URBAN.LEARNING

#edreform #education

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:27:00 -0400

#edreform #education

Supporting SPED Students

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:20:52 -0400

Leaders - how many times are we in meetings and this becomes...

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:20:49 -0400

Leaders - how many times are we in meetings and this becomes true? We have to find a way to say what seems impossible to say.

adventuresinlearning: via (Edutopia) Incredibly true.

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:19:39 -0400

adventuresinlearning:

via (Edutopia)

Incredibly true.

Great Post on Science Teacher Prep

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:39:16 -0400

Great Post on Science Teacher Prep

Quick Starter for a Team Meeting: If you struggle coming up...

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:34:34 -0400

Quick Starter for a Team Meeting:

If you struggle coming up with ideas on how to keep your meetings fresh, fun and focused, stay tuned to Urban Learning.

Here is one way to jump start your meeting…

Have every team member take 3-5 minutes to independently identify their major accomplishments from the past week, their main priorities for the following week, and any requests for support from the rest of the team.

Then, do a whiparound where each team member shares their 3 buckets. Engage in quick exchanges and respond when appropriate.

Record the priorities or requests for the team to come back to at the next meeting.

If you are looking to build high levels of accountability and trust within a small team, particularly a leadership team, this might be a good tool to put into practice.

Send me questions or requests.

Photo credit:
http://dribbble.com/shots/93630-discover-vs-start

How to Teach Teachers

Thu, 03 May 2012 23:00:23 -0400

How to Teach Teachers:

Blogging on my work on my team’s blog…

5 Ways to Get your Student’s Brains Ready for Learning

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:38:30 -0400

5 Ways to Get your Student’s Brains Ready for Learning:

Read this excellent post on my team’s blog. Sign up to get our posts that are focused on inspiration, solutions and strategies.

At a symposium today on accountability for teacher prep...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:17:00 -0400

At a symposium today on accountability for teacher prep programs. It is an excellent reminder that not only teachers, but those of us that support teachers, are also accountable to our students.

3 Ways to Prepare for Instructional Leadership

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:38:35 -0400

3 Ways to Prepare for Instructional Leadership:

I’m blogging on my team’s blog today!

Enjoy. :)

30 Day Challenge - Gratitude for Every Day

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:31:11 -0400

For 30 days, show one person gratitude a day. Every day that you do this, you will begin to see great positivity in your life and work.

Here are groups of people that you can appreciate:

1. Colleagues - Who do you work with that deserves your thanks? If you are unhappy with the people you work with, strive to find something you can appreciate. Or, strive to model the behaviors that you would appreciate. The more you appreciate others, the more you will be appreciated.

2. Family members - Sometimes we take for granted the people that are closest to us in our lives. I know I am guilty of this. Show your appreciation for your family and tell them one characteristic that brings joy into your life.

3. Strangers - When you are at a store and someone helps you out, show gratitude. We all know what it is like to experience poor service! If someone opens a door for you, say a sincere thank you. Believe it or not, when you look, there is a lot to appreciate!

4. Friends - When was the last time you thanked the friend who is the first person you call on a bad day? Or, the friend that makes you laugh often? You won’t have to go far before you find a friend that deserves your thanks.

5. Students - Needs no explanation.

How can you show your gratitude?

1. I love to write notes and cards for people. I collect them when I see them on sale and carry them with me. See my post on positive notes. :)

2. Text messages. A nice text that shows your thanks can uplift people in a spare moment of their day.

3. A photo email. If you come across an image online that reminds you of the individual, send it along with a thank you.

4. Photo aps. There are several aps on the iPhone that allow you to add graphics to pictures or make cards. A couple that I like are Red Stamp and Labelbox.

Let me know all of the good things you begin to experience as you focus on the positive. 30 days. Every day.

NGU

Who are you thankful for in your life? Who brings you great joy...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:05:06 -0400

Who are you thankful for in your life? Who brings you great joy and gratitude?

Take a moment today to tell the individuals in your life that you are thankful.

If you are a teacher, thank your students for their effort, their attitude and their attention. Thank individual students for their progress. Thank a colleague for listening, a shared resource or their positive presence.

Share your thanks and more good energy will come your way!

How do you show your thanks?

Celebrating Success How do you celebrate success in your...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 23:35:17 -0400

Celebrating Success

How do you celebrate success in your classroom or on your team? Do you have a chant? A motion? A high five combined with a shout? Regardless of what combo gets you and those around you excited, celebration is key. Highlighting a job well done goes a long way for our students and for those we work with as well. That celebration increases investment and motivation, two things we can never have enough of in education!

Here are a couple of ways you can celebrate success:

1. A standard and quick motion or chant that you always do when you want to praise something in your classroom can work beautifully. In our organization, we use quick clapping combos that students and teams can use. For example, if a student gives a great answer, reward her with, “Can we give Abigail two claps? One, two.” And then the claps follow.

I have also heard really quick sayings used. In my own classroom, one of my favorite sayings was, “Reading makes you smarter.” If I wanted to praise excellent reader habits in a student, I would say, “Let’s give Eddie a “reading makes you smarter.” Then, the class repeats.

2. Another repeat strategy is to say the student’s name with the praise and have the whole class repeat. For example, if Sam worked diligently on a problem, announce for all to repeat, “Sam, you’re working hard today!” Then, the whole class repeats. Sam will surely be on cloud nine. When I run out of compliments, I’ll use the first letter of the student’s name to spark an adjective for me. For example, “Anna, that’s amazing urgency!” Remember to try your best to praise behaviors that other students can replicate. We want the students to be driven by the praise and for them to demonstrate academic and cultural behaviors that will drive success.

3. Finally, if you want to celebrate in silence, don’t forget silent cheers. I like to keep things urgent, so I would tell my kids, “2 second silent cheers, quick!” They all silent cheer for 2 seconds and then get back to work. I’ve also had the students do silent motions like, shooting a basketball or a touchdown sign, when I felt like they “scored” as a class.

The best teachers are the best motivators. They ignite something within their students. They find a way to push learning and also create the desire to learn more. It’s the perfect facilitation of the “I can” and the “I want.” Celebrating success can motivate your students or teammates and engage them in their work.

Keep it simple, and keep it fun. The rest will follow.

What are your suggestions for celebrating success?

NGU

Morning Work

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:21:07 -0400

Morning Work:

teacher-woman:

teachersintiaras:

Morning work or bell work is an excellent way to keep your class room in order during the early morning. Have the problems on the board or a worksheet on each desk for the students to complete as they come into the room. Try these for each day of the week:

Math Monday- put 5 math review problems on the board, give a pretest for new skill

Talk it Over Tuesday- write famous, interesting quotes on the board for students to edit, allow the students to talk in small groups about a story worksheet

Wacky Word Wall Wednesday- put 3 of the word wall words in sentences, write definitions for 4 word wall words, create a sentence using as many word wall words as possible

Think it Through Thursday- write a thought-provoking question on the board for the students to answer, write two riddles on the board for the students to solve

Fun Friday- allow the students to complete a fun word search, crossword, Sudoku, or a fun activity of their choice!

I like ‘number of the day’ too.

This is just fantastic!

The Power of a Positive Note When was the last time you wrote...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:32:54 -0500

The Power of a Positive Note

When was the last time you wrote someone a thank you card or a positive note? Within the last week is an answer that will earn you BIG, BIG points.

Whether it is for a colleague, someone on your team, a friend or a student, it always feels great to receive a positive note. Yes, emails are nice too, AND, there is just something about a handwritten note that someone takes the time to write. I see people keep notes in their office and on their boards. What does that say about the power of a positive note?

Think about a person in your life you want to motivate. Would a positive note do some good? I bet it would.

Here are a couple of strategies to help you with positive note writing:

1. Carry around the cards in your bag. They don’t need to be super nice, just functional.
2. For students, use what you have. Put a sticky note on a handout. Write in their planner so their parents can see it. Use their names with an adjective that starts with the same letter.
3. Pick a day of the week that you will write at least one note to a deserving individual.
4. Start a meeting with a do first of writing positive notes. Engage your team!
5. If you don’t have a card, take the time to say thank you. Sincerely. With honesty. And with genuine appreciation for the individual.

Who will you thank?

NGU

Photo

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:07:48 -0500

Learning Tour in NOLA

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:06:28 -0500

Will be blogging from New Orleans today. On a Learning Tour of some leading edge schools and programs.

Photo

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:24:47 -0500

Teaching Takes Courage

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:48:00 -0500

I saw this great image today from www.workisnotajob.com. They put together some great stuff. Today’s image was just perfect for teaching… “Take Courage” against a chalkboard.

Why does teaching take so much courage?

I’ll share my thoughts and hope to hear yours.

1. Teaching takes courage because kids can break your heart. I cannot tell you how many times I cried over my kids. I cried when they cried because they were going through something tragic. I cried on my way home after I learned that they had made an insanely poor choice. I cried after expulsions in my classroom. And, each time, I had to pick myself up, move forward and refuse to give up. The connection between a teacher who truly cares, truly gives, and a student can be a bond that has lasting power. When the days come, and they will, that you are disappointed, hurt, upset and confused, those are the days you need courage to move on.

2. Teaching takes courage because you can be vulnerable to criticism and ridicule. You may read this and wonder what I mean. Well, I mean that kids can be cruel (without always knowing how words can impact). The worst part about it is that all former teachers were once former students that most likely said something mean about one of their teachers. I know I did. I’m not at all proud of it. I can still remember a day my first year teaching that I arrived at school looking less than my best self. I had been up until all hours of the night grading and prepping (most likely on the formatting or look of something). Walking into school, I can still hear C (names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent) say, “Wow, Ms. Garcia, BAAAAAAD hair day! And are you sick? You look sick. Why did you come if you were sick?” Jaw. Dropped. I can’t even remember how I responded. Or if I did. Note: this is the mildest of the stories I have. Everyday, you have to get up in front of a bunch of kids, no matter what age, and put yourself out there. Some people can say that they don’t care if a random tween says something rude or mean. Good for them; maybe they became immune after awhile.

3. Finally, teaching takes courage because it is hard work with a lot on the line. If you can’t take pressure, do not become a teacher. There is SO much pressure and to be able to handle it takes more courage than most professions. I’m not solely referring to achievement tests, while that is a huge component of accountability. I’m talking about a YEAR’S worth of learning that YOU are responsible for in a GROUP of CHILDREN. Those kids belong to someone. They are PEOPLE, with dreams and possibility. A teacher can either create possibility, or give their kids just another barrier to overcome. A reading teacher, for example, is responsible for growing kids as readers. How well a student reads can determine how well they do in other subjects that require, that’s right, READING. This may sound very simplistic, but I’ve been in this game for a decade now and the damage that one lost year of instruction in a core content area can have creates significant repercussions for kids. When you layer low income students who are already behind on top of that, the consequences are even more dire. With so much on the line, who better than the very courageous to accept the charge.

What takes courage in your work?
(Just getting out of bed is not an acceptable answer). :)

NGU

Teaching Mindsets Post 1 - It's not about you, it's about them.

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:04:05 -0500

Great teaching is about great mindsets. If you believe it, you will achieve it. Yes, that last line is cheesy AND it is true. So much about what we do in our life is a direct manifestation of WHAT we think and HOW we think.

Teaching Mindset 1 - It’s not about you, it’s about them. Them being the students.

As you sit down to plan, answer these questions of yourself to ensure this lesson is about your kids and not about you.

1. Who will be MOST engaged in this lesson? (If you are going to talk more, think more, explain more, engage more - the answer is you.)

2. Who will OWN the learning & DO the work? (If the students will have a chance to process, produce, and perform, THEY are doing the work. SCORE.)

3. Am I risking control in this lesson? (Hard one. As the instructional leader, you should always maintain control. I’m talking about controlling the space and the voice. Are the kids getting in the driver’s seat in this lesson?)

During the lesson, pay close attention to the following:

1. Talking for long, extended periods of time. Determine how many minutes you will talk before you feel like it’s time to let the students have a little bit of airtime. For me, it was 5 minutes. If I went OVER 5 minutes, I knew it was time to get the voices going.

2. Passive learning. Are the kids passive learners in the classroom or are they active? Active means they are doing something (copying does not count). What counts? Thinking, talking, acting, reading, writing, moving, grooving.

After the lesson, ask yourself the questions above, but in past tense. Reflect and react for the next class.

And, in case you ever really want some good data, ask the kids. Who talks more in this class about what we are learning, me or you? Watch their reactions closely. You might be surprised.

It’s not about me, it’s about you. What do you want to see on the blog?

NGU