- Be very concise. Make simple points. Address main ideas as opposed to trying to cover every point made by Johnson.
- Follow the rubric on blog posts.
- Original post is due Sunday, May 11 at 11PM
- Respond to questions posed to you and respond to at least one classmate by Sunday, May 18 11PM.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Johnson's Every Minute Counts
Choose a couple main points from this book and explain how they inform your concept of effective teaching.
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From Jen:
ReplyDeleteTo be an effective teacher, one’s goals must be clear and one’s classroom efficient and engaging. Johnson presents several ideas on all three of these fronts in Every Minute Counts. The following are the ones that have been knocking around in my head for a while.
Clarity: I particularly liked Johnson’s method of writing lesson plans by beginning with a clearly stated objective. Having one definite goal for each class period that is also shared with the students would eliminate some of the troubles I have run into this year with teaching math. Too often I wanted to cover too much, and I would only get through one or two objectives, instead of the four I had planned to teach. Without knowing my end goal, the kids would often try to jump ahead or make connections I wasn’t ready for us to get to as a class. Sharing my road map with them, as it were, would probably get rid of some of the inaccurate “sleuthing”.
Efficiency: Similarly, I appreciated Johnson’s class starter ideas—particularly checking for basic skills I expect the kids to rely on for a new unit or concept. Numerous times this year, I’ve found myself having to re-teach skills I expected the students would already have and backtracking farther than I had bargained. Checking in at the beginning of class would give me a much better picture of where each kid is at, as well as the class as a whole. I’ll know where to go if I know where we are!
Engagement: Finally, I like the structured flow of Johnson’s class. His balance of routine and “spice” seems particularly smart. Students know what to expect generally, so the teacher isn’t constantly dealing with management issues—students asking: what am I doing next, where does this paper go, where should I write this, etc.—but they also aren’t stuck in a routine that would dull over time. Having all students engaged as soon as the bell rings eliminates that wasted “transition” time and doesn’t allow students to get involved in inevitably lengthy conversations. Likewise, if the students are all alternately writing answers to oral questions, solving problems at the board, and taking notes, they’re too busy to be chatting or doodling. And if they don’t know who will be answering the next question—be it orally or at the board—they aren’t tuning out when a question is directed at only one student.
I do have one concern with Johnson’s method of having students write down the answers to oral questions so the teacher can spot check (and teach!) by walking around. How do the students keep their notes organized? If they’re writing down answers to a series of oral questions, as well as any definitions, theorems, or other vocabulary that pops up, plus examples and practice problems, how do they keep it all straight? I can imagine creating a box for the starter, but the question and answer style continues for the objective, too. While using color can be a great system, making sure you’ve got your 4 different colors every day, switching between them, keeping them straight, etc. can be a huge time waster. Plus I don’t want kids to start using pen instead of pencil for math work! It just seems like it would make for confusing notes.
Hi Jen,
DeleteWell stated to all of the above! I highlighted the section in the book about having to "un-do" something that was learned incorrectly. The frustrating act of re-teaching is so common. I agree that this book gives a lot of great tools to incorporate the re-teaching into the everyday plans instead of taking time out of a planned curriculum to "catch up" when we realize the students are not up-to-snuff on a concept.
As for the organization issue and spot checking -- at our school we have small personal whiteboards. Occasionally what I will do is provide every student with a white board for the class, and they have to complete a presented problem on their board. I can then walk around and check work - it's VERY visible for me to see (as opposed to tiny handwriting on lined paper) and it eliminates the problem of "keeping it all straight" for the kids. Obviously this only works for practice! They lose the option of retaining the work they completed. If it's something you want them to keep for reference, it wouldn't work. But the kids enjoy it, so they are more motivated to actually do the work (because what kid doesn't love white boards?!).
They make the whiteboards both blank and with a graph grid. I definitely recommend having both!
I love using mini whiteboards in the classroom, too! I've found kids of all ages like writing on them and you're right--it's much more legible than answers on notebook paper. I'll have to keep an eye out for the grid ones; I can see them being quite useful!
DeleteI'd like to see an example student notebook from Johnson's class. Now that I'm thinking about the mini whiteboards, I'd like to use them more often, but I can't see the kids dealing with the notebook and the whiteboard at the same time on a regular basis.
Maybe it's just about keeping a scratch sheet of paper on hand to jot down those answers on. That way the kids know it's not a permanent record (much like with the whiteboards) so it's okay to make mistakes and be honest, and the seemingly random answers don't become distractions within their notes.
From Randy:
DeleteThanks for starting us off with this discussion! You hit key elements of teaching that will be ongoing themes during methods and student teaching: objective, checking basic skills (you will hear the term "pop quiz" 10,000 times this summer), engagement. Perhaps the overriding point of this book is how to be efficient. This will be a huge challenge for you.
Regarding the discussion about writing responses to questions, the act of writing in of itself is useful to help engage the student, regardless if you can read it or if it is kept in the notes neatly.
We don't have mini whiteboards where I teach, but I really like that idea! I hope I get the chance to use that at some point, as it seems quick to check with the bold colors and it's probably more enjoyable to the kids to be able to use something different.
DeleteThis is the first of what I'm sure will be many great ideas I get from my peers this summer. I love the mini-whiteboard idea! Having been the child of an office supply salesperson, I can assure you that all kids love whiteboards or any kind of stationery gadget. I can see how it would make walk-about monitoring much easier to read. Regarding the notebook organization, I'm not sure how to keep organized when combining notes and oral exercises, however I had a teacher who required we keep one notebook just for homework and one for notes. The HW notebook was submitted the same day as an exam for review/grading and returned the next class. I also had a teacher who requested that we keep our HW organized in such as way so that the day of an exam, he would 'surprise' us with just one section of HW we had to submit. We never knew which topic of HW he would pick, that way we always had to be sure we did it all. He had much less to grade with only one section instead of several weeks worth of homework. Of course with 7-12 grades, you may need to really check all HW assignments not just select few, to assess understanding. Wondering what those of you who are already teaching feel about that?
DeleteOn the issue of checking basic skills, I have some first hand experience. In our distric, each town has their own elementary school system which feeds into a common middle/high school. My daughter started seventh grade this year and after the first week came home in tears one day. Apparently in math class it was assumed that everyone understood square and cube roots, which had not been taught in depth in her sixth grade class. She was ready to give up. Now my daughter can be a bit dramatic, but I could see that combined with a new environment this was demotivating. I had a very positive meeting with her teacher who, it turns out, is a real believer in working with parents, and she gave me some exercises to do with my daughter. Also she then spent some time with the class on reviewing basics. Now, although my daughter still will not count math as her favorite class, she is a consistent B+/A- student.
DeleteJohnson's “Every Minute Counts” is filled with what often felt to be common-sense ideas that are rarely thought of and frequently forgotten. After all, common sense and effectivity don't come easy in the face firmly rooted poor habits. I found the section on developing a "New Class Routine" to be particularly filled with strategies and tools that are simple and yet very effective. Homework Quizzes will surely be used in my classroom - they keep the students on their toes, but also make correcting simple and quick. Johnson's idea that we have to help our students maintain their basics is, again, common sense and yet so rarely addressed. I definitely plan to build in a "maintenance math" assignment every week for my students.
ReplyDeleteI also plan to adopt the use of bell-work time for self-assessment on homework, utilizing Johnson's idea to project the answers and allow students to find their errors and make corrections. This prompted an idea, which I already started to use with my classes - to select problems done incorrectly by students on recent assessments, and have the students work in pairs to determine where errors are made. The student work will remain anonymous, and all examples are computerized (not in original handwriting).
Though Johnson gave many great tips and pointers on making effective use of class time, it often felt very general and applied to an idyllic classroom setting in which students are driven and participating. The author states that "no student should be allowed to just sit and watch.” This challenge is a larger obstacle than it sounds when apathy can have a variety of roots and be a very thick wall for a teacher to break down. To say that "no student should be allowed" to opt out is a blanket statement that leaves no room for the important task of chipping away at these walls, and instead suggests that we are meant to come at them with a wrecking ball. If a student is not participating, this could be an obstacle that takes an entire school year to overcome.
Johnson discusses a method of having students raise their hand when they have completed in-class work. Surely there are benefits, but I feel this method can isolate students who take longer to work a problem. It is one thing to feel anxiety during assessment time, as a student sees their peers finishing before them. However I do not want to bring this anxiety to the everyday classroom. Further, many students have education plans that require modification; it doesn't seem fair to have this public way of showing completion when some students would usually receive modification/extra assistance.
Johnson makes a great suggestion to “think twice” before including homework grades in final grading, at least when it comes to accuracy. I definitely agree. Without including this grade, students may not be motivated to complete their homework. However, homework should be graded on completion, not accuracy. A student who practices more tends to have stronger skills. Students should feel driven to do their homework and yet have space to make errors without great consequence. It is key that the teacher reviews the homework to ensure students are practicing correctly.
Overall, I think Johnson provides many great tips and poignant observations that really help as I work to become an effective teacher. I plan to adopt many of his ideas, from notebook checks to homework review tallies. At the same time, many of his points were lacking the important perspective of having a wide variety of levels/abilities within one classroom, especially now with mainstreaming being standard practice. I know that Special Education was not the purpose or focus, but I feel as though the book may provide new teachers a false sense of optimism in implementing some of these strategies. That being said, Johnson packs in many great insights and tools into a short piece. The length and the accessibility of the work makes it a great quick-reference tool – one that I will surely keep on hand (and implement) in the classroom.
From Randy:
DeleteBell work or do now is another term you will hear thousands of times. Get the students engaged immediately!!!
Emily,
DeleteI agree with your observations about the challenges to connect with 'disconnected' student, and how it takes time, energy and attention to chip away at the walls. This will be energy well spent. Whether we see a change in the student or not, I believe, the student knows that we are trying hard to help him/her succeed, and that alone can make a difference for that student.
For the students that respond slower to questions, Johnson (Motivation counts) introduces the idea of built in pauses by the teacher and the student to try to avoid the 'isolation' of the slower to respond student(s). Definitely something to consider using in the classroom.
Finally, I wrote these three things down on a 3x5 card...definitely plan to use them: mini white boards, homework quizzes and maintenance math.
What great ideas!
Thanks for sharing.
I also liked Johnson's idea about homework quizzes. It's a great way to reinforce skills, motivate students to complete homework, and self-assess. The maintenance math is also something I think would be easy to overlook as a teacher. I know the term spiraling comes up a lot from teachers. My last class the teacher would assign homework about new material for perhaps 4 or 5 days in a row, then throw in one with a collection of prior skills or review of prior material. The current trend on solving problems and using math for real-life applications will no doubt require an overlap of all different math skills. With Common Core, I'm thinking Trig, for example, will come up in Geometry classes and again in Algebra II, not just Pre-calc. The practice of maintenance math is a good habit to start. I too plan to add this one to my tool box!
DeleteEmily,
DeleteBeing anxious about math to begin with and adding a learning disability to the mix, then being told to raise your hand when you are done with the problem is enough to alienate a student from the subject. I have seen students turn in work not finished, rather than take longer than their peers. I was thinking that a better strategy may be to give more examples in a packet then any student is able to finish and use a timer set for 2 minutes. Some may do more than one, some may do 5, but this way no one feels rushed. An added bonus would be that the students then have practice examples to study from in preparation for tests that are directly related to the lesson. As the students are working the teacher can circulate and identify students that may be struggling and if the student does have an IEP that affords him/her extra time a quick email or visit to their monitor to discuss reinforcing the goals of the lesson would be in order.
The underlying idea that I took away from Johnson’s “Every Minute Counts” was that an effective teacher reflects on his/her lessons and is not afraid to make changes. If what you are doing is not working, you are obligated to make a change to better serve the students you are working with. All too often people are hesitant to admit that what they did was not successful for fear of criticism. From his own experiences Johnson gives us a firsthand look at the mistakes he made while a new teacher and the methods he used to improve.
ReplyDeleteQuestioning: The advice Johnson gives on ways to check for understanding, is simple yet effective. When students are asked “why?” after giving an answer it forces them to think about the big picture. Knowing the reason behind performing a certain operation creates connections with other math classes they have taken in the past and starts to get the student to think of math as a set of skills rather than individual lessons. Another questioning tactic that engages the whole class is not calling on a student before or immediately after a question. Allowing a class to processes the problem and formulate an answer creates a greater opportunity for students to participate in the lesson. It also does not allow the students to disconnect from the lesson being delivered.
Routine: In the special education resource room I am in right now there are clear expectations of students when they come to class. They are expected to be on time, assignment book out, writing implement at the ready and they are expected to be able to give us a brief idea of the topics they are working on in their core academic subjects. Johnson discusses the “training” that took place in order to insure a productive class setting that is conducive to learning. The extended algebra class I observed understood the expectations of the teacher. The teacher also anticipated the problem areas of the students, and made every effort to ensure students’ success. He placed pencils and calculators by the door when the students came in, which took away common excuses and made the students focus on the “do now” work that was on the board.
Testing: Testing, with a clear idea that the goal of the class is “long-term learning” was emphasized in text. Math inherently builds on itself. The idea of incorporating ideas from other lessons and chapters ensures that the fundamental skills that are necessary for mathematical success will not be forgotten. It fosters an idea of “spiral learning”. Our goal as educators should be to make sure that the students in our classes are able to apply the ideas out of the context of the class, in “real life”.
Overall, “Every Minute Counts” and “Making Minutes Count Even More” offer terrific ideas for ways to make a classroom a wonderful learning environment. Even though some of the technology mentioned in the book is a little out of date, the ideas that are taken away are relevant today. I will for sure be using some of the ideas in my own classroom someday soon.
From Randy:
DeleteAssessment has exploded as an issue in education in more ways than you realize at this point. This issue can make or break you as a candidate for a teaching position!
I think you highlighted the most important part of the questioning technique, T.J.--the follow-up "why?" question.
DeleteIt is so much easier to call on a specific student and accept the correct answer without delving further. But his example of 2 students' work on the same test question where they both got the right answer, but the work of one of the students displayed incorrect thinking and procedure, really stuck with me. So I've been trying out "why?" or "how did you get there?" to get my students to expand on their answers and it's been a real eye-opener. Way too often they were just guessing or they really had no idea how to explain their thinking. The latter tells me that whatever math they were doing wasn't a clear, automatic process for them, and probably isn't replicable as I'd assumed!
It also tells me that I have to teach them how to talk through their thinking in a clearer manner. They don't know how to talk about the math they've just done because they haven't been taught to do so. Asking the follow-up "why?" after a correct answer will give all of the students a chance to really clarify the specific process they just used and how it relates to other skills.
T.J.-
DeleteI love that you outlined the expectations uased in a special education setting and tied them to Johnson's expectations of the math classroom. Coming from one who has also worked with special needs youth, it is neat to think about the parallels. We should have no problem with mainstreaming if we are able to be flexible, and mirror the expectations of the special education and resource teachers. That just strikes me as "neat," and makes mainstreaming far more manageable of a thought. Expectations for the classroom should be the same regardless of ability when it comes to classroom etiquette, respect for others, and preparedness to learn.
I also really appreciate and value the idea of "training" our students right out of the gates...I just wish Johnson used the word "conditioning" instead of training. Training seems kind of derogatory to me. It's like being a parent -- not a pet owner! Regardless, the concept is important and takes a strong backbone...and likely a few weeks of frustration while working to hold students accountable, and facing the push-back that might ensue!
Johnson presents some great ideas in Every Minute Counts and Making Minutes Count Even More (I didn't see an assignment on the second, so I figured I would discuss both here). I have definitely made some of those mistakes, like asking questions and being alright with less than half of the class participating, and wasting time at the beginning and end of class. It’s encouraging though that I have been using some of these techniques, and I will be using several more of the ones that he discussed.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most useful topics to me is what to do with the first and last 5 minutes of class. As a substitute, I am used to using that time for taking attendance, handing back or collecting work, or just plain wasting the end of class. I usually write it off as trying not to deviate from the other teacher’s plans, but I am eager to make use of that time in my own classroom. I love the suggestions for taking care of homework correction, attendance, and gauging understanding in those first few minutes of class all at once. I also like the suggestion to throw in some review problems from the current or past units at the beginning or end of class.
I think the suggestions for homework will be very useful to me. As I mentioned, I like the idea of having the kids use the beginning to self-correct while I walk around and make note of the common mistakes. I also like the suggestions of giving follow-up problems after you review some of the tougher ones, as well as giving homework quizzes. The quizzes in particular are a completely new idea to me, but I think it would be a great way to get more people to do the homework as well as make sure they've shown work. Finally, I like the idea of just checking off the work instead of collecting and grading it. That way, the kids can get immediate feedback and look it over anytime instead of waiting for it to be handed back.
I also think that “spiral review” is a great technique that I never really experienced in any of my classes. From tutoring, I have seen that retention is tough; during midterms and finals it’s always a struggle. Utilizing the weekly skills maintenance, review questions on tests, and the occasional review activity at the beginning/end of class will likely be much more helpful than having to cram everything in for finals.
Some of the suggestions that I have used and personally enjoy are board work and pair activities. In the school I substitute at, there is plenty of board space for all of the students to work out problems that I read aloud. You can tell that they appreciate getting to move around and not be stuck taking notes all class. I have been a fan of pair work after experiencing it in high school (this was my favorite teacher from the other blog). My teacher would give pair quizzes as well, and correct a random quiz from the pair. They’re great in teaching some teamwork skills and getting the kids used to working with people other than their friends.
I do have a couple of criticisms of some of the ideas discussed here. First, I think it’s a nice goal to get everyone to participate, but I think that’s easier said than done. I like the idea of having students work on an example while you spot check them, and that may get more involved, but I feel like there’s always going to be some that won’t bother with it. I also think that having the kids signal when they’re done still singles out some people. If they take longer, or can’t figure it out, then they may feel embarrassed. They may also just raise their hand so they don’t look “stupid” to their peers, and that’s not useful feedback to you anymore. Despite these issues, I like a lot of the ideas discussed by Johnson, and I’m excited to implement some of them in my classes.
From Randy:
DeleteWe will not discuss spiral review but we will hit prerequisite skills for each topic HARD. We'll get into this the first session.
There are several key concepts I gained from Every Minute Counts [“EMC”] and Making Minutes Count Even More [“MMC”] which contribute to my concept of effective teaching: use every minute in class as an opportunity to teach, keep the daily objective top of mind, and practice techniques of class interaction as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteTo the first point, Johnson speaks specifically about the first five minutes of class in detail. He provides examples of effective ways to use this critical time other than roll call or small talk. As I read his examples I tried to formulate ideas which might fit my own personal style and was particularly drawn to his suggestion of a “homework tally chart” at the beginning of class, where students place tick marks on the board next to problems listed from the prior night’s assignment with which they struggled. Those with the most tick marks warrant review, so that time is not used inefficiently for the sake of just one or two students. I have attended many classes where review of homework included problems for only a few classmates, leaving the rest of us with an open invitation to daydream. Johnson also mentions a term he coins Monday/Friday dilemma. Some teachers may fall victim to a pattern where students act differently on Mondays and Fridays, as we come back from or kick off the weekend. He stresses again the necessity to use every moment to teach using the same enthusiasm on Mondays and Fridays as the rest of the week.
Prior to reading these books, I was actually striving to schedule my ARC observations for a Tuesday or Wednesday, thinking that those days might reveal a different pace than a Friday class. However if today’s educators are teaching in line with Johnson’s methods, this hopefully should not be the case.
My second concept, keeping the daily objective top of mind, Johnson states that he creates each lesson plan with the line “By the end of this class period, my students will be able to…” [EMC, p. 30]. The new material should be the most important part of the class and take up the most time. In order to fulfill this goal, Johnson provides ideas such as how to review homework in a timely manner, how to prepare your lessons and exercises around the objective and fine-tune them each year, announcing the daily objective to your students and reinforcing it at the end of class. I have seen some teachers toss a ball of yarn to 3 or 4 students and ask the receiver “what did you learn today?” during the last five minutes. This seems like an engaging way to reinforce the new material, assess what students learned, and keep the final moments of class focused on math.
Finally, I appreciated the strategies on how to keep your class interactive and involved. Questioning techniques such as pencil and paper technique, pausing at appropriate intervals to allow for a greater number of responders, and guided discovery techniques are clearly more interactive than straight lecture. Walking around the room creates a stronger teacher presence and the U shape desk layout inhibits the chance for students to hide in back corners and not participate.
In ARC, our field observations will undoubtedly reveal good strategies for active class participation and keeping students motivated. Forty-five minutes is a long time to fill with just lecture. That is why the methods in MMC and EMC are so vital to me as a new teacher. I recently presented a lesson plan in my graduate class and was surprised at how challenging it was to engage the students using a questioning style as opposed to a one way lecture. I look forward to learning more about this in ARC Methods classes. I feel this is the area in which I need much practice, and Johnson’s books seem to reiterate that these methods will improve over time as you practice using them in your classroom, and this will result in more motivated, involved students.
Glad you commented on the homework chart, that was one of the passages I starred to comment on but missed in my post. If you ask the class to volunteer what problems to do, there are often students who won't have attempted any of the homework that will just try to get you do out as many as possible.
DeleteI also really like your yarn ball example of last 5 minute activities. I imagine it would encourage students to listen to each other, while also thinking what they would share if the ball comes to them, and plays on how they are so attuned to the social aspect of getting picked by their peers to share. Thanks for this suggestion!
Also, I noticed you referenced 'Making Minutes Count Even More.' I have the book, and I noticed that 'Motivation Counts' is due next week, so I assumed each of these would get its own week until I read your post and looked back on the assignment sheet. I don't see it anywhere on there. Did I miss that we were supposed to incorporate both the 1st 2 books into this first post?
Hi Jannine, I thought I saw it listed with Every Minute Counts somewhere - let me look through my papers to confirm. Much of Making Minutes Count Even More is a review of the first, expanding in some areas, but also talks about communication with parents and new material.
DeleteHi Jannine, getting back to the ball of yarn idea, it seems like a great way to keep the daily objective in mind for the teacher too. If the kids are telling you that they learned "ABC" today and you were aiming to teach "XYZ" then maybe the objective was not met. Or maybe they say they've only learned "AB" and you get an indication that tomorrow's objective should not be new material but a continuation of today's objective to more thoroughly cover it. I think it is also a way to draw out shy students.
DeleteI am currently taking a graduate math course in Geometry for Math Educators. I was somewhat skeptical when I signed up for this course as Geometry has never been a favorite subject of mine. I found as the course progressed my interest in Geometry was sparked to the point I was exploring more advanced material beyond the course requirements. In reading Johnson's book I realized the course instructor was employing a number of the concepts Johnson discusses. I thought I would use this blog entry focus on two key areas where these classroom techniques worked well, to analyze why those techniques were effective at least for me and to discuss how they could inform my teaching.
ReplyDeleteFirst was the style of the class, which was light on lecture and long on problem solving, as Johnson recommends. Problems were always addressed to the class at large, not individuals, and we were encouraged to work together in solving the problems. Very rarely did one person have the complete answer. If a problem was not solved in class it would appear as part of the homework problems with some more hints to guide us in solving the problem, rather than having the instructor give the answer. I found that this teaching promoted class interaction by everyone, in part because the only option was to interact and in part because the environment was very safe. By giving us time to work on the problem and to work with other students we had an opportunity to get a handle on the issue and catch up to students that may have gotten the answer more quickly. Also, because the instructor never gave us an answer, it required interaction and note taking to make sure we understood the material. It also inspired me to do additional research on the topics in between classes.
Second was the instructor’s flexibility in what he taught each class. Every class would invariably start off with a “Problem of the Day” which would be a puzzle based on the last class. At the time I didn’t realize it but I can know see that the instructor was using the problem as a diagnostic on whether the majority of the students understood the material. Some days we would spend more time on the previous subject as a result. I found that in addition to giving the instructor a diagnostic on where we were, it helped me to self-evaluate my understanding of the material. A couple of times I met with the instructor (or the TA) outside of class when I realized I did not fully understand something as a result of opening daily problem.
In terms of my own desired teaching style, I am really taken with this lecture light and problem long method and would like to develop it. As a former business manager I can’t tell you how many new employees I encountered with poor problem solving skills. However, I can see some challenges. First this method seems like it takes a lot more preparation work. With a lecture you can exactly control the flow, with a problem solving approach you need to be ready to handle many more eventualities. Second it must take good classroom and time management skills, I can see it would be easy to get bogged down in one area or being taken off on a tangent. Finally I think it must take a lot of thought to pitch it correctly for the level of student so that no one gets frustrated.
I also think the concept of regular assessment of where student are makes sense. However where a Problem of the Day works in a college grad course that meets once every week, I think in a daily Middle or Secondary class a lot more variety in presentation is needed. Johnson recognizes this and suggests a number of different techniques such as homework correction, review problems, puzzles…. I have found myself starting to keep a notebook of different ideas and activities as I come across them usually from other teachers. Also I think it has to be important to integrate assessment as an ongoing behavior as opposed to a specific task to be done at a specific time.
Hi Pennell, I was thinking the same thoughts about Problem of the Day or puzzle openers - a twice/week class might be easier to pull that off than daily classes. I think the rotation that Johnson offers is important like you said. Already I can see there area a lot of ideas to keep track of so that once teaching I don't forget them but USE them to stay fresh.
DeleteFellow classmates,
ReplyDeleteThis book (Every Minute Counts) is one of two that has not yet arrived, so I will give you a preview of next week's blog assignment (Motivation counts). I will back fill here once the book arrives, hopefully next week.
"Motivation Counts" starts with an interesting premise…’old teaching techniques (ostensibly those that we were taught with) produce passive, underachieving students.’
After I shook off this personal affront, I thought about what he was saying and how he presented his argument.
He assumes there is a problem: students are passive classroom participants and are therefore underachievers
He assumes a root cause of this problem: students simply lack motivation
He conveniently provides the answer: shift the classroom from a teacher-centered environment to a student-centered classroom. This may not a bad idea, but none of his declarations (problem, cause, solution) are substantiated with any evidence whatsoever. We should simply accept his word as truth and move forward with his solutions.
I am not saying his book is useless, there are some thoughtful ideas on classroom management and teaching and testing skills that are definitely worth considering/trying. Here are some of the concepts that struck me as most useful:
During my observation day at the high school, i observed the ‘teach by walking around’ by one teacher…this provided an entire class of essentially individualized teaching to each student. This class session was an exam review period, but appeared very useful for each of the students. This kept students working on their own individual problem areas. (This is not a perfect solution, as the students that were doing well and were ready for the exam were doing non-math related activities (biology, writing an essay, texting on a cell phone).)
The concept of paired desks…in my observation day, desks were placed in groups of four. I observed students helping students, as well as students distracting students…bottom line: student placement must be done consciously.
Test section of this book adds minimal value for two reasons. First, for those that use paper/distributed exams, it states the obvious (grade your own students’ tests, give them room to show their work, etc.). Second, many schools are shifting to computer based exams which are mostly multiple choice, thereby eliminating any demonstration of how the students arrived at their responses. I am not saying the computer based exams are better, it’s just what some schools are going to, for better or worse.
Does anyone still use transparencies? Does GE even produce those bulbs anymore? Just wondering…
I enjoyed the section on active questioning and how to avoid the ‘artless’ questioning techniques.
Pairs of students and paper and pencil responses…good ways to check for student understanding.
Importance of developing students with good problem solving skills…things that they can relate to. One of my observation schools actually has this in their mission statement…”a community of learners …committed to developing skilled problem solvers, effective communicators and contributing citizens.” Some folks think there really is something of value in this problem-solving skill set.
Homework discussion was thought-provoking…I am curious to see how much difference there will be between theory and practice, and I will look for these concepts (or lack thereof) during my remaining observations.
Keep a file of good questions on specific topics…add to and update as you find or generate more good questions. (same idea as a qualification question bank).
My apologies for being off-topic this week; perhaps my thoughts here can inform your reading for next week.
He addressed various aspects of structure throughout his discussion of other topics, starting out with the literal, physical structure of the room. I think to some degree the class room size and number of students might influence it’s feasibility, but I agree with the U-shape that it would be much easier to navigate and help promote better student focus and engagement (though CTRA seems to adhere to the Kagaan methodologies, particularly those concerning seating).
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked Johnson’s discussions of structure in the context of the break down of the class period time – beginning with an opening activity (at CTRA EVERY classroom begins with a “Please Do Now”), spending minimal amounts of time correcting the homework, focusing on teaching the new objective, allotting time to ensure students are comfortable enough with the new material to tackle the night’s assignement, and making use of the last 5 minutes. I think some of his suggestions for the last five minutes - like spending it sincerely praising the students - sounds a bit naïve to me. I have seen different teachers address this issue in various manners with various degrees of success. The only one I have seen work thus far was issuing a brief assignment that must be turned in upon walking out the door.
One aspect of structure that Johnson addressed that affected my imagined intentions was when he stated in regards to not spending time correcting papers, that “A teacher’s out of class time is better spent planning meaningful activities and selecting and creating good problems for the class period.” I have seen that students tend not to do the work if the teacher isn’t going to grade it, so I thought I would write lots of personal notes and corrections to everything. I also have lots of ideas on how I want to create interesting lessons, so I realized I may be biting off more than I can chew of I need to do as much grading as I had in mind.
One of Johnson’s other main focuses is on how to involve and encourage the engagement of all the students at all times. Some of the questioning advice was eye-opening to me on this subject. On occasions when I have substituted, I am guilty of having selected students who weren’t paying attention to direct question to, repeating what soft spoken students said, calling on s particular student before asking the question, and asking overly easy or rhetorical questions.
I agree with Johnson’s recommendation to have students write responses throughout the class discussion, but in general, I am not sure how well I would be able to decipher their pencil on paper scratch, upside down or over their shoulders. I believe small white boards would be more effective, if available. I also really liked how much he stressed creating opportunities for the students to teach each other and reduce the teacher lecturing. I also loved the homework quiz example; it is very similar to what I planned on doing for notebook quizzes, and I think those could be combined.
My biggest criticism on his work is on this subject, though. While he talks so much about getting everyone to participate, he doesn’t say a word about discipline or classroom management to deal with students who simply refuse or when you have a few rebellious individuals who don’t care about their grades, and do nothing but try to distract others.
I really appreciated how Johnson addressed encouraging long-term learning. That is something I have always wanted to integrate into my teaching. Too many times witnessed students throw out their notebooks from the previous section once they were graded. One of the biggest problems I see in math classes are when students have huge gaps in simple foundational aspects (i.e. addition & subtraction with negative integers; working with fractions; basic properties of addition & multiplication), it makes everything after that grueling and difficult.
DeleteI also agree with Johnson on the importance of building student’s confidence. So many issues simply come from the students thinking it is too hard, or that they are going to get it wrong. Even in high school, these are still kids. They care what their friends think of them more than they care about their grades. They want to fit in, so they can’t be too smart, but at the same time, they can’t do anything that makes them look dumb. I appreciated how in every example of how to conduct the period, from doing the homework to correcting tests to teaching the new objectives, Johnson remained sensitive and aware of this.
One method I have seen some teachers use to accomplish what Johnson prescribed in term of focusing more on the process than the answer, is handing out the answers with every homework problem as it is assigned. So all they have to turn in is the work – I have seen it work wonders.
(I didn't realize there was a character limit until I tried to post, I cut it down as quickly as I could, but I figured it was better to just get it all up on time than spend hours editing and shortening - I will keep it under 4096 character next post, and have it done much earlier!!! This was a particularly intense week leading up to my father's 70th b-day & my boyfriend leaving for South Africa.)
DeleteJannine,
DeleteI think that it's a good point that sometimes students need the motivation of a grade on homework. Some of the teachers I've worked with will correct one or two random problems and then just do a quick check on the rest to motivate the kids to work on all of the problems. I usually try to do quick checks based on effort. It kind of forces them to show me work so I don't assume they copied from the back of the book, and lets them make mistakes without worry.
I do like Johnson's idea of checking it during their starting activity and not collecting it so that they have access to any corrections immediately. I think it'll be important to find a balance of motivating the kids to do the homework with grades/feedback and not spending too much time on it.
Noah,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post!
I was wondering what you mean by "quick checks based on effort" to force them to show work and not copy answers. I intend in many cases to follow a teacher's example I observed to give them all the answers and ask for the supporting work to be submitted for homework. That also makes it easy to check during the starting activity, which I like too.
I am looking forward to seeing how we all explore that balance of grades, feedback, and the time we invest during our student teaching!
From Randy:
ReplyDeleteGreat replies to classmates!