In unit 8, we focussed on classroom investigation, which I had already studied last year.
Here are some questions for you.
- Why do classroom investigation?
- What can you investigate? Give 3 examples or more of possible focuses.
- What might trigger a decision to investigate some aspect of your classroom practice?
- How can you collect data from your classroom?
- What principles should you consider when carrying out your investigation?
- What should you do soon after you have collected your classroom data?
Thinking about investigating your teacher talk?
Have a look at this post I wrote some months ago.
This article on teacher talk moves is a great read too.
Unit 9 was reading week.
In unit 10, we looked at motivation.
What is motivation? Here are some of our answers.
- a mixture of needs and desires
- fuel for learning
- a reason for moving forward
- energy and engagement
What teaching strategies do you use to maintain motivation in your classes? Here are some of our thoughts.
Vary the presentation format: videos, stories, news agencies websites etc. so that students don’t feel bored.
Provide options for homework, e.g. a poster or a presentation. You can read Katherine Bilsborough‘s article on Choice boards for some ideas.
Instil confidence by breaking down tasks.
Feedback and praise: We should be mindful when we praise stronger students as it can demotivate the weaker ones. Also, I think we shouldn’t overpraise by using excellent or fabulous for simple tasks. Feedback needs to be given in a thoughtful and positive way- we should select the words we’re using, we should praise students for their progress, for any successful examples of language they used. Praise the content, eg ‘ that was an interesting story’ not only like feedback on language.
Consider our learners and what they expect from our classes. For example I’m teaching a student who expects our classes to be communicative; there is input from texts or listening, we have discussion questions, even my approach to feedback is dialogic. We discuss language errors rather than me correcting him on the spot. That student would be really demotivated if I gave him gap fills or other diagnostic or testing activities. He just wants homework activities that focus on accuracy. Classes are all about communication.
Differentiation– considering our weaker students and give them some more support like a useful language box or sentence stems to scaffold their thinking. Increasing the challenge for our stronger students by giving them a fast finishers task or a reflective question while others are still working on the task. Lots of articles on differentiation here, on Annie Altamirano’s blog.
Using reward systems? It’s like getting them addicted to points and stickers and rewards (extrinsic motivation) and not teaching them the true pleasure of learning a language (intrinsic motivation). However, in some countries it can be daunting (even impossible) to teach VYLs without reward systems.
Be flexible, be human. Understand and acknowledge emotions. Sometimes they may not be in the mood for class. Connect with ss -don’t just expect them to do the work. Just a short 5-minute break, letting them vent and talk about what might be on their minds might increase their motivation and engagement.
Start from what students know. Activate that previous knowledge.
Ask students to contribute activity/content ideas. What activities do they like? What are their favourite songs? What do they read on the net these days?
Highlight the good, the bad and the beautiful language they used in a certain activity. That would be correct use of the target language, mistakes, and also successful attempts of using language that was not dealt with in that specific lesson.
Connect with students individually. Use their names, learn about their personal history, encourage interactions in the classroom where they learn more about their classmates.
Repeat tasks. This helps students to consolidate learning and build confidence.
Get anonymous feedback regularly/once a month. Allow them to write it in L1.
Give clear instructions and remind them that they can ALWAYS ask for help. Make sure they see you as someone they can count on rather than just a ‘teacher’.
What would you add to this list?
More on motivation
A video
I highly recommend watching this one from Prof. Florencia Henshaw‘s brilliant YouTube Channel.
An article
Here’s an interesting article written by Joanna Nifli, who also highlights the importance of rapport, clarity, noticing, learner involvement, feedback and more.
A tool
I used the NILE text analyser to make this word cloud and single-text corpus! Just pasted in my text and clicked a button. An amazing tool!
References
Anastasia Buma & Eunice Nyamupangedengu (2020): Investigating
Teacher Talk Moves in Lessons on Basic Genetics Concepts in a Teacher Education Classroom,
African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, DOI:
10.1080/18117295.2020.1731647
https://doi.org/10.1080/18117295.2020.1731647
https://bloggingcrazy-annie.blogspot.com/search?q=differentiation
The TEFL Zone 