Teach Like a Champion
Based on the Best-selling book by Doug Lemov
This is becoming a bit of a habit, us meeting like this. But if you are reading this you really want to try out Wix. Go on then.
What is Props?
Classroom Example
What research backs up props?
According to research, this method would be an appropriate behavior to utilize in the classroom because it would help in areas of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-concept. When a student has low self-esteem (the way you feel about your self-concept), a low self-efficacy (how good you feel in a specific task or domain; subject area) and a low self-concept (your global assessment of yourself), it will not be a learning conducive mindset for the student. If the student were to be built up in their confidence, not only by their teacher but by the whole of their peers it will create a positive impact on their personal self-evaluation. The student will in turn try harder and feel more successful in the classroom. Not only will this help students individually, but it will create a happier, bully-free classroom. If each student recognizes that they are working together for the common goal of learning, and learning to celebrate everyone’s small successes during the adventure, then there will (hopefully) be less malicious intent within the student population.
Cheering for students might also be beneficial for students with a learning disability, particularly ADHD. This “props” time would be an opportunity for the students to get out their “wiggles”, particularly with “The Roller Coaster” cheer. This cheer has the students pretending they are riding a roller coaster, providing noise affects for the three chugs it takes to get to the top and the three “woos” it takes to reach the bottom. A student suffering from a learning disorder might really enjoy this, and in turn be happier about cheering on a student in their classroom success, and maybe even strive more so that the classroom will cheer for them.
In my classroom I would use the cheers of “The Roller-Coaster” and “Two Hands”. I would use these cheers because they seem like the most interactive and fun cheers, while still being controlled. I would specifically use the “props” strategy when learning something like math or the states and their capitals. My only stipulation would be that I would not do it every time that a student got the correct answer. The intermittent reinforcement would cause my students to strive harder to be successful for the chance to be cheered for.
1) The props strategy has the students collectively and efficiently cheer for another student when they do something correct that may have been particularly difficult or challenging (to the teacher’s discretion). The teacher would coach her students into appropriate cheers that take a short amount of time to convey. For example “two snaps, two stomps” where the students deliver the snaps and stomps that begin and end at the exact same moment. The delivery is short, sweet, and to the point.