More Positive, Not Punitive, Classroom Management Tips This article is adapted from Larry's new book, Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation. In the previous excerpt from this book, I shared some specific strategies for positive classroom management. Here are a few more. Reminder of Moral Values Behavioral economist Dan Ariely found in one experiment that if people are reminded of their moral values, they are far less likely to cheat. A variation of this study can be applied if a teacher knows that a substitute will be coming the next day. In my experience, I have always found a clear difference in student behavior between when I do this kind of reminder and when I do not. Light Touches Studies have shown that a supportive touch on the shoulder can result in a student being twice as likely to volunteer in class than if he or she did not receive that touch. Further studies have shown that a light touch on the upper arm can increase compliance substantially, and two light touches can increase it even more.
The 6 Ways Teachers Want To Change Schools The results of the recently released MetLife Survey of the American Teacher weren’t surprising to many teachers, as it chronicled a steep decline in teacher job satisfaction. In fact, teachers’ job satisfaction is at its lowest level since 1987. Of the 1,000 teachers polled, only 39 percent claimed they were “very satisfied” with their profession. It is clear from the survey that American teachers are concerned with the state of their profession but more troubling to us, they are not being given a voice in school reform or educational initiatives–decisions usually made by people far removed from local school districts. So, what do teachers want? We set out to conduct our own poll of educators and we asked only a single simple question: How would you improve the educational experience of your students? Smaller Class Sizes A desire for smaller class sizes dominated the responses we received. Unfortunately, we know that in many school districts class sizes continue to get larger. More Books
Positive, Not Punitive, Classroom Management Tips This article is adapted from Larry's new book, Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation. Let's start with a question I've been asked on more than one occasion. "I know my content and like my students, but sometimes it's hard to get them under control so I can teach my lesson. My general answer is that you can never have too many positive, not punitive, classroom management strategies in your toolbox. Obviously, there are serious student transgressions, including violence, where some kind of punishment is an appropriate response. Public Versus Private Relationship Community organizers try to help people understand the difference between public and private relationships (I was an organizer for 19 years prior to becoming a teacher). Here is another example: I have spent time over the years working with many organizations, including religious congregations, organizing for community improvements. Me: "Johnny, is it okay for you to think what you said?" What do you do?
10 valuable features of LinkedIn March 17, 2013 by NovaNews Not so long ago, a friend asked me about the difference between LinkedIn and Facebook. With numerous ‘friends’ already in her network, this friend really felt that joining LinkedIn was an overkill and just not worth the effort. Perhaps others too have faced this dilemma. I admit to having taken a while to sort out some answers for myself. For the moment, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the Social Networking sites I’m using. But my friend’s basic question remains. As previously written in a post about LinkedIn – The power of social media – I don’t hesitatie endorsing it’s value to others. LinkedIn is not just for those out there looking for a new job! Detailed profiles become a digital portfolio. Profile headlines create an instant digital identity. Profile details should be correct, accurate and legitimate! LinkedIn enables users to publicize the work they do. LinkedIn badges provide publicity. LinkedIn Groups provide opportunities for sharing. Like this:
5 Tools to Help Students Learn How to Learn Helping students learn how to learn: That’s what most educators strive for, and that’s the goal of inquiry learning. That skill transfers to other academic subject areas and even to the workplace where employers have consistently said that they want creative, innovative and adaptive thinkers. Inquiry learning is an integrated approach that includes kinds of learning: content, literacy, information literacy, learning how to learn, and social or collaborative skills. Students think about the choices they make throughout the process and the way they feel as they learn. Those observations are as important as the content they learn or the projects they create. “We want students thinking about their thinking,” said Leslie Maniotes a teacher effectiveness coach in the Denver Public Schools and one of the authors of Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century. “When they are able to see where they came from and where they got to it is very powerful for them.”
The 10 Skills Modern Teachers Must Have The above image is 8.5×11″ so you can print it out. PDF is available here . There’s been a lot of talk about 21st century learners, 21st century teachers, and connected classrooms. There’s a daily influx of new technology into your inbox and your classroom feels woefully behind the times even if you’re flipping your 1:1 iPad classroom that’s already online and part of a MOOC . Simple. In my experience, I’ve seen teachers attempt to integrate 30 iPads into their classroom by handing them out and then trying to figure out which apps are worth using. In order to do this, you’ll need skills modern teachers must have. 1) Build Your PLN Whether you call it a ‘personal learning network’ or a ‘professional learning network’ is not important. 2) Establish Real Relationships Whether it’s online or offline, the ability to establish real relationships is critical to any modern teacher. 3) Understand Where Technology Fits In Education 4) Know How To Find Useful Resources 5) Manage Your Online Reputation
Student Blogs: Learning to Write in Digital Spaces Student blogging is not a project, but a process. We are continuously striving to refine, improve and re-evaluate. As I am meeting with teachers individually, I can’t stress enough the importance of READING other blogs (professional, student, blogs about your hobby, blogs about other interests you have etc.). I am trying to filter and funnel quality blogs in education, their grade level and areas of interest to them as I come across them, so they can build a quality RSS Reader. Andrea Hernandez and I are working on a “spiraling” blogging skills guide for each grade level in order to facilitate skill building connections from one year to the next. Creating the platform and the username and password and teaching the kids to log in is the EASY part. The focus needs to be in using the platform to guide students to : By “translating”, I mean… By “transforming”, I mean…being able to do something that was impossible to do before: write for a global audience. We are all pioneers in exploring:
The Harsh Reality of the Classroom of the Future In the UK, private schools often use ‘small class sizes’ at 6th form (16-18 years old) as a selling point to entice parents to choose their school over another. I regularly have the opportunity of teaching groups of 10 or less in their final year of study and this certainly has significant benefits. What is fascinating about teaching 6th form students is how 2 significant things change in the classroom: the teacher stops standing at the front of the room, and the use of varied teaching resources stops. Of course this is a horrible generalization, but it is certainly true more often than it is in other lessons. Frustratingly this combination is what stops pedagogical progress, both for the older students I have just described and the younger students who have a teacher at the front of the room, but more access to varied teaching resources. The Current Setup vs Ideal Setup There is no need for a teacher to stand at the front of the room. Observations Via Wired.com
Beyond Q+A: Six Strategies That Motivate ALL Students to Participate Do you have students who rarely raise their hand when you ask a question? When I think back about kids in my classroom who didn't participate at first, I remember Jared and Maya (whose names I changed). Jared was polite, listened to his classmates, and did his homework. But when I asked questions or set up class discussions, Jared remained silent. I often visit classrooms where I see teachers employ lots of Q+A. How can we get our shiest students, or even our student with her head down in the back of our class, participating? 1. According to researcher Mary Budd Rowe, the average teacher waits 1.5 seconds between asking a question and calling on a student. Accuracy increases"I don’t know" decreasesStudent responses get longerAchievement on tests increasesMore students participate I literally count at least three Mississippis in my head after asking each question. 2. 3. 4. Instead of asking, "How are you going to solve today's equation?" 5. Have a really debatable question? 6.
Differentiation and explicit teaching in English | Teaching AC English The 6 Biggest Challenges Of Using Education Technology In an unplanned series of sorts, we’re showcasing a couple of posts about the 2013 NMC/EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Horizon Report for Higher Education . We’ve already talked about the key trends in the report , but it also addressed another important topic when it comes to classroom technology – the challenges involved with implementing new technologies. The Horizon Report identified six broad challenges to implementation which span the widest range of users – while recognizing that there are many significant local barriers that present their own challenges as well. They’ve taken some of the obvious issues such as financial limitations and physical limitations (getting wifi through the thick bunker-like walls of some 1940′s buildings, for example) and looked more specifically at the nature of higher education and how that presents challenges to implementing new technology. Teachers needs to be learning how to use the technology themselves, too. Do you teach at the higher ed level?
Why It's Time To Focus On Skills (Not Just Cool Tools) We have all seen list upon list of “cool tools,” “web 2.0 websites,” “educational apps.” They are a great source for the latest and greatest websites/tools in education. The problem is that they all fall short when it comes to talking about technology skills. Identifying and teaching transferable technology skills are crucial for students to not only be college and career ready, but also to prepare them to lead productive lives in an increasingly global and digital world. Ultimately these types of lists are a detriment to teachers and the effective integration of technology into the classroom. Any one of these web tools that a freshman in high school learns today will most likely not exist or will be replaced by something better in 8-10 years when that freshman graduates from college. Common Questions and Concerns “I want my students to use more technology but I don’t know where to start.” This was one of the main themes of the second January institute day this year at JTHS. Why?