Search results matching tag 'teacher'

SNOW DAY!!!!!

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:55:00 GMT

I LOVE SNOW DAYS!!
They are always a surprise in our school district. Despite the amount of snow we get in these here parts, it is very rarely that we have a snow day called the night before. But this week, it was a surprise and very welcome SNOW DAY.

So, what did we do?

After a leisurely start to our Tuesday off, snow-shoes were donned and off I stepped out my door and into the great, white, blissfully beautiful Rocky Mountains. Living in the mountains is truly my idea of serenity. Yes, I have to drive an hour to and from work but I would not give up my home in the mountains for anything.

Soup, Chipotle Chicken and Similes

After my hike through the snow, I came back and, now in the mood for something warm and comforting, I made good old chicken soup. Chipotle chicken was rustled up too, more as forward planning for easy meals for the rest of the week.

As everything was bubbling away, making the house smell wonderful, I pulled out my computer and went to work! Yes, I know, I know......

I am creating a new packet of lesson plans for creative writing. But for right now, I want to share my new FREEBIE with you. The Best Game of Matching Similes.

APRIL IS POETRY MONTH.

With poetry month well and truly under way, I created this set of matching cards to use with my lower level writers. The plan is that this would help to reinforce both figurative language and reading comprehension with inferring skills. Two birds with one stone, so to speak. So far, so good. I copied it onto card, laminated the card and cut it out. We are working on descriptive writing and using figurative language is a brilliant way to integrate clever writing.

You can download this differentiated FREE resource at either of my stores, Tpt or Teacher's Notebook.

Enjoy!

~ Susan

OTES Day 1

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 03:13:06 GMT

For specifics about the framework, be sure to see Dwight Carter’s (@Dwight_Carter) blog after his three-days training.

Today was my first of 3 OTES days, and I’m still feeling pretty good about that “left side” (or the performance piece) of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System framework. (The “right side,” or the student growth side, is another story entirely.)

What I want to look at in this post is the actual rubric for the performance evaluation. Again, I think those who are saying “NAY” the loudest are probably uninformed about the requirements and have probably not looked at that performance rubric.

Keeping in mind that MOST teachers will “live in” the proficient range and “visit” accelerated, I want to focus on that proficient column. In the training, we were asked to underline key descriptors of proficiency for each standard.

Looking at this standard, I started underlining words/phrases like: “develops measurable goal,” and “aligned with standards” and “explain importance.” I quickly realized that underlining these phrases gave me no real insight into a “proficient” teacher.

In order for me to understand the qualifiers of the different areas, I had to actually compare proficient to accelerated. The differences between the two in Focus for Learning are: 1) The goals must be rigorous to be accelerated, 2) the goal is differentiated to be accelerated, and 3) the teacher can explain how the goal fits the progression of learning to be accelerated. I think having teachers (and admins) really look at these differences and define them clearly can make the evaluation process more transparent–it’s clear to the teacher what s/he must do and the admin is more clear about the expectation.

I also had a couple of thoughts about how to ease teachers into this framework…

While watching the video with the pre-observation conference, I kept thinking of my early interviewing experiences when I was first entering the profession. The teacher seemed nervous; she seemed like she was trying to answer questions about her lesson plan on the spot (the evaluator had had an opportunity to review the lesson plan in advance). As an admin, I NEVER go into any meetings with any individual teacher or group of teachers without giving them as much info about my intent as possible in advance. I want them to have time to process, to come with their own questions, to really think about the conversation. I think teachers should have this same opportunity with these pre- (AND post- if possible!) observation conferences. The teacher could have had more time to think about her answers if she had received the questions in advance, and the conversation could have been much richer instead of interview-like.

And….there was always a way to “ace” and interview. I distinctly remember keywords I made a note to say at each interview, and I always felt like if I said those keywords and if they were the right keywords, I stood a chance. (What were they? Oh, the classics: differentiation, belief that all students could learn, communicate with parents and community, collaboration with colleagues, data-driven, intervention, etc.) I may not have internalized what those words meant or what they looked like in practice, but I knew I needed to say them.

I kept thinking in the OTES video that all the teacher needed to do was say the right words, but what if the evaluator asked the wrong questions? What if she didn’t probe enough to get the teacher to say the right thing? So, I asked the question, “Am I evaluating someone based on their ability to answer my questions? Am I looking for those keywords and checking them off?” The response from the trainer (and other attendees) was that it is the teacher’s responsibility to come to and prove they know their stuff, not the evaluator’s role to drag it out of them.

Ok, fine. I can accept that, BUT admins (myself included) need to make sure teachers have a very clear, very definite, transparent understanding of the expectations. If, using the rubric information above, the difference between transparent and accelerated is the “goals must be rigorous/challenging” then the admin and teachers need to know what that means, and the teacher needs to know how to demonstrate that in the lesson plan and/or pre-conference.

Additionally, when trying to evaluate the videos (Side note–WHY ARE WE SCRIPTING?!?!?!?!?! Why are we not just VIDEOTAPING so we can actually pay attention to what is happening? I know, it can be a contractual issue, but if I was getting a performance evaluation, I’d be DARNED if I didn’t want to see myself the way the evaluator saw me!) I found myself focusing so much on how the lesson COULD be and what COULD be different. For example, I thought, “Oh, she’s using a transparency. Well, she could use an app or Smart Board tools and get better results.” But…the students were getting the lesson, they were decently engaged (mildly automaton-like), and I had to keep refocusing myself on what was actually in the lesson, not comparing her to other lessons. Even using the rubric, I kept straying to “If she would’ve done this….” but the focus has to be on what was actually visible.

In Summary:
1. Let teachers (and admins) find the differences in the qualifiers to create a common definition
2. Don’t put teachers on the spot to talk about their teaching–send questions in advance
3. Make sure teachers know what they need to show/demonstrate in the conferences
4. Christina Hank does not support scripting.
5. Focus the evaluation on what that teacher is doing/knows, not how s/he compares to others

MyWeb4Ed on Symbaloo – Thousands of Educational Resources and Growing Daily

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:47:32 GMT

MyWeb4Ed is now a Symbaloo Premier account and has a page dedicated to the growing collection of educational resources. This site will give you literally thousands of resources for almost any topic from Bring Your Own Device resources to Videos 4 Professional Development. Keep this one handy as it grows daily and will continue to [...]

Not all class time is created equal...

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:11:00 GMT

Imagine this scenario: You teach at least 5 classes or 5 hours a day (this accounts for both elementary and secondary teachers). Each 1 hour block takes about 5 minutes to get started and ends about 5 minutes early.

This means that roughly 10 minutes out of every 60 minutes are underutilized. Over the course of the day, this means that roughly 50 minutes out of every 300 minutes are not spent learning.

Over the course of a typical 5 day week there will be 250 minutes not spent learning out of a total 1,500 potential learning minutes.

Over the course of a typical school year of 174 school days there will be 8,700 minutes not utilized for learning. Let's be realistic and cut that number in half because we all know there are assemblies and other events that cut into learning time throughout the school year. That leaves us with 4,350 minutes of time not spent learning.

4,350 total underutilized minutes divided by a typical 300 minute school day = 14.5 days (or almost 3 weeks) per school year we are letting slip through our fingers.

Instructional time is precious... how are you using it?

Starting class on time and limiting transition time sets the tone for the entire learning period. When lessons are well-planned & designed around efficiency & a steady pace, kids are better able to remain focused & on task.

Too fast and you lose your class... too slow and you miss the show! A steady pace in class will benefit both you AND your students.

There is a misconception around what the teacher is doing to be considered appropriate usage of time. Utilizing instructional time more efficiently and effectively does NOT mean that teachers need to increase their workload in the classroom. Increasing the amount of group collaboration and student led projects/presentations/activities will have increased levels of rigor and DOK while also limiting any added workload to the teacher. We all need to do a better job of planning and designing our lessons so that the instructional time is used to its fullest potential.

Ideas:

Greet kids at the door with a smile and a friendly "hello"

Activities and/or learning objectives visible for students so they know what to expect

Keep kids engaged by having "important" work available for them

Don't be afraid to let go; trust your students to do what's right

Always plan for more than you think you have time for

"Busy" work should NEVER be used to fill time!

Encourage exploration, discovery and inquiry in your classroom

Design "spaces" in your classroom for both group and independent work

Emphasize the importance of your class time to your students

If your class time is not important and precious to you, then it will never be important and precious to your students...

Special education and Common Core Standards.

Ilene — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 18:11:10 GMT

Many special education teachers are getting nervous because they have not had training in the new common core standards. They will be evaluated as their students reach the individual learning objectives, derived from the common core standards. They may be similar to IEP goals, but are not necessarily the same.Teachers who are responsible for the common core standards are welcome to comment.

Substitute Teaching Math

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Many people are not fans of being a substitute teacher at the high school level. This is because many substitute teachers believe that they lead the class either by intimidation or by being the class hero. Neither of these approaches work very well in high school. There are some simple guidelines that make most high school substitute teaching assignments work. For those who are making their first foray into this arena, these tips should give you help to get going in the right direction.

Here are some resources that a substitute can use in the math classroom.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr359.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr157.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson220.shtml

Cool tools for teachers

sfecich@gmail.com — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:26:38 GMT

I wanted to share my new blog with all of you! Add it to your reader or follow it on google. http://samcooltoolsfortheclassroom.blogspot.com/ Its all about cool and techy tools to use in the classroom.

Cool tool - ABC .. Oh yeah!

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:02:00 GMT

I have been using this website for years and I have watched it develop into what it is today. The website is http://www.abcya.com/. ABC YA hosts many free educational websites, games, apps, and resources for parents, teachers, and students. This is a great go to site to find that special game or app you have been looking for! The website is divided into grade level and has a parent/teacher space.

In the parent/teacher space the creators detail the requirements to use the website successfully and also provides a short history about ABC YA. This website can run on several different web browsers - which makes it easy to use at home and in school! You are able to click on any grade level shown (K-5). Once you click on your desired grade level you will find activities separated by content (letters, literacy, numeracy, math, holiday). This website is very easy to navigate and is consistent in navigation procedures. It also provides text and picture supports to help students navigate.

If apps is what you are looking for just click on the educational apps section. You will find the apps are divided into content by grade level as well - what a great resource. I highly recommend this website for any teacher, parent, or student looking for that unique and fun website activity or app! Have fun exploring!

What do you love about ABCYA? Share on the comments section!

Merit Pay for Teachers? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Bribe!

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 01:43:23 GMT

And you know they would! Merit pay, how realistic is it that our pay could actually be tied to test scores? Very realistic! What is merit pay? Noun :extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers) What “think tank” thought up this idea, maybe the same one that [...]

Annual Teacher Evaluation

Ilene — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:19:01 GMT

Another school year is coming to a close, and many teachers will be evaluated using a new system. After receiving an evaluation, please let me know how the new system worked and where we should go from here.