Beginning Teacher
January Forum #3
Designing Effective Choices
CIC:
Connecting
Forum Structure Part A
Agenda
• Connecting Activity
• Designing Effective Choices to:
- Motivate Learning
- Make Positive Connections and Build
Community
- Improve Classroom Management
• Announcements
• Closing
Outcomes
• Know the factors of effective choices to
increase student engagement and
motivation
• Know how to use choices to build
relationships
• Know how to design effective choices to
improve classroom management
Norms
•
•
•
•
•
Active Listening
Appropriate use of electronics
Equity of voice
Respect for all perspectives
Confidentiality
What Choices Have You Given?
Take a couple of minutes to think about
and jot down choices that you have given
your students, whether for lessons,
entertainment, recreation, or procedures.
Be prepared to share out.
Learning
Forum Structure Part B
Designing Effective Choices
to Motivate Learning
Motivation and Achievement
Educators know that students who are
motivated tend to learn more. Decades of
research continually verify that motivation
is integrally connected to achievement.
Therefore, teachers very often want
strategies that foster motivation in the
classroom.
Perks, Kevin (2010); Crafting Effective Choices to
Motivate Students.
Motivation is Fostered by Choice
One strategy that fosters higher levels of
interest is choice. However, while choice
can be a powerful motivator, it is important
to understand the factors that should be
considered to prevent choices from having
an adverse effect. Factors that will
positively influence motivation and
achievement are the students’ sense of
control, purpose, and competence.
Perks, Kevin (2010); Crafting Effective Choices to
Motivate Students.
Factors in Designing Choices
• A sense of control (An essential element
of motivation is an individual’s need to
feel autonomous.)
• A sense of purpose (The more meaningful
an activity is, the more likely a student will
be motivated to complete it.)
• A sense of competence (Students who
believe they will be successful will be more
motivated.)
Framework of Effective Choices
• With whom students will work (When the
activity requires students to work together)
• With what content students will work (For
specific skills activities the content is optional)
• Timeline for completion of activity parts (When
parts of activity does not have to be linear)
• Where students will work (Whether individually
or in groups)
• How a task will be completed (When there are
multiple ways to complete the task)
Beware of Causing
Decision Fatigue
The psychology of decision making references
the deterioration of the quality of decisions.
Decision fatigue is one of the causes of
irrational (Sure, tweet that photo! What could
go wrong?) or avoidance of decision making.
Giving students too many choices or wideopen project assignments may actually
demotivate them by causing too much anxiety
over whether they’ve made the right choice or
causing them to expend their mental energy on
making the decision, rather than on the project
itself.
Choice Board
Choice Board Activity
• Take into account the different learning styles
of your students:
- Visual
- Auditory
- Spatial
- Kinesthetic
• Choose one of the above learning styles and
create a choice board like the one on the
previous slide with choices that specifically
address that learning style.
Learning Styles Examples
• Visual Learners: art project, photographs,
pictures, Venn diagram, flip chart, map
drawing, clay model
• Auditory Learners: tape recording, singing
songs, reciting poems, debate, surveys
• Spatial Learners: concept maps, 3-D
drawings, graphic organizers, clay model
• Kinesthetic Learners: grow plants, shell/rock/
leaf collections, concrete model
Designing Effective Choices
to Make Positive Connections
and Build Community
Choices that Build
Positive Connections
•
•
•
•
•
•
When students are met at the door, the
teacher gives them the choice of how to
be greeted. Examples:
Hand shake
Fist pound
Elbow bump
Hug
High Five
An appropriate suggestion by the student
Choices that Build Community
Let students vote to choose:
• Which 10 out of 12 quiz questions to answer
• Whether to answer even or odd homework
problems
• A community service project for the class
_____________
Ask participants for ideas of other choices to
make personal connections and/or to build
community. Record ideas on chart paper.
Designing Effective Choices
to
Improve Classroom Management
Improving Classroom
Management by Giving Choices
The more a teacher can build in choices for
their students, the more likely students are to
feel energized as participants in their learning.
A class of students who are engaged in
learning are not likely to engage in bad
behavior.
Smith, Rick (2004); Conscious Classroom Management.
Good/Bad Behavior is
the Student’s Choice
Teachers have no control over a student. The
deeper our respect for this, the easier it is for us
to remain calm when we wish we did.
We can be a powerful influence, but the ultimate
choice of how to behave is the student’s. And
with choice comes responsibility. When
teachers provide consequences for students,
they connect them with the results of their
choices, and give them an opportunity to assess
those choices.
Smith, Rick (2004); Conscious Classroom Management.
Student Chosen
Rules and Consequences
Giving students input in designing rules and
consequences tend to give students buy-in.
The effect is students who are more likely to
adhere to the rules and to accept the
consequences when they are given. This
approach works well as long as the teacher is
comfortable with it.
Smith, Rick (2004); Conscious Classroom Management.
Brainstorm Benefits of Choice
• Based on the information presented in this
power point, recall the benefits that offering
choice can have in helping students
develop self-confidence and self-control.
• Identify two areas where choice can be
offered to your students and brainstorm 2 or
3 choices that could be offered in each
area.
• On chart paper, design a graphic organizer
to display your results.
Our Own Choices as Teachers
As teachers, we choose to assume the best
about ourselves and others, even in the light
of all the evidence we have to support the
contrary. All humans have the capacity for
goodness. The challenge is to access that in
ourselves as we access it in others. What
more challenging environment is there than
the classroom to choose to assume and
remember the best about others?
Smith, Rick (2004); Conscious Classroom Management.
Managing
Forum Structure Part C
Announcements
• IPDPs are due October 31, or, for late
hires, within 15 working days from the start
date of the beginning teacher.
• Other announcements pertinent to
your campus BTs
Closing
Forum Structure Part D
Reflecting on the Learning
Complete the CAL Survey:
• What’s working? (What is going well so far
this year?)
• What are your challenges/concerns? (Have
there been any challenges or concerns that
have been difficult to resolve?)
• What might be your next steps? (What might
you do to address any pending concerns?
Can you use anything that has been
addressed in this learning?)
• What can I do for you? (What kind of support
would you like from your mentor and what kind
of training would you like from your CIC?)
Mentoring Activities Survey
• Which activities have you completed with
your mentor?
• Check the boxes on the CAL Survey for the
specific activities that you and your mentor
completed together.
• Be sure to verify the completion in MAS.