High Performance Learning Environments

Roller Coaster Physics

From the roller coaster video, it sounds like the teacher gives them a design goal and lets them experiment. This is fundamentally different from providing a set of instructions on how to build something, and sends a message to students that their teacher believes them capable of solving complex problems. Asking them to design an optimal track, rather than to meet some minimum distance, suggests that the teacher expects great work (this class might get the marble to travel further than last year or the year before).

She encourages them to use the technical vocabulary of physics, and limits materials to constrain students where others might be tempted to make it easier.

Collaborative group work is the norm in this class. The teacher trusts her class to work in teams, and for every student to do their part.

Chiming- the teacher expects students to share responsibility and solve problems as a group.

Self-assessment and peer assessment- the teacher believes students can reflect meaningfully on their own work and others.  

Roller Coaster glog

The teacher sets students up for success by providing examples of completed work and a detailed planner/rubric. Offering up to 120% credit incentivizes students to perform up to and beyond a high standard.

It’s a collaborative project, so the teacher simply expects the students to be working during class time. If this applies equally to every member of every group, I think it qualifies as a high expectation.

The teacher has set high expectations for punctuality and late/make up work. Tying students’ attendance directly to their grade suggests that class time is taken seriously.

Chinese Math

Expectations are high and excuses are not accepted. It looks like the typical Chinese classroom goes by the “one size fits all” approach. This doesn’t look like much fun, but the multiplication tables are something students need to memorize anyway. They start with multiplication early because so much else in math is just faster  once you know it.

Rigid conformity is enforced. Speculatively, the students might have a hard time applying their elite math skills to cross-disciplinary problems, though I teach Chinese nationals and I’ve never noticed this.

The extra hours of weekly practice vis-a-vis the western system undoubtedly make the difference in student performance. For me, the question is: Is being rock-solid in arithmetic worth a two-hour nightly homework regime for every single student?

Whole-Brain Teaching    

WBT sets high expectations for participation. As we know, students learn more when they are involved, and even more when they have to teach someone else.Techniques like teach-ok and switch ensure peer-to-peer learning is part of regular classroom procedure.

“If rules are only posted on your board they are not really a part of your class. You must have the rules running around in your students’ heads for them to be effective.”

• “Five Classroom Rules”, Whole Brain Teaching

Each rule has a gesture to go with it, and teachers are encouraged to rehearse the rules “first thing in the morning, after lunch, and after recess” every day for elementary classes. The students are given to understand that the rules are really important. The rules tightly regulate student movement and classroom procedure: students must signal for permission to speak or leave their seat. The expectation is for an orderly, efficient learning environment.

WBT offers a wide assortment of motivational techniques designed to keep students engaged. The “Scoreboard” provides students with running behavioral feedback. Positive reinforcement and gamification help students to really learn classroom procedure, so it begins to become second nature.

I’d like to incorporate some Whole Brain Teaching techniques into a “free-range” collaborative classroom similar to the “Rollercoaster physics” class.

Students could collaborate in small groups on a video that showcases some element of the English language (past, present, or future tense, pronouns, prepositions, etc.). They could choose from topics already covered that year so they could use their notes and completed work for reference.

As they work together, I will periodically use “class-yes” to refocus class attention. A group member will be selected to “chime” at least daily,  updating the class as a whole on group progress and problems. Aside from work on the video itself, classwork will take the form of peer- and self-assessments and rehearsal of class procedures and good teamwork practices.

I teach elementary ELL students from China, Thailand, and South Korea. It would take very well-rehearsed class procedures and my syllabus for the whole term would have to be well organized and structured to give them enough background on a variety of topics that each group will have a choice, with plenty of resources and previous instruction to draw upon.

The video project will have a detailed rubric, which i will spend class time explicitly teaching so that students know exactly what is expected of them going forward.