Blog 12

Prompt: “What are your goals for the Spring 2014?” What are 3 things that you want to improve or initiate within your classroom this semester?  How can  your Cadre Leader support you with these goals?”

My first new thing that I want to initiate within my classroom is a new reward/incentive system that students perceive as meaningful. Currently, I am adopting a variant of Fred Jones's PAT system from his book, Tools for Teaching. My system is called time-on-task and it is a whole-class reward system that adds time to a class "bank" when students are on task and following instructions. The system is also a classroom management tool, so time can be deducted from the "bank" when students are misbehaving or being off-task. By the choice of the students, time can be redeemed, once it has accumulated to a full hour, for a day at the gym where they can play basketball and relax. While I am not personally invested in this idea, the students are invested in the program and self-regulate each other to earn more time-on-task minutes. Fred Jones suggests that PAT rewards should be "preferred academic time" where the rewarded activity is academic in nature. I would like help in designing a more academic activity that the students would find just as rewarding (if not more rewarding) for their time-on-task. 

The second thing I want to initiate is not solely in my classroom, but affects my classrooms significantly. After attending the Solution Tree PLC Summit in Phoenix, AZ a few ago, I am sold on the idea of overhauling the PLC system at our high school. We currently use our PLC time at the high school to either (1) meet and complain about the school, (2) run errands that normally would not be accomplished during the work week outside of school, or (3) work on our own priorities. The PLC system described at the conference really inspired me to transform our school system into a collaborative community that dedicates its time and efforts to ensuring that all of our students succeed, but that would require a change in our school culture and climate. I am a new teacher (and a Teach for America corps member) trying to implement this change in school to help our students improve academically and socially. I'd appreciate advice on how to institute this change effectively without ostracizing other veteran teachers (who might not have a favorable opinion of TFA). 

The third thing I want to initiate within my classroom is more rigorous assessment of student understanding. So far, a colleague of mine has talked about how he has created a process where students are able to create their own "study guide" comprised of problems they have written themselves based on learning goals and objectives. I would like to have a similar activity or assignment where my students are able to create and make problems that are relevant and rigorous for them. Any additional suggestions would be much appreciated (on how to implement such an activity or other ideas on how to achieve similar results).

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