Growth Mindset and Motivation TIPR + edTPA Prep

Current Teacher Behaviors

A growth mindset, according to Dr. Dweck, is "the understanding that abilities and intelligence can be developed,"(mindsetworks.com). Using this theory in the classroom can be very beneficial for students because they can understand that putting in effort is beneficial and can greatly improve their academic achievement. The teacher who I am observing uses the idea of a growth mindset by giving the students the opportunity to learn how to play a different sport each unit and how to incorporate heart rate monitors into different types of workout plans. He lets the students know the importance of living a healthy lifestyle outside of the classroom and incorporates the use of the heart rate monitors to show the students why it is important to have a higher heart rate during physical activity and exercise. He uses extrinsic motivation, which is "behavior that is driven by external rewards such as money, fame, grades, and praise," (verywellmind.com) in his Fitness for Life class when he grades the students on a four point motivation scale. The motivation scale is based solely off of the heart rate monitor. There is a set heart rate zone that the students are motivated to be in during the exercise. In order to receive all four points, the students must be in that goal zone for 80% of the time. This is considered extrinsic motivation because the students because this type of motivation comes from an outside source--their grade. This idea is directly related to the Extrinsic Theory of Motivation. It is also related to the Goal Theory because the students are given performance goals that they are encouraged to reach during class. My cooperating teacher also uses intrinsic motivation, which is "the act of doing something without any obvious external rewards," (healthline.com) during his weight training class. The weight training class is an elective at the high school that he teaches at, so many of the students already are using intrinsic motivation to lift weights to begin with since they chose to take the class as their elective. I also noticed that he is much more relaxed with the weight class than he is with his fitness for life class. I asked him what he does when his students don't participate (which is much more common in the weights class) and he said that he will encourage them to start moving and lifting, but if they are not going to workout, then that is on them. I don't know if I necessarily agree with this concept, but I can sort of understand why he chooses to go about in this way. This concept of intrinsic motivation is directly related to Intrinsic Theory of Motivation. It is also related to the Self-Determination Theory--Ryan and Deci--because the self-determination theory, more specifically, autonomy (the universal urge to be causal agents of one's own life and act in harmony with one's integrated self) is used every day in his weights class. This is then related back to intrinsic motivation.

edTPA Prep

1. How does the teacher design lessons in a way that challenges students to engage?

My cooperating teacher designs lessons in a way that challenges students to engage by using both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in every lesson that I have observed. By using both of these types of motivation theories, the students are definitely more engaged than they are in other classes that I have observed. In his fitness for life course, all of the students are required to wear a heart rate monitor for the exercise portion of the course. I noticed that almost every student is very engaged and motivated to participate in the exercise portion because they can see where their heart rate is at during the workout.

2. What does the teacher do during class to further challenge students to engage?

Other than using the heart rate monitors, I have noticed that the teacher connects to the students personally and individually to further challenge students to engage. An example that I witnessed last week was that there was a student who was complaining about the workout being too hard and that he felt like he was out of breath. My cooperating teacher started talking to him about the upcoming soccer tryouts--which the student was planning on attending--and how this workout will help him with those tryouts because he will be working on his cardiovascular strength. This is just one example of engaging students in many ways which the teacher uses with multiple students throughout the day.

3. What does the teacher do to build mutual respect and rapport with the students? 

The cooperating teacher does not allow phones or other tablet devices use during his class. Since he expects this out of his students, he also does not use his phone or any other device during class. The same thing goes with dress code. He has an expectation for his students and he also abides by this dress code. I think that by doing this, the teacher is building trust and respect with his students. He also speaks to them like adults, not children. He does not demean them or talk down to them in any way. Because of this, I have noticed that the students seem to be more comfortable with him.

Student Needs

I would say that the majority of the students have a good mindset when they enter his fitness for life class. I am surprised to say that I have not noticed a lot of complaining regarding the workouts or activities that the teacher has prepared for the students. The majority of the students are also very motivated. I think that a lot of this comes back to the heart rate monitors and participation points. The students all wear heart rate monitors which track their heart rate during the 45 minute exercise portion of the class. In order to receive full participation points, the students must keep their max or goal heart rate for 80% of the workout. I think that the students could be more motivated if they had personal goals that they were trying to reach throughout the semester instead of goals expected of them.

Plans for your Lesson

I plan to address these needs when I teach my mini-lesson to this class by giving each of them the opportunity to write down their own personal goals for the day. I think that by writing down goals and putting them on paper can drastically make a difference in the drive and motivation that a student, or anyone, has.



Sources:
https://www.mindsetworks.com/science
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-extrinsic-motivation-2795164
https://www.healthline.com/health/intrinsic-motivation
https://www.learning-theories.com/self-determination-theory-deci-and-ryan.html

Equity Reflection

1. Compare the results of your interview with the results of your peers' interviews. Do you feel that students are getting equitable access to and use of technology in your content area? Why or why not? 

Myranda, Peter, and I's cooperating teachers all use the same technology--heart rate monitors. Lacey was the only one whose teacher did not use any sort of technology in their PE class. I think that the use of heart rate monitors are extremely beneficial for physical education classes because it provides students the knowledge of the importance of heart rate during exercise. If they learn how to properly use the monitors at a younger age, they are more likely to use them when they are no longer in school. Since Lacey's students did not have access to heart rate monitors, I do not think that students are getting equitable access to technology across the state. It is just a 45 minute drive up the I-15 from our schools to Lacey's, yet the technology that is being used is much different. 

2. Compare the results of your interview with the district that school is in and with the state overall. What does the data say about the equitability of what is happening in your cooperating teacher's classroom?

Jordan school district as 54,394 students. As of 2017, 1 device per student ratio statewide was 0.84 and Jordan school district is 0.85, so Jordan school district is about the same ratio compared to statewide. The district's average age of wired gear was 35% less than a year old and the state is only 11%, so the district is above the state average. In the fitness for life class that I am observing, every single student has access to their own heart rate monitor, so the relationship is 1:1. 

3. Compare the results of your interview with the overall state data and that of a VERY DIFFERENT district. What does the data say about the equitability of what is happening in your cooperating teacher's classroom?

Jordan vs Juab

Jordan-54,394 students 

Juab-2,553 students

Juab school district as of 2017 has 1.14 devices per student, which is significant compared to Jordan school district. Juab has over 1 device that is completely accessible to each student. Compared to the state, which is 0.84. On the contrary, 100% of the districts average age of wired gear is 4+ years old, and most likely should be updated in the near future. 

4. What does all of this mean for the kids?

In just the comparison alone of an urban vs a rural school district, the rural school districts have more devices per student, but their wired devices need to be updated sooner than the urban school districts does. I think that overall, the state of Utah is doing a great job at providing technology for their students and I think this is something that is going to continue to flourish over the next few years. 

Metacognition TIPR

Current Teacher Behaviors

1. My cooperating teacher is helping the students develop metacognition and become more self-regulated by providing learning strategies such as setting goals (planning and focusing attention) and self-questioning/self-testing (cognitive monitoring). These are mostly used when the teacher incorporates the heart rate monitors into his lesson. He uses heart rate monitors twice or three times per week during the 45 minute, workout portion of the class. The students have goals that have been pre-set by all the physical educators. The heart rate monitors have been preprogrammed to have a heart rate goal set for all the students. The students must hit the heart rate goal for at least 80% in order to receive full credit for the day. The only issue that I see with this, is that all the students are going to have different heart rate goals during their exercise. I think it would be more beneficial for the students to set their own heart rate goal to work towards, instead of having one already set for them. He uses self-testing (cognitive monitoring) throughout the workout to also have the students self-test themselves regarding their heart rate.

Students Needs

2. I think that the students would benefit greatly by being exposed to other strategies. I think that the students would benefit greatly by having a workout chart and having the students check off with one another when the complete the exercise safely and correctly. I also think that the students could benefit by explaining to a peer the benefits of a particular exercise so they know the real reason why they are doing it. If the students are given more appropriate strategies, I think that they would apply themselves even more then they already do. This could be very valuable for them.

Plans for your Lesson

3. I have lots of ideas to incorporate more of these learning strategies into the lesson plan that I will be teaching here in the next few weeks. One of the strategies is to spend more time on the demonstrations of the more difficult workout exercises that I have planned. This will go under the "study the right information in the right way" section of the textbook provided in the module--page 361. I will also use questioning to check the students understanding of the workout stations.

Defining Intelligence

1. What is your definition of intelligence?
- My definition of intelligence is: the ability to learn new information and apply it to real life situations and skills. 

2. How will that impact how you interact with and talk about your students?

-I think that every single person is intelligent in their own way. Everyone can acquire new information and apply it to their life. Because of this, I think that every student also has the ability to learn and to consider themselves intelligent. I want to approach my students with this mindset that they are capable of learning and that they all are intelligent. I do not think that intelligence should be measured only by how well you score on a test. 

Technology Inventory Interview Reflection

1. What surprised you about your cooperating teacher’s responses?

- I was surprised how advanced the heart rate monitors were that his class used. They looked very similar to other fitness trackers such as fit-bits and apple watches. The physical education teachers were able to program the monitors to have a median target heart rate that all students were recommended to have for at least 80-85% of their workout. Something else that surprised me was how concerned he was with the use of smart phones in the class. He said that he has some issues with using smart phones in class because not every student has a smart phone. He said that he could use iPads for the students who did not have access to a smart phone, but then the students health information then becomes a privacy issue--which is something that I had never thought about before.

2. What are some things that you think are “good” about what they said? Why do you think that?

-Something that I think is good about what my cooperating teacher said is that he believes that the use of technology in physical education is not necessary, but can be extremely beneficial. He said that the use of heart rate monitors has drastically helped with student motivation. Something else that he said which I enjoyed was that he wants to start implementing the use of video tutorials for his weight training class. He thinks that using video tutorials on specific weight lifting exercises can be great for those students who struggle with proper form and need a reminder. I also think that the use of YouTube video tutorials could be extremely beneficial because it will provide a way for the students to continue to get instruction throughout the class, even if the teacher is busy with another student.

3. What are some things that maybe aren’t so good about what they said? Why do you think that?

- I honestly cannot think of anything that my cooperating teacher said that was not good. He was very onboard with the use of technology in the classroom and is on track of learning ways that he can implement it into his different courses.

4. How is what you learned in the interview going to impact the planning and implementation of your mini-lesson? Consider what you'll be able to use, what you'll need to do to get approvals, timelines, etc.

- I definitely know that I want to implement the use of the heart rate monitors into my lesson. Since the teacher is already using them, the students are already very familiar with how they work and operate. I do not want to implement the use of mobile apps because as the teacher said, not every student has access to a smart phone. I do not want to make any students feel left out or uncomfortable. I am going to think over the next few weeks other creative ways I can implement technology in the class which everyone can fully participate in.