Reflection # 7

From your experience, what are some of the affective factors that you encounter in your classrooms?
The affective factors that are usually explicitly addressed in my classroom on the first day of school are self-esteem, WTC, empathy, and anxiety. During the first week when necessary or appropiate I deal with inhibition, risk taking, introversion or extroversion.
How do they interfere in learning?
When children have problems at home, has not eaten or are not getting their basic needs met at home, then they can't perform well. If they are to worried about what other think about them they either misbehave to grab attention or become non-risk takers. If they are constantly "chatting" with the neighbor, they miss instruction and disrrupt all those around them. When they are too anxious about their ability to turn in a finished product they are too overwhelmed to even pay attention to initial instructions about an activity.
How do lower the affective filter?
This task starts on the very first day of class, at the door by greeting each and every one of them and their parents. Their name plates are usually available at desk they take them and sit where they want. (Lower anxiety increase "sense of belonging.
The "rules" for their class are interactively written after a guided discussion of how do they expect to be treated and what they expect from the teacher. This contract is signed by each child.
Only then can I validate MY rules and expectations, which usually will include "The success of your classroom is the success of each and everyone of you. All children learn at different rates and we will support each other." Conflict resolution strategies are thouroughly explained, modeled and acted-out. There will be no argument over, erasers, pencils, scissors, etc, because they now belong to the the class, to everyone.
The first week consists of activities where children explore similarities, likes and dislikes, share feelings, culture, family make-up. If they: know the parameters where they can operate, they begin to take a look with-in themselves and learn to accept others because there are more commonalities amongst humans beings, than differences; then we have succeded in establishing a safe and caring environment where they flourish with ease knowing that their will always be a helping hand.
Many of you work with children. What are some of the issues concerning motivation with children?
A teacher must always be alert, think quickly, if an activity that I put so much time into preparing is NOT working. I need put it aside, and try to do it another way or even another day with needed changes or adaptations. Activities MUST be appealling to all kinds of learners: visual, kinestetic, and auditory. They should also be MEANINGFUL in order to get them fully vested.
How do you address motivation in the classroom?
When it comes to motivation or lack there of, I usually find it better to stop, take a step back, and ask myself, what am I doing that is making that child misbehave, what is happening around them that might have triggered a deterrance from the expected situation, and lastly have them stop to analyze the antecedent. That was in reference to their behavior, when it comes to academic, children are usually willing to participate. because our lessons are designed for them to learn through games, songs, write and share in front of the class with the microfone even if they can't read what they wrote they can tell us what they "intended" to write, or group activities. Can you motivate them or does motivation come from within? I learned from experience that if you use extrinsic motivation just to hook them into an activity, you must quickly wheen-them-out, because then it becomes a behavior disrrupter, they ALL want it ALL the time. Therefore, I really stay-away from it. I rather stick to intrinsic. I explain or have them think of how doing or learning something might help or benefit them in immediate or distant future. I really pound into them my exepectation, that they are and will be succesfull members of our society and the inmense world they live in.