I recently had the opportunity to review three videos and analyze three different teaching learning situations. Academic expectations, behavior expectations and norms and procedures were key factors that I had to analyze.
Roller Coaster Physics:
This video was truly amazing. I had to watch this as well as look at her lesson plan Glog. Ms. Migdol STEM class was brilliant. When I saw that this was a STEM class I already had high academic and behavioral expectations from this group. It was evident that Ms. Migdol also had high expectations of both. This lesson was detailed and gave them enough time to complete which created norms and procedures for the students. The students were broken into groups to create an effective rollercoaster. These students clearly knew their stuff. They were able to explain their projects using the appropriate terms, such as "kinetic energy vs. potential energy." Not only did Ms. Migdol instruct them on what needed to be done, she allowed them to use their critical thinking as a a group. One of the norms or procedures was that the students "chimed" This was when they came together as a class to discuss the trials and errors of their projects. This way they learned from each other as a class as well as from her. In each group the students also had individual roles, these roles ranged from Group leader, recorder and accountant. This gave the students a chance to also assess their individual strengths. I was so impressed with the thinking of these students. They were being encouraged to learn from their mistakes. The assignment didn't end because of the "failure". The so called failure just further pushed them to "critically think" even more to figure out how to create an effective roller coaster. Ms. Migdol asked questions and encouraged their thinking process, this appeared to be a norm. Communication was truly encouraged in this class. This lesson plan promoted all aspects of STEM. I loved how she incorporated all aspects of STEM, designing the roller coaster, using physics, measurements and accounting for budgeting the materials, and still made it fun. The students had to use the simulator program to design their roller coaster and even with that they were still learning. Her norms and procedures allowed them adequate time, and she even allowed them the opportunity to earn 120% on the assignment. Further pushing high expectations from them. This was a group project that also had individual roles so that everyone was accountable. She even had a Daily participation score. If she had to tell you to "get to work", that was 10% coming off of your grade. Ingenious!!!!
3rd Grade Chinese Math
This video was totally different. It was a different topic, and different grade. In all honesty I was stun as an African-American seeing a predominantly African -American class of 3rd graders speaking in Chinese. I was also proud. This video was totally in Chinese, but it was math so I understood the concept. It appeared as if the students were singing the multiplication table. As children we are taught to memorize the multiplication table, and rightfully so; numbers don't lie. 2x2 will always equal 4. The academic expectation of this class appeared high, because they were only allowed to speak Chinese in the class. This to me also made me believe that the behavior standards were high as well. This students had to remember to speak in Chinese, and they are only 3rd graders. This also is a Norm and procedure. They sat on the carpet and there were maybe 1 or 2 students who appeared restless but this is expected as to this is a lower grade. I also had to read an article on how Chinese students learn math. For the most part the foundation of math is made a lot easier when you have to memorize the multiplication chart and formulas, because for the most part you are plugging in numbers to satisfy the need of the equation. So I agreed and understood, the concept of that. The high expectations of learning math is set high from every angle. It's not just the school that expects the best, but the culture of learning is exceptional. The Chinese have very strict ways of implementing their learning in regards to math. I wonder if its only strict to me because I was raised differently. They do however excel in Mathematics so, I guess it works for them. Right about now I wished I had their training so I can finally pass the math portion of the Praxis core exam.
Whole Brain Teaching
Prior to this lesson I had never heard of Whole Brain Teaching. When I watched the video I was taken aback. It looked to me like a theatrical production. Tons of hand movement and repeat after me. It played on my sensitivity of the stereotypical outlook of "how to teach students of color". As if we can only learn like this. I'm all for learning the rules, but the repeat after me aspect for 9th graders didn't appeal to me. The teaching strategy looked like something that belong in an early education class. The loud speed reading was too loud and confusing. I wonder if they actually comprehended anything? The teacher appeared enthused, and her class appeared disciplined. The behavioral expectation was high because she had the class recite all the rules. I am also assuming because of the implantation of the rules that she did have a high academic expectation. I was also instructed to research more about Whole Brain Teaching. The concept of Whole Brain teaching appears to be a creative concept. From what I have read, this concept came about to help teachers with students that had behavioral problems and couldn't grasp the fundamentals of learning. Whole Brain uses a lot of games and tactics to make learning extremely fun, and makes sure that their classrooms are peaceful and organized. Perhaps this video wasn't a great video to truly represent the Whole Brain teaching concept. I can however, see this being helpful to keep students engaged.
Setting high performance expectations among my students:
I plan to be a kindergarten teacher so I am responsible for teaching my students the fundamentals of learning. It is important to me that I set a great tone for all of my students. I have to take into account that all children learn differently. My goal is to make sure each and every one of them are prepared to go to the first grade. So my academic expectation of them will be high. In order for me to have an effective year I need to expect high behavioral expectations. Part of being a kindergarten teacher is to implement and reinforce good behavior. This will be one of the goals of kindergarten. I am also realistic that there will be ups and downs for every child behaves differently as well. I will like to use a piece of every video that I watched. I want my students to be critical thinkers and I want to encourage group projects like the roller coaster project. I also have to make sure that certain lessons are embedded into their minds. There is no getting around recognizing letter, numbers, shapes and colors. So I will have to take it seriously like the Chinese math. They have to know their phonics to prepare them to be great readers. I have to let their parents know that their involvement is equally if not more critical for their child's success. I also have to remember at the same time that these are little human beings, and I have to keep them engaged. They need to feel that learning is fun, they need to feel that they are in a safe place and that they are being nurtured by me their teacher. Teaching to me ,means that there needs to be structure, critical thinking and fun in learning. There are ways to incorporate all of the strategies that I saw from these videos into teaching.
References:
(n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135:whole-brain-teachers-of-america&Itemid=105
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