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Roz.Geridis Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Diverse Learning Needs, Homework, Learning About Your Students

Positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is the best classroom management you can use. You also need to be consistent with your promises and any consequences you mention. Many classrooms have reward systems and over the years, I have tried a variety of suggestions. Some suggestions you may have heard about or seen are: group points, behaviour charts/logs, reward systems, and a few more. I have combined systems I have used in the past and found a way to make it work for my class. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I have a very energetic, talkative all boys class. They are great kids and are very easily distracted by each other.

 

At the beginning of the year, I introduced Ms. G bucks to my grade 5/6 class. I used the WORD business card template and used a variety of denominations to help the boys with their multiplication and addition skills. I also initial each buck I give out in a colour marker. The bucks were and are given out for students following classroom routines, handing in paperwork, anything I want the rest of the class to do. I sometimes give them out for handing in homework. It is amazing to see how quickly the students will pay attention when I mention I am giving out Ms. G bucks.

 

The students helped me to develop a list of what they can buy with the bucks. This is where the program is different from many out there and the kids did buy into the concept of program. They were involved in decision making process; I didn’t tell them what happened with the money, they told me. The kids made suggestions and if it was feasible, I would add it (but some suggestions had to be guided). For example, the kids suggested buying the ability to be a teacher for the day; we tweaked that and end up with being teacher for a lesson. All ideas were included; the students’ ideas were realistic, and again, some needed to be guided. However, I did add pencils/erasers; when students can get a new pencil/eraser the next day; you will find many are left on the floor or in the hallway. Not anymore!

 

I also left the ability to fine students to the teacher’s discretion. Fines to students happen after a couple of reminders, routines are still not followed. Fines are usually used to remind students of the rules. Consequences for inappropriate behaviour are based on the behaviour, not fines.

 

Although the students have only bought pencils and erasers with their bucks, this program has worked out very well. The excitement of saving up the money and being able to buy something big is really building in the class. At first, the class was saving for a field trip but not anymore.

 

You may use this idea as is but I would suggest adjusting the program to suit your students and style. As I mentioned at the beginning, this idea came from a combination of a variety of systems utilized in the past and some I have heard about. Some programs have points recorded on a large chart for the whole class to see and some are recorded by the teacher, with students also tracking points. You have to know your students. My class has students who like to separate themselves from the others and therefore individual bucks works great. Also, with individual bucks, you will find students from every table will be more focused which helps focus the attention of the rest of the class.

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Erin.Grewar Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

A Piece of the Pie – An Accurate Reflection of Personal Contribution in Group Work

Having recently completed a group work assignment with classes, I always find it difficult to really know who did what.  This is in spite of ongoing classroom observations and checking in with me daily with regards to their progress. What I devised to find out what went on behind the scenes was something I give out to each group at the end of the assignment. Equipped with a circular graphic resembling a pie, each group must come to a consensus.  In addition to dividing the pieces of the pie according to each person’s contribution, I also ask that each piece be assigned a percentage value as well as a brief outline of the tasks completed by the group members. So people don’t get defensive, I explain that this is a way to reward someone’s efforts of which I might not be aware.

 

After having reached a consensus together as a group, they all sign off once they are in complete agreement with the information submitted. At the end, I am left with a wealth of information – a visual representation that speaks volumes, a sometimes startling insight and an accurate portrayal of who did what. I was really surprised by their serious approach and how involved they were in their negotiations.  As mentioned before, some of the findings were surprising (the extent of one student’s work vs. the lack of another’s).  More importantly, I keep them after the fact because a single image represents a lot and comes in handy in future discussions with the student or during parent interviews.

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Erin.Grewar Assessment, Building Inclusion, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

Connecting Through Mini-Conferences

In my last blog, I talked about trying to get students to meaningfully assess how and what they learned. As a crucial follow-up, I make sure to spend some one-on-one time with every student to discuss their progress throughout the term. As a rotary teacher who sees three classes of 30 plus students a day for 42 minutes (a full-time teacher would then see approx 180), I find that it’s challenging to establish a personal relationship with each one of them. Ensuring that I build in the time to sit down and talk to each one of them is a must. I plan around an activity (usually French skits) where students are focused, self-directed and engaged to minimize interruptions with questions. Over the course of the week, I spend between 3 to 5 minutes (not nearly enough I know), where we have each other’s undivided atttention talking about their results for the term, their strong points as students and concrete, realistic steps they could take to  improve. Finally, it is also a great opportunity to just shoot the breeze. It’s been my experience that students respond more positively to this individual attention and it allows them to more fully appreciate and understand their mark on their report card. Most importantly, it allows for each of you to connect on a personal level.

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Samantha.Perrin Building Inclusion, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

Slowing Down and Creating Goals

“Go Slow, Go Deep” – Tina’s words have been resonating in my head since I read her last post and over the past couple of weeks. I find myself repeating them to myself daily in response to everything from delivering my lessons in math, teaching the students how to sustain reading effectively during independent reading time, to working through our class agreements and routines.

After reading those words, I found myself reflecting on how intently I work to developing class lessons, routines and climate, and how there are always times when a few students don’t seem to transfer the learning from the class lesson to their individual work or conduct.  It can be frustrating trying to figure out why the students are missing it: Was it because I am moving through the lesson too quickly? Were the expectations clear?  Was it because Jimmy was squirming too much in front of Tommy?   Maybe I’m not engaging them… or is it the material?

Then I remember  the words … Go Slow, Go Deep…

After some reflection, I remembered that in order to go deep with my students, what they are doing has to be meaningful to them (even when the subject area isn’t every students interest), and that time needs to be given to hook the students into what they are learning and reflect on what they are supposed to be getting out of a certain activity or lessons  (their learning goal). I usually draw upon student interests to make my lessons fun but not all students are passionate about all areas of the curriculum all of the time, and rather than spend all my time scouring the internet for more fun teaching ideas, I need to find a sustainable way for the students to buy in, and go deep:

Inspired by  Jim’s inclusion activity about developing Goals/Strengths/Beliefs ( Heart And Art of Teaching and Learning, p.36), I adapted the activity to have students communicate their learning goals for several learning tasks and we have begun this for a number of activities and subject areas.

Before and during lessons I  have started to include time for developing goals with my students for what I hope them to learn by the end of the lesson and I have the students share what they  think the final outcome should look like. Sometimes that means that a lesson that was originally intended to take one period will now take two, or even be spread out over the week. These goals are communicated on the whiteboard or chart paper for the students’ reference and so that the students can begin to self-regulate more.  I hope that by putting in the extra teaching time now,  by mid-year the students will be in the habit of viewing  their lessons as a  ‘goal’ with a defined outcome that they want to achieve.

I hope that by taking more time to developing goals with the students, it won’t matter as much that Jimmy was particularly squirmy one day or that Ari was counting the ceiling tiles instead of paying attention to  what a Level 4 Journal entry looks like. It will matter less  because our goals will be visible, available and referred to regularly and eventually (hopefully) it will sink in.  One of my  goals for this year is to continue taking the time to make goals with my students so that they may  develop it as a habit that is internalized, routine and oriented towards success.

 

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Carmen.Oliveira Building Inclusion, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Learning About Your Students

Getting to Know Your Students Is the Best Time You Will Ever Spend

We just had our school’s “Meet the Teacher” night and the feedback from the parents in my classroom proved that, without a doubt, the best time spent during the first month is in getting to know my students.  I was astounded at the fact that most parents felt like they already knew me.  They commented on how their child went home and told them all about our fantastic conversations during our morning community circle and couldn’t wait to be the “Rockstar of the Week.”  This month I’ve really focused on and enjoyed creating meaningful opportunities to get students to open up and share who they are with our classroom community.

The following are some examples of how we get to know each other:

1. Each student has a Daily Journal.  After they come in, they write a “Reflection Question” in their journal and spend the first 10-15 minutes writing down their thoughts.  This is a powerful self-reflection exercise that I have started in my own life and felt the difference it makes on every level: personal, professional, spiritual, etc.  We then start our morning by sitting in a community circle and volunteering our ideas and opinions.  You can literally feel the good energy permeate in our classroom!  I have attached some examples of Reflection Questions.

2. We have a “Rockstar of the Week” bulletin board.  Each week, a student is chosen to fill us in on who they are!  It involves writing about what’s most important to them in life (we read “The Important Book” as a pre-lesson), sharing their favourite books, music, movies, etc., and putting up pictures that can give us a window into their life.  During the week, students must ask the Rockstar about any fact or picture they’d like to find out more about.  At the end of the week, we have an oral quiz on the Rockstar for points that go to the groups that answer the questions correctly. This is a blast and the Rockstar runs the show!

In a letter to their parents this week, one of my students wrote something that brought tears to my eyes and affirmed why I love teaching.  He wrote, This year, I have an amazing teacher.  She really cares about us and says our classroom is our home for the day.  I like that because that’s how it feels.” And that’s why I love my job!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS