Nurturing the spark
How do I preserve this joy?
POP
As I noticied zoom fatigue among the students, I thought to myself what could I do to bring this joy and fun back in the classroom. I thought about what I knew about the students and how I could tie their interests into the lessons and activities. I spent time learning more about all the students, asking them questions and having conversations. Through these connections, fun was able to return back into the classroom!
Artifact: Engagment Form
Through this engagment form, I was better able to form connections between students as well as between the lessons. I was able to create activities that related to student interests creating engagement. In addition, the students were able to notice connections with one another helping to create a community.
"You care about the students' interests and hobbies outside of the classroom and adapt the material to fit their interest in order to get more participation and engagement"
C.M.
Engagement form:
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I noticed as the months passed, the students were becoming less engaged and not putting as much effort into their work. I thought about going back to the basics: "What is the most important part of the classroom?" The answer to the question is relationships. I thought about how to connect with my students and create a space where their interests and connections are valued. I know that I want all students to feel active in their learning and that our classroom is a place where all are seen, heard and cared for. As I thought about this, I spent time thinking about when are students the most happy and what can I do to bring this out.
Because of this, I sent out an engagement form to learn more about the students and their interests by asking specific questions. The questions ranged from their favorite thing to do after school, or their favorite song, or something special that they wanted me to know. After reviewing the answers, I realized that I could use some of the information about their interests and connect it to activities and lessons helping students see they are valued as included in Smith et. al (2015) pg. 26. For example, many of the students wrote down how they like the game: “Among Us”, so I created math warm ups using that theme. Also, I included some of their favorite games including freeze dance and musical chairs. I asked the students about their favorite songs and used it to create a class playlist. I played this music as a way to start the day during Morning Meeting and throughout the day during brain breaks.
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All these activities, no matter how small, demonstrated to the students that they are cared for and seen in this classroom, as a “Hey that is my favorite song- brings a lot of joy.” This approach to teaching and learning with and from the students can be described as Flux Pedagogy. In this way, I have been able to shift my mindset over the year in order to be more adaptable and responsive to student needs. Through keeping the students needs and interests in my mind, I have been able to continue to be reflexive in my practices noted in Ravitch and Carl (2020) (pg.1-4). Learning occurs when students are active, and through this flux pedagogy I have been able to align needs and interests noted from Flux Pedagogy by Ravitch (2020).
Creating connections with students:
"Hey I love this song!"
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"Wait this is my favorite song. Can you show us what the playlist looks like!"
Students
“Knowing the children we teach- individually, culturally, and developmentally- is as important as knowing the content we teach.” (Kriete & Davis, 2014, pg.4).
Lunch Bunch
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The students are not allowed to stay on during lunch time without supervision. I noticed how much they wanted and needed that interaction with one another. Students love having the chance of free talk, so we have it on schedule for every Thursday. As a result, I created a lunch bunch as a way for the students to have the chance to talk and socialize with their peers. I noticed that they needed and wanted it.
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Every week during lunch bunch, they are always so happy to have the chance to stay on, play and interact with their friends. It is so nice to see so many smiling faces and hear laughter. I have heard from some students that, “This lunch bunch is pretty cool and I had so much fun.” Some students have told me that it was, “The best lunch time ever” and “Can't wait to have it again.” I am so happy that students have this time to just be kids. In this way, I hope the classroom becomes a community in that, “A place where students feel cared about and encouraged to care about one another. They experience a sense of being valued and respected….” (pg. 101- John Chapter 7). I valued students responses about what fun looks like and incorporated free talk through the lunch bunch.
Artifact: Student pictures
One of the students' favorite actvities is having free talk with their peers. I knew how much they loved this and needed which I why I created a lunch bunch as a way for students to have more free talk time throughout the day. The students always left these lunch bunches with a smile on their faced and asked when the next one would be happening.
Artifact: Class Website (click the link)
The goal of the clas website is to create a place where students work is seen and known. It is important for all studens to feel acknowledged in the classroom and the website is a way for students to feel this. In addition, it is a way for their work to be shared as many times throughout the day we do not have the time for all students to share their work. WIth this, all students' work will be seen.
Creation of a Class Website:
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As the months passed, I noticed that the quality of work varied from students with not all students putting in their best effort. They wanted to just be done with assignments. After reflecting on this, I better understood why. We were not spending any time having students share all the work they were doing or acknowledging the effort they were putting in. I want them to be proud of their work which is why I created a class website. This class website allows the students to not only see their work posted, but also their peers. When introducing the class website to the class, I could tell they were excited to see their work online. The website was also shared with parents and guardians which is a way to increase connections between home and school as well as for parents/guardians to know what their children are working on in school. It is a nice way to give students positive recognition and create a space for their work to be seen and can be included in the Ready for Rigor Framework with noting, "help[ing] students cultivate a positive mindset and sense of self-efficacy."(Hammond, pg.17.
This creation of a class website allows students to contribute and notice the personal connections to their work, described as authentic learning in Herrman (2018). Students were able to be involved in the learning.
Simple Conversations:
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One favorite part of my day and students is the conversations that we have. During these unplanned conversations, I am able to learn about what they like to do on their weekend, their family and even hear some jokes. These conversations allow us to form a relationship helping to create trust and support throughout the day. Overall, relationships are what is so important in order for learning to occur as, "High quality teacher-student relationships are another critical factor in determining student engagement" (Fredricks, 2014).
There is one student in particular who has not showed up to class consistently leading him to fall behind in work and miss important assignments. Rather than just focusing on the work he needs to complete when he logs on, I have been spending time in breakout rooms getting to know him more each day. I found out he is a huge Golden State Warriors fan which is something we were able to connect with and talk about as I love watching basketball. I could tell how excited he was to have a conversation about basketball and the different players. I talked to him about the upcoming games, and told him that he needs to come on everyday because there is always a game and we need to talk about what is happening.
Having this little connection has gone a long way and is something that I am able to draw on through not just personal conversations, but use it in lessons and activities. Through these connections, I was able to "Build mutual trust and respect." (Hammond, pg. 19). The students had to write a "How to" Writing piece, and had about a week to work on it. He came in on the last day, and I spent the time working with him on it. I knew his love for basketball so writing a how to piece about basketball was the perfect option. He was excited to write and I was there helping him brainstorm. He was able to finish it in two days! Something as small as a connection over basketball has been a way to increase his interest and excitement.
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This conversation is something that is crucial for children, both in the present, but also as they progress in the future. Real conversations are what is authentic and allows children to exchange reactions and ideas described in Engel (2018) (pg.4 & pg.9).
"Ms. Bloch- where are you teaching next year?
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I will be going back home to New York.
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"Aw, can you please teach at Nebinger. If you dont teach 3rd grade, you can teach 2nd grade so my sister can have you"
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-Conversation with student
Artifact: Journal 3/24
This artifact reminds me how important relationships are in the classroom and the great impact they have. In order for relationships to form, students must feel they are in a trusting and supportive environment. I am able to form these connections through learning about their interests, having conversations and making sure all students feel acknowledged.
"Can I please work with Ms. Bloch in breakout rooms?"
Student
"You create personal connections
with the students"
C.M.
"They love working with you in both whole and small groups!"
C.M.
"I sent all the students cards in the mail for the holidays. Throughout the week, many of them have been telling me that they have been receiving them and they love it. I heard from one parent, how the child hung it up on the wall. One other student told me how it made her so happy and she put it next to her gift."
Artifact: Journal 1/19
A card in the mail reminds the students that I care for them. With the students knowing I care for them, everything else in the classroom is able to follow. Through these relationships, students are able to feel seen and heard leading to increased engagement.
You've got mail:​
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I have sent the students letters in the mail over the holidays as a little way for them to know that I am thinking of them. Right when we got back the first day after winter break, many students told me they received a letter from me. Even some parents let me know how excited their child was to receive something in the mail and hung it up on their fridge. The students were able to see that I care for them and want them to succeed. All these little actions are ways to ensure that students feel safe in that, “to take intellectual risks, they must be comfortable…” (Kohn, 1996, pg. 103).
"It is awesome to give them these special, warm and cozy moments even though they are not in a traditional school setting."
C.L.
Making sure students are seen and heard in the classroom has been a way for their effort and engagement to increase. Having a relationship with the students is the foundation of the classroom as everything else is able to follow. In order to have this relationship, I must create this space for all students.