This week,
I'm going to distinctly analyze the separate chapters. Chapter 3 was titled
Challenge and Self-Efficacy and was concerned with the importance of keeping
the students engaged and stimulated (but not bogged down with hefty workloads
in place of true challenges) and the importance of instilling in every student
a feeling of personal faith.
It's not an
easy task to keep a student challenged but not overwhelmed.
"Challenged" does not mean, "busy" nor does it mean, "Intimidated."
A student who is challenged by the curriculum is a student that is engaged in
the content and is willing to work with it, even if that means putting in a lot
of effort. So how is this balance found?
Well, first the student needs to be
prepared. Students who are not accustomed to speaking in front of a group will
not feel challenged by a debate assignment; they will feel uncomfortable and
perhaps incapable. So, it's important to work up to the big challenges with
smaller challenges. Put the students in smaller groups, have them read scripts
or plays first. Then, when their comfort level is obvious, keep the challenge
going by moving to ad lib discussions, debates and role-playing. Continually
have them advancing their skills, but be sure to set the foundations first.
If a student
doesn't feel comfortable with the work their being asked to do, they aren't
going to want to put in the effort that's required. This is why it's important
for teacher's to be in touch with where the student's confidence level is in
different areas of study. Any student who feels they are not good at reading,
writing or any other subject will manifest that as reality. As teachers, we
need to be aware when students are employing such mindsets. Again, we start
with the foundation and should begin looking for opportunities for the students
to feel even the smallest senses of success. Allow time for them to express
themselves in writing without having to worry about grammatical errors so they
can begin sharing their ideas. Facilitate situations where students can share
these ideas and respond positively to each other’s efforts. Students without
confidence or strong sense of self-efficacy often benefit from seeing their
efforts from other perspectives that don't share that criticism.
Chapter 4 is
titled Collaboration and Group Work and my favorite line out of it was
"Who seriously believes that locking 25 students in a small room with one
adult for several hours a day is the best way for them to be
"educated?" (36) This is in the beginning of the chapter and is
characteristic of the remainder, I just thought it was a valid question for
everyone to consider. Our system of "education" being employed in
this country seems to be growing more and more constrictive and
bureaucratically impeded, at least in the mainstream. Group work can be a way
to shed, at least for an hour or so, the restraints enforced during
"typical" classroom time. But, again, balance is necessary. Like the
chapter mentions, group work, especially group discussions, have significant
potential to lead to the classroom getting "out of control."
Personally, I like that idea, but as an aspiring teacher I still find the
thought of a wild classroom a little terrifying.
If group
discussions and group work is going to work, we need to go back to a previous
chapter and remember the importance of community. If students don't feel that
connection with one another and the teacher, they aren't going to want to
participate or they won't respect one another's contributions.
In the end, if we can find a way for
group work to function, it could mean all the difference in our students'
educations. After all, once they are adults in the "real world"
everything becomes group work. Yes, students need to learn history and
mathematics and literacy, but if they can't function as a respectful social
unit, their odds of succeeding in society are gravely compromised. So, even if
the first group assignments are a fiasco, they're still important steps to
facilitating a well-rounded education and the more students partake in it, the
more beneficial the practice will be.
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