2 Simple Strategies to Improve Listening

2 Simple Strategies To Improve Listening By Michael Linsin From Smart Classroom Management The difference in learning and behavior between a class that listens well and one that doesn’t is monumental. It’s also an area many teachers struggle with, as evidenced by the scores of emails we receive each week. The good news is that it isn’t hard to improve. What follows are two simple strategies—applied one right after the other—that will result in better listening almost immediately. 1. Stand and Stretch Before beginning an important lesson or activity, ask your students to stand, push in their chairs, and take one step back so that they’re not leaning against their desk. Position yourself in front of the room, pausing until every student is quiet and watching you. Once you have their attention, lead them in a series of stretches. First, to the sky, where they’ll reach as high as they can while standing on their tiptoes. Next, have them reach toward the floor, and then straight out to one side and then the other. Hold each stretch about 10 seconds. Don’t worry about being perfect. The idea is to get the blood flowing, to clear the cobwebs, and to refresh depleted energy stores, which any short spurt of exercise will do. After breathing deeply through two or three rotations, move on to the next strategy. 1. Practice Good Posture As soon as your students return to their seats, ask them to sit up straight and tall and with their feet flat on the floor (if they can). Now, it may feel old fashioned to do this, especially given the importance of allowing for individual differences in learning. But all students listen better when practicing good posture. You may certainly allow them to kneel on their chairs during group discussions, or slouch while independent reading, but sitting tall is a fundamental tenet of good listening. This doesn’t mean that your students must sit rigidly or awkwardly. It just means that while you’re giving instruction, sitting in an upright position will improve listening and engagement. It will keep your students alert and energized. It will enhance breathing and oxygen delivery to the brain and groove a success habit that shows respect for the speaker. Listening Is A Skill A refreshed class, bright-eyed and sitting tall, will always be infinitely more engaged and participatory than one that lolls about, sluggish and devoid of muscle tone. They’ll always be more respectful, more interested, and more attentive. But they don’t get that way magically. Listening is a skill you teach and a habit you cultivate through your words and actions. It can be improved, often drastically, with simple strategies like the tandem above. But you must act rather than bemoan. You must teach rather than accept. You must provide your class with the tools common to successful students worldwide rather than give in to the myth that they learn better when doing what comes naturally. When you put your students in position to listen well by periodically shaking out the cobwebs and resetting good, healthy posture, their faces will alight with the undeniable glow of learning. A place where they forget where they are, where your lessons ring clear and true, where they hear and then understand. The way it’s supposed to be. -

How A Simple Question Can Be A Powerful Motivator

By Michael Linsin - From Smart Classroom After giving directions, it’s common for teachers to ask, “Are there any questions?” Which isn’t a bad idea, per se, especially if the teacher follows with an extended pause. After all, it’s good practice to allow students a moment or two to ponder the directions given and ask clarifying questions. Doing so saves time, trouble, and confusion. But the question itself, the way it’s asked, unintentionally targets more responsible students. It targets those you’re least concerned about, those who are motivated, attentive, and most likely to speak up. The rest of your class, those who most need to consider your question, are unlikely to say a word—even if they have no idea what you expect them to do. So what’s the solution? How do you ask a checking-for-understanding question in a way that specifically targets those who need it most? You ask a negative. “Is there anyone who doesn’t know what to do?” This question effectively skips past the high-achievers—who will almost never respond to it—and lands directly in the laps of those who urgently need it. It shines a spotlight on anyone daydreaming, half-listening, or blasé about the task at hand. By flipping the script, by asking if anyone doesn’t know what to do, you’re challenging every student to consider your question. It’s a self-checking device that makes students productively uncomfortable. It causes their brain to click on and their mind to turn and question their readiness.“Oh no, the teacher is talking to me. Let’s see, I think I’m supposed to . . . Oh my gosh, I’m not sure.” The effect is twofold: First, when students grow accustomed to you asking questions in such a direct and challenging manner, they become more motivated to listen. They sit up straighter. They follow you with their eyes. They test themselves internally, so that when the question comes, they can honestly refrain from raising their hand. Second, it compels those who aren’t sure what your expectations are to boldly raise their hand and ask clarifying questions, which tend to be better, clearer, and more pointed than before. Now it’s important to note that both benefits are made stronger by your actions while your students are carrying out your directives. Too many teachers turn their attention away from their class to multitask with preparation, organization, and the like. This is a huge mistake. Your students must feel your weighty eyes upon them. They must feel the urgency to prove how well they listened. There is a surprising amount of pride in this, and you mustn’t take it away from them by turning your back. Another cool thing about negative questions is that you can use them in so many different situations: “Is there anyone who isn’t going to have their homework completed?” “Is there anyone who doesn’t remember the recess rules?” “Is there anyone who doesn’t feel prepared for the math test?” You can follow up your question with something like, “I want to know now, so I can help you. I don’t want to find out when it’s too late and you’ve failed the test.” Questions that challenge students and target the pride living inside each of them have great power. They unseat lazy thinking patterns, inspire personal responsibility, and jump start motivational engines. And far from resenting the challenge, students love it. They love being trusted and counted on. They love proving themselves to each other and their teacher. They love the quiet contentment of a job well done.

What Kids Say About Great Teachers

Nearly 10,000 students responded to a recent KidsHealth online survey about the qualities of great teachers.  Click here to read what elementary students and teens had to say. 

Marzano's 13 Best Practices Implementation Tips and Biggest Challenges

The Marzano Research Laboratory (MRL) undertook a study to evaluate the relationship between student learning and effective teacher pedagogical practices with respect to the use of online instruction.

The study, A Study of Best Practices in Edmentum Online Solutions, specifically looked at Edmentum’s online solutions in three instructional settings—pure virtual, blended, and classroom/lab—across four purposes: original credit, credit recovery, intervention, and Advanced Placement®.

The study identified 13 best practices found to be significantly related to higher levels of student achievement in an online learning environment. These practical behaviors can help teachers effectively engage in an online or blended environment. Click here to see the 13 best practices identified in the study with insight into how you can implement them.

Be a Leader: Read!

It’s frequently said that those who lead, read. Research has shown that reading keeps leaders smart, creative and social. For those who want to lead, reading is not a "nice to have" or a luxury; reading is a habit successful leaders consider critical to their success.

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time – none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren(Buffett) reads – at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.” – Charles T. Munger, Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

The conviction as to the importance of reading for leaders is not unique to billionaire Charles Munger. Tom Peters made the following comment in an interview with McKinsey Quarterly:

I was at a dinner party recently with a guy who’s probably one of the top ten finance people in the world. At one point he said, “Do you know what the biggest problem is with big-company CEOs? They don’t read enough.” –  Tom Peters on leading the 21st-century organization

As a leader if you’re not reading daily don’t be surprised if you find yourself falling behind your peers!

Reading is a habit and like any other habit it needs to be purposefully developed.
Want to know 6 Steps to a Daily Reading Habit?  Check out  Leaders Need a Daily Reading Habit, by George Ambler.

TCS Google Account Information

Jason Dooley sent this out to HTHS staff today, and I asked him if I could share it with everyone.  April and her staff have given us all TCS Google Accounts, which many have already begun to utilize.  

Check with your school's Lead Technology Teacher for login information.

Login through the Google Chrome Browser.  If you do not have the Google Chrome browser, you can download the browser by clicking on this link.  https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/index.html

There are numerous benefits to having a Google education account:

o   Share documents with other teachers

o   Unlimited cloud backup storage for your documents and photos

o   Share documents with your students

o   Google Calendar

o   Google Docs

o   Forms and Surveys that you can use with your students

o   Students can work together on documents and presentations live

Attached is a presentation showing over 30 ways that you can use Google in your classroom.

https://docs.google.com/a/trussvillecityschools.org/presentation/d/1_6fh7wXkugHQbbA2ILrjsFqysvclJCbul2I3Oc912D8/present?slide=id.i322

Many thanks, Jason!

Professional Learning Calendar Posted on Website

A TCS Professional Learning Calendar has been created and is located on the left side of the Curriculum & Instruction website. Click on the link below to see opportunities for professional learning.  We will continue to add sessions to the calendar.

TCS Professional Development Calendar

Reading Patterns Among Students

Reading aloud to children and restricting online screen time may boost the number of young children who read on their own, according to a recent study. Research shows older students are more likely to read on their own when they have free time during the school day.

Click here to read more about this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/08/us/study-finds-reading-to-children-of-all-ages-grooms-them-to-read-more-on-their-own.html?_r=0 

7 Educational Technology Trends to Look Forward to in 2015

Click here to read on kajeet about the Top 7 Ed Tech Trends to look forward to in 2015.

1. Common Core Computerized Testing
2. Blended Learning Becomes More Prevalent
3. Flipped Learning Technology Improves
4. Assistive Technology Use Increases
5. Mobile Learning Apps Improve
6. 1:1 Programs Expand
7. Awareness of Digital Divide Increases

Quotable Quote

You may be whatever you resolve to be. Determine to be something in the world and you will be something. "I cannot,” never accomplished anything; "I will try,” has wrought wonders.

—J. Hawes 

The 8 Minutes that Matter Most

Check out this excellent article on Edutopia by AP Literature teacher, Brian Sztabnik.

John Irving, the author of The Cider House Rules, begins with his last sentence:

I write the last line, and then I write the line before that. I find myself writing backwards for a while, until I have a solid sense of how that ending sounds and feels. You have to know what your voice sounds like at the end of the story, because it tells you how to sound when you begin.

That is the crux of lesson planning right there -- endings and beginnings. If we fail to engage students at the start, we may never get them back. If we don't know the end result, we risk moving haphazardly from one activity to the next. Every moment in a lesson plan should tell.
The eight minutes that matter most are the beginning and endings. If a lesson does not start off strong by activating prior knowledge, creating anticipation, or establishing goals, student interest wanes, and you have to do some heavy lifting to get them back. If it fails to check for understanding, you will never know if the lesson's goal was attained.

Click below to read more of this article and to learn about eight ways to make those eight minutes magical.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-minutes-that-matter-most-brian-sztabnik

What Problems is the Common Core Trying to Solve? Everything You Need to Know About Common Core

Educators need to prepare how they will respond when the community, parents, and students ask, "What problem is Common Core trying to solve?"  Libby Nelson has condensed the most important questions about Common Core into easy-to-read explanations in her "Everything You Need to Know About Common Core."

You can read all of the cards at:

http://www.vox.com/cards/commoncore/what-is-the-common-core#E7241536

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What problems is the Common Core trying to solve?

Two big, complex problems. First, American students are middle-of-the-road at best on academic skills when compared to other countries on international tests. Policymakers and business leaders hope that tougher standards will help the US catch up globally.

Second, under the old system, it was hard to compare students in different states. Until now, each state set its own standards for what students should understand at each grade level, and each state had a different definition for what it meant to be "proficient" in math and reading.

The US Education Department's statisticians found a lot of variation when they mapped state standards onto scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That test is called the "Nation's Report Card" — a standardized test students take nationally every few years. They also found that even students who met state goals might not actually be doing all that well, since the national exam set the bar higher than states did. In the federal government's eyes, all states had standards that were too low, and there was too much variation on how low they were.

Most education systems don't work that way, and it makes it difficult for states to collaborate to improve education nationally. The Common Core is supposed to solve this by holding students in the majority of states to the same, higher standards.

Who Created the Common Core? Everything You Need to Know About Common Core

Educators need to prepare how they will respond when the community, parents, and students ask, "What exactly is Common Core?"  Libby Nelson has condensed the most important questions about Common Core into easy-to-read explanations in her "Everything You Need to Know About Common Core."

You can read all of the cards at:

http://www.vox.com/cards/commoncore/what-is-the-common-core#E7241536

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Who created the Common Core?

Two nonprofit groups led the effort to write the new standards, and others contributed. One, the Council of Chief State School Officers, represents the top K-12 education officials from all US states and territories. The other is the National Governors Association. Achieve, a nonprofit education reform group, also helped. The groups brought in the two major teachers' unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, as well as other national organizations that represent teachers of math and English.

Writing the standards took about 18 months, beginning with a report from the three main groups involved in late 2008. A draft was released for public comment, and a committee of experts also provided comments. The standards were finalized in June 2010 with a report explaining the groups' reasoning.

What is Common Core? Everything You Need to Know About Common Core

Educators need to prepare how they will respond when the community, parents, and students ask, "What exactly is Common Core?"  Libby Nelson has condensed the most important questions about Common Core into easy-to-read explanations in her "Everything You Need to Know About Common Core."

You can read all of the cards at:

http://www.vox.com/cards/commoncore/what-is-the-common-core#E7241536

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What is the Common Core?

The Common Core State Standards are a new set of academic standards adopted by 43 states. The standards are meant to prepare students for college and careers and to make the US more competitive academically. They're benchmarks for what students should know and be able to do in math and language arts from kindergarten through senior year of high school.

The Common Core includes a lot of those benchmarks at each grade level, but there are a few unifying themes. Language arts standards focus on basing arguments on evidence. Students will write fewer personal narratives and more opinions. They'll also be asked to read more nonfiction. In math, the standards focus on fewer concepts, but in more depth.

States used to set their own academic standards, and they could vary widely in rigor. The goal of common standards is to make sure all public school students are prepared for college and for jobs when they graduate from high school, regardless of where they live. Writing assignments are more about evidence-based arguments and less on personal narratives like, "What I did on my summer vacation." Math standards focus on fewer topics in more depth that are meant to progress logically from grade to grade.

Two state groups, the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, created the Common Core standards in 2009 and 2010. But they're in the news now because states are beginning to use the Common Core as the basis for state tests. As the standards move from theory to reality, they're becoming better-known and, often, more controversial among parents and legislators. The Common Core standards are more challenging than what most states used to use, and kids aren't doing as well on these tests.

We Are Creating the Future

Happy New Year!  What a wonderful time of year!  Like the beginning of the school year or the beginning of a new phase of life, the start of a brand new year offers us hope, expectations, and the opportunity to start fresh.

Looking to the future fills us with hope and optimism.  It also highlights the importance of our roles as educators, leaders, creators of the future.  We truly do have a huge responsibility in creating the future for our students, for our country, for our planet.  Every single thing we do affects what students learn, how they treat one another, how they feel about their schools, community, and nation.  Most importantly, what we do affects how students see themselves.

My hope is that you really understand the vital role you play in creating the future for students, this community, our nation, for democracy, for mankind.   We are important, influential people, and what we do matters.  I encourage you to consider your role in creating the future.  What will you do on Monday, next week, through January, throughout the school year that will impact the lives of us all?

I invite you to set goals that matter, goals that will continue to impact lives even when you are gone.  Write down your goals and consider them frequently and regularly.  Remember, we never meet any goals that we don't set.  I believe that somehow, if we all set goals that matter and then work to achieve those goals, we can positively impact students and the future.  If we did this, there really isn't anything we couldn't accomplish.  

My Goals That Matter:
Lead by example.  Be the person that I want the employees of TCS to be.
Be thankful for everyone and everything with which I have been blessed.
Really listen to everyone who takes the time to talk to me.
Read, read, read.  (The more we know, the more we can share and support others' learning.)
KNOW what is going on in the world.  I will not allow the news media to think for me.
Be innovative.  (This is a top quality I look for in employees.)
Appreciate the efforts of everyone - students, parents, teachers, classified staff.
Be accepting and non-judgmental.

Let's accomplish important things this year.  Students need you.  Colleagues need you.  The future depends on what we do and what we don't do.  Seriously.
Beth