I can only imagine what you are thinking..."I've seen this list before and it's always the same old information!" Contrary to that thought, I believe it's time to take an honest look in the mirror and identify those 10 characteristics that I feel exemplify Great Teachers.
1) Great Teachers DO NOT Complain!
In an ever changing arena, teachers are constantly asked to do more with less. While it could be easy to roll your eyes and let out a gruff, Great Teachers relish in the opportunity to grow. Throw them a curve ball and they will knock it out of the park. Not only is this true in their profession, but ultimately in their classroom as well. Complaining leads to excuses, and Great Teachers leave no door open for excuses.
2) Great Teachers are CREATORS, Not Victims!
While very similar to the first one, Great Teachers take obstacles and turn them in to opportunities for growth. Since we are all human, inevitably we all make mistakes. Great Teachers take responsibility for their mistakes, learn from them, and ultimately grow and become better teachers because of them.
3) Great Teachers put Students First!
As high stakes, standardized testing continues to gain momentum, many teachers fall trap to 'teaching to the test'. Great Teachers realize the greater good in educating the whole child and helping them grow in life. Great Teachers will often wear many hats and know how to wear them well - counselor, parent, friend, teacher, or disciplinarian.
4) Great Teachers make Data-Driven Decisions!
While many teachers cringe at the idea of looking at data, Great Teachers understand the vital role data plays in directing instruction and teaching students. How else can you tell if something is working or not. Gut feelings are vital to on the fly modifications, but over the long haul of a teaching career, data needs to drive methodology and practices. With out data, a Great Teacher cannot be sure of what is working and what is not.
5) Great Teachers are Reflective Practitioners!
By reflecting on instructional activities, assessments, and methodology, Great Teachers take a deeper look at themselves and how to grow and improve for student success. Admitting difficulties and struggles allows Great Teachers opportunities for improvement, while using successes as an opportunity to share with others. Reflection allows teachers time to measure what student success looks like and feels like.
6) Great Teachers Seek Out Ways to Grow!
In understanding that teaching is a life-long learning opportunity, Great Teachers strive to stay current in the field of education and their content. Great Teachers use technology to enhance their classroom and look for new and up-coming opportunities to use technology. Great Teachers are eager to learn and are self directed in their professional development.
7) Great Teachers Collaborate and Share with Others!
Not worried about receiving credit for a great idea or class activity, Great Teachers look for ways to share ideas and information with others. Great Teachers understand how these activities can potentially reach more students. Great Teachers listen to others ideas and do not quickly dismiss them. Great Teachers are willing to try something new and work with others to modify current practices to increase student learning.
8) Great Teachers have a Student-Centered Classroom!
If you were to walk into a Great Teacher's classroom, odds are you might not know where the front of the room is located! Great Teachers create a learning environment that is Student-Centered and inviting to the student learning process. The classroom will probably be loud, chaotic at times, but a Great Teacher knows exactly what is happening and the purpose behind it. Activities are designed so that students can apply, analyze, and create based on what was learned.
9) Great Teachers are Patient!
Working with 20 - 120 students per day, Great Teachers understand that every student they encounter is unique in their own way. Great Teachers understand students learn differently and are adept at teaching in a variety of methods. Great Teachers do no mind questions, while they patiently guide students along the learning path.
10) Great Teachers are Model Students!
We've all been part of meetings or classes where colleagues complain they can't meet a deadline, or they don't have time to do something. A Great Teacher realizes that as a student them self, they must model the same expectations they ask of their own students. Work is handed in on time, thoroughly completed, and with all required components. Often, Great Teachers go above and beyond the requirements.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Chalk Talk - Engaging All Learners
As a teacher, have you ever struggled to engage even the quietest of learners in a class discussion? Have you encountered the learner that is fearful of offering their opinion? Or how about the learner that constantly blurts out every answer before giving others time to answer? Being a teacher requires a great deal of balancing different learning styles and learner personalities. How do you engage all of these learners and measure their level of understanding?
Imagine for a moment a Discussion Board utilized in an online course or a blended format course. Students are posed a question, asked to respond to that question, and respond to classmates' responses. This format usually allows for a better discussion to take place as students are more free with their words and reflections. A unique tool that involves all learners in the discussion process.
For those classes that meet only face-to-face, discussion boards are not as popular. Enter the Chalk Talk Activity. The instructor assigns a particular reading, case-study, problem, or difficult topic for students to complete prior to class. The instructor then poses 5 - 7 questions that address the key elements of the assignment, and writes those questions on poster board paper and tapes them around the room.
Students are then asked to roam about the room, reading each question and provide their answer on the paper board provided - SILENTLY. To start, students may only answer the initial question posted. This anonymity provides those quiet and shy learners to have a voice in your classroom. Similarly, those rude students that answer every question are still able to provide their thoughts, but in a more appropriate and timely manner.
As students continue to answer the initial questions, the instructor then walks around to the different questions and circles any answer that could lead to further discussion, write down any questions the instructor still has, or circle answers that need more clarification. Once an item has been circled, this indicates to students that they may respond and pose their own questions in regard to the circled item - hence the similarity to a discussion board format.
The instructor continues to monitor student responses and circles more text to continue enhancing the topic of discussion. After a set amount of time (determined by instructor), it is imperative that the instructor close the activity with a discussion around each initial question posed. What was the instructor trying to obtain from the question, did the students answer the question sufficiently, and clear any misconceptions brought about by the discussion?
The Chalk Talk Activity reaches many types of learning styles - Somatic Learners (body-kinethestic), Visual Learners, and Intellectual Learners. This activity provides students a voice that usually don't like participating in class discussions. While it may be difficult to monitor which students have responded and how many times they have responded, you open the door to an engagement activity that requires students to move and read others ideas on a topic.
Imagine for a moment a Discussion Board utilized in an online course or a blended format course. Students are posed a question, asked to respond to that question, and respond to classmates' responses. This format usually allows for a better discussion to take place as students are more free with their words and reflections. A unique tool that involves all learners in the discussion process.
For those classes that meet only face-to-face, discussion boards are not as popular. Enter the Chalk Talk Activity. The instructor assigns a particular reading, case-study, problem, or difficult topic for students to complete prior to class. The instructor then poses 5 - 7 questions that address the key elements of the assignment, and writes those questions on poster board paper and tapes them around the room.
Students are then asked to roam about the room, reading each question and provide their answer on the paper board provided - SILENTLY. To start, students may only answer the initial question posted. This anonymity provides those quiet and shy learners to have a voice in your classroom. Similarly, those rude students that answer every question are still able to provide their thoughts, but in a more appropriate and timely manner.
As students continue to answer the initial questions, the instructor then walks around to the different questions and circles any answer that could lead to further discussion, write down any questions the instructor still has, or circle answers that need more clarification. Once an item has been circled, this indicates to students that they may respond and pose their own questions in regard to the circled item - hence the similarity to a discussion board format.
The instructor continues to monitor student responses and circles more text to continue enhancing the topic of discussion. After a set amount of time (determined by instructor), it is imperative that the instructor close the activity with a discussion around each initial question posed. What was the instructor trying to obtain from the question, did the students answer the question sufficiently, and clear any misconceptions brought about by the discussion?
The Chalk Talk Activity reaches many types of learning styles - Somatic Learners (body-kinethestic), Visual Learners, and Intellectual Learners. This activity provides students a voice that usually don't like participating in class discussions. While it may be difficult to monitor which students have responded and how many times they have responded, you open the door to an engagement activity that requires students to move and read others ideas on a topic.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Preparing Students for Success
Odds are you have already flipped a lesson for your class, but you never realized you did. Let's start by asking the following question - have you ever asked students to complete a reading passage outside of class? If so, you've already laid the foundation to flip that lesson. Now all you need is to structure the in-class activity to support your reading assignment. The power of flipping can now bring your class activities and discussion to life!
Flipping a lesson or classroom does not need to be a difficult or tedious process. All 'flippers' have the same goal - create a student-centered learning environment that promotes collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and reflection. Many high school teachers and higher-ed instructors struggle to find time to accomplish all these tasks in a 'traditional' classroom setting. Many proponents of the flipped classroom point to these very attributes as reasons to consider flipping your classroom.
The best advice I can offer would be the following:
1) Start Small! You don't need to flip an entire class. Look for "flippable moments" as Dr. Barbi Honeycutt states. Look for confusion in students where you might need to spend more class time discussing. Look for fundamentals that can be taught through a video and practice can be done during face-to-face class time. Look for boredom in students and creating authentic learning experiences in your classroom to keep them coming back for more.
2) Plan BACKWARDS! Identify an in-class activity you have never had enough time to conquer or one that you really want students to take a lot from. Plan that activity first, and then ask how you can provide pre-class material to the students. This pre-class material is any necessary information the student will need to be successful during the activity. Provide them a short video lecture, reading passage, or exploratory cues. Always keep the in-class activity in mind as you provide them information they will need.
3) Integrate moments of reflection. Allowing students time to process and reflect on what was learned is a vital tool for the instructor. This allows instructors an opportunity to identify struggling students and correct any misconceptions immediately. Likewise, it provides pertinent feedback about the activity and how it might be changed in the future. Activities like "Think, Pair, Share", "Think, Write, Share", "Writing Prompts", "Exit Tickets", or "SWOT Analysis" (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) are great activities that encourage student feedback and reflection.
Too many students walk out of high school or college lacking applicable job skills that are required to be successful. I truly believe that the flipped classroom helps address those abilities and provides students an opportunity to be successful. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and off your 'stage'. You might actually like the noise of others for a change.
Flipping a lesson or classroom does not need to be a difficult or tedious process. All 'flippers' have the same goal - create a student-centered learning environment that promotes collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and reflection. Many high school teachers and higher-ed instructors struggle to find time to accomplish all these tasks in a 'traditional' classroom setting. Many proponents of the flipped classroom point to these very attributes as reasons to consider flipping your classroom.
The best advice I can offer would be the following:
1) Start Small! You don't need to flip an entire class. Look for "flippable moments" as Dr. Barbi Honeycutt states. Look for confusion in students where you might need to spend more class time discussing. Look for fundamentals that can be taught through a video and practice can be done during face-to-face class time. Look for boredom in students and creating authentic learning experiences in your classroom to keep them coming back for more.
2) Plan BACKWARDS! Identify an in-class activity you have never had enough time to conquer or one that you really want students to take a lot from. Plan that activity first, and then ask how you can provide pre-class material to the students. This pre-class material is any necessary information the student will need to be successful during the activity. Provide them a short video lecture, reading passage, or exploratory cues. Always keep the in-class activity in mind as you provide them information they will need.
3) Integrate moments of reflection. Allowing students time to process and reflect on what was learned is a vital tool for the instructor. This allows instructors an opportunity to identify struggling students and correct any misconceptions immediately. Likewise, it provides pertinent feedback about the activity and how it might be changed in the future. Activities like "Think, Pair, Share", "Think, Write, Share", "Writing Prompts", "Exit Tickets", or "SWOT Analysis" (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) are great activities that encourage student feedback and reflection.
Too many students walk out of high school or college lacking applicable job skills that are required to be successful. I truly believe that the flipped classroom helps address those abilities and provides students an opportunity to be successful. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and off your 'stage'. You might actually like the noise of others for a change.
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