- 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 19 at 11PM
- Respond to questions posed to you and respond to at least one classmate by Sunday, May 26 11PM.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Jonnson's Motivation
Choose a couple main points from this book and explain how they inform your concept of effective teaching.
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From Tiffany:
ReplyDeleteJohnson’s Motivation Counts book is a great sequel to his books Every Minute Counts and Making Minutes Count Even More because it offers further insight into techniques he has previously identified, gives guidelines for numerous tasks, and examples for various topics that he has developed and found to be valuable. Key concepts I take from Motivation Counts are the student-centered classroom, diverse techniques to motivate, and the importance of pre-simplification exercises and word problems.
Removing the teacher-centered classroom means eliminating the methods of teaching that don’t work. A student-centered class allows the teacher to step back and let the students build their own relationship with and passion for the subject. This is important since teachers only spend one year with a student. If the student is reliant on one teacher for understanding a topic then when they move on they will struggle. We need to remove anxiety and fear about the subject in order to help them be successful. My student-centered classroom will do this by giving them the tools they need to figure it out themselves and the experiences of guided and higher order thinking. I believe that the learning atmosphere I create complemented with a planned and orderly presentation of material through various styles of teaching will achieve this goal.
Techniques to motivate were discussed via classroom routine, approaches and purposes of questioning, helping students understand the abstract, homework and tests, and problem-solving experiences. Much of this is an extension of what was mentioned in Every Minute Counts but the problem-solving experience Johnson mentions is noteworthy. During orientation we were exposed to word problems and we had to use our reading, analytical, and evaluating skills to respond. These types of problems tend to overwhelm students and cause anxiety but by using them often, we can teach the students how to pull out the needed information and use their skills to respond. Beyond just Common Core assessments, student will be faced with word problems when going to college or into a trade and needing to take a placement test. It is in their best interest to be comfortable and accustomed to approaching and solving these and I feel that they have a significant purpose in the teaching and understanding of certain topics as well.
Johnson speaks to pre-simplification exercises which give the student an opportunity to better understand something, i.e. a variable, prior to trying to manipulate it and use it in various ways. I think this aligns greatly with the student-centered classroom, and can also be used as an assessment for where the students’ skills are. I especially like the idea of having them write it out in their own words which can assess their knowledge as well as their use of math terminology. Looking toward the Common Core Assessment I think this is very important now. I have seen Missouri’s pilot test with the types of questions that will be asked and the expected ways that they will be answered. It is much different because students must show and label all their work now for the Communicating Reasoning portion of the assessment.
A general guidance set forth for teachers from Motivation Counts is the requirement for preparation, forethought of where problems will arise, and the imperative need to reflect upon every lesson taught. We can’t expect our students to come to class prepared everyday if we are not. If we can identify where students will likely make errors when practicing a new objective, we can have better open-ended questions to guide them toward the right answers and ultimately toward higher order thinking skills (HOTS). Lastly, Johnson was able to produce these wonderful books for us because of his ability to reflect and refine his lessons over time. Johnson has even provided some guidelines to the reflection process and our ability to analyze ourselves will be fine-tuned over the next few months through ARC’s reflection requirements. If we’re not changing, we’re not growing!
"A student-centered class allows the teacher to step back and let the students build their own relationship with and passion for the subject."...and on a less profound level, people like to do stuff as opposed to just listening. You will hear this repeatedly (in a pleasant tone) "shut up and let them do stuff!" :)
ReplyDeleteFrom Jim:
ReplyDeleteJohnson does a great job showing what works and what doesn’t work in the math classroom. As in his previous book, I really like his approach to using questions. All of the information in chapter two is extremely valuable. I will be referring to the whole book, but especially this chapter when I start teaching. I really like his analogy of a teacher being like the band director, using his questions like a baton directed at the whole class. This is how I envision myself as a teacher: keeping the students focused by directing questions to the whole class.
Johnson delves further into valuable questioning techniques in this book. Instead of complimenting a student for a correct answer, he uses the opportunity to ask a follow up question. And the follow up question is not directed toward the student but to the whole class. This really keeps the pace and focus of the class going.
Another great technique introduced in the book is to expect there are questions instead of asking if there are any. ‘What questions do you have?’ sends the message the teacher wants responses. The teacher can then use the responses to assess how well the class understood the topic. Asking ‘Are there any questions?’ does not generate these results. Knowing what questions to ask and when, is a great deal of what teaching is all about. While only experience can help the new teacher refine their overall methods and skill, books like this one give a valuable jump start into teaching.
The author’s viewpoint on testing was also very enlightening. There are no surprises or intimidation. The test is announced well in advance and students are told precisely what they are going to be tested on. These expectations are similar to the ones given at orientation. The packet we received contained specifics of what is to be handed in and when. I intend to be this kind 'no tricks or surprises' teacher. A totally unexpected quiz from the teacher prevents students from making excuses like, “ I had a big history assignment due so I couldn’t study last night”. Knowing when and how tests are given shows they students you care and want them to be prepared and successful. Nel Noddings’, with her philosophy of caring, would no doubt approve of this technique.
I enjoyed reading about the helpful ideas and advice Johnson has. He does a great job going over common areas of confusion such as exponents with negative bases and parentheses, variables and word problems. This is a real heads up for beginning teachers. I will consult this book again when teaching any of the areas where Johnson has seen so many students struggle. I also like what he said about turning any problem into an interesting word problem. It brings math to the students in a real life, practical way. The problems, exercises and ideas he shares at the end of the book are invaluable to a new math teacher. I’ve been wondering how I could begin to inventory good math problems. Johnson’s book is a great start.
From Charles:
ReplyDeleteIn Johnsons ‘Motivation Counts’ the recurring theme of proper questioning is again stressed as it was in his ‘Every Minute Counts’. The ability to ask open ended probing questions that generate thought and challenge students to think beyond just memorizing a formula or process is a skill that needs to be developed by the teacher. This is easier said than done. If our past teaches us about teaching then we will teach by memorizing the process to obtain the result/answer. This does not help the student think of how to apply the process to real world situations but only allows him/her to apply the process if it is given in a format which they have been taught and that won’t help them develop problem solving abilities. In algebra class we are taught that slope is rise/run or y2-y1/x2-x1 but what does this mean? To the student it still means slope or rise/run but to the teacher it means the rate of change between two points. But what does this mean? Students need to be able to think, interpret and explain these results in a meaningful manner that they can apply to life. By asking probing questions such as ‘Please explain what this means in terms of the given graph’ or ‘Why does it mean this?’ causes the student think, explain and have a better understanding of the meaning of the lesson and confidence. In my substitute teaching I try to ask the students the meaning of the concept ie slope. What it means and how it can be applied to every day situations and to give another example that they experienced where it applies.
Another concept presented is the ability to reflect the lesson or should I say, the learning objective, back to the students so that they are doing the work. Johnson calls this “the student centered class.” As teachers trying to teach students how to think and solve problems this is also a concept which we need to embrace. After showing examples of how to do an exercise, students then do their own examples. By working in pairs or small groups students can discuss amongst themselves how to solve the problems. By doing exercises themselves rather than listening to a lecture students develop a better understanding of the exercise and a higher retention of it as well. As time goes on, because students have a better understanding and better retention of processes and meanings this means less review when teaching the next lesson or three lessons from now which means we have now created time!
I will stress to develop the open ended as well as reflective questions while teaching. This will help teach my students how to think but also how to apply the lesson to real life problem solving and have the ability to explain it in a meaningful way.
From Jim:
DeleteThe 'student centered class' is reflected in other places in our readings too. Much of Paulo Freire's philosophy spoke to the free exchange of ideas in the classroom. In fact the idea of a 'student centered class' is exemplified really well by Katie Muhtaris' fifth grade classroom in the 'Best Practice' book we are reading for the Methods portion of ARC.
From Sarah:
ReplyDeleteJohnson’s “Motivation Counts” offers much insight into “making the critical transition from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered classroom” (p. 5) which Johnson argues is essential in order to encourage motivation in a student’s education. While expanding on ideas previously introduced in “Every Minute Counts “and “Making Every Minute Count More” and introducing even more concepts, Johnson provides his readers with an expansive tool kit for running an effective classroom.
In order to achieve the goal of a student-centered classroom, Johnson shares ideas to get students to participate more. One that was discussed extensively in “Every Minute Counts” is using proper questioning techniques. Johnson explains how questions that start with phrases like “Does anyone know…” or “Who can tell me…” (p. 23) allow students with an option to respond instead of requiring the whole class to participate. Partnered with effective questioning, requiring students to be ready with a pencil, paper, and a clear desk at the beginning of every class sends the message that they are there to work. Having students work on a problem while the teacher walks around to check their work is a mutually beneficial exercise for both the teacher and students. While completing one observation, the teacher I was observing had the students do an example, but didn’t walk around while they were doing it. This allowed several students to work on other assignments or doodle while the rest of the class participated. This would be something I would do differently in my own classroom, as it was a disservice to both the teacher and the students.
Another suggestion provided in the book is to have students work in pairs. 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 this is 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 than they would if they thought no one was watching. This group work in cheerleading really parallels group work in the math classroom. Working in groups allows kids to help answer one another's questions and motivates them to work hard to "impress" their peers. In addition, students know how to relate to one another and may be able to explain something better than I can as a teacher.
Sarah continued:
DeleteSomething Johnson pointed out that I personally never have thought of was that praising too often could be detrimental to a learning classroom. I always try to encourage and praise students as often as possible, but as Johnson points out, this leads to a student-teacher correspondence. Instead of immediately praising a student after a correct response, or any response for that matter, a teacher should pause. This allows for students to be actively listening and digesting what is being said by their peers. This is important for a multitude of reasons. One is that it encourages correspondence between students, which can often be more of a learning experience then with a teacher just lecturing. I definitely plan to incorporate the pause into my teaching.
I think the thing I really took from all of Johnson’s books though was as a teacher it is my responsibility to set kids up for success. I feel amongst teachers there is an expectation that students know how to note-take and to study. I think, however, that this is a false assumption. As a teacher, I should be preparing my students for success by being well organized in my lesson planning and instruction. By explicitly telling my students what notes to take and how to study for a test with a study guide and practice problems, they will be much more likely to be successful then if I just tell them there is a test coming up and that they need to study. In all, I feel Johnson’s books have provided me with a lot of techniques to motivate my students and utilize classroom time properly, setting up both me and my students for success in the classroom.
From Sarah:
DeleteI wanted to follow up what I said about having my cheerleaders work in pairs for conditioning: This is only as successful as I allow it to be. I normally have a co-coach at practice with me which allows us to work in two supervised stations (normally a conditioning station and then a tumbling station). One night my co-coach wasn't at practice and I tried to continue my practice in stations allowing the girls to be unsupervised at their conditioning station working in pairs. Without supervision the kids took advantage and "goofed off" since there was no one there to enforce the conditioning. I feel this again parallels the math classroom in the following way when I was observing a high school classroom. The students had an upcoming exam so the teacher put the kids in groups to work on a review packet. The teacher then proceeded to sit at their computer, only to get up to answer questions when called upon by a group. This allowed for students to sit and socialize instead of working on their packet as there was no adult enforcing that they be working. Therefore I feel that pairing/grouping students is only effective as the teacher facilitates it to be.
From Neil:
ReplyDeleteDavid R. Johnson’s follow-up book, Motivation Counts: Teaching Techniques That Work expands on many of the concepts and strategies he detailed in his first book, Every Minute Counts and its sequel. Johnson believes every aspect of classroom management and every teacher/student interaction can, should and must be transformed into a motivational moment. As detailed in his first book and expanded upon in this book, the traditional class setup and the classical teacher-student interactions, don’t recognize the needs of the student and serve to demotivate most students.
In particular, I found his strategies on homework, testing and questioning techniques to be insightful. His view that teachers need to constantly self-reflect on their effectiveness in order to continually improve and motivate their students seems obvious, but is difficult to put into practice. It’s particularly helpful that he provides a self-evaluation checklist on questioning techniques that every teacher should incorporate into their daily reflection.
This book was also valuable in noting the areas of math that many students are likely to find difficult to master. From his own personal experience, and working with other math teachers, Johnson details abstract and applied areas that need particular focus and attention, such as absolute values and exponents.
Like his first book, I found this simple book to be very powerful and useful for every teacher. The knowledge of “rough spots”, the use of counterexamples, and his recommendations on reinforcing computational skills through problem solving will be especially helpful to me. Finally, I'm glad he provided many questions and problems that, in his experience, were particularly motivational for his students.
From Jim:
DeleteNeil, I really like your statement about how Johnson's, "view that teachers need to constantly self-reflect on their effectiveness in order to continually improve and motivate their students seems obvious, but is difficult to put into practice." I agree. Of course we are all getting a massive amount of practice as virtually every ARC assignment requires us to reflect not summarize. And the point of all this reflecting is the point of doing anything over and over: to get better at it. In our case to question our teaching constantly and never slip into some type of, “I’ve got it figured out now…I’ll just keep doing this same thing over and over in the class room”. Reflection can be difficult to put into practice. It is good that Johnson has helped us out with the self-evaluation checklist. You’ve motivated me to go back and reread it.
From: David
ReplyDeleteAs Johnson provides ideas on motivating students, he reflects on pervious methods of making every classroom minute count. Emphasizes the need to get away from past traditional methods of taking roll and going over homework. He feels that the beginning of class is the time to get every student engaged. The class should beginning with reviewing material from the previous class or test material that students are struggled with. He suggests the teacher prepare this material for immediate review and provide feedback in order to be effective in correcting students difficulties in the past day material.
He uses several techniques in motivating the students such as seating arrangement, pairing students to help each another, praising students that actively try to participate. He sets daily objectives and what the class is expected to achieve and learn by the end of class. He feels that the students feelings are a key element to their learn process and motivating them. In order to effectively use these techniques, he establishes guidelines. One of his most important objective is that students should be able to do their homework and looking forward to completing these assignments as they leave the class.
Reflecting back on his every minute counts book and my observations, students should be ready to engage as class begins. What is expected should be routine such as just pencils and paper on desk. In my observation, one teacher started the class with a quick quiz on the previous two days of material and as students finished the quiz they picked up a worksheet on percentages and basic math while others finished. Key objective here was keeping everyone engaged while others finished.
The idea of setting up the classroom in pairing students to interact with their partner in solving problems is an effective way in learn different approaches and methods in resolving problems from the fellow student. One student may struggle with exponents and the other with the order of operations or setting equations to solve (variables and operations to opposites of the equal sign), but together they can come to the solution.
Techniques that stood out to me was the ways the teacher should conduct the class in having all students actively involved and enthused in participating. In achieving these results, students were giving some time to think out problems and openly allowed to share their thoughts and methods in reaching their solution. The focus was on their methods and not the answer. The teacher provided effective praise for student participation. (Open ended, but not over done). The key was to have the praise lead into further student thinking. Questions such as: what was your process, can you expand and are there other methods or can others add to this response. I observed this method used very well when a teacher put new material on the board for the whole class to work and gave students a little time to work it. Then the teacher asked different questions on solving the problem such as what do we already know about this function, is it odd or even, positive or negative and what else someone could add. One student would have some information and then the teacher would praise them and then ask others for more information. The whole class was engaged.
From Sarah:
DeleteDavid-
You talk about the classroom you observed doing a quick quiz, followed up by a worksheet. How did this work in the flow of the class? Were students on task while they worked on the worksheet? Did the teacher walk around to check on the progress of the worksheet? What happened when everyone was done with the quiz, was the worksheet continued or saved for homework or just "dropped"? I appreciate your answer :)
I also totally agree about the objective that students should be able to complete the homework after a class. I remember countless teachers and professors assigning homework that I did not feel prepared for and as a result did not complete. I feel like as a teacher I want to make sure the problems I assign for homework and the problems I have on a quiz follow similarly to the ones I use as examples in class. Not to the point of monotony, but to the point of understanding. Of course as Johnson points out, in order to make it interesting for students it's important to be innovative in your problem assignment and use of word problems.
From David:
ReplyDeletepart two
One of the key elements in achieving open communication was getting students willing to share their ideas even if not entirely correct and receiving praise to want to response again. This worked effectively as others wanted to participate.
Another technique that was successful, was allowing students to feel good about making mistakes and receiving constructive feedback. The teacher made in clear to the students that mistakes are part to the learning process. By encouraging the students, their fears were diminished and participation increased.
Johnson provided many other techniques on how to approach problems, such as graphing or applying real life situations to the problems. The main ideas I appreciated to carry forward in his techniques was the preparation of a daily classroom lesson and setting objectives that will be learned. It’s a must to create an open thought process and praise students during the learning process. Most of all is to motivate students with a sense of accomplishment and leaving them with the confidence and that the homework given at class end is achievable and interesting. This will prepare them for another success class tomorrow.
From Tiffany:
DeleteDavid, you and Sarah both addressed the student praise. I think it is one of those things we overlook and don't pay too much attention to unless we are made aware of its significance. The "how" to praise is as important as the "when" to praise. The ideas presented in Motivation Counts left me wanting more understanding on how to implement better strategies when it comes to giving praise. I found that, to my benefit, this idea was further developed in Lemov's Teach Like A Champion book. Technique 44, "Precise Praise" (pp 210-213) presents rules of thumb's to follow when giving positive reinforcement and praise. I feel better equipped now to implement positive reinforcement in a way that will not be "detrimental to the art of questioning" (p 32) as Johnson stated. In addition, I feel strongly about the "fix soft" in Lemov's "Precise Praise" technique because this allows students to feel safe in answering questions and participating. All encompassing, this will help lead to Positive Framing (another Lemov technique, no. 43) on making the expectations the norm of the classroom.
From David:
DeleteTiffany,
I agree, effective praising is a key element in engaging and motivating students. As you stated, correct implementation is important. The best technique sense to be providing some praise for participating even if student response is not entirely correct. More important, is that the praise bring on further response from the same student and others. One needs to be careful not to over praise the student nor just praise some students. Consistency works best.