THIS WILL BE THE LAST BLOG UNTIL JULY 3RD, AS I AM GOING ON VACATION!!
For the next few blogs, I will be discussing the Danielson Framework for Teaching. This framework provides teachers with effective teaching practices that impact student learning. Today I will highlight Domain 1, Planning and Preparation. As a teacher is developing units and lessons, these need to be considered:
1. Teacher knows the content that will be taught and prepares for any misunderstandings of students.
2. Teacher knows the students' abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, and special needs in order to plan the
unit or lesson.
3. Instructional outcomes are set for the unit and lesson and are assessable, are rigorous and are tied to the
Common Core.
4. Teacher uses a variety of resources to use in teaching students.
5. Teacher designs a lesson that is coherent and clear with learning experiences aligned to the instructional
outcomes and are differentiated for student needs.
6. Assessment is aligned with instructional outcomes, with clear criteria and standards. Assessment is intended
to be used to plan future instruction for students.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Professional Learning Communities
With the implementation of the Common Core standards, many educational experts are saying that while the Common Core have more rigorous expectations for students, the implementation of these standards will be difficult unless teachers unpack those standards, discuss assessments and more importantly discuss instructional methods and strategies that will impact student learning.
Do you know the 4 PLC questions? 1) What do we want all students to be able to know and do? 2) How will we know that they learned it? 3) What do we do when they don't learn it, and 4) What do we do when they know it already?
These are the guiding questions for Professional Learning Community teams as they look at student learning. These guide the standards and outcomes for students and how we plan units, how we assess students, what are core instructional practices that everyone should be using because they are effective, how we provide support and interventions to those students who have not mastered the outcomes we developed and lastly, how we provide enrichment to those students that are already proficient and are more self-directed learners.
PLCs are collaborative teams whose members work to achieve common goals, learning for all. DuFour says, "Collaboration does not lead to improved results unless people are focused on the right issues....Collaborations represents a systematic process in which teachers work together interdependently in order to impact their classroom practices in ways that will lead to better results for their students."
PLCs have a commitment to continuous improvement. They gather evidence of student learning, look at students strengths and weaknesses, discuss teaching strategies and then analyze the impact of those strategies as to what was effective for student learning. Teachers learn from each other and the learning of the whole is more important.
Do you know the 4 PLC questions? 1) What do we want all students to be able to know and do? 2) How will we know that they learned it? 3) What do we do when they don't learn it, and 4) What do we do when they know it already?
These are the guiding questions for Professional Learning Community teams as they look at student learning. These guide the standards and outcomes for students and how we plan units, how we assess students, what are core instructional practices that everyone should be using because they are effective, how we provide support and interventions to those students who have not mastered the outcomes we developed and lastly, how we provide enrichment to those students that are already proficient and are more self-directed learners.
PLCs are collaborative teams whose members work to achieve common goals, learning for all. DuFour says, "Collaboration does not lead to improved results unless people are focused on the right issues....Collaborations represents a systematic process in which teachers work together interdependently in order to impact their classroom practices in ways that will lead to better results for their students."
PLCs have a commitment to continuous improvement. They gather evidence of student learning, look at students strengths and weaknesses, discuss teaching strategies and then analyze the impact of those strategies as to what was effective for student learning. Teachers learn from each other and the learning of the whole is more important.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
School is Out!! Now What?
For most of you, school is out or will be out soon! What then? After you take a breath, rest and relax a bit, you can get back at it! For most of you, your learning never ends, even during the summer!!
I watched an excellent webinar the other day sponsored by the Leadership and Learning Center, hosted by John Hattie, from the University of Melbourne. John has done research for the last 15 years on the biggest student sample ever, on what actually works in schools to improve learning and published the book Visible Learning for Teachers. I just bought the book and have not read it yet, but just looking through it, John provides practical, useful information on teaching strategies to implement in the classroom that MAKE THE DIFFERENCE in student learning. There are checklists, exercises, case studies--- all that answer the question, "How do we maximize student achievement in our schools."
So I would advise getting on Amazon, ordering your book, and do some summer reading by the pool!! It will pay off!!
Here is the link to the webinar and presentation slides!
http://www.leadandlearn.com/multimedia-resource-center/webinars
I watched an excellent webinar the other day sponsored by the Leadership and Learning Center, hosted by John Hattie, from the University of Melbourne. John has done research for the last 15 years on the biggest student sample ever, on what actually works in schools to improve learning and published the book Visible Learning for Teachers. I just bought the book and have not read it yet, but just looking through it, John provides practical, useful information on teaching strategies to implement in the classroom that MAKE THE DIFFERENCE in student learning. There are checklists, exercises, case studies--- all that answer the question, "How do we maximize student achievement in our schools."
So I would advise getting on Amazon, ordering your book, and do some summer reading by the pool!! It will pay off!!
Here is the link to the webinar and presentation slides!
http://www.leadandlearn.com/multimedia-resource-center/webinars
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Leave Behind after the interview
My daughter is in marketing, and was suggesting to me that I work with the teacher candidates on developing a "leave behind." I had no idea what she was talking about! She suggested that the teacher candidates develop something to leave with the interviewer after the interview is done. The leave behind is such a great opportunity to leave a lasting impression.
According to Wes McDowell at freelanceswitch.com, "leave behinds" should fulfill three objectives:
1) Branding - what are you about
2) Showcase your work
3) Make it easy to keep and keep looking at
So let's apply that to teaching! As a teacher, what represents YOU and your beliefs and your work? Put an image that represents that on a bright card with your name and hand it to the interviewer. What can you showcase? A small chart of your class' performance on an assessment; Put that chart of student progress on a white card with your name and leave that behind. Your personal vision with an image; a quote from a specific student that you impacted.
Check out the link at pinterest and see what ideas you can find.
http://pinterest.com/lindz_nichols/leave-behind-ideas/
"Leave behinds" keep YOU in the interviewers mind and makes you stand out!!!
According to Wes McDowell at freelanceswitch.com, "leave behinds" should fulfill three objectives:
1) Branding - what are you about
2) Showcase your work
3) Make it easy to keep and keep looking at
So let's apply that to teaching! As a teacher, what represents YOU and your beliefs and your work? Put an image that represents that on a bright card with your name and hand it to the interviewer. What can you showcase? A small chart of your class' performance on an assessment; Put that chart of student progress on a white card with your name and leave that behind. Your personal vision with an image; a quote from a specific student that you impacted.
Check out the link at pinterest and see what ideas you can find.
http://pinterest.com/lindz_nichols/leave-behind-ideas/
"Leave behinds" keep YOU in the interviewers mind and makes you stand out!!!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Your Teaching Performance
Congratulations!! You just landed your first teaching position!!!
If you are in Illinois, your teaching performance will be evaluated using the Charlotte Danielson framework. What does this mean? Well take a look:
http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachers-leaders/practicerubrics/Docs/Teachscape_Rubric.pdf
This copy of the rubric from Danielson's 2nd edition, A Framework for Teaching, will be the foundation for the new evaluation framework used in Illinois.
Start by looking at the 4 domains that are Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. Each domain has elements and indicators that outline each teaching practice. Take one domain at a time, and go through and highlight the key concepts in each element and indicator and do a self-assessment. Do I know what this means? Do I know what this looks like? Do I know if I have done this in my past teaching experience?
Look at your units and lesson and see what applies to the work you have done in the past? Look at your philosophy on classroom management and how you have engaged students. Look at your assessments you have used or developed. And lastly look at YOURSELF-- what type of communicator am I? How do I work with others? Am I a life-long learner?
This review can get you started on reflecting on your own teaching philosophy and practices.
If you are in Illinois, your teaching performance will be evaluated using the Charlotte Danielson framework. What does this mean? Well take a look:
http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachers-leaders/practicerubrics/Docs/Teachscape_Rubric.pdf
This copy of the rubric from Danielson's 2nd edition, A Framework for Teaching, will be the foundation for the new evaluation framework used in Illinois.
Start by looking at the 4 domains that are Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. Each domain has elements and indicators that outline each teaching practice. Take one domain at a time, and go through and highlight the key concepts in each element and indicator and do a self-assessment. Do I know what this means? Do I know what this looks like? Do I know if I have done this in my past teaching experience?
Look at your units and lesson and see what applies to the work you have done in the past? Look at your philosophy on classroom management and how you have engaged students. Look at your assessments you have used or developed. And lastly look at YOURSELF-- what type of communicator am I? How do I work with others? Am I a life-long learner?
This review can get you started on reflecting on your own teaching philosophy and practices.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Interact with the Common Core Standards
Today, I was videotaping a PLC meeting, and there was a student teacher involved in the meeting. The principal asked the student teacher how often she as a college student, interacts with the Common Core Standards? The student teacher said that they need to identify the Common Core Standard when doing lesson plans, but other than that, the students do not really discuss them.
I was in total shock hearing that some universities are not immersing the students in the Common Core. I also was thinking how far behind the new teachers will be with minimal interaction with the Common Core. The Common Core Standards are to "provide a consistent, clear understand of what students are expected to learn," as well as the "standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers."
Students will be asked to apply their skills in a broader "real world" context. Students will be asked to analyze a story rather than answer questions about the plot. In math, students will be asked how and why in a math problem, rather than just working a problem.
What does this mean for new teachers? It means that while the standards are changing and becoming more rigorous, the way teachers design lessons, activities, and assessments MUST be different based on what the standards are asking students to do. Students are now asked to cite textual evidence, analyze, explain compare and contrast, demonstrate, delineate, evaluate and integrate.
Make sure that you explore the Common Core Standards. Google Common Core and read about the standards, the process, the assessments, the materials that are recommended, the curriculum changes that are necessary, etc. If you are on LinkedIn, there is an amazing discussion board going on about Common Core Standards. Don't be left behind!!!!
I was in total shock hearing that some universities are not immersing the students in the Common Core. I also was thinking how far behind the new teachers will be with minimal interaction with the Common Core. The Common Core Standards are to "provide a consistent, clear understand of what students are expected to learn," as well as the "standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers."
Students will be asked to apply their skills in a broader "real world" context. Students will be asked to analyze a story rather than answer questions about the plot. In math, students will be asked how and why in a math problem, rather than just working a problem.
What does this mean for new teachers? It means that while the standards are changing and becoming more rigorous, the way teachers design lessons, activities, and assessments MUST be different based on what the standards are asking students to do. Students are now asked to cite textual evidence, analyze, explain compare and contrast, demonstrate, delineate, evaluate and integrate.
Make sure that you explore the Common Core Standards. Google Common Core and read about the standards, the process, the assessments, the materials that are recommended, the curriculum changes that are necessary, etc. If you are on LinkedIn, there is an amazing discussion board going on about Common Core Standards. Don't be left behind!!!!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Flipped Classroom
I have been reading a great deal about the "flipped" classroom and the movement of teachers toward this use of technology. If you are not familiar, the "flipped" classroom is where the teacher delivers the lesson via video the night before. Students then have access to view that lesson the night before and then class time the next day is used for monitoring student understanding, reteaching and problem solving. Teachers are using YouTube, Moodle,and other models, such as Khan Academy, to teach their lesson the night before so students can view the lesson.
Creating student interest and motivation to watch the videos is a key concept in the "flipped" classroom. The "need to know" must be presented to students by teachers in a positive way, not in a punitive/punishment way. Finding a way for ALL kids to be able to access the video is also important. Will you require that they all watch the video? How will you make that happen? If they watch the video and master the concept immediately, what will you do the next day in class with the student? If they watch the video and don't get the concept at all, how will you address the concept in the classroom? How will you manage students that might be at very different levels of understanding?
How will you set up your classroom the next day when students walk in the classroom? They have watched the lesson and now what? What was the target of the lesson? How did the concept build on previous learning? How will they use the concept for future learning? Did they learn it? If not, what is needed to learn the concept?
Once started can you maintain using the "flipped" classroom? Will you video daily? Will you start it and then get bogged down with it and not be able to continue it? What does that mean for the students who may be more excited about using the video lessons?
Check out articles on The Teacher Guru Facebook page for more "flipped" classroom information. I am going to try a "flipped" lesson in my doctoral class this summer....I will let you know how it works!!!
Creating student interest and motivation to watch the videos is a key concept in the "flipped" classroom. The "need to know" must be presented to students by teachers in a positive way, not in a punitive/punishment way. Finding a way for ALL kids to be able to access the video is also important. Will you require that they all watch the video? How will you make that happen? If they watch the video and master the concept immediately, what will you do the next day in class with the student? If they watch the video and don't get the concept at all, how will you address the concept in the classroom? How will you manage students that might be at very different levels of understanding?
How will you set up your classroom the next day when students walk in the classroom? They have watched the lesson and now what? What was the target of the lesson? How did the concept build on previous learning? How will they use the concept for future learning? Did they learn it? If not, what is needed to learn the concept?
Once started can you maintain using the "flipped" classroom? Will you video daily? Will you start it and then get bogged down with it and not be able to continue it? What does that mean for the students who may be more excited about using the video lessons?
Check out articles on The Teacher Guru Facebook page for more "flipped" classroom information. I am going to try a "flipped" lesson in my doctoral class this summer....I will let you know how it works!!!
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