Ashley's Reading Notes #8

I enjoyed reading Lang’s chapter about re-energizing the class because I am at that point in the semester where I have lost energy. I went from the quarter’s system to a semester system and I find myself losing interest because semesters can become long. I think teachers also experience this decreased energy and they feed off of the students. Lang provided good examples on how to re-energize that class. I especially liked his concept of the poster boards and found it very relevant to any subject. All of these ideas were good, but how do you incorporate them into your course schedule? Do you change your schedule or just not worry about it?

The faq section was very interesting and gave me some insight on how to handle situations. Davis and Lang both touched on disruptive situations in the classroom and if I had not read this, I would not know how to handle them. I do disagree a little with Davis’s suggestion of singling out a late student and make them answer questions. Many times students feel bad for being late and sometimes it is out of their control for why they were late. By singling them out, that student may not participate again in the classroom. What are some better ways to address late students, especially the ones that are chronically late?

How much control should you have over a classroom? The excerpt from learner-centered teaching says that teachers like to have the power and control. Lang suggests that teachers need to set policies for disruptive behaviors, i.e. cell phones and lap tops. As an instructor to make the classroom more learner-centered, should I give the students more say on what they think is acceptable? I do think some teachers can be very strict and I have experienced that in my undergraduate classes. I had an instructor that would make students remove their ball caps in class and during exams all cell phones had to be placed on the front table. That class was more of a teacher-centered class that had very strict policies. The learner-centered excerpt provided examples on how to balance the power, but as a first year teacher I think I would be nervous to try some of the methods. I liked the ideas of students choosing their assignments and setting classroom policies. Is this something as a young teacher I want to dive into right away? What are some other suggestions in making a classroom more learner-centered?