We recently read an article in class about the superintendent of a school in Washington DC. Her plan is totally revamp the system by getting rid of the ineffective teachers. Filtering them out, essentially. Then the teachers who are doing extremely well will be offered 6 digit salaries if they give up their union rights. Seems like a good idea.
I agree, there are a ton of teachers that are ineffective and don't exactly know what they're doing. I think there's a better way to handle it than putting a bunch of people out of a job. I've noticed that in all my classes there are a large number of students learning to be teachers that I know will be very effective. Maybe this is one of the good things about NCLB, it produces a higher level of teachers.
Offering teachers a higher salary for the loss of union rights, in my opinion, is rediculous. If I was looking for a good salary, I wouldn't be a teacher so that's not much of an incentive. I want to be a teacher because I want to do what I love and hopefully inspire that in my students. I also don't want at risk of losing my job because I do one thing the superintendent doesn't like. I'd rather have the superintendent talk to me about I could do differently and then I can change.
One solution could be to have more guidance after student teaching and into the first few year of teaching in the real world. Most beginning teachers freak out because they don't have a mentor anymore and don't know who to go to or have anyone to go to for help. If there was more guidance, beginning teachers would have someone to go to with their questions and problems and thus, become better teachers.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Motivation
Motivation is an internal state that maintains a behavior. Motivation can come from outside parties (extrinsic motivation) with incentives, rewards, and punishments. It can also come from internal needs for growth and self-fulfillment. There is also the need for meaning and understanding what's being presented and the identity with a community.
In a classroom, a teacher needs to create motivation in their students by making the subject matter seem interesting and engaging. To do that a teacher needs to give a reason for the students to learn the subject, make them think that if they don't know what's being taught, they're going to feel empty inside somehow.
A classroom should also feel like a community where all the students work together to learn the subject matter. If students feel part of something, they'll be more excited to go to class and be more engaged in what's going on. Common goals in a classroom help make a more tight knit community.
In a classroom, a teacher needs to create motivation in their students by making the subject matter seem interesting and engaging. To do that a teacher needs to give a reason for the students to learn the subject, make them think that if they don't know what's being taught, they're going to feel empty inside somehow.
A classroom should also feel like a community where all the students work together to learn the subject matter. If students feel part of something, they'll be more excited to go to class and be more engaged in what's going on. Common goals in a classroom help make a more tight knit community.
Cognitive vs. Behavioral
Cognitive perspective is when knowledg is learned and becomes used and applied in everyday situation. Changes in knowledge can then make changes in behavior. Behavioral orientations are similar in that it views reinforcement as an important aspect of learning. However, cognitive perspective uses reinforcement as communication with students to show what will happen if the behaviors are repeated. Behavioral orientations use reinforcement to strengthen responses.
Essentially, you have to let your students know what you don't like and how to fix it so that bad behaviors don't continue. You also have to tell your students what you DO like so that good behaviors do continue. Both are equally important. Reinforcement is an essential part of seeing the results in a classroom that you want.
Essentially, you have to let your students know what you don't like and how to fix it so that bad behaviors don't continue. You also have to tell your students what you DO like so that good behaviors do continue. Both are equally important. Reinforcement is an essential part of seeing the results in a classroom that you want.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Grading
This kind of an extension of my last post I guess. Funny enough, we talked about grading last night in lecture and that was what I was planning on writing about today. Funny...
Grading for a performing arts class can be difficult. You do want present an accurate reflection of abilities to the parents at conference time to make sure they know how their student is doing. At the same time, the parents might become upset with the results. Band and choir are supposed to be "fun" classes. Parents (and students) don't always feel like it's necessary for a student to be punished for doing poorly in a "fun" class. However, there are people who see these classes as more than just fun. It's unfair to give all the students A's just for showing up to class when some students are fulfilling their potential, and others are not.
Someone at lecture last night said that grades were a way of communicating with students about their progress or how well they did on something. I think this is an excellent way of describing what grades should be. Grading should be based on an individual's skill level and not be a cookie cutter that's expected to work for all students. However, the students should be told that this is the case so there is no confusion.
Teachers should also let their students what they're looking for when they grade. I know personally that if I didn't know what my teacher was looking for in an assignment, I wouldn't know where to begin or what to include. If I know how my teacher grades and what s/he is looking for, it's easier for me to complete the assignment. It also equally important to allow some wiggle room in your grading strategies in case there is a time where something not what you expected.
Grading for a performing arts class can be difficult. You do want present an accurate reflection of abilities to the parents at conference time to make sure they know how their student is doing. At the same time, the parents might become upset with the results. Band and choir are supposed to be "fun" classes. Parents (and students) don't always feel like it's necessary for a student to be punished for doing poorly in a "fun" class. However, there are people who see these classes as more than just fun. It's unfair to give all the students A's just for showing up to class when some students are fulfilling their potential, and others are not.
Someone at lecture last night said that grades were a way of communicating with students about their progress or how well they did on something. I think this is an excellent way of describing what grades should be. Grading should be based on an individual's skill level and not be a cookie cutter that's expected to work for all students. However, the students should be told that this is the case so there is no confusion.
Teachers should also let their students what they're looking for when they grade. I know personally that if I didn't know what my teacher was looking for in an assignment, I wouldn't know where to begin or what to include. If I know how my teacher grades and what s/he is looking for, it's easier for me to complete the assignment. It also equally important to allow some wiggle room in your grading strategies in case there is a time where something not what you expected.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Procedural Knowledge
Procedural Knowledge is being able to perform what you know. This is a very important component of teaching music. Students need to be able to demonstrate what they know about the music and their instruments. The best way students do this is through concerts and other performances. The difficult thing about grading students how well they perform is that you don't want to insult the student and their abilities. But my question is, how is grading someone based on how well they play saxophone different from grading a student on how well they do math? If a math problem is presented and the student is expected to find the correct solution, is that different than presenting a student with a piece of music and expecting it to be played correctly? After all, they're both forms of demonstrating procedural knowledge.
The difference between the two is that math and music are two different types of intelligences. There are 8 areas of intelligences total (including mathematical/logistical and musical). A student may excel in one area and be absolutely terrible in another. Should a student be judged based off that? Maybe judging a student on how well s/he performs tasks in comparison to their overall performance in that intelligence is a better solution.
The difference between the two is that math and music are two different types of intelligences. There are 8 areas of intelligences total (including mathematical/logistical and musical). A student may excel in one area and be absolutely terrible in another. Should a student be judged based off that? Maybe judging a student on how well s/he performs tasks in comparison to their overall performance in that intelligence is a better solution.
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