EDU276 S.T.E.A.M. Lesson 4, Assignment 1

Select a portion of an Arts, Science or Math Lesson. Write a set of specific procedures for successful student completion of the task. Check to see that you have covered every step necessary for the task to be performed in its entirety.

As Artist in Residence at Highland Arts Elementary, I teach in every classroom, K-6, for half an hour, once a month. I teach a different Creative and Performing Art. For example, this month, in anticipation of our school’s spring musical, Disney’s Jungle Book, I am teaching all grade levels a portion of the script and lyrics. In just 30 minutes, every student is acting, singing and dancing. Another example is December’s lesson when I introduced students to the Art of Dance, specifically The Nutcracker. I engaged every student in creating and performing an original Nutcracker dance sequence in class. In short, I cover a lot of fun learning material and in a short amount of time. 

Because the students are so excited to participate — perform, sing and move, occasionally, I have to keep their excitement under control. I have a procedure to quickly quiet a class and bring them back to my full attention. I call it my Lollipop Drum Technique. Here is my exact script.

My name is Ms. Pearson, and I am back for another lesson on a Creative and Performing Art. Today, we’re going to talk about Drama, the Theater, but before we begin, let me please remind you of my expectations.

We are going to be acting, singing and even dancing today. We are going to have fun learning, and we have a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time. I’m so glad you’re excited, but I need you to remain just as you are now —

• Actively listening to me (which means no talking)
• Eyes focused on me
• And show me you’re ready for instruction

If you understand, please give me a silent thumbs up.

Good job. Thank you.

Now, if in all the excitement, you forget our rules and you start talking to your neighbor, I’ll remind you by hitting my Lollipop Drum. (I show the students my drum and mallet.) When you hear me hit this drum (I demonstrate the action and sound), I want you to immediately do three things (I hold up 3 fingers). I want you to immediately —

• Freeze (which means no talking)
• Eyes focused on me
• And be ready for instruction because I will have something to say.

Touch your nose if you understand the procedure.

Thank you.

Now, let’s practice (rehearse).

Talk to your neighbor and wait for my signal. 

At this point, I let the students rehearse my procedure. Depending on the students’ response, I may rehearse the Lollipop Drum Technique one more time. I may also involve the classroom teacher to give feedback and a critique of their students’ ability to follow my directions. If I need to reinforce the procedure, I once again ask —

When you hear me hit the drum, what are you going to do?

• Freeze (no talking)
• Eyes focused on me
• And be ready for instruction

Excellent. Thank you. Let’s practice. Talk to your neighbor, etc.

In summary, this is my Lollipop Drum Procedure for quickly quieting a classroom. It also involves the three step approach to teaching a procedure, namely, to teach, rehearse and reinforce. If my drum is not available, I can also use my hands to clap the class to attention. Rarely do I need to use this method. Most of the time students are so engaged in the lesson that I only need to redirect those off task with an “excuse me,” as well as to praise those students who are well behaved and ready to learn.

EDU276 S.T.E.A.M. Forgotten Procedures

Upon returning to school after winter break, you notice the students have forgotten most of the procedures you taught them at the beginning of the year. At the end of the week, you will do a 5E Lesson that requires several different supplies and materials. Explain what you will do now.

First, I would reteach, rehearse and reinforce classroom procedures. Furthermore, I would do this in small chunks. Similar to the beginning of the year, I would begin with reteaching the procedures that make up the foundation of good classroom management. This list would include —

• How to enter the classroom
• What to do when the bell rings
• What to do when they have a question
• What to do when the teacher wants their attention
• How a paper is to be done
• Where I want the paper turned in
• How to participate in class discussion
• How to work cooperatively and in groups
• What to do upon dismissal of class

Once these procedures are remastered, I would reteach, rehears and reinforce the following procedures prior to my 5E Lesson. Because the 5E Learning Model includes Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation, I would need all of my students back up to speed on classroom procedures prior to the 5E Lesson. Here is a list of additional daily procedures students would need to know to participate in a 5E Lesson.

• How to maintain their notebooks
• How to take lecture notes
• How to read a textbook
• How to do homework
• How to study for a test
• How to respond in emergencies
• What to do if they have a request - bathroom, office, library, pencil, supplies
• How to make transitions
• How to line up for lunch
• What to do when tardy and absent
• How to act when visitors are in the classroom
• How to act when the teacher is out of the classroom
• What to do if they finish early

EDU276 S.T.E.A.M. Positive Expectations

Give an example of a time when positive expectations helped me achieve a goal.

A year and a half ago, I started teaching a young piano student, a girl, age 6. In the beginning stages, she enjoyed playing and passing off her weekly assignments. As her lessons progressively covered more difficult concepts, she would become more and more frustrated. She expected the material to come easy to her, which it was not. Moreover, she did not want to work through the more difficult concepts. She wanted to quit.

I analyzed that when her work seemed simpler, my student succeeded and seemed pleased with her own progress. I came up with a plan that would help give her that same successful feeling. I could still help her progress, albeit through very small baby steps.

First, I deliberately broke down each lesson into bite sized instruction. One week’s worth of material was now three weeks of instruction. Instead of learning new songs every week, we took three weeks to accomplish the same goal.

Equally important was maintaining my positive expectations throughout this difficult period. I deliberately acknowledged her progress at each step, with verbal praise and smiles. Throughout each lesson, I would narrate the positive and overlook the negative. For example, I’d focus on her counting correctly and ignore when she’d miss playing a sharp (until next week’s lesson).

It worked! Through smaller, more direct and specific instruction as well as positive expectations, my student was able to master harder songs, which in turn, helped her feel successful and confident. She didn’t quit and is still playing today.

What can I do to maintain positive expectations for each student in the classroom?

Here are a few ways to help maintain positive expectations for each student in the classroom. 

• Give direct and specific instruction in bite sized moves
• Give those directions with body language that implies students can do it
• Give students more time to respond to questions and assignments
• Create a classroom climate focused on individual growth and good manners
• Incorporate positive framing — a vision of a positive outcome
• Narrate the Positive - acknowledging positive behavior with thank yous and praising students on task

Lesson 3: S.T.E.A.M. Assignment 1

5E Model and Objective

As I reflect on an article that relates to classroom management, what daily procedures would students need to know to participate in a 5E lesson?

In an article in the Los Angeles Times, Harvard researcher Ronald Ferguson developed student surveys to assess classroom engagement measures. Separately, researchers used the “value-added” method to estimate each teacher’s effectiveness by comparing student test scores over time. “When researchers compared the students’ evaluations with their teachers’ value-added scores, they found that the most successful teachers had a few qualities in common, which their students readily identified. They were good at classroom management — students were busy, orderly and respectful. And they were good at clarifying complicate concepts, because they use different ways to make the same point.”1

The 5E Learning Model includes Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. Here is a list of daily procedures students would need to know to participate in a 5E Lesson.

• How to enter the classroom
• What to do when the bell rings
• What to do when they have a question
• What to do when the teacher wants their attention
• How a paper is to be done
• Where I want the paper turned in
• How to participate in class discussion
• How to work cooperatively and in groups
• What to do upon dismissal of class

What general and specific rules would need to be in place?

General Rules

• Respect others.
• Be polite and helpful.
• Keep the room clean.

Specific Rules

• Follow directions the first time they are given and thereafter.
• Raise your hand and wait for permission to speak.
• Stay in your seat unless you have permission to do otherwise.
• Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself
• Be in class when the bell rings.
• Eyes on the teacher when she/he is talking.
• Change tasks quickly and quietly.

Write an Arts lesson objective using the 5E model and use an appropriate verb.

Compose and perform a four measure song (lyrics and notes) using two of the stylistic dynamics of music, namely, legato (smooth and controlled) and staccato (sharply detached). 

1. Banks, S. (2010, Dec 14). Ask the classroom experts what makes a good teacher; students may hold the key to the vital question of effectiveness. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/817432905?accountid=40965

Research in Action

Main Objective: Compare and contrast two newspaper articles that relate to classroom management. Illustrate it with a Venn Diagram. Summarize how the information will impact you in the classroom.

Bill Gates and his foundation is working to identify and support effective teaching practices. The objective is to determine scientifically what a good instructor does and how to measure it. In a July 2011 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates said, “It is a five-year, $335-million project that examines whether aspects of effective teaching —classroom management, clear objectives, diagnosing and correcting common student errors — can be systematically measured. The effort involves collecting and studying videos of more than 13,000 lessons taught by 3,000 elementary school teachers in seven urban school districts.”1 The foundation is analyzing the tapes to see how engaged the kids are and how quickly a class gets focused on a subject.

One of the country’s foremost experts on effective teaching acknowledges teachers must possess classroom management skills such as an ability to establish norms and routines for classroom discourse. At the same time, Deborah Loewenberg Ball says it is not enough to ensure good instruction. In a March 2010 article in the New York Times Magazine, Ball says, “Even teaching third-grade math, is extraordinarily specialized, requiring both intricate skills and complex knowledge about math.”2  Ball is more focused on identifying what good teachers know about the specific subjects they teach.

The articles reinforced my belief that effective teachers are both masters of the mechanics of teaching and content specific. My research helped me become more aware of the need to develop skills in both areas. To me, classroom management is the foundation, and lesson mastery is the framing. This assignment reminded me that effective teaching skills require a lot of deliberate practice and hard work. Great teachers are not born but made. 

1. Riley, J.L. (2011, Jul 23). Was the $5 billion worth it? A decade into his record-breaking education philanthropy, Bill Gates talks teachers, charters -- and regrets. Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/878691290?accountid=40965

2. Green, E. (2010, Mar 07). Can good teaching be learned? New York Times Magazine, 30-37, 44, 46. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215467797?accountid=40965

EDU276 S.T.E.A.M. Environments

How do you create a non-threatening, positive, S.T.E.A.M. focused learning environment?

My goal would be to create an overall pleasant yet work oriented atmosphere in my classroom. A non-threatening, positive learning environment to me means a space that is highly organized and clean. I would work to ensure all students and visitors felt safe and welcome. Creating an environment conducive to that end must include a foundation that meets basic physical requirements:

• Clean walls and floor
• Good lighting
• Fresh paint
• Living plants
• Fresh smell and odor
• Comfortable furniture in good repair

As Harry K. Wong in his book, The First Days of School, “School must be a safe and protected environment where students can come to learn without fear.” Students and staff should treat their school as a sanctuary.

My additional desire would be to teach and enforce classroom procedures that are predictable and consistent. To achieve both a learning focused environment where classroom procedures are consistently applied, here are a few ideas, specific details, that I would work to implement to help me achieve those goals.

Prepare the Floor Space

• Keep high-traffic areas clear, specifically space free around doors, water fountains, pencil sharpeners, bookcases, storage area and group work areas, teacher materials and the teacher’s desk.
• Arrange desks strategically to keep focus on learning, eyes forward on teacher. 

Prepare the Student Area

• Designate areas for students’ belongings such as backpacks, lunch boxes, instruments, projects and outer wear.
• Have a strategic location ready for students who need to be isolated from the rest of the class.
• Keep students in close proximity to my work area for efficiency and mobility.

Prepare the Wall Space

• Post daily schedule and assignments in the same place every school day.
• Post emergency procedures and information in a permanent location.
• Display classroom rules.
• Clearly display my name and class name on my door.

Prepare Teacher Area and Materials

• Organize all paperwork and supplies in an orderly system.
• Eliminate all clutter. Currently, Highland Arts Elementary in the Mesa Public School District is under review for an A+ School Rating. To prepare, Principal Suzi Rollins requested every teacher clean out all clutter and unnecessary materials to help Highland achieve its A+ rating.

EDU276 S.T.E.A.M. Invitational Education

Lesson 2

S.T.E.A.M. Assignment 1

A student new to my classroom appears to lack motivation to accomplish work. He missed the experience of learning classroom procedures and the emphasis on content learning I set up the first week of class. 

What immediate procedures would be beneficial for him to learn for success in my class?

First, I would check for understanding. I would fully explain, even model and demonstrate, my procedures in detail and in person. Myself and fellow students could help the new student literally walk through our classroom procedures. I would positively reinforce the student’s correct response through acknowledgement, praise and smiles. I would endeavor to reteach the procedures until the new student correctly understands and follows instructions.

Next, I would be direct in my communication as to what I expect and want in both writing and in person. I would write a letter to the student himself and his parents or guardian. The letter would serve to welcome the student to my class. Like Theodore Roosevelt, I too believe, no student cares how much a teacher knows until they know how much you care. I would let the student know I’m glad he’s in my class, and that I’m looking forward to a great year with him. I would also briefly introduce myself and my background. Most importantly, the letter would outline our classroom goals and procedures. I would explain what procedures are and why we have them. I would specifically list each of my classroom procedures, and I would review this list in person.

I would schedule time for the new student and his parents to sit with me in our classroom to review the letter together. The student would read the letter aloud, while we stopped and talked about points along the way. The purpose of the visit would be to ensure that both my student and his parents were on the same page. Besides being welcoming, I would want the student and his parents to be aware of my expectations, as well as understand my classroom procedures. The procedures would need to be clear and direct. I would allow time to discuss and review the letter together. I could immediately address any questions, concerns or discrepancies. I would work toward unified understanding of and agreement to my procedures and expectations.

How can I further invite him to achieve in the class by providing him the time to learn the procedures and experience the content focus of the classroom?

I believe in positive expectations and self fulfilling prophecies. I hope that by expecting my student to perform to his best, academically and behaviorally, he will rise to the occasion. A person, intuitively, knows when another person believes in them. It can be implied and unspoken through attitude, body language and personality. 

In Harry K. Wong’s book, The First Days of School, he writes, “Teacher expectations and student achievement research has been known for more than 50 years. It states that teacher expectations play a significant role in determining how well and how much students learn…For instance, on latency or wait-time, teachers often give high-achieving students more time to respond or perform than the time given to low achieving students.” There are tangible benefits to a pre-disposed belief of student success.

Additionally, I believe it would help the new student to see his classmates held to the same standard. In short, I would strive to keep the entire class on task, where there is relatively little wasted time and minimal confusion or disruption. I would accomplish this in part through preparation, organization, readiness and practice.

What inviting personal behaviors can I use to further invite him to achieve?

Personal deportment and conduct can go a long way in building a relationship of trust. Intentionally inviting personal behaviors can be both verbal and non-verbal. Body language can be as powerful as the spoken word, if not more. Below are listed some key invitations I could use with this student to further help him to achieve.

Verbal and Non-Verbal Invitations to Learn

• Say the student’s name with dignity and respect. Never to demean or humiliate.
• Begin requests with, “Will you, please…?”
• End requests and tasks with, “Thank you.”
• Acknowledge thanks with, “Your welcome,” or “My pleasure.”
• Genuinely smile
• Be kind and show caring and warmth
• Be a good listener and stay focused on the student
• Refrain from crossing my arms in frustration or anger
• Refrain from loud sighs of frustration
• Use a firm but calm tone of voice
• Be polite and use good manners such
• Praise good behavior verbally as well as with high fives and thumbs up 
• Use the proper emotion at the appropriate time

Mr. Wong further writes in his book, "We have identified the single most important factor that governs student learning. In a study reviewing 11,000 pieces of research that spanned 50 years, three researchers determined that there are 28 factors that influence student learning and placed them in rank order. The most important factor governing student learning is Classroom Management...The least important factor is the demographics of the student body. That is, race, skin color, gender, national and religious background, and the financial status of the family are the least important factors that determine student achievement." The second highest factor was the instructional/learning process. The third was parental and home support.