Anxiety in the Classroom.. What is it, and how can we reduce it

In Educational Psychology, Anita Woolfolk (2013) defines anxiety as “a general uneasiness, a feeling of self-doubt, and sense of tension” (p. 453).  She also indicates that anxiety can be both a cause and an effect of school failures.  Students may do poorly on a test because they are anxious, and as a result their anxiety level increases due to their poor performance.  It is proven that anxiety can have a profound effect on a child’s performance in school and should not be used as a stimulus for learning. 

Woolfolk (2013) indicates that anxiety can have both a cognitive and effective component.  When looking at the cognitive effects, a child may worry or have negative thoughts.  The child may constantly think about how horrible it would be to fail an assignment for test.  On the other hand, when looking at the affective side there is evidence that it “involves physiological and emotional reactions such as sweaty palms, upset stomach, racing heartbeat, or fear” (Woolfolk, 2013, p. 453).  Anxiety can affect a child’s learning and their ability to perform well on tests.  According to Woolfolk (2013) anxiety interferes with three points.  These points are a child’s focusing attention, learning, and testing (Woolfolk, 2013, p. 453). 

Anxiety should not be used as a stimulus for learning.  If a child has high anxiety in a classroom, he or she may not be able to stay focused on the task and learn new material.  The child may be constantly worrying about learning the information for the future test that he or she is not allowing his or herself the time and practice to learn the new information.  Children need good strong learning strategies and a less anxious environment for success. 

Source: persephonemagazine.com

One great video that I found that really helps children to reduce their anxiety and learn to relax is through implementing yoga into the classroom. The video shows how yoga was brought into practice in the classroom to help students feel less anxious, which can have a detrimental affect on their focus and well being.  I love this idea and I think that it is something I would love to incorporate into my future classroom. 

 

References

Woolfolk, A. (2013). Educational Psychology (12^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Token Reinforcement in the Classroom

In a previous semester I read an article about token economies being used in the classroom.  The article details what a token economy system is and gives an example of how it was implemented in a classroom and what the results were.  The name of the article is

The Token Economy: Reducing the Disruptive and Off-Task Behavior and it was someone's master thesis during college.  Check out a little synopsis of the article below and how Chevalier used token reinforcement in the classroom. 

The purpose of The Token Economy: Reducing the Disruptive and Off-Task Behavior is to examine the use of a token economy in a classroom setting in order to reduce behaviors that are considered to be off-task and disruptive.  Chevalier conducts an experiment using a token based reinforcement system with a raffle style drawing at the end of each week during a three week intervention.  The data was then analyzed and the results given.  In the study, the purpose of the token economy is to help correct off-task and disruptive behaviors in the classroom.  Providing the students with tokens and then having a raffle style drawing at the end of each week, entices the students to stay on take and behave according to classroom standards.  To have a beneficial impact on homework assignments completed outside of class, a different type of reward system should have been utilized.  Counting and adding tokens for homework completion was unnecessary to demonstrate the effect of the token economy in the classroom setting.  Chevalier’s study did in fact prove that the use of a token economy is very beneficial at curbing disruptive behaviors and helping to keep students on task.  In order to further test this hypothesis, extending the study to different grade levels and classroom situations, as well as holding the study during the whole day instead of only half day, would further indicate the success of this study. 

I have seen the concept of a token economy employed in the classroom when I was doing some observations and substituting in various classrooms.  I have seen the token economy system work and not work.  I do not believe that the token economy should be used to give students coupons to not do homework.  In my opinion, that's teaching students that homework is not valuable or beneficial to them in the growing and learning.  The token economy can be used to help increase on task behaviors and appropriate classroom behavior by providing students with either coupons or tokens which they can accumulate and then utilize to get "rewards".  These reward could, and should, be used to further their education.  For example if you were to use computer time as a reward for accumulating a certain amount of tokens, they students could use an education computer program.  Just remember to use your token economy system in a way that is not just bribing the students, but is used to encourage them to work better and achieve higher goals.

Source: www.gvsu.edu 

Check out the video that uses token reinforcement system in the classroom, but also used to token system to help students make choices, and even use decision making skill and math computation!  I must say, I think this could be a good idea.

 Works Cited

Chevalier, Nicole Taylor. (2012). The Token Economy: Reducing the Disruptive and Off-Task Behavior (Master’s Project).  Retrieved from Education Resources Information Center. (ED534397.)

Bilingual Education in the Classroom

While reading cluster 5, I was particularly interested in reading about bilingual education.  I was observing in a school in Newburgh last semester and the teacher I was with was telling about the bilingual program the elementary school has. In this program a child will learning one day in Spanish, and the next day to do a different teacher and essentially learn the material again in English.  This program is not just open to Spanish speaking children or English Language Learners, but rather is open to anyone who wants to enroll in the program.  It would be a great way for ELL's to learn English and be able to understand the concepts of what is being taught since the information is being reinforced in both English and Spanish, but it is also a great way for an English speaking child to become bilingual in Spanish.  I think more programs such as this should be available.  When I was reading the chapter in the textbook about sheltered instruction, it made me think of this bilingual program and how beneficial a program such as this could be. 

Check out this video that talks more in depth about bilingual education.

My Philosophy of Teaching

Many teachers have different philosophies for teaching.  I am in the process of getting my certification, so I cannot say for sure what my philosophy will be when I finally become a teacher, however, I do have a pretty good idea of some of the goals I would like to meet and opportunities I would like to provide to my students.  First, I would like to have an organized classroom where students can independently access the tools they need to complete their assignments.  I want them to feel comfortable to go about the classroom finding new books to read and new activities to engage in.  I also want my students to feel safe, secure and free from anxiety.  In order to achieve this I want to get to know my students and learn their likes and dislikes, and how they learn best.  I would my students to see me as a role model, and someone they can trust.  I think that in order for learning to occur in the classroom, children need to feel engaged and motivated.  Cluster 12 discussed many ways for motivation, such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and ways to encourage motivation that I will definitely revisit when the time comes for me to become a classroom teacher. 

Check out this video cool video about teaching philosophies!

Self-Regulation

When reading cluster 11 I was particularly interested in the section of emotional self-regulation and how to encourage this type of self-regulation in the classroom.  Woolfolk (2013) suggests some ways in which to foster emotional self-regulation in the classroom.  This can be done with creating a climate of trust, working with students to express their feelings and to pick up on the emotions of others through social cues and facial expressions.  Additionally, it is important to teach students how to cope with the emotions they are having and to recognize that different cultures express emotions differently.  Emotional self-regulation is important for a child's academic and personal development. 

Check out this video about emotional self-regulation.

Source: www.gifted.uconn.edu

References

Woolfolk, Anita.(2013).  Educational Psychology (12th ed.).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.