Think back to influential classes you have taken. How were expectations set to promote student success?
A lot of the art courses I have taken through out the years I was self-driven in. I wanted to succeed because I wanted to get better. But, I understand that this will be rare occasion when I am the teacher. So, thinking back to other classes, and what expectations were set to promote student success is hard. Because, I really only cared about art. There are two classes I have taken where I can think of examples of promoting student success. And, this is probably because they were both scarring for me.
Both of these experiences took place in middle school. And, they were both ways of rewarding students for their hard work, in front of the entire class. The first example of promoting student success is from third grade when everyone would get a star next to their name for completing one of the times tables, orally, in front of the teacher. Needless to say, I had about three stars while everyone else had about ten. It was horrible. The second example if from 8th grade, when students would receive a certificate for getting an “A” on a history test. Again, this certificate was given in a public setting, in front of the entire class. For the students that never received a certificate, it was embarrassing. I think I received one.
So, what I learned from all of these experiences is that if you want students to succeed you need to find a way to make the material important to them. And, finding a way to do this without a physical reward. Because, that often makes students who have never received that reward feel horrible about themselves. And, lets face it; it is the students who aren’t feeling so great about a subject that need the most encouragement.
Introduce your student teaching setting. How do you view the expectations and classroom community established in your current placement?
I am currently placed at an elementary school. My cooperating teacher sees about 450 students a week, because he sees every class once a week for 50 minutes. So far I am very pleased with my placement, and I already feel I have learned so much. Including a way to promote student success.
In my current placement the is a definite set of guidelines that the students must follow in order to succeed. And to encourage these behaviors there is a star system set up. I know, I know, I was just talking (typing?) about how I am scarred for life because of a star system, but this star system is different. Instead of it being for individual students it is for the whole class. And, I truly think there is something to it. Every class starts out with four stars at the beginning of the class period. Each class can earn up to ten stars. There are set guideline for ways the stars can be earned. One, if the students walk in quietly and sit in their proper stops they receive a star. Two, if they are quite and raise their hand during question and answer time. Three, if have five minutes of silence at the beginning of work time. Four, if they work hard. Five, if the clean up. And finally, six, if they line up properly. The four stars that are in place are there to be taken away if things going poorly during the class period. If any class gets ten stars by the end of the period they receive the “trophy win”. Which means, there homeroom class gets the art trophy of the whole week.
