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EN 466
Tool Kit Critique
The purpose of a tool kit is to have a designated area where a variety
of tools, techniques, approaches, and other useful information can be stored
together collectively. Having a tool kit is more effective than using one
specific program because each student is different. Having a tool kit will
make it easier to find a specific approach or technique that will work for each
individual student.
know the assignments and that they are based on objectives, the teacher
has procedures, they start class immediately, and they have assignments
posted. Teacher readiness is the primary determinant of teacher
effectiveness and success. Harry Wong also believes that teachers should
post their information by the door, stand at the door to greet their students,
and check whether the student is in the right place. He also believes in
creating an action plan when there are behavior problems. The action plan
should include: What is the problem? Whats causing the problem? What plan
will you use to solve the problem? It should also involve commitment and
follow through.
The reason why I chose to include The First Days of School in my tool
kit is because it believes in teaching students rules and procedures right
away. I personally believe that if students know what is expected of them,
there will be less behavior problems. Like Harry Wong, I believe that
consistency is key. I also believe that discipline has very little to do with
classroom management. Instead of disciplining our students, we should
manage our classrooms. Our students will never know how to behave at
school if we do not teach them.
CHAMPS
Champs stands for: conversation, help, activity, movement,
participation, and success. CHAMPS works by displaying posters throughout
the classroom that lets students see and know what they are supposed to be
doing.
C (conversation) - Lets students know what they should be talking
about during
specific activity or task.
H (help) - Lets students know how the teacher is able to help them
during the activity. It
also lets students know what they should do when they need help.
A (activity) - Lets students know what the end product is of the activity
as well as the
objectives/standards/tasks.
M (movement) - Lets students know what kinds of movement are
acceptable during the
they truly care. Social contracts are also very important because students
need to know that their rights are important to. When students are involved
in the social making process, they will be more likely to take it seriously.
believes in using punishment to get their way, while guilters use guilt to
force others to do what they want. Buddies use friendship and humor to
influence their students. When teachers are buddies they may find that it
is difficult to discipline their students. Monitors keep track of behaviors by
keeping score - example: clip-up system. Teachers who are managers focus
on restitution. They may use the monitor or buddy approach to fall back on.
Gossen believes that we need to let go of the illusion that we can control our
students. We also need to let go of the idea that positive reinforcement and
guilt and criticism are good for students. Restitution is seen by the victim as
adequate compensation. It requires the offender to put in effort and it is used
to strengthen the offender. Restitution does not encourage further offenses
and it must be relevant to the general area of offense. When giving students
the option of restitution, we should also give the opportunity to choose the
normal consequence.
I chose to include Restitution in my tool kit because it is one of my
favorite tools that was presented in class. Often teachers are so focused on
punishing students that they never give them the opportunity to make it
right. I believe that restitution will be beneficial for everyone that is involved.
Not only will it make the victim(s) feel better, but it will also strengthen the
offender. Restitution is a process where learning will take place. When we
punish our students and do not give them the opportunity to make it right,
no real learning occurs.
Attitude Check
Attitude Check is a version of a Social Problem solving class meeting.
Attitude checks are regularly scheduled and they can pertain to any subject.
Teachers should schedule a block specifically for attitude checks since they
typically take up 15 minutes. In order to be recognized, students should raise
their hands. All attitude checks should receive feedback regardless of how
extreme they may be. The golden rule of this program is that no names
should be used. This helps to slow the statement of the problem and
refocuses the discussion on problem solving, rather than on the offender. Not
using names and regularly scheduling attitude checks will potentially
eliminate tattletales. Sometimes, private conferences may be necessary.
Teachers should encourage student leadership as soon as possible - let
students run the attitude checks. Posters featuring positive quotes or sayings
can help to make attitude checks successful.
I chose to include attitude checks in my tool kit because I believe that
it can be very beneficial when done correctly. I really like that this tool
requires students to not use the offenders name. So often the first thing that
students bring up is the name of the offender. Without using names, the
focus will be on problem solving. I also like that this is a great way for
students to talk about their feelings and emotions prior to starting in on class
work.
The strategies that are included in the Ways to Engage Students are
great ways to keep students engaged and focused. Random cards or sticks
are pretty common but I believe that they work very well. This ensures that
students all get a chance to share their ideas without feeling singled out or
unprepared. Think, pair, share is also an activity that I have experienced a lot
of success with. I also like the idea of fill in the blanks for notes. This always
helped me in high school because I was required to pay attention to the
material and take notes - typically the blank was the most important
information. Popcorn reading, sentence starters, and singing songs are also
ideas that I really like. These would be great for elementary aged students or
even middle school.
I decided to include the list of ways to engage students in my tool kit
because I believe that it has a lot of great ideas. I am not a very creative
person, so this is a great tool to refer to if I ever needed new ways to keep
my students engaged. I think that switching it up and using a variety of
these different ways to engage students will keep things interesting and
exciting for students.
interesting content in order to stay on task. If the material that you present
to them is boring, they will be more likely to act out and not complete their
work. Kohn also believes that the community of the classroom is important in
keeping students motivated. The classroom needs to be a safe environment
where students can feel free to ask for help as well as a place where
students care about one another. Choice involves making sure that kids are
required to think about what theyre doing, how theyre doing it, why theyre
doing it, and with whom theyre doing it. Alfie Kohn believes that kids learn
to make good choices by actually making choices, not by following
directions. He also believes that rewards remove the desire to learn. Instead
of focusing on the material and learning, they are more interested in the
reward.
I included Alfie Kohns beliefs in my tool kit because I agree with the
three cs that motivate students. It is common sense that if we give students
boring work they will be more likely to be off task and not care about the
material. We also need to form a sense of community in our classrooms,
where students feel safe and are free to take risks and ask questions without
feeling judged. I also believe in helping students make good choices, not just
giving them directions and expecting them to follow them. I believe that
when these three cs are used, teachers wont need to use rewards or
punishments in order to keep their students engaged.