Category Archives: Inquiry

second week of short practicum

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There are definitely countless memorable moments in the classroom during this week. Here are something that I learned from my hands-on teaching experience:

  • Having routines and foster the habit of having routines with the students is very important. It saves much more time later on. As a teacher candidate, it will also make my teaching easier if I stick to their daily routine.  
  • No matter how inclusive you want to be in the classroom, you will not always have everyone’s attention at the same time. But this is okay as long as you have the majority and can bring the rest of them back to learning at some point. Moreover, it is important to know that even if the student is not learning with you, the student is learning something from somewhere during that time.
  • Be patient. Give students time to think, respond, and share.
  • Less me talking. Spend more time listening to the students.
  • I have to show that I am interested in what I am teaching in order to get the students interested.  

 

Now my inquiry question has been modified to “How might teachers differentiate instruction to accommodate student diversity in knowledge, ability, and learning styles in Literacy?”

One way of answering my inquiry questions is for me to talk to the teachers. My SA had provided me with some insights on the strategies that she uses. One of her strategies is to use open-ended questions. The teacher will break down big and abstract questions into smaller ones, which can guide the students through some thinking as a class. Later on, when the students go work individually, they have the choice of how much they would want to expand on. Students with limited literacy skills might use fewer words to show their thinking. Students with more advanced literacy skills will be able to focus more on the big question/ open-ended question and elaborate their answers based on the discussion that the class had earlier.

 

Mini-inquiry

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My mini-inquiry question is:

What are some classroom management strategies that we can use when chaos arises?

I would prefer to encourage student-led learning and intrinsically motivated learning in the classroom. However, the challenge is to monitor and ensure that the “chaos” in the classroom is purposeful. Moreover, I would like to ensure that I could get students’ attention back after an activity. I did some research and found an eJournal about classroom management on the International Child and Youth Care Network by Gene Van Tassell. This article focuses more on how teachers can maintain control over the students, but it still provides some great insights. Tassell provides several options of classroom disciplines and management systems.

One approach is the Lee and Marlene Canter’s assertive discipline. The goal of the assertive discipline is to teach students about the consequences of their actions and foster a sense of responsibilities in the classroom. Assertive discipline involves establishing rules and directions that define the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in the classroom. It is necessary to notice that some assumptions in this approach are “students will misbehave”, “students must be forced to comply with rules”, “punishment will make students avoid breaking rules and positive reinforcement will encourage good behavior” (cite) etc. I do not completely agree with this approach. It is true that students need to understand that there are rules that everyone needs to follow for creating a safe and friendly environment for learning. For the class to have meaningful and organized activities, teachers need to prepare the students for the freedom and authority. Establishing these rules ahead of time and monitoring through the activity will be essential. It would be helpful to remind students of their responsibilities when the class starts to become chaotic. Constantly checking in with students to hear about their ideas is important to ensure a successful activity. Moreover, listening to the students and having conversations with them is beneficial for guiding students to a higher level of thinking.

Another similar approach is the Kay Model. In this approach, teachers need to teach students self-govern and take responsibilities for their own actions.  Teachers should not take this responsibility away from their students, instead, teachers should encourage students to take charge of their own classroom. With the basic rules that the whole class set and agreed on, teachers should give students enough trust. Students need to feel the trust first before they can trust themselves.

Another strategy for the teacher to bring back the attention is “stopping instruction, staring, sitting close to the students are all powerful intimidation techniques which should stop students from misbehaving”. I have heard about this approach before, and it definitely takes time before it becomes powerful and efficient in the classroom.

 

Tassell, G. V. (2005). Class management. International Child and Youth Care Network (CYC-Net). 74. Retrieved from http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0305-classroom.html