiar stimuli for the students such as songs, ask compelling questions, use challenge (but it needs to be the right level), and encouraging guessing.
4.How can teachers use grades and other forms of evaluation to motivate?
Teachers can have students participate in the evaluation process. They can help make questions, tell the amount of questions, have students substitute questions on the test, or allow redos or retakes. Also, teachers should compare the students with their previous work samples, not compared the student to others in the class.
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Post by appleby on Mar 21, 2014 15:15:41 GMT -5
4.How can teachers use grades and other forms of evaluation to motivate? -Teachers can use these to motivate students by first, just simply showing them their grades. I think it's important for students to see what their grades are and what they correlate to. I think it's great to motivate them by showing them what they got on a preassessment and then how much growth they showed on their post assessment. Especially in the upper grades, it's a great way to get students to try harder next time, if they are unhappy with how they originally performed. 5.When is academic competition good? Bad? Why? Academic competition can be good at times, like when students are playing a game like Jeopardy together on teams. There is always going to be competition in life, and it's good for students to experience that. Times that it's bad is when students feel like they need to be better than someone else otherwise they aren't good enough. I like how you used the example of Jeopardy and working with teams for competition. I think it is important for them to experience competition and a game like setting is something they may already be familiar with from outside sports. |
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Post by appleby on Mar 21, 2014 15:17:02 GMT -5
1.We know that great lessons equal less disruption. Identify four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students. * Allow students to work at different rates, having meaningful work to complete when they finish the main/first task. * Foster creativity so that there may be more than one right answer to the question. * Provide activities for students to get out of their seats to complete a task. * Get students to think of new ideas. 2.How can teachers virtually guarantee that their students will complete their homework? * make it interesting but not too difficult. *also, check it, so that students know they are accountable for the work. * always relate the assignment to what was taught in class. I like how you said foster creativity. I think it is important for students to have more than one right answer when they can. |
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Post by angela on Mar 21, 2014 17:17:14 GMT -5
Ways to virtually guarantee that students will do their homework- * Explain to the students the purpose of assigning homework and share with them that you will not be assigning busy work, but something that has a purpose and will not waste their time. * Allow students to contribute to the plan of when homework will be given. * Individualize the homework to the child, as opposed to assigning everyone the same amount and the same task. *Let the parents know your homework plan at the start of the year. **As always, my students have a reading log for their nightly reading for the reading lab. However, this year I have a place for the students to sign and the parents to sign, too. This way I can still give credit to the student even if the parent was unable to sign the log. I have 1st through 4th graders that are truly being responsible and completing their reading and filling out their logs if they need to work independently at home. Four characteristics of motivating lessons- *Help students make connections by using something that they can relate to from their everyday life. We can use music, movies, tv shows, ads, and video games. *Ask great questions, that will really make the children think outside the box.... really HOT ?s ! * Created lessons that are challenging. However, we must keep in mind the level of challenge so that it is within reach for all students. *Strive to change students' negative attitudes toward learning by: - finding out what the students' love and use their interests as pathways to their learning new concepts. -share your love and passion!! -help students achieve success so that they break the pattern of failure. |
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Post by angela on Mar 21, 2014 17:20:42 GMT -5
Providing students a chance to get out of their seats and complete tasks is very important.I think students get to do that so much more in their special classes than they do in their acdemic classes.A few minutes every hour can really get a student refocused and energized to tackle the assignments ahead. As teachers I think we sometimes forget what it is like to sit at a desk all day completing work. Even as adults we want to talk and move around and take breaks from doing the same thing all day. Thanks for the reminder about letting the students move around! |
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Post by jpiper on Mar 21, 2014 18:16:07 GMT -5
1.We know that great lessons equal less disruption. Identify four characteristics of lessons that motivate difficult students.
1. Get Students to Recognize and Use Familiar Stimuli.
Use television, movies, advertisements and songs to motivate and engage students. This is a great tool to use in kindergarten. The students love the songs, and they teach valuable lessons. They often sing the songs to recall information.
2. Ask Compelling Questions.
Great questions drive lessons. The students love a challenge. If questions are posed in a way that students believe they are on a quest to find the answer, it is motivating and enjoyable.
3. Encourage Guessing.
Once students guess, they naturally want to know if they are correct. This leads to searching out correct answers.
4. Use Challenge.
Challenge is a universal motivator when context and level are considered.
This goes along with asking great questions. Students like to be challenged. They enjoy searching for answers that need more thought or research, as opposed to, answers that are simply listed in a book.
2.How can teachers virtually guarantee that their students will complete their homework?
Give students choices in the homework they complete. Allow them to decide when they will complete the work based on their schedule. Relate content and homework to the individual. Students are more likely to complete homework if they feel it is interesting and relates to their life experiences. Make sure homework is challenging but not overwhelming. Make homework as interesting as possible. Relate the assignment to what was covered in class. Correct and go over homework quickly. Give students choices in the homework they complete.
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