Well, the 6th week of school is under out belts. All of our 2nd-8th grade students have completed their MAP Tests in Reading and Math, and we will finish with science next week. Residents, you should know this data about your students. For those of you who teach math or writing only, make sure you know their MAP scores from reading. We expect all teachers to be reading teachers so that data is crucial to your planning.
Shout Outs
- To Stacy Barrett: Wow! What a smooth, Tight Transition leading your 6th graders from specials to the 4th floor on Thursday morning. Stacy used nonverbals/sign language effectively. The students were so quiet Ms. Jones did not even hear them until they were right behind her. Keep it up!
- To Jasmine Floyd: Another model of Tight Transitions! Your crisp, clear directives and voice of a "no nonsense nurturer" made the transition from the classroom to the cafe on Thursday quick and orderly. Again, keep it up :)
- To Megan Stewart: Having students Cold Call each other during a whole class discussion gave them ownership over the discussion. Nice!
Domain 1/Planning and Preparation
- During the planning process, it is imperative that you write clear lesson objectives that articulate what students should know and be able to do at the end of your instruction. This goes for mini-lessons, differentiated math/reading groups, read alouds, etc. If you are not clear about what students should learn/know/be able to do, you will not communicate it clearly and your students will be unsure of what you are doing with their time.
Domain 2/Classroom Environment
What to Do
As a teacher it is critical that your keep your emotions in check (see Lemov "Emotional Constancy"). When your emotions are not in check you get frustrated and often fall into nagging students. For example, a teacher who does not have their emotions in check and is frustrated may say, "You are in 5th grade and you are lining up like kindergarteners!" This does nothing to get students on the right track. What the students do need is a calm, firm teacher to name the desired behavior by using What to Do. Here are two other examples to illustrate this:
NO: Why are you moving before you've heard directions? YES: Stop. Wait to hear the directions.
NO: Why aren't you lined up yet? YES: Everyone walk to their line and face forward.
Mentors, you can help with this by bringing your residents' attention to their language by scripting, using audio record, or video
capture. Have your residents think about the messages their verbal and nonverbal communication sends. Then, have them
determine more suitable word choice if necessary.
I have a wonderful book titled "The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language that Helps Children Learn" by Paula Denton. It is
all about the teacher's words and tone of voice. Please see me if you want to borrow it. Language (verbal and nonverbal) is one
the most important teaching tools, if not the most. Use it wisely!
Tight Transitions
Part of what made Stacy and Jasmine's hallway transitions so effective was that they hardly spoke to students. You might be thinking, "Wait Kamm, with BMC you taught us to narrate. If I am going to narrate I am going to talk." So, let me unpack a bit more what made their transitions so effective and why they did not need to verbally narrate.
1) They used nonverbal cues/signals to communicate with students. Students knew what these nonverbal cues meant.
2) When they did talk it was to give students a quick, firm, calm directive.
3) There was no overt praise, just a thumbs up or a "Well, done 404. We made our goal time."
Remember we want to contribute to the hallway being a level 0 space. Part of that means we need to be as silent as possible in our communication with students. So, as we move forward into week 7, check to see that you:
- Have a goal time for each transition that has been communicated with students. Create an incentive if needed.
- Use a timer for transitions to collect data towards the goal time. Again, communicate this with students.
- Use your ipod to capture the audio so your mentor can hear your words with students.
- Determine what the nonverbal signals are you will use with students and make sure they know them.
Positive Narration
I am seeing more use of positive narration, but we are not there yet. J-Factor and Positive Framing-read each of these in TLAC and ask yourself these questions: What is my plan for better utilizing Positive Framing? In what ways can I incorporate J-Factor into my instruction and interaction with students? Also, check out the video clip of Ms. Austin form the TLAC DVD. She illustrates this well.
Domain 3/Instruction
Think Time
With giving think time, you want to do some work to make it more likely that everyone in fact is going to be thinking about your question or prompt. So, instead of saying "Can someone raise their hand and tell me what to do next" and give think time, try "Everyone think about what to do next" and give think time. It is a small tweak, but again communicates a firmer expectation that everyone is expected to think.
Domain 4/Professional Responsibilities
True Grit
This week I have been obsessed with the word "grit" thanks in part to this article by Paul Tough in the New York Times (a must read about how the KIPP schools develop grit in their students: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=1). So, KIPP has created a report card that assesses students character (you can see it at the article-I'm kind of obsessed with it). One of the traits they assess is grit. Students who demonstrate grit:
- Finish whatever she or he begins
- Try very hard even after experiencing failure
- Work independently with focus
This got me thinking about the importance of teachers having grit, especially those who are effective in high need schools. Grit to me means working though the failures, having a strong sense of urgency about getting it right, and not settling for mediocrity in ourselves or our students. What does having grit mean to you?
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