School learning has special characteristics: it takes place in a nearby setting or context, the classroom, in a group situation, with interactions between students among themselves, on the one hand, and between teacher and student, on the other..
The teaching-learning process takes place in the classroom and the quality of the development of this process will be determined in principle by the physical conditions of that scenario, by the distribution of students and by the type of personal interactions they have in it. place. The ecological variables of the classroom are the arrangement of the seats, design and spatial organization of the class, noise level, open spaces ...
Architectural design has interested in recent years and has been proposed from opposite terms, that is, as open spaces, in which the absence of partitions and barriers predominates, distribution of students and school activities in a flexible way; and as closed spaces, the traditional ones, with classrooms, libraries, gym facilities.
In the US there was a strong movement of open spaces in schools encouraged by the fact that they allow flexibility to work in groups and make possible a better development of individualized teachings. This measure was not welcomed by parents and teachers, who pushed to end open spaces.
Studies carried out show that open spaces have the advantage of offering greater autonomy and initiative in students, allowing greater interaction between them, but they have the disadvantage that it is more difficult to exercise control by teachers and it is more difficult to students focus their attention. But neither type offers an advantage in terms of student academic performance..
Novak, after the results of a study carried out, recommended open spaces in the construction of new schools, although with two conditions: training teachers for a new development of the Curriculum and providing the centers with support staff and adequate equipment. In principle, the advice was followed but it did not take long to return to the traditional.
The distribution of students is an important variable. Adams and Biddle found that the greatest verbal interaction occurs in the front part, in front of the teacher, and in the center of the classroom, calling these areas the action zone.
Walberg found that the students who sat in the front part of the class were interested and had a positive attitude towards the school, valuing the grades, as opposed to those who sat in the back who did not show a positive attitude or that it was important to get good grades.
Thus, there is some relationship between the place occupied in the classroom and the degree of interest and academic participation, although this relationship is not so clear in relation to academic performance. Weinstein says that students located in the action zone show a better attitude in the classroom and a better interaction with the teacher due to the proximity they have with the teacher, since they are forced to pay more attention.
The teacher is encouraged to move around the classroom so that all students can interact with him. On the other hand, it is possible to change the seating arrangement in rows, circles or in groups, although the arrangement must be consistent with the objectives and the activities to be carried out..
Summary: the design of the classroom and the distribution in it of the students affect the development of the teaching-learning process, but without forgetting that neither a timely design of the classroom nor an optimal distribution of the students will make them learn if all this is not done. is accompanied by many other variables.
School learning occurs in a context that is not only a physical setting but also a social context. Each classroom has a different atmosphere or climate that arises from the predominant tone of the emotional experiences of its members and that has been associated with the type of personal interactions that exist between students and the teacher and between students.
Withall was the first to use the word climate to designate the emotional tone associated with personal relationships. The classroom climate is one of the variables that determines the activity of teachers and students in a more sensitive way.
A class with a positive climate tends to produce satisfactory performances, and a negative climate tends to lead to school failures. Group climate is closely related to group morale, which is the degree to which its members feel motivated and strive to work and cooperate to achieve common goals.
Four of the main factors that contribute to the configuration of a certain school climate are: the physical environment, the teacher's leadership style, the cohesion among its members and the prevention of problems. They all act interrelated.
THE LEADERSHIP STYLE
The leadership style exercised by the teacher in the classroom is one of the main factors in shaping the school climate. The leader, whether elected or appointed influences the behavior and performance of group members.
Differences in leadership mode will have an extraordinary influence on the group's climate. The effectiveness of the class as a group and the satisfaction each student feels will largely depend on the leadership style developed by the teacher. According to Rogers, the teacher who performs his functions with empathy, mutual respect and congruence or sincerity, will stimulate the appearance of a positive climate, and, with this, will favor the conditions for learning.
Lewin and colbs did a study in which groups responded to different types of leadership. The leaderships were authoritarian: the leader plans and directs alone without the intervention of the members of the group, democratic: planning and decision-making are carried out jointly and liberal: the leader does not intervene.
Result: the groups with an authoritarian leader were the most efficient in their performance, but their members showed tension and negative feelings towards each other and towards the leader; with a democratic leader, a somewhat poorer performance, but their feelings for each other and for the leader were affectionate; and with a liberal leader they did not achieve positive effects in any sense.
French and Raven established five forms of leadership:
1. Coercive power: the teacher's influence on the student comes from the knowledge that the student has that he can be punished by the teacher if he does not respond as requested. If the teacher misapplies his authority, the student will abandon the adopted behavior as soon as he is free from the teacher's control..
2. Power of reward: the student perceives the teacher as a dispenser of rewards. If the student sees that the rewards are legitimate, their attraction to the teacher increases.
3. Legitimate power: the teacher's influence is determined by the degree to which the student understands and accepts that the teacher has the right to influence him and that he has an obligation to accept this influence..
4. Power of reference: identification of the student with the teacher. The strength of the teacher's power of reference is determined by the degree to which the student is attracted to the teacher, in most cases, neither the teacher nor the students are aware of the presence of this source of power
5. Expert power: the teacher exercises this power to the extent that the student recognizes in the teacher some relevant skill or knowledge in a given subject.
The coercive, rewarding, and legitimate powers are the least effective in exerting interpersonal influence. The effective influence of the teacher is achieved by planning the objectives and school attitudes in accordance with the will of the group, distributing the functions of the group among the students, favoring interdependence and the participation of all, stimulating open communication, maintaining flexible behavior and exercising the power of reference and expert.
COHESION
Cohesion designates the idea of integration and solidarity among the members of a group. The cohesion of a group is manifested in three types of behavior: 1) the attraction that each member feels for the group and their resistance to leaving it, 2) the level of motivation they show to achieve their objectives and 3) the extent to which they are able to coordinate their efforts to achieve those goals.
The quantity and quality of personal interactions are related to group cohesion. Highly cohesive groups are cooperative and friendly, work in a coordinated manner, and praise each other when they achieve goals. Low cohesion groups are hostile and aggressive and rejoice in the mistakes others make.
It is possible to distinguish some causes extrinsic to the group, which are the controls and influences from outside the classroom, and intrinsic, which develop with the dynamics of the group itself. Maisonneuve distinguishes two categories.
The socio-affective nature refers to the attraction of the group. Main variables: attraction of a common object (it will depend on the clarity with which it is presented to its members), attraction of belonging to the group (born based on the prestige of the group), interpersonal affinities and the satisfaction of certain needs personal. The operational order refers to your organization. They include: distribution and articulation of roles, group behavior and leadership mode.
The cohesion of a group increases when each member knows what they have to do and when they perceive that their activity is interdependent and complementary to that of the others..
Sociometric techniques are the most common instrument for evaluating the degree of cohesion between members of a group and for evaluating how personal relationships are structured. The sociogram was devised in Austria by Moreno.
It consists of asking the students in a class to name those they would prefer as partners in various activities. When all have answered, the responses are tabulated and can be represented graphically. This technique admits variations. Through a sociogram, a lot of information can be obtained about a group, such as its degree of cohesion, its structure, if there are divisions or gangs and the degree of acceptance that each student has, if the preferences are reciprocal and who are the star students or the marginalized.
Any sociometric study shows us four facts: 1) that preferences are universal: there are always people who attract us more than others, 2) people differ in social potential, some are more preferred than others, 3) no one is preferred by everyone, and 4) some may not be the object of any preference.
Moos and Trickett created the Classroom Environment Scale (CES), which measures the climate in different settings: class, work, family, group ... It consists of 90 elements that are grouped into four dimensions: relationships, self-realization, stability and change.
Every group always has a goal: the goal of the group. The long-term objective of a group of students is to achieve their educational goals, and in the short term to achieve a plurality of learning objectives. Whether the members of a group act one way or another depends on their perception of the goal as a group or individual task. Since the beginning of the s. XX studies have been carried out in social psychology on this subject.
Mayer conducted studies on cooperation-competition, and Deutsch found that cooperation is more effective than competition. Johnson and Johnson found that the different modes of interaction that are established between the members of a group who work on the same task influence the motivation of each of them.
This interaction, which they call the purpose structure or goal structure, can be of three kinds: cooperative, in which students are aware that they will only be able to achieve the objectives if their classmates also achieve it; competitive, where students will perceive that they will achieve their goal if and only if the other classmates do not achieve it; and individualistic, in which students perceive that the achievement of their objectives is independent of what their peers do.
Johnson and Johnson argue that the cooperative structure is the most beneficial. They conclude that the cooperative structure in relation to the competitive and individualistic structure produces higher performance, more positive attitudes, higher levels of self-esteem and favors the development of intrinsic motivation. Although from an educational point of view the cooperative is more favorable, each one has its advantages and disadvantages.
The results, when the interaction is cooperative, are not clear when evaluating school performance. The use of one or the other will depend on the objective pursued, the type of task being carried out and the characteristics of the students. Even if we think of an ideal class, all three types can be accommodated.
Ausubel points out that competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive and that, in our culture, both are valued. Competition has negative aspects, as it can inhibit learning in the face of the expectation of failure with the consequent anxiety and that in extreme situations can cause some feelings of inferiority. But when it takes place in moderate situations, it helps students adapt to competitive organization and enables students to build a realistic self-concept of their own abilities..
Competition stimulates effort and raises aspiration levels. Primary school children work harder in competitive conditions than when they do so anonymously, and are more stimulated by individual rather than group rewards.
Cooperative learning has different definitions, but they all have a common denominator that has two characteristics: a structure for cooperation and interdependent teamwork. These groups can be formed by the teacher or it is the students themselves who can form it. Next we are going to see the techniques in search of cooperative learning.
JIGSAW
The Jigsaw or puzzle technique was developed by Aronson et al. The objective of this technique is to place the students in a situation of total interdependence so that each component of the group can only complete the task to the extent that the other members complete theirs. Steps:
1. Students are divided into heterogeneous groups in terms of ability and other personal characteristics, small groups (5/6)
2. The subject, which has been divided, is distributed among the different components of the group who have the responsibility of studying it.
3. The members who have been assigned to study the same subject, expert groups, meet to better prepare their topic, and can be helped by the teacher.
4. When each student has prepared their topic, they return to the group to teach their classmates what they have learned and to discuss the topic..
5. Finally there is an evaluation and individual grade obtained on the entire subject. The best groups receive some recognition.
This method was modified by Slavin giving rise to Jigsaw II, which aims to reduce the interdependence of students and increase their interrelation to achieve group rewards. Now all members have access to all the information and all are responsible for studying the entire subject, although each one has a specific part..
TEAMS GAMES TOURNAMENTS (TGT)
It is a technique devised by DeVries and Slavin. The aim is to stimulate cooperative learning and at the same time competitive learning. The cooperative is stimulated through the formation of groups of 4/5/6 students who cooperate and work together interdependently. On the other hand, there is competition between the groups. Steps:
1. Students are divided into heterogeneous groups
2. The teacher explains the subject to the whole class, distributing tokens similar to those that will be used in the tournament
3. The members of each group work together, cooperatively, the explained material and study and prepare for the contest by asking each other questions.
4. Once a week contests take place in which the members of one group compete with those of the other groups through games consisting of a series of numbered cards. The competition is not individual, but rather each one acts as a representative of their team. The points obtained are assigned to the group.
To hold the contests, the students in each group subdivide and sit at separate tables: the best at the first table, the second at the second, and so on. The students from the first table compete with the students from the first table of the opposing team. The permanence of the students within the group is relatively stable, but the distribution in the tables may vary according to the points obtained in the previous contest.
STUDENT TEAMS AND ACHIEVEMENT DIVISIONS (STAD)
It is a technique devised by Slavin from the TGT with the aim of simplifying the technique (TGT) and overcoming the drawbacks of the cooperative structure without losing any of its advantages. Slavin says that methods that promote cooperative learning and award rewards based on group results are no more effective than traditional methods in terms of individual student achievement..
It defends that cooperative learning is only effective when prizes or rewards are awarded based on the individual learning or instruction of each of the group members. When the results are achieved by the global performance of the group, the motivation to help each other decreases.
The SATD coincides with the TGT in that the students in the class are divided into heterogeneous groups, but the exams are performed individually as in traditional teaching, and depending on the grade that each one obtains, they can earn more or less points for the group.
The points are achieved in the following way: each student has a base score, an individual expectation of learning, which is estimated by the teacher and which represents the average level of student performance, this score is the criterion to judge the result of the exam. Depending on the performance improvement relative to expectation, you can earn one to three points for the group. All students can contribute to the group with the same number of points.
The group with the highest number of points is the winner of the week. Slavin reaffirms that cooperative learning is most effective for academic achievement when rewards are awarded to groups based on individual achievement.
GROUP INVESTIGATION (GI)
Devised by Sharan, it is more complex and has been designed to achieve, at the same time as the cooperative learning of a certain subject, the development of group research skills and the development of social skills. Development requires in students a certain level of knowledge and preparation in 6 stages:
1. Selection of the topic and group formation
2. Planning phase: the students together with the teacher subdivide the topic into parts and distribute it among the group members. The objectives of the work, the activities to be carried out, inside and outside the center and the learning strategies to be followed are planned.
3. Completion phase: participants follow the established plan supervised by the teacher
4. Analysis and synthesis
5. Presentation phase
6. Evaluation: the teacher with the participation of the students evaluates the presentation of each group, leaving open the possibility of an individual evaluation.
Teacher expectations
The study of teacher expectations and their effects on interpersonal relationships has a long psychological tradition. Guthrie, when speaking about human conflicts, referred to the fact that the expectations that are had about a person modify their attitudes and behavior. Roethlisberger and Dickson used the expression Hawthorne effect to designate that when a person is chosen to demonstrate a certain behavior, he ends up manifesting it.
And Frank used the term hellogoodbye in psychotherapy, when a patient is going to be received by a prestigious psychotherapist, just being in the waiting room improves almost as much as when he receives the treatment.
But it is the work of Rosenthal and Jacobson Pygmalion in the classroom that arouses general interest. They demonstrated compliance with the teacher's expectations of student performance, even though these levels had no relationship to the ability of the particular student.
Good and Brody, to explain how the process develops in the classroom and why the expectations of teachers become prophecies that are fulfilled, offer the following model
1. The teacher expects a specific performance and behavior from each of the students.
2. Based on these expectations, the teacher behaves differently with each of the students. If a teacher expects good results from a student, they may spend more time responding.
3. This differential behavior of the teacher tells each student what behavior and what use the teacher expects of him, which influences his self-concept, motivation and level of aspiration.
4. If this behavior is constant and if the student does not actively resist change, it will end up shaping their behavior and their level of knowledge..
5. Over time, behavior and performance will adapt to what the teacher expects of them..
SOURCES OF EXPECTATIONS
The teacher generates, consciously or unconsciously, expectations about each of the students that may have their origin in the students' records where their intelligence levels are recorded, in the grades ... Braun points out ten possible sources of the teacher's expectations: results of intelligence tests, sex, name, academic history, origin, knowledge of older siblings, physical characteristics, previous achievements, socio-economic status and behavior of the student (see table 20.2.).
These expectations that the teacher forges are manifested in differential behaviors with respect to the students that can be collected in five categories: grouping, type of questions, quality of interaction, type of reinforcement and type of activities.
EFFECTS OF THE TEACHER'S EXPECTATIONS
For Woolfolck, of the five categories of teacher behavior enunciated by Braun, the first and the last (grouping and the different activities) refer to instructional strategies. The remaining three (question formulation, quality of interaction and type of reinforcement and additional information) refer to teacher-student interaction.
The quantity and quality of student-teacher interactions are very different depending on the expectations that the teacher has of each of them. For those students from whom high performance is expected, it tends to ask more and more difficult questions, it gives them more opportunities, helps, more time to respond, it tends to interrupt them less frequently and to give them a greater number of reinforcers than to students. from whom you expect poor performance.
According to Good and Brophy, the most common behaviors with which the teacher communicates low expectations to students are:
They allow less waiting time for them to answer questions compared to other students
Questions to another instead of offering clues and clues to answer or reframe the question
They grant inappropriate reinforcements: praise marginal and imprecise responses
They criticize low achievers when their answers are wrong more often than high achievers.
Praise low achievers when answers are correct less often than high achievers
They give less feedback after the answers to low achievers, and when they do, it is brief
They pay less attention and interact with it less often
They give them fewer opportunities to respond
They use different patterns of interaction: they place these students further away and provide them with less eye contact
They make less demands on low-performing students: easier tasks or exempt them from certain practical work
Interaction with them is done more in private than in public and interactions are less friendly
They give them fewer opportunities to show their competence
They use proper instructional methods, but for less amount of time
Differential qualification of tests and works
Two points of view are defended: teachers should have only positive expectations and teachers should avoid the formation of all kinds of expectations, both positive and negative.
A positive climate tends to produce satisfactory school performance. Four factors influence the classroom climate: the physical environment, the teacher's leadership style, cohesion among its members, and prevention.
As a derivation of these factors is the control of the classroom: conducting the class in such a way that it meets conditions that allow students to dedicate themselves and focus their attention on school activities and that prevent the appearance of disruptive or disciplinary behaviors.
Hernández, in a study carried out with preschool, primary and secondary school teachers, found that the behaviors that most concerned them were, in the first place, disorder, lack of silence and attention and annoying classmates. Second, disobedience, physical assaults, restlessness and restlessness, and third, name-calling, robbery, teasing and sexual misconduct.
It seems that discipline continues to be one of the main problems. Secondary education is a problem of great concern and is pointed out and one of its causes. As it is compulsory until the age of 16, it implies the permanence of a high number of students who reject school and, given the obligation to remain in it, cause conflicts, acts of rebellion.
Coupled with the lack of resources of teachers who are deprived of resources, the consequence in stress, anxiety, and burnout in teachers. Without discipline there is no effective teaching or learning.
For Ausubel, discipline is necessary because it is a requirement for learning and because it performs four functions in the formation of the young individual: 1) it is necessary for socialization, to learn the norms of conduct that are approved and tolerated in a culture, 2) It is necessary for the maturation of the personality, to acquire traits of confidence, self-control, persistence and the ability to tolerate frustration, 3) It is necessary for the internalization of moral norms and obligations and 4) It is necessary for the emotional security of children.
PRINCIPLES FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE CLASS
According to Glover and Bruning, studies on classroom control have determined three principles on which all teaching activities should be based, which are to have rules about what is expected of students, praise appropriate behaviors and ignore minor behavior problems.
Regarding having rules about what is expected of students, for the rules to be effective they are suggested to teachers:
Limit the number of rules to the minimum necessary for the effective operation of the classes (5/6).
Describe appropriate behaviors clearly and positively.
Include a description of the positive effects derived from compliance with the rule.
Involve students in formulating the rules; the more they are involved, the greater their fulfillment.
Explain why the rules are necessary and promote a thorough discussion with them.
As for praising appropriate behaviors, praise is a reinforcement that should be contingent on the appearance of the desired behaviors. A smile, a gesture, a word, given with sincerity, can be enough to reinforce the student's behavior.
And regarding ignoring minor behavior problems, ignoring the behavior can be effective, but it is not easy to use, as there are cases in which the behaviors are excessively disruptive or even dangerous that cannot be ignored but require to be reproved or punished..
Ignoring behaviors does not always have an immediate effect and may even seem counterproductive because they can be presented with greater intensity in order to get the teacher's attention.
PROBLEM PREVENTION
It is one of the factors that contributes to creating a positive classroom climate. The principles for preventing problems are:
1. Plan and organize teaching so that meaningful learning is possible
2. Diversify the teachings so that they adapt to individual differences, with clear and precise objectives and with demanding levels that allow students to achieve success, provided they put in the necessary effort.
3. Offer help and support to students in groups or individually, whenever they need it..
4. Promote cooperative learning situations.
5. Provide frequent feedback to students about their progress and the results they achieve.
6. Make use of democratic leadership.
7. Make frequent and adequate use of reinforcement.
Yet No Comments