The Modern School Teacher

Teachers are expected to be so many things for their students nowadays - instructors, counselors, nurses, parents (in loco), and student advocates, just to name a few. Teachers are also expected to complete all of these jobs with grace, dignity and professionalism on a very modest salary. In honor of the profession, here's a little cartoon to celebrate the ending days of this school year:

By permission- 
Bruce Plante / planteink.com

  

Time for Teacher Self-Reflection

Self-reflection is a great way to identify your instructional strengths 

It's always a good idea to know how you're doing as a teacher. But who is better than you to be able to identify your growth? That's the beauty of self-reflection. However, many of us  don't take to time to formally gauge our effectiveness. Here's a calendar for self-review that you may find helpful. Use a schedule that's offered below, or any type that you desire. The point is, you need to develop a systematic review of your practice:

Daily: create a basic table with 5 items and a space for each day (5 columns, 5 rows). Below you see a sample of a form that you can develop for yourself. If you put three copies on a form, you have a record that lasts for three weeks. Run off enough copies to last the year. Simply give yourself a check plus (equal to an "A" grade), check (equal to a "C" grade) or check minus (equal to an "F" grade) for your lessons, homework, transitions, classroom management, and parental contacts. You may want to add a column for comments as well! If you compare your reflections to your plans you will have a one-stop evaluation tool of what worked in class and what didn't work. This will provide a system to help you in future lesson planning and presentation.

This is a sample of a daily reflection checklist

Weekly: use a copy of your school's informal quick visit form or draft one yourself. Nothing formal, simply create narrative sections for classroom environment, management, lesson, curriculum pacing and student engagement. Complete a short reflection (one or two sentences) in each section. It will give you a bird's eye view of your classroom. If your school has informal visit forms, compare the one you receive from your administrator with your own. That will help you identify your perceived and actual strengths and weaknesses.

This is a sample of a weekly reflection form

Monthly: use your school's formal observation form

Complete the formal form used to evaluate your performance. It's better to evaluate your own practice before the administrator arrives. By doing this, you can begin to address problem areas and begin to upgrade your practice. If your problem areas persist, address  them yourself by attending  professional development sessions.

Annually: a more extensive evaluation form that measures details of your practice

It can be a two part review that includes your students' perspectives as well as your own perspective, or either one of your choosing.

Student evaluation 

Many teachers have their students complete an evaluation form at the end of the year (or semester)

Sample:

http://www.rucharacter.org/file/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Teacher%20Evaluation%20by%20Students(1).pdf

Self reflection 

Here is a very thorough self reflective survey (22 pages) that will measure just about every aspect of your teaching practice. It's a pdf file, so take a moment to print it off, and then complete it.

Sample:

http://www.incredibleyears.com/Resources/TCM_Self_Reflection_Inventory.pdf

Try to develop a binder during the summer that will hold copies of your reflections - you may even want to have them dated and ready to use once school begins again! The trick is to begin the reflective process, and be consistent. Also, once you begin a reflective practice, remember to address those areas where you need help and celebrate your successes!


     Thoughtfully yours, 

  

3-2-1: A Teaching Strategy

                                       


During your career as an educator you will develop loads of activities, ideas and tips that you use throughout your practice. Here is a great activity: The 3-2-1 strategy.

What is the 3-2-1 strategy?

One of the hallmarks of a great lesson or presentation is being able to finish it with an activity that brings all of the lesson elements together. You want your audience to remember the highlights of the lesson, and leave with information that can be used in the future. The 3-2-1 strategy is great to use because it summarizes key information in a clear and concise way. I've used it with students in class, and I've used it as an evaluation tool with adults as well. Your creativity will determine how you want to present this chart - as a listed version, as a chart or as a table. Younger students can use pictures instead of words. 

How Does It Work?


Simply fill out a 3-2-1 form with information that will summarize the learning. As the name implies, the form appears in descending order, with 3 items, then 2, then 1.

Here's an example of things you could include in a generic form:

• 3 Things You Found Out
• 2 Interesting Things
• 1 Question You Still Have

When Can I Use This Strategy?

Use this strategy whenever you want to gauge learning or evaluate a process: as an exit ticket, a evaluation tool or as the introduction to a class discussion.

The labels for the 3-2-1 form  are the things you ask, and they can change according to the audience:

• In  professional development sessions:

3 things I learned from this workshop; 2 questions that I have; one "lightbulb" moment,

• In art class:

3 words that describe this picture; 2 art styles that are shown; one title I could use for this picture,

• In literacy class:

3 major characters from the story; 2 conflicts that were developed in the plot; 1 theme,

• In math class:

3 important facts in a math word problem; 2 steps that need to be used to solve the problem; 1 extraneous fact that can eliminated from the problem

• In science class:

3 states of matter; 2 types of chemical bonds; and 1 basic  building block of matter

Have fun with this new tool!

    

Queen Bee

Perk Up Student Learning

Is it time to add a little novelty and stimulation to your classes?

Are you trying your best to perk up your final lessons and activities this year? I know how hard it is to encourage students to do anything remotely academic when everything around them is screaming “school is almost over.” Even  school countdown calendars are posted around the school.  How can you keep students’ attention when their minds have  gone on vacation?

The secret is to inject novelty in your lessons. Substantial research shows that novelty is a great way to attract, motivate and stimulate student thinking. Now is the time to try some of the fun ideas and plans that you have held onto all year. The activities that engage students’ creative modalities are a great draw for students. They might be tiring of the standard lesson format, but something that adds artistic, kinesthetic or interpersonal flavor is sure to “wake up” your students. And fear not – you can use this creativity in content subject areas as well as expressive subject areas.

Here are some cool ideas to add a spark to your teaching.

Why not have students:

•        Demonstrate a scientific principle
•      Develop a content-related game
•      Role-play characters in a story/play
•      Conduct a math review session.
•      Participate in a debate based on current events
•         Create posters that advocate both points of view on a social issue
•      Develop a performance for younger students in the school
•         Become reading buddies for younger students
•         Identify a school-based problem (like littering or bullying) and then develop and promote a solution to the problem.

I found some additional great ideas for end of the year activities by visiting these two websites:

http://www.teachhub.com/top12_Effective_End_of_the_Year_Activities.html

http://scan-werecriticaltothinking.blogspot.com/2012/05/keep-on-teaching-great-eoy-activities.html

Remember - now is the time to have some fun in class!

Enjoy,

  

You've done a great job this year, and I believe that your students want to give you a final grade:

How about an A+ for your perseverance, punctuality and preparation!

 Your friend,

Using Games as a Skill Review

Games are a great way to imbed skills and increase student interest!

Our students love games - let's give them games that have an imbedded skills review! It's a win-win when students can enjoy the novelty and pleasure of playing, and we can give them additional exposure to practicing skills.

When using games, you have a choice. You can use the format of traditional games (think Bingo or Monopoly) and change the spaces, cards, or numbers using information that you want to review. The benefit of this type of game is that most students already know how to play the games. However, you can also opt to create your own games using game boards that you can design yourself. Then you can create the rules for the game.

The Jefferson County school system in Tennessee has a website that contains a wealth of information about using both types of games. You can get pre-made bingo or wordo cards, powerpoint versions of Jeopardy, Password, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Wheel of Fortune, as well as  Excel games - even the Twister game. If you prefer to design your own game, you can  download and print off  specially designed game boards that relate to your grade and subject:

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/wordo.html

      Enjoy,
  

End of the Year Student Reflections

How reflective are your students?

Here are some ideas that you can use during the closing days of the school year. I found that it's  great to have students reflect on what they've done, and plan for how they can improve their learning:

• Have students grade their progress and learning for the year and prove why they should receive a specific grade.

• Give students the responsibility of trimming down their learning portfolios and creating a folder of their best work.

•  Have students write a letter at the start of the year, predicting what they think they will learn. Then at year’s end, have students revisit their predictions and reflect on what happened.

• Have students write letters to next year’s class, advising them about what to expect.

• Let students create a time capsule that includes memorable moments  from the school year.

These are a few ideas to get students thinking about their work. In my humble opinion, introspection is a great student activity, and if you can have students create a written record of that reflection - what a bonus!

 Your friend,

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is a mother or who nurtures and supports the young - 
I believe that mothers are the very first teachers!

Happy Mother's Day!

     With love,
 

Mother's Day Reminders

In honor of our moms and nuturers, here are some tips to consider as we come towards the end of the school year:

D – document any specific student concerns or challenges

O – other opinions count…listen to your students’ voices

N – never give up on your hopes and dreams

‘

T – think of novel ways to instruct your students

F – “flip the script,”letting students present learned material

O – offer students opportunities for interactive learning experiences

R – relish every small victory in the classroom

G – give yourself time every day for self-reflection

E – enjoy exercise as a stress-reliever

T - take a walk during your lunch break – enjoy the sunshine

M – make a commitment to offer quality instruction

O – orchestrate your classroom like a musical conductor

T - teach the TAG writing strategy

H – have your students write tips to incoming students

E – enrich your instruction with film clips (Discovery Education)

R – review IEPs at A Glance for your special needs students

‘

S – save some energy for JUNE

D – do whatever you can to stimulate student interest

A - analyze your instructional strengths and weaknesses

Y – you should remember your mom – Mother’s Day is here!

    Your friend,
  

In Honor of Teachers

There are not too many jobs around that form the basis for all other jobs on the planet. However, in order to have any job, we must be taught how to do it. These people who teach us how to do it are being honored this week - our teachers. Now, our teachers can be the people who instructed us and educated us in front of a classroom and shared lessons about history, math, reading and science. However, our teachers were often much more than content specialists. Our teachers also gave us guidance when we needed to know how to get somewhere, somehow. Our teachers gave us support when we stumbled along the way, chastened us if we came up short and congratulated us when we achieved our goals.  What about the persons who taught us about loyalty and friendship? These same teachers offered us life lessons when needed.  And jokes, some of my teachers told the best and the corniest jokes! Wow. I don't remember all of my teachers, sadly some of them didn't leave an impression worth remembering. But those who I do remember will carry me forward, and have probably made me the educator that I am today. Thank you teachers, your efforts carry on.

Here is a video that I would like to share in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. It is from the Teaching Channel, an excellent source for teacher materials, resources and videos.



(Note: please stop the video as soon as the speaker is finished. Thanks)

   


     Enjoy,
  

Thank You, Teachers

To my friends,

Thank you for coming to work today. You could have stayed home, you could have done something else or you could have gone anywhere else. However, you came here, and our children will have a better tomorrow because of your dedication today.

Several years ago when I was a teacher in the classroom, I would often get to school really early in the morning. As I entered my classroom, I would often see the building engineer- sweeping, dusting, cleaning and preparing the hallways for the new day. I would say “Good Morning,” and he would simply respond, “Good morning, and thanks for coming in today.” Those simple words from an unassuming worker in our building kept me going more days than I want to remember. That simple thank you for doing what I thought was my job, became recognition for my dedication to this work. It was so gratifying to be appreciated for doing so much for what I perceived was so little.  When he told me “thank you” was when I realized that my payment was not the chump change in my biweekly check –­­ my payment was the satisfaction of making a difference in the future of our planet – one child at a time.

One of my friends, and one of your co-workers reminded me of that recently. She told me that a little “thank you” would have meant so much during those early teaching days. You know, those cold mornings when you just wanted to turn over and go back to sleep, or when the long days and the boorish students seemed to really weigh you down.  Just a simple acknowledgement that you were trying to make a difference, well, that would have made a difference.  You know, that teacher was right, and although I can’t go back to yesterday, I sure can say “Thank you” today.

Thank you for coming to school today, and every day – and thanks for working so hard with our children and making such a difference in their lives.


           
     Your friend,

Success

Here's something to remember when you've had a hard day, and can't seem to see the benefits of your hard work:

posted from Funstoo Daily Fun Update: 1.31.12

URL: funstoo.blogspot.com/2012/01/success-its-not-always-what-you-see.html

       Your friend,