Earlier this week, I worked with members of my school leadership team to plan the initial inservice days of school. Now, inservice has a connotation for teachers that is mostly unpleasant. As we flood into school those first days, the complaints abound, as we discuss our summers, about how we would rather be in our classrooms. I only complain a …
Increasing Group Participation
Increasing group participation is probably the most common task of a teacher in running groups. Perhaps the most important aspect of equalizing members of a group is to change what Elizabeth Cohen referred to in her research as “expectations”. This refers to the expectations of generally higher achieving students of lower achieving students and also (maybe even more importantly) the …
Thoughtful Group Roles
Getting to know students is probably the single most important thing a teacher does. With this information, teaching and learning can go to heights unattainable without it. If you know the interest, learning styles and experiences of your students, you can tailor their learning opportunities in a way that just can’t be done without this kind of information. Roles are …
Classroom Management and Group Work
Another key component of group work that can narrow the achievement gap is connecting your classroom management to the common core standards. As I outlined in the post ClassDojo and the Common Core, the common core standards can easily be broken down into specific behaviors which can then be taught, monitored, reinforced and ultimately become part of the classroom expectations. …
Creating Equity Through Groups
As we implement the common core standards, attempting to use them to promote equity in classrooms, well designed group work is imperative. One of the major pitfalls of group work is putting kids in groups just for the sake of putting kids in groups. The first thing to consider is whether a task is even group-worthy at all. I first …
Common core standards: an opportunity for equity
I know there is a lot of controversy about the implementation of the common core as there always is about new initiatives. Whether I agree or not, I always try to embrace new initiatives in a way that doesn’t compromise my philosophy of teaching and learning. What else can you do? The options are to complain and fight each initiative …
Back to School Planning for the First Month
One of the biggest mistakes teachers make when they land their first job is that they spend their summers planning for the curriculum that they are passionate about teaching. I love this quote by Eric Jensen that illustrates this mistake well. So, in the first weeks of school, focus on developing a solid culture of learning in your classroom. Make …
Defining “Smart”
What does it mean to be “smart”? I began my educational experience in a Montessori program where student voice, choice and individual learning pace was valued. When I was in third grade, I moved to a public school setting. Initially excited to finally be in a “normal” school, I quickly realized that I might not be “normal”. During these early …
Pitfalls of Running Groups
Pitfalls of running groups Teachers and students alike have experienced unproductive groups and so they are reluctant to run groups. The reality is that groups are likely to fail unless they are structured to be productive. Below are some common pitfalls of running groups and solutions to those problems. 1. No positive interdependence structured There must be a common group …
ClassDojo and The Common Core
As a high school special educator, I have had the opportunity to work with English and math teachers using ClassDojo to teach and reinforce the common core standards. ClassDojo has been gaining popularity as a classroom management tool, but its uses go beyond simple tracking of behaviors for the sake of classroom management. As we implement the common core standards, …