This is a scholarly article on the students perceptions of the climate in the gym and how it enhances their goals in physical education. It is interesting because there are times that we all have bad days, but we can't let that effect the climate of the gym if we want our students to be and feel successful!
This article discusses achievement gap and students' perceptions within the learning environment. These ideas and understandings are necessary as the teacher develops the classroom environment for learning and finds solutions for learning and instructional gaps.
This article addresses the impact of praise on students. It is most often considered motivational and effective, but depending on its use, can do more harm than good. Willingham writes of several stipulations for effective praise. It should be sincere and spontaneous, earned, and focus on process, not ability.
Several studies are described to demonstrate a link between praise and motivation. It can produce greater interest in an activity, which may be quickly lost if praise is no longer present. As students mature, they are more likely to consider the implications of praise. If it is given for a menial task, or a task in which the student has not done quality work, they tend to feel that the teacher requires or expects less of them, which speaks to their perception of potential personal success. Willingham writes, "by not criticizing substandard work, the teacher implicitly says, "i believe that you are not capable of anything better".
The effects of praise are also affected by student resilience. If a student believes that his current ability can not be improved, then a failure to solicit praise is corroboration of his lack of intelligence. A student who believes abilities can be strengthened, may see it as a sign that he should keep working.
In considering how motivation impacts assessment grades, we must keep in mind that it is possible for motivation to transcend the activity itself. Praise and other teacher interactions can play an important role in shaping the learning attitudes of students as well.
This is an AWESOME article for our group! Motivation is a key element in our exploratory question and praise can play an important role. What I found interesting is that praise can be good or bad for student motivation purely based on how and when it is used. Some of the situations were fairly obvious, such as being sincere with the praise especially with the older kids. I know my students know when they put forth effort so it would be damaging to praise them when they have not. The element that I found to be surprising was the suggestion to complement the "process, not ability." I have been guilty of praising finished products rather than how the work was done.
The article shows how you can encourage student dialogue. In this study, the class was given a cartoon showing characters discussing a new or current class topic that has common misconceptions associated with it. After viewing the cartoon, students are asked to take sides and either defend or refute one of the characters' opinions about what they are expressing. This helps students focus on the topic because they are not reading an article or passage that is asking for feedback, but rather they are taking part in a sort of 'debate' amongst these characters. It is a starting point for a student centered lesson and helps the students feel more at ease in defending or arguing a point; they are talking about ideas that the 'cartoon character' has instead of an idea or concept that 'they' came up with.
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