Cultivate Love
I believe that I show my students on a daily basis that I do love what I do by imparting as much excitement into my on persona as possible everyday. Even if we are not doing something that particularly exciting I like to at least do something to get my kids excited for the day.
With that said, I am not perfect at doing this. There are plenty of days where I am sure that it shows that I am not fully committed to what we are doing that day and that can very easily rub off on to my students and lead to a rough day for everyone.
Generate Energy
With my standards-based grading course it has been very important that I try to generate as much energy as possible. In that class I am working with students that have struggled with math in the past so their own energy on the topic is pretty low. I have worked hard this trimester to build up as much good-will with these students as I can by maintaining a positive attitude at all times, even when the going gets tough.
My goal is to keep this up for next trimester with all of my classes, even those that are filled with students that have had a different experience with math.
Inspire Audacity
I hope that I have shown my students in Algebra 2 Concepts that doing things in a different way can be helpful as I ran their course differently than anything else. The standards-based system was radically different for them than anything else that they've had to work with in their high school career. I pushed this idea very hard from the beginning that we were doing something different and that it was going to be something that would greatly benefit them in the end. My hope is that they will take the success that they find in this class and us it as positive motivation for other things they are working on.
Provide Proof
I believe that I prove to my students on a regular basis that I am a fair and capable leader by sharing openly and honestly my experiences. With my Algebra 2 Concepts students I am very open and honest with them that I am not sure how this standards-based grading program is going to work, but darn it we're going to try and see what happens. It is a definite OS!M for me not knowing what will happen at the end of the trimester. However, the students have been recording their scores through the trimester and most have seen gains in several learning targets and are seeing the proof that what we are doing is working for them.
Drew - I am curious to find out more about standards based grading in your classroom and the connections it has (or may have) to academic success for your struggling students. I think it is great that you consider this to be the "audacity inspiring" component to your Radical L.E.A.P. MJ
ReplyDeleteDrew: Keep up the positive energy with your standards based grading class! It will continue to have a positive impact and those students will remember "that teacher" who made math interesting and helped them through a subject that they struggled with!
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you are open and honest with the students about standards based grading. It lends itself to a bit of a partnership and ownership for the students. At least it seems that way. I think it is okay that the students know this and hopefully can be excited about the fact that they are a part of something new.
ReplyDeleteHaving a positive attitude makes such a world of difference with students!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shawn about being honest with students. It shows them some of your vulnerability even as a teacher with a new situation and makes them feel more comfortable going through a change with you instead of on their own. I am also curious to hear how the standard based grading is going and what the students think of it.
Drew, I think what you are doing is exciting and definitely a great L.E.A.P. Have any administrators or other teachers been keeping an eye on your experiment? I will be interested in hearing if you decide to continue with standards based grading and what, if any changes you will make after this first round.
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