The power of expectations

Bit of a dissertation, but well worth it in my opinion...

I don't know how the brain chooses the things that it focuses on, but at the end of the last school year my brain chose the following three observations as those that were among the most important to my teaching:

First, my students didn't seem to be doing any real learning. They were memorizing things from practice tests, but couldn't effectively apply the concepts on real tests. I confirmed this by analyzing their results on a few tests, relative to practice tests that they had been given before hand. I broke the questions from the real tests down into three categories:

1. Questions that were the same as those on the practice test, verbatim.
2. Questions that were the same as those on the practice test, with the exception that I had changed some value which would change the answer they got when they performed the calculation (I would change 10kg to 20kg, for example).
3. Questions that covered the same concepts as those on the practice test, but didn't explicitly appear on the practice test at all.

Not surprisingly, they did very well on type-1 questions (those that were taken verbatim from their practice tests). They did worse on type-2 questions (that were the same except for using different values), and worst of all on type-3 questions (those they hadn't seen before). The surprise came when I looked at the standard deviation of the number of students who answered each type of question correctly: statistically, there was a big difference in their performance on type 1 questions: they clearly performed better on the questions that they had been given before when nothing was changed. However, there was no statistical difference in their performance on type-2 and type-3 questions! In other words, if I simply changed a number in the problem from the practice test and put it on the real test, they may as well have never seen that problem before. My conclusion: they were simply memorizing, and not learning.

Second, they didn't really care about their own results. They seemed to have only a superficial interest in what they did wrong on any given assignment, quiz, lab or test. I had a box of graded assignments in my room so that students could help themselves when they wished, as opposed to me taking valuable class time to return graded assignments. The result was an overstuffed and completely ignored box of graded assignments that I would empty on the day of a test as I walked around passing them back. They would then proceed to dump all of those papers in the trash on their way out. And why not? At that point, anything I said in the corrections was useless since they had already taken the test. To me, this indicated a real lack of connection in the minds of the students between all the things we do in class and their own success on the tests.

Third, I was doing most of the work in my classroom. I was doing all the intellectual heavy lifting - bringing the subject to my students, as opposed to making them come to the subject. I would give answers, rather than provide Socratic guidance. I would lecture, rather than inquire. I would provide a practice test rather than remind them what to study on their own. 

I wondered if these observations weren't related in some way, and so my colleague and I set out to change the way we taught the course to address all of these issues. The solution we came up with was pretty simple:

1. We'll hand the students a packet at the beginning of every unit. It will have all the material in it for that unit including homeworks, labs, worksheets and notes.
2. They will be responsible for bringing this to class every day and keeping it up to date.
3. We will not collect/grade anything. We'll give points only for on-time completion and then go over the material so the students can correct their own errors if they choose.
4. We'll let them use their packets for all quizzes and tests.
5. Since the students could use their packets on tests and quizzes, the questions on the tests and quizzes would be harder than they were last year. Instead of asking students to simply retrieve information from their packets, many questions would be designed to require the students to form their answers using two or more bits of information from the packets. In other words, there would be no type-1 questions. There would be some type-2's but mostly type-3's.

We did this to encourage personal responsibility in the students - we made it very clear by doing this that the responsibility for their success or failure lay squarely on their shoulders. But we did this also to impress upon them the value of keeping good records and referring back to them often. The business of taking their own notes, having confidence in them, and building the habit of referring back to them often would (we hoped) reinforce the connections between the various things we learn in class. But it would also help build the soft skill of developing a store of information and then actually using it later. And that skill is something badly needed by these kids. It will serve them well whatever they choose to do in life.

Early results: We assumed that the first few quizzes would be extremely difficult for the students and that we would have a fairly high failure rate as they learned to take and then rely upon good notes. We've had 3 quizzes so far and the average across all three sections have been 78%, 74% and 76%. Obviously, I would love for those grades to be higher, but since I was expecting averages in the 50's, I'm delighted at the results. Several students even have a 100% average to date.

The results are so encouraging because the quizzes are so different from last year. None of the questions that we're asking appear explicitly in the packets and many of them require the students to use more than one bit of information to develop an answer to the problem. It's early in the year yet, but so far they seem to have responded to heightened expectations with a jump in performance.

Vacation

I was talking to a neighbor the other day when it occurred to me: I've never really had a vacation before in my professional life. Sure, I've taken time off of work, but there was always the cell phone, emails, the occasional meeting to dial into (it'll just take a half-hour). And if those things weren't there, there was the dread of returning to face problems that had simply festered in my absence.

But summer break is a clean and complete break. No calls. No emails. No endless stream of issues, growing more explosive over time, waiting for me to return. It's a real (and needed) break from the job.

Funny thing happens when you don't dread the imminent return to your work: you find yourself voluntarily reflecting on the work that you do, and thinking about how to do things better. I've been thinking a lot about the way I teach and how to do it better since school let our and we've barely been out two weeks. This week I'm taking a class (voluntarily) on how to teach science a different way, and I'm excited to begin applying it in the fall.

A job that I want to return to. It's a really good feeling!

Classroom Management

We're on spring break now, and it didn't come a moment too soon! I've been sleeping 9+ hours per night for the past 3 nights and I still feel sluggish in the morning. Lots of catching up going on.

I can see now where I made some fundamental mistakes this year and (although it's hard for me to believe I'm saying this right now) I can't wait to start next year and correct them.

During the summer course I took, we were repeatedly told of the importance of "classroom management". But what exactly is classroom management? I had no real context, so I didn't really have a plan. The problem was that I thought I had some context, so I thought I had a plan. And I was wrong.

We were tasked with developing a classroom management plan (which in retrospect was ridiculous). Having taught in college classrooms in the past, and knowing that people don't read long, detailed plans, I reasoned that a short list of bullets covering very simple and universal behavior expectations would suffice. Here is my plan:

Welcome to Physics!

• Huskies are: 
• Respectful
• Responsible 
• Safe

Class Policies

• The following will apply at all times:
• General Behavior and Conduct Guidelines
• Academic Honesty Policy

• Please review the syllabus regarding: 
• Attendance
• Tardiness
• Late work
• Grading scale

Expectations

• During class (students)
• Arrive on time and prepared
• Seek help when needed

• After class (students)
• Complete any assignments
• Prepare for exams and quizzes

• Any time (parents)
• Don't hesitate to contact me

Obviously, this isn't a plan. This is a set of guidelines and expectations. Of course, a plan consists of actions and contingencies with a stated outcome. My reasoning for not offering a complete plan was that I could think of so many management contingencies in a classroom that it would be impractical to write them all down. 

This "plan" was appealing to me for many reasons. First, it's easily digestible. No one wants to wade through pages and pages of planning - and no one will. A long plan covering all classroom contingencies would simply go unread. Second, I could derive all my rules and regulations from this set of bullets - especially the first set. In the classes that I had taught (college), people knew what was respectful and responsible so there was no point in elaborating. If someone acts disrespectfully or irresponsibly, you call them on it and they acknowledge it and you all move on. So that, I reasoned, was that.

Not so.

In a classic example of the lesson I've learned again and again this year: they are not like me. Simply put, I overestimated the maturity level of my students. Or I've just forgotten what it's like to be an upperclassman in high school. When called on their (obviously) bad behavior, they have an almost infinite capacity to argue, reject what they're being told, and repeat the bad behavior. This is simply part of their stage of development, when kids are exploring all the ways they can assert themselves.

In many ways, I've been a pushover this year. I think that's been due to a combination of my thinking that they'll grow out of their need to assert, combined with my being "gun shy" about punishment. From my perspective now, the former simply isn't going to happen. Assertion, simply for the sake of assertion, comes with the territory at this age. So let's focus on the latter, which is the real driver for the need of a management plan.

Punishment. Consequences. I didn't want to be a disciplinarian, and thought that the kids would just like me enough that I wouldn't have to be. And, to be fair, in the majority of cases, this is absolutely true. But there will be those who you can't count on to behave. Whether it be through peer pressure, the power of your personality, or whatever, there will be those who are impervious to anything except consequences. And since  a few unruly students can have a profound effect on classroom dynamics, you have to have a plan. And you have to be ready to execute.

I still think that a comprehensive list of infractions and punishments is useless. But I strongly suggest that a new teacher start by picking one law that shall be iron-clad in the classroom. If you don't know where you'll be working yet, just choose something reasonable (no gum, no dress-code infractions, no cell phones, whatever). You can change it when you get a job if you wish. If you do know where you'll be working, talk to someone else in the department and get an idea of what school rules kids tend to take liberties with and choose one of those. It really doesn't matter which, just pick one. Next determine consequences. Are you a three-strikes kind of person? That's fine, but what happens at the third strike? Is it a referral? Detention? Call home? You should also seek the advice of colleagues here - understand what punishments you can administer for your chosen infraction, and find out how to do it. Make your plan and tell everyone the rule and the consequence on day 1. Then do not miss a chance to enforce it.

This is still obviously not a complete classroom management plan. I'm still not even sure I know what a classroom management plan is since you have to make so many decisions every single day, and it's impractical to attempt to account for them all with a "plan". No, the point of this is really twofold: to get you comfortable with being the police in your new job, and to impress upon the students that when you say that a certain law applies in your classroom, that it's pointless and even self-defeating to experiment with boundaries. Regardless of what a classroom management plan really is, I believe that this is a first, essential step towards managing a classroom. And  it may sound callous, but there should be a few students of whom you can make an example in the first week or two of school. There will be those who push you simply to see if you'll punish them. You can either punish them or not, but not punishing them is an invitation for them to push harder. And they will. It's a mindless game that I didn't want to acknowledge that I'd have to play, but I have to remind myself where they are in their development: they're learning to assert themselves and they look for opportunities to practice.

Since the point is to practice your new role and get your students accustomed to it as well, it's easy to see that it doesn't matter much what rule you choose to enforce, as long as it's reasonable. And you'll be able to add/subtract rules later as you understand what factors affect your classroom the most. But if you start with no precedent or expectation of consequences, it's very difficult to establish these things later on. What if you fear that you might be too harsh out of the gate? To make a potentially offensive analogy: it's far easier to start with a tight leash and loosen it than it is to start with a long leash and then tighten it. And I believe you'll have greater respect from a lot of your students if you demonstrate firm consistency when challenged on your rules.

So choose a rule and a consequence, and practice. Good classroom management will come with experience, and I hope this helps you accelerate the process.

Dead of Winter

I've been taken over by this malaise. I feel like I'm still adrift in many ways - I haven't all my lessons planned out; I'm kind of "feeling" my way from one unit to the next; I feel connected to the students one day and completely foreign to them the next; inspired this week, despairing the next. 

Maybe it's the season, or maybe this is just the way teaching is with cyclic highs and lows. But to find the motivation to get back to a high... Ugh. I had all weekend (a 4-day weekend no less!) to catch up/plan/get ready to kick ass. And I didn't. I knocked a bunch stuff off my to-do list, but I found myriad excuses to avoid doing school-related work. Why? Am I not cut out for this? Am I just not into it? I don't believe that - I spent quite a long time talking to my mom this weekend about how to motivate students, so It's not that I'm not into it. Whatever it is, I could use a dose of motivation.

Job satisfaction

I was paid perhaps the biggest compliment of my professional career two days ago: a good* student of mine said that I should teach engineering. When I asked him why, he replied that he would be taking engineering next year and he wanted me as his teacher.

Best feeling ever.

* He is not a good student because of his comment - he was good on his own merit before he said anything!

Self-improvement

As I sit here on the eve of my second semester, it occurs to me that I have two big problems: understanding what I need to work on most, and how to work on those things.

I need to improve my own teaching, I'm sure. But which things do I target? How do I prioritize the list? How do I go about improving?

I feel like I should work on improving the class itself. But what to work on, how to prioritize, and what course of action to take are the big issues.

It's not that I can't think of a single thing to work on, it's that there are so many candidates I'm not sure where to start. My focus over the next month will be to get a clear vision on what/how to improve. I suppose that'll be the purpose of this blog too: to track both the plan and the progress against it.