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Today's class actually went pretty well. I did not play any games or have any activities today except lab time. What was so impressive today was that each and every student who had a question raised their hand. There wasn't any shouting of "hey, Ms. A, come here" but the serenity of a raised hand. However, could this be because one particular student who does always shout was absent? This could very well be as I ponder about it. What I think I will do for the next class is announce to the class how impressed I was with their working manners in the previous lab class and give a small reward of a piece of chocolate. Hopefully, the "loud" student will be present when I announce this and follow his fellow classmates conduct.
And mind you, these are adult students in the classroom. Don't get me wrong, this student does not have a bad personality. In fact, I ran into him in the hallway last week and as I was leaving the college and he offered to help carry my bags. Of course, he asked if that would qualify for extra credit. Even after I said no, he still assisted. I asked him some questions to talk to him to learn a little bit more of who he is. Turns out, he wants to open his own daycare center. Finances, as for most, is his obstacle. I think the next time he comes late to class, I can talk to him about his dream of opening a daycare and how it might not be appropriate to arrive at the daycare late with children waiting. Perhaps this scenario might help to clarify the reality and consequences of being late and rectify the tardiness to class. I guess we'll see.
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Is it just me? Yes, of course it is, but now that I came up with this idea of the raffle it's time to put it together. However, that is just the problem, time. I teach three evenings a week from 6-10pm and two morning classes. I feel I'm up all night grading homework and then it's time to get back to class. Something as simple as creating tickets seems simplistic enough but I need to work on my own time management. This will be my second year teaching full time. I'm told it will get better and I can not wait for that. I'm clearly veering off to another topic but I guess I had to vent a little.
As much as I would like to have this raffle set up for the next class session, I don't think I'll be able to.
Anyway, I did think of something else today about the raffle idea. If the student(s) who arrive late to class do not care about being disruptive and disrespectful in that manner, are they really going to care about a little raffle drawing?
The classroom door is locked. The late students have to literally knock on the door. I had another student, who usually does not come in late, arrive extremely late to class. I was already well into the day's lesson plan with lights off demonstrating via the projector. I had to stop what I was doing, get up out of my seat and walk over to let them in. Sometimes I feel they should just wait out in the hallway. It was actually brought up in a meeting that doors should not be locked. In the back of my mind, I was hoping they would be somewhat embarrassed by walking in so late and distrupting the teacher and their fellow classmates. Again, if they do not care about arriving late, being embarrassed is not even a concern.
In the back of my mind, I sometimes think I may have caused this to happen. Wanting to get to know my students better, for the first day of class I have a really thorough ice breaker where they interview other classmates and myself. I am a bit on the younger side so I "speak" their language and let them know I can relate to many of the roles they may play outside of school. Although I dress professional, I dress with a flair for fashion. Again, this was a topic of discussion at the university I attend. Dressing casual rather than a suit and tie to teach and how a teacher should be involved with their students and learn who they are, etc. I have done this; however, have I become their friend vs. teacher? Is this perhaps why they come in late thinking I will not discipline the student?
These are some thoughts I sometimes just ponder over.
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Well, they were still raving over the hands-on activity we played last week. Students are excited and cannot wait to play again. What a great sign this is!
Of course, today, we had a few straglers stroll on in just a few minutes after class time. This can put such a damper on ones mentality. However, this also gets one to start brainstorming on new strategies and ideas to put the excessive tardiness to a halt.
Raffle drawing. Who doesn't enjoy a good old raffle drawing? All students will be given an "on time ticket" in class. On the back of the ticket they can write their name. For the next class session, those students who arrive to class on time will drop their tickets into the fishbowl as they walk in and take their seats. As soon as the clock strikes, I will ask a student to come up and pick out a winning ticket.
Prizes will range from little odds and ends of ever-needed school supplies. Although, it may not be a $100 gift card, I've found in the past, students are always excited to just win something.
I had used this raffle technique in another course for an entirely different reason; however, extrinsic motiivation is almost aways a positive for most students.
We'll see how it works for the next couple of class sessions.
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As some days have passed now, I have been able to reflect on that new strategy and what I could do for improvement.
I think one thing I could change for time on task would be to choose a student to collect the notecards. I collected the cards and then turned on the computers with the click of a button. Although this strategy worked well, perhaps I could have the student who collects the notecards be in charge and unlock the computers. This could aid in the experience of managing the classroom. The student would have the opportunity to be in control and offer their feedback if there is any difficulty moving from the game activity to lab time.
This would also allow the student the opportunity to point out problem students. They could be asked how they handle the situation. Developing a brief evaluation could aid in receiving honest feedback.
Next is the need to strategize how to manage uniformity within the classroom when following along with a lab project. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
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There is a one particular course that I am teaching this year that seems just a bit difficult to manage at times. It is a diverse group with a range of young adult learners to baby-boomer adults possessing little computer knowledge to an intermediate level. When it's time for lecture, I sense I am losing the attention of those who are a little advanced as opposed to the other students who are striving to learn but are disrupted by the others. So the other night, after reading a chapter from a graduate course I'm taking, I decided to try a new approach to maintain control. As I mentioned, there are some advanced in the classroom to very beginners in the classroom.
I took out eighteen note cards. On one side I wrote out the numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. to 18. On the backside, I wrote down an action I wanted the student to perform ranging from simple actions to difficult ones. For example, Start Word and open filename blah blah, simple command for the beginner student; Create a footer with filename and your name, a little more difficult for those advanced students.
So in today's class, as all the students were talking, I 'locked' their computers with the "syncroneyes" software. They all thought their computers froze on them. I announced I locked their computers and that I had the "power" :) They thought that was cute. After, I had everyone's attention, I distributed the note cards and instructed to not flip the card over. Each of the eighteen student's had a note card. I then gave the instructions that they were to come to the front of the classroom, flip their card over, announce to the class what their action was and then execute it. After they completed the action, they were to call the next number in sequential order. If the student needed help, they could just say "hint" and the "audience" (students) would assist with some hints.
As I observed the classroom, I was amazed at how all, I mean each and every one of the students, was fully engaged in the activity. There wasn't any talking out of hand. They even clapped for each student as they successfully performed their note card. They also encouraged the ones who may have had some difficulty. After the 'game' I heard from several students if we can do this after each chapter. Afterwards, they worked contently during lab time, working on their homework and not trying to play on the internet.
One thing I was disappointed with was I couldn't arrange the chairs in the lab to a "theater" style seating. I originally wanted all the students in rows with their chairs as if it were a small theater. Fortunately, it still worked out but it would have been nice to have them closer together than behind their computers.
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