I hope the week is going well. I'm sure you are adding more and more to your plate, and, in turn, noticing more and more about student behaviors.
Section I of the Nissman text describes a variety of
behaviors that students might exhibit in any classroom setting. Please identify one of these issues that you
have observed in your field placement and discuss whether or not any of the
responses offered by Nissman are realistic for the particular context in which
you are student teaching.
Also, please either post or email any requests for topics for our next seminar class!
Professor Bellew
A common issue that we have had with students in our classroom are well-behaved attention seeking students. Our students that fit into this category are typically the students who are academically inclined. These students seek constant approval from the teacher of their work to ensure that it is completed up to par. These students are also the first to ask questions about the reiteration of directions to make sure that they are performing at the highest level. They are the first to have their hand raised to answer a question, and are disappointed when they are not called upon. Our students who fall under this criteria also attend special interest classes twice a week where they work to further enhance their already high academic abilities. I find my teacher getting frustrated by their tendencies to perform to perfection and their constant need of her attention. Since they are performing so well and behaving well the teacher's time sometimes needs to be in other places to help those students who are at a lower level.
ReplyDeleteA strategy that I found most useful from the Nissman text was the idea to partner these students with lower level learners. This would hopefully make the students feel needed and give them the attention they seek for while aiding their peers with their knowledge. By using this strategy it would hopefully improve their attention seeking habits as they grow. In our classroom we work to promote responsibility and in dependency as our key character traits and I feel as though this strategy would work hand-in-hand with that idea.
I think the strategy to deal with that behavior is a great one! It will give the attention-seeking students a sense of purpose and responsibility so that, hopefully, their attention will be focused on helping their peer instead of trying to gain approval from the teacher.
DeleteOne common behavior that I see frequently in my third grade classroom is daydreaming. There are four or five students throughout our day that we constantly catch with a glazed look while they're staring off into space. When looking at the workable options, we have tried many of them, but we haven't yet been successful. I call on these students to follow along with us specifically and then ask them comprehension and recall questions at the end of the page or passage and they can answer correctly most of the time. They don't seem to feel the need to pay better attention in case they are called on, because they always have an answer. Their seats have been moved next to the teacher's desk and away from the window, so instead of staring out the window they just stare at the ceiling. Engagement in the activities and lessons is key, but we have found no pattern as to what type of lesson they are in the middle of when they daydream; it's consistently frequent throughout the day. I'm interested to see how it progresses as we both pay more attention to the issue and continue to work on it.
ReplyDeleteWe have so many daydreamers too!! Although sometimes I think it has to do with the young age of my students. Calling on them off guard is a good idea that way they shoud always be paying attention. Engagement is the lessons is very key, I also think that the time of day plays a role into how often they daydream, at least for my students. Sometimes we do little "brain break" activites so they can move around and then focus.
DeleteOne common behavior that has come up in my first grade classroom has been cursing, or simply the use of unkind words. One student in particular may curse from time to time, but instead she uses the words “ugly”, “mean”, and “nasty” as her curse words. She directs these at activities, other students as well as the teachers and her TSS. Some of the workable options that are suggested in the text we have been doing, this includes ignore it. If we addressed the issue every time she said one of these words we would lose a decent amount of instructional time for the other students. Most of the time we simply say “no thank you” to her. Another workable option that we do is attach a consequence to her actions. We have an incentive that is done specifically for her, and it seems to be working very well so far. Although she is also quite impulsive so there is no way that this will ever be simply stopped, but it can be managed.
ReplyDeleteShannon I completely agree that speaking to her every time she says something cuts down on instructional time, and it also could distract the rest of your students. I have found with some of my students, ignoring works really well, but with others it completely backfires. Is there a behavior management plan that you can enforce? Like a plan that is for every chid, not just her? Also there is one student in my class that makes poor choices quite often, and we tried giving him consequences the first two weeks, but now we give him praise and small rewards when we see good behavior and that encourages him to act like that more often!
DeleteA common behavior that I have found in my class is that several students fail to ask for help when needed. I have 30 low-income kids who are all way below where they should be academically, but there are about five kids who are EXTREMELY low. In the School District of Lancaster, you are required to be at least two years behind before you request and IEP, Special Ed services, or ELL services, and I think that at least two of these kids need special services. One of the students has a very, very unstable home life and that's part of the reason she so far behind because she gets no assistance at home. It's hard to watch these kids look confused during the day because you feel so badly for them, but it's also hard to give them tons of extra help because there are too many kids for just one teacher! I really like Nissman's workable option of having a one on one conference with the students to just talk about what's going on, and to get a better idea of what they know and what they don't know. I think it would be less stressful and overwhelming for the students to ask for help without doing it in front of the whole class!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a conference! We have an ELL who acts extremely confident, but when pulled in order to listen to him read or have him explain a math concept, he is clueless. Another strategy we used is sitting him with two students who are very bright. That way, when he is working in a pair or as a table, he is able to ask them questions without one of us always watching over his shoulder.
DeleteOne student in particular in my class has had a problem completing homework assignments (3-4 times so far) and remembering what materials to bring to other classrooms when we rotate. After both my co-op and I observed her we realized that the problem was not lack of motivation or defiance, but rather that she is always spacing out and twirling her hair throughout the day.
ReplyDeleteLooking at Nissman's strategies for incomplete assignments, I found two that have already been put in place over the past two weekds. Nissman suggests posting a chart on a bulletin board with materials needed. Instead, we placed a laminated checklist on her desk that lists steps she needs to complete at the end of each day (writing down homework, packing backpack, organizing desk). I also have been asking her to come to me each day to get her planner checked for completeness, which is similiar to another of Nissman's strategies.
I do planners every day with my students, and I have also noticed that those who forget their homework most often are the ones who just jot down their work very quickly and need to be reminded to fill everything in. I like your idea for the laminated check sheet! She could even be given the very important "privilege" of having her own white board marker to cross out the items on the list as she completes them and wiping them off at the end of the day, bringing a visual/kinesthetic element to it while really giving her a more personal responsibility to it.
DeleteMy Co-Op has put in place a laminated checklist as a strategy to keep a student on task as well. So far it seems to be helping keep things straight. After a week, we are already seeing an improvement in his behavior and his ability to stay on task and focused. Since my students don't have planners, we just check that their take home folders to make sure they have all the necessary papers and assignments.
DeleteA common behavior that my entire class displays is a sort of lackadaisical regard to following classroom rules, particularly with talking in the classroom or hallway. To be quite blunt, my co-op and I have tried nearly everything on Nissman's list to very little effect (except for the one about allowing them to whisper or pass notes, that would be disastrous with this group). I do various management methods to get their attention, which works initially but not long term. My co-op and I have class meetings, group rule making and discussion sessions, have taken or reduced recess nearly every day, moved seats, etc, and feel that the root of the problem lies in that each student simply does not think the rules apply to them. We have done private "heads down" votes, where we ask students by a show of hands what kind of day they think the class had, how they did individually, and if they will work to improve themselves tomorrow- the students really take that to heart but the initiative is gone by the next day. Something that is also really effective is identifying the behavior directly with a student, as most seem shocked when they are informed that they are, in fact, breaking one of the rules they helped create.
ReplyDeleteA behavior that has become a problem in my classroom is not completing homework. There are two students that we have had the biggest issue with. Both students are quite spacey and need constant reminders to stay on task and focused. However, the issue has not effected the quality of their work. In fact, they both do very well on their assignments and tests. It is just a matter of keeping them on task long enough to finish an assignment.
ReplyDeleteA strategy we used for one student was to create a checklist that can be applied to both the beginning of the day and the end of the day. It ensures that the student has unpacked their backpack of all the things they will need for the day, picked out new books for their book baskets, and is ready to start the day. And it ensures the students has all the things he will need to take home with him such as his take home folder.
A strategy we have begun to use with another student is enlisting the help of the student's "older". Since I am in a Multiage classroom, we refer to the students as "youngers" (the 1st graders) and "olders" 2nd graders). Each younger is paired up with an older and sit beside one another. The older to the younger that is currently struggling, went through the same issues when he was a younger last year, so he quickly volunteered to take his younger under his wing and assist him in making sure he has all the things he needs and is staying on task.
This strategy, so far, is a win-win because it frees the teacher up in the mornings and afternoons to be sure the rest of the class is doing what they need to. It also gives the older student a sense of responsibility by taking care of his younger, while also keeping the older on task as well.
One behavior that I have been noticing much more as we enter into the school year is daydreaming. There are several students where my co-op and I have had to say their names 2-3 times to get them focused. We try to involve them in as many things as possible, and when we know there is going to be something that they are going to have a hard time focusing on, we put them on the computers to complete their mandatory ILS math programs. I have been doing several math lesson and I try to get these students to come up to the front of the room as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteIt will definitely help you to keep your daydreamers actively involved in your lesson. Using more manipulatives in your lessons will also help to keep them focused on the lesson. We use a lot of white board writing in our room to ensure that students are understanding the lesson, and it holds them accountable for their learning.
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