I found it made all the difference
— in my motivation — to watch a demonstration of creating a podcast. To be more
explicit: watching someone else walk through the steps.
I also appreciate having
step-by-step written instructions featuring screen shots. I did refer to them
as I did my independent work. But I think had I only been given this
instruction, I would have felt inclined to give up — which is not the same as
actually giving up, because I wouldn’t have seen that as an option, but the feelings would be have been present.
It’s worthwhile to pause and
reflect on this experience and its implications for teaching.
I consider myself a highly skilled
reader. I’m experienced at reading “difficult” texts. I’ve got a stable of
familiar strategies for confronting unfamiliar words, comprehending complex
syntax, unpacking dense ideas.
Despite this, I get overwhelmed
with written instructions when it addresses a subject completely new to me. In
other words, it’s difficult for me to learn how
to do something new from written information. Even with recipes, feeling
insecure leads me to constantly check and recheck steps. This feels
inefficient.
In a classroom setting, when
students are facing learning how to do something new by relying on written
instruction, I shudder to imagine what it must be like for students who don’t
have the same reading skills and strategies, extra years of life experience
(i.e., background knowledge), and perhaps even motivation to try (giving up
might be a very valid option).
The last part of that, motivation,
is something I’d like to explore.
Motivation is comprised of three
parts:
1.
self-expectation & self-efficacy
2.
performance orientation & mastery
orientation
3.
intrinsic motivation & extrinsic motivation
In learning a process, modeling can help with all of these aspects
of motivation. By making a process familiar, students have a better grasp of
what is expected of them and a better sense of their ability to meet these
expectations, both through the opportunity to recognize strengths (“I can do
that!”) and weaknesses (“I know I will need to get help for that.”). Hopefully,
as students feel more secure, their intrinsic motivation will be stronger; that
is, there will be less of an inclination to see giving up as an option. I will
also argue that modeling may boost extrinsic motivation in that students may
feel a sense of obligation to try out of respect for the person who has
invested his or her own time and effort modeling the task.
This has got me thinking about
situations in a middle school language-arts classroom where — using a SMART
board (or an old-fashioned projector) — I might model a task or skill to students.
Here’s a few ideas:
·
Talking to
the Text: I can model to students what Talking to the Text looks like.
·
Resume:
I can create a profile of an example student. Having prompts filled out
(interests, experience) would model to the students how I want them to compile
their personal information. In class, I can then model to students the process
of taking that information and formatting it into a resume.
·
Bibliographic
citation: I can show students where to look in text for the information
required in a citation and model formatting.
·
Editing/Proofreading:
I can demonstrate how to go over one’s work for spelling, punctuation, grammar,
etc.
This (short) list (I encourage you to add your own ideas)
begs two questions:
2. Isn't that what teaching is, anyway?
Yes and yes!
My point is that sometimes we need to be reminded. As the
adage goes for writing, so should it be for teaching: Show don’t tell.
I found your comments on the podcast exercise to be very helpful. I'm actually the opposite of you, in that I'd rather get printed instructions and do it myself than watch it be modeled, so it was beneficial for me to see another perspective. It's so interesting when two people have such different take-aways on the same activity. I think that as teachers it is easy to get caught up in doing what works for you without considering what works best for your students. In that sense your post was an eye-opener for me. I'm curious, though. When you consider the wide range of preferences that your students might exhibit, how will you plan instruction to benefit the most students possible? Will you always provide extensive modeling? Or will you give students chances to do things with less guidance (say, providing them with a list of steps to follow on a given assignment)? This is something I'm struggling with so I would love to hear your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that modeling should play a large role in instruction, but even more so when it comes to the use of technology. Students need to learn what the various forms of technology are used for in an educational setting (since many of them probably already have a general sense from outside of school), what your expectations are in terms of assignments, and how to use them appropriately.
Very thought-provoking :)
I like your statement, "I would have felt inclined to give up — which is not the same as actually giving up."
ReplyDeleteOur brain gets this confused sometimes. We have to keep at it, even if our initial first feelings are not so hot. I have felt that a lot on several different levels this semester....but be have to keep plodding along!
"I found it made all the difference — in my motivation — to watch a demonstration of creating a podcast. To be more explicit: watching someone else walk through the steps."
ReplyDeleteI agree that instruction by example can add to the motivation of learners. The very idea that a task can be accomplished is strengthened by the physical image of that task being accomplished. It is a powerful teaching tool.
When we are asked to present (model) article summaries or chapter main ideas, we invest great effort in producing ordered, concise, accurate and creative presentations that will indicate to our instructor and our classmate that we comprehend the material. If we get it just right, we enrich our, and our audience's understanding of the material,
My point is here that students can get just as much motivation from creating the model as from watching it.
I appreciate the distinction you provided between giving up and feeling as though you wanted to give up. I feel that, as teachers, it is important for us to not assume just because a student doesn’t actually give up, that he didn’t experience any struggles. Students should not only feel obligated to do their work but should want to do it, whether it be for pleasure or for future application. And I love the way you constructed this message in your post, exploring motivation and modeling and even how you would address the related issues with an article of technology. What a well composed blog post, pulling in knowledge from so many courses and perspectives!
ReplyDelete