Enjoy your holiday.
Take time for refreshment.
Do whatever feeds your soul.
You will be a better teacher for it.
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December has become the month when we reflect on the pastyear and make lists of bests. Here are the top five article choices by readers ofFaculty Focus, an ezine for college professors. In ascending order, here they are:
5. Five Common Pitfalls of OnlineCourse Design Much ofwhat passes for an online course these days could more accurately be describedas the electronic version of class hand-outs. These courses usually consist ofa course description, a syllabus, lecture notes, reading lists, and assignmentchecklists. In other words, whatever materials a student might have viewed onpaper in the past are now read onscreen, and whatever presentations a studentmight have watched in the classroom are now observed on their screen
4. Questioning Skills to Engage Students The right questions enable theteacher to more accurately evaluate if the students are truly attentive and ifthey understand the material. In addition, open-ended questions motivatestudents to share their ideas, thereby allowing active, collaborative learningto take place. This illustrates the need to be able to ask the right sort ofquestions to engage students.
3. Giving Students More EffectiveFeedback Doyou pass back exams, a set of papers or grades on some other student projectand offer generic comments on what the class did and didn't do well on theassignment? Most of us do, and for good reasons. The feedback gives studentsthe chance to compare their work with that done by the rest of class, which canbuild more accurate self-assessment skills. But do students listen attentivelyas you provide this feedback?
2. What Students Want:Characteristics of Effective Teachers from the Students' Perspective Researchersasked their students what characteristics they think are essential foreffective teaching. Analyzing and combining reasonably synonymouscharacteristics, researchers then isolated the top nine for online and forface-to-face students. Can you guess the number one trait?
1. What Does Your Syllabus SayAbout You and Your Course? Syllabi can convey messages that buildrapport between the teacher and students, and they can help create communityamong students. I know courses need policies, students need guidelines, andsome students take advantage of teachers, but I wonder if we don't err on theside of being too defensive in our syllabi.
Thisezine is directed toward college teaching, and often emphasizes distancelearning. I recommend it for all teachers of upper elementary age and above. Thearticles give a positive blend of philosophy and how-to.
Which of these articles interest you the most?
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Let’s cut to the chase. This is definitely a bad idea.Students are not widgets. Teachers do not produce them, and their achievement,or lack of it, cannot be laid at the feet of any one person.
The discussion of incentive pay began in the 80s. It was abad idea then; it is a bad idea now.
Instead of favoring some teachers, albeit those who do theirjobs superbly, over those who . . . well . . . don’t . . .
- We should be promoting a collegial environmentwhere teachers come together to nurture the abilities and talents within each student.
- · We should be hiring talented people and payingthem a respectable salary that could be attained in industry.
- · We should be educating teachers at the master’slevel, after they have attained some proficiency in history, or geology, orliterature. This is true of those who teach kindergarten and those who teachhigh school.
What do you think will bring the best teachers to ourschools?
More reading: Drive by Daniel Pink
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The Ford Foundation and the American Federation of Teachers have funded astudy we’ll hear more about in 2012. A research group studied the behavior andclassroom practice of 1,001 teachers in grades 3-12 to determine what ishappening with curriculum in U.S. public schools.
Overall, teachersbelieve that math and language arts dominate their lesson plans. Students haveless exposure to the arts, foreign language, social studies and science,especially in the elementary years.
Half of theteachers surveyed said that when students receive remedial aid in math andlanguage arts, it occurs in time taken from other subjects.
Overwhelmingly, 93%of teachers believe that the reason for the curriculum shift is state-sponsoredtests.
Do you see thingsthe same way as those teachers in the survey? What could we do differentlywithin our communities to ensure that students are prepared for learning toread and performing math assignments when they come to school? How importantare the “soft subjects” that are being eliminated from elementary school?
Read the entirearticle:
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Ijust read a book on church culture, Cracking Your Church's Culture Code:Seven Keysto Unleashing Vision and Inspiration by Samuel R. Chand.
Dr.Chand has observed many organizations, those with a healthy culture, and those whoare sick. He says, “Many leadersconfuse culture with vision and strategy, but they are very different. Visionand strategy usually focus on products, services, and outcomes, but culture isabout the people—the most valuable asset in the organization. The way peopleare treated, the way they treat their peers, and their response to their leadersis the air people breathe. If that air is clean and healthy, people thrive andthe organization succeeds, but to the extent that it is toxic, energy subsides,creativity lags, conflicts multiply, and production declines.”
It occurs to me that a lone teacher is notlikely to change the entire culture in a school, but each of us has an area ofinfluence, and we can make our influence count for something that matters. Hereis what you and I can do, interacting with our peers, to create an inspiringculture in our own little corner of the school:
- · When working on aproject, give clear directions.
- · Show that you valuethe input of every person.
- · Share responsibility,thereby authority.
- · Cultivate anatmosphere of trust and respect by being trustworthy and respectful.
- · Give specifichigh-fives to show that what each individual accomplishes does matter.
- · Illuminate apurpose for your team, something nearly impossible, then set about to fulfillit.
- · Help one another.Provide your expertise freely.
- · Keep relationships positive. Stay in closecommunication.
- · Rewardinnovation. Learn from failure.
Teams that follow these practices not onlyshine in their own area, their students benefit from the overflow. And whoknows, maybe somebody at the top will notice.
While we’re thinking about educational reform, and lookingto countries that have high-achieving students, perhaps we should take a stepback and determine whether these ideas will work in America. Clotaire Rapailleprovides an interesting inspection of the things that make us tick as a nationin his book, The Culture Code. Slice through the author’s braggadocio and you’llfind some worthwhile information to help us understand our motivations.
Rapaille has studied and defined “culture codes” fordifferent aspects of American life. I’ve wondered about some of these issuesbefore, mainly because I feel out of step with them. I’m not a mall shopper,for instance, but I understand that shopping is about “reconnecting with life,”Rapaille’s code for U.S. shoppers. Au contraire, the French code for shoppingis “learning your culture.” I’ve never attended a business after hours orcocktail party where the culture code for work was not apparent. It’s “who youare.” The author says our code for quality is “it works,” i.e. it’s good enough.For perfection the code is “death,” signifying that perfection is unattainable.It’s an interesting, playful read. You can skim the book and come away with adifferent focus on our culture.
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Now, how about education? We seem to be lodged between arock and a hard place: the factory school of old with its production goals,internal competition and same size fits all mass production vs. the entrepreneurial,customer is always right, decision-making at the level of service andindividualistic programs. What elements are worth continuing as we go forward?What elements not mentioned here will guide us to a first-class educationalsystem for K-12? Rapaille has not coded education. Who or what do you think weare?
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Our fifty state laboratories are at work trying to improveeducation. This week Iowa Governor, Terry Branstad, initiated a plan to improveeducational achievement. The document is written in plain English sanseducational jargon. It emphasizes children, their achievement andwell-being.
One noteworthy feature is the no-pass system for third graderswho cannot read on grade level. It is clearly spelled-out and offers freetutoring and retesting (thereby passing to fourth grade) at any time.
The plan underscores bringing top college students into theteaching program and retaining them through opportunities to take on increasedresponsibilities and to earn higher salaries.
Read the plan and let me know what you think. I think Iowais leading the way in respecting professional teachers and providing a healthy environmentfor learning.
A summary article:
Here’s the entire report:
