Same course, different climate -- advice

[Helix]

I teach Anatomy. My first class is small, very outgoing, friendly, and gets really high grades and enjoys every wacky thing I do to help them learn.

My second class is filled beyond capacity, they won't talk, give me these "what the hell are you doing?" looks, won't participate, and sometimes quip little barbs like "I don't see why we need to learn this, this is boring, blah blah." (A class with a high number of cheerleaders and popular varsity athletes, ironically). A chunk of that second period class actually hates the other half...could that explain the tense climate?

How do you adapt your teaching of the same course to one undersized class that is enthusiastic to an oversized, stagnant class climate without compromising what they learn?

[MsCoffeeLover]

I can totally empathize. My first period class seems just like the class you just described. However, my third block is the most enthusiastic and my fifth block is also very small and enthusiastic.

We are going to have a show and tell where students can make things out of reuseable and/or recycled materials. First period scoffed at the idea stating they hadn't done show and tell since they were in kindergarten and that was kids stuff. Second period followed suit. Fourth and fifth blocks did not. So, the last two classes get the joys of the show and tell while the other two classes do not. Oh well! Poo on them.

I have middle schoolers, and I had this really cool alien juice bar interactive website that reinforces acids and bases. First and second blocks wanted to see it, but I said, "That's kid stuff. No kids stuff in here." and they were given a back up written assignment. Occasionally, the kids can watch the Magic School Bus. I don't know what it is about a cartoon that can mesmerize a child, but every now and again, they ask. Oh well! Magic school bus is kids stuff, so they can't watch it, but fourth and fifth blocks can.

Some of the kids in the first and second block are regretting opening their mouths and have quickly discovered that the education they receive will match the effort and energy and learning they will get out of the class.

Basically, I just have a bunch of assignments that I would plan on doing anyway. They eventually get tired and realize that my original plans were way more fun in the first place.
Every day a new kids makes the effort. It is still my least favorite class and not the way I planned on teaching, but its getting there.

You can only do so much. They have to want to do something too. If there is no participation or interaction in my class, well, they get more written work. They don't want the written work, and they eventually give it a shot and end up having a good time. It is just a daily effort.

I had the same problem with one class last year. Every day I would try something to get the class involved, but it was just that group of kids. Some were introvered learners, some were outgoing, some didn't care, and some were just quiet and shy. It was a tough year. At the end of the year, I received a thank you card from one of the quiet and shy students thanking me for hanging in there for the entire year.

[SS Rocks!]

I share the issue of a divided class. One of my classes has a fairly large percent of the population that does not take class seriously and doesn't get along with class members that take things seriously.

Last year when I ran into this issue the only change I made was when we did group work. I made sure I kept the students that took class seriously working together, and the students that did not care working together. All this did was drive more of a wedge between the halves of the class. Rookie mistake, I guess.

By the way, Alien Juice Bar is awesome! I had to teach science for a week last year and our science teacher left that as one of our activities.

[merrynl]

I had one of those classes this year... no matter what I did, half of the class didn't want to do ANYTHING related to the class. I seated the kids who worked in the front, and put the others in the back. That way the ones who were trying to participate were closer to me and less distracted. I gave out grades just before I left, and the kids in the back complained that theirs were lower than the ones in the front. I didn't do anything to change them... that's just how they ended up. I had one of the more outspoken kids say, "Does this mean we should have been paying more attention in class?" I didn't even reply... a couple of the kids from the front of the room (the two A's in the classroom) happily filled him in. :)