Math Blog #6: Celebration of Student Victories

 



    I wanted to start this blog by saying that I really enjoyed my Math for PK-5 course and my professor, Dr. Mary Webb. I learned a lot of things about being a teacher that nobody tells you. I greatly appreciate Dr. Webb spending her Thursday nights on campus, even after she spent the whole day teaching. Not a lot of people would be willing to do that, especially someone as accomplished as her. It's sad that the semester is coming to an end, but there is a lot to celebrate!

    As teachers, I've learned it is very important for us to celebrate student achievements, no matter how big or small. Celebrating their wins can boost students' self-confidence and foster their love for learning. Scholastic has a few tips to celebrate the small victories with students: offer students praise, write sticky notes with words of encouragement, have walkout songs when students enter the room or do something really good, create a place where students can give shout-outs to each other, put student work on display, and connect with parents. All of these ideas are great, but two of them stuck out to me. I really like the idea of writing words of encouragement on sticky notes and bringing parents into the classroom to celebrate accomplishments. I think writing every student a sticky note, maybe once a week, would show my students how much I care about them and encourage them to meet their goals. Inviting their parents in would also be fun for the students. Maybe once a student accomplishes a big goal, their parents or guardians can come in and have lunch with them, or help the teacher for the day. Another great idea would be to have a gallery walk in the classroom. I could hang up students' assignments, projects, artwork, etc. Then I could invite families in the classroom to see how well their child is doing. I could provide cookies and punch to make it fun. 

    Students need to feel seen and loved by their teachers. When students love and respect their teacher, they will be more motivated to do school work and hopefully love to learn. Celebrating victories is an important way to make your students feel seen, loved, and boost their confidence. I'm excited to use these ideas in my future classroom! Thanks for reading, and thanks for such a great semester, Dr. Webb!!

    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Math Blog #2: My Field Placement Experience

Image
                I was placed in a 4th-grade ELA/Social Studies classroom, and I learned a lot about the behind the scenes of teaching. Something very important I learned, was that teaching is a very fast-paced profession, and you need to be flexible and be prepared to adapt. On the very first day of field, our class went on a field trip. All of the teachers were concerned about their students getting their permission slips signed,  who was going on what bus, which students couldn't sit next to each other on the bus, etc. Sometimes when you plan an activity and the students are very chaotic that day, you might have to scrap it and come up with a whole new idea. If students aren't very engaged during an activity, you might have to find a lesson/activity that does.      This week, my field partner and I learned firsthand the importance of being flexible and adaptable. We had to teach a social studies lesson to the mornin...
Read more

Math Blog #4: Productive Struggle

Image
      Today we will be talking about productive struggle and how important it is for students. First of all, productive struggle is the process of students tackling a complex task that is slightly out of their current abilities, but is still achievable with a little support. I love the picture above, because it shows how easy learning only provides students with temporary comfort. In order for students to deepen their understanding and develop their skills in a certain content area, they need to be slightly challenged. It also helps students cultivate their problem-solving skills. In the article, " Thriving in the Zone of Productive Struggle " the author states, "Success with just the right level of challenge encourages a growth mindset as students learn to view challenges as opportunities for growth and to persist despite difficulties. Learners need to succeed in completing challenging learning tasks—and they need to attribute that success to their own cognition and eff...
Read more

Math Blog #3: Classroom Management

Image
      During my field placement experience, I got to observe my host teacher use a lot of classroom management techniques. One of the most important techniques she used, is getting to know her students. According to We Are Teachers , "Classroom management often boils down to getting to know, and build relationships with, many tiny humans". My host teacher knew all of her students' interests and would greet them every morning. A bunch of fifth graders come to visit my teacher before class, which shows how strong of a relationship she builds with her students.  When students have a good relationship with their teacher, they are more motivated to learn and want to do good. This definitely minimizes the amount of behaviors in the classroom. My host teacher also communicates positively with families, which is another great classroom management strategy. Telling parents positive news about their child is a good way to reinforce that positive behavior in the classroom. ...
Read more