Free writing exit slip

The topic I decided to focus on was related to motivational factors, more specifically, the effects of praising on students behaviour/motivation in the mathematics classroom.  My personal motive behind this comes from a coaching background.  It is almost second nature for me to often praise students/athletes because of the beleif that it will boost confidence.  Clearly confidence is of great importance in the student/athlete life so I have always wanted to find a way to boost this.  Praising was in my mind, an effective method for this. However, after doing some research, I have discovered that this may not be the case.  Students can become dependant on praising and only be motivated purely when they know they will receive praise.  Because it is so habitual to me, it will be hard to break this habit of praising students but I am already becoming more aware of when I do so.  Mathematics tends to have a negative stereotype towards it and students are often unmotivated in the discipline.  As an educator I wish to find more effective methods of motivation, praising is one I will begin to study.
I am from Richmond BC, graduated from hugh boyd secondary school as an honoroll student.  Then proceeded to get my bachelors of science with a mathematics major at UBC.

Inquiry Proposal

What is your question and how did it arise?

Student Motivation : More specifically, what are the effects of praising students in terms of motivation?

I was first intrigued by the effects of praising upon reading a couple of articles during first term. 

"Pedagogical Sensitivity and Teachers Practical Knowing-in-Action by Max van Manen &

Five reasons to stop saying "good job!" by Alfie Kohn."

It was interesting to me because praising is something I do quite often when I coach and it is a habit I originally intended on incorporating into my teaching as well.  My reasoning being that praise acts as a motivator, positive feedback, and a boost in confidence.  However, after reading these two articles I am not so sure of the benefits anymore, specifically long term benefits.  I am interested to see further research on praising and motivation in general.

Why is your question significant(to you and/or to others)

I think as teachers we often resort to praising as a method for motivation but we may actually be hindering our students long term success by doing so.  In addition, I think we unconsciously praise students without carefully considering what kind of an effect it will have on our students.  Something as simple as saying "great job" when a student answers a question correctly and have powerful outcomes.  By inquiring into praising we can better understand when its appropriate, how to do it properly, and most importantly, whether it truly motivates students or not.

What do you expect to find out

I expect to find other, more beneficial methods for motivation rather than praising.  I also expect to find a lot a research indicating that praising doesn't necessarily fulfill our desired intentions.  Furthermore, with praising being so habitual for myself, I expect to become more aware of when and why I am doing so.

What resources will you draw on?

"Pedagogical Sensitivity and Teachers Practical Knowing-in-Action by Max van Manen &

Five reasons to stop saying "good job!" by Alfie Kohn."

I will also find other journal articles and hopefully interview some students and teachers. 

Group(Gary, Roz, Cindy, Travis)
From the group comments there was a common theme of how to support and relate to the all different types of students learning(ESL, girls, parent background, non-academic language) and the best way to address diversity.

Classroom management and building relationships with the students without crossing the friend versus teacher barrier

Questions for inquiry project

1.  The use of academic versus non academic language in the classroom?
2.  Technology inquiry - cell-phone usage?
3.  How to support and relate to ESL students dealing with word problems in mathematics?
4.  Addressing all diverse students?

a) List 3 things that you are curious about, wonder about, and/or are unclear about with respect to teaching, learning & schools

- importance of parent involvement and the proper method for parent involvement
- seating plans, groups/rows/circles etc?
- value of re-tests at senior levels
- cell phones in class

b) list 3 things that bother your mind about teaching

- one of the comments I had during my short practicum was to use more academic / formal language, but I have seen numerous teachers use non-academic language and have great success with it as students can relate to it.  Ex( using "guys" to address the whole class)
- at senior levels, should we have a similar teaching style/grading scheme as a university professor?
- dealing with girls

c) Describe one thing that offers a challenge to you as you enter your new profession

Motivational tactics for disruptive/non-engaged/troubled students?
ESL students (more specifically dealing with word problems in mathematics)

Drama in the classroom

Exit Slip (Oct 18th)

Drama has always been outside of my comfort zone, so incorporating it into lessons seems challenging and a bit daunting to me.  However, after engaging in the drama activity during class my I realize the importance of having a multi-modal and interdisciplinary approach to the way we teach.  Also, I think a lot of students will appreciate drama in the classroom because it strays away from the "standard" lecture and it lends itself better to different types of learners.  In particular, I really enjoyed the freeze aspect of the activity.  As teachers we have to make instinctual decisions on the spot, rarely do you get the chance to freeze, have discussion, and re-simulate decisions that we have to make.  It was also helpful because we had the chance to look at it from all points of view(third person, first person as a teacher, first person as a student etc), this reinforced the idea that we have to be able to see the situation from all views and not jump to false conclusions.  We could have just as easily talked about these specific scenarios, but using the drama activity was more engaging and realistic.  While I'm not convinced drama is the be all end all method of teaching, I see the values that it has to offer, it is a great change of pace, and it will provide comfort to those who have drama as their strong suit.