Reinforcing effort and rewarding

     Who does not enjoy hearing that they have done a good job?  Who does not get somewhat frustrated when they work hard and hear no praise on their effort?  Generally speaking, we all fall into those categories at some time or another.  Our students are no different.  They enjoy hearing that they have done a good job.  They are grateful when one recognizes that they have worked hard.  Even when the grade on an assignment is not an A, students do like to know that the teacher recognizes that they put in a lot of work on the assignment.  Frankly, I am more proud of at least one B on my transcript than several of the A's-- I worked much harder to get that B than I did to get some of the A's.

     So, how did Jesus include this strategy in His teaching? In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Jesus taught his disciples about prayer.  He used the image of asking, seeking, and knocking.

  The Greek term carries the idea not just of asking once, seeking for a moment, or knocking just once.  Instead, it carries the idea of asking and continuing to ask, seeking and continuing to seek, and knocking and continuing to knock.  We are called on to put forth effort.  The idea is that with effort, we see more results.

     Another way Jesus taught was by providing recognition for actions done.  When the poor widow put her single coin into the offering collection, Jesus recognized her for her action-- He reminded the followers that she had given all she had.

  That recognition not only reinforced what the lady did, it also taught those who were listening that what was required was to give all that they had.  Jesus has called us to give our all-- He demonstrated that by giving His all-- even to dying for us. Remember the young centurion who sought after Jesus to heal his daughter.  He told Jesus it was not necessary for Him to come to the centurion's house.  Jesus could simply heal her by speaking it into action.  Jesus healed the daughter and recognized the man for the faith that was greater than He had seen elsewhere. 

      Once again, the creator of the brain knows it best.  He used the strategies we are learning are most effective for learning new concepts to teach when He was on earth--- long before the first imaging of brains occurred. 

Master Teaching Continues

     We are learning so much about the human brain with the use of imaging techniques.  As discussed in previous blogs, as a result of this new information, we are better able to understand how the brain gets and retains new information.  Since I consider Jesus Christ to be the Master Teacher of Master Teachers, I have been exploring the idea that we should not be surprised that what we are learning to be effective means of teaching according to research were the strategies that He used when He taught since after all the Creator of the brain should understand it best.  Last blog talked about looking for similarities and hooking new information to something we already understand.  The next strategy is note taking and summarizing.

     I do not know if the image of Jesus and His disciples walking around with notepads and pencils is humorous to you, but it is to me. 

However, the idea of taking note of important ideas does seem to be a part of what He did.  For instance, on more than one occasion, He would call the disciples together after a day of service, and go over the events of the day.  Sometimes He would explain what He meant in some of His teachings. In other words, He summarized the lessons for them.  How rich those discussions must have been as the disciples had the opportunity to put it all together with Him. 
     We have the same opportunity to share with our students.  Often teachers at the end of a class will take time to review what has been learned in class. They will highlight the important learning points or have the class highlight them.  That sounds like summarization to me. We have much of Jesus' teaching because someone took the time to write it down for us. 

Master Teaching Part 2

     Master teaching refers to expert teaching.  As far as I am concerned, we have a superb example of Master Teaching and it is from the Master himself-- Jesus Christ.  Last post, I listed the nine most effective ways of introducing new information to students.  They are effective because they allow the learner to plug into the way the brain takes in new information and places it into memory.  The first once was the use of metaphors.  A metaphor is a powerful teaching tool because it connects new information to something that is already familiar to the student.  New research into how the brain learns emphasizes that new learning must be connected to something the student already knows.  It is this hook that allows the brain to more easily take in the new information.

     Jesus often used this type of teaching.  He said to His followers, "The kingdom of heaven is like a shepherd who had 100 sheep, and lost one.  He would leave the 99 in the pen and go to find the lost one."  Similarly, he talked about the a lost penny and a lost son.  Because His hearers understood about losing something special, they could understand what he was saying.  He often taught using farming metaphors-- perfect for an agrarian society.  Even before we knew this about the brain, He did, and He used it to proclaim His message to us.  What a great teacher!

Philosophy Part 4--Master Teaching

     No matter how much schooling we get, we improve our craft by practicing it and by taking clues from those who have done it well and probably have been doing it for a while.  As a Christian, I want to do my best.  The Bible teaches that as Christ's followers, we should do everything as though it is for the Lord.  Such an attitude means that we are attempting to do our very best, for we would not do anything half-way for the Lord.  It is a gift to the Lord and it is an act of worship.

     As a Christian, we have an excellent example of Master Teaching.  Jesus Christ, himself, referred to himself as a teacher.   According to the experts in the field of brain based learning, there are nine effective strategies for effectively teaching new concepts. Examining the strategies that Jesus used to teach his followers, we find that Jesus used these strategies to teach them.  Why would it come as a surprise that the Creator of the mind knows how it works best? 

The nine strategies are identifying similarities and differences,

 summarizing and note-taking,  

reinforcing effort and providing recognition,









requiring homework and practice,

expressing the concept in non linguistic representations,

using cooperative learning,

setting objectives and providing feedback,

generating and testing hypotheses,

and giving cues, questions, and advance organizers.

The teaching that Christ did actually included all of these strategies.  I will use the next few blogs to talk about them.  Can you think of times when Jesus Christ used these strategies to teach his followers?

First Week of School

      This post is a tribute to student teachers who have just finished your first full week of school.  Did you think you could be this tired?  Every semester at the end of student teaching, we bring our student teachers together for a time to debrief.  When we ask them what surprised them about student teaching, one comment that is always among the comments is, "I never knew I could be so tired."  Generally, they are referring to the first weeks.  They admit that they get into a rhythm and it gets better, but they are dragging by Friday of the first week.

                             

                                                 You might even say, they are dog-tired.  







     So to all you student teachers and even to the other teachers who have just opened the school year, I wish you a time to relax and refresh before Monday.  Most of you know that you will eventually get used to the grind, but these first days are tough.  You are my heroes.

Philosphy Part 3

It seems that I have been side-tracked in my discussion of philosophy.  However, I think that happens to teachers also.  It is easy to begin a year, have a list of things that must be accomplished, and get caught up in the accomplishment of those things without even thinking, "Is what I am doing aligning with what I say I believe about teaching?"  Sometimes, time is thief of our philosophy.

         We know that students learn in different ways and are determined to meet each child's needs, but also realize that there does not seem to be enough time to meet each child's needs.  Each class period seems to just fly by and before we know it the bell is ringing.

       We know that this child did not understand and another child really would do better if we had been able to incorporate more hands-on instruction.  Let me say, first, that it is all but impossible to plan a lesson that meets everyone's learning style every day of the year.  However, during the course of a unit of study, it should be possible to meet everyone's learning style.  I truly believe that one of the things we need to do is to teach students how to advocate for themselves.  If they know they have a certain learning style, they can make some adjustments in the way they receive any information to assist themselves.  In order to do this though, the student needs to be educated in his/her learning styles.  Time invested here can make a difference in the big picture.
     Another thief of our philosophy is organization.  Just as some learn differently from others, some organize differently than others.  However, some sort of organization is necessary for a classroom to run smoothly.  I had some fellow teachers who laughed-- maybe even ridiculed--  my organization when I was in the classroom.  I had a cabinet in which I kept supplies.  In order to not only organize materials, but to also make the place looked organized, I used plastic storage boxes.

     It is sometimes difficult to decide what to put in what box.  One box that most perplexed my colleagues was the one labeled, "Holds things together."  In that box, you could find glue, staples, paper clips, and rubber bands. 

 

So, let's just take a little test, which of these items would you put in a box so labeled?  It really does make sense, doesn't it? 

So whether we would organize in exactly the same way is not important, but organizing is definitely important.  It will same us time in the long run. 

       My sister is an attorney.  She used to work with another attorney whose desk was a mess.  However, his system of organization was to visualize his desk as a map of the United States.  Then when you wanted something from his desk, he would say, "That folder is located in New Jersey."  That may not be a good method for you, but you have to find something that works for you or you will spend all your time looking for things instead of teaching.

     So, if a part of your philosophy of education is that all students can learn and you want to be the one that helps all students in the class to learn, you need to know that organization is one of the tools you will need to live up to this philosophy.

     We need to organize our space in the classroom, our time, and our thoughts.  It is all a part of the process.  However, just organizing does not mean that you are an effective teacher.  I once knew a librarian who could make the library look spectacular-- every book in its place, alphabetized by author or title. I overheard her say one day, "Now if the students would not come in and mess it up."  She had forgotten who she was serving.  We need to remember who we are serving. 

     What are some of the thieves of your philosophy?  What are you doing to overcome them? 

  

First Day of School

There is nothing like the first day of school!  I now teach at college, but I still get the first day of school butterflies each semester.  It is not because I doubt that I will be able to teach the courses I am assigned-- they are pretty much the same from semester to semester.  It is that each class is different, and I am excited to meet the new members of my classes.  The chemistry they create makes each class different from the last time I taught the course even when the course material is basically the same.

      The beginning of school means many different things.  Hopefully, for all of our students it means a fresh start.  With each new year, we have the chance to start over.  For some of our students, I am afraid that their reputations may precede them.  This may mean that the fresh start they hope for may begin somewhat wilted.  However, I tried to avoid reading permanent record comments and listen to last year's teacher comments until I had a time to meet the students and form my own opinion.  I hope you will do the same thing for your students.  What are some of the other things that would prevent a student from being given a fresh start?  How can we as teachers overcome those obstacles?

Another thing I love about the first day of school is new school supplies.  Actually this is one of the first years I have not bought new crayons during this week. 

    There is something about those sharp points and that smell that just says, "It is time to begin a new year."  Just as those crayons are bright and sharp, I like to think that each of my students will be bright and sharp.  Just as I can create a multitude of different pictures with this one box of crayons, the group of students who come to me will create a variety of stories.  They will need to use all the colors in the box to tell those stories.  Some will use the brilliant yellows, oranges and greens.  Others will need to mix in some more somber browns, grays, and darker hues.  However, their stories are not yet complete.  We, as teachers have the opportunity to add color to their stories.  I hope that we are all looking forward to adding bright colors and highlights that will show off the students' strengths rather than their weaknesses.  What a tremendous gift to be able to add value to a student's story.  What things can you do to add to the story of a student?

     When my middle son first started to school, he left somewhat anxious about what to expect.  However when the day was over, he expressed, "I am so 'cited about school."  It was my desire as a parent and my desire now as a teacher to keep that kind of "citement" alive. It is a huge task.  The reward for doing it though is more than huge.   

Philosophy of Education Part 2

     Another element of our philosophies of education pertains to the environment in which our students are learning.    I remember when I was in school, desks were generally in neat rows with the teacher's desk front and center.  The chalk board was generally right behind her desk so that she could use it with little effort.

     In general, this was a teacher-centered classroom.  In other words, the environment was set up for the convenience of the teacher.  Lecture was the primary teaching strategy used.  In this classroom, the teacher was viewed as the expert, and she shared her knowledge with the students who got information by listening and/or reading a textbook.  Some refer to this as the Sage on the Stage-- wisdom resided in the teacher who was at the front of the classroom. 
     I do not mean to imply that this was bad.  It was, according to the time, a great way to get an education.  Gratefully, this is a learning style that suits me OK.  So, I learned.  However, now I know that there were students in my class who were not ignorant or slow, but who struggled because they did not learn well in this setting.

     Teachers today, arrange classrooms in many different ways.  If we look closely, we may discover that the teacher is no longer front and center.  In fact, in some of these classrooms, it is difficult to find the teacher's desk.  One reason is that the teacher is not behind the desk much during the course of a teaching day.  The teacher will be up and about, visiting with students, helping them to discover new pieces of information.  In this setting, the teacher is more of a facilitator than an instructor.  She directs students toward resources, asks questions that lead them to greater understanding, and asks them to demonstrate their learning by applying what they are learning in practical, relevant ways.  This is a student-centered classroom.

     When you think of your classroom, what elements demonstrate that you have created a student-centered classroom?  What is most difficult about creating a student-centered learning environment?

Learning to Adapt

     If you plan on becoming a teacher, you need to learn the fine art of adapting when things go other than planned.  This lesson has been made very clear today.  Over the weekend, the transformer that powers the building in which I work went out.  Today we are working at a new location while the transformer is being repaired.  All of the routines to which I have become accustom are not serving me well today.  Consequently, it takes me longer to accomplish the simplest tasks.  Some tasks are not being done at all.

     My sense of displacement must be somewhat like the feeling students have on days when schedules are changed, substitute teachers take the place of regular teachers, or procedures in the classroom are frequently revised.  This is not a pleasant feeling.

      Even though it is frustrating, I am able to adjust so that I can be somewhat productive today.  However, for some of our students, by the time they have figured out how to adjust, the day is over.  This experience has given me some empathy for my students.  Caring teachers remember these experiences and utilize the experience to make them better teachers.  What things have you experienced that will help you be a better teacher?

Philosophy of Education

     As students study to become teachers, we ask them to think seriously about their philosophy of education.  In order to be an effective teacher, one needs to understand how a classroom should work and have a clear understanding of their role as teacher.  It is easy to say something like, "I believe that all children can learn."  However, if that is a part of my philosophy of education, how will it affect what I do as the teacher?  The classroom has changed considerably since I was an elementary or secondary student. Yet, time should not alter what I believe.

      I do believe that all students can learn.  I also know that children do not all learn the same way.  If learning is going to take place in my classroom, then, I must be willing and able to make some adjustments in assignments and instructional strategies to meet the needs of all my students.  When I was a student, I honestly think that many of my teachers believed that all children could learn.  However, they were also pretty convinced that some children chose not to learn.  As a result, many students did not do well.  Their efforts to include the student in learning included asking questions, many worksheets, tests, and on rare occasions we resorted to the latest audio-visual technology-- movies.  In some classes, teachers put some external motivators into place, but generally, the greatest motivator was knowing what Mom and Dad would say or do if you did not live up to their expectations.

      I do not mean to be too critical of the teachers who have gone before us.  They did their best to provide a good education for their students.  They worked hard for very little monetary reward.  I have come to believe that in general, children do want to learn. My job as teacher is not to force feed information to them, but to make learning so inviting and tasty that they will want to gobble it up.  

Now, that is a big job!  Research tells us that in order to do this, the learning must make a connection with the students.  In other words, it must answer the question, "So what?" in a way that will hook them in to the exploration of information.

     In order to insure that learning is taking place in the classroom, make learning appetizing.  Just as none of us want to eat the same thing all the time, students also like variety in their learning.  A lecture can definitely give the students information, but it does not engage the student in the learning.  "Sit and get" teaching does not allow the student to be actively involved in the learning.  As a result, much of the information is forgotten in a short amount of time.  If, however, the student constructs his own learning, it will be long-lasting.  It will belong to that learner.  What does that look like in a classroom?  Let's continue the food simile.

      Sometimes, learning is like a banquet. The menu has been chosen, the tables are set, there are many students.  This is somewhat like that lecture.  All learners are going to get the same plate.  Yet, not all learners will go away with the same sense of satisfaction.  Some will leave food on their plates; others will lick the platter clean.  Some will like what is served; others will not. Was the opportunity to eat afforded all who came?  Yes.  Did all take advantage? No. Was it the diner's fault?  Perhaps to a degree.  However, the focus was not on the individual diner-- it was on the banquet. Frankly, even for those who went away satisfied, most would prefer not to dine banquet style every meal.

      At other times, we enjoy going to a buffet--especially an all-you-can-eat buffet.  We choose from a variety of food choices, mixing the offerings in whatever way best fits our tastes.  Seldom in this environment do two plates look exactly alike.  By offering more than one way to acquire information and more than one way to demonstrate mastery of information, teachers create a buffet line of learning for their students.  Generally speaking, all have the opportunity to learn, but unlike the banquet, all have the opportunity to learn in a way that meets their individual needs.  Is it more work for a teacher?  Definitely.  However, if the philosophy says, "All students can learn," then the teacher's obligation is to make learning as appetizing as possible so that they will want to learn.

    This simile can be expanded to many other eating places.  However, I think it is clear enough now that teachers who truly believe that all of their students can learn, will create a learning environment that invites all students to the table.  This is only one part of a teacher's philosophy.  I will consider other ideas in the future.  What is your teaching philosophy?  What are the absolutes that must be in place in your classroom in order to live up to that philosophy?  It is never too early to start thinking it through.

The Ride Begins

     As with many adults, I do not fully understand the difference in my age and the age of some of my college students until I say something like, "You remember when Kennedy was assassinated, it was the first time the world became involved in the funeral and the investigation of such an event on an immediate basis because of TV coverage."  My students look at me as though I have suggested they were around when Lincoln was assassinated.

     Another time when I recognize the difference in our ages has to do with technology.  I struggle to learn new things about the use of technology.  I recall being very excited about email.  I remember waiting for extremely long time periods to be connected to the world-wide-web so that I could read or send an email.  I have become as impatient as anyone waiting the nanosecond required for connecting in today's world, but then, a five to fifteen minute was was not unusual.  In fact, the familiar busy signal often meant waiting considerably longer to be admitted to this world of communication.  My students have grown up with all this new fangled technology (using words like "new fangled"also separates me from this generation).

They use their computers, their ipods, their cell phones to connect to the world as easily as I used the telephone in my youth.  However, no matter how uncomfortable I feel in the world of technology, I know for certain that it is a part of my students' current world and their future.  Therefore, I have an obligation to know more about it.  I have an obligation to try to make use of it and to relate to it.
     I actually find this idea a bit scary.  I fear the loss of some things that I consider to be important.  I am a letter writer.  When I was in college, I wrote a letter to both sets of my grandparents each week.  I love to get mail.  I know that students enjoy getting mail also.  I have tried lately to write a letter to each student at the end of the semester to let them know I have enjoyed having them in class and getting to know them.  Many of them are surprised when they get the letter.  Some say they do not remember the last time they received a letter.  I know it is important.  After all, they took the time to email me that information.  There is something very personal and soothing about holding a letter in your hands and reading the handwriting of a person.  It does seem to be more personal--after all it is not saved in cyberspace for the future, you have the only copy.  It saddens me to think that some people will not have the delight of going to the mail box and tearing open a letter from a friend. 

     Another thing I consider to be important is the ability to mark in books (my own, of course).

It may surprise you to know that I do have an electronic book machine, and I love it for some things-- packs for a trip much more easily than a stack of paperbacks.

However, it is a bit more difficult to access all of those special markings in the electronic format-- you cannot just thumb through as easily or remember the quote was on the page with drink stain.  I enjoy watching my grandchildren handle books.  In fact, for younger children, all sorts of textures are included to encourage them to touch the book.  I would grieve the loss of this experience for future generations.

     Another thing I fear is that face-to-face conversations are a dying breed also.  I see students sitting next to each other with an electronic device in hand, paying no attention to others in the room, but engrossed in a world of electronic making.  Even the best use of electronics cannot accurately communicate tone.  The idolation of electronics has the potential of hardening our senses.

  

     In spite of all of my fears, I know that electronics have meant great things for us.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being in immediate contact with my sister who is currently out of the country.  Her daily emails and picture posts have allowed me to enjoy her trip.

     Last summer I took my grandson to the NASA Space Center in Houston.  As a part of the tour, we were in the room that served as communication central for the first manned flight to the moon.  It was sobering to learn that at each station then, there was a calculator and/or slide rule and a telephone-- no email or computer calculations. I recognize how much safer our world has become with the use of electronics.  I understand there are many benefits.  It is just difficult for me to fully embrace this "Brave New World."

     Yet, I know if my students are to be prepared for their future roles, I must make greater use of technology.  So, here is a step in that direction.  A blog-- I hope I can make good use of this technology during this academic year.