Modern Trends in the Classroom

As a student, I see how much trends on the internet and TV can affect how my peers interact and compose themselves. However, these trends are almost always ignored in my classes and the energy and potential behind them aren't tapped into. To tap into these trends doesn't mean simply using the internet, but doing some of these trends in an academic setting.

In about three quarters of my classes, the internet and technology are utilized to enhance learning. However, in none of my classes, trends are used frequently. The only "trendy" thing I see in my classes are random gifs in notes. We don't create trends like memes and gifs, nor do we create things like websites or social media pages that extend learning outside the classroom using trends.

As a result of using these trends, students can not only relate to the assignment easier, but they also extend their learning outside the classroom if things like a blog or website is created. Although many memes and gifs have little relevance to education, they can still be used for educational purposes. The same thing is true with custom websites, social media, and blogs. To some, these may have little educational value, but they can certainly be used in an educational setting. In Teaching With the Tools Kids Really Use, Susan Brooks-Young describes that it is better to find positive uses for technology than to "fight what is ultimately a losing and unnecessary battle"(Teaching With the Tools Kids Really Use, 2010). Instead of throwing away the potential of these uses of technology, they should be utilized to use the energy and enthusiasm they hold for students. Students are excited about these trends, but only if they are incorporated in a meaningful and less "cringy" way.

If a teacher is going to use memes and gifs as a final product, they will have to be very well thought out as a gif is short video and memes are either a single picture or short video. Using memes and gifs would end up teaching conciseness in design and writing, which is a good skill to learn. Logos for example have to represent an entire company within one picture. There would also have to be a process of elimination of ideas, and then even narrowing ideas. Learning this processes of brainstorming and revision is a great one. This is something that is constantly done in the real world that has significant value in the classroom. A final way to use trends in the classroom is using the internet to share to the world students' work. This provides obvious meaning to the work at hand and students will try harder knowing that their work will be available for all to see. These trends have immense potential and if utilized correctly, help to greatly increase classroom interest and effort.

Works Cited:

Brooks-Young, Susan. Teaching with the Tools Kids Really Use: Learning with Web and Mobile Technologies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010. Print.

Connecting Each Day in Meaningful Ways

As I sit on a beach in Florida, soaking up the sunlight, I watch the endless cycle of waves, as they form, crest, then retreat back into the ocean to reform. I think of another seemingly endless cycle. School. It's spring break so it is a one week grace period before we head into the final quarter of school. I think most students would agree with me on school being an endless cycle, punctuated by weekends and breaks. Every day should have a different flare, that separates it from everything else. With this however, everyday should also be able to feel connected in some way or another. The key is finding perfect balance between the two.

There is one class I am currently in that everyday seems like a repeat of the last. I discussed this in a previous blog, titled A Notes Based Classroom. To summarize the class, it is notes based. To quote the blog, "The class has this everyday structure, yet never strays far away from it, making each class feel like a repeat of last." (A Notes Based Classroom, bowtieboyjoe.blogspot.com ). The class although good in other aspects, just can't escape the feeling of an endless cycle.

It is vital to have an organizational pattern in a classroom, yet everyday, something needs vary in how the material is taught. This way, everyday doesn't feel like a repeat of the last. Having the same organization with the same kinds of activities everyday can be very disengaging, especially if the material isn't the students favorite. In the words of Susan Ohanian," I don’t know many adults who could sit quietly through even one day of the dusty confines of a typical school curriculum”. (Caught in the Middle, 2001) Repeating the exact same thing every single day can break a students attention in class, and can damage built up rapport. This creates the "dusty confines" Susan Ohanian describes.

One thing that can easily make everyday different are different activities. Spicing up the activities and varying them not only engage students more, but they are also a helpful study tool. Students can recall specific lessons and remember, oh yeah, I remember when we learned this because we did that one activity. In history this year, we did a reenactment of Aztec sacrifice. Although the demonstration was hilariously executed, the lesson stuck with me and my peers. Reenactments, songs, chants, poems, games and mini contests are just a few fun ways to mix up each day while still getting across the content. Just doing interesting activities that still convey important messages can help to not only create a feel of little repetition, but also one where students look forward to learning more.

Works Cited:

Ohanian, Susan. Caught in the Middle: Nonstandard Kids and a Killing Curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2001. Print.

Building Good Relationships with Students

Almost everyone has been in a group with a member that has a weird grudge toward you. Working with that person could make you feel uneasy and uncomfortable. As a result, the productivity of the group goes down, just because one group member has a grudge.

Now, translate this story into the classroom. There is almost always at least one kid in every class that just doesn't have respect for the teacher nor the class. They are the ones who are constantly disrupting learning, and slowing down the class. In some classes, there might be several of these kids, that just bog down the class in constant interruptions and distractions. In many cases, disruptive kids can definitely be a good student in ones class. One reason why kids may become disruptive comes down to rapport.

I have a teacher that has a positive relationship with almost every student in my class. I would be hard pressed to find a student in this class that didn't bond to my teacher. I have several hypothesizes for why this is the case. The first reason might be that he almost always takes the students opinion on matters into account. This makes us feel that we actually have an important role in our class. A second reason is that he actively knows what is going on outside school. He talks to us about our sports and other extra-curricular activities, in an interested, but not inappropriate manner. A third possible reason is that he talks to us as people, not as his subordinates. He will constantly have a normal conversation with students, while still tying everything back to the subject matter. These three reasons have stuck out to me as reasons I feel that I can connect to this teacher. These might not be the only three reasons, but they seemed to me as the most important.

The importance of building positive rapport is so great it can make or break a class. Knowing students, not just as a grade, or a face, but as a personality, or a back story, can further the effectiveness and efficiency of a classroom. In the words of Penny Kittle, "If I don’t know the kids before me, I don’t have a chance"(Write Beside Them, 2008). A teacher has to know their students as a person in order to have classroom success. In addition to knowing the students, the teacher has to treat them with trust and respect. If students feel equal to the teacher in the classroom, that respect will be two way between the student and teacher. Linda Rief wrote, "Trusting and respecting our students may be the best models we provide for them in creating culturally healthy environments in our schools"(Seeking Diversity, 1992). Having this two way trust in the classroom can propel learning as the students trusts the teacher to do their job well and the teacher trusts the students to be hardworking and efficient.

To build this good relationship, the main thing a teacher has to do is truly know the students. Talking to students about normal matters can make the students feel that teachers are much more than just teachers. Treating students as equals can help them feel more connected to the teacher, and respect their judgement more and more. Treating students with respect can cause respect back to the teacher. Talking to students about their more personal matters, and getting to know them as people, can make students feel that they are actually treated fairly and that they are treated in a manner as an equal. Doing this can propel classroom efficiency and learning.

Works Cited:

Kittle, Penny. Write beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.

Rief, Linda. Seeking Diversity: Language Arts with Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational, 1992. Print.