Chapter 7 was very easy to read and hit really close to home. It’s all about finding ways to get students motivated about learning; making them want to learn. As a student myself, I too can relate to a few instances in the classroom where the teacher was successful and unsuccessful in making learning interesting. I have had classes where the teacher lectures and/or reads from a power-point, and my reaction to that would be: about to fall asleep, watching the clock, or doing something else. I have also had teachers who are spontaneous and find ways to relate the content to something simple as a belt buckle, and my reaction would then be: engaged in the lesson, on-task, etc.
The point that chapter 7 was trying to make is that teachers must do whatever it takes to increase motivation and activate prior knowledge. There should be a balance, along with high expectations, supportive environment, demonstration of how to learn and feedback.
I liked the quote on page 206. “Though adolescents can see roles as adults just over the horizon, it can be difficult for them to connect what they are doing in the here and now with possible selves. Help students think about the long-term.” We, as educators, want students to look beyond the classroom. The classroom is merely as stepping stool to help them progress to the next level of their long-term goal. Our job is to help encourage them to reach their highest potential until eventually the little light bulbs in their heads go off where they start to make connections. It takes some longer than others. However, caring and passionate teachers are great at communicating with students about their past experiences and personal identities no matter how long it may take.
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Nicky, I understand exactly what you are talking about. I have had teachers who show powerpoints and read directly off of them. That is really boring for everyone in the class. I believe these are things that we should be looking at and writing on our list of things "not to do" when we begin to teach. The book made very interesting points about motivation. One question I have is how can we balance it? We want to motivate and be an effective teacher, so what are some good strategies that we could use to accomplish that? Thinking back on powerpoints... How could a teacher use a powerpoint as motivation? The teacher could use a brief powerpoint to get the students interested, but I don't think they should read from the slide to teach. I enjoyed your blog. Good work.
ReplyDeleteNicky, I can defintely see where teachers relied on powerpoint presentations to teach their lessons and have been unsuccessful in motivating students. Sometimes teachers resort to powerpoints because they think that it will keep the students attention a lot better than a lecture from the textbook. I like powerpoints but I believe that teachers have used them a little too much. As a future teacher what would you use besides powerpoints to capture your students interest? I liked this quote: The classroom is merely as stepping stool to help them progress to the next level of their long-term goal.
ReplyDeleteI am like you. Some Power Point presentations are just the teacher standing up in front of the class and reading exactly what is written on the slides. Another problem is that the teacher assigns the chapter to read before class, then he reads it to us again through the powerpoint. How can you use Power points in a positive way in the classroom without boring the students to death in the process?
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