What do you think of the
following statement: “Energy drives students towards higher attainment”? Discuss why you agree or disagree.
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(Additional comments on this post no longer earn points. Please choose a more recent entry).
Jarrod Duarte
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that "Energy drives students towards higher attainment". From a student's perspective, I know that I obtain a greater command of a subject if I want to talk about the subject when I am out of class with friends or my parents. It helps me organize my thoughts and realize what I know and what I don't know, and in my experience this energy comes from the teacher first, and the subject second. A teacher that provides energy to the students can make up for a less than appealing subject and when students are energetic about a class or subject, they will be more likely to learn or use what they have learned outside of the classroom. In my opinion, there are very few things in the world where the process is just as important as the result, and language acquisition is an example of this. The struggle to communicate is important and necessary in language acquisition, and if students are "energetic" they will be more likely struggle positively rather than negatively.
Jarrod Duarte
I also agree with this statement. Energy and enthusiasm exhibited by the teacher can, as Jarrod pointed out, keep student’s attention even with a difficult or dry topic. When volunteering with the conversation clubs last semester, I saw how classroom energy really did contribute to success. The students who came in and immediately began chatting and laughing with friends felt at ease during the activities and participated more than the withdrawn students. Sometimes students would get really excited about a topic or new language discovery and express this loudly, but it did not interfere with the class, rather gave them a chance to share their new knowledge (understanding of a joke, discovered similarities between their own language and English, realization that classmates had traveled to their country, etc.). However, I think teachers have to be careful not to let classroom energy become a goal in itself, but should use it to promote language learning.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is a joy to come to class when the teacher not only presents the material, but does it with authority and in an interesting way. The teacher's energy is a catalyst that spreads to the students, giving them the drive to study for their own enlightenment and enjoyment. Energy can overcome boring material, poor classroom environment and to some degree speech limitations of the teacher. But energy is not a goal itself. If it is not accompanied by good preparation and presentation the student will not catch the teacher's energy. So given energy's importance, a teacher should a) prepare him/her self by proper preparation and rest, b) respect for the class and each individual student, and c) come prepared to interact with the students in ways that get them interested and involved. Then the students can take the energy home and use it to further their learning.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this statement. It really does make a difference when there is “energy” in a class compared to one where you can feel that everyone is “drained.” I have a teacher who is very energetic, and I really look forward to that class every time, even if it is hard (the material is very hard and sort of discouraging). So, even if I might feel discouraged because of the material, whenever I am in class and I get that energy from the teacher and everyone, it encourages me to just try harder, and become better. This is important in a language classroom, because it is hard to learn another language whether you are a good student or not, and so it might be discouraging to some. However, if in class they can get that energy from not only the teacher, but their classmates also, then I think it would be a huge push to encourage the students to do their best and keep pushing themselves.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with everyone that energy makes a big difference in a class. If the teacher radiates energy, it is contagious and soon the class will respond in kind. I have found that when I am very confident about the subject matter that is being taught, and I have a good lesson plan, it is a lot easier to be enthusiastic. There is nothing worse than either standing in front of or being in a 'dead' class, time passes slowly that way and instead of concentrating on the material at hand, I am counting the minutes until we get out. It really helps when you love what you do because that kind of enthusiasm is sincere and cannot be manufactured. People are really good at seeing through 'fake' enthusiasm. If you as a teacher are concerned about the welfare of your students and are committed to helping them, this will stand out and that enthusiasm (not necessarily being hyper or funny) will shine through.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone's comments that energy drives students towards higher attainment. In my Spanish class, the instructor always maintains a high level of energy. If she feels the class is dragging along, she will have us stand up and do an exercise that gets us moving and talking to each other. I’ve been in other classes with low energy and a monotone instructor and it takes a lot more work to pay attention and stay alert. As an instructor, it is important to be aware of your body language. It is also important to project your voice so everyone can hear you. Sincere enthusiasm goes a long way to making the learning experience fun and productive.
ReplyDeleteEnergy drives every living thing toward their short term or long term goals. However, energy alone is not enough. It needs to be tamed and instructed to be more effective. Students who are very energetic could feel enthusiast by everything that could help them learn, but they won’t be able to apply everything in one time. This could upset them and drag them back a little bit. This is why direction could help them be more focused and organized. This also would help save their energy to what really would make a difference in their learning process rather than wasting it in punch of repetitive activities
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement. Energy of both teachers and students is important in classroom. It can create more active and more enthusiastic atmosphere for teachers to teach and students to learn. Students always like to study in a relaxed and excited situation and can learn more even they don’t realize. And energy to be creative is especially effective for some topics students are not interested in. Like learning grammar rules, which has no fun, needs teachers to use interesting way to introduce to students and make them memorable. And for students, they need to stay curious and interested in learning L2. I also think that applying energy appropriate is important too. If we teach kids who are so energetic and will not be disciplined, energy will lose its own effects and teacher must control it back into a correct track.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because my best teachers were energetic and passionate. They showed me that they wanted to be there and they actually cared about what they were talking about. On the student’s part, it reintroduces the notion of the intrinsic/extrinsic motivation. One could have tons of intrinsic motivation, but an unenthusiastic teacher is major buzz kill. If the intrinsic motivation is already enormous within an individual, it would be a wasted opportunity not to meet the student halfway by matching that energy extrinsically.
ReplyDeleteThat’s something I struggle with during Conversation Club. Admittedly, I was disconnected from the last meeting due to things I was thinking about. The attendees certainly are not dumb; they could sense my discomfort and awkwardness. Body language is (for the most part) a universal language that people can read. So, I can see the importance of making up for the thoughts going on in my head with positive body language. Also, I am a believer in energy, so I need to learn how to go into a mental zone to emit positive vibrations. “Students (and teachers) take energy with them when they leave the classroom and bring it back the next day” (254). This true in Conversation Club to encourage retention of the students week to week.
Like everyone else, I agree with this statement. We need to help our students be excited about learning. I liked what the book said about energy not just meaning being an over-the-top, bubbly teacher, but rather something that comes through "solid preparation, confidence in your ability to teach, a genuinely positive belief in your students' ability to learn, and a sense of joy in doing what you do." Good lesson planning and delivery have everything to do with energy in the classroom. When we make interesting or engaging activities, we create opportunities for this sort of energy among our students that deepens their desire to learn. Especially for language learners, it's vital that they pursue growth outside of class. Really good teachers help instill a desire in their students to take learning beyond the classroom. When we do a lousy job planning or simply don't have enough time to prepare, we squash that energy and make studying a chore. But when we make studying enjoyable and interesting, inspiring this energy and creating opportunities for it to develop, we are helping our students gain the sort of motivation that will drive them on to higher levels.
ReplyDeleteI too agree with my classmates that yes, high energy classrooms are the most motivating learning environments. It may seem simple, but being energetic about what you are presenting gets students excited about learning. It can even trick them into being excited about learning things that might really be boring, it's all about the presentation of the material. When teaching you are on display and students can easily pick up on your unpreparedness, nervousness, and level of interest in being in the classroom. If you don't convey that you are happy to be there teaching, how can students be expected to enjoy their time in class? High energy teaching comes along with the confidence you derive from a solid class plans and feeling comfortable with the material you are teaching. You cannot be energetic in teaching if you don't have a well-laid out class plan, and while energy is technically optional, presenting an otherwise solid lesson plan with low energy will compromise it's integrity as much of the content will escape students who have zoned out from boredom.
ReplyDeleteExperiencing a class that makes you excited about learning the topic does encourage students to learn more on their own but it doesn’t necessarily drive them to do it. For example, I took a class on creativity that was phenomenal. The professor was legendary, the students were motivated and intelligent, and the structure of the class in which students were organized into teams that participated in a semester long competition with lunch with the prof as a reward facilitated great creative energy. However, while that class was memorable and even reflecting on it makes me energetic and motivated to want to re-look up my class notes, I probably will not because the main thing that made that class great was not the content I learned but the people and the structure of the class. That is an experience that can’t be duplicated (the prof has retired and the students have moved on) so I look back on it fondly but am not driven to learn more on my own because I consider the source of the class’ energy to be from the experience itself rather than from the course material being revolutionary or motivating enough for me to learn more on my own.
ReplyDeleteBeing an enthusiastic teacher and encouraging your students to be enthusiastic about what they are learning is a very useful tool for teaching. When your students are excited about what they are learning they will learn more because they become more internally motivated. While grades or other external motivators can be useful for getting students to achieve, this will not, for most students be as effective as getting the students to be internally motivated. Further, positive motivation and attitudes create higher achievement than negative motivation and attitudes. So therefore if students are excited about what they learn they should be more successful in doing so. Of course, the teacher’s attitude and enthusiasm affects the student’s. That being said, enthusiasm about learning is not all that is required for students to truly attain a language. They need quality teaching as well. It does not matter how enthusiastic you are if your lessons are not well designed and executed well.
ReplyDeleteI do think that energy is a vital part of what motivates students to attempt more and more as they study. It is not, however, the only facet that impacts motivation. No matter how much energy a teacher has, if they don't have solid content to accompany it the students still will walk away without being motivated in their studies. So while energy is a major factor in creating that sense of drive, as teachers I don't believe we should focus on creating it to the exclusion of content.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I do believe that energy is one of primary motivators for students. I currently teach in a room with two other sets of students (each of which has its own teacher) and there is a palpable difference between my own group of students and the others. I intentionally set aside time before I walk into class to clear my mind of other distractions, so that I am able to come to class energetic and fully motivated and focused. I know I may not always have the ability to set aside time for preparation, but I hope that I always do set aside at least a few seconds to get into that head-space of being a motivational, energetic teacher. I have noticed even in the short time I've been teaching that it makes a huge difference in the students' willingness to participate and enter into the learning process.
I'm down the middle with this statement. I agree that energy helps with the desire to attain something, but its not the driving force. I am a mid-energy teacher, but I try to stay upbeat to keep my students motivated. When students see that I am here to help they seem to want to work more or harder. However, students energy isn't always there. I can only give so much "energy" but if students don't put out the energy or the want to attain something then nothing can happen.
ReplyDeleteSo I think its a combination of motivations of the teacher and students as well as effectively teaching the subject manner that leads to higher attainment for both the students and the teacher. If neither are motivated then all the energy in the world will not help. There is a fine balance when it comes to driving students to want more for themselves.
Stefani Goode
I'm not in total agreement with this statement. I know that it is vitally important to have energy in a classroom and as an instructor, you sometimes must be the sole provider of that energy until the class picks it up, but I'm not sold that being energetic will drive the students' motivation. I've been in a classroom where the instructor was very high energy and she comletely weirded the students out and we all just shut down. I've also been in classrooms where it worked out well. (I think the energy level is a "know your students" issue.)
ReplyDeleteI also don't think it's the driving force behind success. Students have to have their own motivations to want to do well and learn more; a teacher's energy might influence a student's motivation but again, isn't the driving force.
I also totally agree with the statement “Energy drives students towards higher attainment.” Energy is very important, and it could determine success or failure of teaching and learning processes. Long time ago, one of my high school teachers said to my classmates “Your class’ environment is somewhat different from other classes. Even though I teach the same things to your class and other classes, I receive different feelings depending on in which class I am teaching. Thus, in some class I really want to teach more enthusiastically, whereas in some other classes I am very tired and do not want to do anything.” Like this, energy is an aura of creativity sparked by the interaction not only of students but between students and teachers. If this energy is positive and enough, it could create some very powerful synergetic effects.
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