Reflection

= Reflection  =

Day One: Introduction and Classroom Management
One strategy that I think I will use to get the attention of my class is flicking the lights off and on. It's something that all the students will notice, even when the volume level in the room is loud and they are focused on socializing with their classmates. I don't have a naturally loud speaking voice, and by using the lights I can avoid having to raise my voice to speak over top of the conversation occurring in the room. Another strategy I observed in one of my other classes involves standing in the middle of the room and raising your hand. As the students closest to you notice, they too raise their hands and it eventually rolls across the whole room. The appeal of this strategy is similar to the first in that I can avoid having to raise my voice over the volume level of the room.

Day Two: Motivation and Minds On
I thought our discussion on the use of rewards and punishments was fascinating. I had never considered how rewarding a student could be counterproductive, but now that I have thought about it, it makes a lot of sense. It will definitely make me think twice about rewarding my future students. I love the idea of having my students create the classroom rules. It allows them to have some input and responsibility for their own actions. If there are any problems later on in the year, I can point back to the rules and tell them that they were the ones who created them.

Day Four: Teaching Strategies - Constructive
I really liked the idea of using children storybooks to illustrate a math concept. The students think that it's a fun activity and they're learning math at the same time. The books are aimed at younger grades and are at an easy reading level, but I think that even the older grades would enjoy the activity. You could even pair up a higher grade classroom with a primary classroom, and have the older students create math stories for the younger students.