Secondly, I watched a video "Positive behavior support- Smile and wave." This was a pretty cool video. This video was geared toward elementary students but definitely at my special education students level. Its funny because I have the student which likes to invaded individuals personal space by hugging people he knows, and I also have the loud/soft talker in my classroom. I like the smile and wave technique because in high school or at any level to invade personal space. He is a touchy-feely students but he has to understand boundaries. The smile and wave has been the easiest technique I have seen, I will definitely try it this week.
Lastly, I read a the blog, "Effective classroom strategies for Students with Autism." I found this blog very interesting and like what this particular teacher had to say. I currently have two students diagnose as Autistic. As she stated, both my students has an obsession with a particular thing. For both of them i have use this to my advantage when a appropriate. You definitely see a change in work ethic and motivation when it involves what they like.
How does this relate to the work you do in your classroom?
Motivation is a huge deciding factor in my classroom. If my students are not motivated to learn it makes it very difficult to do my job. I deal with more discipline issues and not wanting to do work. When work is directly related to the things the students like and/or interested in they are motivated to do work.
How does this deepen your thinking about this domain?
My thinking toward this domain as deepen by knowing and understanding every student needs to be motivated to learn. We all know this but how do we get there. I know by making my class fun my students enjoying coming to school and for me thats been half the battle.
How could this fit into your inquiry plan?
This fits into my inquiry plan because this is the relevant materials I need to possess to be a better teacher and advocate for my students. The materials which i have read and watched has provided information and ideas i can use in my classroom tomorrow.
I so totally get what you say about tapping into kids' interests. My students are second graders and they LOVE when I give examples from their kid world. When I was teaching maps, I would sing Dora the Explorer's map song. Although they know I'm a mom, too, they think it is so awesome when I bring up the Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana because it brings their real world interests into the classroom. They do pay better attention, participate better and remember not just the information but how we came to discover and use the information. I started teaching about 15 years ago and left about 6 years ago to be a stay at home mom. Now that I'm back in the classroom, I'm having a hard time getting used to some of the new "stuff." Kids wanting to be entertained, needing to know why what we are teaching is important. I'm still used to just doing what the teacher said and trusting that if he/she was teaching it, I was responsible for learning it. Now it seems like we have to convince kids that learning is good for them. Not all of them, mind you, but too many.
ReplyDeleteHey Leman,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I also agree that making sure the students have an interest in the lesson helps both the teacher and the student. If they like what they are learning or are motivated to learn it, it makes our work a lot easier. Then all we have to do is teach the lesson. But as Karen mentioned, we have too many students now that expect us to entertain them or will only learn if they are getting some time of reward. It is becoming more and more difficult.
I read the same article, and I thought it was great. I agree that our students do not always realize what real-life issues are. We have to help them see the authentic applications of content knowledge. Unfortunately, the lists of benchmarks don't do a great job of connecting knowledge to the outside world.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that some students seem to know this intuitively. My outstanding students are well aware of the necessity and application of Spanish after high school-and they are highly motivated. It makes me realize that these students achieve at this level because they already understand the importance.