Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Principal Leadership - March 2011
Watch this video if you are looking for a fun activity to introduce collaborative group work.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Professional Growth through Sharing
Once you have tried one of our district strategies, thinking maps, or the GRR please share with others. Sharing will be a key to our success of growing Sparta Schools capacity to integrate the strategies k-12. We are looking for stories of success and failure, links to internet web resources, and videos of you in action. Post Away!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Importance of Modeling and Relationship Building
At the beginning of the class I shared the purpose of the lesson, this is something I do everyday but today something was different, I began to have this awkward feeling of being all alone.There is no way this could be happening to me, after all I am a master teacher with many tools in my tool belt.”Quick”, I thought to myself, “use the old Think,Pair, Share techniques to asses the students understanding”. Surely this will work and I will find a sense of relief and even a bit of humor in the thought that this could be happening. So I asked them to share with one another and then I waited. And Waited, And Waited. Nothing but silence filled room.
I looked at the clock,based upon where we were at in the lesson I expected that only a few minutes had passed, I was astonished to realize that half the class was over and we were still on the focus segment of the lesson. Worse yet, it became apparent that the students had retained very little from the previous three lessons. Agggh! how could this be happening?
I just finished a trimester in which I saw my classes evolve into groups of students who were good at taking notes, learning how to ask questions, comprehending the textbook, and most importantly learning through collaboration. My classes were large and filled with “good” noise. So what has happened? Is it the students (it must be)? The weather? Maybe its the Holidays? Or, did I make some errors? The reality is that regardless of all the other variables it is still my job to teach and there are some important aspects that need to be in place for my classes to function; clarification of expectations, communication skills, and a sense of relationship.
How could I have overlooked the importance of building a culture in the classroom. I did not take the time on the first two days of class to discuss, model, and provide practice using our Social Contract and the techniques students need to support one another. During the first trimester this was done and the social contract was highlighted in each of my lesson plans purposes. In other words it was a non-content specific objective to be accomplished. It typically would sound like this; Today, we will strengthening our small group skills by supporting one another, using the Social Contract’s Respect and Active Listening as a guide of expected behavior. When necessary we will remind each other by using the hand signal we all agreed upon ( a thumbs up) to redirect any unwanted behaviors.
The next mistake involves the productive group work and my expectations. I have to remember the groups that finished strong at the end of the first trimester did not start strong. In fact, we spent a lot of time learning how to work as a group, assume roles, communicate with one another, and work towards a common final product. I mistakenly expected this to carry over to second trimester, I need to realize the dynamics are different and forming groups is a process. To help this process along I need to model the behaviors I want to see and provide a means for both peer and teacher feedback.
Finally, I need to start class with handshakes and celebrations. Neither build content knowledge and both consume precious time, however the engagement and exploration with the students undoubtedly sets the tone for the classroom. This is also a great opportunity to model the social contract and techniques that the students need to support the classroom,s expectations.
So what did I learn in my moment of meta-cognitive awareness? First it is important to step back and take a look at what is working and what is not. Then to ask why? What I discovered is creating the right classroom expectations, modeling group behavior, and building relationships is essential to create deeper and richer learning over a period of time.ed the purpose of the lesson I began to have this awkward feeling of being all alone. There is no way this could be happening to me, after all I am a master teacher with many tools in my tool belt.”Quick”, I thought to myself, “use the old Think,Pair, Share techniques to asses the students understanding”. Surely this will work and I will find a sense of relief and even a bit of humor in the thought that this could be happening. So I asked them to share with one another and then I waited. And Waited, And Waited. Nothing but silence filled room.
I looked at the clock,based upon where we were at in the lesson I expected that only a few minutes had passed, I was astonished to realize that half the class was over and we were still on the focus segment of the lesson. Worse yet, it became apparent that the students had retained very little from the previous three lessons. Agggh! how could this be happening?
I just finished a trimester in which I saw my classes evolve into groups of students who were good at taking notes, learning how to ask questions, comprehending the textbook, and most importantly learning through collaboration. My classes were large and filled with “good” noise. So what has happened? Is it the students (it must be)? The weather? Maybe its the Holidays? Or, did I make some errors? The reality is that regardless of all the other variables it is still my job to teach and there are some important aspects that need to be in place for my classes to function; clarification of expectations, communication skills, and a sense of relationship.
How could I have overlooked the importance of building a culture in the classroom. I did not take the time on the first two days of class to discuss, model, and provide practice using our Social Contract and the techniques students need to support one another. During the first trimester this was done and the social contract was highlighted in each of my lesson plans purposes. In other words it was a non-content specific objective to be accomplished. It typically would sound like this; Today, we will strengthening our small group skills by supporting one another, using the Social Contract’s Respect and Active Listening as a guide of expected behavior. When necessary we will remind each other by using the hand signal we all agreed upon ( a thumbs up) to redirect any unwanted behaviors.
The next mistake involves the productive group work and my expectations. I have to remember the groups that finished strong at the end of the first trimester did not start strong. In fact, we spent a lot of time learning how to work as a group, assume roles, communicate with one another, and work towards a common final product. I mistakenly expected this to carry over to second trimester, I need to realize the dynamics are different and forming groups is a process. To help this process along I need to model the behaviors I want to see and provide a means for both peer and teacher feedback.
Finally, I need to start class with handshakes and celebrations. Neither build content knowledge and both consume precious time, however the engagement and exploration with the students undoubtedly sets the tone for the classroom. This is also a great opportunity to model the social contract and techniques that the students need to support the classroom,s expectations.
So what did I learn in my moment of meta-cognitive awareness? First it is important to step back and take a look at what is working and what is not. Then to ask why? What I discovered is creating the right classroom expectations, modeling group behavior, and building relationships is essential to create deeper and richer learning over a period of time. shared the purpose of the lesson I began to have this awkward feeling of being all alone. There is no way this could be happening to me, after all I am a master teacher with many tools in my tool belt.”Quick”, I thought to myself, “use the old Think,Pair, Share techniques to asses the students understanding”. Surely this will work and I will find a sense of relief and even a bit of humor in the thought that this could be happening. So I asked them to share with one another and then I waited. And Waited, And Waited. Nothing but silence filled room.
I looked at the clock,based upon where we were at in the lesson, I expected that only a few minutes had passed, I was astonished to realize that half the class was over and we were still on the focus segment of the lesson. Worse yet, it became apparent that the students had retained very little from the previous three lessons. Agggh! how could this be happening?
I just finished a trimester in which I saw my classes evolve into groups of students who were good at taking notes, learning how to ask questions, comprehending the textbook, and most importantly learning through collaboration. My classes were large and filled with “good” noise. So what has happened? Is it the students (it must be)? The weather? Maybe its the Holidays? Or, did I make some errors? The reality is that regardless of all the other variables it is still my job to teach and there are some important aspects that need to be in place for my classes to function; clarification of expectations, communication skills, and a sense of relationship.
How could I have overlooked the importance of building a culture in the classroom. I did not take the time on the first two days of class to discuss, model, and provide practice using our Social Contract and the techniques students need to support one another. During the first trimester this was done and the social contract was highlighted in each of my lesson plans purposes. In other words it was a non-content specific objective to be accomplished. It typically would sound like this; Today, we will strengthening our small group skills by supporting one another, using the Social Contract’s Respect and Active Listening as a guide of expected behavior. When necessary we will remind each other by using the hand signal we all agreed upon ( a thumbs up) to redirect any unwanted behaviors.
The next mistake involves the productive group work and my expectations. I have to remember the groups that finished strong at the end of the first trimester did not start strong. In fact, we spent a lot of time learning how to work as a group, assume roles, communicate with one another, and work towards a common final product. I mistakenly expected this to carry over to second trimester, I need to realize the dynamics are different and forming groups is a process. To help this process along I need to model the behaviors I want to see and provide a means for both peer and teacher feedback.
Finally, I need to start class with handshakes and celebrations. Neither build content knowledge and both consume precious time, however the engagement and exploration with the students undoubtedly sets the tone for the classroom. This is also a great opportunity to model the social contract and techniques that the students need to support the classroom,s expectations.
So what did I learn in my moment of meta-cognitive awareness? First it is important to step back and take a look at what is working and what is not. Then to ask why? What I discovered is creating the right classroom expectations, modeling group behavior, and building relationships is essential to create deeper and richer learning over a period of time.
I looked at the clock,based upon where we were at in the lesson I expected that only a few minutes had passed, I was astonished to realize that half the class was over and we were still on the focus segment of the lesson. Worse yet, it became apparent that the students had retained very little from the previous three lessons. Agggh! how could this be happening?
I just finished a trimester in which I saw my classes evolve into groups of students who were good at taking notes, learning how to ask questions, comprehending the textbook, and most importantly learning through collaboration. My classes were large and filled with “good” noise. So what has happened? Is it the students (it must be)? The weather? Maybe its the Holidays? Or, did I make some errors? The reality is that regardless of all the other variables it is still my job to teach and there are some important aspects that need to be in place for my classes to function; clarification of expectations, communication skills, and a sense of relationship.
How could I have overlooked the importance of building a culture in the classroom. I did not take the time on the first two days of class to discuss, model, and provide practice using our Social Contract and the techniques students need to support one another. During the first trimester this was done and the social contract was highlighted in each of my lesson plans purposes. In other words it was a non-content specific objective to be accomplished. It typically would sound like this; Today, we will strengthening our small group skills by supporting one another, using the Social Contract’s Respect and Active Listening as a guide of expected behavior. When necessary we will remind each other by using the hand signal we all agreed upon ( a thumbs up) to redirect any unwanted behaviors.
The next mistake involves the productive group work and my expectations. I have to remember the groups that finished strong at the end of the first trimester did not start strong. In fact, we spent a lot of time learning how to work as a group, assume roles, communicate with one another, and work towards a common final product. I mistakenly expected this to carry over to second trimester, I need to realize the dynamics are different and forming groups is a process. To help this process along I need to model the behaviors I want to see and provide a means for both peer and teacher feedback.
Finally, I need to start class with handshakes and celebrations. Neither build content knowledge and both consume precious time, however the engagement and exploration with the students undoubtedly sets the tone for the classroom. This is also a great opportunity to model the social contract and techniques that the students need to support the classroom,s expectations.
So what did I learn in my moment of meta-cognitive awareness? First it is important to step back and take a look at what is working and what is not. Then to ask why? What I discovered is creating the right classroom expectations, modeling group behavior, and building relationships is essential to create deeper and richer learning over a period of time.ed the purpose of the lesson I began to have this awkward feeling of being all alone. There is no way this could be happening to me, after all I am a master teacher with many tools in my tool belt.”Quick”, I thought to myself, “use the old Think,Pair, Share techniques to asses the students understanding”. Surely this will work and I will find a sense of relief and even a bit of humor in the thought that this could be happening. So I asked them to share with one another and then I waited. And Waited, And Waited. Nothing but silence filled room.
I looked at the clock,based upon where we were at in the lesson I expected that only a few minutes had passed, I was astonished to realize that half the class was over and we were still on the focus segment of the lesson. Worse yet, it became apparent that the students had retained very little from the previous three lessons. Agggh! how could this be happening?
I just finished a trimester in which I saw my classes evolve into groups of students who were good at taking notes, learning how to ask questions, comprehending the textbook, and most importantly learning through collaboration. My classes were large and filled with “good” noise. So what has happened? Is it the students (it must be)? The weather? Maybe its the Holidays? Or, did I make some errors? The reality is that regardless of all the other variables it is still my job to teach and there are some important aspects that need to be in place for my classes to function; clarification of expectations, communication skills, and a sense of relationship.
How could I have overlooked the importance of building a culture in the classroom. I did not take the time on the first two days of class to discuss, model, and provide practice using our Social Contract and the techniques students need to support one another. During the first trimester this was done and the social contract was highlighted in each of my lesson plans purposes. In other words it was a non-content specific objective to be accomplished. It typically would sound like this; Today, we will strengthening our small group skills by supporting one another, using the Social Contract’s Respect and Active Listening as a guide of expected behavior. When necessary we will remind each other by using the hand signal we all agreed upon ( a thumbs up) to redirect any unwanted behaviors.
The next mistake involves the productive group work and my expectations. I have to remember the groups that finished strong at the end of the first trimester did not start strong. In fact, we spent a lot of time learning how to work as a group, assume roles, communicate with one another, and work towards a common final product. I mistakenly expected this to carry over to second trimester, I need to realize the dynamics are different and forming groups is a process. To help this process along I need to model the behaviors I want to see and provide a means for both peer and teacher feedback.
Finally, I need to start class with handshakes and celebrations. Neither build content knowledge and both consume precious time, however the engagement and exploration with the students undoubtedly sets the tone for the classroom. This is also a great opportunity to model the social contract and techniques that the students need to support the classroom,s expectations.
So what did I learn in my moment of meta-cognitive awareness? First it is important to step back and take a look at what is working and what is not. Then to ask why? What I discovered is creating the right classroom expectations, modeling group behavior, and building relationships is essential to create deeper and richer learning over a period of time. shared the purpose of the lesson I began to have this awkward feeling of being all alone. There is no way this could be happening to me, after all I am a master teacher with many tools in my tool belt.”Quick”, I thought to myself, “use the old Think,Pair, Share techniques to asses the students understanding”. Surely this will work and I will find a sense of relief and even a bit of humor in the thought that this could be happening. So I asked them to share with one another and then I waited. And Waited, And Waited. Nothing but silence filled room.
I looked at the clock,based upon where we were at in the lesson, I expected that only a few minutes had passed, I was astonished to realize that half the class was over and we were still on the focus segment of the lesson. Worse yet, it became apparent that the students had retained very little from the previous three lessons. Agggh! how could this be happening?
I just finished a trimester in which I saw my classes evolve into groups of students who were good at taking notes, learning how to ask questions, comprehending the textbook, and most importantly learning through collaboration. My classes were large and filled with “good” noise. So what has happened? Is it the students (it must be)? The weather? Maybe its the Holidays? Or, did I make some errors? The reality is that regardless of all the other variables it is still my job to teach and there are some important aspects that need to be in place for my classes to function; clarification of expectations, communication skills, and a sense of relationship.
How could I have overlooked the importance of building a culture in the classroom. I did not take the time on the first two days of class to discuss, model, and provide practice using our Social Contract and the techniques students need to support one another. During the first trimester this was done and the social contract was highlighted in each of my lesson plans purposes. In other words it was a non-content specific objective to be accomplished. It typically would sound like this; Today, we will strengthening our small group skills by supporting one another, using the Social Contract’s Respect and Active Listening as a guide of expected behavior. When necessary we will remind each other by using the hand signal we all agreed upon ( a thumbs up) to redirect any unwanted behaviors.
The next mistake involves the productive group work and my expectations. I have to remember the groups that finished strong at the end of the first trimester did not start strong. In fact, we spent a lot of time learning how to work as a group, assume roles, communicate with one another, and work towards a common final product. I mistakenly expected this to carry over to second trimester, I need to realize the dynamics are different and forming groups is a process. To help this process along I need to model the behaviors I want to see and provide a means for both peer and teacher feedback.
Finally, I need to start class with handshakes and celebrations. Neither build content knowledge and both consume precious time, however the engagement and exploration with the students undoubtedly sets the tone for the classroom. This is also a great opportunity to model the social contract and techniques that the students need to support the classroom,s expectations.
So what did I learn in my moment of meta-cognitive awareness? First it is important to step back and take a look at what is working and what is not. Then to ask why? What I discovered is creating the right classroom expectations, modeling group behavior, and building relationships is essential to create deeper and richer learning over a period of time.
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