Teachers

1. Teachers The 2nd biggest influence on a child’s life

2. Lisa Mettler • Native of Virginia, United States • Graduated Columbus State University • B.S. Psychology • M.S. Counseling • Married with 3 daughters • Adjunct professor of SVCC • Other varied professions

3. Part One • Why are we teachers? • Most important training is mentoring and modeling, so knowing yourself, methodology and classroom management skills that are successful and proven to work is crucial. • Confidence/managing stress • Methodology • Classroom management • Peer support

4. Building Confidence • Having confidence will only improve a teacher’s worth and their overall effectiveness. It is a key component of being successful. Students in particular quickly pick up on a lack of self confidence and use that to take advantage of a new teacher. Lack of self confidence may eventually force a teacher to find another career. • Confidence is something that cannot be faked, but it is something that can be built. Building confidence is another part of a principal’s/leader’s or trainer’s duties. It can make all the difference in the world in how effective a teacher is. There is no perfect formula because every person has their own unique level of confidence. Some teachers do not require their confidence to be boosted at all while others require lots of attention.

5. Building Confidence • Express Gratitude • Teachers often feel under appreciated, so showing them that you truly appreciate them can go along ways in building confidence. Expressing gratitude is quick and easy. Make a habit of telling your teachers thank you, send a personal appreciation email, or give them something like a candy bar or other snack on occasion. These simple things will improve moraleand confidence.

6. Building Confidence • Give them Leadership Opportunities • Putting teachers who lack self confidence in charge of something may sound like a bad idea, but when given the chance they will surprise you more times than they let you down. They shouldn’t be put in charge of large overwhelming tasks, but there are plenty of smaller duties that anyone should be able to handle. These opportunities build confidence because it forces them to step outside their comfort zone and gives them a chance to be successful.

7. Building Confidence • Focus on the Strengths • Every teacher has strengths, and every teacher has weaknesses. It is important that you spend time praising their strengths. However it is necessary to remember that strengths can be improved just as much as weaknesses. One way to build confidence is to allow them to share strategies that show their strengths with their colleagues in a faculty or team meeting. Another strategy is to allow them to mentor teachers who struggle in areas where they have strengths.

8. Building Confidence • Share Positive Parent/Student Feedback • Principals or trainers shouldn’t be afraid to ask for student and parent feedback about a teacher. It will be beneficial regardless of the type of feedback you receive. Sharing the positive feedback with a teacher can truly be a confidence booster. Teachers who believe they are well respected by parents and students gain a lot of confidence. It naturally means a lot for those two groups to believe in a teacher’s abilities.

9. Building Confidence • Provide Suggestions for Improvement • All teachers should be given a comprehensive Personal Development Plan that serves as a guide for improvement in areas of weaknesses. Most teachers want to be good at all parts of their job. Many of them are aware of their weaknesses, but do not know how to fix them. This leads to a lack of self confidence. A key part of a principal’s/leader’s or trainer’s job is to evaluate teachers. If there isn’t a growth and improvement component to your evaluation model, then it won’t be an effective evaluation system, and it certainly will not help build confidence.

10. Building Confidence • Provide Young Teachers a Mentor • Everybody needs a mentor that they can model themselves after, seek advice or feedback from, and share best practices. This is especially true for young teachers. Veteran teachers make excellent mentors because they have seen it all. As a mentor, they can share both successes and failures. A mentor can build confidence through encouragement over a long period of time. The impact a mentor has on a teacher can span the length of several careers as the young teachers become mentors themselves.

11. Building Confidence • Give Them Time • Most teacher preparation programs do not prepare a teacher for life in a real classroom. This is where the lack of self confidence often begins. Most teachers come in excited and fully confident only to realize that the real world is much tougher than the picture they had painted in their mind. This forces them to adjust quickly, which can be overwhelming, and where confidence is often lost. Slowly over the course of time with assistance like the suggestions made, most teachers will regain their confidence and begin to make the climb towards excellence.

12. Managing Stress • Break down whatever you have to do into smaller tasks. If you have to tackle something large, break it down into bite size pieces. • Think of things that make teaching fun for you - and do them! • Deal openly with a colleague who has bothered or upset you before the situation gets worse. • Try not to take things personally because often comments aren't meant to be personal offenses. • Stay in close touch with nature. Have a classroom pet, take a class outdoors if weather and school policy permit it, open the windows at snack time, find a way to incorporate the change of seasons and nature walks into your curriculum.

13. Managing Stress • Make time during the school year for your hobbies. Don't wait for summer vacation. • Apologize when you're wrong. • Put a cartoon or photo that makes you laugh in you plan book or desk drawer and look at it when you need a boost. • Take a walk during lunch, a planning period, or after school. During your walk, don't think about the things you have to do. • Steer clear of the coffee pot, tea, sodas or other caffeinated drinks. Too much caffeine can make you nervous and irritable.

14. Managing Stress • Keep in mind that no matter what colleagues, your principal, students, or parents think or say, you're basically a good teacher who can't please all the people all the time. • Don't listen to the rumors that fly around the school. • Give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing for five minutes a day — and not feel guilty about it. • Just say no. Politely refuse to take on more projects than you can handle, even if a colleague, your principal, or a parent asks you to. • Be grateful to have a meaningful job.

15. Part One • Why are we teachers? • Most important training is mentoring and modeling, so knowing yourself, methodology and classroom management skills that are successful and proven to work is crucial. • Confidence/managing stress • Methodology • Classroom management • Peer support

16. Lecture by teacher Class discussion conducted by teacher Recitation oral questions by teacher answered orally by students Discussion groups conducted by selected student chairpersons Lecture-demonstration by teacher Lecture-demonstration by another instructor(s) from a special field Presentation by a panel of instructors or students Presentations by student panels from the class: class invited to participate Student reports by individuals Student-group reports by committees from the class Debate (informal) on current issues by students from class Class discussions conducted by a student or student committee Forums Bulletin boards Small groups such as task oriented, discussion, Socratic Choral speaking Collecting Textbook assignments Reading assignments in journals, monographs, etc. Reading assignments in supplementary books Assignment to outline portions of the textbook Assignment to outline certain supplementary readings Debates (formal) Methodology

17. Crossword puzzles Cooking foods of places studied Construction of vocabulary lists Vocabulary drills Diaries Dances of places or periods studied Construction of summaries by students Dressing dolls Required term paper Panel discussion Biographical reports given by students Reports on published research studies and experiments by students Library research on topics or problems Written book reports by students Flags Jigsaw puzzle maps Hall of Fame by topic or era (military or political leaders, heroes) Flannel boards Use of pretest Gaming and simulation Flash cards Flowcharts Interviews Maps, transparencies, globes Mobiles Audio-tutorial lessons (individualized instruction) Models Music Field trips Drama, role playing Open textbook study Committee projects--small groups Notebook Murals and montages Methodology

18. Class projects Individual projects Quizdown gaming Modeling in various media Pen pals Photographs Laboratory experiments performed by more than two students working together Use of dramatization, skits, plays Student construction of diagrams, charts, or graphs Making of posters by students Students drawing pictures or cartoons vividly portraying principles or facts Problem solving or case studies Puppets Use of chalkboard by instructor as aid in teaching Use of diagrams, tables, graphs, and charts by instructor in teaching Use of exhibits and displays by instructor Reproductions Construction of exhibits and displays by students Use of slides Use of filmstrips Use of motion pictures, educational films, videotapes Use of theater motion pictures Use of recordings Use of radio programs Use of television Role playing Sand tables School affiliations Verbal illustrations: use of anecdotes and parables to illustrate Service projects Stamps, coins, and other hobbies Use of community or local resources Story telling Surveys Methodology

19. Tutorial: students assigned to other students for assistance, peer teaching Coaching: special assistance provided for students having difficulty in the course Oral reports Word association activity Workbooks Using case studies reported in literature to illustrate psychological principles and facts Construction of scrapbooks Applying simple statistical techniques to class data Time lines "Group dynamics" techniques Units of instruction organized by topics Non directive techniques applied to the classroom Supervised study during class period Use of sociometric text to make sociometric analysis of class Use of technology and instructional resources Open textbook tests, take home tests Put idea into picture Write a caption for chart, picture, or cartoon Reading aloud Differentiated assignment and homework Telling about a trip Mock convention Filling out forms (income tax, checks) Prepare editorial for school paper Attend council meeting, school boar meeting Exchanging "things" Making announcements Taking part (community elections) Playing music from other countries or times Studying local history Compile list of older citizens as resource people Students from abroad (exchange students) Obtain free and low cost materials Collect old magazines In brainstorming small group, students identify a list of techniques and strategies that best fit their class. Methodology

20. Collect colored slides Visit an "ethnic" restaurant Specialize in one country Follow a world leader (in the media) Visit an employment agency Start a campaign Conduct a survey Investigate a life Assist an immigrant Volunteer (tutoring, hospital) Prepare an exhibit Join an organization Collect money for a cause Elect a "Hall of Fame" for males Elect a "Hall of Fame" for females Construct a salt map Construct a drama Prepare presentation for senior citizen group Invite senior citizen(s) to present local history to class including displaying artifacts (clothing, tools, objects, etc.) Prepare mock newspaper on specific topic or era Draw a giant map on floor of classroom Research local archaeological site Exchange program with schools from different parts of the state Methodology

21. Part One • Why are we teachers? • Most important training is mentoring and modeling, so knowing yourself, methodology and classroom management skills that are successful and proven to work is crucial. • Confidence/managing stress • Methodology • Classroom management • Peer support

22. Classroom Management “If students are engaged, they are managed.” • Build Community • Design a Safe, Friendly, and Well-Managed Classroom Environment • Include Students in Creating Rules, Norms, Routines, and Consequences • Create a Variety of Communication Channels • Always Be Calm, Fair, and Consistent • Know the Students You Teach • Address Conflict Quickly and Wisely • Integrate Positive Classroom Rituals • Keep It Real • Partner with Parents and Guardians

23. Classroom Management Understanding Behavioral Issues • Learning Disorders • Dyslexia • ADHD

24. Classroom Management 1.  FocusingBe sure you have the attention of everyone in your classroom before you start your lesson. Don’t attempt to teach over the chatter of students who are not paying attention.Inexperienced teachers sometimes think that by beginning their lesson, the class will settle down. The children will see that things are underway now and it is time to go to work. Sometimes this works, but the children are also going to think that you are willing to compete with them, that you don’t mind talking while they talk, or that you are willing to speak louder so that they can finish their conversation even after you have started the lesson. They get the idea that you accept their inattention and that it is permissible to talk while you are presenting a lesson.The focusing technique means that you will demand their attention before you begin. It means that you will wait and not start until everyone has settled down. Experienced teachers know that silence on their part is very effective. They will punctuate their waiting by extending it 3 to 5 seconds after the classroom is completely quiet. Then they begin their lesson using a quieter voice than normal.A soft spoken teacher often has a calmer, quieter classroom than one with a stronger voice. Her students sit still in order to hear what she says.

25. Classroom Management 2. Direct InstructionUncertainty increases the level of excitement in the classroom. The technique of direct instruction is to begin each class by telling the students exactly what will be happening. The teacher outlines what he and the students will be doing this period. He may set time limits for some tasks. An effective way to marry this technique with the first one is to include time at the end of the period for students to do activities of their choosing. The teacher may finish the description of the hour’s activities with: “And I think we will have some time at the end of the period for you to chat with your friends, go to the library, or catch up on work for other classes.” The teacher is more willing to wait for class attention when he knows there is extra time to meet his goals and objectives. The students soon realize that the more time the teacher waits for their attention, the less free time they have at the end of the hour. 

26. Classroom Management 3.Monitoring The key to this principle is to circulate. Get up and get around the room. While your students are working, make the rounds. Check on their progress. An effective teacher will make a pass through the whole room about two minutes after the students have started a written assignment. She checks that each student has started, that the children are on the correct page, and that everyone has put their names on their papers. The delay is important. She wants her students to have a problem or two finished so she can check that answers are correctly labeled or in complete sentences. She provides individualized instruction as needed. Students who are not yet quite on task will be quick to get going as they see her approach. Those that were distracted or slow to get started can be nudged along. The teacher does not interrupt the class or try to make general announcements unless she notices that several students have difficulty with the same thing. The teacher uses a quiet voice and her students appreciate her personal and positive attention. 

27. Classroom Management 4.ModelingMcDaniel tells us of a saying that goes “Values are caught, not taught.” Teachers who are courteous, prompt, enthusiastic, in control, patient and organized provide examples for their students through their own behavior. The “do as I say, not as I do” teachers send mixed messages that confuse students and invite misbehavior. If you want students to use quiet voices in your classroom while they work, you too will use a quiet voice as you move through the room helping youngsters. 

28. Classroom Management 5. Non-Verbal CuingA standard item in the classroom of the 1950’s was the clerk’s bell. A shiny nickelbell sat on the teacher’s desk. With one tap of the button on top he had everyone’s attention. Teachers have shown a lot of cleverness over the years in making use of non-verbal cues in the classroom. Some flip light switches. Others keep clickers in their pockets.Non-verbal cues can also be facial expressions, body posture and hand signals. Care should be given in choosing the types of cues you use in your classroom. Take time to explain what you want the students to do when you use your cues.

29. Classroom Management 6. Environmental ControlA classroom can be a warm cheery place. Students enjoy an environment that changes periodically. Study centers with pictures and color invite enthusiasm for your subject. Young people like to know about you and your interests. Include personal items in your classroom. A family picture or a few items from a hobby or collection on your desk will trigger personal conversations with your students. As they get to know you better, you will see fewer problems with discipline. Just as you may want to enrich your classroom, there are times when you may want to impoverish it as well. You may need a quiet corner with few distractions. Some students will get caught up in visual exploration. For them, the splash and the color is a siren that pulls them off task. They may need more “vanilla” and less “rocky-road.” Have a quiet place where you can steer these youngsters. Let them get their work done first and then come back to explore and enjoy the rest of the room..       

30. Classroom Management 7. Low-Profile InterventionMost students are sent to the principal’s office as a result of confrontational escalation. The teacher has called them on a lesser offense, but in the moments that follow, the student and the teacher are swept up in a verbal maelstrom. Much of this can be avoided when the teacher’s intervention is quiet and calm. An effective teacher will take care that the student is not rewarded for misbehavior by becoming the focus of attention. She monitors the activity in her classroom, moving around the room. She anticipates problems before they occur. Her approach to a misbehaving student is inconspicuous. Others in the class are not distracted. While lecturing to her class this teacher makes effective use of name-dropping. If she sees a student talking or off task, she simply drops the youngster’s name into her dialogue in a natural way. “And you see, David, we carry the one to the tens column.” David hears his name and is drawn back on task. The rest of the class doesn’t seem to notice.

31. Classroom Management 8. Assertive DisciplineThis is traditional limit setting authoritarianism. When executed as presented by Lee Canter (who has made this form a discipline one of the most widely known and practiced) it will include a good mix of praise. This is high profile discipline. The teacher is the boss and no child has the right to interfere with the learning of any student. Clear rules are laid out and consistently enforced.

32. Classroom Management 9.  Assertive I-MessagesA component of Assertive Discipline, these I-Messages are statements that the teacher uses when confronting a student who is misbehaving. They are intended to be clear descriptions of what the student is suppose to do. The teacher who makes good use of this technique will focus the child’s attention first and foremost on the behavior he wants, not on the misbehavior. “I want you to...” or “I need you to...” or “I expect you to...”The inexperienced teacher may incorrectly try “I want you to stop...” only to discover that this usually triggers confrontation and denial. The focus is on the misbehavior and the student is quick to retort: “I wasn’t doing anything!” or “It wasn’t my fault...” or “Since when is there a rule against...” and escalation has begun.

33. Classroom Management 10. Humanistic I-MessagesThese I-messages are expressions of our feelings. Thomas Gordon, creator of Teacher Effectiveness Training (TET), tells us to structure these messages in three parts. First, include a description of the child’s behavior. “When you talk while I talk...” Second, relate the effect this behavior has on the teacher. “...I have to stop my teaching...” And third, let the student know the feeling that it generates in the teacher. “...which frustrates me.”A teacher, distracted by a student who was constantly talking while he tried to teach, once made this powerful expression of feelings: “I cannot imagine what I have done to you that I do not deserve the respect from you that I get from the others in this class. If I have been rude to you or inconsiderate in any way, please let me know. I feel as though I have somehow offended you and now you are unwilling to show me respect.” The student did not talk during his lectures again for many weeks.

34. Classroom Management 11. Positive DisciplineUse classroom rules that describe the behaviors you want instead of listing things the students cannot do. Instead of “no-running in the room,” use “move through the building in an orderly manner.” Instead of “no fighting,“ use “settle conflicts appropriately.” Instead of “no gum chewing,” use “leave gum at home.” Refer to your rules as expectations. Let your students know this is how you expect them to behave in your classroom.Make ample use of praise. When you see good behavior, acknowledge it. This can be done verbally, of course, but it doesn’t have to be. A nod, a smile or a “thumbs up” will reinforce the behavior

35. Part One • Why are we teachers? • Most important training is mentoring and modeling, so knowing yourself, methodology and classroom management skills that are successful and proven to work is crucial. • Confidence/managing stress • Methodology • Classroom management • Peer support

36. Peer Support Asking for help should be easy • Direct supervisor • Administrators • Principals • Colleagues • Internet • Parents

37. Training methods in the United States Assist new teachers then move into lead role Evidence based Classroom curriculum Psychology and child development Always assess, evaluate, change as necessary Inspire, be creative and flexible Learning styles are different, audio, visual, kinesthetic, right/left brain. Group/pair work Strong students “train” weak students Differentiate – strong students keep from being bored by too easy work and weak students lose attention because they don’t understand. Role play Hands on Use peer checking, buddy up system Part Two

38. Current Trends • Shift from subject/class teaching to student teaching by differentiation • Understanding learning styles and accommodating

39. DIFFERENTIATION • A few decades ago the world of education was exercised by the forerunner of differentiation which was called ‘mixed ability teaching’. Then people began to realise it was not just ability that could be “mixed’’ and that teachers had to cope with many differences: learning style, age, motivation, prior learning and experience, gender, specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, and so on. Consequently the term ‘mixed ability’ began to be replaced by the less vivid term: ‘differentiation’. But what does differentiation mean exactly? • Differentiation is an approach to teaching that attempts to ensure that all students learn well, despite their many differences. Catch phrases which go some way to capturing this concept include: • ‘Coping with differences’. • ‘Learning for all’ or • ‘Success for all’.

40. There are a number of common misconceptions about differentiation. Some believe that it is something ‘added on’ to normal teaching and that it just requires a few discrete extra activities in the lesson. In fact, differentiation permeates everything a good teacher does and it is often impossible to ‘point’ to a discrete event that achieves it. It is not what is done often, but the way it is done that achieves differentiation. For this reason differentiation may not show up on a lesson plan or in the Scheme of Work. However some teachers try to show their intentions to differentiate by setting objectives in the following format: • All must…. • Some may… • A few might… • This may help new teachers to think about the diversity of their learners, but having such objectives does not guarantee differentiation. It is the strategies, not the objectives that achieve differentiation, and this should be the focus of our interests. • Differentiation is not new, good teachers have always done it. However, it does chime with a new conception of the teacher’s role. Once we teachers taught courses, subjects and classes. But no more. Now we are teaching individuals. • Once education was a sieve. The weaker students were ‘sieved out’ and they left the classroom for the world of work, while the able students were retained for the next level. ‘Drop outs’ were planned for, and seen not just as inevitable but as desirable. Put bluntly, the aim was to discover those who could not cope, and not spend time with them. • But now education is a ladder, and we expect every learner to climb as fast and as high as they are able. ‘Drop outs’ are seen as a wasted opportunity, for the learners, and for society as a whole.

41. This changes our ideas about the capability of learners and the nature of learning. Once learners were thought to have a genetic disposition for learning, or not, which was measured by their ‘IQ’. This placed an upper limit on their possible achievement. Some students were thought to reach their ‘ceiling’ after which further teaching would be in vain. • This is no longer thought to be the case. Experts on the brain and on learning now stress that everyone can learn more, if they are taught appropriately, whatever they have previously achieved. A vivid illustration of this is provided by the work of Professor Reuven Feuerstien. He teaches learners with what we call ‘moderate learning difficulties’, using a very special and unusual program involving intensive work for one hour a day every day. Four years later these learners have ‘caught up’ and are found to have an average ‘IQ’. They can live independent lives, learn normally, and are indistinguishable from average members of their societies. • Needless to say, remnants of the ‘ceiling’ model of learning can still be found in many teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning. These ideas need to be tackled. Luckily in most colleges examples can be found of students who entered the college on a level 1 programme, and progressed well, eventually leaving for a bigger university. These are persuasive role models for other learners and for teachers. Teachers can make much greater differences than they themselves realise, and we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible.

42. For more information on Professor Feuerstein’s methods: • Visit the website of ‘The International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential’ http://www.icelp.org/

43. Personal Experience • Teaching English as a Second Language requires speaking in English as much as possible. Students need to hear it in a practical manner. • Focus on an integrated approach, reading, writing, listening and speaking. • Use native speakers to proofread materials • Understand and avoid “chinglish” • You get what you expect, set standards

44. Conclusion • Excite students and teachers, infuse then with your own enthusiasm! • Work smart, not hard • Assess, educate, evaluate • Mindfulness, self-care • Clear goals, set objectives • Continued training

45. This is your future!