High-Stakes Testing

A high-stakes test is any test used to make important decisions about students, educators, schools, or districts, most commonly for the purpose of accountability—i.e., the attempt by federal, state, or local government agencies and school administrators to ensure that students are enrolled in effective schools and being taught by effective teachers. In general, “high stakes” means that test scores are used to determine punishments (such as sanctions, penalties, funding reductions, negative publicity), accolades (awards, public celebration, positive publicity), advancement (grade promotion or graduation for students), or compensation (salary increases or bonuses for administrators and teachers).

                                                                                              (High-Stakes Test Definition, 2017)

Sorry for that long introduction quote, but the whole paragraph is very important for this blog. I am currently a Kindergarten teacher in an academy (hagwon/학원) in Korea. When I was a child, I attended schools in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Therefore, for this blog I will compare high-stakes testing in my current school here in Korea with one from HISD.

HISD
It has been so long since I last attended my university, even longer since I attended Kindergarten and elementary school (between 25 and 30 years ago)! Therefore, my memory of it is not so well. So to get a better idea of what high-stakes testing is like nowadays, I interviewed a teacher that currently teaches in HISD at the moment (let's call him Pat). Pat is a Pre-K teacher in a Pre-K to 5th grade school in HISD. He has been teaching there for almost 20 years now. For simplicity, I will summarize our interview in bullet-point form for convenience:

*How much time is spent in testing?

Pretty much at my school, the first two weeks are spent on establishing rules and routines. After those two weeks, all of the learning is based on STAAR testing (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness). That being said, I know teachers try their best to make it as interesting as possible.

*Are teachers teaching to the test?

Yes, even though HISD sets up objectives to teach in a certain order, teachers will teach what they think will show up on the (STAAR) test. They give their classrooms tests in the same type of format as well so that they (the students) can become familiar with it. HISD pushes it because they (the classroom tests) give "snapshots" which are mini-tests to see if they are on the right track. Sometimes, twice a month.

*Are rewards or bonuses given to teachers whose students score high?

In HISD, yes, bonuses are given based on percentage passed. Most teachers I know, could care less about the money. Although it's nice to have extra money, they would love to be able to just teach without the pressure!

*Are students required to pass the test to move to the next grade or graduate?

Well... this is tricky because parents think this is set in stone. But, there are loopholes.

-Teachers/Administration can have a meeting to decide if the student should move on.

-The student can "age" out (they are too old) or have failed too many times.

- Parents can actually choose to opt there child out from any STAAR testing.

*How are students handling increasing pressures to perform?

The students hate testing of course! Hearing about these tests all year makes them nervous, sick, scared, etc. Some vomit and even have panic attacks. (Personal story then shared about how tests affect kids.) These tests are not accurate and I don't think one test should have that much power.

*Are test scores used for teacher evaluations?

I don't know if they can do this officially, but I do know they do try to get rid of teachers with low scores.

Academy in Korea

I currently teach in a private academy that teaches students from Pre-K all the way to 5th grade. However, only the Pre-K and Kindergarten morning classes are ran like your normal public school. The afternoon elementary classes are private classes that students take after their regular public school. Therefore, these two programs (morning and afternoon) have some similarities but also have some differences. Anyway, let's see how my school answers the above questions:

*How much time is spent in testing?
In the morning program, the advance Kindergarten class has a daily spelling test that last 5-10 minutes. It is done for 11 months. The intermediate classes do it for 6 months. Beginners classes do not have spelling tests. Besides this, the only other test is the end of the year level-up test. This test takes about 2-3 hours.
The afternoon program, has monthly unit tests that take two periods, one with a Korean teacher for 45 minutes and one with a native English-speaking teacher, also for 45 minutes (for a total of 90 minutes). Different grades and/or levels also have 5-10 minute spelling tests. Some classes have them everyday. Some classes have them once a week. And at the end of the year, level-up tests that also take two class periods, are administered.

*Are teachers teaching to the test?
Not really. The spelling tests consist of key vocabulary words taken from the classroom books, so regardless, students would learn them. The unit tests are more like fancy reviews. And there is no time to prepare for the level-up test because:
The main goal is to teach to finish the book and move on to the next one.

*Are rewards or bonuses given to teachers whose students score high?
No.

*Are students required to pass the test to move to the next grade or graduate?
Not really. In the morning program, Pre-K students are just split into advance and intermediate levels for Kindergarten based on their level-up test scores (and other year-round assessments). Same for Kindergarten students who will enter the afternoon 1st grade program.
In the afternoon program, most students level-up regardless and don't get split into different levels (for the most part). The only exceptions are students who really, and I mean really, struggled for a whole year. They end up repeating the same level they were on.

*How are students handling increasing pressures to perform?
Not to be mean and sound stereotypical... but... its Korea, an Asian country... so... there is a lot of stress on students! Even on meaningless (as in do not affect progress or are required for level-up assessment) spelling tests, students have a lot of pressure. I have had dozens of students cry just thinking about the following week's test. And a few even tell me how their parents would scold and/or hit them for not getting a perfect. (A 95% is not get enough.)

*Are test scores used for teacher evaluations?
No.

My Thoughts
The most shocking thing I discovered in my interview with Pat, was the fact that what he said made schools back in Houston sound like Asian schools. I specifically told him this! Elementary students having actual physical symptoms because of the stress they were getting from tests, what?!?! Maybe it's because it was so long ago for me, but, I do not recall Kindergarten and/or elementary school being like that.

I was also surprised to hear that many of the teachers at that school taught to the test. While he acknowledges that most teachers make their lessons fun, and even that they wish they could just teach for the sake of learning, it was still a bit disheartening to hear that some of them teach to the test. Over the years, I have heard about schools these days in the U.S. being more test heavy, but it did not really hit me until I heard it directly from a teacher (as opposed to reading about it online).

As some of you might have noticed, even though this blog is about high-stakes tests, when it came to describing my Korean academy, there really wasn't much to say. There are no STAAR tests, or SAT tests or anything like that in my school. Even our level-up tests, which on paper could be considered high-stakes tests, are not really used too strictly to determine progress. Then what tests are high-stakes at my school?

The answer is... all of them! Going back to the Asian mentality (and please forgive me for this generalization) of putting so much importance on anything related to education, this makes it so that to my students ALL tests are high-stakes. As mentioned above, even weekly spelling tests (which have absolutely no affect on their level up assessment, or are used to reflect how they are currently doing) even these tests cause so much stress for students in Korea.

So, in conclusion, a public school in Houston has the STAAR test as its high stakes. In my school, on paper, we have level-up tests as our high-stakes tests. However, they are not really treated as high-stakes too much. But to my Korean students and their parents, ALL tests are high-stakes. Because of the importance put on these high-stakes tests (in Houston and in Korea), students are so stressed out and nervous that they are actually getting physically ill.

While there are many differences between these two schools, unfortunately, they have one big thing in common: the pressure that these tests put on students. So let's try to end this on a, somewhat, lighter note:

References
High-Stakes Test Definition. (2017). The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved 2 July 2017, from
http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/

Multicultural Perspectives in Kindergarten

Teaching with a multicultural perspective encourages appreciation and understanding of other cultures as well as one's own. Teaching with this perspective promotes the child's sense of the uniqueness of his own culture as a positive characteristic and enables the child to accept the uniqueness of the cultures of others.

                                                                                                              (Gomez, 2017)

We are in the middle of the year 2017. The 21st Century is a very globalized and thus, a very interconnected world. This can be seen all over, including in our schools. Therefore, just like "one size" can not fit all in regards to teaching styles, we can not assume that one specific cultural perspective would and can be the best way to educate our students. They are our future, and in our future, the world is only going to get more and more interconnected. Therefore, multicultural perspectives are needed in the classroom.

As with most education, teaching this critical concept of multicultural perspectives needs to start at a young age. As a Kindergarten teacher, that means that I should be in the forefront of this. As Rey A. Gomez says, "Early childhood educators can influence the development of positive attitudes in young children by learning about and promoting the various cultures represented among the children they teach." To do this then, I need to consider some very important issues (from Teach Now):

How lessons in your subject field can reflect the diversity of your community, region, country, or world.

My lessons in Kindergarten can reflect the diversity in the world by simply showing my students the world itself! For example, when teaching the alphabet, this lesson can be expanded to discuss the writing systems of various cultures around the world. A friend of mine uses sporting events (like the Olympics) to teach his students about the different countries that they see on their television screens. But best of all, on Show-and-Tell days, students can bring and share with the class items that demonstrate their culture. Thus making the learning of different countries/regions (the world itself) a more personal experience.

A rationale for why it is important to introduce students to multicultural content and multiple perspectives in the curriculum.

As the quote at the beginning of this post says, one extremely important reason to introduce multicultural content and perspectives in the curriculum is to help a child see the importance of his/her own culture, as well as, to help the child accept the uniqueness of other cultures. But most importantly,

"multicultural education is predicated on the principle of educational equity for all students, regardless of culture, and it strives to remove barriers to educational opportunities and success for students from different cultural backgrounds." 
                                                                          ("Multicultural Education Definition", 2017)

How will you know that students are developing cultural competence in your classroom?

The best way to know if my students are developing cultural competence is simply by observing their classroom norms. Being kindergarteners, they haven't yet mastered (and/or learned) to hide their discriminatory ways. By observing and taking notes of situations/scenes that I see happen in class, I can tell if my students are growing in their understanding of accepting others for who they are. The best way to make sure they are on this path, though, is by setting the example. As their teacher, I need to set the norms in the classroom about what is and what is not accepted. They can then use this to guide them.

References

Gomez, R. (2017). Teaching with a Multicultural Perspective. ERIC Digest.. Ericdigests.org. Retrieved 18 June 2017, from https://www.ericdigests.org/1992-5/perspective.htm

Multicultural Education Definition. (2017). The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved 18 June 2017, from http://edglossary.org/multicultural-education/

Differentiating for/and Anticipating Student Needs

Common Core State Standards: Kindergarten

English Language Arts Standards: Reading Foundational Skills: Kindergarten

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Differentiation

Each student has an individual style of learning. Not all students in a classroom learn a subject in the same way or share the same level of ability. Differentiated instruction is a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student.

(Weselby, 2017)

Differentiating one’s lessons, as stated in the quote above by Cathy Weselby, is made in order to help the teacher better help her/his students. Every student is different. Some of these differences are:

• Disabilities or lack of
• ELL learners or native speakers
• Students’ individual learning styles/profile
• Students’ individual interests
• Different levels of readiness

Therefore, in order to try and meet the needs of these students, teachers need to modify their lesson plans. Weselby goes on to say that there are four areas where teachers can differentiate their instruction:

1. Content: is comprised of the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students need to learn based on the curriculum (McCarthy, 2014).
2. Process: is how students make sense of the content. They need time to reflect and digest the learning activities before moving on to the next segment of a lesson (McCarthy, 2014).
3. Product: is what the student creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the mastery of the content (Weselby, 2017).
4. Learning Environment: conditions for optimal learning include both physical and psychological elements (Weselby, 2017).

I will now give some examples in each category for four students that require differentiated instruction. These strategies are meant for kindergartners on the path to mastering the standard stated at the beginning of this blog: the Alphabet.

Student One: ADHD

Content: Follow up directions individually to this student. Break down larger tasks into smaller tasks (Do NOT do uppercase and lowercase letters at the same time).

Process: Use of multi-sensory activities and audio/visual materials. Jigsaw puzzles.

Product: Student allowed to do more hands-on projects (make an Alphabet Book).

Learning Environment: Do not sit them near windows or doorways. Sit them in an area of the classroom where there will be minimal external stimuli.

Student Two: Deaf-Blindness

Content: Large print of all handouts and large print of all work on the whiteboard. More doing, less lecturing.

Process: More hands-on (sensory learning) and less writing (build letters with Legos). Audio books.

Product: Student allowed more choices: choose to do speaking assignments (ex: “Please describe an uppercase and lowercase Q); choose to use body language (ex: “With your arms, please show what an uppercase T looks like”).

Learning Environment: Sit at the front of the class. All wall displays are also printed out with large print on them.

Student Three: Low Level Readiness

Content: Use lots of modeling. Graphic organizers.

Process: Add more teacher assistance. Reflection on what they have learned so far (the letter of the day).

Product: Student does not need to spell out words on their Alphabet Book.

Learning Environment: Student sits near the teacher.

Student Four: High Level Readiness

Content: Teach more advanced concepts about the alphabet (some letters have multiple sounds attached to them).

Process: Less teacher assistance. Student works individually.

Product: Student needs to spell out words on her/his Alphabet Book. Student given the choice to create her/his own project.

Learning Environment: Student has her/his own personal folder full of extra activities to do if s/he finishes the current activity quickly.

Flowcharts: To help guide my decision making.

References

McCarthy, J. (2014, July 23). 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do. Edutopia. Retrieved 5 June 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-ways-to-plan-john-mccarthy

Strategies for Students with ADHD l Education.com (2014, October 3). Education.com Retrieved 5 June 2017, from https://www.education.com/reference/article/add-adhd-strategies-tips/

Weselby, C. (2017, February 15). What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of Strategies. Education.cu-portland.edu. Retrieved 5 June 2017, from http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/

Thinking Like An Assessor

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

English Language Arts Standards: Reading Foundational Skills: Kindergarten

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Unpacking the Standard

1. To recognize all uppercase letters of the alphabet.
2. To recognize all lowercase letters of the alphabet.
3. To name all uppercase letters of the alphabet.
4. To name all lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Smart Objectives

1. Students will be able to distinguish all uppercase letters of the alphabet.
2. Students will be able to distinguish all lowercase letters of the alphabet.
3. Students will be able to name all uppercase letters of the alphabet.
4. Students will be able to name all lowercase letters of the alphabet.
5. Students will be able to match uppercase letters with their corresponding lowercase letters.

Formative Assessment

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning.

Blocks/Legos: Ask students to "build" the letter you say.

Exit Song (Ticket): Ask students to sing the ABC song when lined up to exit the classroom.

Find Your Partner: Pass out uppercase letters to one group of students, then pass out lowercase letters to another group of students. Students must then go around finding their corresponding letter-partner.

Mini White Board: Ask students to write the letter you say on their individual mini white board.

Self-Reporting (Fingers Up!): Students hold up their fingers, with the number representing how much they think they know the alphabet. One meaning, "I need a lot of help." Five meaning, "I know it all."

Summative Assessment

The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.

Alphabet Book: Students will create their own alphabet book by drawing, cutting, pasting all the letters (uppercase and lowercase) of the alphabet in correct alphabetical order.

Alphabet Puzzle: Students will do an alphabet puzzle consisting of placing together uppercase letters with their corresponding lowercase letters.

Handouts: Students fill in the blanks with the missing letters of the alphabet. Students match letters with their corresponding letter-partner by cutting and pasting them together.

References

Gathering Evidence Of Student Achievement. (2017). Google Docs. Retrieved 27 May 2017, from

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzhdnyMQmio5lNT75ITB45rHyLISHEEHZlHTWJRqLmQ/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=id.p

University, C. (2017). Formative vs Summative Assessment-Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University. Cmu.edu. Retrieved 27 May 2017, from

https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

Understanding and Applying Standards

Standards in Education

I didn't begin my teaching career the "traditional" way. I did not major in education at my university; I did not sit in other teacher's classes to learn from them; I didn't do any of the things teachers do to prepare for this career. My process was: Come to Asia and teach! That was my entire process.

I open this blog with this story in order for the reader to better understand where I am coming from when it comes to my thoughts on the process to become teacher certified. Ever since I started the Teach Now program, I have learned so much about this job that I do day in and day out every weekday (and a few weekends too, here and there).

I have been teaching for 8 years now. However, because of my lack of going "through the process," there are so many things I still don't know about being a teacher, but am currently in the process of learning. These things are either:

• Things I never knew about; so brand new things.
• Things I knew about, but never thought about them; thus never actually did anything about them.
• Things I knew about, but had no idea they were actual things teachers did, so I didn't know their names; I just thought about them and employed/did them in my class.

Unpacking a Standard

For this week's Teach Now homework, we are working on standards in education. Standards tell us what students should be studying/learning, but more importantly, they tell us what students should know by the end of the lesson/unit/semester/school year/etc.

This week we focused on "Unpacking a Standard." This means that we break the standard down into smaller components. Then from this we have a better understanding of what our students should be able to do at the end of the unit. One of the standards that I chose was from the Common Core State Standards in the U.S. I chose a standard from Common Core because it is the most used standard in the U.S.; 42 out of the 50 states use it. As for me working abroad, many American international schools also follow it. Therefore, it seems like the most useful set of standards to start to learn about. For this homework assignment, I chose the following standard to unpack:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

When I unpack this standard, I have to look for the nouns and verbs in the sentence. This helps me to see what my students will learn (the nouns) and what they should be able to do with that (the verbs). So for the above example, after unpacking it, I came up with:

To recognize all uppercase letters of the alphabet.

To recognize all lowercase letters of the alphabet.

To name all uppercase letters of the alphabet.

To name all lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Backwards Mapping

The second part of this week's homework was about "Backwards Mapping." This means that when creating lesson plans, teachers should start with the objectives (the desired goals or standards) first and then go "backwards" to create lessons. Instead of starting with the first lesson chronologically. By doing this, teachers can design lessons and assessments that "result in students achieving the academic goals of a course or unit- that is, actually learning what they were expected to learn" (edglossary.org). In other words, this process helps teachers create lessons that are "focused on the goal (learning) rather than on the process (teaching)" (edglossary.org).

Together

These two components compliment each other well. As a teacher, if I first break a standard down, I can better know what the goals for my students are. Then by mapping my lessons backwards, I can better make sure that I am helping my students achieve those goals.

References

Backward Design. (2013). The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/backward-design/

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). Standards in your state. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/

Digital Chalkboard. (n.d.). How to Unpack a Standard. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.mydigitalchalkboard.org/portal/default/Content/Viewer/Content?action=2&scId=100028&sciId=829

Standards and Backwards Mapping

Common Core State Standards: Kindergarten

I love teaching abroad. Because of this, I currently am a Kindergarten homeroom teacher in an English academy in Seoul, South Korea. Later, I plan to teach at an American international school. Back in the U.S., and in most American international schools, they use the Common Core State Standards to set their guidelines for lessons and lesson planning. Because of this, I have decided to base my lessons and/or Teach Now homework on the CCSS system. This will give me the practice I need to become better acquainted with it and, thus, be more ready for it for when I eventually go to an international school (or go back home to the U.S.).


English Language Arts Standards: Reading Foundational Skills: Kindergarten

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Proficiencies:

1. To recognize all uppercase letters of the alphabet.
2. To recognize all lowercase letters of the alphabet.
3. To name all uppercase letters of the alphabet.
4. To name all lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Assessments:

1. Students will be able to sing the ABC song.
2. Students will be able to match letters to their respective pairs (uppercase letter with its accompanying lowercase letter).
3. Students will be able to tell the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters.

Activities:

1. Sing ABC songs: ABC Hamsters, Big Small Letters
2. Body ABCs: Students will use their bodies to demonstrate letters
3. Students will use their arms to "write out" letters by dancing to the following songs: Uppercase Workout, Lowercase Workout
4. Sandpaper Letters: Students will use their fingers to trace alphabet letters on sandpaper.
• Students will write the letters with their fingers in sand.
5. Alphabet Puzzles

Following or Breaking the Rules

To Follow or Not to Follow, That is the Question

In any school situation, students have two choices: to follow the classroom/school rules and procedures, or to not follow them. Based on these actions, we teachers then have some choices to make: should we reward a student who followed the rules? Should we not reward them? Should we punish a rule breaker? Should we not punish them?

Teachers are put in a situation where they do not want to ignore a student's good or bad decisions, but at the same time, teachers do not want to over do a reward or a punishment. For this blog, I will discuss how I balance the four questions that I asked above.

First of all though, in order for me to discuss how I reward or punish my students for adherence or lack of adherence to rules and procedures, I must talk about the Bear Behavior Chart that I employ in my classroom.

Bear Behavior Charts

Chart One

Chart Two

It is an easy system for my kindergartners to follow. It rewards and punishes students by moving their bear representative up or down the chart, depending on their behavior. Students know which bear represents them based on two distinct features: 1. It has their First Name Initial on it. 2. The bear was personally colored in based on their two favorite colors. (For the two students with the same name, their Last Name Initial was also added to differentiate them.)

At my school, we use a token economy system. Students are rewarded with toy money, which I refer to as Bear Bucks to go with the Bear Class theme. At the end of the month, students can use the money they earned to buy some toys. How do they receive this money? They receive this money for doing their homework, for behaving well in class, and for doing something good out of the ordinary.

However, in my class I changed it up a little. In my class, students receive their Bear Bucks at the end of the day. Instead of handing out money throughout the day, my students get to move up the Bear Behavior Chart for doing their homework, for behaving well in class, and for doing something good out of the ordinary.

LEVELS: UP OR DOWN

Each level consists of three dots for them to land on. For every good or bad action they move up or down one dot (two dots if it was something really good/bad). Therefore, if they hope to reach the highest level in one day, they are expected to accomplish something around 9-10 good things that day. More, if for some reason they went down a level or two that day as well. As mentioned above, they move up for doing their homework the previous night (but checked that day), for behaving well in each class, for eating all their lunch food, for playing well with others during recess, and for various other things throughout the day (see Positive Reinforcement below for more details).

My students start off each day in the middle of the chart, on dot one of READY TO LEARN. From there, their daily goal is to reach the highest level, OUTSTANDING! When they reach this level they can receive 5 Bear Bucks (on any of the three dots on this level). However, in reality it is just 3 Bear Bucks. 2 of the 5 are pretty much guaranteed since they are given out for doing their homework. Luckily, my students focus more on the big round 5 over the "3 plus 2 for homework" way of thinking. The next highest level is GREAT JOB. Here students receive 3 Bear Bucks (2 for homework and 1 for GREAT JOB). After this is GOOD DAY and the original starting point READY TO LEARN. In both levels, students just get their 2 homework Bear Bucks.

Below the starting point is the "negative" area. This is the area students don't want to be in at the end of the day. First of all is THINK ABOUT IT. As the name suggest, here student's are encouraged to think about the actions that led them to be placed here. If a student happens to be here at the end of a day, he/she will give the teacher 1 Bear Buck. The next level is TEACHER'S CHOICE. If a student lands here, the teacher will think of a punishment for the student. If a student is here at the end of the day, he/she will give the teacher 3 Bear Bucks. The last and lowest level is PARENT CONTACT. If a student lands here, his/her parents will be called and told of the student's behavior that day. If the student is still here at the end of the day, then he/she has to give the teacher 5 Bear Bucks.

THROUGHOUT THE DAY: ALWAYS A CHANCE TO MOVE UP

As mentioned above, my students move up (or down if necessary) throughout the day based on their actions that day. Just the thought of moving down the chart is enough motivation for most students to improve. They love seeing their little bear representative getting closer and closer to the top of the chart. For good students, this system is a tangible thing that they can constantly see. It motivates, encourages, and pushes them to keep doing the things they are doing. For me, the best part is seeing how excited they get whenever they reach the OUTSTANDING level. They jump and scream, and are so excited to tell their friends and family about it. On many occasions, my students can be seen discussing among themselves about how close they are to reaching that goal. They can be seen doing the "math" to see if they have enough time to reach it (one up for lunch time, plus, one up for art class, plus, etc.).

The beauty of this system, however, is the fact that I have never had a student end up in the "negative" areas at the end of a day. Never in five years of usage! During the day many a student has of course moved down to these areas. But, because this chart is used to represent their whole day's worth of work, students are always moving on up. (More details about some examples of UP and DOWN movement in the Positive Reinforcement and Consequences paragraphs below.) Therefore, this chart is a very redeeming system for my students. It is a tangible system that not only shows them that they NEED to improve. But it also shows them they CAN improve. And more importantly, it shows them AS THEY ARE improving. The biggest difference I can recall was a student a few years back. He started the day off on the wrong foot and quickly found himself in the middle (dot two) of TEACHER'S CHOICE. However, by the end of the day, he had climbed all the way up to dot one of GREAT JOB!

Now of course, a student can't obviously go up or down for EVERY single action, either good or bad. The logistics make it impossible (would need a chart with a million levels on it!). Plus, there is no time to be constantly moving nine students up and down a chart a million times a day! More importantly, however, is the message one sends if every action is being judged. Therefore, to get a better example of how I employ this system let's take a look at some more specific examples for it below.

Giving Positive Reinforcement for Following Rules and Procedures

There are some things that are guaranteed on the chart. If a student does his/her homework, he/she gets to go up one dot. If the student behaves well in the class (pays attention, does his/her work, etc.), then one more up. However, throughout the year, I also encourage my students to go beyond the normal: sit down nicely, listen to the teacher, write neatly, etc. I encourage my students to pick up things off the floor regardless of who put it there or whose it is; help their friends when they see they need help; be honest about what happened; etc. For this positive things, they also go up on the behavior chart.

But! Those things just mentioned are NOT guaranteed to make a student go up. Why? I have had some students do those things specifically to move up on the chart. Not because they are the right thing to do, but just because they wanted the reward for themselves. For example: "Teacher, I picked up John's pencil off the floor. One up?" It's because of these situations I do not make these things a guarantee to move a student up the chart.

I instead try to teach my students to do these things regardless of a reward. I try to teach them to do them simply because they are the right things to do. How do I do this? I tell my students that if they do something nice, and then come and tell me about it in the hopes to move up, then they will NOT move up. I will praise them for being good people, they might get a high five, but they will not move up the chart. If that student does a good thing and does NOT tell me about it, but I happen to see it, then maybe they can move up the chart... maybe. It is not a guarantee, but a small possibility. The reason I do this is because, as mentioned above, I do not want my students to emphasize the reward over the good action. I do not want them to do something simply because it benefits them. However, by sometimes rewarding them for these good actions, I am putting in them the habit of constantly doing good things. Yes, at first they are doing it in the hope of a reward, but over a short time, they forget about the reward and just do the good thing out of habit. It is at this point that I will reward them by moving them up the chart. Like this, they are reminded that these actions are good, but at the same time they know that doing these good things are not guaranteed to give them rewards (outside of the very occasional up on the chart).

Another thing I try to do, is try to get the parents to help with positive reinforcement. Sometimes, some parents come to the school to pick up their children. It is at this time, that their child is so excited to tell them that they were OUTSTANDING that day. I then follow it up by telling the parent, that yes indeed, "John" was soooo good that day! He did "this" and "that" and "that" throughout the day. After hearing all these things, the parents then show how amazed they are that their child did all those great things in one day. One can then see how proud this child is to not only be complimented by his/her teacher, but to be able to amazed his/her parents as well. Their self-confidence really grows.

That last part ties in what another strategy I use, which is praise them when they do something out of the ordinary. Picking up a friend's pencil off the ground is very good, but that is not something out of the ordinary. Going to grab a tissue and handing it to a friend who is crying, that is amazing! Moments like this, I like to point them out and tell the whole class about them. "Class, what Clara just did was so nice. Her friend was crying and by herself, she thought about how to help her friend. She went and grabbed a tissue and gave it to her. Clara is such a good friend. You know what Clara, one up for you!" By doing this, I am not only praising them, but I am also rewarding them for thinking beyond themselves.

One more thing I do for positive reinforcement is to give out high fives, but with small twists here and there. There is the traditional high five. Then there are the times when I fake pain after a student's high five. I tell them how strong they are and that it really hurt my hand. The class laughs so hard for this. And the last one is the: high one, followed by the high two, then the high three, high four, and finished with a high five. Each done with one finger, two fingers, three fingers, four fingers, and of course five fingers, respectively.

Consequences for Breaking Rules and Procedures

When it comes to rule breakers, I have to use different strategies. First of all, my strategies depend on if others in the class noticed or saw the rule being broken. If I am the only person who saw it, then what I like to do is take the student outside the classroom. This way, it stays a secret between them and me. I very nicely talk to them and give them a warning. No punishment, no negative consequence, just a warning. By doing this, I am showing my students that they don't need to be perfect; but there is still something that happens (the warning itself). When returning back into the classroom, other students ask what happen, I reply with a simple, "I love you!," to the class and quickly get their attention back on the lesson. If they keep asking, I just keep telling them that I love them and just keep getting them back on the lesson.

However, if the broken rule was reported to me by other students, or if somehow other students happen to see the student break a rule, then I can not just take the student outside in order to keep it a secret. For this situation I also issue a warning (since it was the first offense), however, I make it into a fun mini-lesson. I use the situation to remind the whole class why the rule is put in the first place, and then "dramatically" role-play (sometimes with the offending student, if he/she is not too shy) it for them. This way, students learn and laugh at the same time. This lightens up the mood, and makes it easier to transition back into the lesson.

Sometimes, my students do happen to repeat a minor offense. In this case, after the warning, they will move down the behavior chart. For example, the "No Korean" rule at my school. The first time a student speaks Korean, I give them a warning. I also remind them to use the sentence, "Teacher, how do you say _____ in English?" By saying this I can translate the word for them, and they can use the English word in its place. However, because my students are so young, they have the habit to quickly revert back to speaking Korean. On the second offense, they go down the behavior chart. Every time after this, I repeat the process: warning, move down; warning, move down; etc.

So whether I alone know the rule was broken, or if others know it was broken, the first step is a warning. However, there is one exception to this strategy: if the student's misbehavior was beyond just breaking a small rule. For example, if I catch a student lying to me. I give the student a chance to tell the truth, but if they don't, then I do not give a warning. The student goes straight to the punishment: moving down on the behavior chart.

Moving down the behavior chart is a big deal for my students. Because it is something that not only they can see, but something their friends can see as well. My students really don't like to move down the chart. Moving down the chart is usually the last thing necessary for my students. Because of its daily usage, its importance is magnified in my students' eyes. Therefore, more serious consequences don't need to be applied.

The only thing ever needed beyond the "moving down the chart" method, is reminder that by moving down, they are receiving less Bear Bucks. Which in turn means that they will have less money to spend on new toys at the end of the month.

I have been lucky enough as a teacher to always get great students. Thanks to them following my rules and procedures, just about every single situation has been resolved with the above steps. However, this year I do have a student who has twice now made extremely serious situations occur. When this student is being extremely unresponsive, my school's policy is to tell him that the Korean teacher will call his parents. I, on the other hand though, take him to another room. In this other room, I give him a minute or two to calm down. I stand there near him, but not close enough to make him feel threatened. After a few minutes I try to talk to him. I ask him to tell me his side of the story, I tell him to tell me how he feels. My goal is to let him know that I am there to listen to him. However, my goal for him is for him to try and understand the situation outside of himself. I explain to him that I understand that he is very angry. I even tell him that it is okay to feel angry. That is acceptable to me. But then, I tell him that his actions after being angry are not acceptable. He can be angry all he wants, but yelling and making a scene in the class, that is a big "no, no." I repeat the things I say to him several times. This has gone on for anywhere between five to twenty minutes. After our talks, he has always felt better. I give him a few more minutes to calm down. I let him go drink some water and go to the bathroom if he needs to. Then we go back to the classroom together.

Summary

So outside this one particular student, for the past five years the Bear Behavior Chart has been all I have needed to help my students understand and apply the rules and procedures of the classroom. I add some small things here and there when they do good things (praise them, high fives) or bad things (warnings, taking them outside the classroom for a talk), but in the end, the behavior chart is the most important thing I utilize to help my students become better people inside and outside the classroom.

Thanks to the Bear Behavior Chart, and my own personal touches added, I am able to find the balance that I need for my students. I reward them when needed, and not reward them when not needed. I punish them when needed and not punish them when not needed.