During the autumn term I have been really focusing on motivation as a cause of learning with my GCSE History class. I believe that one of the biggest, but often overlooked, causes of motivation comes from feeling part of something. Students in a class that they feel part of are much more likely to fulfill their potential. This blog post is about explaining how I have tried to ensure my students feel part of something.
Before getting into this post it seems important to point out that I do not profess to give all (or even any) answers. I am simply reflecting on my own experience and sharing my thoughts about it. I really hope that other educators and the students I teach will comment or Tweet about what I have written and give me any advice they deem helpful.
Before I can explain how I have tried to achieve my aim a little context is needed. The nature of my group is vertical. I have 5 year 11's, 14 year 10's and 6 year 9's in my GCSE history class. They are all studying history for one year with 5 teaching hours a week.
The makeup of my class obviously poses some difficult problems especially if my aim is to make them feel part of something. They are essentially a random group of pupils. There are friendship groups within the class but they would normally never be a group in any other context except for the 5 hours a week they share with me.
They are a very hard working group. They nearly always work in absolute silence. It would be easy for me to rock back and let them get on with it; 'it' being anything I set. I am confident that if I prescribed a lesson of copying out the textbook they would simply get on with it. This adds to the challenge. You can't feel part of something you do not engage with and sitting, well behaved, in silence is not engagement.
I share this context because although the group I am writing about is unique it is similar to lots of classes that I have taught and many that you may have taught or been part of.
Non-Historical Activities
In the run up to Christmas I held a Christmas party for my GCSE class. It was a kind of "faith tea." Everybody in the class brought some food. I brought the Christmas crackers and the plates. This could seem a remarkable move especially with an exam straight after Christmas. No history was learnt. But I strongly believe that the time apparently 'wasted' was actually very beneficial. The students in the class were part of something together that was new. After the exam I have promised to spend a lesson playing games with the class. They'll be challenges involving throwing paper into buckets and knocking over various items. The class will be in teams. In this setting the class will again be part of something together. I believe that these non-historical activities will have a major positive impact on the learning that occurs during the 'real' lessons and at home.
An Online Class Space
During this year I have really developed my use of Wiki's, Twitter and YouTube. I have set up two Wiki's for the January exam. These are, I have been told, useful for revision. They include written notes, videos of me and videos the class have produced. The Wiki's also provide a focal point for the class online. Not all the group use them for revision but for those that do I hope it has the effect of making them feel part of something. Most of the class have twitter and follow me. This further adds to that feeling of being part of something and often in the class students say they have seen what I am talking about on Twitter.
Using Co-Construction to Help Plan lessons
During this term I have really developed the use of students to help co-construct the lessons. I use a group of 4 or 5 students from the group and we meet for one lunchtime a week to discuss the lessons that have gone and topics coming up. I change my group of co-constructors about every half-term. Using co-construction really adds to the feeling of being part of something. This is especially true when we complete an activity that the students have helped design in class. They have helped to create the lesson so they must feel part of it. Co-construction also helps me to gauge how the students understand the topic. "I've got all the ideas but I think if we could do an annotated timeline next lesson then I’d really understand it." Next lesson we do the timeline and not just the student who suggests it but the whole class probably feel happier with the topic. The student who suggests it really feels part of the class because they helped create the lesson.
Getting to Know your Students
This is very simple. But you cannot expect the students to feel part of the lesson if you do not know who they are. I've been thinking whether I could speak for 30 seconds about each student in my class. This has helped me to get a clear understanding of whom I need to get to know better. I will get talking to those students when we get back. I have been helping a student over twitter and ended the conversation with 'Did you get a Leeds Utd calendar for Christmas?' or with another 'Did you get any Justin Biebs posters for Christmas?' Knowing about your students really helps them to feel part of something. (Sorry if I've been teaching you to suck eggs)
Letting your Students get to Know You
I really try to let tell my GCSE class about my life. I am the only person in my class that everybody knows well. That might be sad but at least it's a start. Most of my class follows Mister West on Twitter. All are interested what I might be getting for Christmas. All like watching my videos on YouTube! If the students know their teacher as a person then they will feel part of that person's life. Sharing stories about my life is one of the ways that I can make the whole class feel part of something.
I really hope you have found what I have written interesting. I really hope you can comment or tweet me about it.