Assessment 1 - Why do you bother?

I had an extra this afternoon. Year nine straight after lunch. It rained all day so they stayed inside to eat. By the time the extra came round the room looked as though a bomb had hit it! I finally got their attention and they cleaned up, with much complaining and eventually settled down to work.

PART 1
“Why do you bother?”

The last thing I wanted was that extra. Then you get some kid asking “why do you bother?” Despite the fact that I was thinking exactly the same thing, I took a few seconds to compose myself and surface an answer. My response was this… “It looked highly unlikely that anyone in this classroom was going to take the initiative to clean up. I would hope that most of you, now you are in year nine, are capable of taking responsibility for your actions (Piaget, 1970). You should be starting to realize now that your individual actions have an effect on other people. You are role models for the younger years and you have to start thinking about whether you want to be a positive influence or a negative one (Vygotsky, 1978).

The reason I bothered to ask you to clean up is because it is unacceptable to begin a lesson in the state that this room was in. How would you feel walking into this room next lesson? How would you feel if you had to clean up someone else’s mess and put up with a smelly bin?

We want our learning environment to be as pleasant as possible and having a smelly bin, scattered desks and students who don’t care is not a positive start (Vygotsky, 1978). I think some serious thought is needed from all of you in relation to how your actions impact on those around you.

I realize it has been a long term and you are all restless because it has been raining but in a sense, that makes it even more important to consider those around you - both staff and students - because it is likely they are feeling the same way as you (Piaget, 1928. Skinner, 1953). If anything we should be making more of an effort to be tolerant and respectful of one another. That includes the spaces we share.

Concentrating on your work this afternoon might require a little more concentration than usual. However there is no reason why you cannot apply yourselves quietly in what remains of the lesson.

PART 2
“Reference to the state of the classroom; why I had the class clean-up”.

When the student asked “why do you bother?” I thought, sometimes I don’t know! However, I believe that modeling desired behavior is important and to say what I was thinking would imply that I didn’t care (Vygotsky, 1978). School is not just about academic learning. There is a social and emotional development that occurs in this environment also (Vygotsky, 1978). I think it is important that students are exposed to positive values while at school (Bandura, 1986). Getting them to clean the classroom is advocating values such as respect for their school environment and respect for other people who are a part of the school community (not just their peers, but staff and visitors also). Taking pride in their school is a positive and responsible action. This is important on both an individual level because I believe it helps to instill a sense of belonging but also because the older student’s behavior is often modeled by those in younger years (Vygotsky, 1978).

Making the students clean up is also a form of operant conditioning – i.e. not giving them the option of thinking that it is alright to create a mess without taking responsibility for cleaning it up. Although I would argue that every teacher should enforce this, I think it is particularly important for the students to see that I have expectations of them and will consistently see that the students meet those expectations (Skinner, 1953).

Constructivist theory states that basic instructions facilitate external information. Given that the instructions to clean up, followed by the explanation as to why it is necessary would lead some students to a higher moral awareness. Some students will hopefully be awakened and empowered by the fact that their individual actions can and do have an effect. It is what we choose to do with this knowledge that will make all the difference. Social Constructivist theory claims that decision making is itself a learning process and choosing what action to take in this situation highlights this point. As a teacher I had the choice to do something about the mess. As students, in future they will have to decide if and how to take responsibility for their actions and the effect their decision will cause (Course readings).

PART 3
“Why get the students to work?”

I was trying to decide whether it would be easier to let them talk quietly among themselves or do the set work. Conditioning won again. The repetitive element of this theory and the fact that I am determined to remain as consistent as possible in my expectations won out (Skinner, 1953). Sometimes as a teacher I have to put on my trainers hat and training involves repetition. I also aim to encourage good habits of mind such as persistence, the development of self discipline and management of impulsivities (Costa & Kallick, 2000). Encouraging self awareness and self regulation is an important part of the learning process (Social Constructivist Theory). Self awareness particularly applies to the notion of taking responsibility for our actions and being aware of why we choose to do certain things.

PART 4
“Circumstances of the day outside the classroom”

The extra was the last thing I wanted, let alone a filthy classroom and disgruntled kids to go along with it! It is times like this when I make a concerted effort to be aware of my needs (Lecture notes). Recognizing that the student’s behavior is not an isolated case - being the end of term even staff are ratty - and that it has been compounded today by the fact they’ve been couped up inside because of rain, gives me some perspective on things. If I’m going to preach tolerance and patience to the students then I figure I’d best practice it myself. I try to be positive but firm because despite my exhaustion I want to continue to be a good role model (Skinner, 1953). Sometimes, though it is helpful to acknowledge that you can’t afford to spend all remaining energy on this one situation – for sanity’s sake! Many of my colleges affirm this point of view - especially as it’s the end of term. I find this reassuring (Lecture notes).

REFERENCES

Costa & Kallick (2000). Discovering and Exploring Book 1 Habits of Mind; A documental series. ASCD, Alexandria, VA.

Prof. Dabbagh, Nada (1999). Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory. Edit 704. E. M. Riddle.

Sigelman, C. K. & Shaffer, D. R. (1995). Life Span Human Development. Brooks / Cole Publishing. 2nd ed. California. (Bandura, 1986. Skinner, 1953).

Silverthorn, Pam (1999). Jean Piaget’s Theory of Development. Edit 704.

http://gsi.berkely.edu/resources/learning/social.html. (Social Constructivist Theory).

Lecture Notes, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3.