Motivation

Motivating students can be difficult especially if the content is something they may not be interested in but need to learn. I would combat this many ways. First I would build a trust with my students from the beginning of the year letting them know that I will only teach information that is relevent to the course and their future studies. By doing this student will realize that it is important to be engaged and learn the information not because they have to but because they need to. I would also hold students responsible to their participation by making it related to their grade. Finally I would present the information in a way that makes the students want to participate. I would do this by finding ways to make my lessons fun and interactive whenever possible. One example I have seen of this in action was in my practicum this semester. The practicum teacher was having problems motivating her students to go up and present their projects. The students were afraid of speaking in Spanish in front of their peers and feared negative feedback from the other students. The teacher then pulled out hand held musical instruments and told the students that at the end of each presentation the students would be able to make as much noise as they wanted instead of clapping or verbal feedback. After this the students were open to volunteering and wanted to present in order to hear their classmates make a riot. What I learned from that is that order and productivity can come from chaos and it can even be beneficial.

Classroom Management

They way each teacher maintains a productive and controlled learning environment changes from teacher to teacher. Some do so through fear, some through kindness, and others do so just by their presence in the classroom. I hope to be the latter. I plan on receiving respect from my students by showing them respect in return. I will treat them as the young adults that they are giving them freedoms and privileges to allow them to be more independent in their learning by at the same time having a clear and concise set of expectations and guidelines. I do not use the word rule there because I believe it has a negative connotation and gives an idea of control. Guidelines are something one follows to make something easier. My presence in the classroom will not be on of an authoritarian but one of a

In order to gain the respect of the students I will spend the beginning of the year getting to know them and showing them I care about them and their education. I will also let them get to know me because I feel that if the students do not know their teacher they see them simply as the teacher and nothing else. By bringing a more personal atmosphere to the classroom the students will feel more comfortable and willing to participate. Simply having the classroom as less of an institution and more of a warm welcoming place respect should come freely.

The guidelines in the class will include those of the schools policy and also some of the classroom's own making. The expectations and consequences will be clearly stated and understandable. I believe that will allow the students to know what is and isn't accepted in the classroom.

Lastly I will make my presence known by moving throughout the classroom. That will allow me to see if a student needs help with his or her work even if they are to proud to seek it out themselves. I will not be a teacher that sits behind his desk. To me the desk is a barrier between the teacher and the students and further cuts the personal atmosphere.

107 as far as we know it

This blog post couldn't have come at a better time. In just this past week I realized how my past schooling could be explained by what we were learning in class. As I mentioned in class my 6th grade english teacher made english and language arts a subject that I did not want to attend.  After her negative reinforcement I was set up for a dislike of language arts until my senior year when another teacher managed to make it a class I truly enjoyed. I also realized that in the classes I did well in the teachers informed their lesson plans with not just one learning theory but many.  This class has been the most  informative and enjoyable of all of my classes this semester. I am looking forward to the future topics we will be discussing.

Social Learning Theory

I feel Social Learning Theory is very prevalent in the classrooms in which I have been in. In which the teacher is the more knowledgeable peer providing information to the students. While I believe SLT is a great way to inform teaching if it used improperly the students will just be provided with the answer with no attempt to uncover it on their own. I have found examples of this in which a teacher or professor lectures or writes notes on the board and we are to assume that all they say is correct. I was trained from a young age to never question the teacher's validity. Over time (with the help of a few amazing teachers) I have learned that by questioning the teacher we can learn more efficiently by opening discussion coming to a common consensus.

 The group discussions in class demonstrate an excellent example of how to use SLT properly. We work together using each of our past knowledge to come to a common answer. We are never given a direct statement saying, "SLT is...", however we are provided with a prompt and through a series of discussions and followup questions we come to a common answer that ends up being correct. The prompts and follow up questions are designed to guide us along the right path without explicitly giving us the answer. I feel if more teachers and professors tried a more discussion based approach to applying SLT the students would be more informed and capable of making informed decisions.