Read Jensen chapters 1, 2, and 3.
In Chapter one, identify three significant ideas the author introduces.
In chapter 2, select two rules of engagement you believe to be essential in the work you do with children or adolescents and select a minimum of one “solution you can use” and state why you picked that solution.
In chapter 3 Jensen identifies five actions to create a positive class climate. Which two are you most committed to and why?
After reading just the first 3 chapters of the Jensen text, I can already tell it's an essential read for not just teachers, but all school personnel. Most especially in schools with a large population of low SES students.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading the seven factors of student and teacher engagement in the first chapter. The first idea presented by the author that really stood out to me was the piece about the engagement gap. The author says that if any teacher performs at one standard deviation in quality above the district's mean progress rate, the achievement gap would be totally closed. To me, that is groundbreaking. So many students fall through the cracks and miss opportunities because they're not receiving the same support they are at school at home, or vice versa. The next idea that caught my eye was the authors discussion about "excuses." We can make excuses about the system and politics until we are blue in the face, but until we make consistent changes and work at them year after year, we have no room to complain. We can make a difference, it's just not going to be immediate results. The third part of the first chapter that drew me in were the seven engagement factors. Reading these reminded me of Maslov's hierarchy of needs. If a child is starving, there is no way they will be able to learn in the classroom. If a child has no positive and supportive relationships, there is no way they will be able to apply what they learn. Knowing those seven factors is essential to helping a child learn and grow.
I was also really interested to learn the rules of engagement set forth in the second chapter. These are ways that educators can improve on their own skills and slowly build a better classroom. The two rules that resonated with me the most are rule #3 to "get buy-in" and rule #5 to "show your passion." Doing both these things proves to the children that you care and are there to help them succeed. One solution to get buy in is to use incentives. Incentives are a great way to keep students motivated and evaluate their progress. A solution to showing your passion is by being present, positive, and focused on the students. As teachers and school counselors, we could very well be the only adults giving these children positive attention - and they thrive on it.
As for chapter three, even though I am not a teacher and counselors are only in the classroom every so often, I still found it helpful to read through these techniques. The two that stood out to me most are establishing that we are family at the school, and teaching positive social and emotional responses. As I previously stated, some children may not have consistent family or families that are supportive and present for them. It's really important for them to feel included and loved in their school family. Also, we must be the ones to set positive social and emotional examples for them. And instead of always disciplining and punishing students who don't respond appropriately, teach them how to.
One idea the author introduces in chapter 1 has to do with socioeconomic status. If a student has a lower socioeconomic status they are more likely to not do well in school. This is due to the fact that they lack proper health and mental care and so don't have tools needed to focus on school work. Another possible reason for the lack of education when it comes to lower socioeconomic students is there stress level. While students that aren't on their level can play and spend time as a kid they have to worry about things such as bills and this added stress can cause issues within the rest of their life. Yet another idea introduced in chapter 1 is that most student growing up in poverty have a negative view of the future based on their present. Do to this they put forth a lack of effort.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most essential rules of engagement to me is what the books mentions as building respect. With this the student must connect with the teacher on another level while at the same time never crossing the boundary between student and teacher. I have always like the saying the book uses "students don't care how much I know until they know how much I care". This is especially important to me teaching high school. Being a substitute teacher has put a new perspective on this for me. Actually being in the classroom I now have seen first hand just how much the students at the high school level need this connection and it is a lot more than I would have ever guessed. It works really well as a good motivator for them to pick up on good learning habits. I like the idea of sharing a bit of yourself everyday as I believe this is the best way to establish a real connection with the students. The teacher that I'm doing my placement with has done this strategy and had great effect. From what she has shared she has earned the students respect and she has less discipline problems and more students wanting to learn. At the same time she encourages them to share parts about themselves which I think is also a great strategy. Yet another solution she uses that I would also use is to implement their culture into the classroom. She has a Japanese student who can't speak much English and during history class she allowed him to do project about WWII from the perspective of his culture and what they went through rather than forcing him into doing it from the United States perspective. This allows the United States students to learn something too they would otherwise be exposed to. Yet another rule I think that is important is to show your passion. If the students see how much I love the subject that will project to them. Their are many ways to accomplish this such as eye contact and the tone of the voice. That being said I think the best strategy is to move around the classroom and not stay stationary refer to maps and painters and things of that nature. This is effective as it causes students to be more engaged to learn as they never know what to expect as they never know where you will be. I honestly think this is the best thing for keeping students engagement at a gig which to me is the most important thing when it comes to social studies which is what I want to teach.
ReplyDeleteI feel like one of the most important actions for creating a positive classroom is to establish the "we are family"method. I feel like the best way for students to succeed is to succeed together. If one student fails that is one student too many. I feel like students need that sense of community. For some students this might be the only real support base they have. This may be the thing that takes them from failing to excelling. Yet another action is teach positive social and emotional responses. This is a good lesson for the classroom and life in general. For many students they aren't taught this at home so the classroom is the only place they can get it. Instead of emphasizing the negative, we need to look at the positive. Instead of always yelling about bad behavior reward the student for good behavior. We need to practice this in order to encourage cooperation. One way to exhibit this is when a student cheats on a test instead of completely going off take the student aside let them know your disappointed and that you know they are better than that. Offer to give them a chance at a make up test and tell them that you know they can succeed at doing better.
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ReplyDeleteChapter 1:
ReplyDeleteThere are many ideas introduced in chapter one. I found a lot of the research results presented to be very interesting. It was shocking to me that toddlers from upper income households used more words to speak to their parents than mothers from low income households did to their children (pg. 11). I found that statistic amazing and it really shows how important adults in the school system are for children whose vocabulary exposure is low. The second research result that I did not know was the fact that impulsive behavior from students is sometimes a survival mechanism (pg. 17). I think it is easy to forget, as a teacher, if you know the children are safe in your classroom, that does not mean that they do not have fears that originate from home. The third idea that I found significant was the building of relationships within the school and classroom (pg.15-16). I think it is extremely important to have a class who feels like they are a family.
Chapter 2:
The two rules of engagement that I think are essential are building relationships and respect and embracing clarity. When working and speaking with children, I think respect is the most important factor. Everything may not automatically fall into place when respect is established, but everything is much easier to achieve when respect is there. Not only is it essential for students to respect you, as their teacher, it is also important for you to respect them. Respect between students is equally as important. I also think students need to see faculty/staff respecting one another and parents. If students are not used to seeing adults respecting one another at home, they need to see it in school. Embracing clarity is essential because students do not have the capacity, or want to listen to the teacher explain something for a long period of time and really, who can blame them? If you are listening to someone who obviously does not know what they are doing, you are going to stop listening and probably will not take them seriously, which would be a big problem if this was the relationship between a teacher and their students. The solution I would like to use falls under embracing clarity. I like the idea of using body language to portray feelings of excitement and expectations. It is a simple way to control the class without them realizing you are doing so, it's an easy way to get things started without a big chance of defiance.
Chapter 3:
The two actions that I am most committed to are establishing a feeling that we are family within the classroom and teaching positive social and emotional responses. I think these go hand-in-hand, when you have a classroom of students who are close and care for one another they are going to want to communicate and respond properly because they want to respect each other. Keeping in mind that some students do not have healthy relationships outside of school and they are most likely to be the students who have inappropriate emotional responses, I think these two actions are important.
Great text, I really appreciate practical guides that use current research to show what’s on the ‘cutting edge’ of teaching. In chapter one Jenson introduces his topic of serving low SES students by creating a seven-point framework which correlates to student engagement. I am particularly interested how SES has direct links to the development of vocabulary and cognitive development. As teachers, we must acknowledge these differences and coordinate instruction to relate to all students. Secondly, I appreciate Jensen’s acknowledgement of how relationships tend to be unstable and based on negative inputs in low-SES families. This links well to later points he makes about how we should strive to create safe, positive environments and model caring behaviors to our students. The discussion on responses to stress was also very helpful in understanding how students will react differently to a stressor and how teachers can try to preempt impulsivity and other destructive reactions.
ReplyDeleteThe five rules of engagement all seemed super pertinent to leading positive classrooms with reflective teaching. I really liked the example of getting a buy in, or selling your lessons to the class to get them excited to learn. Simple prompts, like making students feel like they are working above their expected grade levels is a great way to energize the class and make learning exciting. Also, I feel like clarity is an important thing to work for many teachers. It is a great point that students will often lose focus as instruction drones on.
Creating a positive classroom environment is the basis for any high achieving class and Jensen does a great job of demonstrating some initial steps for educators. I am very curious to learn more about mind-body states and how the relationship between the two can jumpstart meaningful learning. I would like to research and experiment with mindfulness and physical exercises, even with older classes, which I think can counteract a lot of boredom and lack of concentration among students. Modeling a class community from positive familial units is a great way to not only generate support among peers but also establish the teacher as a model for positive and meaningful interactions.
One main idea from the first chapter is that the quality of teaching matters more to student outcomes than any other factor. Jensen states that research shows that quality teaching can completely offset the effects of poverty on students’ performance. Another main idea is the seven engagement factors- health and nutrition, vocabulary, effort and energy, mind-set, cognitive capacity, relationships, and stress level. These factors correlate with student engagement and are tied to academic success. A third main idea is that by using strategies that connect with the engagement factors, you can affect the engagement factors of your students and make a difference in their learning.
ReplyDeleteFor me, two rules of engagement that will be very important in the classroom are upgrade your attitude and show your passion. Show your passion is very important to me because I love science and chemistry. I want to share my love for these subjects and hopefully help my students to love them as well. I want to encourage anyone who is interested in science to explore it more and consider it as a career. The solutions mentioned that are of particular interest to me are be positive and let excitement show in my voice. These solutions are of interest because they will give me a way to communicate my passion about science to my students. The upgrade your attitude rule of engagement is particularly of interest to me because of one of the solutions mentioned- give yourself permission to fail. This solution is one I need to use because I struggle with failure. I am afraid of things not working, and I am afraid that I won’t know what to do next. The idea to always have a backup plan and just note things that didn’t work is one I plan to implement.
The two areas that I am most committed to are manage mind-body states and establish that we are family. I want to have a classroom atmosphere committed to learning new things, stretching minds, and being excited about what we learn and discover. A solution mentioned in manage mind-body states is to limit lecture time to short chunks interspersed with other activities. I think that this solution will help me keep students engaged by keeping them from being bogged down and bored. Small activities will help to reinforce lecture material and keep students interested. A solution mentioned in establish that we are family that is of particular interest to me is to form cooperative teams. I can create lab groups that are cooperative teams, allow them to choose a name, and do get to know you activities. They can work in their lab groups for labs and for other class activities, assisting each other and learning together. I can let them personalize their labs somewhat by exploring in greater depth aspects that are of interest to their group. These solutions make me most committed to these two areas.
The first idea that I would like to point out is the significance of food and nutrition. I appreciated how the author backed up the importance of this information with research of the brain. I think this is helpful to understand because there is literally a brain alteration in those students who are not getting the proper foods into their system before the school day begins. I think this is vital for all school faculty to know because a student’s entire day can be changed with the simple question of “what did you eat for breakfast this morning?” If we are aware of the lack of nutrition, we can help that student start off better by providing their basic needs. I know the schools I am interning at are very good about making sure all students have access to a nutritious breakfast.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I thought the idea about mindset was very interesting. I agree with the idea that if the teacher does not instill that you can do it or that every student can have a bright future, then those students will most likely be checked out for the rest of the day. It was interesting for me to read about this now because in the month of January, at my internship site, we focused on presenting the idea of having a growth or fixed mindset to our students in the classroom lessons. Both the teachers and the students could understand how instilling a growth mindset early on can make a huge difference later in life.
Finally, I was shocked to read about the gap in the amount of positive relationships one has based on their level of SES. I think this is one of the most important takeaways from the first chapter because school faculty may need to be those positive relationships for students who are not getting them from home. So much can be said for young students who can learn from adults what a healthy, functioning relationship looks like.
The first rule of engagement that is essential for a school counselor, in my opinion, would be to build relationships and respect. To do this, the “solution” I would use is to upgrade my interactive language. Having a good relationship with each student is vital because most of the times we are discussing sensitive information and that relationship is needed during that time. Students need to understand that we have respect for them and that we have their best interest in mind. I like the interactive language solution because it is important to meet the student at their developmental level and it helps relay that respect.
The second rule of engagement that I would use as a school counselor is get by-in. The “solution” I liked best was to use the students’ imagination. As counselors, it’s important to get student by-in because they may not even understand the role of the counselor and how they can help. It’s also important to get the point across that there are other areas of life that are important to learn, other than just the basic school subjects. Using their imagination is a great tool for by-in and it is also an important counseling technique.
I am most committed to sustaining emotional positivity because even though school counselors do talk about the deeper issues going on in a student’s life, it is still important to focus on the good things. Ending with a positive note for the student to leave with will provide the student with a much better outlook. This is even true during classroom guidance lessons because students will be more engaged if they are feeling good energy, rather than a lot of negativity. Also, I am committed to teaching positive social and emotional responses because obviously, this is just one of the jobs a school counselors must take on. I like the idea the author mentioned about modeling appropriate behavior and responses. This is an absolute must because again, we may be the only positive role models in these children’s lives.
Jensen Chapter 1: Something that I had not thought about was the view that those who come from families of low SES that they are lazy, because the parents are lazy. I had not considered this to be an issue, in my rural area often times those who have lower SES often come from families who work very hard and can’t seem to get ahead. I think more of hard worker than lazy, which is the complete opposite.
ReplyDeleteStudent mind set is also something that may not be focused on as much. When in my internship we often have a problem with teachers telling students that they are not smart enough for honors courses. I have seen how crushed those students are and how important it is for them to feel that they do have the power to learn.
Positive relationships with adults are something that is very important to me personally as a counselor. My main goal is to create a stable and safe environment by using an attachment. When you think of low SES families there may not be a lot of further education or positive role models, and this is the job of the positive adults in that child’s life, most of which are in the school building.
Jensen Chapter 2: Out of the five rules of engagement I think the most important would be building a relationship and getting buy in. As a counselor you want students to have a relationship with you that allows them to discuss topics that they are not as comfortable with sharing with others. From that rapport building we move towards buy in- or helping them see what the benefits of counseling can be. I like the solution of using the students imagination to get buy in. Students may be able to learn from the example you provide. They will listen to how someone else has benefited and could then be more open to the ideas.
Jensen Chapter 3: Creating a family atmosphere is very important to me and the comfort level of students. If the students feel safe and loved they can work together and come up with different ideas and solutions. Having the ability to work together in a safe space is the best way to move towards learning and working.
Emotional positivity is also a large part of having a successful classroom or school climate. If you go into the classroom sad and mopey the students will not want to learn from you. If you appear to be positive students will be more likely to listen and want to spend time around the counselor and listening to what they have to say.
Chapter 1:
ReplyDeleteThere are so many ideas in chapter one, that I found it difficult to choose what I would consider to be the most interesting. Overall, I enjoyed learning about the factors of student and teacher engagement. Learning about the relationship with health and academic success was interesting. Before free and reduced lunch became so widely popular, I can only imagine what lower SES children were eating. This would have to have had a negative impact on their learning. I’m relieved but also saddened at the number of students I see participating in this program. However, thinking about it as something that benefits their education is a great re-frame, and allows me to be even more of an advocate for the program than I am already. Factor 4, mindset, is something that I hold near and dear to my heart as a counselor. Again, this only reaffirms my desire to teach all of my students how to have a better mindset through REBT. The same thing goes for stress level. Students need to know how to adequately handle stress, as it is impossible to avoid. Through the use of various counseling techniques, we have the ability to help them become more successful at managing their stress and indirectly helping their academics.
Chapter 2:
I really like the Upgrade Your Attitude rule of engagement. This is something that we deal with as counselors, a lot. We have the ability to help students change their mindset (like mentioned above) which will change their attitude. It really is all about reframing thoughts. Through REBT, we can teach students that their thoughts cause their feelings, which directly affects their behavior. We can give the power back to them! Getting Buy in is extremely important. This is why we spend so much time building rapport with students and getting to know them. Adults don’t actively participate in things they do not buy into, so we cannot expect students to do otherwise. I like the “bigger kid” challenge. I use this in counseling all the time, so it was nice to see that in this chapter. Kids are usually excited when they think they are handling something bigger than them!
Chapter 3:
The two actions that I am most committed to are establishing are sustain emotional positivity and teaching positive social and emotional responses. When we feel good, we do good. Students need to feel safe in their environment. This goes hand-in-hand with emotional positivity. I often see so many negative interactions between students, or students and teachers. It’s no wonder why the climate of the classroom can be so down. Students do not need to feel uncomfortable in class. This would make anyone shut down. For teaching social and emotional responses, we learn from what we see. Oftentimes, all students (no matter what SES) see is negative responses. It is so predominant in some classrooms, it’s insane. It’s no wonder why they are miserable and cranky all the time. They don’t know anything else. We need to teach students what they are feeling and how to respond to that feeling. We cannot be punishing students for feeling angry, or sad. These are normal feelings. What we need to be doing is teaching them how to express these emotions and how to handle them appropriately. This leads to a feeling of safety and security, which is positively correlated with better grades and behavior.
Ch 1: Jensen introduces seven incredibly important factors that play into student success within schools. Throughout, he uses research to back up these ideas and why they are so critical to know/understand for each child, especially children of low SES standing. First, health and nutrition stood out to me because of how they affect a child's mental and physical status. If a child walks into the school and hasn't had breakfast, you can go ahead and count them out for most of the day. Next, I would say relationships because children who don't have positive relationships at home are yearning for any attention/positive affection that they can get at school, which can result in both positive/negative behavior. Jensen states, "All children need reliable, positive adults in their lives." This is so so true and important to know if you have a child who does not have this at home. Lastly, I think Jensen's comments about stress levels are really interesting. A child coming from a low SES background has higher acute and chronic stress and having this insight allows more understanding about why the child behaves and acts in certain ways within different contexts of school.
ReplyDeleteCh2: I think all of these rules of engagement are critical for teachers/education personnel within a school. In my own experience/observations, attitude is HUGE. A teacher's attitude towards a class, student, or just teaching in general is a big tell for classroom success and student feelings towards school. I think an important solution is giving yourself permission to fail. Teachers have expectations for themselves and their students, and if things don't go the way they are planned, it could lead to negative feelings/thoughts about the teaching process. I love this solution because things are not always going to go smoothly as one may expect, but being able to adapt to the environment is really important. I also think respect/relationships are essential because students need to feel wanted in the classroom. They need to know that you're in their corner and that you're going to support them all the way. I like how a solution with this is sharing about yourself and demonstrating respect towards students. It's that simple.
Ch3: I think sustaining emotional positivity is so so so important. Sharing a positive vibe can not only keep a teacher happy, but it spreads like wildfire. Kids are attracted to positivity and praise. Find something good in every day to share with students. Next, I think teaching social and positive emotional responses is crucial. Many children are not receiving this at home and they simply do not know what it means to interact in a positive and respectful way. Modeling this behavior and teaching these responses is only going to have a lasting effect for all students.
This book, course, and my work in Educational Psychology has me excited about the commitment that educational theorists have towards what I think of as a "humane" view of education as opposed to utilitarian or authoritarian values. I don't want to educate students so that they may go become cogs in our rather dismaying society but to have them open their own minds and innovate to create a better world.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter One Jensen outlines the Seven Engagement Factors, all of which seem important. The points made concerning vocabulary, mind-set, and stress all seemed especially pertinent. Reading and building my vocabulary has been a highlight of my own learning career and being able to clearly (occasionally) express myself verbally has been a valuable skill that also makes me feel good about myself in general. Reading and writing are essential components of communication and as humans we need to constantly work on our communication skills and adapting them to the everchanging world around us. The mind-set factor's importance is summed up in the first sentence where it is pointed out that low SES students tend to have a more negative view of the future. Without hope life seems to loose its purpose and luster...depression and frustration become the norm and eventually lead to our stagnation and sometimes self-destructive behavior. Working on creating a positive mind-set is something that should be cultivated carefully during the precocious years of childhood and adolescence. Stress is something that I appreciate as someone who has dealt with anxiety issues since a young age. Stress eats away at everything in a person's reality until there isn't much left. For students who are facing stressful conditions at home, school needs to be a safe and healing environment where the focus can be shifted from the stressors to new possibilities.
In Chapter Two the rules that seemed the most important to myself would be building relationships and embracing clarity. Building Relationships and Respect seems to be common sense but it is a tricky area...intrapersonal relationships are never easy in any area of life. But as a famous sociological law states "True communication can only exist between equals." If the student feels as if they are just being molded a certain way or forced to jump through hoops by an impartial or hostile authority...well, it should be apparent why that isn't going to work. Clarity is essential for communication and something I see overlooked in many relationships. Boredom and confusion are not desired responses in a student and the teacher must do what they can to avoid those outcomes during class. The strategy that really appealed to me was saying what you want from students as opposed to telling them what you do not want. I don't like to be ordered around or spoken to rudely or in a way that creates a feeling of shame. I assume most people are the same and preserving dignity should be a priority for creating a positive environment. I also like the sharing a bit of yourself everyday solution which we experimented with in our class. It will be nice to build a rapport with students by beginning to learn and care about what has happened to them, where they are now, and where they are going.
In Chapter Three the actions for a positive climate that stuck out to me were managing mind-body states and teaching positive social responses. I think the text is too restrictive where it mentions that children have little control over their micro-behaviors because I've known many adults who also had difficulty with their reactions. I know I have difficulty sometimes. I think that centering exercises and ways to disengage from emotional knee-jerks are important for day to day life as well. By striving for clarity we can ensure that students are building their education upon a secure foundation. As far as social response is concerned I definitely believe that authoritarian or negative behavior form teachers can only begat more misery. Modeling proper reactions would seem to be something essential for a teacher. One cannot act like a child or a tyrant in the classroom and expect a healthy respect-based climate.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1: I enjoyed this chapter because there were many interesting ideas but three that stood out to me the most were health and nutrition, effort and energy, and relationships. Health and nutrition are so important when it comes to a child's cognitive function, so I thought it was interesting to see that concept backed with research. One technique that we have learned in the counseling program is HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, or tired) -- a child cannot function as well if one of those (or a combination) is affected. I also think that effort and energy is a concept that needs to be discussed more in schools with low SES because the common misconception is that those students are lazy. Simply learning more about it and becoming aware of that stereotype can help teachers and counselors see that their students are just as willing to learn as the others. They may need a little more assistance but they are willing to learn. Lastly, the relationship between student and teacher is significant and plays a large role in the success of the student. As the chapter discussed, children from low SES backgrounds are often exposed to high stress and have few positive relationships outside of school. A teacher, counselor, or any faculty for that matter can have a lasting effect in a student's life by simply showing them that they care. It was very encouraging to read that section of the chapter.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2: The two rules of engagement that are essential in work with children/adolescents are attitude and relationships/respect. I really think these two go hand-in-hand because a teacher (or counselor) who has a positive attitude is more likely to build positive relationships and be more respectful of their students. Both of these factors aid in student success because a child/adolescent who feels respected and safe will be more motivated to do what's expected of them. I especially think the respect piece is important because I have seen the opposite every day at my school and it is discouraging for the child. Therefore, the solution that I chose is to always respect your students. My motto is to treat children the way in which you wish to be treated. They may not be fully developed just yet, but they are still human and deserve respect no matter the situation or circumstance.
Chapter 3: Two actions that I am most committed to using in order to create a positive class climate are managing mind-body states and teaching positive social and emotional responses. The reason I chose managing mind-body states is because it is important to give a child choices and to honor their needs. A child is not yet fully developed and is not designed to follow a rigid structure; Therefore, asking the class or even individual students how they are or if they need anything throughout the day (i.e. breaks, different teaching method, etc.) can be helpful not only for them, but for you as well. It allows the students to express their needs and helps them to get back on track if they may be feeling unfocused, unmotivated, or disengaged.
Teaching positive social and emotional responses are important because it allows the teacher to model desired behavior. Often times teachers think students should know what's expected of them when they have not demonstrated/communicated that with them which leads to misunderstanding. It could be helpful to use that opportunity to teach rather than discipline.
3 Significant Ideas Introduced by the Author
ReplyDelete1. Teaching matters more than any other factor in a student’s school years. This is important to remember as we start our careers that all students’ can be reached and an attempt can be made to help them.
2. There are seven factors of engagement associated with socio-economic status that affect students. These include: health and nutrition, vocabulary, effort and energy, mind-set, cognitive capacity, relationships, and stress level.
3. With good teaching and teachers who care, students can mitigate some of the effect of the factors of engagement brought on by socio-economic status.
2 Rules of Engagement Essential to helping Students.
1. Upgrade your attitude-student’s sense teachers attitudes towards them, this makes having an upbeat, approachable attitude of the utmost importance.
2. Build relationships and respect- our text teaches us that students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This means it’s important to build relationships where your students feel safe and feel that they can easily communicate with you.
I really like the solution of sharing a bit of yourself with your student’s everyday to build good relationships. If students feel like you trust them enough to share about yourself they will in turn start sharing about themselves.
2 Actions to create a Positive Class Environment
1. Establish that “We are Family”-Treating your students like family can reduce discipline issues and improve learning. The social areas of the brain actually overlap the most cognitive areas and the relationship among cooperative learning, social support, and academic achievement is strong. When students feel that they are friends with their classmates the exhibit much lower levels of stress. As a teacher you can do getting to know each other activities and other activities to encourage your students to bond with each other.
2. Sustain Emotional Positivity- Emotional positivity is essential to learning and productivity. Positivity also lowers stress in students. Teachers need to make sure that they use positive affirmations with their student’s more than negative ones. If students only hear bad things from their parents and their teachers they won’t have very many good days. Teachers can change behavior by doling positivity.
3 significant ideas from chapter 1 of the Jenson text
ReplyDelete-Health & Nutrition
Children living through poverty are more likely to live in degraded homes, sometimes with no electricity or running water. Those struggling with poverty are often less likely to exercise, get proper care for health problems, or be prescribed appropriate medications. Access to good food quality and getting enough food to provide their family is often a difficulty for parents in poverty.
-Relationships
Children need positive reliable adults in their lives. If early experiences are chaotic, the developing brain becomes insecure & stressed. Strong & secure relationships help stabilize behavior & help the child to have appropriate emotional responses. Children dealing with a lack of positive relationships simply do not have the repertoire of necessary social-emotional responses.
-Stress level
Stress influences every aspect of a child's development including: physical, psychological, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Stress levels in impoverished children cause disruptive behaviors and impulsivity. Acting out with aggressive behaviors enables a student to feel in control & take charge of a situation
2 essential rules of engagement:
Building relationships & respect is critical to being a good teacher. It is important to talk with your students and get to know them on a personal level so you can empathize and understand their perspective. It also shows them that they have a caring adult in their life who will listen. Another essential rule of engagement is to show passion. When I think back to the most uninteresting classes I have had, the teacher did not show passion or boost the class to get excited about learning. They often talked with a monotone voice and read straight from a powerpoint with little embellishment. Teachers need to show they are having fun doing their job and are excited for their students to learn the material.
-1 solution
Sharing a bit of yourself every day helps the students to connect and understand that despite the teacher being the authority of the classroom, they are also a person who has had many experiences. I love sharing funny stories of myself that makes others laugh.
-2 ways to create a positive class climate
Pumping up classroom responses can be an effective tool on a day to day basis but also if the class is especially groggy on a Monday morning. A teacher can use exciting language and voice tone to excite the activity or lesson.
Plan for physical learning time to help students get moving. Using a variety of activities or stations can help create a more positive environment. Teachers can help students learn by playing brain games and having fun challenges.