Cooperative Learning Builds a Classroom
Community
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Throughout the
year, students will be working in cooperative groups consisting of 4-5
students. In these groups they will:
- Learn
and develop social skills. Some of the social skills that we
will be
working on are: active listening, encouraging one another to
participate, staying on task, and praising one another.
- The students will slowly get to know their
groups through group, as well as academic activities.
 My
Thoughts
I have used cooperative learning groups for my last eight
years of teaching
and the results have amazed me. Here are some of things that I have
noticed:
- Students are more willing to
look out
for one another. Whether it be helping one another with an
assignment,
sharing books, or praising someone to make them feel really special,
cooperative learning brings out the best in students.
- Cooperative
learning allows for students to feel that they have a fellow
classmate/(classmates) that are there to help them.
- It also
teaches
them problem solving strategies while bringing together the class.
- The
students use the social skills they have learned when doing science
experiments and during other classroom activities.
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| Respect |
I
believe that a good classroom
starts when a trusting relationship is formed between the teacher and
the students. A teacher who establishes a bond of trust in
the
classroom leads learning by example and energy(Cookson, 2003).
Respect is important to
have in the classroom because:
- Meaningful learning
requires respect
between the teacher and students as well as among the students
themselves(Boushey and Moyer, 2006).
- When
students are respected, their dignity is valued and this will allow for
the students to develop a sense of respect for the teacher.
- When
a teacher respects a student, then he/she values the students views, as
well as opinions. This will allow for students to feel that
they
belong and that they are cared about.
- To create
schools that function as personalized communities of learning rather
than anonymous institutions where some students feel they belong and
others feel ignored, we must know our students--how they think, what
they need, and what they want(Marzano, 2003).
- Students should respect one
another and
their belongings.
Extra Thought
- Every
student that enters my classroom is special and they have a talent that
they can share.
- In our classroom, we follow the Golden Rule,
"Do Onto
Others as You Want Done to You." This includes the teacher as
well.
- I
treat every student with the utmost respect and truly value them as
individuals.
- I encourage students to use proper manners in
the
classroom which includes saying "Please" and "Thank you."
- Also, I feel
that it is important for students to understand that they must respect
themselves and the world that they live in.
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| Creating an Engaged Learning Environment |
Teachers
should create a positive learning environment. A teacher
should plan activities that make learning fun and teach lessons in
which the students become engaged in what they are learning.
My Thoughts
Throughout
the school year students will be completing a variety of
authentic assessment
tasks, activities, and homework assignments. I want
learning for
students to be meaningful and for students to apply knowledge to real
world situations. During the year, students will
participate
in experiences, simulations, and other activities that will allow them
to connect more personally to what they are learning about.
- Authentic Tasks: These
tasks
allow students to solve
real-world problems using the knowledge that they have gained in class,
as well as background knowledge.
- Task Rotations/Learning Styles
Menu: Each student in my classroom has a different learning
style and he/she expresses their understanding through this style.
I plan
activities
that will allow each student to learn and express their understanding
through their own learning style.
- Engaging
Activities(that
focus on using higher order thinking skills): In my
classroom, I
encourage students to think outside of the box. This means
thinking
both creatively, as well as critically.
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| Clear Rules/Expectations |
I
feel that good classroom management ensures that students feel safe in
the school environment. The rules that a teacher has should be
clear and concise. They also should be consistently enforced.
It is important for the teacher to help the students become
problem solvers by allowing them to understand that there are
consequences for the choices that they make. By doing this,
the
teacher helps the student develop a sense of responsibility.
Effective classroom management requires the creation of a
classroom culture in which both the teachers and students cooperate and
accept responsibility for individual, as well as group
behavior(Edwards, 1993).
- Flexibility
and good management
are important qualities a teacher must possess.
- I believe that in
order to have good
classroom management skills, the teacher needs to enforce consequences
to students who demonstrate inappropriate behaviors. These
consequences should allow the student the opportunity to learn from the
mistake that he/she made.
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| More About Learning |
I believe that all assignments should
have a learning purpose and that students should be given choices in
the classroom.
- Purpose+Choice=Motivation
- Choice is highly
motivational and puts children in charge of their learning
(Boushey and Moser, 2006).
- Gather a photo
album(many samples of work) rather than a snapshot so we can
differentiate instruction based on a more accurate evaluation of our
students' learning needs( Tomlinson and McTighe, 2006).
I want students to reflect on
the work that they do and self analyze it.
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Classroom
Philosophy
