The Connected Curriculum - Challenge #11

Be Willing to Change

• Why is “change” hard in our schools?  What barriers must a significant “change” like a move to differentiated instruction overcome in schools?

In my life experience there have been typically two types of change. The first is slow, gradual involving kind of change and the second is a dramatic and unexpected kind of change. With each of these I have found a different approach necessary in order to adapt and be successful. To deal with gradual change I try to identify the problem and then establish long term and short term goals to prepare for it (breaking it into baby steps helps me manage it better).  I also find that it helps to have specific measurable steps which will affect the necessary change. For me, dramatic change demands a different way of thinking and I often have to educate or reeducate myself in order to adapt successfully. Because there are so many different levels of change combined with the factor that everyone adapts to change differently, change at school can be difficult as there is a large number of individuals involved.

Barriers that are needed to make a significant and successful move to differentiated instruction included a cooperative effort from the administration and staff, a solid structure to execute the change, educators and parents working cooperatively, and all with a very specific goal oriented approach to success. The administration needs to constantly monitor the progress and make the necessary adjustments in the training of their staff. It necessitates reeducation of those who will affected by the change and their total dedication to the cause. When teachers buy into an idea and take possession of it, they work their knuckles raw to make it work. Successful change means identifying each step which needs to be undertaken and their order. Trying to do too many things at once or hurrying the course along by skipping a step may result in failure of the project. Change one thing at a time. Undertaking too many things at once may result in chaos.

• How can you encourage “team building” throughout my class?

As Gregoray and Chapman state, “For students to succeed, they need to believe that they can learn and that what they are learning is useful, relevant, and meaningful for them”. I believe these elements need to be present in team building activities and will also promote interest, dialogue and learning in my classroom. I have found great success using low-key interpersonal exercises that work well in the smaller limits of my classroom such as icebreakers where students are more focused on learning about others rather than themselves. One that I like in particular creates a foundation for a lesson on prejudice, gossip or on-line bullying which is all applicable in my computer classroom. I utilize teambuilding activities in the middle school setting to help my students develop a strong concept of teamwork and where they see their classroom as a “community” where they have can recognize that they have a lot to give and receive in discovering how to get along and work together well with others.

• How can you help create/maintain “relaxed alertness” in your classroom?

According to ehow.com "Relaxed Alterness" is the brain's optimal state for learning and remembering important concepts”. They go on to state that a student then feels comfortable enough to learn yet challenged enough to achieve goals. By building on small successes, relaxed alertness becomes a state of mind and is very natural to the student. A key to this is creating a safe environment for learning by being positive in your classroom.  As I circulate my computer classroom I try to focus on what my students are doing correctly and then if need be addressing what they are doing wrong quietly and to each individual. I have also found that playing relaxing music such a piano music or “spa” music creates a quiet learning environment and the students actually enjoy listening to it. I purchased a blue tooth linked speaker for my iphone and just get on Pandora radio where I have several good stations.  The kids actually ask where the music is if I forget to turn it on!

Goal setting is also something that I practice in my classroom.  At the beginning of each semester I meet with each student and we work together to set weekly, monthly, and semester goals. I integrate their typing speeds/goals with a unit on Excel spreadsheets, and as the semester and their goals progress I teach them different skills to do with graphs and charts.

The most critical thing that I use to help promote relaxed alertness in my classroom is praise.  I make sure that on a daily basis each student hears something good coming out of my mouth about them.  I intermingle this with a small treat like a jolly rancher quietly placed by their keyboard when they are doing something well like keystroking or posture.  It is amazing what benefits a small reward system like that reaps!

• Did anything jump out at me (the author) that I want to emphasize or share?

Probably the one thing that jumped out at me as I was doing the reading for this week was the importance of using music to enhancing the classroom climate.  I find it a great tool and use it in some form or another every day.  I have found that different types of music work better for each level that I have in our middle school.  The 8^th grades work well to some of the older rock classic that I prefer such as Journey or Supertramp while the 6^th graders get to hyped up on this and work better with the quiet, relaxing music.  Each group of students is different so you have to adjust each semester.  I also found a great website that I have included that has suggestions for what types of music go well with the different types of learning and activities that I use in my classroom.  Below is the link to that website!

Until tomorrow...

Collaborate and connect your curriculum!