Week+8

= Issues From the Coal Face =

Hello everyone this is Lily ( logged in as TAKE 5) again I apologise for this and have decided to make it up to you by leading this last Week 8 discussion. I found the lecture particularily interesting, fresh as I was from practicum and found the things that children wanted from teachers to match up exactly with what I observed in the classroom. I particularily thought the 'someone who is interested in me and knows about my interests' point was very pertinent. I cannot help but believe that everything in your classroom from interest and motivation to learn right through to discipline and a desire to listen and participate comes from us as teachers showing an interest in our students as people. It is only natural I think to be interested in the people we spend five hours a day with and to want to share their stories and interests. Aside from the fact that I found that by having a chat to each child at least once a week I saw a maginificent world of future teaching opportunities. For example I was speaking to one boy who has a slight intellectual disability to stuggles to keep up with the rest of the class but he revealed to me that he was very curious about how his playstation 2 actually worked. Someone else was interested in how a computer works and someone else in the unsolved mysteries of the world. All these things came out in little chats I had with them while circulating round the classroom and I can't help but think of them as amazing opportunities for future learning or as they call them inquiry units. And how much better to base such an intergrated unit on something proposed by the children rather than something you think they should know. Let me know your thoughts on this because I really believe that we need to expand and exploit even that fantastic natural curiosity children have! Do you guys have similar stories? Would love to know what your kids were into. I also liked the point children raised about a teacher needing to be someone who always wants students to do their best. It makes sense but sometimes I think it is easy to forget that in the school rush and think that children will respect and like you more if you give them an hour free time every Friday. I saw this put into action, and believe me the results were far from positive. I think by and large children know they come to school to learn with all the drilling, rote learning of times tables and all the creative enquiring that this entails. Therefore they may not thank you for aimless hours spent colouring in. I found even the so called naughty children got a buzz out of getting something right or were energised when we spoke of places they had been to or were interested in and even though they complained it was like an untold rule that they wanted to be pushed beyond what they could already do, that they really had a desire to learn. Another thing that struck me from the lecture was the 4 Es a teacher must have. Energy, empathy, efficacy and evidence based. I believe energy and empathy are qualities some people have throughout their lives and they are less teachable than perhaps efficacy or evidence based. I think I will find efficacy the hardest quality to hone, as the strategies you need to produce the desired effects may vary greatly from child to child. Personally I found on practicum that going from one student to the other, switching strategies and keeping an eye on the class as a whole as well, to be a very difficult task to master. I am hoping though that mastery will come with practice. What were your experience with efficacy? Do you have any stories to share where a strategy used managed to get the best out of a child? My story takes place during roving conferencing where a student was trying to distinguish horizontal from diagonal from vertical lines. He had copied all the answers from the boy opposite me which he told me proudly. I told him it was good that he was giving his friend due credit and not taking any for himself but indicated the buzz he might get out of actually getting credit for himself.( I also indicated that he was a bit foolish to tell me the teacher about this but this was just a joke and beside the point!!) For ten minutes we went over the lines and it seemed he was taking nothing in. He seemed unable to focus and since there were only three types of lines, had decided that guessing the name of the line was a safe bet ( also sound mathematical reasoning but not helpful to this task!). I then proceeded to use first mine and then his arms to physically make the lines. This strategy seemed to capture his attention at least although he still tried the old guessing game a few times. The teacher gathered the brood around and asked who would like to draw a vertical line on the board. This student was going nuts with his hand waiving in the air like mad. The teacher chose someone else. Then she asked a bout a horizontal line. The student I had been focusing on did not put up his hand. She chose him anyway! Forced to stand in front of the whiteboard I saw the terror and thoughts ticking away...I felt sad a failure...all that time spent and no results. Then out of the blue up came his hand and it was drawing a horizontal line in the air right across his body. He then took that as a cue and drew it on the board...Never have I felt a bigger sense of achievement over a line! Obviously to practice efficacy with this student it was necessary to recognise that he was primarily a kinaesthetic and that physical cues were the key. I discovered this by accident bidding for his attention by using his arms-but I think many effective strategies are discoved by accident!! Please share your thoughts and stories of efficacy, energy, empathy and evidence if you feel so inclined!! Lily-Liliana Laskaris

//Alexia: “ //someone who is interested in me and knows about my interests”//  // I agree with you on the importance of this point Lily. I believe that showing interest, and through this caring, makes a world of different to students as individuals and the atmosphere of the classroom as a whole. Being interesting in them as individuals, them outside of school, helps build the bonds which will aid you in the classroom. Naturally as adults we are more inclined to like those who show interest in us. Why should it be any different for children? From what I’ve seen most students WANT to please their teacher. Having a little conversation with each child must increase this, allowing our teaching to become smoother and happily received by the child. As a teacher, I think I would be a little hurt if my students did not care about me. From my practicum I saw students constantly comment on their teacher’s clothes or accessories. This behaviour is important towards building a happy school environment. I am very keen and excited to have this myself next year. In response to your example, Lily, I had a G2 boy who said he didn’t know how to colour in snakes. I suggested colouring it brown? He didn’t like this idea. Then I remembered, from a little conversation we’d had earlier that week, he was a HUGE COLLINGWOOD fan! ^_^ I suggested black and white stripes. Maybe the snake was a Collingwood fan too? He loved this and continued to colour all his snakes black and white for the next three weeks!

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**Home** | Week 1 - Sir Ken Robinson "Ideas Worth Spreading" | Week 2 - Classroom Management| Week 3 - So You Want To Be A Teacher? | Week 4 - Planning for Learning | Week 5 - Models of Teaching and Learning| Week 6 - Teacher Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct| Week 7 - Who Are Your Students?