Ch. 13 PLE

     It is important to allow your students the time to interact within the learning process. Through my education classes and experiences I have already have, I have been able to see the benefits of having an interactive classroom. I enjoy the thought of allowing students the opportunity to learn from each other as well as their teacher. Going along with the theme of interaction, I also think it is important to establish positive relationships. Whether these relationships are between the teacher and student or between student and student. I want to be engaged with my students and help them to feel that they are in a safe environment to express their thoughts and/or concerns. 

     I really liked the classrooms that I have been in that displayed the student's work. I feel that it showstheir hard work pays off and is of true importance. I am a very visual person, and although not everyone is, I think that it is beneficial to have visual aids around the classroom. Whether it is for directions or for vocabulary words. Our excitement as teachers when bringing in new and various topics/concepts goes a long way with our students. All and all I want the environment of my classroom to be of excitement/challenges and not stress. 

http://schoolimprovementnetwork.blogspot.com/2012/04/necessity-of-environment-conducive-to.html

     Based on the Elementary Education Case Study, I found a few responses to deal with this misbehavior. This is not a behavior that should just be ignored. I like how the groups and responsibilities are changed because this gives the students an opportunity to work with different people. When doing group projects I find that is important to account for both group and individual accountability. Lisa should be aware of the importance of her accountability in both parts, and I feel that explaining to her why you  need cooperation in groups would be beneficial. You could also talk to her one on one to see why she does not like to do certain jobs and what makes her angry. There may be underlying problems causing this behavior like she does not feel that she can perform other tasks. Regular communication and encouraging Lisa of her abilities may help. You could also incorporate the if/then statement with the roles of the groups. If she does this one role now and completes the task then she can do the other role next time. 

Motivation

Consider the theories of motivation that we discussed in class.   Which theories of motivation are most helpful and instructive for you?  How can they enhance motivation and affect your students?  

  From the classes that I have previously had experience in I saw the benefits of extrinsic motivation and goal oriented theories. In one Kindergarten class that I was in, the children would receive stickers on their work if it was the 'star work' of the day. The children were motivated to do their best work so they could get that sticker and have their work hung up on the board. It got to the point that the students did their best work without asking about the stickers even though we still did them. We also had a jar of marbles in the classroom that the children were able to put a marble into if they received good marks in their encore classes. The children had a goal of filling the jar to have a celebration. Both of these motivational factors worked in this classroom. Depending on what grade I end up teaching, I will use extrinsic motivation sparingly because I feel this provides the best results. I am personally motivated by grades, and I was also motivated by the social cognitive theory as I was going through grade school. My parents were not too harsh on me, but the consequences of not making good grades motivated me to do well in school. Everyone is motivated by different things, but a little motivation can go a long way. 

h        http://www.education.com/reference/article/extrinsic-motivation-children-education/

PLE Post 1

  The first class got me excited about what this course will provide. So far the class seems very open to discussion and learning from everyone's experiences and insights. With the Praxis exams vastly approaching, knowing this course will help us prepare was definitely a positive to hear. I am interested to go deeper into classroom management and motivating my students when I am in my own classroom. We have learned a lot through our coursework and now that our internship year is coming up, I believe it is important to also be able to implement effective management. I also find it very beneficial to be able to motivate your students throughout the school year. As a student myself right now, I know it is only human nature to lose motivation at times. Although I do not have any concerns or questions at the moment, I am anxious to see how the CSEL Artifact unfolds. All in all, I am excited about this course.