Notes on Reinforcement

Reinforcement = strengthening of a response

We talk about strengthening the content (making it more available for a student to recall);

and strengthening a student’s behavior (making it more likely that the student will behave in a way we want him/her to)

Activity: (1) Break into small groups based on the reading, Praise or Feedback, and answer the associated questions.
(2) Regroup so each group has at least one person who read each reading and teach each other the content of the reading they did not do.

Notes on Opening and Closing

Looking for ways to encourage students to prepare for your class. One way is to “quiz” them on the reading they were to do. One way to quiz is with guided notes: basically an outline of the reading that students need to fill in.

Activities: Break into groups of three or so and together fill in these notes. Gather back into a class and talk through the guided notes together.
(2) Work in (A,B) pairs.
Partner A has 30 seconds to name as many ways to open a class as he/she can.
Partner B has 30 seconds to explain which of those suggestions he/she thinks would be the most effective regular opening for his/her class.
Next Partner B has 30 seconds to list as many ways to close a class as he/she can.
Partner A has 30 seconds to explain which of those suggestions would be most appropriate in his/her class.

For Next Week: Perform an observation in another class using this form.