Download - Chapter 1 learning from the natural teachers
LEARNING FROM THE “NATURAL” TEACHERS
CHAPTER 1 FROM TOOLS FOR TEACHING. JONES, F. SANTA
CRUZ, CA. 2007.
COURSE FOCUS
• TO MAKE CURRENT RESEARCH MEANINGFUL BY RELATING IT TO APPLICATION
WITHIN A TYPICAL CLASSROOM
• STUDENTS WILL ANALYZE MANAGEMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES TO
PROMOTE STUDENT ACADEMIC SUCCESS.
• THIS CHAPTER PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES THAT
THE MOST SKILLED TEACHERS IMPLEMENT THAT MINIMIZE DISRUPTIONS AND
MAXIMIZE STUDENT LEARNING AND CLASSROOM SUCCESS
MANY CONSIDERATIONS!
• THE TEACHER – ATTITUDES AND REALITY
• DO YOU ENJOY BEING IN YOUR CLASSROOM?
• ARE YOU EXHAUSTED AT THE END OF THE DAY?
• THE STUDENTS –
• IS LEARNING EXCITING?
• ARE THE STUDENTS PROGRESSING?
• THE CLASSROOM –
• DOES THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT SUPPORT POSITIVE INTERACTIONS AND
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT?
WHAT SKILLS DO WE NEED?
• ABILITY TO ENGAGE STUDENTS
• ENGAGE ALL OF THEIR SENSES
• CONSIDER VARIOUS LEARNING STYLES AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
• ABILITY TO MINIMIZE PROBLEM BEHAVIORS AND MAXIMIZE ENGAGED BEHAVIORS
• WHAT DO THESE SKILLS LOOK AND SOUND LIKE? HOW DO WE BECOME MORE
SKILLED SO WE DON’T JOIN THE 50% OF THE TEACHERS WHO LEAVE THE
PROFESSION WITHIN 5 YEARS?
ENJOY THE STORIES
• READ THE ANECDOTES ON PP. 3 – 4 IN TOOLS FOR TEACHING
NOTICE ANYTHING? WHICH OF THOSE ANECDOTES DESCRIBES YOUR
CLASSROOM? THE CLASSROOMS YOU ENDURED AS A STUDENT? AS MY SON
TOLD ME MANY YEARS AGO IN HIS FIRST YEAR WITH “TEACH FOR AMERICA” . . .
I KNEW WHEN I HAD GOOD TEACHERS BUT I DID NOT KNOW WHY UNTIL I
HAD MY OWN CLASSROOM
TAKING FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD
• KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF “DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE” PRACTICES ARE
CRUCIAL TO HIGH QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
• OVER THE YEARS AND THROUGH MUCH TRAINING RELATED TO ESL (ENGLISH AS
SECOND LANGUAGE) AND STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, I HAVE LEARNED
THAT THE RESEARCH BASED PRACTICES THAT WORK IN ONE AREA ARE
SIMILARLY RESEARCH BASED AND BEST PRACTICE FOR ANY OTHER STUDENTS.
• WITH THAT, REMEMBER THE PYRAMID MODEL AS IT RELATES TO A CHILD’S
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS!
• NOTICE THAT THE FOUNDATIONAL PIECE OF THE PYRAMID MODEL IS HAVING
RESPONSIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHILDREN, PARENTS, AND COLLEAGUES.
• THE “RELAXED, EMOTIONALLY WARM” TEACHERS AS DESCRIBED IN YOUR TEXT
ENJOY WORKING WITH THEIR STUDENTS AND HAVE DEVELOPED POSITIVE
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE STUDENTS, WHETHER THEY ARE YOUNG CHILDREN
OR OLDER STUDENTS!
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? SOUND LIKE?
• WHAT DO THOSE SUCCESSFUL CLASSROOMS LOOK LIKE AND SOUND LIKE? GO
TO THE WIKI FOR CHAPTER 1 IN YOUR ASSIGNMENT LINK TO ADD TO WHAT WE
MIGHT OBSERVE IN THE TYPE CLASSROOM IN WHICH STUDENTS ARE ACTIVELY
ENGAGED AND ATTENDING TO WHAT THEY NEED TO BE LEARNING
• HOW CAN WE MINIMIZE THE TEACHER’S WORKLOAD WHILE MAXIMIZING
EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY? HOW CAN WE IDENTIFY AND PRACTICE THE
TEACHER BEHAVIORS THAT GIVE US THE BIGGEST BANG FOR THE LEAST
AMOUNT OF EFFORT?
“AIN’T IT THE TRUTH?” `• DID YOU NOTICE THE BULLETS ON P. 5?
• TEACHERS WORK TWICE AS HARD AS THE GENERAL PUBLIC WILL EVER IMAGINE.
• THE LAST THING IN THE WORLD THAT A TEACHER WILL EVER HAVE IS “EXTRA” TIME.
(JONES, 2007)
WITH WHAT BEHAVIOR PLANS ARE YOU FAMILIAR? PBIS IS USED IN MANY OF OUR
LOCAL SCHOOLS. HOW WELL DOES IT WORK? WHAT IS OUR ULTIMATE GOAL? WE
HAVE TO CONSIDER IF WE ARE SPENDING ALL OF OUR EFFORT TRYING TO GET
CHILDREN TO BEHAVE. INSTEAD, IS OUR ENVIRONMENT ENGAGING ENOUGH
THAT STUDENTS SIMPLY WANT TO BEHAVE AND LOVE LEARNING IN YOUR
CLASSROOM? AGAIN, LET’S WORK TO ANALYZE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND
SOUNDS LIKE IN REAL PRACTICE
PITFALLS
• SQUANDERED TIME – TOO MUCH INSTRUCTIONAL TIME IS WASTED
• TEACHER-CENTERED CLASSROOMS – THE TEACHER DOES ALL THE WORK AND
THE STUDENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO TAKE IN ALL OF THE WISDOM BESTOWED
UPON THEM. HOW DO WE MAKE STUDENTS ACTIVE LEARNERS?
• “GOOFING OFF” – INCLUDES STUDENTS WHO AVOID, TALK, MOVE ABOUT, OR
OTHERWISE MANAGE TO DISRUPT
• NAGGING TEACHERS
PREDICTABLE NEW TEACHER LEARNING CURVE
• NAIVETY –
• WE THINK THAT KIDS WILL BEHAVE, ESPECIALLY IF WE ARE NICE.
• WE LOSE CONTROL!
• TAKE ACTION
• WE CALL THEM OUT
• THEY ACT INNOCENT
• THEY QUICKLY RESUME THE SAME BEHAVIORS
PREDICTABLE NEW TEACHER LEARNING CURVE (CONT.)
• FED UP!
• NAGGING COMMENCES
• FRUSTRATION ENSUES
• ONCE AND FOR ALL!
• TEACHERS “PUT THEIR FOOT DOWN”
• AND THEN IT STARTS ALL OVER
MORE FUNNIES
• READ THE “GETTING NOWHERE” SECTION ON PP. 10 & 11 IN YOUR TEXT.
• WHICH ARE YOU? WHICH HAVE YOU HEARD REGULARLY FROM OTHER
TEACHERS?
• AGAIN, WHAT SKILLS DO WE NEED TO IDENTIFY AND PRACTICE THAT WILL HELP
US AVOID THESE PITFALLS?