Attention Signals in the Classroom

You're up in front of the classroom teaching away to your students, talking about the changes in an ecosystem. The lesson is going well, until you find yourself raising your voice, trying to speak over students who are chatting with each other. The students have lost their focus. What should you do? Give an attention signal!

Attention signals are important in helping students stay focused throughout the lesson. There are a variety of attention signals that obtain students' attention and get them to continue behaving appropriately by listening to the teacher. When showing students a new signal, there are a few steps to teach an attention signal:

1. Decide on an attention signal.
2. Tell the attention signal to the class.
3. Model the attention signal.
4. Have the students practice the attention signal.
5. Use the signal if needed.

As I am observing my classmates teaching their lessons to fourth graders in fieldwork, I am noticing that it this class is very chatty and it can be hard to get their attention. Next week, I am going to be teaching the same class. After observing, I have decided on three attention signals that I feel are the most effective in the classroom!

Attention Signal 1: Call and Response

When using this signal, the teacher will call out a word or phrase and the call will respond with another word or phrase. These are usually catchy or sometimes can rhyme. The teacher will need to tell the students what the teacher will say first and what they should say after. The teacher also should let them know that when he or she calls a word or phrase, students should stop whatever they are doing and listen to the teacher. These are exciting to use in a classroom and it is also a great way to engage all the students as they chorally respond.

For example: 

     Teacher: "All set?" Class: "You bet!"

     Teacher: "Hocus Pocus" Class: "Everybody Focus."

     Teacher: "Ready to rock?" Class: "Ready to roll."

Here are more examples: 

Attention Signal 2: Raise Hand

This signal is a silent signal and is used to get students to stop talking and create silence in the classroom. The teacher will tell the students that if her or she raises his or her hand, they must stop talking and raise their hands as well. I have seen this in fieldwork and this is very effective. A variation of this is "quiet coyote" where the teacher will make a coyote signal and students will follow along.

Here is a picture of students making quiet coyote signals. 

Attention Signal 3: Turn Off Lights

Sometimes, the best way to get the class' attention is to turn off the lights. This signal is very distinct and can grab the class' attention quicker. Teachers should let the students know that if the lights get turned off, they must stop whatever they are doing. 

Attention Signal 4: Echo Clapping

 When using this signal, a teacher will create a clapping rhythm and students will copy that rhythm. Teachers should let the students know that after they finish copying the clapping rhythm, they should stop what they are doing. If it doesn't work the first time, try it again! 

If you try one of these signals and it doesn't work, try another one because maybe that signal doesn't work best for the class. Every class is different and sometimes you need to experiment with different ways to grab their attention. I will be using these four attention signals when I will teach in fieldwork. 

What Are the Different Models of Teaching?

During week 4, we were in the process of creating our two lesson plans for fieldwork. On Tuesday, our class met virtually where we were learned more on unit planning and what the different models of teaching are. Although we are only teaching two lessons in fieldwork, we are also creating a few other lessons for our unit plans. These other lessons should give a variety of instruction and should include all the models of teaching. Models are approaches to teaching. 

The different models of teaching are behavioral, information-processing, social-interactive, and personal. 

The Models of Teaching

behavioral: a direct model where students learn as they modify behavior in response to environmental feedback. This includes is direct instruction or mastery learning

information-processing: an indirect model where students develop their processing skills as they make sense of their world. They are assisted in organizing information around them. This includes inquiry learning and problem solving.

social-interactive: an indirect model where students learn as they interact with classmates to exchange ideas. This includes cooperative learning.

personal: an indirect model where each individual must take responsibility for his or her learning as they succeed by understanding the given concepts. Students can show their individual talents. This includes individual projects.


Here is two charts that contains more information on the different models.

I will include all the models of teaching in my unit plan to provide the students a variety of instruction to give them multiple opportunities to succeed!

What are the Different Types of Assessments?

It is very important to assess students to make sure that they are learning and the lessons are educational to them. Assessing students isn't just about providing them with quizzes and tests; it's so much more! When assessing students, teachers should get the students involved in the topics to demonstrate learning. It also is important to give students a variety of assessments to have the students learn how to apply the skills and their understanding during and after the lessons. When assessing students, you need to figure out when you want to assess them: before learning, during learning, or after learning. There are three types of assessments that teachers should give to students: diagnostic assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment.

The 3 Types of Assessment 

1. Diagnostic/ Pre-assessment

Diagnostic assesses the students' prior knowledge of a topic before the unit is taught to them. This assessment informs the teacher of what the students know or don't know about a topic. 

Some examples of diagnostic assessments include: 

      pre-test

      KWL

      questioning

      observations

      checklist

2. Formative Assessment

Formative is an ongoing assessment that is provided during a unit. This is an assessment for learning that measures the students' progress and how they feel about the lessons. It also let's teachers know if the students are understanding the material. This is also used to assess the quality of the teacher's instruction to make sure his or her lessons are successful in helping the students learn. 

Some examples of formative assessments include:
      conferences
      exit cards
      self-evaluations
      portfolio-check 
      in-class activities 
      quizzes
      journal entries
            

3. Summative Assessment 

Summative is a cumulative assessment given at the end of a unit. It is an assessment of learning that demonstrates the students' final understanding of the topics learned in the unit. 

Some examples of summative assessments include: 
      unit tests
      performance tasks
      portfolios
      demonstrations 
      final projects

What Forms of Assessments will I Use in Fieldwork?

When teaching during fieldwork, I want to make sure the students are assessed many times to test what they know, their progress when learning, and what they learned after learning. Together, as a class, we constructed a pre-test to see what they already know about our topics. This will help them gather prior knowledge about our topic, which is Aquatic Ecosystems. After we have finished teaching all of our lessons, we will create a post-test as a class. 

When teaching my lesson with my group members, I would want to use exit cards. I like the 3-2-1 exit tickets that have students give 3 facts they learned, 2 questions they still have, and 1 opinion they have about the lesson. This can assess what the students learned from that lesson as well as the quality of the lesson. 

During our lessons, we will have the students work in groups. I will want to use self-evaluations and peer-evaluations after they finished working in groups. This will encourage students to work as a team with their classmates and also perform their assigned part of the activity. They can assess themselves of how well they worked as a team, what each group member's contribution was, and how they can improve next time. I like the worksheet provided below. 

Inquiry and 5E Instruction Model

What is Inquiry-Based Learning? 

When teaching science to students, a great type of lesson to use is an inquiry-based lesson. Inquiry lessons aren't exactly the same as hands-on experiences nor do they use the scientific method. Inquiry is all about problem solving and critical thinking. When learning in an inquiry-based learning, students go through a process of exploring, by experimenting, or observing, and also solving questions that they have about life or the world around us. This can be achieved by using the 5E instructional model.

What is the 5E Instructional Model? 

The 5 E Instructional Model is a inquiry-based approach provides students with stages of how to problem solve and explore. Students can construct new conclusions and get a better understanding from their experiences by following these steps.

What are the stages of the 5E Instructional Model?

The five stages of the 5E Instructional Model include: Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, and Evaluate.

1. Engage: This is the first stage of the 5E Instructional Model. In this stage, students become familiar with the task and make connections from their past experiences. Students ask questions and their curiosity and interest is increased.

2. Explore: This is the second stage of the 5E Instructional Model. In this stage, students get involved with the task by developing an understanding of that topic. Students investigate given materials or their environment. Students should be questioning, creating hypotheses, testing their hypotheses, and drawing conclusions. They also should be communicating with each other by sharing questions and data.

3. Explain: This is the third stage of the 5E Instructional Model. In this stage, students look over and clarify their findings by verbal communication. The students can also display new skills they've learned so far. Teachers can also assist students by providing the students with concepts or definitions.

4. Extend: This is the fourth stage of the 5E Instructional Model. In this stage, students apply what they've learned by making connections to other topics and real-life experiences. They also develop deeper understandings of the topic.

5. Evaluate: This is the fifth stage of the 5E Instructional Model. In this stage, students should be assessed to make sure the objectives of the lesson are met. This stage lets teachers learn what the students understood from the lesson.

This model can be very successful in teaching students new concepts and engaging them in the concepts. After reading the given articles, I can say I got a good understanding of how the 5E Instructional Model works. I can't wait to create an inquiry lesson plan for fieldwork and teach it to the fifth graders!