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Post by rachelwarzala on Sept 14, 2012 7:08:16 GMT -5
Reading:
Creating a Strong Classroom Culture (p. 145-151)
Choose one of the following techniques to read/discuss:
-Technique 28: Entry Routine (p. 151-152)
-Technique 29: Do Now (p. 152-153)
-Technique 31: Binder Control (p. 157-158)
-Technique 33: On Your Mark (p. 159-161)
-Technique 34: Seat Signals (p. 161-163)
Discussion Questions:
1. Briefly describe the technique you chose to read about. Why is this technique important/useful in creating strong classroom culture? Are there any challenges you see in implementing this technique in your classroom? NLA as a whole?
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Post by mike on Sept 17, 2012 20:37:23 GMT -5
Seat Signals was my choice. It’s a list of non-verbal expressions taught to students to signal their needs. For example, a student would hold up a hand and cross two fingers to request a bathroom break. The teacher might in turn signal to wait five minutes by holding up a hand. This would allow for communication without breaking the lesson flow.
It is a great way to keep control of the pace of instruction. Good teachers probably already communicate in this fashion to some extent, but this puts it into a tangible skill to learn. Seat signal is a more scientific way of keeping students engaged.
I’d love to see it, but I don’t feel I’m going to be able to institute this method. The students are so resistant to anything that feels controlling or what they perceive to be infantile.
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Post by taheeda on Sept 18, 2012 6:43:36 GMT -5
Briefly describe the technique you chose to read about.
“Do Now”
Students should never have to ask, “What am I suppose to be doing” when they enter the room. Four critical criteria so it is focused, efficient, and effective.
1. They should be able to complete without instruction or discussion with classmates.
2. They should take 3-5 minutes to complete.
3. The activity should require putting a pencil to paper (a written product).
4. The activity should preview the day’s lesson or review a recent lesson.
Why is this technique important/useful in creating strong classroom culture?
• It sets expectations
• It encourages students to voice their opinions and express themselves (participation)
• Consistency (students want a environment that is consist)
• Control (if just for a minute students are in control of their own learning)
• Allows the learner to work at learning
Are there any challenges you see in implementing this technique in your classroom?
• I support in class discussions so to ask students to complete a task(non test) without having a discussion with peers maybe a problem for my class because of it
NLA as a whole?
• I see only one small problem, the students that we have in this school need guidance, to ask some of them to complete a task without that guidance could be a problem. What I am trying to say is if we use this technique in a large group, it is not going to be useful.
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Post by tjtiseo on Sept 18, 2012 9:18:38 GMT -5
Briefly describe the technique you chose to read about.
I chose “Do Now” which is a tool used upon entering the classroom. All students are to read what is to be done and complete it without any other instruction.
Why is this technique important/useful in creating strong classroom culture?
I think this technique is important for several reasons. Fits it helps set the entry routine, secondly I like to use it as the anticipatory set for the lesson of the day, and third, the do now is a great way to start the day with classroom participation.
Are there any challenges you see in implementing this technique in your classroom?
I think the biggest challenge with this technique is ensuring the students are here in the beginning of class to complete it. My first block students have been arriving late and missing out on this. But I have explained that if a student is late and misses the assignment they will receive a zero for that particular assignment.
NLA as a whole?
I think as a school we would all face the same problem as above. But my hope is that we can use such a technique to encourage our students to get to school/class on time.
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Post by Rebecca Wilm on Sept 18, 2012 16:21:00 GMT -5
1.) I have chosen technique 31, Binder Control, because I think it is an important technique especially for special education students. Binder control basically means that each teacher requires students to keep and maintain a binder for their class. The author talks about keeping the binders in the classroom which I think is necessary because of our population. Students should also organize their binders in the same fashion. This way as the teacher you are able to quickly look through each binder and gage students’ classroom progress. As I stated before this technique is especially important to me because I work with the special needs population. Often time’s special needs students become disorganized throughout the school year and this can only add to their frustration. I find that when students feel organized and know where their materials are they are more confident in the classroom. The only challenge we would face is that we would need to provide the binders for the students which requires either us paying out of pocket for them or waiting for a supply order to come in. There are also some students who are going to reject to the idea of using a binder, and they may take more convincing. I think NLA as a whole should implement a binder policy. However, as our school population may begin to grow it may no longer be in the budget to supply students with binders.
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Post by Semone Morant on Sept 18, 2012 19:16:06 GMT -5
My selected reading was "Seat Signals" which was an extremely interesting read. To summarize, the section encouraged teachers to use non verbal signals or forms of communication with students that request to use the bathroom or any other action that might disrupt the lesson at its heighten point. In theory, I think the idea is great if you have established a solid classroom culture in your classroom. Constant request to leave the classroom can be extremely disturbing and distracting to instruction. However, this technique must be tailored to the instructor. I love the concept but I don't think it will work for everyone. Yet, their are a number of techniques listed to assist with classroom culture.
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Post by ric on Sept 18, 2012 20:03:10 GMT -5
Binder Control is my choice. Maybe it’s teaching science, or just how I’ve been teaching it, but last year I found the students were scattering their papers all over the place. Work would leave and never return, or get mixed together so that the students couldn’t find what they were looking for. I wanted to give marked and commented assignments back, but returning papers to have them thrown out or at the bottom of a backpack never to be seen again seemed to miss the point. Last semester I decided to give all my students three ring binders and I felt it was very helpful, although I also felt it could be improved. I think most students feel pride in having one place to put all their work. This year my goal is to set high standards for notebook neatness and completeness. I would like the notebooks to be a portfolio of student work, that they will see as an accomplishment to be proud of at the end of the class. Last year I let a few “responsible” students take home their binders, which was a mistake. When a student forgets to bring their binder for several days the system breaks down. The book’s suggestion of folders that students take work home in makes sense, and I’m going to try that.
The biggest challenge will probably be getting the students to take the time to keep their work organized. Our students don’t always have the patience to organize their work. This is particularly a problem with students that miss days and don’t make up their work. I also want students who miss work to record the assignments they take home to complete. I’m still working on a good, easy to maintain, solution. I’m tired of students asking for the same unfinished assignments over and over again.
I don’t know if this would work for all NLA classes, but I do think they might be appropriate for some subjects.
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Post by michelle on Sept 19, 2012 1:52:58 GMT -5
The technique Binder Control explains when students have a set place to organize and store their notes/materials, it creates an importance for what is being taught.
Although I require notebooks instead of binders, this technique is important because expectations are in place for each student. They are expected to be organized and accountable. In addition to the standard, the organization of their notebook is measurable and can be assessed.
I require students to have a notebook and Art Portfolio which sets the standard and importance of my subject. Their notebooks house notes, vocabulary, charts and assessments for each lesson while their portfolio stores the visual art. This technique is extremely useful while conferencing with students and parents about grades because Art isn't taken seriously. However, students and parents became familiar with my expectations, organization and documentation that the culture of Art class changed.
The challenge I have while implementing this technique at NLA is not having an Art room home. I've stored and organized Art notebooks and portfolios for at least 30 classes a week, thus, this technique creates structure and accountability for the students.
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Post by rwaithaka on Sept 19, 2012 4:47:40 GMT -5
I have chosen to read about technique 29 - the "Do Now". This technique is important in creating a strong classroom culture in the sense that students know what they are expected to do as soon a s they enter the classroom. The Do Now serves as a refresher and it helps students remember some of the things they learnt the day before or a couple of days ago. It helps them transit into a new day's lesson without having to wonder whether there is consistency in what they are learning and it also helps them to see the need of reviewing their notes.
The main challenge I see in implementing this technique in my classroom is that a good number of the students don't come on time (or they come unprepared), meaning that the allocated time of three to five minutes is barely enough to complete the activity.
The problem in trying to implement the technique to NLA as a whole is that a lot of our students are not motivated to do things on their own. This means that the instructor has to push some of the students to get the activity done. Again this requires more than five minutes.
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Post by j1devoe on Sept 19, 2012 10:57:41 GMT -5
Binder Control is key. Even I don't keep the best notes/materials where they need to be so instilling a neat and controlled place for students to store their things. Quick access to notes means better activation of said notes and old tests when it comes to writing papers, answering class discussion questions or using thier organized binders for assessments. Having all things in one place and ready to go is also psychologically rewarding and gives the students a sense of balance and removes anxiety and panic related to lack of preparedness.
The main challenge I see in implementing this is the lack of supplies and the fact that the lockers a generally too small to keep such large binders in one place. The next step is utiliizing classroom space which then takes away the responsibility from the student and places it on the classroom teacher or general classroom environment.
The rpoblem with implementing it at NLA is our students have come from long lines of disorginized crap that hold them back, one of those being the ability to keep anything in order. Having the binders prepared for them at least with inserts sets the students on the right path and then explaining why it is important helps with the seriousness. After that, it becomes a respect and responsibilty game that only the student can play to help themselves.
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Post by fabriano on Sept 19, 2012 11:16:20 GMT -5
I chose to read about the “Do Now.” The purpose of Do Now’s is to have a ready made activity for students as they enter the classroom. It is meant to eliminate student excuses that lead to distraction and provide clear instruction for what students should be doing.
This technique is important for eliminating “free time” for students who are entering the room over the course of first few minutes of the class. Also, by placing it in the same spot everyday, students do not have an excuse for not working as soon as they enter the class. It is also a great way to activate prior knowledge leading into the lesson.
The only glaring issue I see with the Do Now, involves those chronically late students. If students are consistently more than 5 minutes late, they will consistently miss the Do Now work and the grade attached to it.
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Post by jabbaleo on Sept 19, 2012 11:23:36 GMT -5
I chose to read technique 33 "on your mark"...Summarizing the pages, it states that we must enforce certain rules for our students, such as you need a paper and pen every day, but we do not have to verbally remind them every day. I feel like this really hits home with our population. At some point during the day, one of our students are going to ask for a pen or if they can have another handout because they lost it. I think it is crucial that we all stay consistent with this policy and are on the same page. If we can establish minor penalties for students who consistently do not have supplies to complete work or lose their handouts, we can really teach our students how to be responsible on a daily basis.
A possible issue with implementing a rigid structure so students are always bring supplies and do not lose classroom documents is consistency amongst staff. If one teacher is constantly giving students three copies of an assignment, this student is going to think all teachers are going to do that. So, as a staff, we should develop guidelines to teach our students how to be responsible every day.
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Post by Andrea Goodman on Sept 19, 2012 12:29:53 GMT -5
Technique 33 "On Your Mark"
Very important piece. When the instructor has modeled the importance of being prepared when walking into class, the expectation for the student to be equipped and ready to achieve has been put in place as a standard. When we require the student to come into class prepared with books, notebooks, pencils, etc. and being consistent, the mind set is better focused on learning. Consequences should also be in place and enforced when unprepared.
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Post by Safiya on Sept 20, 2012 11:04:07 GMT -5
I read about seat signals. I think it may be helpful with smaller children in a effort to reduce classroom disruptions by having hand signs for things that they would normally have to interrupt class to get permission for i.e.: bathroom visits, sharpen pencils etc. I feel older students should be able to reduce classroom disruptions while having their needs met without doing predetermined hand signals. I did think it was helpful to suggest student can only use the bathroom at certain indentified times. At NLA we have done something similar to that by not allowing student to leave the class/ cafeteria the 1st 10mins or last 10mins of class. I feel this would be extremely helpful for us if all staff enforced this as requested.
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