Introduction
There is always a question as to how to encourage students to listen, pay attention, and interact within the classroom environment. Too often it is seen that those who excel by choice are at the forefront of the classroom while those who are either not as adept at the given subject or are less interested fade into the background. Professor Dylan Williams and his ideas on how to better engage the entire classroom are both innovative and simplistic enough that students of all skill levels can participate and feel relatively equal. To teach effective equality within the classroom it is necessary to find a method that can be utilized by students of all skill levels.
Definition of Study
The study initiated by Professor Williams is simple enough to understand and to implement, but the change that it demands is by no means easy or well-received in its beginning phases. In fact it is fair to state that much of what goes on in the first days of Williams’ new methods leans towards a very recalcitrant attitude on the part of the students, and a frustrated, even negative response from the teachers. In order to better understand and communicate with their students it is a firm belief that educators must implement behaviors that are based on respect and a healthy sense of curiosity (Cramer & Bennett, 2015, p18). In order to bring forth the potential of a student it is necessary that they feel as though their opinions matter and that the process of learning is a mutual benefit felt by both teacher and student.
inspiring in a way. His quote, “Smart is not something you are. Smart is something you get”
implies that intelligence is not an innate quality and is in fact earned (Doc Zoo, 2012). The issue
at hand is whether or not the children he observes are “getting” smart as they progress through
their schooling. What is noted is that those who are admittedly smarter and more active in class
are those who tend to excel as the school year continues on, while those who make the conscious
choice to not participate are those who eventually get left behind.
Methods
Active participation is a difficult concept to push on adolescents (Edwards, 2015, p27). This is proven when the professor introduces his first method of change to the teachers, who are willing to try at least but are still wary of how their students will react. Using lollipop sticks with the names of the students written on them the teachers utilize this method in seeking to gain full class participation. Unfortunately the effects are not as widely accepted as those who participated regularly felt left out and those who do not felt targeted. In short the teachers and the students had to become used to the method by finding ways to make it work, creating another challenge in classroom dynamics where the difficulty with participation was already an issue.
The next method used was a mini whiteboard, or response card, on which the students could write out their lessons and answers to better facilitate communication and understanding between teacher and student. While initially this seems like a good idea and a very sound method to use in a classroom, a few of the teachers were a bit leery about its application. Upon its use the fear that the method would break down was unfortunately realized as students initially used the boards for their intended purpose. The proper use was in fact useful (STRENGTH) for a short time, but eventually the students began to take advantage of the new method and were seen to draw pictures and engage in other activities such as note passing and the like (WEAKNESS).
The mini whiteboards are a tool that are designed to insure that the entire class can be
engaged (STRENGTH), but it fails to take into account that it is much like the hand-raising
method that was proven to be technically ambiguous (WEAKNESS) (Heward, 1997, p44).
Teaching methods are typically expected to be inclusive and allow the teacher and student to connect so that comprehension and true understanding can take place. This facilitates learning by both the teacher and the student in a manner that is conducive to academic and interpersonal progress (Marzano, 2010, p83).
In another classroom, perhaps one where students had gained a bit of maturity and experience through one or more years of schooling, this method might have gained a better foothold. Within a classroom where the discipline of the average student is somewhat lax in relation to older students however it is bound to become defunct in a very short time. The act of using a response card for each student is an innovative and well-thought out idea, but fails when applied to students whose overall maturity has yet to fully develop. In truth no improvement was seen aside as even those students who did respond well to the method were overshadowed by the teacher’s efforts to control those who saw fit to use the chance to abuse the method.
Results
What is interesting are the views concerning such a classroom tool as opposed to what was seen in the film. Williams and such noted educators as Justus J. Randolph praise the use of the boards and claim that they are a boon to any classroom. In fact it is stated that the whiteboards are capable of all but abolishing the need for raising one’s hand or the possibility of negative and disruptive behavior (Randolph, 2005). As it seen this is true for those within the class who participate on a regular basis, but in the classrooms under Williams’ scrutiny such views were contradictory to what actually happened. Instead of replacing the hands-up habit and controlling behavior, the mini whiteboards only made it possible for students to misbehave and act out.
The rationale for the response cards is sound enough that it was worth trying, but not with
this particular class. In truth the teachers already knew the penchant of their students for misbehaving and despite being willing to take the chance knew very well what the outcome could be. Williams’ had obviously witnessed this method work in the past, and believed that it could be applied just as easily to this class, but did not seem to take into account the difference between students, teachers, and the attitudes that were to be overcome. While it is very likely that many students are similar in many ways, there are enough differences between one class to another that a method such as the response cards might find more resistance between one group and another.
While at least one behavior, raising their hands, was reduced by introducing the whiteboards it was among the only positive change that occurred. Instead of providing a means for students who did not normally participate in class the whiteboards gave the students another method by which to act out. The baseline attitudes for classrooms that feature students with varying levels of skill is at times difficult to gauge, and in truth it seems more likely that the whiteboards, as good of an intention as they were, offered just another chance for the students to find a way to torment their teacher. In the single classroom that was actually focused upon it was seen that the teacher could not adequately control her students to the degree that was needed when employing the whiteboards.
This led to the abolishment of the response cards as a useful method. The idea is sound
and can be applied with ease. The unfortunate truth remains that students who are not wholly
invested in their education or the subject at hand will find the means to subvert the same lessons
that they do not wish to study. Such behaviors do not indicate deviance in adolescents, only a
decidedly different learning style that must be addressed. The response cards are a very effective
tool within the classroom, but are perhaps best for a student body that has had the chance to
mature beyond what the adolescents being tested have experienced.
The reactions to the response cards were to be expected, as the teachers were quite
doubtful despite being willing to try. The students on the other hand were rather indifferent as it
was yet another method by which to get them involved, which in turn meant that it was another
method that some of them could, and did, exploit. Williams’ ideas do have a great deal of merit
and are proven, but one very important fact that must be taken into consideration is that each
classroom is different. A classroom in which the students possess varying academic skill is
going to be even more varied, and thus harder to please. While the response cards were in fact well-received in the beginning they were not as efficiently used as Williams might have liked.
Discussion
It is difficult at times to engage students on a level that they will understand and respond
performance of many students, and must be carefully monitored and guided in order to reach
their maximum potential (Harbour, Evanavich, Sweigart, Hughes, 2015, p5). Williams’
techniques can be invaluable to most any classrooms, but by listening to the students and their
feedback, as was shown between one teacher and two of her students, it is possible to find an
appropriate and useful level on which to reach students. In this manner it becomes far more
likely that students will ask for help when needed, and eventually seek to become a part of the
What must be taken into consideration as well is how credible the information gathered
useful but did not cover a wide enough scope that might make them seem indispensable to the
entire student body. To insure that such methods are in fact applicable to every student it is
important to gauge such benefits using the CAREful Research Initiative (Levin & O’Donnell, 1999, p178). The CAREful approach, which stands for Comparison, Again and again, Relationship, and Elimination, seeks to maintain and evaluate the credibility of any and all methods used to educate individuals.
Comparisons are important as the method must be compared to a similar intervention or a
non-intervention scenario. Again and again seeks to test the replication of the method in order to
Relationship with the intervention and the outcome for it to be effective, and it must be possible to Eliminate all other likely reasons for the outcome before a source can be counted as credible. In this manner it is highly possible to define a credible and effective method by which to engage students in the classroom and hold their attention for more than a few minutes at a time. In this manner the methods used by Williams could possibly become both useful and validated if enough students were to show at least some improvement in their studies.
In terms of the response cards the CAREful system could not be used to validate Williams’ study as the cards did not work. They were an abysmal failure initially and could not be used to change the students’ behaviors. The cards were simply too tempting for many students and soon became little more than doodle pads and methods by which to disrupt the class, leading to the teachers abolishing their use. In truth there was comparison, but no again and again, meaning the test was not successfully replicated and therefore could not establish a relationship or elimination in regards to how the cards worked. In truth the only true amount of change came around when the teachers began to listen to their students rather than develop a method that would force them to change.
Once the teachers were allowed to understand what they excelled at and what could be
done better from the perspective of the students, things tended to get better. Too many teachers
in too many schools have become so reliant upon rigid and unyielding structure that they have
forgotten that their students require change along with continuity to truly learn. The dynamic
between student and teacher needs to remain as it is with the teacher in control, but the teacher
must also recognize that students are not mindless automatons to be pandered to. Children
understand the importance and value of their schooling, but must be able to communicate with their teachers when they are struggling, and be able to expect their teachers to respond.
Conclusion
The profession of teaching is a difficult venture in some regards to begin with, but when dealing with the task of catering even a single lesson to the needs of students that vary in their interests and degrees of skill it can seem to be a lesson in futility. Having been through such situations in the past Williams obviously is not daunted by the prospect, nor is he willing to quit. There is no flex in his program when it comes to gaining results, though there is plenty of room for failure and re-evaluation as is needed. Quitting on students is not an option, but finding new and effective methods can at times require the dismissal or complete renovation of ideas to produce methods that will actually see some degree of success.
The methods of learning that Williams brings are tested and proven, but the methods that work for one classroom will not always work for another. Adolescents vary in many ways and as such their lessons must become varied as well in an effort to engage and educate each one of them. The act of educating students is a role that is fundamentally important in order to insure that the youth of this generation and those to come are capable and able to function in a world where the skills and knowledge they develop will help them to thrive. In order to survive they must get smarter, and in order to get smarter they must find new ways to learn.
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