Ch. 10, 11, 12, and Conclusion

These chapters truly confirmed what a horrible job I did teaching reading and writing.  I taught earth and life science.  I did not use any of these techniques and as I reflect, I did my students a disservice.  I hope you will consider implementing these techniques into your own teaching. 

Reading on page 256 about homogeneously grouping student relates directly the discussion we had at Leadership last month - Ruth Morris suggested we include in our SSR/Intervention/Enrichment time, a way to separate readers based on reading level in order to provide more effective opportunities to engage students in their reading.  In your class, the techniques presented are pretty easy to incorporate - "Keep Durations Unpredictable" will keep students on the edge of their seats ready to go, just in case.  "Keeping the Identity of the Next Reader Unpredictable", "Keeping Durations Short," "Reducing Transaction Costs and Using Bridging to Maintain Continuity" can be easily included and am convinced they can be effective.

Reading Ch. 11 confirmed how little I know about the fundamentals of reading - learning about the importance of decoding and how to effectively correct students was very enlightening.  At the Schools to Watch Conference in Sacramento, Dr. Ruby Payne discussed at length the 10,000 word vocabulary gap that exists between students of privilege and students from less advantaged backgrounds.  The "academic vocabulary" we've been emphasizing with our English Learners relates directly to this gap - we need to continue to incorporate these techniques in the classroom to close this gap! Which of the six techniques to reinforce strong vocabulary can you encorporate into the subject you teach?

The ultimate aim of reading - comprehension - as described in Ch. 12 provides some great techniques to build comprehension - prereading, contexting, focal points, and front-loading.  The "Don't Wait" technique sounds obvious but I know I was sloppy in applying it.  Get your questions ready and have them written down to refer to as you read with your class.  Include low and high-level thinking questions - "Lower the Level" and "Evidence-Based."  How do you summarize the reading?  Very important to see if the students "got it!"  Make connections - text to text, text to world, and text to self!  Especially with our English Learners, we need to help them visualize - "Picturing" and don't forget to include opportunities to "Predict" and "Infer." 

I will quote from the Conclusion -

"Approaching teaching is an art - meaning by that phrase that it is difficult and requires finesse and discretion in the application, craftmanship, and careful and attentive development of technique to master it - is the path to success."  "The tools here are a means to results, not an end in themselves."
 
When we looked at the Galileo data, the math department discussed at length how many students struggle with word problems.  A student's lack of reading ability affects EVERY SUBJECT - please consider using these techniques!

Thanks for blogging!!!!  Please have the book read and blogs in by the end of summer!!  Muchas Gracias!!

Creating a Strong Classroom Culture (Ch. 5) and Building Character and Trust (Ch. 7)

Establishing an effective classroom culture is essential to good teaching.  I feel our teachers do an exceptional job at this concept!  Using "discipline" to teach students what successful learning behavior looks like compared to the process of administering consequences and punishments should be part of a teacher's planning at the beginning of the year.  Establishing effective "systems" is key to maintaining a positive culture for the remainder of the year.  Understand the power of language and relationships in establishing "control."  This has always been a priority for me - good relationships are a huge factor when working with kids.  If they trust you, they'll respond to your system, especially the knuckleheads!  They will internalize and be "influenced" and be "engaged" in your instruction.  The techniques described that I've witnessed are Entry Routine and Do Now - having students to "dailies" and other types of warm-ups are a great example.  Tight Transitions were always tough for me - I always seemed to run out of time at the end of class to execute an effective closing activity.  You want Binder Control?  We got Binder Buddies!!  Thanks, Donna! Some of the videos show SLANT - it seems to work!  I also like Seat Signals - I think that technique will work best with the knuckleheads!  At my old school, we did Props, even with teachers at staff meetings.  It was pretty cool and the kids loved it!  The teacher would give props to a student and the class would clap three times then yell "bam!" and point at the student - fun!

While reading Ch. 7, I kept thinking about the Schools to Watch Conference in Sacramento hearing Dr. Ruby Payne - she was commenting on whether or not it was important that students liked their teachers.  She described how middle/upper class parents would  respond if their child came home and said "I don't like my teacher!"  They would say "It doesn't matter if you like your teacher or not.  Just focus on doing a good job."  Conversely, in lower income families, she discovered in her research that kids from those families would purposfully not do the work and fail because they didn't like or respect the teacher.  Maybe "respect" is a better word for it.  "I'm not doing her work!  I don't like/respect her!!"  Crazy huh?  But reflecting on my teaching and admin experience, I believe I've been able to get more out of the knuckleheads BECAUSE they trusted me!  I wasn't easy on them, I promise (Warm/Strict)!  But they responded to me! I didn't yell.  I talked to them.  I reasoned with them.  I tried to Normalize Error.  I explained why I was home suspending them instead of just "disciplining" them.  And I was positive with them (Positive Framing), I praised them (Precise Praise), and made an effort to have Emotional Constancy - every day was a new day, a new beginning to start fresh.  I try every day to tell our students "Nice to see you!"  Especially the knuckleheads!  I believe it makes a difference in establishing a strong, school culture!

Thanks, folks - I look forward to reading your comments!!

Chapters 3,4, 8, and 9

What stood out for me in Ch. 3 was technique 13 - Name the Steps!  "Champion teachers help their students learn complex skills by breaking them down into manageable steps and often, giving each step a name so that it can be easily recalled."  I know sometimes, I moved so fast because I assumed my kids "got it."  In hindsight, I could have done a much better job of breaking down and naming the steps so my students could connect to the information.  I also appreciated technique 17 - Ratio.  Specifically, how he talked about teaching "habits of discussion first."  This idea relates directly to our efforts in using sentence frames.  I know that many of our teachers implement technique 20 - Exit Ticket! which is a great way to wrap up a lesson.  So often we are short on time and the closure of a lesson is often missed; however, it's vital to assess whether or not our students leave our classrooms with an understanding of the concept.  Embed some of these techniques from Chapter 3 into your lesson planning so you're not simply teaching "off the cuff."

Chapter 4 focuses on Engaging Students in Your Lessons, which as you know, has been an important focus of many of our workshops.  "The idea, of course, is that you want everybody to pay attention and develop a system that ensures that all students think it's possible that they are about to be called on, regardless of whether they have raised their hand, and therefore think they must therefore prepare to answer."  He comments that Cold Call should be an engagement strategy, not a discipline strategy.  I've very often fallen into this trap by calling on students to see if they're paying attention, not whether or not they are truly engaged.  "If you cold call for a few minutes of your class almost every day, students will come to expect it and change their behavior in advance.  Check out some of the video clips - interesting!  How many of you use technique 23 - Call and Response?  What are your thoughts?

Chapter 8 focuses on Improving Your Pacing.  When you maximize pacing, your teaching engages and interests students by giving them a sense of progress.  Change the Pace helps create the illusion of speed - don't stay on a specific topic for more than 10 minutes.  The attention span of our middle school kids is short - keep them on their toes by fluctuating between kinesthetic and passive activities, especially with block scheduling.  I reflect back to when I first started teaching - my poor students had to listen to me blabbering for at least 30 minutes as I introduced a science topic.  I'm sure they were completely bored out of their minds after the first 10 minutes! Brighten Lines focuses on book-ending your lessons with expectations, which is important in ensuring your students will have a clear understanding about what they are supposed to be able to do at the end of your lesson.  As you know, it's all about maximizing instructional time- Every Minute Matters!

Chapter 9 focuses on Challenging Students To Think Critically.  With questioning, "script them in advance as part of your lesson planning process."  It takes prep time but will pay off in the long run and you'll be able to build on it for years to come!  Make sure they are Simple to Complex.  With better planning comes better pacing, sincere student engagement, and consequently, better student achievement.

Thanks, folks!  I look forward to reading your comments!  You're the best!

Chapter 1 and 2

What stood out to me from Ch. 1 is the amazing job we do at techniques #1, 2, and 3!  In most classrooms I have observed, the teacher does an exceptional job at explaining a concept, then questioning their class to ensure deeper understanding.  If a student sits without answering or gives an incorrect answer, rarely have I witnessed the teacher simply move onto another student without revisiting the idea with the initial student.  Moreover, after the answer is given, there is effective follow-up questions and explanations.  In Chapter 2, the "4 MS" technique, I believe, is relevant to our PD with Carole Ferraud and reinforces the suggestion that we write our objectives in "LOL" format - Learning Objective with Language.  As you have heard me say before, however, if the objective or standard is written, but not made meaningful, it is worthless.  It's just taking up space on your dry erase board.  "Post It" like it says to do in technique 8 and refer to it often to ensure clear expectations, especially for your visual learners.  A great exercise would be to revisit the objectives of your future lessons and attempt to revise them to be more effective.  Continue to reflect and challenge yourself to be the best you can be - and teach like a the champion you are!  Thanks folks for your efforts, talents, and dedication to our craft!

Chapter 6 - 100%!!

Over the past couple of years, we've been focusing on STUDENT ENGAGEMENT.  All of the "strategies" you've been implementing to help all of your students, especially your English Learners, cannot be effective if you do not have strong classroom management.  I took away four main componets -

1.)  100% is non-negotiable! - you must have the attention of every single student, every single time!
2.)  The goal of compliance is student success.
3.)  You must make sure there are CLEAR EXPECTATIONS - post your daily objective with language objectives ( more training to come!) and refer to it!  It doesn't do a damn bit of good if you write it on the board but never refer to it.  Make sure your students know what they are doing while they're in your class, every single time!
4.)  The culture of compliance is both positive and most importantly, invisible.  Once you establish this positive culture, students will follow along unconsciously!

Thanks for participating!  I look forward to reading your opinions and ideas!  This is a safe environment - please be honest!  The point here is to talk about teaching!!!  Thanks, again, folks!!!  Jon P