Creating a High Performance Learning Environment

In this blog post, I will analyse teaching-learning situations in three videos for academic expectations, behavior expectations and norms and procedures.

Video 1, Roller Coaster Physics: STEM in Action, sets academic expectations high with 
a formative assessment tool, autonomous learning and communication strategies that 
teach students to value each other's opinions. True problem solvers are created through 
real life troubleshooting which shows communication, collaboration and good behavior 
through teamwork. The norms and procedures include, each student having a particular role 
like accountant, or monitor. Each communicates their idea on paper, and hands it into the 
group. The group then finds one solution and troubleshoots to see if their idea works.
A norm is the teacher checking in on the groups regularly with the students showing 
normal systems thinking strategies to the teacher. Student to student problem solving, 
is done through 'chiming in' and discussing possible solutions among students. They then 
test their ideas and engineering skills through building, simulating on the computer and 
calculating error and successful results.

Video 2, "Third grade-Chinese math class". Article: What makes Chinese maths lesson so good?
This video tries to show that 2,200 year old Chinese scholars invention of rhyme in maths was 
a brilliant idea. Due to this tradition, few materials are used. In fact, Chinese believe 
that routine is the most efficient way to learn (Wei, 2014).  "A new compulsory mathematics curriculum was introduced in 2001 and revised in 2011, setting out standards for “number and algebra”, “space and graph”, “statistics and probability” and “practice and applications”(Wei, 2014). This repetitive style does not always mean success however, because we now know multiple intelligences learn differently and one way is not always the only way to learn. Differentiated instruction can be beneficial to children who learn differently than just rhyming. Even though the article states that the UK hired 60 math teachers from Shanghai, it is not a certitude that children in the UK will learn the same as children in China. Perhaps the behavioral norms in China vary from the the UK and other countries, causing varied results for the same rhyming technique.

Video 3, "Whole brain Teaching Richwood high- The Basics" video demonstrates the academic expectations of using the entire body to learn. Students are listening to the teacher, using arms and hands to gesture ideas and concepts, and finally, they are repeating for understanding. The behavior of the students is engaged and reinforced by the teacher through kindness and respect. Students repeat and know that the rule of the classroom is to respect each other. In partner work they have a procedure to mimic each other and play off each other so that they can understand the content. I think this is a useful way of learning. Students who are fully engaged learn better than students who are withdrawn while the teacher is talking. The basic point of Whole Brain teaching is to engage the whole student. The point is for the students to win against the teacher as they follow the rules.

• Rule 1 – Follow directions quickly (move your hand or finger in a swimming motion forward).
• Rule 2 – Raise your hand for permission to speak (raise your hand then make a talking motion with your mouth).
• Rule 3 - Raise your hand for permission to leave your chair (raise your hand and make a waving motion with your fingers).
• Rule 4 – Make smart choices (tap your temple on your head).
• Rule 5 – Keep your dear teacher happy (Make the letter “L” with each hand and place it by the corners of your mouth to motion a smile).
  (Cox, 2010.http://www.teachhub.com/whole-brain-teaching-strategies)

Setting High Performance Expectations Among My Students

In Summary, all three videos showed examples of teaching-learning situations that gave insight into academic expectations, behavioral expectations and finally, norms and procedures. The difficult task of a teacher is to decide what is right for the students. I have used the whole-brain teaching approach with much success, and still use it today. However, it is not the only technique I use in teaching, as in Japan we do use singing rhyme for multiplication that is fun and catchy. Each student learns it easily. Teachers need to keep reinventing their teaching practice in order to bring quality back into a packed lesson of knowledge and facts. It is a living, breathing blueprint. Past practices can be integrated with new ones in a cohesive manner tailored by a creative teacher. Adapting to students level, need and expectations can make a teacher great. Most importantly, a great teacher always remembers that they are also a student.

Wei.(2014). Retrieved Nov. 27th 2017,from: http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-makes-chinese-maths-lessons-so-good-24380
Cox. J. (2010). Whole Brain Teaching Strategies. Retrieved Nov.27th 2017 from : http://www.teachhub.com/whole-brain-teaching-strategies