RUNNING HEAD: EDU 1010 CH 11 Assignment

Paulo Johnson

Ch 11 Assignment

EDU 1010 Online Wilson

December 2, 2017
RUNNING HEAD: EDU 1010 CH 11 Assignment

An important part of being a successful teacher is knowing how to motivate your

students. It isn't enough to know the material and just teach it to your class. What makes an

effective teacher is knowing how to maximize your students learning in the classroom. The

way to do this requires lots of planning and hard work from the teacher but also motivation

from the students.

Motivation is defined as "an energizing force that initiates and sustains efforts to

reach a goal." Simply put it is a feeling within us that drives us to accomplish things that we

put our minds to. There is a popular saying that says, you can do anything you set your

mind to! Basically once you set a goal, motivation is what sets us on the path to achieving

that goal while also being the force that keeps us on that same path.

There are two categories that motivation is often times separated into. They are

extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is when a goal is set to

reach a particular outcome or receive a certain reward. Intrinsic motivation is when a goal

is set for the sake of doing so, or another way to put it is to learn for learning sake, or even

accomplishing something for the sake of accomplishing it. An example of extrinsic

motivation is when a marathon runner competes for the first place prize or fame. He or she

is running with the goal of winning the prize at the end. Using the same scenario an

example for intrinsic motivation can be given. A marathon runner who runs because he or

she likes to run marathons is intrinsically motivated. The second person is not running for

money or fame, this person is purely running out of interest. Now the best part of these two

categories is that they can go hand in hand. A person can be just as inclined(or motivated)
RUNNING HEAD: EDU 1010 CH 11 Assignment

to run a marathon with the goal of winning in mind as well as running for the simple joy of

running.

There are many ways to increase motivation in the classroom. Many students say

that they paid the most attention in school when subjects were "interesting." Some of the

ways we can make class more interesting is by including activities in the lesson that attract

the students' attention. Another way to do this is by making the lessons applicable to real-

world scenarios and students' lives. A few other ways to increase motivation is by giving

your students challenges, encouraging them to succeed and promoting involvement in

classroom discussions and activities.

To really be successful in motivating your students you need to think outside the

box when planning your lessons. To grab their attention you could do something

unexpected but related to the lesson. A music teacher teaching his students about staccato

rhythms might start the class by talking in short rapid words. A physics teacher might

begin a lesson on gravity by dropping a cake at the beginning of class. These might be a

little extreme but they could work to grab the classrooms attention and make it so they

want to learn more. Taking another approach to motivation a teacher should ask open

ended questions frequently throughout the lesson. This encourages analyzing the topic at

hand and thinking about possible answers or solutions. This is a great way to promote

student success and can motivate the students to want to learn more on the matter.

Another great way to do this is by providing high-quality examples. These are examples

that offer students all the information that is needed to learn about the subject at hand. An
RUNNING HEAD: EDU 1010 CH 11 Assignment

example of this would be watching a video about tigers in their natural habitat when

learning about big cats in Asia.

Essential teaching skills are also needed by teachers in order to succeed. These are

the abilities that all teachers should have that will promote student learning. There are

many essential teaching skills. Some of these include organization, focus, review,

questioning and feedback to name a few. Organization is key because it makes the best use

of classroom time for learning and instruction. Reviewing is another important essential

skill that helps students relate old topics to new lessons which also increases

understanding. These are all important skills to have as a teacher and each have their

purpose.

The classroom I observed had some great motivational methods that were used. The

teacher had many little goals for the students to reach but all of these goals were tied into

one big achievement. Every day the students have the chance to earn tickets that go into a

"prize bucket." The tickets can be earned through good behavior and completing tasks

given by the teacher. Tasks range from finishing in class assignments to helping the teacher

or even being courteous to guests. Tickets for good behavior are rewarded based on

student integrity at the end of the day. Integrity in receiving tickets for good behavior is

encouraged but can also be determined at the teachers discretion. Once tickets are

rewarded they are placed in a bucket and names are drawn for the "mini" prizes at the end

of the day. The "mini" prizes are determined at the end of the day to be rewarded at the

beginning of the next. These range from getting to use the "wheelie chair", sitting in the

plush "friend chairs" where the winning student gets to choose a friend to sit with them at
RUNNING HEAD: EDU 1010 CH 11 Assignment

the front of the class, to getting to help the teacher pick the names the next day. All of these

activities and prizes lead up to the big win that happens on Friday. At the end of the week

the teacher pulls names from the same bucket but there is a different prize involved. Names

that are picked on Fridays get to "roll the dice." Students roll one six sided die to determine

which of six possible prizes they could win. The biggest and most sought after of these

prizes are homework passes, where a student can veto any one assignment given by the

teacher and soda. The other prizes can be king-size candy bars, small trinkets and school

accessories. The students take to these challenges very well and work hard to earn tickets

each day. They are eager to get the mini prizes given daily but look excitedly forward to the

Friday draw. The negative consequences for misbehavior and failure to cooperate are

taking points away that go toward tickets or receiving less tickets. From speaking with the

teacher this system has worked well with her students and she has been able to improve it

every year. At the end of the week the tickets are thrown away and each student has an

equal opportunity to succeed the next week. Another great motivation for the students is

"Fantabulous Fridays" in which students are rewarded for completing 100% of their

assignments for the week. Students with missing or incomplete assignments are required

to participate in study hall rather than attend Fantabulous Friday. Now, what is

Fantabulous Friday? Every student eligible to attend gets to participate in activities that

vary each week from watching a movie, unlimited board games to sports tournaments. All

of these ideas receive lots of positive responses from the students and I look forward to

implementing them in my classroom.

I would like to teach fifth grade upon becoming a teacher. I would like to include

music and songs, debates, hands-on work and direct instruction in my teaching strategies
RUNNING HEAD: EDU 1010 CH 11 Assignment

in the classroom. I feel that music and songs can be a good way to stimulate young minds

and help children remember key facts. I love to sing and can make up songs on the spot so

it would be fun to create catchy songs that teach key points of the lessons. I also feel that

debating is a great way to encourage free thinking and builds strong opinions. Even in my

college classes that I am taking I get the feeling that students hold back from speaking their

thoughts in fear of rejection or offending someone. I want to help my students understand

that it is ok to express yourself freely and also to learn not to take offense at someone else's

personal opinion. For hands-on work my goal is to create projects and assignments that

allow students to put their thoughts into models and presentations. This way they can play

with their thoughts a little and understand better the reason for the lesson we are studying.

Lastly, I want to include direct instruction in my classrooms in order to ensure that my

students are still receiving the key tools they need to succeed in and out of my classroom. I

think it's important that we as teachers give them these tools and while I want to

encourage my students to think for themselves it is my duty to help them get the most out

of their learning experience.

My philosophy for assessing learning goes along with formative assessments and

summative assessments. I believe that a good way to find out where a student is in the

classroom is to ask them by using self evaluations. This is a good way to determine the

students understanding and comfort level of the lesson being covered. It is also a great way

to adapt your lessons to better help those students that are struggling. I believe that

helping the students learn the material and then improving that learning by filling in the

holes is the most effective way to assess their learning. High stakes testing can be stressful

for a student and doesn't fully determine how well they understand a subject. In that same
RUNNING HEAD: EDU 1010 CH 11 Assignment

sense, we can't judge a student's worth by basing them off of norm-referenced

assessments. We don't all fit into the "norm" and that's ok! We should encourage

uniqueness and embrace differences not smother and shun them. Einstein was told he

couldn't go to school because he was too "dumb." Well we know that was wrong and I'll bet

the teacher that kicked him out was judging him off of the "norm." I believe that every

student has an enormous amount to offer and it will be my job to find out what that is and

help them showcase those talents.