So far, the case study for the course is a little daunting. I have a particularly good class this year, and behavioral issues are not part of our problems. The most challenging behavior I witness in our class on a daily basis is students being too talkative during class or transitions. Though there is a student with a mental disability in our class, his behavior is not an area of contention. I still have yet to identify the student for which I will target this study. It is difficult to develop a plan for a student who acts as any other typical fourth grader would be expected to act in school.
One of the sections of the project call for us to identify what “classroom community” means to us. My placement is a great model for fostering classroom community. I can attribute a lot of this to possibly being the reason that we do not have more behavioral issues. All of the students have such a high level of respect and appreciation for one another. The classroom expectations are clearly outlined, and students often help remind their classmates of the rules to keep them from getting in trouble. Having 21 other critical eyes watching you in a classroom can help deter a lot of behavioral issues.
As stated before, the most difficult part of this assignment is deciding for which student an outline should be developed. There are many effective strategies already in place in the classroom. One idea that I could possibly implement, though, is the usage of behavioral contracts. Those may be effective in our classroom to help students keep track of their behavioral responsibilities.
March 1, 2010 at 5:29 pm |
Well, it seems like we’re having completely opposite issues with this case study assignment. I’m sure both situations will prepare us for next year very well.
I’m interested to learn more about all of your students holding each other accountable to the classroom and school expectations. I have recently tried this with some of my kids, hoping that the influence of their peers may be more motivating than that of the teachers. Logistically, did you and your CT have to do anything to put this in motion, or was it something that your students began doing on their own? I thought that maybe encouraging my students to make good choices when it comes to their behavior for the sake of the entire class might work, but I’m not sure that I am fostering it in the correct manner. Suggestions?
April 21, 2010 at 6:00 pm |
One thing that we did in the very beginning was to do something as simple as creating a class mascot. This small gesture does so much for making all students feel part of something bigger than themselves. It really has to begin on the first day of school. I do a lot of emphasizing positive behavior and acknowledging when students are making “responsible, fourth-grader decision”. It really helps to keep them accountable for their own behaviors. Having class rewards (star system in class and gold coins in specials) also helps students want to work toward a larger goal.
March 6, 2010 at 5:23 pm |
[...] Educ 517: Reflection on Case Study Thus Far [...]
March 29, 2010 at 5:25 pm |
alex’s comment gave me this question…when teachers use the behavior tactic of only rewarding the students when the whole class has reached the goal collectively (meaning that the ones who don’t do much work can still get the prize), doesn’t this only work when the class doesn’t reach the goal and everyone suffers because of the few who “ruin it?” That being addressed, how is it possible to promote the positive influence of peers without incentive? Or what would the incentive be???? How does this community behavior thing work??? My classroom runs on individual incentive.
April 21, 2010 at 5:57 pm |
The idea is to create an idea of a whole-classroom community. The students are rewarded on an individual basis (often verbally) when I notice that they are doing “the right thing”. That means that I am constantly assessing student behavior and pointing out when students are meeting my expectations. If the idea of a classroom community is set in the beginning, students want to do “the right thing” because they know that others are depending on them. But, this can’t work if you don’t have cohesion w/in your class.