Re: Yaruki Points, Marco Polo says...
I've done something similar, but now I'm wondering about it. Why give a grade for participation? Does it make a difference if students know beforehand whether the teacher is grading on a curve (norm-referenced) or not?
My C$ 0.02 - Participation makes a class more interesting, more active and more fun. Participation doesn't often happen naturally in Japan so forcing it at the beginning can lead to a more interactive process. Interaction can be a catalyst for "negotiated meaning", developing Interlanguage, starting or deepening T-S or S-S friendships, confidence building, etc
Are they "participating" because they fear failing, because they assume they are competing with their peers, because they are genuinely interested in learning?
My C$ 0.02 - Could be any number of reasons but I'm not really sure if it matters why they participate as long as they actually get experience USING English and can get used to doing so in a friendly, supportive environment.
It's a tall order for any of us, but if teachers are excited to teach and can create a positive feeling classroom, human nature dictates that most people are often likely "to want to join in on the fun."
Another question I have (for myself) is whether a subjective "participation/attitude" score isn't a cop-out because I can't be bothered (or have failed adequately) to assess their actual competence?
I often wonder about the same thing. I also wonder if my grades reflect anything realistic about their competence or whether grades only reflect students' ability to jump through the hoops I create.
On the other hand, participation can be considered an important aspect of learning, especially in the light of Vygotsky's ZPD theory. (see James Lantolf for further work on this). But... after reading this paper by David Jeffrey, I wonder, isn't this just bribery? You could substitute the tokens with cookies, thousand-yen notes, or sex, and get pretty much guaranteed successful "results". But is that what I want?
My C$ 0.02 - Cookies, thousand-yen notes, or sex certainly work wonders on me. I know I often need to be pushed to get things done. Deadlines, expectations, guilt, flattery, praise, etc., are all motivators that again are a part of the characteristic that all teachers and students share - human nature.
Polo さん - Thanks so much for taking the time to both read and comment. I look forward to continuing to share ideas, experiences and perspectives. There's still so much to learn and to be reminded of having learned at some point in the past.
Steve
Friday, March 16, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
"Yaruki" points as part of a classmark
"Yaruki" (やる気), loosely translated means "one's desire to do something, or one's enthusiasm or drive".
Dave Kees, http://davekees.blogspot.com/ has cleverly elicited three responses from me on the topic of how and why to use a classmark as part of my oral communication classes. I started calling students' efforts they made in class, YARUKI POINTS, as a way to praise students. Here are my responses linked together:
1) I found this link by Christine Coombe http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol42/no1/p18.html talking about portfolio marking, and plan to try it out in my EFL high school situation in Japan.
2) I've had tremendous success with a simple visual grid with student names on it this year. As soon as they saw me recording participation points next to their names, hands shot up all year.
The courses are "Oral Communication" (about 20 students)and therefore there is a premium placed on communicating. I welcome questions, follow-ups, and comments on what I or other students say in class. I also semi-regularly elicit error corrections and attempt to give non-verbal types the chance to collect points through written efforts. Whenever students participate they get credit for that. The students are told that their tests make up 60-70% of their grade and their classmark is 30-40% (depending on the class).
Of course, there are many ways to calculate a classmark. From objective formulas to subjective opinions, the classmark evolves from class to class. Say a typical class has a 30% classmark. I first present the classmark idea and explain my belief that learning should be a goal throughout the course, not just for the tests. I state in a loud voice that I believe that using English leads to more learning than simply studying “about” English.
Some components of the mark can include how many diaries they hand in (graded at 1 or 2 points each), how many participation stars (*s) they accumulate next to their name on my seating chart, how actively I've noted that they participate in pairwork or groupwork, how much effort I see and feel them making in class, etc.
The calculation can be general (pick a class average, say, 20/30 and mark each student up or down from the average) or it can be specific (using excel, breaking the classmark into various columns, and totaling their efforts). I have used both systems.
The whole classmark concept rests on the premise that you must get to know your students. I'm always trying to find ways to connect with them both inside and outside of class. Each time I get to know them a little more, it pays dividends in terms of classroom interaction, a relaxed, friendly study environment and, hopefully, learning opportunities.
Steve
Dave Kees, http://davekees.blogspot.com/ has cleverly elicited three responses from me on the topic of how and why to use a classmark as part of my oral communication classes. I started calling students' efforts they made in class, YARUKI POINTS, as a way to praise students. Here are my responses linked together:
1) I found this link by Christine Coombe http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol42/no1/p18.html talking about portfolio marking, and plan to try it out in my EFL high school situation in Japan.
2) I've had tremendous success with a simple visual grid with student names on it this year. As soon as they saw me recording participation points next to their names, hands shot up all year.
The courses are "Oral Communication" (about 20 students)and therefore there is a premium placed on communicating. I welcome questions, follow-ups, and comments on what I or other students say in class. I also semi-regularly elicit error corrections and attempt to give non-verbal types the chance to collect points through written efforts. Whenever students participate they get credit for that. The students are told that their tests make up 60-70% of their grade and their classmark is 30-40% (depending on the class).
Of course, there are many ways to calculate a classmark. From objective formulas to subjective opinions, the classmark evolves from class to class. Say a typical class has a 30% classmark. I first present the classmark idea and explain my belief that learning should be a goal throughout the course, not just for the tests. I state in a loud voice that I believe that using English leads to more learning than simply studying “about” English.
Some components of the mark can include how many diaries they hand in (graded at 1 or 2 points each), how many participation stars (*s) they accumulate next to their name on my seating chart, how actively I've noted that they participate in pairwork or groupwork, how much effort I see and feel them making in class, etc.
The calculation can be general (pick a class average, say, 20/30 and mark each student up or down from the average) or it can be specific (using excel, breaking the classmark into various columns, and totaling their efforts). I have used both systems.
The whole classmark concept rests on the premise that you must get to know your students. I'm always trying to find ways to connect with them both inside and outside of class. Each time I get to know them a little more, it pays dividends in terms of classroom interaction, a relaxed, friendly study environment and, hopefully, learning opportunities.
Steve
Monday, March 12, 2007
Follow-up on Exploratory Practice
To the prolific Marco Polo,
I met a friendly, approachable teacher, Craig Smith, about a year ago at an ER colloquium at Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School. He gave a wonderful presentation, complete with live KUFS students, on extensive reading. He also handed out a paper he wrote on his experience with EP at KUFS and Kyoto University. His writing was very clear and meaningful. Here is the link:
http://ltr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/4/448
If anyone can't access it, and wants to read it, I have it at home.
Cheers,
Steve
I met a friendly, approachable teacher, Craig Smith, about a year ago at an ER colloquium at Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School. He gave a wonderful presentation, complete with live KUFS students, on extensive reading. He also handed out a paper he wrote on his experience with EP at KUFS and Kyoto University. His writing was very clear and meaningful. Here is the link:
http://ltr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/4/448
If anyone can't access it, and wants to read it, I have it at home.
Cheers,
Steve
Dick Allwright's Exploratory Practice
What a wonderful distraction! I first came into contact with Allwright's ideas when researching the topic of classroom interaction for my first essay. He immediately struck me as being practical, wise and accessible in his ideas. I have since read various things he has written about Exploratory Practice (EP) and always look forward to bumping into him again.
Serendipitously, through trying to buy some used books online, I was introduced to Jane Rose, a recent Bham grad, who did her distinction level thesis on EP. One e-mail led to another and I just finished reading her wonderful thesis reflecting her research in an EFL situation in Finland.
I may have been scared to death of EP at the start of my teaching career, but the older/more experienced I get, the more interesting it looks. I hesitate to try to describe it here and now, but encourage anyone who is interested in better understanding 'life in the classroom' to check it out.
Many thanks to Marco Polo for this updated link:
http://www.letras.puc-rio.br/epcentre/
Cheers,
Steve
Serendipitously, through trying to buy some used books online, I was introduced to Jane Rose, a recent Bham grad, who did her distinction level thesis on EP. One e-mail led to another and I just finished reading her wonderful thesis reflecting her research in an EFL situation in Finland.
I may have been scared to death of EP at the start of my teaching career, but the older/more experienced I get, the more interesting it looks. I hesitate to try to describe it here and now, but encourage anyone who is interested in better understanding 'life in the classroom' to check it out.
Many thanks to Marco Polo for this updated link:
http://www.letras.puc-rio.br/epcentre/
Cheers,
Steve
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Essay time...
The Birmingham MA TEFL is a distance course consisting of six modules and a thesis (six 4000 word essays and a 12,000 word thesis). Each module contains two topics. The current module is LEXIS, then SYLLABUS & MATERIALS. We read like hell for as long as it takes and then have to crank out a 4000 word essay answering one of about 10 preset questions. The module lasts for 4 months and it feels like I'm reading for 3 months and then writing for the last month.
I've read a great deal (maybe even too much) and everything is still sifting its way to the bottom of my brain. It is really quite an unreasonable task to try and process all of this and come up with anything meaningful in such a short time, isn't it!
I was all set to offer up my own brave new world of TBL for my JSHS situation and now realize that TBL is pretty much dead according to many, even though Ellis, Willis, J. and Willis, D. may not admit it yet. I don't think they are entirely wrong in their ideas, just off track somewhat. I'll hopefully explain why in my essay. If you can't wait, go google Michael Swan, among others.
I'm hoping I can somehow salvage some new perspective/approach to the essay before I crash and burn at the end of March. Last week, one of our study group, Anthony, offered up his outline and sat in the online skype "hotseat" while we all attacked him (lovingly). At the end of an hour, he said that he now knew what he wanted to write in his essay, and felt ready to get writing/editing. It's my turn tomorrow evening and I hope my experience will be equally as clarifying. God knows when I'll send a draft to my tutor, but my classes ended last Friday, so I'll have more daytime hours to deal with my essay angst.
Still cheerful,
Steve
I've read a great deal (maybe even too much) and everything is still sifting its way to the bottom of my brain. It is really quite an unreasonable task to try and process all of this and come up with anything meaningful in such a short time, isn't it!
I was all set to offer up my own brave new world of TBL for my JSHS situation and now realize that TBL is pretty much dead according to many, even though Ellis, Willis, J. and Willis, D. may not admit it yet. I don't think they are entirely wrong in their ideas, just off track somewhat. I'll hopefully explain why in my essay. If you can't wait, go google Michael Swan, among others.
I'm hoping I can somehow salvage some new perspective/approach to the essay before I crash and burn at the end of March. Last week, one of our study group, Anthony, offered up his outline and sat in the online skype "hotseat" while we all attacked him (lovingly). At the end of an hour, he said that he now knew what he wanted to write in his essay, and felt ready to get writing/editing. It's my turn tomorrow evening and I hope my experience will be equally as clarifying. God knows when I'll send a draft to my tutor, but my classes ended last Friday, so I'll have more daytime hours to deal with my essay angst.
Still cheerful,
Steve
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