Topic (Motivation): “How to Create an Effective Point System to Motivate Students”

Panelists: Paul Goodwill, Susan Chen, Kehnan Li, Jenson Cheng

Department of Multilingual Education

The School District of Philadelphia

Description

Three teachers and one program coordinator from the “Mandarin Chinese Language Proficiency Project: Establishing, Improving, & Expanding Chinese Language Study in Philadelphia Schools” will present effective teaching methods for capturing student interest and raising student achievement in Mandarin Chinese. Panelists will draw from their experiences at two public high schools (grades 9-12) and one elementary school (grades 1-8). The panel will also discuss effective classroom management techniques to enable use of games, including establishing a point system and creating opportunities for all students to participate in games and classroom activities. Panelists will also draw on theatre techniques to model lessons for students with different learning styles that reinforce skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Participants in the workshop will leave better able to engage students as active learners rather than giving students a "one-size-fits-all" curriculum and treating as passive recipients of information.