Ed Podcasts

In choosing podcasts, it was difficult to pick because there were so many different options!  The first podcast I listened to was from the channel Truth for Teachers.  This podcast was about rewarding students for what they are supposed to do.  The speaker talked about how students should ideally be “actively engaged and intrinsically motivated” however this is not the reality (Watson, February 21, 2016).  She spoke about how rewards have become taboo in classrooms because they are not realistic and make students extrinsically motivated.  She put forth many important points about how students need their work to be recognized in order to maintain their motivation.  As adults, we are extrinsically motivated by a paycheck, feedback, thank you notes, catered lunches, etc.  and students need to be motivated as well to make them happier to complete the hard parts of being a student.  This podcast helped me to feel better about the small rewards I have in place in my classroom.  Students are given rewards for doing homework all week, maintaining good behavior throughout the month, and working well as a team.  These are all important characteristics and skills that help our class run smoothly, therefore it is important that students do these things.  Watson (February 21, 2016) said that rewarding students for imperative characteristics and behaviors is a way to help your classroom run smoothly.  The second podcast I chose was also from the Truth for Teachers channel, I ended up subscribing to this podcast.  This podcast was about classroom management topics.  I chose this podcast due to my interest in classroom management in relation to my thesis topic.  This was a very informative podcast because Watson (September 25, 2016) had many different suggestions for keeping a smooth running classroom.  This podcast gave me many different activities and procedures that I can try out and helped to strengthen my belief in the things that I am already doing.

I listened to my podcasts in the classroom on Monday evening.  This made listening a little more difficult because staying focused when other people were talking and working around me is hard for me.  I thought about listening to podcasts in the mornings instead of watching Netflix while I am getting ready for work.  This would give me quiet time to focus on what the speaker was saying and give me relevant, entertaining, and informative knowledge.

References

Watson, A.  (Producer).  (2016, February 21).  Should teacher reward students for doing what they’re “supposed” to do? [Audio podcast].  Retrieved from iTunes.

Watson, A.  (Producer).  (2016, September 25).  15 classroom management questions in 15 minutes (Ask Angela Anything) [Audio podcast].  Retrieved from iTunes.