Your Seat - Equality
On the struggle bus, my students know exactly what is expected of them. They can actually keep the procedures of the bus well without me being there. They understand that each of them are important to our trip. Getting students to realize this can be challenging, but I've learned over the past two years that to keep order and have a productive drive, you have to let each child know they have a reason to be on the bus (in the class) and a job when they are there.
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” –Pele
As a teacher, making students equal in my classroom is a tough job. Every student has the ability to learn and succeed, however many don't know how to make this happen. Daily, I have to try to figure out ways to make my classroom equal for everyone to learn. But how do you motivate your students who just don't have the drive that Pele speaks of in the quote above? I make sure every student knows their role in my classroom. In Jim Collins book, Good to Great, the third chapter discusses how good people are the most important asset to a good company. He writes that leaders must get the right people in the right positions before figuring out the direction the company wants to go in. I tend to do the same within my classroom. In public schools, we have no say over who walks into our room. No matter what student we have, we have to teach them and they are expected to learn as well as all the other students in America. This can be a challenge and I try to do lots of planning over the summer. But because I never know what my classroom will hold I find that every year I need to feel out my students before I can decide how to teach and set things up. In my classroom, each student knows the role they need to play and they understand what aspect of my class helps them the most.
Some of my students really thrive and make better connections when they can see graphic organizers or foldables. I tend to incorporate foldables whenever I can. In my physical science class we do foldables or graphic organizers at least 2-3 times a week.
I like to put my students in pairs and groups as well. When my students are in pairs I like to use a technique from a professional development I went to where the students have one worksheet and two different colored pens. One student completes a problem in their color. When the student is finished they pass their paper to the next student who checks their answer for correctness and then, assuming nothing is wrong, completes the next problem. They take turns working out a problem and checking each other's answers. I pair students who are struggling with students who are advanced, this way I can help students who might be paired up that both have questions about a specific part of the process. It also gives students a chance to correct each other's misconceptions rather than running myself around the classroom. I do the same thing when the students work on projects in groups. I organize groups with a high achieve, a low performer and two middle of the pack students and assign each of them jobs that highlight their strengths.
Another thing that I like to do is to allow students to use their personalities to shine in my classroom. I have had some students that want to be the center of attention and like feeling important to the class. I assign classroom jobs to ensure my students are engaged and feel necessary. I always have a student who is my clicker. They will fight over this job all the time until I designate one person. I have one student who is in charge of my timer. For students who really need attention, I will allow them to lead the class. My class is structured nearly the same every day. This means the students know exactly what is going to happen each day. I have one specific student who has taught my class multiple times, and even once while a substitute was there. The videos below are examples of him teaching my class. He is in charge of leading the slides, calling on volunteers, passing out tickets, and normally daily tasks that I handle. I am always there in case management issues arise, however, the students are very receptive to the student teaching. They stay more engaged and don't act out when one of their peers are teaching. It has been extremely helpful for my students to give other students an opportunity to lead the classroom.
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” –Pele
As a teacher, making students equal in my classroom is a tough job. Every student has the ability to learn and succeed, however many don't know how to make this happen. Daily, I have to try to figure out ways to make my classroom equal for everyone to learn. But how do you motivate your students who just don't have the drive that Pele speaks of in the quote above? I make sure every student knows their role in my classroom. In Jim Collins book, Good to Great, the third chapter discusses how good people are the most important asset to a good company. He writes that leaders must get the right people in the right positions before figuring out the direction the company wants to go in. I tend to do the same within my classroom. In public schools, we have no say over who walks into our room. No matter what student we have, we have to teach them and they are expected to learn as well as all the other students in America. This can be a challenge and I try to do lots of planning over the summer. But because I never know what my classroom will hold I find that every year I need to feel out my students before I can decide how to teach and set things up. In my classroom, each student knows the role they need to play and they understand what aspect of my class helps them the most.
Some of my students really thrive and make better connections when they can see graphic organizers or foldables. I tend to incorporate foldables whenever I can. In my physical science class we do foldables or graphic organizers at least 2-3 times a week.
I like to put my students in pairs and groups as well. When my students are in pairs I like to use a technique from a professional development I went to where the students have one worksheet and two different colored pens. One student completes a problem in their color. When the student is finished they pass their paper to the next student who checks their answer for correctness and then, assuming nothing is wrong, completes the next problem. They take turns working out a problem and checking each other's answers. I pair students who are struggling with students who are advanced, this way I can help students who might be paired up that both have questions about a specific part of the process. It also gives students a chance to correct each other's misconceptions rather than running myself around the classroom. I do the same thing when the students work on projects in groups. I organize groups with a high achieve, a low performer and two middle of the pack students and assign each of them jobs that highlight their strengths.
Another thing that I like to do is to allow students to use their personalities to shine in my classroom. I have had some students that want to be the center of attention and like feeling important to the class. I assign classroom jobs to ensure my students are engaged and feel necessary. I always have a student who is my clicker. They will fight over this job all the time until I designate one person. I have one student who is in charge of my timer. For students who really need attention, I will allow them to lead the class. My class is structured nearly the same every day. This means the students know exactly what is going to happen each day. I have one specific student who has taught my class multiple times, and even once while a substitute was there. The videos below are examples of him teaching my class. He is in charge of leading the slides, calling on volunteers, passing out tickets, and normally daily tasks that I handle. I am always there in case management issues arise, however, the students are very receptive to the student teaching. They stay more engaged and don't act out when one of their peers are teaching. It has been extremely helpful for my students to give other students an opportunity to lead the classroom.