Wayne Elementary Graduate Cl - Recently Updated Pages

Assignment Eight Discussion Questions

DebbieRussell — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:15:51 CDT

What is the one internal standard tht supports effective practices when making decisions which follow no clearly stated rule?
Why is it unwise for teachers to have students "trade and grade" each other's schoolwork?
How should teachers apply the "most comfortable/least comfortable" ground rule when dealing with belligerent parents?
In the study cited in the book, what was the difference between schools that exceeded expectations on standardized tests and schools that didn't exceed expectations?
What things influence what is taught in any classroom?
Why is is so important to establish a classroom environment in which it is "cool to care?"
What is one thing that great teachers can choose to do when colleagues make sarcastic, derogatory comments?
What must we as teachers do with students before we can connect with their minds?

Of the fourteen things that matter most listed as a summary on page 127 of the book, which do you feel is the foremost essential practice? Why?

Assignment Eight

DebbieRussell — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:08:12 CDT

Please read chapters 13-16 and respond to the discussion questions on the next page prior to June 11. Please remember to respond to the comments of at least two other class participants.

Chapter 13 Key Concepts
In Every Situation, Ask Who is Most Comfortable and Who is Least Comfortable

Great teachers avoid lecturing the entire class about the rules and never punish the entire class because of the behavior of a few.
Great teachers know that the best students will feel uncomfortable if a teacher yells or uChapses cutting remarks, even when directed at a student that is misbehaving.
Effective educators attempt to make people who do the right thing feel comfortable. They reinforce such people and such behaviors.
Great teachers treat everyone as if they are good and continually ask themselves who is most comfortable and who is least comfortable with each decision they make.

Chapter 14 Key Concepts
What About Those Darn Standardized Tests?

Effective teachers do not allow standardized tests to take over their entire class, yet they work toward student success in the area of standardized testing so that it does not become the primary focus of the entie school.
Effective teachers do not let their personal views of standardized testing to affect discussions they might have with students, parents or even peers.
Effective teachers recognize that state standards force them to shift the focus from the textbook to the actual curriculum and student learning.

Chapters 15 and 16 Key Concepts
Make It Cool to Care and Clarifying Your Core

All effective teachers have a core set of beliefs to which they adhere as educators.
The real challenge-and the real accomplishment- is to get all students to care about what happens in the classroom, and to create an atmosphere in which it is cool to care.
Great teachers do what is right, no matter what else is going on.
Students care about great teachers because they know that great teachers care about them.
Without a core of firmly held beliefs, it is difficult for teachers ro steer a steady course.
Every teacher has an impact. Great teachers make a difference.

Assignment Seven Discussion Questions

DebbieRussell — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 18:51:16 CDT

Why do great teachers ingore certain behaviors?
Why do most students misbehave?
What is the likely outcome when we as educators, continue to pick at a child's behavior? At a child's academic performance?
How do great teachers balance the contradictory themes of ignoring certain behaviors and paying attention to those students who crave it?
What is the most important idea communicated in chapters 11 and 12? How would you implement this idea in your classroom?
How do great teachers differ from ineffective teachers in terms of preventing and dealing with student misbehavior?
How do great teachers change the dynamics of a classroom without engaging in power struggles?

Assignment Seven

DebbieRussell — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 18:45:56 CDT

Please read the following chapters and respond to the discussion questions by May 4. After crafting your response, please comment on the responses of at least two other class members. The questions follow on the next page.

Chapters 10-12

Chapter 10 Key Concepts
Ability to Ignore

Great teachers are aware of almost everything that happens in their classroom, and they know which situations demand immediate attention and which can wait for a more appropriate moment.
Effective teachers model self control; their classroom management is grounded in their ability to manage their own behavior.
Great teachers do not automatically react everytime a student steps a little out of line.
The great teacher has the ability to pay attention to students, to recognize and praise their achievements, and the ability to overlook minor errors.

Chapters 11 and 12 Key Concepts
Random or Plandom? Base Every Decision on the Best People

Great teachers have a plan and purpose for everything they do. They reflect on what did and did not work and adjust accordingly.
Great teachers take responsibility for what happens and plans for success. Less effective teachers allow classroom events to happen randomly and then blame others when things do not work out well.
Great teachers expect and plan for appropriate student behavior by ensuring that certain students do-or do not-work together. Great teachers proactively anticipate student misbehavior and plan to eliminate it before it occurs.
Great teachers intentionally arrange, rearrange, alter, and adjust the structures that frame their teaching.
Great teachers do not try to prove who is in charge of their classroom, everyone already knows.
Great teachers always treat students as if their parents were in the room. They deal with students who disrupt learning but do it respectfully.
Great teachers do not teach to the middle. They ensure that all students are engaged.

Questions for Chapters 7-9

DebbieRussell — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:53:06 CST

Please answer each question and make comments on the answers of at least two others.

1. Why must great teachers always act as if they like all their students?

2. Identify three myths that are often used as rationalizations of why we do not praise more often. Offer an argument that debunks each myth.

3. How can great teachers counteract colleagues who are prone to complaining about school, teaching, students and administration?

4. In what ways do teachers serve as "filters" in the school in which they teach?

5. Why do less-effective teachers not recognize the need to repair and why do they seldom work to repair? How can we work to change this pattern of behavior in ourselves and/or in others?

6. What is likely to happen in the classroom when educators become impatient and unprofessionional?

Assignment Six

DebbieRussell — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:46:00 CST

Chapters 7-9
Please read these chapters and complete the assignment prior to our March face to face session.
Remember to answer the questions and comment on the answers of at least two other members of our community of learners. The questions will follow on another page listed as a subpage of this one.

Chapter 7
Key Concepts

Great teachers create a positive atmosphere in their classrooms despite inevitable negatives.
Effective teachers treat everyone with dignity and respect ten days out of ten.
Students may remember the times when teachers treat them well, but will always remember when they were treated disrespectfully.
Focusing on all the positive things in our classrooms and schools give us more drive and energy to get through the less positive times.
Effective teachers know that one of the most positive tasks that a teacher performs is to model appropriate behavior.

Chapter 8
Key Concepts

The teacher is the filter who sets the tone for how others behave.

Great teachers realize that teaching is a demanding job, yet they focus on its rewards and challenges in a positive way instead of complaining.

The best teachers are professionals who know how to keep personal issues private and also know how to keep school issues in their place.

Chapter 9
Key Concepts

Effective educators know that a relationship, once damaged, may never be the same.

Great teachers work hard to keep their relationships heathy.

The best teachers seldom need to do emotional repairing in their classrooms but are working to continually repair, just in case.

Great teachers practice behaviors for repairing a situation they also teach students behaviors for repairing, rather than escalating, a negative situation.

Assignment Five

DebbieRussell — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:16:31 CST

Please have this assignment completed and posted prior to February 15. Read the chapters, answer the four questions and respond to the posting of at least two others.

Chapters 3-6

Key Concepts

Great teachers focus on expectations, other teachers focus on rules and the least effective teachers focus on the consequences of breaking the rules.
Great teachers establish clear expectations at the outset of school and follow them firmly, fairly and consistently throughout the year.
Effective teachers are motivated to prevent misbehavior, ineffective teacher are motivated to punish students who misbehave.
All teachers have the same bag of tricks available to them in dealing with student behavior.
Students know the difference between right and wrong and want the teacher to address inappropriate behavior in a dignified and respectful manner.
All teachers have high expectations for students, even ineffective teachers. The difference is that great teachers also have very high expectations of themselves.
The main variable in any classroom is not the students, its the teachers.
When students are not focused and engaged in the classroom, great teachers ask themselves what they can do differently to improve student engagement.
Just as successful students and parents accept responsibility, our most effective teachers accept responsibility for their performance in the classroom.

Chapter 3: The Power of Expectations
Chapter 4: Prevention Versus Revenge
Chapter 5: HIgh Expectations for Whom
Chapter 6: Who is the Variable?

1. What is the most important idea communicated in the chapter regarding teacher expectations?
2. Discuss the differences in how effective and ineffective teachers act when a student misbehaves.
3. Identify at least five specific teacher behaviors in every teacher's bag of tricks that great teachers never exhibit.
4. Why do successful teachers insist on focusing on their own behaviors rather than that of others.

Assignment Four

DebbieRussell — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 18:00:31 CST

For this assignment you will need a copy of the book "
What Great Teachers do Differently" by Todd Whitaker. We will do a book study of this book. These were put in mailboxes. See Debbie if you didn't get a copy.

Read Section 1 which consists of Chapters 1 and 2.

Chapter 1:Why look at Great
Chapter 2:It's People Not Programs

Key Concepts are:

Great teachers do not use sarcasm, yell at students, or argue with students in front of other students.
We can always learn from observing what great teachers to. Eliminating inappropriate choices does not help as much as idenfifying good ideas used by successful educators.
All that is truly needed to improve education is for all teachers to be like our very best teachers.
Who we are as teachers and what we do as teachers is more important than what we know. Teachers must self-reflect on who they are and what they must do in order to improve their practice.
There are only two ways to improve any school: get better teachers and improve the teachers already there.
No program inherently leads to school improvement. It is the people who implement sound programs and determine the success of the school. Programs are never the solution, and they are never the problem.
What matters most is not what teachers do but how appropriately and effectively they do it.

Once you have read the assignment, please sign on and complete comments to the following discussion questions. Also, please comment on at least two contributions of others. This should be done prior to the next class meeting on Jan. 22.

Questions.

What is the most important idea communicated in these two chapters? How could you implement this idea in your classroom?
Why should we look at what great teachers do?
What is it that determines --in the eyes of parents and students-- whether or not a school is great?
Which of the three words in the phrase "poor lecturer's classroom" identifies the problem? How is this single example illustrative of the "people versus programs" concept?

Assignment Three

DebbieRussell — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:17:05 CST

Prior to the class meeting on Monday, Dec. 11

Use the link http://wvde.state.wv.us/21stcenturydigitalresource/ to complete the following assignments.
Integration of 21st Century Learning Skills and Technology Tools-Read the three standards and objectives for each standard.. Post a comment discussing ways to integrate 21st century learning skills and tools in a meaningful way into the curriculum.
Print out the activity "Will Your Students Thrive In the Digital Age" and complete each activity.
Bring the completed activities to the class on Dec. 11.
Make sure that you have posted comments to each fo the first two assignments and turned in your lesson plan prior to the class meeting.

Assignment Two

DebbieRussell — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:16:55 CDT

1. Find the website www.thesolutionsite.com
2. Conduct a search for a unit that you could will use in your classroom.

Look at the tab at the top of the page. It contains unit searches.
You may search by topic or grade.
The units contain the CSO's addressed, complete objectives, materials, activities and assessments.
When using a lesson plan obtained from the web, simply note this in your lesson plans and attach the copy t o your plans. Remember, technology must be addressed in your plans.

Make sure the unit is something related to your curriculum.

3.Print out the unit.
4.Turn in a copy of the unit to Debbie by Nov. 3. The copy should contain the approximate date you will use it in your classroom. Pay particular attention to the technology component.
5. Post a comment with the following: the name of your unit, why you chose the unit, and how the unit integrates technology with the curricular offering (reading/language arts and technology, etc.)

Assignment One

DebbieRussell — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:25:22 CDT

This is required reading for all

Use the link to the WVDE Digital Resource to read the following articles:

http://wvde.state.wv.us/21stcenturydigitalresource

Under the second tab 21st Century Learning click on Question 3 "What are some ways 21st century learning tools enhance the learning process?"

1. Read the CSO's for technology.

2. Click on the powerpoint to view the Digital Tools for Digital Kids powerpoint.

3. Do the Activity-Digital Lingo

4. If you really get into this download Google Earth. It takes awhile but it's worth it.

5. Post a comment listing three ways you can use 21st century learning tools in your classroom and reply to at least one other participant's comment.

orientation

DebbieRussell — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:52:19 CDT

Welcome Digital Immigrants to our graduate class. As you can see, we will be communicating via the web for much of our class. We will be integrating technology and math for this session. It is important that you check your e-mail frequently. We will be posting information to this site and letting you know via your access e-mail account.

Objectives for this class include:
1. Participants will use 21st century technology tools appropriately in their classroom.
This will include the interactive white board, laptop computers and web based applications.
2. Participants will participate in the development of a wikki.
3. Participants will read professional articles pertaining to math and technology integration and will post comments to the forum.
4. Participants will become familar with the concepts of 21st century learning skills.

Home

DebbieRussell — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:40:59 CDT

This page is designed for staff members at Wayne Elementary School taking part in the current graduate class.

Welcome to wet Paint

DebbieRussell — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 19:20:51 CDT

- - - ALOHA! - - -

A wiki (wick'-e) is a a type of web site that allows anyone to add or edit content via an easy to use browser interface. For an excellent discussion of what a wiki is and how a wiki can be used to facilitate group projects, discussion groups, and knowledge repositories read "What is a Wiki (and How to Use One For Your Project") by Tom Stafford and Matt Webb at the O'Reilly Network.

WetPaint™ is a web-based application for developing a wiki. Refer to the pages in this section for instructions on using WetPaint™ to perform the various activities required during the Area of Focus discussion.

a - Posting comments and replies
b - Editing page content
c - Adding new pages to the wiki

Wet Paint Orientation

DebbieRussell — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 18:56:25 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.