Week 13 Task Blog: #8 Use nonverbal cues to keep a group of students on task. The Effectiveness of Nonverbal Cues in the ClassroomThe spunk of my fourth graders is complimented by their developing logical and rational thinking, which creates talkative, opinionated and enthusiastic learners. The students are seated in groups of 4 to 6 for collaboration, which has led to the learners creating friendships with their peers. This group seating often leads students to off-task behavior or conversations, which can be easily suppressed with nonverbal cues. After extensive research and a reflective presentation, I recognized the effectiveness of nonverbal cues for behavior management in the classroom. I have practiced the nonverbal cues featured in the chart below in various circumstances that occur in my internship experience. I believe it is important to practice nonverbal cues and responsive body language to support desirable behavior in the classroom, as well as to address inappropriate behavior.A quick smile, thumbs up or intentionally-directed nod are simple ways to support students' behaviors or academic effort. When I observe my students working together effectively, modeling on-task behavior or making an important insight, I reinforce their effort with a big smile or a high-five. When I get excited about my students' behavior or learning, the children feel proud of themselves. In my opinion, that is why I am in the classroom: to help children develop into confident, capable and insightful adults.
At one of the back tables, five students of mixed abilities collaborate for activities in Language Arts or Social Studies. These learners are talkative and easily distracted from content area learning. When my CT and I are co-teaching, I rotate the room to make sure students are on task and engaged (proximity). If I notice one of the bubbly girls in class talking during instruction, a simple frown or shake of my head will redirect her behavior. Occasionally, students will be encompassed by an object irrelevant to the lesson. This could be anything from a poster on the wall, a book, a funky pen, or even Pokemon cards (honestly, I'm jealous of some of my student's extensive collections). By moving the object from a distracted student's field of vision, or raising my eyebrows while glancing at the unnecessary object, students are given a nonverbal cue to change their behavior. Nonverbal cues are powerful and I believe that they preserve a student's dignity and self-esteem by avoiding embarrassment or singling-out a student.
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Week 12 Task Blog "Making the Most of Classroom Time"In order to present Weinstein's Making the Most of Classroom Time, I provided my cohort with one page of practical notes they can refer to in their teaching career. These notes condense research, theory and practice to act as a reference for educators when considering their time management in the classroom. Educators can increase the opportunity to learn by maintaining activity flow, minimizing transition time, holding students accountable and managing pullouts. In my own internship, I have seen the devastating effects of service pullouts in general education classrooms. A lack of organization, collaboration and structure is not only limiting learning time, but negatively impacting student's opportunity. In my final internship, I hope to work closely with the ESE resource teacher to ensure each student is provided with the services, schedule and supports they need.
Chants as Transitions Workshop/chanMy groupmates and I led an interactive component during our presentation that engaged preservice educators in practicing chants to minimize disruptions or ineffective transition times. My peer attended a workshop by Shawn Brown of "The Super Fun Show." While greeting students, heading outside, gathering on the rug or cleaning up, Shawn presents enjoyable lyrics that promote rhythm, rhyme and on-task behavior. Below, I have offered Shawn Brown's original lyrics for many of his transition songs/chants, which can be purchased here. One of my peer members mentioned that she had noted 19 transitions in her school day, which takes the time of an entire math block. Considering this data, educators should take advantage of this opportunity to make the most of classroom time. There are a plethora of resources available to find fun songs or chants for transitions. Over a thousand ideas are floating around Pinterest, and a quick Google search will offer simple samples to try out. Transitions based on children's literature offer opportunities for learning during potentially wasteful classroom time. Below, I found a document with chants based on "Brown Bear" by Eric Carle or "The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister. During our presentation, my peers created their own transition songs that they could use in their classroom experiences. My favorite chant that was shared included a Cause and Effect theme, which will provide students with an additional context to practice reading comprehension skills.
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