The importance of developing one's own teaching philosophy is stressed in the very first chapter of Nagel's book. While the book contains eighty-one tips on how to teach, we are reminded right from the start that no one can tell you how to teach. What may be right for one, may spell disaster for another. Maintain a sense of individuality.
"Good teaching can take few words" (p.18). In my Seminar course this summer we have been discussing the value of silence, allowing students time to ponder their response. Nagel looks at silence from another angle. "Speak once," she says, "and expect to be heard" (p. 17). There should be no reason to 'lecture' students about their behavior, nor give instructions more than once. Modeling and demonstration can also promote productive silence.
In Chapter 3, Nagel broaches the subject of competition and states that "wealth breeds competition" (p. 19). She also notes that competition breeds dissension. She gives wonderful examples of how to allow students to measure their own growth and avoid competition. But the average school today is rife with competition, from spelling bees, to academic decathlons, to any number of games and contests. Some would say these are healthy and provide motivation for learning. I'm curious to hear what my readers think.
In my current teaching position, the students have come to equate learning English with playing games. They beg for games! And we all try to accomodate them as best we can. Games make learning fun, but many times these games involve 'winning' and 'losing'. Now, for as many times as you've heard me mention the "group mentality" of Korean students, you can imagine (and rightfully so) that my students are not very competitive. But what message do we convey when a game results in someone being "the best"? For that matter, how does traditional grading promote learning and/or a healthy self-assessment?
I look forward to your response, and thanks for reading my blog!
Wow, this book sounds like it's right out of many of our classes (individual teaching philosophies, using silence, learner-centered teaching).
ReplyDeleteSince behavior problems are such an issue for me in correctional ed classes, I wonder what advice the author would give considering that I feel like I always have to give instructions more than once and I've heard teachers lecture many students about their behavior. I'm always looking for better ways to deal with difficult behavior.
As for competition among students, the "c-word" has been catching my attention with my students for awhile now and continues to be a point of uncertainty for me. At one point in this CSU program, I decided to swear off using competition to promote motivation with my students. But, it keeps coming up without me even doing anything.
For example, just last week, I was struggling to convince a couple students that they should take advantage of an optional learn-to-type hour that comes with their GED class. They said typing was boring and made their hands hurt (they've made excuse-making into an art form!). But, I got them to sit down and try. They sat next to each other and soon started to compare their typing scores to each other. It became a competition to see who could get the best score and they had fun doing the typing exercises and comparing their scores for the rest of the class. I was relieved yet conflicted. It was great that they were typing but I wondered if the "loser" in the typing contests developed negative feelings that weren't apparent to me. I haven't noticed that this happened since both students have decided to practice typing again but, it's hard to tell.
Right now, I'm going with two ideas: 1. I won't promote, suggest, or encourage competition but, if two friends make a little competition on their own (like the typing twosome) and it seems to be motivating and enjoyable for them, I won't discourage it. 2. Like many things, it's individualistic. Some students may have a healthy attitude towards competition and find it motivational while others can't handle it. When I see competition among students, I'll have to keep a close eye on how each student is reacting.
One more note: as for using games in class, I guess this would be a form of me promoting competition which I just wrote that I wouldn't do (yet have done plenty!). I think a way around that is to do games with teams so that no one person carries all the weight of winning or losing. Also, there may be games that don't have one winner or loser, more of an activity than an competition.
Sounds like an interesting book!
Your example of the typing twosome is great! If it were me, I think I would be ecstatic that they were participating in the exercises. I can see where if they remained fairly equal in their abilities, all would be good, and the competition would remain healthy. But if one of them starts to really excel, and always has the highest score, I can see where that might get discouraging, rather than motivating, for the other one. It's a fine line we walk, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI wish I had more to offer you regarding discipline issues. That's been one of my complaints about this book thus far -- it's been pretty superficial at times. Each little chapter is only 2-3 pages long and sometimes I just wish she would delve a little deeper. But I'll keep a look out for more on this topic, perhaps she'll hit it again later.
And yes, I definitely try to find games where there is no real winner, just fun activities that feel like "games".
Thanks for responding, Emily!
Jumping in late...as usual.
ReplyDeleteI pull the line from "Whose Line Is It Anyway" where "the points don't count." We can have a winner and losers (I do teams, not individuals) but in the end, if it was fun and students learned something, they all win.
For the typing duo, as long as they are both learning and the competition stays friendly, it might be very natural. If the "loser" starts to get discouraged, then the "winner" has to help him. (OK, bad example for touch typing, but you get the idea.)
Margaret