Standard One
Teachers are Committed to Students and Their Learning
- NBCTs are dedicated to making knowledge accessible to all students. They believe all students can learn.
- They treat students equitably. They recognize the individual differences that distinguish their students from one another and they take account for these differences in their practice.
- NBCTs understand how students develop and learn.
- They respect the cultural and family differences students bring to their classroom.
- They are concerned with their students’ self-concept, their motivation and the effects of learning on peer relationships.
- NBCTs are also concerned with the development of character and civic responsibility.
Rationale for Standard One:
As a teacher I am passionately committed to my students and their learning. I am a French teacher who also teaches some Spanish. I am passionate about having students encounter new cultures including French cooking and fashion, the French and Spanish languages, history and their impact on the world through colonization. I want my students open themselves to learning a language that is distinctly different from their own, and so open themselves up to these new cultures and its people with such a rich heritage. So, while I love my content area, my students and their learning are my ultimate passion!
The two artifacts I am placing in this standard are student focused. Artifact I is a video/PowerPoint presentation I have done for my 7th grade class and placed on the class wiki. It is part of my research regarding flip teaching, so it was a lesson I assigned for homework. My students in this class were able to save a significant amount of class time doing the lesson individually at home, so that in class they could do an activity of choice to practice the structure and vocabulary of this chapter and lesson. Students then used their in-class time being completely engaged in their activities, without needing to take time out for this "lesson" and others like it. This type of engagement helps students to learn better, to remain intrinsically motivated, and to be successful, satisfied students.
Artifact II is a case study that gave me the opportunity to uncover why my teaching and passion were not making it through to one student, but with investigation I was able to begin to unlock the truth about his motivation as it conflicted with my own. This study demonstrated a growth opportunity for us both, as I saw what was at work in one boy's home life, self-concept, and differences from many of his classmates. Together, we took a journey that helped us both grow. This artifact demonstrates how I came to understand student motivation, including family and cultural differences, and incorporate student values into lessons and activities that I plan as a teacher. When I do this, students’ self-concept and peer relationships also have a positive change.
The two artifacts I am placing in this standard are student focused. Artifact I is a video/PowerPoint presentation I have done for my 7th grade class and placed on the class wiki. It is part of my research regarding flip teaching, so it was a lesson I assigned for homework. My students in this class were able to save a significant amount of class time doing the lesson individually at home, so that in class they could do an activity of choice to practice the structure and vocabulary of this chapter and lesson. Students then used their in-class time being completely engaged in their activities, without needing to take time out for this "lesson" and others like it. This type of engagement helps students to learn better, to remain intrinsically motivated, and to be successful, satisfied students.
Artifact II is a case study that gave me the opportunity to uncover why my teaching and passion were not making it through to one student, but with investigation I was able to begin to unlock the truth about his motivation as it conflicted with my own. This study demonstrated a growth opportunity for us both, as I saw what was at work in one boy's home life, self-concept, and differences from many of his classmates. Together, we took a journey that helped us both grow. This artifact demonstrates how I came to understand student motivation, including family and cultural differences, and incorporate student values into lessons and activities that I plan as a teacher. When I do this, students’ self-concept and peer relationships also have a positive change.
case_study_motivation_and_kiernan.docx | |
File Size: | 118 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Standard One Reflection
As I considered what has impacted me the most as I have deepened my education at UNE towards this end, I have realized that I have been influenced powerfully by new consideration of student motivation and learning through Differentiated Instruction. In courses on Differentiated Instruction and teaching in Inclusion settings, my understanding of the necessity of teaching to all students regardless of the special abilities was a central part of my profession. I have restructured my lessons so that students can choose activities according to learning preferences and styles. The same understanding can come to different students in different ways. If I create lessons for them like the one above, where they can take notes for homework and apply it in class, then they succeed from the very start, remain actively engaged with the material, and acquire true knowledge that hopefully is accompanied by a thirst for learning more. To watch students working in groups to write and perform a skit they will film, while other pairs are creating comic strips by hand with dialogue, and others are writing stories, and some are doing computer-designed presentations using pictures and words to tell their story, and one student enjoys the freedom to move through each and every book activity as she checks in with me - this is differentiation! This is my commitment to them: love what you are learning, be motivated to learn more!
In Artifact II, the case study that I did with one young man, Kiernan, was significant. Previously I had thought my students wanted to be given vocabulary and information with which they could connect, and they would be inspired to know more. I devised many activities that I though would motivate students to incorporate and link the information to things that interested them. I believed my outward rewards: praise, encouragement, good grades, special prizes for good performance and participation, would motivate all of my students to do their best to learn. In focusing on this one student who was not meeting my false expectations, I was able to discover that it is a complex task to motivate all students.
According to the attribution theory, some students are resistant to doing tasks where they see no value in the task. These students need to be handled in a way that tells them that I want to know what they value, so I can create a learning environment that includes this. This student would say "No disrespect intended, but I see no value in learning this." I did not take his comment as disrespect, but as a statement that the attribution theory was at work, and so I interviewed him and discussed where he might find value in what I had to teach him. Ultimately, the greatest value Kiernan found was that I was interested in him, and his concerns. Unexpectedly, this made him value me more, and he began to tell me some tasks in which he could find some value for incorporating foreign language with some of his other interests. Ultimately, I believe he found value in pleasing me and feeling that he had helped to "solve the puzzle" we were working on together.
If my students know that I am interested in them and their own interests, their choices, and their individual differences, they have an increased motivation to listen to what I have to say. The more I incorporate this into the projects I give them, the essays they write, the games they use to learn with, and their experiences, the more they accept the drudgery of learning verbs and grammar. They see it as necessary to get them to talk, write, or read about the things that interest them!
In Artifact II, the case study that I did with one young man, Kiernan, was significant. Previously I had thought my students wanted to be given vocabulary and information with which they could connect, and they would be inspired to know more. I devised many activities that I though would motivate students to incorporate and link the information to things that interested them. I believed my outward rewards: praise, encouragement, good grades, special prizes for good performance and participation, would motivate all of my students to do their best to learn. In focusing on this one student who was not meeting my false expectations, I was able to discover that it is a complex task to motivate all students.
According to the attribution theory, some students are resistant to doing tasks where they see no value in the task. These students need to be handled in a way that tells them that I want to know what they value, so I can create a learning environment that includes this. This student would say "No disrespect intended, but I see no value in learning this." I did not take his comment as disrespect, but as a statement that the attribution theory was at work, and so I interviewed him and discussed where he might find value in what I had to teach him. Ultimately, the greatest value Kiernan found was that I was interested in him, and his concerns. Unexpectedly, this made him value me more, and he began to tell me some tasks in which he could find some value for incorporating foreign language with some of his other interests. Ultimately, I believe he found value in pleasing me and feeling that he had helped to "solve the puzzle" we were working on together.
If my students know that I am interested in them and their own interests, their choices, and their individual differences, they have an increased motivation to listen to what I have to say. The more I incorporate this into the projects I give them, the essays they write, the games they use to learn with, and their experiences, the more they accept the drudgery of learning verbs and grammar. They see it as necessary to get them to talk, write, or read about the things that interest them!