A reflection of
the book, The First Days of School, by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary K.
Wong.
The First Days of School is an essential handbook full of research-based
ideas, tips, guidelines and techniques for being an effective teacher. The book
focuses on preparing for the first days of school but also serves as a resource
for effective teaching all year long.
A quote near the beginning of the book resounded strongly with me. Douglas M.
Brooks stated, "Effective teachers spent time organizing and structuring
their classrooms so the students know what to do to succeed." To me, this
summarized an effective teacher very clearly. I also wondered if my students
know what they need to do to succeed in my class. By following the guidelines
set forth in the book, I feel that my classroom can become a place where
students feel successful.
The book begins by stating there are three primary characteristics of an effective
teacher:
- Exhibits positive expectations for all students.
- Establishes good classroom management techniques.
- Designs lessons for student mastery.
Positive
Expectations
The first characteristic, that a teacher should exhibit positive expectations
for all students, is a powerful idea. It reminded me of a blog post I recently
read by Larry Ferlazzo in which he describes his first day of
school. In Larry's classroom, every student begins with a 100%. This is a
powerful statement to a student and seems so different from the classrooms in
which I was a student. In those classrooms, you had to "prove"
yourself worthy of a good grade. The idea that a classroom should have positive
expectations for its students tells the learner, from day one, that the teacher
believes they can do it.
This book does a good job of giving concrete advice for the seemingly abstract
concept of positive expectations. There are sample quotes of
positive statements and negative statements. There are also simple steps that
help build a culture of positive expectations.
Is my classroom a positive place?
One of my classroom rules is to "Be Positive". So often in
technology, the steps may be complicated or so far from a student's prior
knowledge base that it seems like an insurmountable leap to learn the new
skill. I hope my rule helps them understand that I feel that together, if we
stay positive, we can achieve any new task.
Classroom rules are mentioned in the book as a method to help maintain a positive
classroom. We do have classroom rules and they are discussed on the first day
of technology lab. When I reflect on my classroom rules, I would like to be more consistent with
consequences when the rules are broken. I have a laid back and tolerant
personality and this can cause me to let behavior slide. I know if I do this
too often, students may perceive my actions as unfair.
I communicate well with students and the community. Our lessons are posted on
my webpage and therefore accessible to parents and students. I
am trying to learn the names of all 550+ of my students. I know this sets a
more positive environment. I will admit, I am doing a better job learning names
this year than last year but it is still a difficult task for me. I dress
professionally and usually have a smile on my face.
I do feel one of the most important pieces of setting positive
expectations is communicating to the students through timely effective feedback
that they are doing a good job. I don't really sit during class even if the
students are doing independent work. I am usually walking around giving
feedback when work is good, or encouraging students if they needs a little
nudge. I also try to justify any comment I make with concrete examples such as,
"Great job on the podcast! Your voice was very clear and your word choice
was excellent." This feedback helps the student validate that they are
succeeding in my classroom.
Classroom Management
The book defines classroom management as "all of the things that a teacher
does to organize students, space, time and materials so that instruction in
content and student learning can take place." Based on research, it may be
the most important aspect of being an effective teacher. There are many
components to classroom management discussed in the book. Many of these were
also covered in our Foundations
for Effective Teaching class.
Am I an effective classroom manager?
My class rules have transformed my classroom from last year. I built an entire
day's lesson for the first day of school around learning the rules and what
they mean. If there is a behavior problem, I quickly refer to the rule and
deliver the consequence. As I stated before, I can improve in my consistency of
delivering consequences but overall, classroom rules have been a positive
influence in my classroom.
I am fairly organized person so my lessons are always well prepared. I will
admit that I always feel there is room for improvement in this area. For
example, I had a wonderful lesson planned for Internet safety but it required
the students to communicate using an online Internet tool. I did not have a
back-up plan for the lesson if the Internet was not available. Classroom
management means always having a back-up plan!
I do use assigned seating and this has helped with behavior management as well
as helped me to learn student names. I will usually try to look at the seating
chart before a class arrives. We also have a routine for our class schedule. We
almost always start with 5-10 minutes of our typing program and then transition
to the front of the room for the day's instruction. Most classes are familiar
with our transition routine (for most classes I count down from 5 and expect
them to sit quietly by the time I get to 1).
To me, classroom management is where the art of teaching can truly be seen. As
a new teacher, the information from books and classes is very helpful and has
given me a strong foundation of skills to manage my classroom. However, I feel
that these skills are developed over time with help from veteran teachers,
feedback from observations, and dedication to the idea that my classroom can
always improve.
Teaching
for Lesson Mastery
We are there to help students learn. By utilizing instructional strategies, we
can create assignments and lessons that result in knowledge acquisition. The
four steps to creating an effective assignment summarized the basics of lessons
designed for mastery:
- Determine what you want them to accomplish. These
learning objectives should be matched to standards.
- Write each accomplishment as a single sentence.
- Give students copies of these sentences.
- Post or send these home with students.
Do I write
lessons to that help students achieve?
My background as an eLearning instructional designer has given me a solid
foundation for understanding learning strategies and instructional strategies
as well as creating learning objectives. My lessons primarily employ
project-based learning as well as social or cooperative learning. I am familiar
with Bloom's Taxonomy and wrote a blog post
about the new revisions in the taxonomy to better understand how they can be
used in the context of lesson planning.
With this said, I do not feel I create the perfect lessons. When I look at the
most recent lesson I have written (see below for attachment), I still see a
great deal that can be improved. The first area I would like to improve is to
begin using a consistent routine to develop thinking skills. I will probably
use the KWL routine because it strongly links prior knowledge to new information;
an idea I firmly believe improves learning. It is also easy for me to employ
with my specials schedule and classes.
This lesson also did not include how I can make the connection to the learning objectives
for the students at the conclusion (or throughout) the lesson. This could be
accomplished by completing the "what I learned" portion of the KWL
chart. By completing this portion of the routine, students are asked to
reflect on what was learned in the lesson. By reviewing the entire KWL chart,
connections to both prior knowledge and new knowledge can be made more easily
and therefore learning can be improved. I feel all of my lessons can be
improved by regularly including a thinking routine. I have attached my revised
lesson plan with the changes below.
I will assess my students through the use of a standards based rubric. The book
refers to rubrics as scoring guides. These tools make grading and assessments
transparent by clearly defining the expectations. I have attached my rubric for
this lesson below. My rubrics are presented to the students on the first day of
instruction and always available in the classroom throughout the instruction.
I feel I have a good foundation for writing quality technology lessons. As with
so many aspects of teaching, creating quality effective lessons will improve
with experience and knowledge.
Conclusion
This book is a wonderful guide for
being an effective teacher. As I read through it, I realized that I can always improve my effectiveness as a teacher. More than ever, I realize that I am committed to
continually seeking to improve all aspects that can make me a more effective
teacher.
Image Citations:
http://www.amazon.com/First-Days-School-Effective-Teacher/dp/0976423316/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256851279&sr=1-1
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/850600 (permission granted)
http://faculty.ccconline.org/index.php?title=Blooms_Taxonomy_Tutorial_FLASH
