Module 5

MODULE 5

CONCEPT 1: Teachers’ Mindsets

Summary:

            In Chapter 12 of Woolfolk’s book, she discusses many pieces that contribute to the motivation in learning and teaching. While we have discussed pieces of motivation in students thus far in this course, I found it especially intriguing that there was a few paragraphs concerning the importance of a teacher’s mindset in the motivation section of a learning community. In fact, I think it to be very important. Woolfolk shares the difference between teachers with fixed mindsets versus those who hold growth mindsets and what that implies for their classrooms. (479) Teachers with fixed mindsets, Woolfolk shares, are quicker to judge their students and less likely to change their opinions of those students when the students develop and change from the immediate judged state. This can have a great deal of negative consequences for their students. Teachers with growth mindsets, on the other hand, tend to encourage students to create goals and to achieve them, believing that every student has the ability to change. (479)

Reflection:

            It may seem obvious that students need to believe in themselves for them to be able to achieve their highest level of performance, but it is just as important that teachers know that their attitudes about their students can make a world of difference in the motivation of a classroom. When I consider my own experiences or the experiences of my classmates growing up, I can see this play out. There were some students in my classes that would excel in school due to their behavior, mindset, and hard work. Certain teachers tended to develop a positive attitude toward them, thinking that those students would always tend to be responsible and excel in class. There were other students that some teachers thought very little of when it came to their level of work because those students behaved poorly. However, in both types of instances some teachers were very stagnant in their views of the students. Those that were seen as good students often were pressured with being an example and perfection, while those who did not have a good reputation were isolated to only that type of a standing in the classroom. There was not much flexibility of standings in those teachers’ classrooms.

            A lot can be said for the impacts of a teacher leaving flexibility in their views of ALL their students, not just the troubled ones. I think that the growth mindset is an important one to have for every student because it allows for failure, but also leaves the door wide open for great improvement. Students need to be given room for both, because imperfection is the reality for everyone. Students who do well in class need to be allowed to not be perfect because then they will stay engaged and motivated if something goes wrong. On the other side, students who struggle in class need to be allowed room to develop at their pace and to not be shamed for how they perform in class. Instead, a teacher needs to be ready to come alongside that student and give them support, not by enabling their helplessness, but encouraging them that they do have what it takes.

CONCEPT 2: “Beware of Either/Or”

Summary:

            Homework is one of the most disliked pieces of school for many students and is one of the most controversial types of classroom instruction in the realm of education today. In chapter 14, Woolfolk tries to shed a little bit of light on this issue by sharing some thoughts and opinions that are common in the education world today. At the end of her section on homework, Woolfolk shares an important motto for dealing with homework: “beware of either/or.” Woolfolk shares with us that “the real question is not about assigning homework versus not assigning homework, but rather assigning the right kind of homework to the right learners.” (568) This is something that really stuck with me. She pointed out the fact that if homework is not appropriate, fair, or useful for a certain group of learners, then it should not be used. However, she also shared that if homework is intentionally assigned and designed for certain purposes and learning outcomes that can actually assist students in learning well, then it can be very useful.

Reflection:

            This discussion of homework is one that I truly appreciated. Growing up, I was faced with many homework assignments that seemed incredibly tedious and without much use to me for learning anything in the class. Often these homework assignments would lack creativity or would be very redundant to the point that the class was so unmotivated to do it that it became solely a hoop to jump through to get to the completion of the course. That being said, the homework assignments that were well thought out and creative were also the ones that me and my classmates most embraced and learned from. I can think of a number of projects that still stick with me today that I can remember the lessons I got from them.

            Given all of my personal experiences along with the information and discussions I have had as I have continued my education, I do believe there is a place for homework. However, I must agree with Woolfolk that there needs to be an appropriate time and place for homework and the type of homework that is called for. There will be instances where a more monotonous, repetition of problems will be necessary, but only for times where a certain skill or technique needs to be developed thoroughly. In addition to that, there will also be times where a homework assignment like that will do nothing for the students, but only frustrate them and make them shut out the learning that could be had. There will also be the necessity of creative assignments, where students can truly dive into the material and embrace it wholeheartedly. The overall message that I have received is that homework, when intentional and done right, can have a positive impact on the learning of a student, but if done poorly can lead to apathy and the ignoring of the lessons I will be trying to teach as an educator.

CONCEPT 3: Norm-based and Criterion-based Testing

Summary:

            Another one of the hot-button debates in education today is that of testing. Teachers discuss how to test, why we test, how testing should be administered and how the results should be used. A couple examples of interpreting these test scores are “norm-referenced testing” and “criterion-referenced testing.” (597) Woolfolk defines norm-referenced testing as comparing a students score on a test to a “norm groups”, which is the average score for a group of individuals that have taken the test before the student. The student is assessed on how they performed compared to the “norm” and then is assessed on whether they are on par with the “norm”. Criterion-referenced testing, on the other hand, focuses on assessing the students’ scores based on a “standard of performance” (597) that has been previously set. These types of tests focus on mastering a very specific set of learning goals. In these types of tests, there could be a certain number of problems that a student must get out of a set to reach a “mastery” level.

Reflection:

            When I was a student, the types of testing or the theories behind testing never crossed my mind. However, throughout the last three years I have really begun to look at testing in a new way due to the importance that it holds in how students feel about themselves and the courses they are in, in addition to the monitoring and improvement that they can provide when use properly. The new questions that have begun to pop into my mind is how I can provide the best types of testing for my students and what those tests may look like.

            I think that in an individual classroom, the criterion-based testing is the most important and effective. I believe this due to the fact that comparing students to other classrooms outside of their own is not particularly useful for the day-to-day work of the class. In addition to that, I think that it is fairer to assess students based off of a standard that has been set in the content that we will be covering. I want my students to be concerned with trying to learn the content that we are studying in the class without being bogged down by the pressure of performing better or as well as other kids around the nation.

            For my future classrooms, I hope to use a lot of formative assessments, but for my final exams and summative assessments I want to use almost entirely criterion-based testing. I believe that in the daily workings of a classroom, it is most appropriate to have this type of grading and measurement. Assignments and coursework aside from tests can also work within the bounds of a criterion-based system, which adds to the continuity of the class. To summarize, I believe that criterion-based systems are both more supportive to students, more applicable to a class as a whole, and more effective in assessing students in an individual classroom.