1) This morning the school had the sixth grade students who had a 4.0 average come down to the office for a picture. All students in all grades who accomplish this are put on a bulletin board right by the office. The students who remained in the room said they were too stupid to get the 4.0. If all teachers read this chapter it would be a heated discussion at our next faculty meeting. There are teachers who agree that this Wall of Fame is appropriate. Others would be fighting for the grey area students who need to be rewarded for effort, not grades. We also have a Principal Pen award. Out of the 46 students I teach, each quarter I get to nominate 2 students. The criterion for being chosen is so broad, that I see the same students being elected year after year. What I also don’t like is the students are never told why they get this honor, just the teacher who nominated them. I don’t know, I agree with giving recognition, but just like group voting you end up with winners and losers. The first thing students look at, no matter what I say, is the grade point average on their report card.
2&3) I usually push the time limit teaching right to the end of class. I need to make sure I provide more class time to give students feedback or proofing time before an assignment is due. Also this time would allow the students to modify their assignment based on the feedback provided. I would also like to put on the rubrics that I already use a self- reflecting sentence. This would provide me with their thoughts on the project. All sixth graders have a monthly goal that usually ties in to the basic life skill list. The school has decided this is important for all students and has adopted a program called Project Wisdom. As a school we will be spending time on life skills and writing more as a reflection based on the goal for that month.
..and if project wisdom lives up to the true meaning of "wisdom" the school will be giving out the Wall of Fame citations for the students who best exemplify those characteristics...
1) I am so guilty of almost everything in this chapter L I previously came to this realization while taking graduate classes this past summer. I really wanted to try and not use extrinsic motivators in my classroom, but what do I do with my first student?? Give them a smelly stamp for their great effort. So much for changing my behavior! I think a lot of classes, especially in the upper grades, use intrinsic motivators. I don’t know many 6th graders who would do their best work for a sticker. But I do think parents of both older and younger students use extrinsic motivators with their children. Children today are very “me: motivated. They will do something but only if it has a reward. I still like to convince myself that I do not use my rewards as bribes but simply as a physical sign of kudos for a job well done.
2&3) I have tried using peer reviews in my groups this year and have also tried peer modeling. Both have worked well with the right students. Some students are just not at an age or level of responsibility that they can provide honest insight or feedback without being silly and inappropriate. My son’s teacher does an amazing job in this area in her classroom, especially in writing with their writer’s workshop. She does mini conferences with them about their work in progress and has students work together to critique for the final draft. Since my son is a strong writer, he has enjoyed helping others in his class with their written stories. He has said how much he likes helping his friends and now thinks he wants to be a teacher!
Hi Kristin..I love the Iriscat thing...anyway I think great teachers always have used rubric... even though I never heard of them till recently...I remember getting very frustrated with grading and devised my own system which involved a form of rubrics...like if you want an A here is what you need to do...Some kids,especially the memorizers for tests didn't like the fact that that they had to acrually do community service ,etc besides passing tests...In dealing with the rewards I ;think that sometimes kids need something to get them started but then they need to be weaned off them...Its the intrinsic motivation we eventually need to get to...
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1) This morning the school had the sixth grade students who had a 4.0 average come down to the office for a picture. All students in all grades who accomplish this are put on a bulletin board right by the office. The students who remained in the room said they were too stupid to get the 4.0. If all teachers read this chapter it would be a heated discussion at our next faculty meeting. There are teachers who agree that this Wall of Fame is appropriate. Others would be fighting for the grey area students who need to be rewarded for effort, not grades. We also have a Principal Pen award. Out of the 46 students I teach, each quarter I get to nominate 2 students. The criterion for being chosen is so broad, that I see the same students being elected year after year. What I also don’t like is the students are never told why they get this honor, just the teacher who nominated them. I don’t know, I agree with giving recognition, but just like group voting you end up with winners and losers. The first thing students look at, no matter what I say, is the grade point average on their report card.
2&3) I usually push the time limit teaching right to the end of class. I need to make sure I provide more class time to give students feedback or proofing time before an assignment is due. Also this time would allow the students to modify their assignment based on the feedback provided. I would also like to put on the rubrics that I already use a self- reflecting sentence. This would provide me with their thoughts on the project. All sixth graders have a monthly goal that usually ties in to the basic life skill list. The school has decided this is important for all students and has adopted a program called Project Wisdom. As a school we will be spending time on life skills and writing more as a reflection based on the goal for that month.
..and if project wisdom lives up to the true meaning of "wisdom" the school will be giving out the Wall of Fame citations for the students who best exemplify those characteristics...
1) I am so guilty of almost everything in this chapter L I previously came to this realization while taking graduate classes this past summer. I really wanted to try and not use extrinsic motivators in my classroom, but what do I do with my first student?? Give them a smelly stamp for their great effort. So much for changing my behavior! I think a lot of classes, especially in the upper grades, use intrinsic motivators. I don’t know many 6th graders who would do their best work for a sticker. But I do think parents of both older and younger students use extrinsic motivators with their children. Children today are very “me: motivated. They will do something but only if it has a reward. I still like to convince myself that I do not use my rewards as bribes but simply as a physical sign of kudos for a job well done.
2&3) I have tried using peer reviews in my groups this year and have also tried peer modeling. Both have worked well with the right students. Some students are just not at an age or level of responsibility that they can provide honest insight or feedback without being silly and inappropriate. My son’s teacher does an amazing job in this area in her classroom, especially in writing with their writer’s workshop. She does mini conferences with them about their work in progress and has students work together to critique for the final draft. Since my son is a strong writer, he has enjoyed helping others in his class with their written stories. He has said how much he likes helping his friends and now thinks he wants to be a teacher!
Hi Kristin..I love the Iriscat thing...anyway I think great teachers always have used rubric... even though I never heard of them till recently...I remember getting very frustrated with grading and devised my own system which involved a form of rubrics...like if you want an A here is what you need to do...Some kids,especially the memorizers for tests didn't like the fact that that they had to acrually do community service ,etc besides passing tests...In dealing with the rewards I ;think that sometimes kids need something to get them started but then they need to be weaned off them...Its the intrinsic motivation we eventually need to get to...
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