Computer Science in Science PD: Dispositions and Classroom Culture - Discussion

I would like to create a culture of collaboration among my students. Students would learn the etiquette of listening and responding to the ideas of others. Activities geared toward developing teamwork and how to critically analyze evidence would be practiced in class. Some the barriers would be allowing the students to make mistakes and figure out on their own how to correct them. Getting the students to properly disagree and respect the ideas or opinions of others is another barrier.

The culture that I strive to create in my classroom is that we need mistakes to make sure that we are right, and that asking questions doesn’t make us look dumb but shows that we care about our learning. I always point out that it took Edison over 1,000 tries before he discovered the right way to make a light bulb so it is okay that they don’t get something right the first time as long as they learn from it and move forward. I also make a point that when I get asked a question I am the last person they ask and that when I answer it is almost always in the form of a question. The problem I have seen and expect to see is that students want to know if they are right or not and lack the motivation to continually modify or improve once they feel their work is “good enough”. However when high interest is involved students will work their way through tough challenges and this is where I strive to be majority if not all the time. In a perfect world that is.

The classroom culture I encourage is one that is safe where students feel comfortable asking questions and making mistakes. Students are respectful of one another and they work together to conquer difficult situations. All students have strengths and relying on one another will foster a community of learners.

As I move into my 3rd year of teaching, I have been working hard to put the learning in the hands of students, which they do enjoy but sometime they resist because they are always looking for the “right” answer. Because of this, I worry they will not have the persistence to keep working through the code. I like stressing in my class that we are a community of learners where we all come from different places and experiences. Everyone is a valid resource for understanding so collaboration and discussion is very important. Hopefully re-emphasizing this in the computer modeling environment will help students get “unstuck”.

I love the idea that the teacher is a guide and a coach. This doesnt mean we are hands off, it means we are helping the students find the best resources and methods to answer their question. This fits in with the collaborative, student centered problem based learning culture I would like to see in my classroom.

One thing that comes to mind is the CCSS-M mathematical practice #1 persevere in solving the problem. Students may feel stuck, but with practice they can learn to persevere.

I want to promote a classroom culture where students know that it is okay to make mistakes and that persistence is key in becoming proficient in any content. I want students to feel comfortable with working together and asking each other for help. I anticipate that I will have students who will become frustrated easily and feel defeated if they are not successful on the first try. These students may ask for answers rather than try to work through problems.

the most crucial classroom culture element for my ideal classroom would be a safe space for ideas. students should not be afraid to ask questions and express their thinking. another important classroom culture element is being open to new and even sometimes absurd ideas. peer pressure and unaccustomed to sharing ideas freely are my anticipated barriers.

I’d have to agree the a safe space would be most important in any classroom environment. A culture of learning and cooperation would be highly beneficial. I anticipate students needing to essentially “re-learn” what they’ve been taught or allowed to create in other classroom settings.

I agree that the learning process shouldn’t just be one-sided, and with the amount of technology our students use, there are probably many things we can learn from them.

I want to create a classroom culture where it is ok to “mess up”. My students, and specifically my Diverse Learners, are so hard on themselves that they may feel defeated the first time they get something wrong.

I anticipate running into barriers such as students giving up, students wanting me to do the work for them, and being able to successfully modify & differentiate this curriculum for my students.
Reply:
I worry about the same thing! But then again, we were all new to something at one point or another!

I always let my students know that mistakes are good and that without making mistakes you wouldn’t grow as a learner. Many children (and teachers!) have a very difficult time with this. There is a lot of pressure on students to achieve and to not look “stupid” in front of their peers. I often see this as a barrier; if a student is not willing to take the risk of failure, they will not try. I often reflect on better ways to create a culture in my classroom where mistakes are okay and discuss on how to learn from them. This changes year to year and from period to period, depending on the students in my room.

The classroom culture I want to promote is an environment where students are free to explore, create and share. I want my students not to be afraid of making mistakes and to persevere when faced with challenges. I also want a collaborative classroom where students can share their ideas and programming solutions with each other so they all learn.
Some obstacles we will face is time and also technology and internet bandwidth. We will have a cart of Mac Airs but I anticipate slow internet due to our concrete building.

I agree that I will be a facilitator who will be leading the class to learn from each other. Mistakes will be made and students might have a hard time with understanding that this is a part of the process.

In my classroom I currently use this model of teaching with both robotics and CAD instruction. The students a given an open ended problem to solve, we discuss what success looks like and then they get to work. Peer collaboration is not only encouraged but expected, also looking at solutions to similar problem (looking in side other peoples code). My role is usually as a facilitator, also while I am not an expert in either robotic code or our CAD software I am very good at finding the help I need, this is a skill I am very comfortable teaching to my students.

Last year when my Middle Schoolers were coding they would be surprised when they got stuck and asked me for help I didn’t just know the correct answer. I’d say, “Let’s try this…” or “I don’t know. We will have to work together to solve it.” They thought I knew how to solve all of the problems in Code.org or CodeHS that they were doing.

I tell them that technology can be frustrating but you can’t give up. You will make mistakes and that it is ok and should be expected. I noticed that some students don’t have the perseverance to work though an issue. They want to solve it in two or three tries. It takes a lot of work to build a community of learners who understand and can handle not knowing how to do something and/or working through a problem to it’s completion and get gratification from being successful. Many decide it isn’t worth it and give up.

This is my third year teaching as well and I am trying to move my students the same way. I have noticed curiosity has been leaving and the students are just worried about if they got it right or not and are not asking questions. I am trying to reignite the curiosity in my classroom.

I like each classroom to develop it own culture. Each group I teach develops its own personality, I want to guide them to there best learning opportunities.

I like the idea of coach and supporter, that is not having or providing the answers, but by assisting by giving direction when needed. Barriers I anticipate running into would be time, in the “real” classroom culture there is a full list of concepts to be completed, and little time to get through them as adequately as possible. Completing given lab problems to support concepts takes time; to have students develop and test designs for them would seem to slow this process down even more –

I strongly encourage a risk-taking classroom environment, where it is ok to make mistakes en route to completing a project or task.

I agree with the idea of facilitator rather than providing all answers at all times. One barrier , though, would be getting students who are not used to such thinking, to buy in to a program that asks them to work harder to find answers. (as opposed to relying solely on the teacher).