Learning Partnership

Motivation

In my experience as a parent and manager, I’ve found that there is no substituting motivation in the formula for success. In education, motivation requires both that the student understand why a topic is valuable to them and that they see a viable path to success. The first is sometimes referred to as an academic mindset (Hammond and Jackson, n.d.). Demonstrating value in mathematics is often challenging to implement in the full range of students. In From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement, Pinto writes about the Engagement classroom model and states that all students can benefit, but some subsets of students are more likely to benefit (Pinto, 2017). With clear benefits, I feel it is important to clearly communicate that value to the student and differentiate as necessary to support the entire classroom. The second ingredient to motivation is belief in a path to success. Carol Dweck’s describes a “not yet mindset” in her “The power of believing that you can improve” TED talk (Dweck, 2019). I will “outlaw” talk of “I’m just not good at math” in my classroom and replace it with “not yet” statements.

Resilient Structure

Routines and procedures organize the classroom to facilitate the activities that take place therein. The first days of school talks extensively of the value of a well-structured classroom (Wong et al., n.d.), stating that it is a prerequisite to an effective teaching environment. Indeed, this matches up well with my experience. I communicate and practice procedures for all common activities – such as start of period, focusing attention, bathroom, checking assignments, late work, seeking help, and forming groups.

Learning Partnership

I see myself as a partner in the learning process, rather than a gatekeeper. Hammond talks of this relationship in Culturally responsive teaching and the brain (Hammond and Jackson, n.d.), stating that it should be founded on caring and trust. We are all human, playing roles in the class. There is a natural alignment of motivation that can be divided by mistrust. I am pursuing teaching to have a positive impact on young minds. Displaying caring, validation, and concern will help build a positive partnership for learning.

References

Dweck, C. (2019). The power of believing that you can improve. [online] Ted.com. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en [Accessed 21 Nov. 2019].

Hammond, Z. and Jackson, Y. (n.d.). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain.

Pinto, L. (2017). From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Wong, H., Wong, R., Martinez, W. and Martinez, W. (n.d.). The first days of school.