EDU221CMTipsAndTricks


 * =Tip= || =Source= || =Shared By= ||
 * [|Never Assume] || [|Dr. Bob Moses] understood that part of why students fail algebra is that the typical curriculum //assumes// "everyday" experiences and builds on them (reading a map, following a bus schedule, riding a train, . . . ). You can't build a foundation on a common experience if everyone hasn't had the same experience. || Dr. Theresa ||
 * The Loudest Sound is ... || Silence. The first day out in the schools, I had a substitute, Jim Grippe, for my mentor teacher who had recently retired the previous spring after 10 years. One thing that he taught me was that silence is the loudest noise. When he just stood before the class silently, all of the side conversation just stopped and everyone focused on the class. It was quite interesting to see. || Mr. Cobleigh ||
 * Overplan! || My own mistake. Planning too much for one class period is so, //so// much better than planning not enough. 15 minutes is a looooooong time in a classroom of antsy freshman. || Ms. Kendall ||
 * Stay Consistent || Learning from observing a Geometry CPI class, when students do not want to be there, the drive to do assigned work will not be there either. I have realized that constant reminding may become necessary but through this, students will start to complete their assigned work. || Mr. Cobleigh ||
 * Learn to Modify || After working with one class on Crocodocs and encountering difficulties, my mentor teacher decided to modify the assignment for the second class. Even with the modified assignment, there were still difficulties, so again modifications were made that enabled all students to take part in the activity without everyone getting frustrated because "it won't work?" This issue was again taken into consideration when Crocodocs was used again several days later. The lesson was modified ahead of time so that the majority of the issues could be avoided. || Ms. Ferrari ||
 * No Busy Work! || Sitting in my mentor teacher's class the one thing that comes out loud and clear is that they hate work sheets. They do them almost every day and they see it more as something to keep them busy than as something to help them learn. When a student sees an activity as something done just to keep them busy, it's time for a change. || Miss Rea ||
 * Always Empty the Penicl Sharpener || This one comes from hearing students complain about the pencil sharpener being broken throughout two class periods. Not being able to sharpen pencils led to the students interrupting the class to complain, asking other students for a pen or pencil, asking the teacher for something to write with, or asking if they could go into another room to use their pencil sharpener. Upon closer examination, I found that the pencil sharpener was not broken but just needed to be emptied. || Miss Rea ||
 * Use "check-ins" to create a class rapport || From the Apple A Day Project. This teacher uses daily "check-ins," where the class sits in a circle and one simple, short answer question is posed. Going around the circle, everyone (including the teacher) shares an answer that must be genuine and honest. The teacher who uses this technique to create a relationship among classmates and between student and teacher. || Ms. Kendall ||
 * Have a signal to get students' attention || From Dan Ryder's humanities class. Have a signal other than yelling to get students' attention. In Dan's class, there is a "Goblet of Justice"... which is really just a weird plastic goblet, and when he needs to get the class to quiet down and pay attention, he just holds the goblet over his head. After a few seconds, the class quiets down on their own with no other coercion from Dan. || Mr. Lane ||
 * Relate reading to their interests. || From Dan Ryder's English class. In Dan's English class, the students were reading the graphic novel //Watchmen//. They were still doing important learning that they would otherwise be doing in an English class, but with material that was a lot more engaging to the average high school student. || Mr. Lane ||
 * Minimize Distractions || Through observing my mentor teacher, I have discovered that if you want students to pay attention to what you are doing, saying, reading, etc., don't give them handouts or anything else that isn't relevant to what you are doing currently. If it's something they are going to be working on later, pass it out later. Then you won't have to worry about interrupting class multiple times to tell them to put their pencils down or to pay attention. This is especially important if the class has multiple students with ADHD or similar behavioral problems. || Ms. Ferrari ||
 * Pick your battles || The first lesson my mentor teacher taught me: pick your battles. It's too exhausting to argue with the students over every little mishap. For example, just because I students leaves trash behind on his or her desk after class is over, or just because a student doesn't being a writing utensil to class with him or her, doesn't mean it's worth the time and aggravation to reprimand the student. As an educator, we all have to learn to let things go and to truly prioritize your battles. || Ms. Toto ||
 * Have a plan for how to group students and stick with it || It's important to have a plan on how students will be broken up to work on an activity. It's even more important to follow that plan through. During one of my lessons, I tried to play the "nice guy" because I thought students would dislike me and check out of the lesson if I broke them up in a way that they did not like. To get on my students' good sides, I told them they could work on a lesson with their friends if they promised me that they would work diligently and keep the talking to a minimum. I was naive to actually expect this. I created my own discipline problems by not grouping students in the way I originally planned- the way that would be best for my activity. || Mr. Ford ||
 * Reflect on Lessons || If a lesson does not go as planned, don't freak out. We learn best from our mistakes. Use the opportunity to reflect on what happened and what went wrong. Then, make changes to the lesson accordingly. One of my lessons did not go well on a Blue day but went very well on the next Gold day after I made revisions. I would sometimes look past classroom management techniques in my lesson. By writing down how students reacted to parts of the lesson, I was better able to diagnose the problems. || Mr. Ford ||
 * Have Back-up plans || As a teacher you should always have a back-up plan for your lesson in the case that you something happens and you can't do what yo had originally planned to do. My mentor does a lot of his work online and a lot of his worksheets are on the internet, he also has the book on PDF form on the internet. One day the internet was down, but he was ready for it, he had hard copies of all of his worksheet and he had hard copies of the textbooks and photo copies of the text book. The best way to to be prepared if something goes wrong is to have a back-up plan in place. || Mr. Bizier ||
 * Allot your time well || When you are doing a lesson make sure that you allot enough time to finish it. You also need to make sure that you allot enough time so that you do not run out of material. If you do not allot your time well then you will either not cover all of the material that you had planned or you will have too much time left over at the end of class. If you go over then you will have to spend the next period reviewing and finishing up your previous lesson; and if you finish early then the class may become restless and disruptive. You want to allot you lesson times to finish up right as the class is ending, not too early, and not too late. || Mr. Bizier ||
 * Think of different ways that students could make mistakes || If you put yourself in the position of a student, you can think about all of the possible ways that students can misinterpret some information, or do a certain question/problem wrong. After doing so, as a teacher you can address these possible issues in a variety of different ways, either by simply explaining it or purposely making the mistake yourself and see if the students catch it. If they do then it means that they understand what's going on. If they don't catch it then more explanation might be needed. || Mr. Doran ||
 * Run through your formal lesson || Before you present your formal lesson, give yourself a class period before to do a dry run! What I noticed is that my dry lesson was completely different from my formal because I was able to make corrections and figure out things that didn't work. || Ms. Mull ||
 * Make up a day that you could not be in class || If for some reason, like being sick, you cannot go into your class, make it up! I could not go one day because I had the flu. In my second three weeks in the field I went Monday-Thursday and i found that it really brought me together with the students being there basically the whole week! || Ms. Mull ||
 * Don't be uptight || If a student who has trouble learning and behaving ask to do something that may help them stay on task and will not effect other students then let them. A student who has behavior problems asked me if he could sit in one of the teachers chairs while he watched a video with the rest of the class. I allowed him to, and he stayed on tasked without making any disruptions and actually finished the assignment that went with the video which was unlike him. Without his disruptions everyone else in the class was able to stay on task as well. || Mr. Kane ||
 * Create a comfortable learning environment where it's OK to laugh || In every class, especially Health class there are certain subjects that are uncomfortable for students to participate in. It is important to create a comfortable learning environment where students feel safe to talk about things. By throwing in a joke here and there during uncomfortable subjects it can really help loosen up the students and encourage participation. || Mr. Kane ||
 * Keep Track of student work/ Create grading symbols || Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of student work. In a perfect world your students would pass it in the day its due so that you could grade it and return it in a timely fashion. However, there will always be students who turn things in late or incomplete, students who need just a little more time and some who were absent. In order to keep track of who needs what, each teacher should create a system of symbols in their grading notebook. A circle for a missing or late assignment could remind you to take points off, an X for an absent student, a / for an incomplete or needs more time, etc. Whatever helps you know who needs a reminder, who needs help and when you are free to hand things back. || Ms. LaPierre ||
 * Creating interesting and relevant class discussions. || We have all experienced teachers who were very effective leaders of class discussion but it is important to let your student lead discussion at times as well. We know such tricks as playing the devil's advocate and posing controversial questions, but sometimes its important to let discussion fall to the students. Even if it gets off track it frequently ends in a laugh and a way back to where it began. You don't need to step in and lead students every step of the way, or hold their hands so to speak; they are very capable of reasoning on their own and coming to some interesting and relevant conclusions. || Ms. LaPierre ||
 * Take the time to let your students teach you || This may be a small lesson or a quick thought, but take the time to listen to your students, they may be teaching you something. I recently encountered the "know-it-all" student and immeadiatly rolled my eyes as he began talking, another story I thought to myself. I stuggled to be a good listener until I realized that this moment was, indeed, the first of many that I would have to practice my classroom management skills and I could also gain more gardening tips. I interrupted the student and asked him to find his seat, but to also take the time to write down his thoughts on paper, so that I may review it later when there was more time. I suggested a few questions that I would like answered and then gave him the time to write (this instruction was cleared by the mentor). After this moment I now have another "trick" up my sleeve and a new great place to purchase seedlings for the garden. || Ms. Wagg ||
 * Bring a Smile to class || A smile says it all! Every student and coworker wants to see a beautiful smile. Greet your students with a smile and they will lighten up immeadiatly. Your smile will make them feel safe, warm, and welcome. Create an environment that says "I'm happy to be here with you". || Ms. Wagg ||