Hello!
Graduation is approaching
quickly, everyone! I am so glad that the KPTP madness is over. My unit over The Crucible ended pretty well. Students
are happy to be done with the play though. That play is a beast to tackle with
CWC students. I learned so much while teaching this unit. I learned the
language in The Crucible is even more
difficult for students to understand now than it was when I read it 7 years
ago. I had to have all of my background knowledge and explanations planned out
before each reading because I never knew what students would have trouble
understanding.
I have been trying to keep the article
“Never Work Harder Than Your Students” in mind while I have been teaching over
the past 2 months. I tried a lot of open (Socratic like) discussions when
students needed to discuss acts of the play and they went over pretty well. I
did not feel as worn out at the end of the days when students did the most
talking which is what the article said would happen. I am still working on allowing enough wait
–time. I tend to get impatient and I hint at the answer before students
actually have enough time to think of the answer.
The thing that I need to work on
the most is being assertive when it is my time to talk. I tend to wait until
students are quiet and this eats through a lot of class time sometimes. The
things that I have tried so far have not been too successful:
- Talking over the class…never works… I tried it once or twice.
- Waiting for the class to finish talking…they take this as me saying that it is okay to talk for the rest of the hour.
- Letting my frustration show through my facial expression because my patience is low due to a sinus headache…this gets a pity “Be quiet, Miss Schmidt is trying to talk!” from a handful of students.
- Saying “Okay, let’s re-focus and listen.”…this seems to work two thirds of the time.
- Staring at the student that will not quit talking until they stop talking…this worked once, but I doubt that it will ever work again.
Is there something that someone has tried in a class of
very social students that has worked well most of the time? I might also need to focus on my “teacher
voice” to make sure that I sound firm and serious (but not mean) when I am
trying to get their attention. Some of my juniors told me that holding students
during passing period might work because some of their teachers do it, but I am
hesitant to do that because my CT has never done that and I do not think that
they will take me seriously or react well to it because it is not part of the
classroom routine that they are used to. Harry Wong always advises that the
first week of school is critical, so I definitely intend to make sure that
students understand how I will get the class to re-focus and pay attention to
me along with all of my other procedures within that first week.
Other than my search for the most effective way to get
students’ attention, the last few weeks have been positive and productive. I
hope that everything is going well for everyone!
I have some pathologically chatty students in almost all of my classes. I have struggled with this same issue. When I started teaching my junior classes I had my students set up their own classroom expectations. Each class created a "respect" expectation. Because I did come in mid-year and my students were used to my CT it has been hard to gain that respect they all say we deserve. Along with the expectations, each class created a mascot and I made posters. They are all on a star system, where they are rewarded for exceeding expectations and they compete against other classes. It can be hit or miss because we haven't had a big reward yet (one is coming up next week). I do not give stars at all if I waste more than 6 minutes of class time waiting for them to quiet or going over expectations. However, this system is more conducive when you start the year with it, and the students with you. So I do have to stand at the podium, arm raised, smile, and wait. It can take 20-70 seconds for my chattiest, most resistant students, but I explained the first week that wasted time means more homework and possibly waiting after the bell while I give them important information. I hate keeping them but I wrap it up in 30 seconds or so usually and release them into the wild. This is all that saved me when my voice was nearly gone during my cold. Each classroom community is different and at in one of my classes we actually had to address students individually about their talking out of turn and usually across the room. It isn't a perfect solution but I adapt it as we go and I try.
ReplyDeleteMiss Schmidt,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your reflection on your teaching. I have also tried some of those strategies that you have mentioned above. There may be nothing more frustrating than students continuing to talk and be disruptive after multiple reminders. You have all ready mentioned the article, "Never Work Harder Than Your Students", and I feel the ideas in this text helped me quite a bit when thinking about keeping my stress levels low in the classroom. For instance, I have started always having students pass out books and materials instead of me. I have students turn the lights on and off, and most importantly, I have given students more assignments that involve student-centered learning rather than the opposite.
I think you are absolutely correct in saying that your students in the future will know what your consequences are for disruptive behavior, and that this should help the flow of your class.
I myself am curious about the level of intensity a teacher should reach in the classroom. I would not term it 'meanness', but I think I have had teachers in the past really rip into the class for their behavior, and it seemed to work. Some of that might have to do with comfortability with the class, because I know I am not ready to become as intense as my CT can become with certain classes.
I am glad to hear that the rest of school is going well for you! Thank you again for your post.
Sincerely,
Mr. Wike
Ms. Schmidt,
ReplyDeleteMy CT and I have a very simple method for our middle schoolers. We tried "Eyes on me... 5 4 3 2 1." (As you ask for eyes on me, hold your hand up. It helps to gain the students attention). The students have learned that if I get to 1 and they have not stopped talking, I will take 30 seconds of their passing period. If I have to count down again and it still does not get quiet, I add another 10 seconds to their release. The students have learned quickly that if they are late to another class because of behavior from their previous class they are still counted tardy. They also have decided that spending 30 uninterrupted, silent seconds in the classroom after the bell has sounded is excruciatingly painful. Once the students got used to this method, it works 90% of the time when my students are talkative and squirrely. If they behave late in the class, I may deduct time from the time that they owe me.
My students have also learned that when we first started this method, we counted slowly. As the year has progressed, we have started to count faster. This has made the students realize that "we mean business."
This method may not work at the high school level, but my middle schoolers hate losing part of their passing period. I hope this insight might help you with your students.
Enjoy the rest of your year,
Ms. Roseberry
Dear Ms. Schmidt,
ReplyDeleteGetting students' attention has been one of the most difficult struggles for me as well. When I was teaching my seniors, I had no problem getting their attention or getting them to quiet down, I attribute this to them being a smidge more mature, just a smidge. But with my freshmen, oh has it been a struggle. One thing that has worked for me is having a spot in the classroom where students know is the "hey you need to get quiet spot." For example, mine is behind the podium. When I am standing behind the podium, they know they have about 10 seconds to get quiet. I thought about doing the hand raise or counting, but that really wasn't my style. This I found to be a great non-verbal way to get their attention. I have to admit, it does not work immediately every time it is used, but it is also a new procedure. I can see the improvement in response every class period.
Not every method that is successful in one classroom will be successful in another, just because there are so many different factors that play into the culture in a classroom. My advice would be to try a couple out! See if they work. Give it a little while, since their not likely to be responsive immediately. Good luck with the rest of the semester!