This week, our Motivation Monday reading was "7 Things High School Juniors Can Do to Prepare for College". If you get a chance, please read through it. There are some great reminders to discuss with your student, especially if you have any who are juniors or younger. For this entry, I would like to focus on item #1: Build Relationships with Teachers.
The article focused on the importance of fostering those relationships so that students have resources to get letters of recommendation during the college and scholarship application process. Several students added that, since every teacher has of course graduated from college themselves, they could get advice from teachers about topics ranging from the application process, to scholarship opportunities, to college itself - what it's like, study habits to build, why they chose the college they went to, etc. I think that's a great idea! Nothing talking to someone who's "been there" to get an idea of what you are in for. But I think there is another great reason to build relationships with teachers. Every semester, every year, I hear things from parents and students like: "I would have done better on that test, but I didn't understand the material."; "I didn't know you that Jenny could retake a test in your class!"; "I didn't understand the instructions, so I never finished the assignment."; "What do you mean there was a due date? When did you collect that?!". Sadly, issues like these could have been handled LONG before the end of the semester, had a student just come to me to ask questions or get a little help. Where am I going with this? How about building those relationships with teachers, and making those connections, so that you feel more comfortable approaching an instructor - or any other "authority figure" for that matter? In class I pointed out that it seems as though more students are much less likely to come see me (or other teachers for that matter) or seek help from me. Maybe there is a concept they don't understand, but don't ask for help. Maybe they have a question about their grade, but don't speak up in a timely manner. Or maybe they are confused about an assignment or due date, but don't ask for clarification. This skill is referred to as self-advocacy - representing one's own views or values in a timely, respectful manner - a valuable skill in many settings, not just school. By building those teacher relationships and practicing self-advocacy in the relatively low-threat, familiar setting of high school, it might be easier to approach the professor of your college class with a question or clarification someday. Or seek an appointment with your advisor. Or talk to your manager about changing your hours so you have time for schoolwork. Or asking your doctor for clarification on a prescribed treatment. I think I speak for most teachers - and definitely for myself - when I say that we WANT you to ask questions, get clarification, and advocate for yourself! So many conflicts that occur between teachers, parents and students stem from misunderstandings that could have been avoided if the student had respectfully gone to the teacher in a timely manner to discuss the matter. I post my GPS schedule every week and welcome students to see me after school. I schedule after-school study sessions. I even encourage students to bring their lunch to talk or work while we eat! I went into this career because I WANT to help students be successful (despite what I am sure many of them think). Sadly, too many of them never take advantage of these opportunities. Two important keys to keep in mind:
Please feel free to contact me with any comments or questions. Mr. Mason Your Physics student is cordially invited to join us for our first PHYSICSPALOOZA of the year!
When: Thursday and Friday, Oct. 29 & 30, 3:30-4:30 Where: H13 What: Time to collaborate with classmates on physics! Finish labs, get assignments checked off, get access to answer keys, ask questions...ANYTHING PHYSICS! If you student is struggling in AP Physics, is missing a lot of assignments, or just needs a place and time devoted to AP Physics, PLEASE "encourage" them (against their will if necessary!) to attend. Contact Mr. Mason with any questions! It's that time of year again - Parent-Teacher Conferences! Conferences will be held Wednesday and Thursday, from 4 PM to 7:45 PM each day. Please make plans to be there! Due to coaching duties, I will not be at my table until approximately 5:45 each day. If this does not work with your schedule, PLEASE contact me individually so that we can make alternative arrangements.
Yesterday, the Omaha World Herald ran a great piece about how to make the most of Parent Teacher Conferences. Please take a moment to read the article as you prepare to meet your student's teachers this week. There are some great tips! In addition, please consider the following:
Not sure why I went so deep into this, but I got really curious after being brought up to speed about the "controversy" by my 3rd period class. They wanted my opinion, most likely because of my vast physics knowledge, as well as how the white content of my winter beard makes me look wise. I saw white and gold right away, even after being told the true answer was blue and black. The students responded so strongly the other way, I formed a hypothesis and decided to do science to it. Hypothesis: That adults would tend to see white/gold, while students would tend to see blue/black. Reasoning: The brain processes not just the light coming off of the object in question, but attempts to contextualize it by processing the surrounding information as well. Since the area immediately surrounding the dress in question was bright, the brain could be influenced to think that the subject was standing in a shadow (awning, tree, etc), with a bright exterior background, resulting in a bluish tint coming from a white dress. Since adults have more contextual experience than students, it is likely that adults would show a greater tendency to see the "shading effect" than younger students who do not have the same depth of visual contextual experience. The test: Admittedly unscientific poll asking participants for their impression of the dress color, ignoring the "actual" answer (blue/black). One survey was sent to the staff (presumably adults, although...), one sent to students. Results were tabulated. Data: Collected 2:30, 2/27/2015 Staff Blue/Black 12 White/Gold 11 What the...? 7 Students Blue/Black 19 White/Gold 24 What the...?! 3 Conclusion: I was wrong. Results were approximately even, with a slight students showing a slight tendency towards seeing White/Gold, in contrast to my hypothesis. Due to the nature of this study (self-reporting, small sample size, possible multiple entries), it's hard to tell what if there really is a correlation between age and perception in this case, but it would not appear so. I am chalking up my original hypothesis to availability heuristic: my original perceptions were based on the available sampling of students who coincidentally had a strong opinion. There has to be a lesson in science, bias, and why/how we do science in there somewhere... #science Thanks for your indulgence. The article I shared with classes today was about tips for easing test anxiety. I thought the timing was appropriate, considering they with all have a few tests this week! The author recommends three methods for easing test anxiety. All of them take very little time, cost nothing and have been shown to have a direct impact on test results. Please take some time to read it, and discuss it with your student. In addition, here are some other tips I have come across in my reading on the subject:
This week:
Have a great week and a relaxing, safe holiday season! As always, please feel free to leave comments below, or contact me directly with any questions. R. Mason This week's article is about the importance of mindfulness. Please read it when you get a chance. It's an interesting read. The article discusses how the amount of incoming information we are bombarded with has grown dramatically. Simultaneously, the downtime we are given in our schedules has diminished just as dramatically. The result is that our brain doesn't have a chance to do anything with that information - process, make connections, etc. This has led to side effects such as increased stress, difficulty focusing on tasks, and emotional/psychological unrest. Mindfulness is the art of being aware and in the moment, paying attention fully to what you are doing. While this may sound like some New Age mumbo-jumbo, the article points out that "several promising studies have demonstrated the power of mindfulness mediation in schools to improve executive functioning, reducing stress, anxiety and aggression." As we enter a high stress time when students, parents and teachers alike have a lot of demands placed on them due to the approaching holidays, and the end of the semester, it is a good idea to take a little quiet time to yourself. In the future, I will share articles with some ideas to improve mindfulness, but here are a couple in the meantime:
Speaking of stress... It's hard to believe it, but we are less than three weeks away from the end of the semester. It seems like just yesterday I was introducing myself to a new crop of students! With that in mind, there is precious little time to get what you want out of this semester - either by maintaining what you already have, or by doing something to improve your situation. Please check in with your students and/or PowerSchool regularly these last few weeks. Encourage, remind, push them to stay on top of things. I will accept late work and retests up until December 12th. If you choose to complete a retest, remember that arrangements must be made BEFORE the 12th. See me ASAP. There are requirements to relearn the material to qualify for a retest, and that takes time. The article I shared with my classes today focused on a more specific academic success skill: note-taking. I encourage my classes to take notes. Often times they are a required assignment. But I have been noticing that many students don't know how to take notes effectively. Many try to write down every word that is said or appears on a page. For others, it's the opposite problem: they only write down a list of equations and bolded words from the text. What can you do to help your student with this skill?
I hope this helps! There are a number of studies referenced in the article that support note-taking as a success strategy in academics. It's a good habit to get into in high school, before they head off to college and have to pay big buck for their classes...and their mistakes! Speaking of things you can do do help your student...check PowerSchool with your student and identify any assignments that are marked as missing (orange dot) or "NHI" for "Not Handed In". Set aside some time each day over break for them to make progress on these assignments. Have them pick one assignment and work on it until it's complete before moving on to another. This is a great opportunity to catch up, especially for so many of my AP students who are loaded with tough classes and activities! Physics Phamilies... Tonight I will be hosting another Physicspalooza in my room after school. Please encourage your student to attend if they are available. This is a chance for them to seek help, work with classmates, complete and check missing assignments, or just have some Physics work time. Finally, to everyone: Please enjoy the time off. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break. Take time to give thanks for the people around you, and whatever blessings you can count. I look forward to coming back in a week, rested and recharged, and ready to make the final push to the end of the 1st semester! As always, feel free to leave comments below, or contact me via email or Twitter with questions. R. Mason Today I tried something a little different and let a couple of students choose the Motivation Monday article for today. They happened to choose one titled "Too Many Kids Quit Science Because They Don't Think They're Smart". Please read the article for yourself, but here are some thoughts...
The article refers to a couple of terms that we are focusing on in Bellevue Public Schools: fixed mindset vs. growth mindset. What does that mean? A fixed mindset is one in which it is believed that talent and ability, even intelligence, exist at a permanent, fixed level. People with this mindset tend to attribute a person's success solely to that person's talent, abilities and intelligence. (Ex: "Great job on that test, you are so smart!") On the other hand, someone with a growth mindset attributes success to things like effort, persistence, learning from errors, focus, etc. (Ex: "I see you are getting a good grade in physics - you are working so hard!"). While these may seem harmless or superficial, psychologists are starting to learn that parents and students of a fixed mindset have a tendency to self-limit what they or their student can do. Lack of success in something is attributed to some fixed quantity: they just aren't smart enough, or just don't understand that kind of material, etc.). This makes it difficult for students to overcome struggles and obstacles along the way. However, if we can begin to shift to a growth mindset, there are options for overcoming those obstacles - work, effort, perseverance, learning from mistakes. The student has a tendency to believe that they can get through those struggles if they try something else, or put in more time and effort. (For more on this, see an earlier article I shared about the importance of struggle) This article advocates that when praising students, parents and teachers should focus more on "process praise". Value the time, effort and approach that go into an achievement or success, rather assign a talent, intelligence or ability to it. In my class, what does this look like? As you monitor your student, focus less on the assignment or overall grade, and more on what it takes to get there. Ask them questions like "How did you do that? Tell me about it". When they are challenged, ask them things like "What are you doing to learn the material?" "Have you been doing the practice work?" "Have you asked for help?". As always, I look forward to any questions and comments you have. Have a great week! R. Mason Good morning and happy Monday!
Today, the Motivation Monday article I am sharing with my classes is "Studying with Quizzes Helps Make Sure the Material Sticks." As always, please read it when you get a chance. In discussing the article with students, it surprises me how few pick up on the main reason I shared the article with them. They tend to see the parts that discuss how teachers and college professors need to use the research. However, there is some powerful information that can help students manage their OWN learning!
DID YOU KNOW...that Bellevue East offers a Guided Study Hall after school Monday through Thursday in the Library? I bring this up because a number of my students have fallen or are falling behind on practice assignments. There are ways that as parents, teacher and student we can use this.
Hope you find this information as useful as I do. As always, you are encouraged to comment below or on twitter, and feel free to email or call with any specific questions. Have a great week! R. Mason |
AuthorPhysics teacher and football coach at Bellevue East High School Archives
November 2017
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