Hello, hope you are all doing well.
I really enjoyed focusing more on one domain. It helped to focus on a specific topic of my classroom. I searched mainly about strategies on motivating my students. There is so much information out there and I guess it is really just about finding what works and how it works for each individual student. I read an article about “Teaching Strategies For Motivating Students” and looking at motivational issues differently. A big thing I learned from the article was not to issue threats at the beginning of the school year. I do not feel that I threaten the students but I do try to start off letting them know that the rules and expectations are a serious matter in my room and I expect them to be followed. To work to there best potential I think students need to be encouraged and that is what is stated in the article. I think that a good balance of classroom control and positive teaching and encouragement is what everyone classroom needs.
Many classroom and students need individualized motivation and encouragement, especially in a special education classroom. All for my students are motivated differently and I have to make sure that I am encourages and motivating each of them in the way the desire and which makes them put forth the effort I need form them. Another article I read called “Real World Issues Motivate Students”, which focused on relating content and motivation to real world issues. Students seem to benefit and enjoy working on something that connects to their lives and real world issues. I really liked this article because I really try to do this because I have found that the students really enjoy the content as it relates more to their lives. Almost all content can somehow relate to something in a students life, and it just takes the effort of the teacher to try to implement this. Both of the articles are things I really try to implement in my classroom and enjoyed reading on more ways to implement these strategies.
My domain really focuses on management of the classroom and student motivation and the articles I read really helped me to understand more about that. In my inquiry plan I plan to work on student homework completion and ways to improve it, or motivate students in general with positive reinforcement. If I can find ways to motivate my students into getting their homework done or just in the classroom in general. I think I will see an increase in student’s homework completion. I know there any many different reasons for why student do not get their homework completed, especially in my classroom. Students often do not have the at home motivation needed to get the homework done. They also may feel that a homework grade is not necessary if they just do well on tests, for others it is just lack of organization and not remembering to do the homework. I have so many students that do not turn in homework and I would like to develop a plan for them. For my inquiry plan I will work either on homework completion or classroom positive reinforcement or behavior modification. Both a kind of related but are something that needs to be addressed to see my students achieve their best.
I look forward to working more in our domains to see what I can do to work on my inquiry plan and improve student motivation wither in homework or in class in general.
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A teacher recently shared with me that she uses a technique that she calls "mystery behavior". She writes a positive behavior down on a piece of paper and seals it in an envelope. It is then taped to the whiteboard every day. At the end of the day, she shares with the class the positive behavior that is inside the envelope (usually allowing a student to open and read it). The class votes on the student that has best exemplified that behavior for the day (and she must agree of course). That student receives a reward in the form of extra recess, homework pass, prize box item, extra library time, etc. She says that this mystery prize has worked well for her this year in motivating her students to behave appropriately. She teaches 4th grade students.
ReplyDeleteI really like Rhonda's idea- neat. I also like that it is based in some peer recognition- I imagine that this is powerful factor with older kids. I think that both of these goals- homework completion- and management would be good ones. I was thinking about your homework goal and thinking about what type of homework do you give? Is it pretty standard? Could you negotiate at all with the students about type of homework, form, frequency? It seems like if they had some say into this perhaps you would get a better response rate. Perhaps even something like writing a class homework contract or even individual ones-where they establish their homework goals and rewards(approved by you of course. Maybe this is a great time to ask others what they do and try something new and then monitor how it goes for you.
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