Thursday, October 27, 2016
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Increasing Positve Interactions
(Retrieved from the companion website for High-Impact Instruction: A Framework for Great Teaching by Jim Knight.)
· Seek out positive (appropriate) interactions that are not contingent on behavior.
· Find the little things that make kids tick (activity, team, interest, etc.) and talk about them with them.
· Catch the good behavior by drawing attention to it (thanking students, commenting, etc.).
· Focus praise or attention on effort rather than attributes (talk about a student’s hard work rather than a student’s intelligence).
· Pay attention to academic and behavioral opportunities for praise.
· Post reminders to praise (sticky note to yourself on the Elmo; poster in the class, on your lesson plans).
· Set specific praise goals (today every student who gets the book out will be praised).
· Set goals based on irrelevant prompts (every time a teacher enters my room, I’ll praise three kids).
· Double up on praise by naming all students who are doing something appropriate (Michelle, Lea, Susan, and Jenny, thanks for getting your book out so quickly).
· Vary methods of praise.
· Call (or email) the parents of children who are doing well.
· Send home postcards to parents to praise kids.
· Prominently display student work in the classroom.
· Ignore minor misbehavior if the behavior is attention seeking.
Monday, October 3, 2016
What can we do that will result in a genuine celebration for each child on our class list?
And Your Teacher Will Be . . .
by Allison Behne
With the approach of each new school year, I listen to my son and daughter wonder who their classroom teachers might be, and flash back to my own childhood when I awaited the same news. Would I end up with the teacher who had the reputation for giving lots of homework and not celebrating your birthday? Or would I end up with the teacher who was known for dancing on the table and giving high-fives as you entered the room? The eternal wait for the class list to be posted would end in crushed dreams or genuine celebration.
Maya Angelou is quoted as saying, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This is especially true of teachers. What do you remember about your favorite teacher? You may remember a specific phrase or action, but it likely isn’t the phrase or action that made that teacher memorable. It is how that phrase or action made you feel. I don’t remember the dancing on the tables because of the dance or the music; I remember it because of the laughter and happiness it evoked. I don’t remember what was said as I was high-fived coming into the classroom, but I do remember looking forward to that greeting each morning because I felt welcome and wanted.
Whether your school year is in progress or you are preparing for the start of a new year, now is an ideal time to focus on our choice of words and actions and the effect they have on our students. What can we do that will result in a genuine celebration for each child on our class list?
by Allison Behne
With the approach of each new school year, I listen to my son and daughter wonder who their classroom teachers might be, and flash back to my own childhood when I awaited the same news. Would I end up with the teacher who had the reputation for giving lots of homework and not celebrating your birthday? Or would I end up with the teacher who was known for dancing on the table and giving high-fives as you entered the room? The eternal wait for the class list to be posted would end in crushed dreams or genuine celebration.
Maya Angelou is quoted as saying, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This is especially true of teachers. What do you remember about your favorite teacher? You may remember a specific phrase or action, but it likely isn’t the phrase or action that made that teacher memorable. It is how that phrase or action made you feel. I don’t remember the dancing on the tables because of the dance or the music; I remember it because of the laughter and happiness it evoked. I don’t remember what was said as I was high-fived coming into the classroom, but I do remember looking forward to that greeting each morning because I felt welcome and wanted.
Whether your school year is in progress or you are preparing for the start of a new year, now is an ideal time to focus on our choice of words and actions and the effect they have on our students. What can we do that will result in a genuine celebration for each child on our class list?
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