Putting Learning into Action Personal Plan into Action

Putting Learning into Action Personal Plan into Action Linda Swanson Fall 2015

Learning Motivation Goals �Establish positive teacher-student relationships for stronger learning relationships. �Strive for a growth mind set with student learning. �Create an updated learning library environment to accommodate collaboration and interaction.

Positive Teacher-Student Relationships Students that perceive a teacher as “caring” tend to have stronger motivation for their learning. This includes teachers that develop expectations for individual differences, teachers that model a ‘caring attitude’ toward their own work, and teachers that provide constructive feedback. ” (Wentzel, 1997) When students form those close and caring relationships with teachers, they are fulfilling that developmental need for a connection to others and a sense of belonging in society. (Scales, 1991) Students’ motivation to learn and sense of belonging in the classroom tends to be high when students perceive their teachers as liking them, are sympathetic to them, and are responsive to their needs. (Davis, 2001) Strategies for Developing Positive Relationships with Students *Making the classroom/library and myself attractive to students, alternating book displays, allowing students space to work on “their” learning, providing electronic access to a variety of resources, providing access beyond the walls of the physical library, which includes having a dynamic library interface available online. *Keep students engaged in worthwhile lessons while adjusting lessons and teaching strategies to individual differences. *Getting to know students by their preferred names quickly, greeting students warmly each day, and spending time getting to know them as individuals will assist in helping students become more open and genuine in their interactions.

Striving for a Growth Mindset When students believe that they can develop their intelligence, they focus on doing just that. Not worrying about how smart they will appear, they take on challenges and stick to them. (Dweck, 1999, 2006) Dedication and persistence in the face of obstacles are key ingredients in outstanding achievement. (Ericsson, Charness, Feltovich, &Hoffman, 2006) Fixed mind sets, the ones that cause many students to halt their learning or quit trying when the curriculum becomes to challenging, don’t recover from setbacks; they may actually resort to decreasing efforts or consider cheating. (Blackwell et al. , 2007) With a growth mindset, students care about learning. Effort is seen as a good thing; mistakes are seen as correctable. They are determined in the face of failure and look for new ways to learn. David Sousa (2009), author of How the Gifted Brain Learns, finds that children that are praised for their effort and hard work value opportunities to learn. ” (p. 34)

Strategies for a Growth Mindset *Be mindful of the types of praise that can generate the right kind of motivation, focusing on effort and care put into their work, as well as skills or knowledge that their achievement represents. *Give all students opportunities to participate in higher-level learning experiences. *Give students informative feedback that supports learning efforts and attributes success to effort and ability.

Creating an updated learning library environment to accommodate collaboration and interaction: Jere Brophy encourages teachers to “make yourself and your classroom attractive to students” (Brophy, 2010, p. 23). Creating a warm, comfortable, and connected environment for students will also help them understand the value of reading for enjoyment and encourage them to take time to relax and read. An assortment of workstations and comfortable seating gives students choices according to their comfort level or their task at hand. According to Jonathan Erwin, "Giving Students What They Need, " (2003) choice theory involves five basic needs as main ingredients for internal motivation and guides to human behavior, one of these being "freedom. " No, that does not mean the student gets a ticket to run all over and ignore any type of standards of behavior. Rather, it is about pursuing that interest and extending their learning because of the appeal and varieties of information and formats available.

Maintaining Job and Professional Motivation: An ideal educational work environment involves educators who are driven by classroom challenges and rewards. Most of us enjoy seeing a paycheck each month, seeing students develop and making a difference in their lives. The challenge is the maintenance and upkeep along the way. Here are the strategies I have identified to maintain my job and professional motivation: • Collaborate and support colleagues within the Professional Learning Communities. (PLC’s). • Continue to reach for and stay current in ways to improve teaching and improve student learning. • Pursue activities that help keep my mind and body fit and healthy, so I can model that for students.

The strategy choices that I have put forth have the learner at the very top of my priority list. With the advancement of brain research and technology, it is more important than ever to seek out the research in those fields and hopefully relate it to the age group that I teach. By doing this, educators are saying that learning truly never stops. It is a great model for our students to see. (Brophy, 2010, p. 23) Our district has given us the gift of time for Professional Learning Communities each Wednesday at 2 p. m. We meet with our “like” groups of curriculum. While I am the lone person in my department in the building, there is still plenty of room and discuss and collaborate with other librarians in the district. It is a flexible agenda, but is definitely a time we can discuss lesson delivery, materials, and standards. Our district also encourages attendance at conferences such as NETA, Nebraska Educational Technology Association or the Nebraska Library Conference. Taking classes at the graduate level has also provided me with additional thoughts and strategies to apply while teaching.

One of the chapters in the Wentzel book that truly has stood out is the “Relationships and Classroom Community” chapter. Wentzel talks about making yourself and your classroom attractive to students. The question is: “Do I have a cheerful disposition, friendliness, emotional maturity, and sincerity and other qualities that indicate good mental health and personal adjustment? ” (Wentzel, 2014) Taking care of our health, both mentally and physically, is huge in this profession. Doing this is a powerful message to our students about enjoying what we do and staying healthy helps us help them.