Cynthia Trejo

Reflection #2
SPED 310
October 28, 2015

Aggie Honor Code: On my honor as an Aggie, I have neither given nor received unauthorized
aid on this academic work.

Reflection #2
Academic ethos, known as academic integrity, is the moral code of academia. It is taught
through recognition, engagement, academic and behavioral expectations, and effective
questioning.

Recognition is praising a student when they have gone beyond expectations.

Engagement occurs when the teacher involves the students by making them feel like they are
part of the lesson. Academic and behavioral expectations establish standards and goals for
students to achieve success. Effective questioning increases students comprehension levels and
deepens their understanding. Recognition, engagement, academic and behavioral expectations,
and effective questioning each play an important part in establishing integrity and responsibility
in students.
Recognition, also known as positive praise is, essential for students to receive in order to
establish a positive energy throughout the class. Students who receive positive praise are more
likely to continue to demonstrate exceptional behavior because they have been given
acknowledgment. It is important to praise students who go beyond the expectation rather than
every student who meets the expectation. As stated in Teach like a Champion, it is important to
make a careful and intentional distinction between praise and acknowledgement, acknowledging
when expectations have been met and praising when the exceptional has been achieved (Lemov,
2010). Praising when the exceptional has been achieved sets high classroom expectations and
avoids lowering expectations. For example, when a student walks down the hallway with
walking feet and a bubble in their mouth then the student is praised for meeting the expectation.
Another student walking down the hallway with a bubble in their month might think they are
doing something wrong because they did not receive positive praise. The student might also
think think their teacher was not being sincere. Lemov states that mixing these two responses by

praising a student for doing what is expected is, in the long run, not just ineffective but
destructive (Lemov, 2010). As pointed out by Lemov, praising a student for doing what is
expected is destructive because it will decrease affirmativeness set by the teachers expectations.
Implementing effective positive praise is crucial to the academic ethos of the students because it
sets them up for success. Positive praise increases the students desire to learn and be actively
engaged in their learning.
Engaging students during a lesson helps them feel like they are part of the lesson and gain
the desire to actively participate throughout the lesson. A way to engage students is by showing
enthusiasm because it provides excitement and encouragement to motivate students. As stated by
Goeke, students are more likely to learn and appreciate the content when teachers display
enthusiasm in their teaching (Goeke. 2010). When students are engaged, they are actively
processing the material they are learning. In order to ensure students are actively engaged
teachers can use techniques stated in Teach Like a Champion, such as cold call. Cold call is a
strategy that ensures that every student has the possibility to answer the question, by the teacher
calling on students regardless of whether they have raised their hands. This technique allows the
teacher to check for student understanding effectively and systematically. Seen in a kindergarten
class, a teacher will draw a students name out of a cup to avoid having one student answer all of
the questions. This allows the rest of the class to think about the answer, while also helping the
teacher check for understanding. Goeke states that active engagement helps students store and
retrieve information more effectively and promotes student accountability for their learning
(Goeke, 2010). Student engagement is crucial to their academic ethos because it helps them
become accountable for their own learning. Engagement increases the students desire to

participate actively, which helps them meet the academic and behavioral expectations the teacher
has set.
Setting academic and behavioral expectations provides students with a drive for high
achievement. Academic expectations are created by teachers in order to establish the goals they
have for their students. Those expectations can be implemented by using one of the techniques
from Teach Like a Champion, called no opt out. No opt out, as stated by Lemov, is a sequence
that begins with a student unable to answer a question and should end with the student answering
that question as often as possible (Lemov, 2010). The reason teachers should use this technique is
because it informs the student they will have to answer the question. The teacher shows that it is
the students responsibility to give an answer. For example, when a teacher asks a student how
their day is going and the student refuses to answer, the teacher should repeat the question until
the student gives an appropriate answer. Setting high academic standards helps students achieve
their goals as well as meet their behavioral standards. Behavioral expectations set students up for
excellence instead of compliance. When students meet their behavioral expectations they are
more likely to be actively engaged and comprehend the lesson. In order to ensure students are
meeting and exceeding their behavioral standards teachers can use various techniques. One of
those techniques, as stated by Lemov, is do it again. In this strategy, the teacher shows the
students how to do the basic task successfully and has them do it again. The purpose of this is to
reach excellence rather than compliance. For example, when teaching a new procedure the
teacher will introduce it and have the students repeat it, as time goes on. When students fail to
reach excellence, the teacher will demonstrate what is expected of them and have them repeat the
procedure correctly. Academic and behavioral expectations drive classroom culture to be
successful and show students high standards of academic ethos.

Using effective questioning creates deeper understanding and increases the students
comprehension level. When considering asking question to students, teachers must think about
Blooms taxonomy. As stated by Steven W. Gilbert in Systematic Questioning, Blooms
taxonomy is hierarchical: that is, performance at each level requires that the student be able to
operate on the learned information at subordinate levels(Gilbert, 42). Teachers who use different
levels of Blooms taxonomy to ask questions will help their students understand the lesson on a
deeper level. For example, in a kindergarten class the teacher can ask her students What
happens after we plant a pumpkin seed? The students should recall information learned over the
pumpkin cycle and analyze the step that comes after. When the teacher asked the students this
question, the teacher was testing the students at the remembering and analyzing level. Asking
effective questions is crucial for students comprehension levels and should be included in every
lesson in order to ensure students understanding. Effective questioning is crucial to students
academic ethos because it ensures that they are processing their knowledge effectively.
Academic ethos is taught to students through recognition, engagement, academic and
behavioral expectations, and effective questioning. Recognition is essential to academic integrity
because it is the foundation of students success. Students success rates increase when they are
engaged because it pulls the students into the lesson and into participation. Active participation
helps students meet their academic and behavioral standard. Meeting those standards is crucial to
their academic ethos because it shows that the student has become responsible for their own
learning. When a student owns their academic integrity, they are more likely to answer different
levels of Blooms taxonomy questions. Teaching academic ethos will allow students to become
active and responsible for their learning.
References

Goeke, J. L. (2009). Explicit instruction: A framework for meaningful direct teaching. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Gilbert, S. W., (1992). Systematic questioning: Taxonomies that develop critical thinking
skills. The Science Teacher, 59(9). 41-49.