|
|
|
Return to Table of Contents for More Strategies INTRODUCTION: I have found that many
of my English as a Second Language students have had little experience in a
formal educational environment such as college, and a high percentage of them
are from cultures where students are expected to be passive and not participate
in class. Some are unaware of their own responsibilities in the learning process
and really seem lost. As a result of lacking good student habits, many fail and
don’t know why. To address this problem, I used Promise
Teams with my intermediate ESL class for four out of sixteen weeks in the
semester. I found that this activity helped many students modify their study
habits and become more active learners. This activity could be done with any
group that needs more self reflection on the actions necessary to create better
academic results. It helps students not only realize what the good habits of
successful students are, but also commit to practicing them. I allocated an hour
for the first day, and additional brief meeting times spread out over four
weeks, though it could be done in one or two weeks to fit a tighter schedule. PURPOSE:
SUPPLIES/SET UP:
DIRECTIONS: 1. Have students create teams of 4-5 and
give each group a different colored Handout #1, “Our Promises” and tell them
that the color will be their team color. 2. Explain: “You will all make a kind of
contract today. Together you will decide on five promises that your team will
keep for the next four weeks of class. These promises will be related to being
successful, responsible students in this class. Write all promises as full
sentences and use affirmative verbs. Make sure your ideas are very specific so
that you can count each time your team members achieve them. For example, it
would be hard to decide if members ‘have a good attitude’ every day, but
it’s easy to see if they ‘ask a question in class.’” Address any
questions. (2-5 minutes) 3. Tell students: “First, spend about five
minutes brainstorming for ideas. Try to come up with at least ten possible ideas
so you can then choose your five best ones from that group.” Visit the
teams to see how things are going and to encourage specificity. (5-10 minutes) 4. Say: “Now, you have 10 minutes to agree
upon and write up the five promises that your team would like to make about
becoming responsible students in this class. You will all sign your paper when
you finish. You are free to choose challenging ideas, but they should still be
doable.” Address questions; then visit teams to offer help or clarification.
(15-20 minutes) 5. Collect promise sheets, saying: “I will
make copies of these so both you and I can have one. I will put your promise
papers on this poster [show poster board titled ‘Our Class Promises’] and
our class Website [if you have one]. Today, you can start practicing your
promises, but we will officially begin next Monday, so come prepared.”
(2 minutes) 6. Next, tell them: “This is not a
competition. Even though you are in teams, you will work together as a class to
achieve your goals. If all of you can keep your promises at least 90% of the
class periods in the next four weeks, we will have a movie party and take a
class photo to put up on the Website with your posted promises. Give support and
positive encouragement to each other so you can all keep your promises to be
responsible students in this class.” (2 minutes) 7. Distribute the “Our Team’s Track
Record” handouts on colored papers that match their team colors. Explain:
“Each time your whole team keeps each promise for a day, put a checkmark in
the boxes for that day. You are on the honor system. Every week one of you will
be your team’s leader. The leader will bring the track record to every class
and mark it for each day. Every week, you will decide on a different leader, and
if you have five members in your group, one week you can have co-leaders.”
Allow for questions. Let them know you support their efforts and you’re sure
they can succeed. (2-5 minutes) 8. After class, make copies of the promise
sheets on the same color paper as the original. Then place them on the poster
board and class Website. 9. At the next class meeting, display the
poster and give them their copies of the promise sheets. Remind them that the
four weeks begin on that day. Since it’s the first day, you may need to allow
a minute or two for them to get organized. Also, give them a couple minutes at
the end of class to discuss and add checkmarks to their tracking sheets. As the
days pass, this will all become routine. 10. Check their progress often to make sure
they’re doing ok. Give teams some time (5-10 minutes) at the end of each week
to look over their check lists and discuss what is going well or what can be
improved. At the half way mark of two weeks, have a short (5-10 minute) class
discussion to make sure all is well. 11. On the last day of this project, ask the
teams to sit together and reflect upon their experiences. Ask: “What went
well? What was hardest? Which promises will you continue to practice in the
future? What are the benefits of these habits?” (10 minutes) 12. After they converse in Promise Teams,
have a whole class discussion about the above questions and offer your own
feedback as their teacher. (10-20 minutes) 13. Tell teams to count their checkmarks to
see if they achieved their goal of 90%. Write totals on the board. Congratulate
them on their victory (or efforts) and collect their track record sheets to put
comments on and return later. If they met their goal, announce when the movie
party will be. EXPERIENCES: When I first handed out the promise sheets,
there were a couple of groans, a few laughs and one “yea!” One complainer
said, “Do I have to?” (to which another student said “shhh!”), but many
seemed somewhat excited after I explained the activity. One said, “That’s a
good challenge.” When it came time to make promises, I needed
to help them make specific and realistic commitments. For example, one team
first wrote that they would be “friendly and respectful in class every day.”
I encouraged them to be more specific so they could count the times they really
achieve it. They came up with something quite different: “During these four
weeks, we will each make one appointment with our teacher to talk about our
class.” Some interesting promises were “Visit our
Website’s online exercises page three times a week…. Review our notes after
class…. Meet as a study team before each Friday’s quiz…. Drink coffee
before class.” (There was a sleepy boy in that last group). Many times throughout the four weeks, I
heard students reminding their team members to keep a promise. Once, things
seemed to be getting negative for one group (although they were speaking a
language I don’t understand, I could see the facial expressions), so I met
with them after class. Three students were frustrated with one of their members
who kept forgetting to bring his textbook to class. I helped them remember to
try to be positive and encouraging. On the last day, most of the teams were
already looking at their track records before class. One student even had a
calculator out to figure what 90% would be. We had a good discussion about their
efforts, and when we totaled the numbers, we found they had actually checked 92%
of their boxes. There was a big hooray and applause when the official results
were announced. Many students said they felt proud of themselves. One student
said that it wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be, and over half the
students raised their hands when I asked who would continue to try to keep these
good habits. We decided when to have our movie party, and one student announced,
“Look good next time for our picture, everybody!” OUTCOMES: Significantly, the class achieved the 90%
goal of keeping their promises to be responsible students. I experienced such
magical moments as seeing almost every student open a notebook at the start of
class to take notes. Before, I had had to beg many of them to do so. One grumpy
student told me she hated taking notes, but begrudgingly admitted it gave her
good information to study before our tests. I could see some students’
epiphanies that their efforts matter and directly affect their educational
experience. I could also see more support going on in
the classroom, although not quite as much as I had dreamed of. One team was
especially good about reminding not only its own members, but other classmates
as well to stay on task. A few students seemed to give up and rebel against the
process, and one young man pouted his way through the four weeks, though he
actually helped his team reach their 90% mark by keeping the promises more often
than not. I also noticed that some of the better students would talk down to
students they thought were being lazy. I talked to them about it, but they
didn’t all stop this behavior – often speaking in their native language as
to make their criticisms “secret.” I believe at least some of the students will
continue their commitments beyond the activity. LESSONS LEARNED: I will use this activity again in future
semesters, but with some possible changes. First of all, I plan to simplify some
things because this was quite a lot to accomplish. Three possible options are to
a) shorten the time to two weeks, b) reduce the number of promises to three per
group, and c) offer a list of prepared measurable habits from which they can
choose. They would be welcome to come up with their own instead or in addition
to these, but at least it would give them some ideas about where to start. Another thing I may do differently is to
offer “Oops Tickets” to use if anyone messes up once so students who are
struggling don’t feel they are letting their teammates down. I would also like
to try this activity earlier in the semester so they can practice good habits
from the beginning. Finally, since the tracking of promises was a bit confusing
for them at first, I will probably use an overhead projector to demonstrate how
to fill in the Track Record handout and check in with them more regularly. SUPPORT MATERIALS: Handout #1: Our
Promises 1. We promise we will… 2. We promise we will… 3. We promise we will… 4. We promise we will… 5. We promise we will… We promise to try our best and to support
each other in order to achieve our five promises. Our Team’s Signatures: HANDOUT #2: Our
Team’s Track Record Instructions – The team leader of the week
will keep track of the team’s performance for one week. Put a checkmark next
to each team promise for each class day that the WHOLE team has achieved it. Remember to
support each other in achieving your goals!
After four weeks, count your check marks.
There are 60 squares in the Team Track Record – did you have 90% of them
checked (54 boxes)? Total Checks: ______ --Cathy Johnson, Faculty, ESL, * * * * * The ON COURSE NEWSLETTER publishes innovative strategies for helping students become active, responsible learners. To subscribe to this bi-weekly (monthly in the summer) e-newsletter, click here and send the resulting e-mail. No need to type anything. Our computer will automatically add your return address to the list of subscribers. You're always in charge of your subscription, with a subscribe/unsubscribe link in every newsletter. Have a best practice to share? Click here and request our publication guidelines. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
