- 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 12 at 11PM
- Respond to questions posed to you and respond to at least one classmate by Sunday, May 19 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 Randy:
ReplyDeleteIf you "comment as Anonymous" be sure to include your name as I did in this comment.
From Tiffany:
ReplyDeleteMany viable practices for the classroom were discussed in Johnson’s “Every Minute Counts” and further emphasized in his sequel “Making Minutes Count Even More”. As a first year teacher it will be great guidance to have these books and tips handy. The major points that had the most impact on me and I can relate to are the seating arrangements, group work, the methods used to ask questions, and variation and the use of class time. Examples from the book for ways to handle administrative tasks, note-taking, and homework assignments and review will also be helpful, but I am not going to focus on that here.
There is nothing inviting about walking into a traditional classroom with seats arranged in rows. The U-shape is a great idea for bringing the students together in conversation, however I feel that some kids felt safer answering questions when everyone was not looking at them. I have not seen a U-shaped room in action, however I have seen a combination of the U-shape and traditional arrangements, which gets the students facing each other more, makes it easier for the teacher to roam and check work, and also leaves the center of the room open for the teacher to walk front to back and keep the lessons lively.
Johnson addresses working in groups and pairs for different activities to keep students actively involved and motivated. I enjoy this aspect because students speak to each other on their level and sometimes can drive a point home with each other more effectively. If used at the right time and with proper supervision and guidance this method can be advantageous for the students. Furthermore, this point is highlighted in the “Best Practices” book we are reading for ARC as essential to classrooms under Common Core which moves to create a workshop environment in the classroom.
The approaches that Johnson uses in questioning students seem highly effective in maximizing class participation. For instance, the pause helps both the teacher and the students from answering too quickly allowing everyone a chance to formulate their own thoughts. Incorporating the pause will enable me to help the slower-thinkers build self-confidence and feel safe to participate. Likewise, questions should be phrased (i.e. open-ended) to allow for full participation. Students should never feel like they are not expected to formulate their own responses. Additionally, the paper and pencil method seems beneficial because it allows the teacher to see where each student’s ability lies with the objective.
Adequate and meaningful use of classroom time is an indispensable tool to have. The emphasis placed on the first five minutes of class and the last five minutes is crucial. As seen during orientation we were involved immediately with related material to read or work to do. I have seen many times that students who are not expected to work immediately are difficult to re-engage once the teacher is ready for them. It sends the wrong message and doesn’t set a good example for the students to follow. Lastly, the varying of activities used for the opening, instruction, and closing create an unpredictable atmosphere in such a way where students will be less likely to skip or want to miss class because they will know it cannot be recreated. I find this to be a silent form of classroom management where the teacher holds the element of surprise in captivating the learners.
From Randy:
DeleteI'll make an example out of Tiffany...in a GOOD way. She does an excellent job reflecting
"If used at the right time and with proper supervision and guidance this method can be advantageous for the students." - INFORMING your future teaching
"this point is highlighted in the “Best Practices” book we are reading for ARC as essential to classrooms under Common Core which moves to create a workshop environment in the classroom." ... "As seen during orientation we were involved immediately with related material to read or work to do." - excellent CONNECTIONS to other ARC activity
"I enjoy this aspect because students speak to each other on their level and sometimes can drive a point home with each other more effectively."..."I find this to be a silent form of classroom management where the teacher holds the element of surprise in captivating the learners." - good evaluations
You also hit key points and analyzed (broke down the book into parts and compared). Well done.
I wish I included the point about pausing after asking a question. This is such a great point. It's absolutely huge to give students, or really anybody, a chance to think about what's been asked before speaking again.
DeleteFrom Jim I:
I also really picked up on her phrase, "...students speak to each other on their level and sometimes can drive a point home with each other more effectively" about working in groups or pairs. It's so true. Most of us are decades older than the students we will be teaching. I don't know their music, styles, interests and so on. So a peer may be able to 'drive a point home' simply because they can relate it to something I can't.
From Randy:
DeleteI am assuming this is from Tiffany. :)
Pausing is hard to do. A great trick is to have students WRITE responses to key questions. This gets everyone involved and automatically creates the pause, aka "wait time."
If students help each other then more students are getting help - it's not all on the teacher to answer every question.
From Jim:
DeleteSorry Randy. It was from me. As you can see it states "From Jim I;" at the very end of the first paragraph. I hit publish when I meant to hit preview. Woops.
From Sarah:
DeleteTiffany hits on the point of group work. Johnson reiterates this point in "Motivation Counts"... I've found in coaching cheerleading that my athletes work a lot harder when they condition in pairs (i.e. one athlete does the set of conditioning while the other counts sets for them/observes their technique and then they switch). I used to have them all condition individually but found many kids took this as an opportunity to "slack off" as they thought they would be disguised by all the other kids conditioning. Conditioning in pairs has proven to be beneficial and I think it's for several reasons 1.) Having a partner there to help critique any poor form helps the athlete make changes to condition properly 2.) With that, having the partner allows them to catch improper technique that I wouldn't necessarily see observing a group of 24 individuals 3.) I think the kids are naturally competitive and more driven when working in front of their peer making them work harder then they would if they thought no one was watching....
This group work in cheerleading I think really parallels to group work in the math classroom, working in groups allows for kids to help answer one another's questions and motivates them to work hard to "impress" the other student so to speak.
(Randy: Please don't be surprised if I allude to this in my Motivation Counts response!)
From David:
DeleteJohnson brings up several great techniques and the fact that it is difficult to meet them all.
He sets a good foundation, but at times experiments and adjustments are necessary. One of his points was to keep a notebook of past lessons to use in the future.
My point, I believe the "HORSESHOE' seat arrangement that I've used in several past presentations has a lot of merit, but not always practical. Via my observations, all the rooms are square and have desks. The shape of the room would have to be changed and desks replaces with oval tables.
As a teacher, we should attempt to change things for the better. There are road blocks. How do we address this issues? Just something to think about.
From Jim I:
ReplyDeleteI liked the section toward the beginning of the book discussing questions. I liked number 18 the best because I think I forces students the think: “Try to replace lectures with a set of appropriate questions.” (pg. 12) When someone asks a question about anything in life we are forced to think about the answer. A lecture can be effective, but it doesn’t force us to do anything. Questions are a huge part of teaching. I shadowed a middle school teacher the other day and he violated many of Johnson’s rules about questions: “the answer is 3, right?”, “is this the right answer?” (don’t ask yes or no questions) and a few others. However, the teacher I shadowed also constantly followed up a student’s answer with “why?” That seemed to really make the student think about it.
I also like the technique of keeping the students’ active, requiring them to write question responses. As we learned in the first seconds of Methods training, having work ready for the students to do before class starts sends a clear message: we’re here to learn. Starting the class with paper and pencil out, books away and typical homework problems being solved is meaningful teaching. I remember a teacher often having lengthy conversations with a coworker at the classroom door after the bell rang. It’s like we were some kind of inconvenience to him.
Johnson originally wrote this book more than 30 years ago. I wonder how he would feel about inclusion? In Johnson’s era spending extra time on those few students who need it is a ‘…very expensive waste of time…’ (pg23). Being able to strike the right balance between teaching most of the class and teaching the special learners will be a challenge.
Some parts of Johnson’s book seemed to help by instructing the teacher how to help the student. Two of his suggestions come to mind: how a student should organize and maintain their notebook and how a student should study for a test. In some sense we are helping students to help themselves.
From Randy:
Delete"I like 18...forces the students to think" - evaluation, you took a position and justified it. Good.
"As we learned in the first seconds of methods..." - connection to other ARC activities. Good.
You address key topics and analyze. Try to compare the different parts, e.g. compare questioning (your first paragraph) and questioning (your second paragraph).
You address effective teaching but make it more personal to you. What do you think YOU will do or try as a teacher. Remember, this is what ARC is all about!
From Jim:
DeleteYes or no questions have their place in the classroom but they can't be used exclusively. Asking questions that push a student to infer from what they have learned will help me as a teacher assess how much they understand the concepts. I hope to use many different types of questioning in the classroom. However, it's important to gauge answers based on the type of learner. Complex explanations should not be expected of many special needs students.
From Neil:
DeleteAssuming it is OK to refer to other sources, several of the techniques in Lemov's "Teach Like A Champion" that relate to questioning, such as No Opt Out, Right is Right, Cold Call and Call And Response, can be used with a diverse class, even with special needs students.
From Tiffany:
ReplyDeleteIn response to Jim's statement on inclusion I want to share my observations. During my recent observations I questioned many teachers about this and learned that most of the integrated classes are co-taught by both a special education teacher and the subject teacher. I don't know how common this is throughout the state, but the co-teaching I witnessed allowed for the teacher to focus on the objectives and instruction for the day while both walked around giving additional individual help. These classes also tend to be on the smaller side (i.e. approx. 15 kids). Has anyone else made similar observations or noticed a different method used for handling the integrated classes?
From Sarah:
DeleteOne classroom I observed had 6 kids from the school's "STEP" Program (a program designed for kids with behavioral issues). The school district I observed was fortunate to have enough paras to go around with the students to their integrated classes. The way the teacher utilized the para was by concentrating the STEP kids in one area of the classroom towards door with the para close by. When a behavioral issue arose, the para was able to quickly address it by pulling the student out so the class wasn't disturbed. The para also helped the teacher by doing similar to the one you observed and walked around helping other students when independent work was given.
From Jim:
DeleteOne of the teachers I observed last week had one class with 3 special needs kids and two paraprofessionals to assist. In the very next class there were 2 special needs kids with NO assistance of any kind. I asked him about it. "That's the way it is", he told me. This is scary for me. This guy was a 30 year seasoned professional who knew how to deal with it. I'm not and I don't.
From David:
DeleteI experienced some disappointing issues in regards to special kids. In one of my observations, one kid had a one on one adult mainly for mental issues. Some others have an adult working with a group of students, this all in the regular classroom mix.
What ready bothered me was a group of three students that were taken out of a social study class to work on math. The teacher didn't work with them as I would have expected. Most of the time the two students were horse playing. This was a time the teacher could have made a major influence working one on one or two. What a shame! Also the third student was pulled out for testing, but the teacher showed my his workbook and I was amazed the problems they were testing the student on. Very challenging math word problems. Teachers response was all the students need to be taught the same units, but this student needs to be retaught some basic math before this difficult stuff. The words "held back" were used. I thought the reason to teach was to make a difference.
From Sarah:
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel Johnson’s Every Minute Counts is the best book to start the ARC coursework with. It tackles a facet of teaching that I believe many new teachers struggle with in their classrooms: time management. Johnson provides many suggestions ranging from the physical layout of the room to the act of correcting homework, all of which are to help utilize the time spent in the class wisely.
One suggestion Johnson makes that I find a lot of merit in for my future classroom is to set up seats in a U-formation. During my recent classroom observation, the seats were set up in the standard row formation. Though the teacher followed one of Johnson’s suggestions of having the class work independently on an example while he walked around and checked work, a lot of time was spent weaving up and down the rows of seats. After observing this, I see a greater benefit in having the U-shape formation to save time and be more effective in checking the students’ progress. I believe the U-formation will lead to a more collaborative environment .
Johnson focuses on what he calls “the art of questioning.” Johnson explains that if done the right way, questions can allow for great insight into the understanding and progress of his students. I think one of the most important points Johnson made was to keep questions open-ended and to make them not rhetorical. Working in math intervention and tutoring students in math, I can recall many times where I would ask them a yes or no question in which I virtually gave them the answer. Johnson’s points have helped me realize that this is not as beneficial for the student as it does not allow them time to formulate their thoughts based on knowledge they already have. In the future, I am going to be much more aware of how I phrase my questions. Questions, if done properly and if done improperly, are a very powerful tool for teachers.
Another important point Johnson argues is that the tone for the classroom is set within the first five minutes of the class period. I saw this directly while attending the methods section of the ARC orientation. We were prompted to immediately notice the objective for the evening and were given an activity that got us thinking about the objective for the class period. I noticed this as a tactic being used in all the classrooms I observed as well. The objective was written on the board and announced to the class verbally. I feel having the objective of the class be known allows for lessons to be cohesive and easy to follow for students and teachers alike.
In Every Minute Counts, Johnson’s objective of the book is clear: to make classes run as efficiently as possible. The book followed many of Johnson’s own suggestions for how a classroom should be run. I learned a lot from the book despite it being only 61 pages, and I feel that stands as a testament to the merit of Johnson’s suggestions in how to run a class with a limited amount of time.
From Randy:
DeleteGreat connections to other ARC activities - methods and classroom observation.
You address effective teaching with your comment about seating. Do more of this! YOUR future teaching is what ARC is all about.
U-shape has merit - getting students involved - took a position and justified it. Good. Do more of this.
You hit key points and analyzed but try to compare the different key points, e.g. "make classes run more effectively" is a good point so give details.
From Tiffany:
ReplyDeleteSarah mentions the objective which is a great aspect to remember. I also witnessed teachers putting this on the board and verbally telling the students what it was for the day. As an adult learner, I have always found that just having an idea of where a lesson is going helps me focus better, so I can only imagine how much more important this is for kids. Example from a recent observation...the teacher stated the objective for the day and all throughout the lead up activities the students were trying to come up with how the activity tied into the objective. They had great ideas and thoughts which was an awesome lead in to the instruction. It just made for a positive environment!
From Jim:
DeleteTiffany, I'm curious. What was the objective? What did the students do or say that showed they were trying to tie the activity to the objective?
Excellent question, Jim. REMEMBER this when you guys are doing your microteaches!!!! :)
DeleteFrom Tiffany:
DeleteThe objective was to do mental math to find 10% and then 20%. As the students learned the methods for mentally calculating 10% and practiced, they were trying to look forward and figure out how to get the 20%. Some students were going along the notion that if you move the decimal one place to the left for 10%, then you move it twice to the left for 20%. Obviously, this isn't the case, but they were thinking. The teacher had them use a calculator to try to prove their theory. Upon realizing that doesn't work they were then instructed to find 10% and double it. The students then picked up that they could figure almost any percentage out mentally by this method. It was exciting to see their amazement with this!
From Jim:
DeleteInteresting. As I was reading your response (thank you by the way) I was thinking in the back of my mind - that's so simple. The math I mean. I think it's important, for me at least, to remember that there was a time when I didn't know how to do this stuff either. I remember having teachers who were clearly brilliant, but were lousy at what they did. They taught in a style that assumed everyone should get it with the same ease they did. This is a trap I will do my best to avoid.
From Randy:
ReplyDeleteThree MAJOR issues addressed in Tiffany's sub-thread.
1. You will be SHOCKED at the little things that trip up kids. SHOCKED. For example, recently students were completing a rate of change problem that included change in value from 0 to 20 years. I spent a couple minutes explaining to a freshman how to figure out the change in years for this situation (20 years).
2. Teacher candidates actually have trouble with identifying and writing valid learning objectives. In fact, many teachers do as well. In this scenario the daily objective likely should have been "The student will compute percents mentally using 10%."
3. Students WILL think critically if YOU create the right environment. Don't assume that because they don't or won't they can't. Probably most math teachers think this way. :(
From David
ReplyDeleteI truly believe D. Johnson sets the foundation to effective teaching. The foundation are right there on page three and worthy of being restated. In my words, these are some of the most important concepts:
1) Positive classroom engagement immediately and setting objectives. No wasted time time. Five minutes lost of a 44min. class is over 10% lost.
2) Keep ALL the students engaged at ALL times.
3) Encourage participation and removing fear. Students are afraid of failure and peer pressure. As I was in in blogging this response.
4) Teacher preparation (lesson planners) and on-going assessments on students progress.
5) Connecting one lesson to the next. Connect what was learned in the past to the present and on to the future.
6) Simulating thinking. Asking open end questions. How can we use what we learned to this. Why are we doing this. What does this relationship mean. Give students time to think and share feedback.
7) Introduce NEW material. Don't waste time on busy work. Let students and peers review their mistakes and learn from them. Key element: WE LEARN MORE FROM OUR MISTAKES.
8) Again, assessment! Develop techniques that measure student understand. Do we need to review past material or can we move forward.
9) Building student CONFIDENCE and MOTIVATION. I believe it is must that the students leave the classroom every time with this in mind and are looking forward to the next class.
I was fortunate to see these methods use efficiently in one of my classroom observations. I don't want to write my observation reflection here, but can't help to address how they are closely related. I would like to focus on classroom engagement, techniques, and simulating student thoughts. Seeing this in action is believing
This teacher brought the class to immediate attention with waving her hands and saying, "Are we all ready, today we will start with a spot quiz on material from the past two days, review one homework problem, introduce new material and provide you with a worksheet on percentages to revisit."
This technique accomplished several objectives. It set the class objective, got immediate student engagement and provided her a spot check on student understand of the material. She walked me through her process of keeping the students in suspense with the goal to encourage complete interaction. As on Johnson's methods, she uses the spot quizzes instead of collecting homework.
When introducing new material, the teacher puts the problem on the board and then asks open end questions such as: what do you already know about this function, is it odd or even, it is positive or negative, and how can we apply what we already know to this. this gave every student time to think about their approach and builds their confidence in solving the problem. The new material was connected to previous. At the same time, she provided examples on how the material was related to real life examples.
There were some methods in the book and the observations that got me thinking on how to apply to my teaching, especially when you tie them together. Some that are most dear to me is that homework and the classroom are the places to make mistakes. Key to get students comfortable with engaging and learning from their mistakes. Also, open end questions simulates think and participation. It is more important to understand why, what and how the lesson is being done instead of getting the correct answer. Most important is building confidence and a sense of accomplishment in the students.
From Randy:
DeleteYou clearly hit key points and address your future teaching. There was also a connection between this reading and your classroom observation.
When reviewing the key points, analyze them. Break them down and compare them with each other. For example, several address engagement. How does engagement overlap with other areas?
You took a position on motivation (point #9) but why is it important that kids look forward to the next class? Justify your position. This is important because you will see many different strategies and will have to decide which you think are effective.
From David:
DeleteIf students leave the classroom feeling they have learned and the material that they were struggling with is better understood, they will want to engage more and try new and more challenging material. If the teacher provides an atmosphere that instills the student learns from mistakes and praises them for attempting and participating, the next class they will want to show the teacher what they have learned. By the homework assignment now being more achievable to them, they will be more prepared and focused to learn more. Feeling a sense of accomplishment and reward drives more interest.
From David
ReplyDeleteI'm struggle with the concept of what a BLOG is:
I goggled it, still unclear to me.
I left behind a corporate work that wasted time in meetings and conference calls. Exchanging of open ideas in written format was avoided. e-mails with supervisors or SVP in the CC can have consequences.
MY PUT: group exchange of ideas via informal reflection in rubric form
Q? Are we to publish as Anonymous and put From XXXX in the first line?
Also proof reading is difficult in this little box. I have typos in my blog. Is there a better method - import from word?
From Sarah:
DeleteI typed mine in a Word Document first and then copy and pasted into the comment box. This worked well for me as I was able to re-read and have spell check handy. Also, depending on what browser you use (I use Firefox) it automatically spell checks your work for you (puts red squiggly line underneath a misspelled word and offers corrections when you right click, also auto-corrects some misspelled words) which makes working in the comment box a lot easier for brief comments like this one. Hope that helps! :-)
From Randy:
DeleteYou can post from your Google Account if it identifies you. I find that most people will go anonymous so starting with the name helps us know who is commenting.
A blog is simply a discussion in written form and is asynchronous which basically means you post at your own time vs real time. This allows us to have a discussion, learn from each other and to start developing some community and bonding. It's not as good as doing this in person but it's better than not doing this.
From Charles:
ReplyDeleteWhat immediately caught my attention in Johnson’s “Every Minute Counts” in his first chapter ‘Don’t Do It the Way I Did!’ is his exact description of the typical classroom structure, and we have all seen this in practice: rows of seating, attendance, Q&A/homework review, THEN finally getting to the new lesson plan. You may have budgeted 40 min out of 50 or 55 min of class time towards the new lesson but now your down to 20-25 min. Johnsons classroom organization helps organize the period and minimizes ‘down’ time.
Like Johnson says, the first and last five minutes of class are some of the biggest time wasters that students exploit because they can. Finding the proper way to immediately engage students upon entering the classroom and also preventing them from shutting down before the end of the period is a huge problem. He explains by training the students to expect to be immediately engaged helps eliminate this wasted time. Homework review or a homework check instead of the usual attendance is a simple and effective way to minimize the wasted time. The homework ‘quiz’ is another great idea to immediately get students attention AND hopefully encourages students to consistently do their homework. At the end of the period asking a ‘Why?’ question will take more time to answer and more thought than just a simple quantitative answer. This type of questioning will help keep students focused until the end of the period. Like our first evening of ARC stressed to come to class ON TIME and be prepared to start working at the beginning of class. Tardiness will not be tolerated. All of our lecturers and methods instructors were prepared to start immediately and work until ‘the bell rings’ are concepts they have instilled in us and we should strive to instill in our students.
Another revelation was the U-shaped seating. In my substitute teaching I have seen one classroom organized in a U-shape. This was an English class and the amount of interaction between students far exceeded that of a ‘traditional’ classroom setup. I just thought it was the teachers preference and it may have been, but Johnsons explanation brings to light many benefits of this seating arraignment which I can attest to by seeing it in action. I have seen how it facilitates interaction and prevents students from ‘hiding’ while also eases the teachers ability to check work AND saves valuable class time. This simple concept makes so much sense and encourages student participation that it will be the way I will set up my classrooms. A simple and effective concept.
Johnson also stresses group work. I have utilized this in my substitute teaching and have also found it to be very beneficial. Students may say the same thing that the teacher says but because its coming from a peer rather than the teacher, students sometimes are more receptive to it. Also, by discussing it amongst themselves, in a small ‘private’ group, I have observed that students will tend to ask more questions between themselves until they understand it rather than to keep asking for another example or explanation in front of the entire class and getting frustrated because they just don’t get it and then shut down in frustration. Like our methods instructors had us at two group tables so we could discuss and helped each other on our orientation night.
From Neil:
ReplyDeleteDavid R. Johnson has concluded that classic teaching methods are woefully inadequate and ineffective at inspiring, motivating and challenging math students. His book Every Minute Counts: Making Your Math Class Work details several behavioral and structural changes math teachers can use to be more successful in the classroom. Unlike many education philosophers who have no practical classroom experience, Johnson is an experienced math teacher, so his observations and criticisms, and classroom-tested solutions, are meaningful and should carry much weight.
Though the problems he details, such as inefficient use of time, ineffective homework, inability to assess student performance, unproductive lectures and the overall failure to inspire and motivate students seem huge and insurmountable, his common-sense solutions are intuitive, understandable and easily implementable.
In particular, Johnson broadly presents three areas to improve classroom effectiveness: rearranging desks to foster inclusion, group work, discipline and teacher oversight; developing a new approach to asking questions to broaden participation, increase student involvement and provide better teacher insight into student understanding; and completely restructuring classroom procedures to make class time more efficient, inspire and motivate students, create a “safe” environment for all types of learners, use homework as an efficient teaching tool, and optimize the efficiency of every minute of each class period.
I found this simple book to be very powerful and useful for every teacher. As I have no classroom experience, I’m glad to have read this before developing “bad habits”. I‘d encourage every teacher of every subject to read this book, as the problems he details likely exist in every class and every subject, and his suggestions are eminently doable. Though I hope to implement many of his recommendation, I expect to use his strategies of seating arrangement, homework correction/review, the importance of the first and last five minute and corresponding suggestions to exploit these class segments, and the importance of daily teacher AND student preparedness.