Gold Mystery Photos - Week 2

Student of the........What?....

Well, the first month of school is practically down! Going back to the end-of-the-year award ceremony last year, I remember that students were awarded for different things than they are normally awarded for throughout the year. I decided to make these types of awards monthly. At least going along with my class, I've decided to create the following monthly recognitions for students:

Staples is my new best friend. I think these recognition pieces will reinforce the types of thinking and behaviors that currently take place in my class, as well as those that we need more of. It's not that math isn't important, but we can get through more math and create a better learning environment by reinforcing this positive social structure in my class.

Master Participators - These individual students are always attentive, tracking the speaker, and always have their hand ready to share their knowledge and understanding with the rest of the class.

Best Teamwork - To the groups that excel at always being on task, working together to complete a problem, incorporate all group members and follow all group norms

Best Effort - To those that show an eagerness to try their best and learn

Helps Others - Helps others in any sort of way. This could be with a problem, with passing in papers, or even with picking up something that dropped. These students are those that always help someone in need.

Groups of the Month - The groups that exhibit all of the qualities above.

Gold Mystery Photos - Week 1

The Effect of the Tokens

As with any system, it's important to note the pros and cons. I've made a list of pros and cons from Friday (Day 1) of the tokens and here is a write-up from what I've seen:

PROS

• Increased collaboration - Students are more motivated to work with one another, share their thinking and discussions are focused on the topic or question at hand.
• Students holding each other accountable - In an ideal world, we'd want students to correct or re-direct their own peers. I've seen students remind their teammates that they need to stay on task. For me, this is huge as this takes the responsibility off of my shoulders (and this is the goal, is it not? A classroom where the teacher just has to guide, but not completely take over). Not having to deal with behavioral issues and being able to teach is a dream to many current teachers.
• Feedback - The tokens are also a form of direct feedback on classroom and group performance.
• Tangible - Having something concrete and tangible makes things a lot more "real". Students are also responsible/accountable to their group for carrying these home and bringing them in.
• Students praise each other for their effort - I saw one of the groups of students cheer each other at the end of class when they got a gold token. Complimenting them goes a long way towards increasing their motivation. They will actually be happy to work with another and be excited to work as a team next class. 

CONS

• As mentioned in an earlier post, I still need a way to manage all of the students redeeming tokens all on one day.
• I saw one student upset at another student for earning silver instead of gold. The question becomes "What happens when students in a group aren't doing what they're supposed to? Will I be penalized?" I think acknowledging students who did contribute to the group is the right approach here. However, this is also an opportunity for the group members to have a conversation and be accountable for one another.

 

Side notes:  I saw some students deciding to split the work and coordinate what problems they will share! I was very happy that they were working together on a level that even I function on with my cohort and fellow classmates in college. I will remember to reinforce the teamwork aspect of this system at the end of each period, perhaps with a handshake or a 3 minute discussion where students can reflect on how they worked together that day. I think this will go a long way.