Change

posted Oct 18, 2015, 8:07 PM by Amy Wix

This summer, after attending an NCTM Affiliates conference, I read a book called  Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and  Dan Heath (2010).  I submitted an article to MCTM's MathBits earlier this year.  One idea in this book came up during a PLC discussion last week.  The discussion  was actually about using Google Classroom  vs. requiring students to write  assignments in their planners.  Some people see using tools like Classroom  enabling our students.  This reminded me of one of the lines in the book-   "Sometimes people problems are really environment problems."  In the past  years our team has had a "point system" where students lose a point if they  forget their homework or supplies, or they misbehave in class.  Some supplies  I use a lot of the time in my class are red pens, glue and scissors.  If students  forgot their supplies, it would take at least 4-5 minutes to get down to the  locker bay, find their supplies and return to the classroom.  Very disruptive.   I looked at this as an environment problem this year.  I asked the students  to come prepared for class, however, I also showed them where  I keep extra  supplies.  Now when I ask them to take out their scissors  and they have  forgotten theirs, they walk to the corner of the room grab a pair (and leave  a shoe so that I get them back!).  It's no big deal.   I don't have to "take a  check" form the students who aren't prepared and more time is spent   in class.  The question I am wondering about- am I enabling them?   Am I making it too easy for them not to be responsible for their own things?  I've taken what I use to view as a people problem and created an environment   that eliminates the problem.  Will my students go to 7th grade less prepared?   Less responsible?  I'm not sure.  But if I have these students in my room  working on the math 5 minutes more a day, I think they will be better  prepared for 7th grade math.