PLE post 3

My classroom will require a great deal of structure simply because of the nature of the courses I teach.  As such I try to keep the flow and form of each class similar in order to keep the classroom as conducive to learning as possible.  With math, there is so much that has to be crammed into a single semester that it can be overwhelming to think about.  Providing a routine, stable environment will help ground the students and keep them feeling confident about the class.  If they know each day is the same structure, then if they miss a day, they will be less worried about how to make up for the missed work.
Along with this I will enforce some basic rules of respect for me and for others so that there are fewer hindrances to learning all the material that will be presented.  As for the content itself, I will explain and model the types of problems I expect them to do so that they don't feel like they are on their own trying to figure out the material.  Along with that modeling I will provide guided notes which include the problems we practice in class so that the students do not have to spend the entire class writing out problems and can focus on solving problems.

With the high school case study of a group of seniors who have lost interest in class toward the end of the year I would begin by reminding them that their grade is still on the line.  With math being a core class, I have a different set of motivations available to me.  First, if they are in a math class during their senior year it is most likely that they need it as a graduation requirement.  My first step would be to tell them that for them graduation depended on their performance in my class.  I would tell them that I understood their anxiousness to be done and explain that I will do everything I can to help them succeed and pass my class, but I will not allow them to detract from the learning of other student.  I would tell them that everthing I am covering in class is something they need in order to pass, thus making the material relevant to their situation.  Then I would explain that if they continued to disrupt the class I would remove them from the class which would dramatically reduce their chance of passing and dramatically increase their chance of having to retake the course.  In my experience, no one wants to retake a math course, so the threat of having to do so is a powerful motivator.  Delaying graduation would be a powerful motivation as well.  Again, with math being a core class and a graduation requirement, seniors will usually only take that class if they absolutely have to have it.
The process or progression I would use in dealing with these students is 1) a warning, 2) a conversation out in the hallway discussing their attitude, and 3) having to sit out in the hall away from their friends for a period of time.  After those three strategies I would then refer them to an assistant principal for further action.

PLE post 2

The theory of motivation that was most helpful to me was Task Value.  Task Value is the most relevant for high school math where I am asked nearly every day about the usefulness of the lesson.  If I provide real-world examples and make the relevance of the material more immediate and useful to my student's lives then they will likely be more interested in the material presented.  Including an applications portion at the beginning or end of each lesson to help bring the material home for them could go a long way in motivating them.

PLE Post 1

Some of the things I am most interested in learning in this class are classroom management techniques, learning theories, and how to reach diverse learners.  I hope to gain some techniques I can take out of this class to my own classroom that will help me become a more reflective and more engaging teacher.  I think this class will help me to better understand the students I will see infront of me each year.