Teacher Tips/Training

Posted by Tamara S. Andrew Birch

I require a research paper in my computer systems course, and no matter how structured I make it I am lucky to receive ¼ of the papers written well. The structure I use, expectations I put in place and the grading rubric are similar to what my students receive in their English classes when writing a research paper. It is almost as if once they walk out of English class all knowledge of formal writing flies away.

I spoke with an colleague about this and showed her some of last fall’s research papers. She was amazed at the low quality of the writing exhibited by most of the students, several of which were in her advanced English class that semester. I selected a few of these students and asked them why their writing quality was so different between her class and mine and received the overwhelming response that they didn’t think the quality mattered as much because they were writing for a computer class.

Writing across the curriculum is not a new idea and many schools enact it in various forms. But students still think that once they reach middle school subjects are separate; math stays in math class and writing skills are for English teachers. Searching for strategies online can be frustrating; there are plenty of guides for writing research papers for students but not to help teachers create them. I have found some strategies that are helping me.

Posted by Tamara S. Andrew Birch

A few years ago my district offered a series of workshops about writing across the curriculum, specifically the Collins Writing Program. Through these I realized that including more short writing assignments in my technology class might improve some of the challenges I faced with teaching some of the competencies. I have now tried a variety of assignments and found an overall increase in comprehension.

What I didn’t expect was the resistance I would face by the students. Brainstorming is fine. Assignments requiring one or more sentences frequently are choppy or provided as bulleted lists. Research papers range from beautiful to disaster, with over half the class in the disaster category. From speaking to several students, I find that they do not view classes outside of English (and some social studies courses) to be places to practice writing well.

And it is not limited to my school. This summer I decided to try something new. I am requiring my students, who come from a variety of schools worldwide, to provide details and accurate descriptions for programming assignments. Out of six students in my advanced class and nine in my introductory class I had four advanced students and three introductory who provided good detail in the first assignment. That changed to six and six respectively by the fourth assignment. By the end of this week, two and half weeks into the session, I hope to see all students providing good to excellent detail in their writing.

I am taking this experience back to my home classroom this fall. Hopefully, if I push a little harder, I can get my students to hone their writing skills while learning new technology concepts. It may only be details that I emphasize for now, but other writing skills may follow if they realize that it does matter.

Posted by Tamara S. Andrew Birch

We have all heard the joke about the best part of teaching being June, July and August. Usually, it means that the best part are 3 months of vacation - okay, 2 if you teach public school in New England. I have found that it is the best time for professional development, but not always through formal training.

On several occasions I have taken an online course or district workshop in the summer. Online courses provide the opportunity to take a class without having to travel or worry about class availability in my area. District workshops are a low stress way to collaborate with colleagues while gaining valuable professional development experience.

Last summer I decided to take the summer off. I stayed home, planning to do nothing school related. By August I realized that my summer vacation had become a relaxed way to improve myself professionally. I would spend some time web surfing for ideas, watching how children learned from their summer activities, and reflecting on my successes and failures.

This summer I have returned to my summer teaching position. Though I am still in the classroom I find the short summer classes allow me to try new ideas before using them in a full school year. I also am able to collaborate with other faculty members with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.

Relaxing during the summer can provide opportunities for reflecting. Vacations can be a way to experience history or different cultures and then bring those experiences into the classroom.

How do you improve your teaching during summer vacation?

Posted by Debbie DeSpirt

Students give the gift of time for Dads on Father's Day on Sunday, June 15, 2008. Springtime is a busy time for the average dad who is cleaning the outside of the home. Garages need to be organized, weeds pulled, gutters cleared, and the occasional paint job.

Best gift for dads' are coupons to do one of his jobs big or small. Students can write a voucher to their dad to organize the garden tools, or spend 1 hour assisting him with the lawn. As well, they may choose to do indoor chores to aid them during the week. Students do not need money to create a gift that their dad will appreciate.

As well, students may choose to give their dad time to spend with them. Often children do not have all the same interests as their parents. Students create a coupon to spend 2 hours watching a football game or an hour playing dad's favorite video game.

Father's Day is less than a week away, but students can create a voucher book in less than an hour. Coupons are great gifts because dads can redeem them at anytime.

Posted by Debbie DeSpirt

As a Substitute Teacher, I am in an array of schools throughout the year, as I prefer the flexibility of choosing my own schedule. However, at times, teaching part time can become lonely as there is limited connection with the school community.

Today was one of the days that made me be thankful for being a part time teacher. For the past two days, I taught a wonderful primary class and at the end of the day I received several written thank you letters. Often at the end of the day, my students will verbally thank me but the letter is an added treat. Thank you letters from students tell me that my one day is very important in their lives.

As a teacher I can connect with them in the moment of now or just aimlessly go from class to class. As I teach in the now, my purpose is for them to learn something new. Today, as I asked my students what they learned, one student replied, "I learned how to ask for things nicely". A simple comment as this tells me I made the right decision to be a Substitute Teacher.

Posted by Debbie DeSpirt

Bring music into the classroom to keep students motivated for the last month of school. Junior and Intermediate students begin to act up in the final month because they are aware most of the grades have been calculated for their final report card. It is difficult to keep these students engaged because grades were their motivator.

Fun is another excellent motivator and music can initiate this with the older and younger students. Put on a Oscar Peterson (well known Jazz musician) song to initiate a creative writing paper. Play the song for a few minutes and have students put their heads down, with their eyes closed and just listen. After you have played a small part students are to write about the images created in their head and write a story. Students will be more engaged in this activity because the music has excited them to write.

As well, music can assist in writing, art, and social studies. Play music from a time period and have students write about the atmosphere at the time based on the music. Students will have to listen if it was a sad or happy time and make conclusions based on the music. Students are learning even though a grade may not be given for the assignment.

Last month of school can be tiring for the teachers and students because all want the summer to commence for relaxation. Add a little music to the classroom to stimulate the students and teacher.

Posted by Debbie DeSpirt

Class sizes vary from school to school. Some classes have over 31 students while others are lucky to have about 25 students. More students usually mean more issues in the classroom because students can be lost in such a large number. Behavioural issues often stem from boredom.

Keep students motivated by make them move every 20 minutes or so. Students need to move, as do adults to keep them engaged in an activity. Math does not have to be sitting through an entire lesson, students are great models for math problems. As well, they are great models to identify parts of a sentences and incomplete sentences. You can also use students to emphasize a period, exclamation mark, or question mark going at the end of sentence.

Use students as models to assist in teaching a concept from language arts to science. Students will be more engaged because they will want to be a model and because they are employing more senses in the learning process.

Posted by Debbie DeSpirt

As a Substitute Teacher, I have a limited amount of time to gain control of the classroom. Students in the junior grades begin their strategies to get the substitue to slowly lose their mind. Fortunately, I remember many of the tricks from switching desks, changing names, inventing reasons to leave the classroom, and outrageous behaviour.

My first defense is to greet all students with a hello and ask some about their evening. After I have greeted most I enter the classroom and ask the first student to assist with the seating plan. The best way to gain control is to know everybody's name before the majority of students walk in. I have the first student to assist with the seating plan. It takes only a few minutes and aids the teacher for the rest of the day.

Next is to show the students with limited speech, that I am the teacher of the day and expect respect. Often respect is forgotten on the substitute teacher, and students believe it is a day of no rules. Be firm but kind with the students and review the rules before classroom. As well, you may wish to write the rules on chart paper and display at the beginning of each day.

Lastly, continually focus on the positive. Stop the class to identify great behaviour and try to ignore the negative behaviour. It is best to gain control in the first few minutes of class, otherwise you may have quite a chaotic day.

Posted by Debbie DeSpirt

Words of Nelson Mandela, former South African President will open discussions about non violence with students. Mandela's quotes can be used as a tool to engage students about life inside and outside the classroom. Mandela creates and uses other quotes to promote peace and acceptance. As well, he models his beliefs and that is key for students. Students need to see peace and acceptance in the classroom, school community, and local community.

Mandela's quotes can be the springboard to begin discussions about bullying by students and adults. Bullying has been an issue since the conception of schools but it has now entered students' homes with the introduction of the Internet. Cyberbullying targets students in the safety of their homes, creating a new type of violence for students. Many students are not aware of the damage cyberbullying and other types of bullying have on the victim and the community. If bullying is considered a part of growing up it becomes a part of our values. It is important as teachers to model problem solving strategies, good working relationships with fellow teachers, parents, and administrators and respect for ourselves.

Teachers can be inspired by the words of Mandela and bring this to the classroom to teach students life values.

Posted by Debbie DeSpirt

Earth Day was celebrated around the world yesterday, April 22. Its inception began to educate people from all walks of life on how to conserve and protect our environment. Outside clean ups, litterless lunches, and turning off lights were just a few activities celebrating Earth Day in schools.

Students hear the buzz words to care for our environment, but are they observing the acts on a daily basis. Earth Day was established to get the world involved in protecting our environment for the year, not just one day a year.

Begin the discussions on how to protect our natural resources, but keep having students active in the goal. Litterless lunches do not have to be one day a year but rather on a continual basis. As well, turn off the lights or reduce light usage if possible in the classroom.

Appreciate our earth, by taking care of it and as teachers it is best to model to our students. Teachers can show their litterless lunch, walk or bike to school if possible, and turn off the lights in the classroom and staff room. Teachers, school administrators and the community are excellent environmental role models.