Module 3

Module 3: Positive practice, Caring relationships, Withitness

Concept 1: Positive Practice

Summary

In chapter 7, page 275, Woolfolk outlines positive practice where “students replace one behavior with another.” In the academic settings, students will correct mistakes right away and then keep practicing the correct way to complete the task. The repetition helps to reinforce the correct way to do something, because as Woolfork states, “Contrary to popular wisdom, practice does not make perfect” if you continually practice something incorrectly. But, “Instead, practice makes permanent the behaviors practiced, so practicing accurate behaviors is important” (276). Positive practice can be used with classroom rules too. When someone does something that breaks a rule in the class, having them go back and complete the task correctly again and again “until it becomes almost automatic” in order to positively reinforce the correct behavior. Making sure the students are performing the task correctly each time they do it will help to reinforce the correct behaviors.

 Reflection

I can remember several times in high school where we were given multiple math problems to do for homework. They were the same types of problems that required the proper use of certain formulas, and we were given multiple problems to complete to help us learn how to solve these types of math problems. The key was to be sure that you understood the concept to solve these type of problems before leaving class so that you would be able to complete your homework and receive the benefit of positive practice. The more times we did the same type of problems over and over in class, the better we understood the concept. If you did not understand the concept of the problem or how to use the formula, you would learn how to do the problem incorrectly and as you continued to complete the problems incorrectly, you were reinforcing the wrong way to do the problems. That is why it is so important for students to ask questions, and make sure they understand concepts while in class, so that when they are asked to practice the concept in their homework, they know how to do it correctly and will be reinforcing the right way to complete the problems.

The same is true when taking tests. I always felt it was so helpful when teachers returned tests and then took the time to explain the correct answers to the class. This way the students learn from their mistakes. Then taking this a step further, it always helped me to really learn the correct concepts when the teacher asked us to correct our mistakes. Redoing the questions helped me to practice the correct concepts. I always found it frustrating when teachers didn’t return tests or just returned them without going through the correct answers with us because then we never learned from our mistakes. Then, when it was time for the final exam, and we would see the same concept again, if we had gotten a question wrong on a test but had not learned the correct way to complete the problem by correcting it on the test, we would once again get it wrong on the final exam. But, if we had learned the correct way to solve the problem and had taken the time to correct what we had done wrong on the first test, we would remember, and be able to correctly solve the problem on the final exam.

From my experience, I have seen the value of repetition and positive practice of concepts to help ingrain the process in my mind. The more I do something, the more I understand it, and the more it become “automatic.” I like routine, so I really see the value in positive practice and will use it with my future students to help them learn concepts and even to help them following directions. As a teacher, it will be important to make sure students understand the concept before assigning multiple problems to do for homework to make sure they practice the procedure correctly.

Concept 2: Caring Relationships: Teacher Connections

Summary

In chapter 13, page 524, Woolfolk talks about the importance of teachers’ positive connections to their students to help foster a well-managed classroom. She says that, “Students respect teachers who maintain their authority without being rigid or harsh, are fair and honest with them, demonstrate emotional support and caring, make sure students understand the material, ask if something is wrong when they seem upset, and use creative instructional practices to ‘make learning fun.’” The students want to build relationships with their teachers, and they want the teachers to be interested in them. Students who feel this bond with their teacher are more willing to share their ideas and more excited about leaning in their classroom. When a student feels that a teacher is on their side and knows “they will never give up on them,” they are much more engaged and motivated to learn and do well in that classroom. According to 119 studies between 1948 and 2004, Woolfolk points out that positive teacher-student connections have been linked to higher class participation, lower dropout rates, less disruptive classroom behaviors, and better attendance (526).

 Reflection

It really doesn’t take much thought to realize the importance of relationships in all aspects of our lives. We all perform better and are more motivated to do something if we know someone we care about is watching us and hoping that we will succeed. The opposite is true too, if we know the person who asks us to do something doesn’t care if we complete the task or learn something new, we will be motivated in a negative direction to not care and not try to succeed. Our human nature leads us to do things to please people we care about and who care about us. Teachers, like parents, play a huge role in a student’s life. As students feel connected and bonded to their parents and their teachers, they will be more likely to listen to them, and do what they ask them to do.

This summer, I will be teaching in the Center for Urban Teaching (CFUT) summer school program in Milwaukee, WI. As a part of the application process, I had to observe several classrooms through what the program refers to as immersion tours. For every classroom in the program, the teachers stand outside their classroom doors to greet the students as they arrived. The students line up to greet the teacher at the door before starting the day in the classroom. The teachers do some form of a handshake with each student and say good morning, always including the student’s name in their greeting. The student in return says good morning using the teacher’s name. Some students had created unique “handshakes” to do each morning with the teacher. This helped the students to feel a special, unique connection with the teacher. The only parameters for the morning greetings are that the students need to address the teacher by name, make eye contact, and perform some mutual gesture together which could be a handshake, a high five, an elbow bump, or any other idea they came up with. The students look forward to this greeting time, and it helps to wake them up, and prepare them to enter the room ready to learn. The teacher is able to get a quick read on the students as they entered the classroom too, to see if anyone seems out of sorts or bothered by anything before the day started. This practice also helps the students to learn proper ways to greet others using their names and making eye contact. I am really looking forward to participating in this morning ritual with my students at CFUT this summer.

I also remember another way one of my teachers successfully helped our class form relationships. When I was in third grade, my teacher would have what she called “Friday Friction” time. Throughout the week, if we had anything that was bothering us in the classroom or out of the classroom, we could write a note about it, and put in the jar on her desk that she had marked “Friday Friction.” Then on Friday afternoons, the whole class would sit in a big circle, and she would read the notes out loud from the jar. As a class, we would work together to try to offer suggestions to our classmates to help them solve their “frictions.” If there was a problem that we had that we didn’t want to share with the whole class, we could write “personal” at the top of the note, and then our teacher would not read those note to the whole class. The personal notes were just for the teacher to read. She would address the “personal” issues with us one-on-one after our group time. When we finished group time, we were given silent reading time so the teacher would have time to meet at her desk with the students who had personal issues they wanted to discuss with just her. This practice not only helped us feel connected to our teacher, but it also helped to bond the whole class as a group working together to solve a classmate’s problems. It also taught us sympathy, empathy and confidentiality as what was discussed was to stay in the classroom. The overall atmosphere in the classroom became a safe place to share, and a welcome environment for learning and encouragement among peers.

When I have my own classroom, I will definitely be very intentional to create practices like the morning greeting and “Friday Friction” to help my students feel connect to me and to their classmates. From experience, I know how important relationships are, and how much more I am motivated to perform when I know others care about me and care about what I am doing. Creating an atmosphere that promotes positive relationships between the teacher and the students will help me to motivate the students to want to succeed in our classroom too.

Concept 3: Withitness

Summary

In chapter 13, page 523, Woolfolk uses a term “withitness.” She defines withitness as “communicating to students that you are aware of everything that is happening in the classroom.” These teachers who are “with-it,” know everything that is going on in their classroom at all times. They do not get wrapped up in working with one student or a group of students without being aware of what every other student in the room is doing. These are the teachers that truly have “eyes in the back of their heads.” No one gets away with anything in this teacher’s classroom because they are always alert and see who “instigated the problem.” They never make “target errors” which end in putting the blame on the wrong student, or “timing errors” by not noticing a situation and “waiting too long before intervening.” The most serious problem is always addressed in these classrooms first. Students realize the teacher is truly in control of the classroom, so they are less likely to act out knowing that they will be noticed, and the behavior will be addressed by the teacher.

 Reflection

I think “withitness” is another really important skill to master and establish with a class at the beginning of the year. When the students know that the teacher is going to notice what goes on, they will think twice before doing something that goes against the classroom rules. So many times in grade school, I can remember teachers punishing the entire class, and making us all stay in for recess because “someone,” who the teachers did not see, did something and since no one admitted to doing it, the teacher would punish the whole class. This can be seen as a “target error” when the teacher doesn’t see what happens, so she blames the entire class. All students are then frustrated and unfairly suffer the punishment when they were not a part of the problem. No one feels good in this situation and the students realize that things can happen in the classroom and the teacher will miss them. It is important for the teacher to correct this early on in the year so this does not become a norm because the students who are not a part of the problem will be frustrated and the students who are getting away with doing these things will just continue to do them.

I think it is really hard as a teacher to have your eyes on every student at all times, especially when you are working one-on-one with a student or group of students. I like the idea that was shared in the video we watched this week titled “Classroom Management Hacks.” In this video, she suggested putting a responsible student as your look out person when you are working with a group of other students. This gives the student a chance to gain some responsibility in the classroom, while freeing you to focus on the students you are working with without missing anything that may be going on in the class that you need to know. Using responsible students as an “extra pairs of eyes” will help to eliminate “timing errors” and “target errors.” It will also help other students to know there are more than one set of eyes watching them, which will hopefully keep them from acting out. The practice can also lead to a more responsible group of kids who look out for each other and feel empowered when they are the “eyes” for the teacher that day.

When I have my own classroom, I want to be very alert and notice everything that goes on in the room. Even though I am the type of person who can listen to two conversations at once, and I am a very observant person, I know that it will be very difficult to see everything that goes on in my classroom. Especially with middle school kids, the practice of giving a student the job of being a second pair of eyes for me will be very helpful while teaching the students responsibility too.