Journal of Classroom Teaching & Learning

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Conditions that Facilitate Motivation

By Sandy Sarcona
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 9, 2011

One thing I learned from class on May 9, 2011 would be conditions that facilitate motivation. I learned that learners can be either intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. High motivation comes from a student who has an intrinsic locus of control versus one who is extrinsically motivated. Therefore, A teacher needs to create a condition that will motivate students intrinsically instead of extrinsically. In other words, teachers need to create motivation in students and make them want to learn for their own self and not because of being forced. The question is: How can teachers create conditions that will facilitate students’ intrinsic motivation? Based on the discussion in our class, several factors are important.

Firstly, teachers need to start with a student-centered approach to teaching and find out who their students are and what their needs are. For example, if you teach adolescent students, then you should recognize that connecting with friends is one of their most important needs for students at this age, so working in groups might be a useful strategy to motivate them to participate.

Secondly, respect also affects students’ motivation to learn. It is important to build respect for the students and have the students know how to respect the teacher in return. One way of creating respect in the classroom is by having students create a list of what constitutes respect. Dr. Boyanton demonstrated her own list of what constitutes classroom respect that would be useful for teachers to use.

Thirdly, another condition to facilitate motivation is to develop classroom activities that are interesting and engaging, as well as challenging. If an activity is just fun and doesn’t take students to a higher cognitive learning level, then the students will not feel it is useful or worth their time.

Fourthly, teacher enthusiasm also plays a very important role in student motivation to learn. If a teacher is enthusiastic about a topic, then it can transcend to the students to feel the same and keep a high level of curiosity. On the contrary, if a teacher keeps explaining something in a monotone voice and spouting off facts, and it is very likely that the students will be quickly “turned off”.

Lastly, providing constructive and timely feedback on student work can also assist in motivating students, along with effective communication on course expectations. If a teacher simply provide all the assignments but does not provide any feedback on the students’ work, it can leave the students in confusion keeping wondering whether their work is “on the right track” or not, which can produce a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress in students. In addition, unable to receive timely feedback from the students also make the students feel that their work is unimportant, which can also demotivate the student from producing more work.

Flexibility in Teaching: Lessons Not Planned

By White Cloud
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May, 2011

Monday May 9, 2011, 5 p.m., Room 309 Library. Eleven doctoral students. One Professor. The first day of classes for Summer Session 1 2011. For this group of students it might not have been a stretch to suggest that there might have been some measure of apprehension. This summer promises to be very hectic. There is the preoccupation with the volume of work that has to be completed, in addition to the required coursework. This particular group of students is classified as the Teaching and Learning Group. As one who is currently a teacher, and who intends to continue in the profession, I will write this reflection from a student teacher’s perspective.

First of note was the obvious passion and preparation of the professor. This, to me, was both impressive and instructive, and was one of the lessons not planned. That passion and preparation provided a rich and powerful context for all that followed. From the planned lesson there were two things that stood out for me. Those were the focus on motivation, and the emphasis on the need to build a community of respect. Much of the lesson on motivation was developed around the use of a rather simple game. That game served easily to engage all present, and something that might have been thought trivial was transformed into a meaningful learning experience.

The planned lesson that related to the community of respect provided the backdrop for a lesson not planned that illustrated the concept. Issues around the need to practice mutual respect were presented and discussed. The direction of the class after the presentation of the course syllabus provided the opportunity to demonstrate mutual respect. I believe that is safe to say that all were feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the load. Many spoke up to express their concerns very clearly. Yet, for as strong the emotions were, and as clearly as they were expressed, there was the evidence of the effort that was being made to remain very respectful. This was helped, in no small measure, by a teacher who maintained poise, and was receptive to the voice of the students, and responsive to their concerns.

Why did this get my attention? Well, some might describe me as being hard-nosed and rigid, while others have said of me that I am a nit-picker. The teacher’s handling of this situation was instructive. It was quite useful for me to have been a part of this lesson not planned.

Teacher Empathy and Flexibility in Teaching

By Double Trouble
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 11, 2011

First, let me say that I enjoyed the class very much. I enjoyed how honest you were when sharing your personal information. It was so nice to hear a professor just “tell it like it is.” You told us your strengths and weaknesses without excuses -you gave examples. I really loved the directness of this. You were not embarrassed or apologetic for saying complimentary things about yourself; you were simply reporting what students had said, and what you know to be true about yourself.

I believe it is this honesty that you modeled that allowed the students in the class to be very honest with you. I was impressed by how you listened to the comments which mainly dealt with the frustrations of different factors relating to the running of this doctoral program. You didn’t get flustered or angry. You kept the attention on the issue and didn’t take things personally (which of course they weren’t).

Then you showed a rare and wonderful characteristic: flexibility. You worked several suggestions into the discussion, but objections and frustrations kept rising.

You listened and questioned to further understand the feelings being reported. However, the ultimate flexibility came when you said we could forget about the research project altogether. You listened, you heard, you understood and agreed to make the course more relevant for the needs of the cohort.

This achieved so much importance. It showed the class that you were what you claimed to be. The motivation, interest, and relevance of the course shot up 100 percent. All of the elements discussed through the Name Game suddenly became active. The idea that when cognitive anxiety and psychological anxiety become lessened or abolished, a student can then learn, remember, listen, feel they are in a safe environment, and can accept what others have to say, became a reality. Students experienced a wide range of emotions throughout this process with it ending with respect; respect for you, for your handling of a difficult situation, for allowing the cohort to go through this, for willing to create a course that will be more suitable and relevant for this group, and for proving that “you are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”

Thank you for establishing a Community of Respect where there are no judgments and where everyone can say what they need to say!

Passion to teach, motivation to learn!

By Claire Iglesias
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May, 2011

Today’s class was great! I absolutely love the environment that was created immediately in the classroom and amongst the class. The name game was a lot of fun and you are never too old for some fun. It was a great ice breaker and it was the perfect model for what we should create or will be creating in our own classrooms some day. Breaking into small groups and analyzing the name game through discussion was very interesting as well. Many times we as students are asked to do something, such as playing the name game, but once the task has ended there is no connection made to why we were asked to do it. It was really a nice opportunity to be able to relate the task to the learning experience and truly appreciate the benefits of the experience. I found it very enlightening how precise you were with everything. Being told clear and concise expectations was terrific.

Again, I found it to be a wonderful model for us as future teachers. I love your enthusiasm and passion to teach. I completely agree with your philosophy, if you do not have the passion for children or for teaching you need to pick another career. I truly believe that only passionate teachers are good teachers and passion can not be taught in an education class. With that being said many people need to really think through their career choices because we have all experienced teachers who have no passion. Your attitude towards life is contagious. I agree again. Life is too short and therefore there is no time for negativity and whining. It was wonderful to listen to you speak your mind. Your honesty was great! The class flew by. It was without a doubt a very positive first impression.

You have truly motivated me already. I left class number one looking forward to class number two. How often does that happen? I just felt that your whole demeanor was the perfect model for any new teacher. I am very excited for the next five weeks. Mission accomplished…motivating your students to want to come back!

Anxiety: A Sneak Attack

By Dana Michie
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May, 2011

As I walked through the library and walked up the dimmed lit staircase, I could feel my anxiety slowly sneaking up on me. I had no idea what to except from my first education class on this journey of becoming a teacher.

No more than 10 minutes into the class my anxiety grew tremendously, seeing there was only 12 people in the class and the syllabus was not yet given. What was this class going to entail? How heavy was the workload going to be? What expectations did the professor have for us?

Before I knew it we were being asked to think of a strategy for our fellow students to remember our names, in the game she called the “Name Game”. My anxiety levels were still increasing due to the fact I had no idea how my classmates were going to react to my strategy and this game. Were they going to think this game was dumb? We’re they going to think my strategy was stupid? All these questions with my anxiety levels still growing!

After the first student went and said “Denise, like Denise the Menace” and everyone laughed, my anxiety levels quickly diminished and I became very comfortable with the class and the exercise. From then on I was confident in that I could speak and express my opinions without anyone laughing at me, instead of with me!

The “Name Game” was an excellent way to break the ice and get the class comfortable with each other, as well as the professor. Being able to learn each other’s names through this entertaining and effective game was a great way to start off the class and set the pace for the rest of the course.

One of the most important issue, I think, that we discussed in class today was how anxiety affects the way students perform. When a student enters the classroom, they have some expectations and anxiety. If this anxiety increases and never diminishes as the class goes on, the student will never be able to grow to their full potential.

It is extremely important as a teacher, to decrease the anxiety level and make your students feel comfortable and safe within your classroom. When anxiety levels are low, students overall performance will increase causing a better learning environment not only for them but for the rest of the class as well.

Not Your Typical First Day

By Jessica Wolf
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 18, 2011

The very first class was nothing like I expected it to be. When I think of psychology, I think of serious people sitting quietly and studying past psychologists and trying to implement or mimic their work. This first class wasn’t like that at all. I knew right from the very beginning that it was going to be different than other classes. Instead of just calling out attendance, the professor walked up to each student, introduced herself and checked off each student on her list. I have never seen a teacher or professor do that throughout my entire schooling career. That alone set a different kind of tone for the classroom.

The “Name Game” was also a very different way of beginning a graduate class. However, it was much more than just getting to learn everyone’s name—it was a way of getting us to think about how other people feel or what they are going through without even cracking a book yet. I really enjoyed the first class and I also like how the professor saved the syllabus until the end of the class time. Typically, the first class of the semester is entirely spent of going over the syllabus. It was nice to spend the first class getting to know one another and beginning to think about how different people feel during different situations and what kind of things affect their anxiety levels.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Do we need test: The great debate

By Chong Liu
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March, 2011

I don't think I'm a big fan of taking tests whatsoever. As a student, especially when I was in middle and high school, I never seriously thought about this question. I think back then, the reason why I didn't like tests was because, I'm a student, students are supposed to hate tests, in addition, you didn't have any choice, so I just took them, never thought about what was that good or bad for me. Yet, what made me start to think this issue was after I went away to college, I had more time to do what I really wanted, and had much more control of what I learned and what I would do in the future. And it was then, I was suddenly confused, why I had learned so many things in high school that I would never ever use in my future life? I put a lot of efforts to things I had no interest in, I got upset, frustrated due to I was struggling for not doing so well in those, so why? I felt I have been wasting my time. And I also felt pathetic for being a student who didn't know her really passion, interest was.

Before college, I had to do what I was told to do, I had to learn what I was asked to learn. Teachers and parents somehow only focused on my performance on tests, as long as the subjects would not be tested, I didn't pay much attention to, because I didn't have to. Tests were everything that mattered to a student. How teachers and parents saw a student nearly all based on his or her grades, they turned a blind eye to who you really were. The most pathetic part was, sometimes students passed the same judgement to each other as well.

Education is supposed to teach students to think on their own, to train them to obtain strong will, to have faith in themselves no matter what kind of career they are taking, to be reasonable, to have a kind heart to pay it forward to society. Thus, what kind of test will show those out of a student? Tests may only test whether or not one is good as a student, learner, yet fail to identify if you are good as a person, a qualified parent, a devoted employee, a fair boss, to name a few.

Importance of behavior management for new teachers

By Cynthia Grimm
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
April, 2011

The one thing I’ve heard from all the teachers I’ve gotten to know over the years is that, whatever you think you’re going to be able to do in your class, until you get there and start teaching, you really have no idea. The teacher I’m with now, who started teaching at an older age after having raised three children and run her own home daycare, still thought of her first year teaching as by far the most chaotic of her life. Behavior management is a huge part of that.

As new teachers, we may not realize how long a lesson might actually take to get across to the whole class. We may plan to learn A,B, and C before lunch, but the reality is, especially in Kindergarten, it may take all morning for the kids to settle down and just get through lesson A. I think this is where having a behavior management plan becomes of great importance. Having a set idea of how to handle situations in the classroom definitely lessens the severity of student outbursts. When students know what is expected of them, and see what the consequences are when perhaps another student doesn’t do what is expected, it can set a tone of confidence in the cause-effect social relationships among the students and their teacher. Flexibility is key to understanding what works and what doesn’t as well. If a lesson doesn’t go well, it is useless to continue along the same line for the rest of the day. If the students just aren’t “getting it” a different path needs to be taken. This can also prevent misbehavior before it starts.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Greetings from the editor

Dear readers,

Welcome to JOCTL—Journal of Classroom Teaching & Learning! This journal was originally created by Dr. Dengting Boyanton and her students at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB/TSC) in the spring of 2008. JOCTL is currently contributed by all the students who are taking the undergraduate course of EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning, EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Student, and the graduate course EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education at the School of Education, Long Island University, C. W. Post, Brookville, New York.

JOCTL intends to publish our students’ research discoveries throughout their exploration with these three courses. It strives to provide the best platform for our university student researchers and scholars in the LIU as well as the New York community to exchange their findings and discoveries on teaching and learning. All of our students spend one whole semester investigating one research topic of their interest under Dr. Boyanton’s guidance and supervision. Most students’ research findings were or will be presented at the Conference of Elementary Secondary Teaching & Learning (CESTL), a completely student-oriented conference organized by Dr. Boyanton and all her students.

The main purposes of JOCTL is for our students 1) to discover principles, relationships, patterns, and theories of classroom learning and teaching; 2) to create a learning community for all students to discuss and exchange ideas about classroom learning and teaching; 3) to improve students’ analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative skills; 4) to enhance students’ communication skills (e.g., writing, public speaking, presenting); and 5) to help the students develop a deeper understanding on classroom teaching and learning and be better prepared as future teachers.

JOCTL seeks to explore the multitude of issues that impact and influence student learning in the classroom setting. In accord with its broad focus, the journal welcomes contributions that enhance the exchange of diverse theoretical and practical information from other educators, teachers, students, and researchers at LIU or the New York community. It is our hope that our JOCTL can provide a channel for all classroom instructors and professors to better understand students’ needs and characteristics as learners, thus to design their instructions which produce powerful classroom learning.

JOCTL has received much positive feedback and support from its wide range of audiences from from different universities (University of Texas at Brownsville, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia, Harvard University, Yale University, City University of New York, Willamette University, Long Island Universty). To read their feedback, click JOCTL Feedback.

We sincerely hope you will enjoy our students’ exploration on teaching and learning. If you have any comments or suggestions to improve JOCTL, please contact me directly at dengting.boyanton@liu.edu. We welcome honest feedback from you.

Thank you very much for your support!

Sincerely,

Dengting Boyanon Ph.D.
Editor, JOCTL
Assistant Professor
Educational Psychology
Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
Long Island University, C.W.Post
720 Northern Blvd, Brookville, New York
516-299-4117 (Office)
Dengting.Boyanton@liu.edu
http://people.virginia.edu/~db6wq/