Module 5 and we are still alive


Chapter 12 is Motivation in Learning and Teaching. This chapter is particularly interesting because it talks about what motivates people to learn. Some people like to learn intrinsically which would be for their own satisfaction or to challenge themselves. (Pg. 463) Intrinsic motivation is the natural human tendency to seek out and conquer challenges as we pursue personal interests and exercise our capabilities. Other people like to learn extrinsically where they are looking for a reward or a trophy. (Pg. 463) Extrinsic motivation is motivation created by external factors such as rewards and punishments. I have always thought of myself as both because I like to challenge myself and do good for my own self-worth, but I also like seeing a good grade when I try hard in school. As a teacher, I think it will be hard to motivate students who are not interested in a lesson, but I guess we will have to figure out ways to change their views. While observing last semester the teacher had me help with an obstacle course. The day I helped was for the finals and only the students who had the top times were participating. The younger grades started out the day and everyone tried hard to win and as the day went on and the grades levels got higher the students did not try and did not care to win. The older students did not have the motivation to win because they were only getting certificates if they won and the certificates were pointless to the older students. I think if the older students had a different reward then they may have tried harder.
Chapter 14 is Teaching Every Student and talks about learning targets, teaching approaches, and homework. Chapter 14 is important because it explains the different steps in reaching all the students and not just teaching to a select group. The part I found interesting was the seat work and homework. I find that sometimes the seatwork does not match up with the lesson or it does not benefit the student. (Pg. 565) Seatwork should follow a lesson and give students supervised practice with quick feedback. It should not be the main mode of instruction. I think the same with homework. I sometimes feel in my classes that we are given ‘busy work’ just so we have something to do to take up our time. Since going to Trinity, I have done 4-5 teacher interviews and I know there is some value to learning about the other teachers, but I feel there could be a greater focus on material based on the course. (Pg. 567) No matter how interesting an activity is, students will eventually get bored with it-so why give them work both in and out of school? I think that it takes various approaches to reach every student and I find everyone learns or achieves in different ways. I notice while going to school that some people put more time into school than others but that does not necessarily make them smarter. The people who have more time to give to a class usually ends up with a higher grade.
Chapter 15 talks about Classroom Assessment, Grading, and Standardized Testing. This chapter focuses on assessments, testing, grading, and standardized testing which are all very important in determining how well the students are learning the material being taught. It is important to assess frequently to understand what the student knows prior to the lesson and after the lesson is taught. (Pg. 593) Formative assessment is ungraded testing used before or during instruction to aid in planning diagnosis. Knowing what the students know will help the teacher plan the upcoming lesson. Having tested at the end of the lesson are important also to measure how much information the students retained and how well the teacher taught the lesson. I feel tests can be tricky because not all students are good test takers, or they get test anxiety. My girlfriend is one of those people and is struggling in her college classes because she is a poor test taker. She aces all her assignments but when it comes to the tests, she struggles with choosing all of the answers that fit the question. I find that it would be hard to do as well since there is more than one answer for each question. Grading is also important because it reflects on how the material was absorbed. Grades not only reflect the student's ability but also the teacher's ability. There are many avenues to teaching and getting the students to comprehend. I know schools expect certain things out of a teacher, but I feel that there is going to be a lot of adjustments to make sure the teaching style is appropriate where all students are learning.


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