Blog #4

Blog #4

If there is one thing that seems consistent across elementary classrooms everywhere, it is the pervasive use of reward systems. How do you plan to use them? If not at all, why not? If some, how? If you plan to use them a lot, what is your evidence for why that is the best plan?

I think that there are pros and cons when it comes to reward systems in classrooms. I feel that they motivate students to do their best, but there are students who may not be motivated by the certain reward and kids who may become discouraged when they do not receive rewards. I think that in my future classroom I will periodically use reward systems but make them so the whole class receives a reward as a whole instead of individual students. Such as class pizza parties, movie days, etc. I feel that when they are used as whole class systems instead of individual, it can make it more motivating for students to do their best. The prizes can also be larger because the teacher isn't buying a bunch of small items, but instead one item for the class. Like I said, I intend to use these reward systems periodically in the year so that students improve their intrinsic motivation over time which can lead to the internal drive to complete tasks because it is interesting and relevant, rather than the extrinsic motivation which would be students only completing the tasks because there is a reward involved. (Anderman, 2013)

What do you think of Gus' (Kovalik's) idea of a set of powerful vocabulary like the LifeSkills? Do you think you will use something like that in your classroom? Why or why not?

I love the idea of a set of powerful vocabulary like the LifeSkills in my classroom. Those LifeSkills being trustworthiness, truthfulness, active listening, no put-downs, and personal best. I think that it is important to get students familiar with these terms and actively engage in using them in the classroom on a daily basis. I think that it is important because students will take these LifeSkills with them throughout the rest of their years of schooling as well as the rest of their lives. I think it is a great idea to start with using these skills in the classroom at a young age so that the students grow to be strong, kind, good people for the rest of their lives. I will definitely be using these in my classroom in the future.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post #1

Image
  Blog Post #1 How are your initial thoughts about management already changing or being reinforced? The only experience I have with management is with children I have babysat. I have hardly any experience in the classroom so my experience with classroom management is slim to none. What my preconceived notion about classroom management is, is that it is difficult but if approached in the right way, works really well. After todays first class and the bit of reading we have done, I feel that my initial thoughts are being reinforced to some degree. I am excited to dig deeper into this topic and concept and learn tons more about classroom management! How do Charles' three purposes for management (he calls it classroom discipline) complement each other? The three classroom disciplines are to first, remove or limit the conditions that tend to promote misbehavior. Second, teach students how to behave appropriately and support their efforts to do so. And third, intervene helpfully when stud...
Read more

Blog Post #3

Image
 Blog Post #3 - Classroom Rules Good Set of classroom rules:  Not so good set of classroom rules: What do you not like about the set of rules you selected as a poor example? One thing that I didn't like about the set of rules that I selected as a poor example is how negative they are. Almost every single one of them begin with"don't" so they are all telling students what not to do. Clasroom rules I think should be set up completely opposite, stating things that students (and the teacher) should be doing instead of what they should not be doing. These rules are focused on safety which is something that should be focused on within the classroom rules but they are not stated how they should be. They are also not super fair, specifically the one that says "listen to the teacher". It sounds like this classroom is very teacher-cenetered as well because there is also one about the teacher stating "don't touch the teachers book". Overall, I do not like...
Read more