How to be an effective teacher: the first days of school

• Author:
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry K Wong Pubn; Revised edition (1 November 1997)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 338 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0962936022
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0962936029

Pg 9

The Three Characteristics of an Effective Teacher

1. Has postivie expectations for student success.
2. Is an extrememly good classroom manager.
3. Knows how to design lessons for student mastery.

pg 10

Positive Expectations

Positive Expectations, sometimes called high expectations, should not be confused with high standards. Having positive expectations simply means that the teacher believes in the learner and that the learner can learn.

Classroom Management

Classroom management consists of practices and procedures that a teacher uses to maintain an environment in which instruction and learning can occur. For this to happen, the teacher must have a well-ordered environment.

Discipline has very little to do with classroom management. You don’t disciple a store; you manage it. The same is true of a classroom.

The teacher must establish a productive and cooperative working environment. The effectiveness of such an environment is the result of how well the teacher manages that classroom.

pg 11

Lesson Mastery

Mastery is the student’s demonstration that a concept has been comprehended or a skill can be performed at a level of proficiency determined by the teacher.

To teach for mastery, an effective teacher must do two things:

1. Know how to design lessons in which a strudent will elarn a concept or a skill.
2. Know how to evaluate the learning to determine if the student has mastered the concept or the skill.

Pg 25

Some people can give thousands of reasons why they CANNOT succeed at something when al they need is one reason why they CAN succeed.

If you do not take responsibility for yourself, no one else will.

Pg 27

The Research Process

Research is the process of critical thinking and problem solving. It is the ability that sets humans apart from all other living things. Research is simply the use of the human mind to search for and seek answers or, as some would say, to search for the “truth.”

Research is what a person does to find answers.

The research process

• Problem: What do I want to know?
• Prediction: What do I think is the right answer?
• Procedure: How will I solve the problem?
• Data: What will I look for?
• Conclusion: What do the results tell me?

pg 28

Ineffective teachers talk more about the programs or fads they are using, whereas effective teachers talk more about the achievement of their students. Always remember, student achievement and success are why teachers teach.

pg 29

When should you ask questions during a video?

… He briefed the group on the video to be shown and then showed the … video. … during the video, he stopped the tape frequently. During each stop he asked questions and held class discussion. He then gave … them a test.

John P. Richards (1976) found that if you want a student to achieve high-level comprehension, you should interspace the questions throughout the text.

Pg 31

Research on Improving Student Achievement

Aligned Time on Task: Students who are actively focused on educational goals do best in mastering the subject matter.

• Research findings: More than 130 studies support the ovvious: the more students study, the more they learn! Time alone, however, does not suffice. The lesson criteria, learning activieis and tests must be matched and emphasiezed.

Cooperative Learning: Students in small, self-instructing groups can support and increase one another’s learning.

• Research findings: More than 50 studies state that increased academic achievement is greater when there is frequent exchange among teachers and students. In addition, students learn teamwork skills that are essential in the workplace. Cooperative learning, however, should be only one of many different practicies used by a teacher.

Extensive Reading: Extensive reading of material of many kinds, both in school and outside, results in substantial growth in the vocabulary, comprehension abilities, and information base of students.

• Research findings: Cognitive abilities, such as comprehension and vocabulary, are enhanced with an increase in time spent reading, inside and outside of school Studies show, however, that children spend no more than a few minutes a day reading on either assigned or independent reading. School resources need to be provided for materials and large blocks of time for students to read.

Wait time: Pausing after asking a question in the classroom results in an increase in achievement.

• Research findings: Students are given less than one second to respond to a question. Increasing wait time from three to seven seconds, accompanied by a high-order question, results in students responding with more thoughtful answers and an increase in science achievement.

Based on Gordon Cawlti (ed.) handbook of research on improving student achievement. (2003). Arlington, Va.: Educational Research Service.

Pg 36

Positive Expectations	Negative Expectations
An optimistic belief that whoever you teach or whatever you do will result in success or achievement. If you expect to be successful, you are constantly alert and aware of opportunities to help you be successful.	A pessimistic belief that whoever you teach or whatever you do will not work out or will fail. For that matter, why bother to do anything or teach anyone at all? If you expect to fail, you are constantly looking for justification, proof, and demonstration of why you have failed.
Examples of Positive Expectations	Examples of Negative Expectations
– What we achieve comes from how we work together	– I’m satisfied with how I teach, as it is.
– I believe that every child can learn and will achieve to his or her fullest potential.	– These kids just don’t want to learn.
– I am a good teacher, and I am proud that I am a professional educator.	– They can’t read; they can’t spell; they can’t sit still; they can’t behave
– I am always learning, and that is why I enjoy going to conferences, workshops, and in-services meetings.	– In-services meetings are boring; conferences have nothing to offer to me.
Results of Positive Expectations	Results of Negative Expectations
The odds are greater than what you want to happen will happen because you will be expending energy to see that this will be so. You predispose yourself to realize success both personally and with the people you deal with, such as your students.	The odds are that what you expect to happen will not happen because you will be expending energy to see that nothing happens. You predispose yourself to realize failure both personally and with the people you deal with, such as your students.

Pg 44

Pg 46

The successful education of young people is an interrelated, community team effort.

pg 47

How to Welcome them to school

• Organize a First Day of School celebration
• Stand at the bus stop and welcome them on the First Day of School. Wave and smile like it’s Aunt Mabel whom you have not seen in 14 years and her airplan has just pulled up to the jetway.
• Stand at the front entrances of the school. Have at least one greeter at every entrance so that that no one will fail to receive a warm, friendly welcome.
• Bring out the school band to play at the curb or near the entrance. If you don’t have a band, have a group of students and teacher assembled to bring a welcome smile on the First Day of School
• Hand up a computer-generate banner welcoming students to school
• Distribute a school newspaper extolling the virtues of the school and the wonderful school spiriti of the teachers and the students
• have guides in the all. Hand up directional signs to help students get to their classrooms
• Have you name and room number clearnly visible on the classroom door along with your personal greeting of welcome
• Let the first message spoken over the public address system be one of welcome and positive expectations for the school year.

Pg 51

you are treated as you are dressed

Effective teachers know that the clothes they wear and the smile that dresses their face are the first things the students see as they are greeted at the door.

Pg 54

Every time you act, you validate who you are.

pg 55

Research reveals that the clothing worn by teachers affects the work, attitude, and discipline of students. You dress for four main effects:

1. Respect
2. Credibilty
3. Acceptance
4. Authority

… students see how their parents go to their jobs each day and make comparisons between their parents and their teachers.

Classroom Management

Pg 84

Nothing will send kids into orbit faster than letting them suspect that their teacher is disorganized.

…the most important thing a teacher can provide in the classroom during the first week of school is CONSISTENCY. Classroom practice’s and procedures must be predictable and consistent.

pg 87

Characteristics	Effective Teacher	Ineffective Teacher
1. High level of student involvement with work	Students are working	Teacher is working
Clear student expectations	Students know the assignments are based on objectives. Students know that the tests are based on objectives	Teacher says “Read Chapter 3 and know the material” “I’ll give you a test covering everything in Chapter 3”
Relatively little wasted time, confusion, or disruption	Teacher has procedures and routines. Teacher starts class immediately. Teacher has assignments posted	Teacher makes up rules and punishes according to his or her mood. Teacher takes roll and dallies Students ask for assignments repeatedly.
Work-oriented but relaxed and pleasant climated	Teacher has invested time in practicing procedures until they become routines. Teacher knows how to bring class to attention. Teacher knows how to praise the deed and encourage the student	Teacher tell but does not rehearse procedures Teacher yells and flicks light switch Teacher uses generalized praise or none at all.

Pg 88

A well-managed classroom is a task-orientated environment where students know what is expected of them and how to succeed.

pg 94

Before you move a single desk…

1. A cliemate of work is what you want to establish during the first week of school
2. The first week of school should stress large group organizations and student procedures
3. Spend your time on classroom management of student procedures rather than making your classsroom look like a showcase. A few bare but clean bulletin boards, shelves, and flowerpots won’t distrub anyone.
4. Don’t overarrange or overdecorate your room for the opening of school
5. your room should be neat and pleasant, but don’t spend time making it the ultimate room you want by Back-to-School night
6. Don’t bother having the learning center, classroom library, or resources center complete (You don’t need a learning center on the first day of school. Wait a week or so after the students have the classroom rules and procedures and routines down pat before you allow them to work at the learning center.)

Pg 96

Prepare the work area

• arrange work areas and desks so that you can easily see and monitor all the students and areas no matter were you are in the room
• students houldbe able to see you as well as frequently used chalboards, bulletin boards, sceeens, domonstration areas, and displays
• Keep traffic areas clear. allow enough clearnce to move up and down and around the last seat in the row
• keep access to sotrage areas, bookcases, cabinets, and doors clear
• learn the regulations regarding fire, eathquakes, tornadoes, hurricans and other natureal disasters, and have the classroom ready for such emergencies
• Make sure that ou have enough chairs for the work areas
• be sure that you have all the necessary materials for your work areas, such as books, laboratory supplies, medial, activity cards, tools, and instruments
• Use tote trays, boes, coffee cans, dishpans, or whever you to store the materials students will need. Arrange your room for these to be readyily accessible to the students

Prepare the student area

save yourself many headache.! plan areas for student’s belongs now. provide space for the binders, backpacks, books, lunchboxes, umbrellas, shows, show and tell them items, lost and found items, skateboards, and projects. .

Pg 109

You greatly increase the probability that shcool will start successfully for both you and your students when these four points are true:

1. you have your room ready
2. you are at the door
3. you have assignmed steas
4. you have the first assignment ready

What you do on the first day may well determine how much respect and ssucecss you will have for the rest of the school year.

how students are to enter the room

Ask any student who enters the room inapproprately to return to the door and enter appropriately. You do not send the student out of the room but rather to dht edoor. You do nkow want to send anyone “out of the room” in the very first minute, as “out of the room” has a negative connotation.

Do not make dubious remarks like these:

• try coming in again correctly
• we walk into this room like ladies and gentlement
• you walk in properly, understand

Rather, calmly but firmly, do the following:

1. as the student to return to the door
2. tell the student why
3. give directions for correctly entering the room
4. check for understanding
5. acknowledge the understanding

Pg 114

Succeeding with your first request

• Is present in the room or at the door when the students arrive
• assigns seating to everyone upon entering the room
• has an assignment ready for the stduents on each desk

…if the students feel wanted, they will be more likely to accede to your directions and requests.

Pg 123

Are we doing anything today?

The ineffective teacher keeps the assignment a mystery ntil it is announced, and it may be announced in different ways and posted in different places each day.

The textbook is not the curriculum. Having students fill in worksheets to keep them busy and quiet is not the curriculum. Teachers who have no curriculum follow the text book, page by page, cover to cover, and look for busy work for the students.

pg 127

The results of ineffective roll taking

1. The drill sergeant or camp conselor

These people ask the class to answer by signifying “present” when their names are called. This is what actually happens.

• present
• present
• present
• here (several students look at kenny for his cute, unauthorized answer. the teacher blithely continues, dispite the inappropriate answer)
• present
• present
• yeap (more sttudents now look at tanya, some given her positive signals for her inappropriate answer. but the teacher just goes on. and the class noise level is now higher)
• present
• present
• yo (the whole class breaks up. but the teacher, glancing up for a second, goes right on)

The students quickly learn that the teacher does not mean what is said. Worse yet, the teacher does nothing when inappropriate behaviour occurs.

The outcomes of ineffective roll taking

• each time the class yells out a response, the the noise level gets highter
• confrontation builds up between the class and the teacher as to whether or not a student is absent
• valuable minutes are wasted
• many students sit their bored while precious study time is wasted on a bookkeeping chore that really does not concern the class.

the old way of taking roll that you say your teachers use 10 to 15 years ago is really quite inefficent. the effective teacher is constantly evaluating how the teachig process can be improved.

pg 131

three ways to take roll efficiently and effectively

1. look at your class and refer to your seating chart. Mark whoever is absent
2. Have folders or something personal in a box at the door. When the students come in , they are to take their folders, go to their seats, and get to work on the posted assignment. After the students are at work, you look in the box. you see three folders left, note the names, and mark thse students absent.
3. have each students name on a clothespint.

Regardless of which method you use to take the roll, you should take roll quickly and quietly without disturbing the class. there is no need to involve the class in the roll-taking process.

Pg 155

Do not stop instruction when giving out a consquence

when you see a violation of one of the rules, immediately give out the penalty

give out the penalty quietly as you continue with the lesson or classwork

Chalkboard – do not stop the lecture, discussion, or movie. just go to the designated area on the chalkboard and write the student’s name or place a check after the student’s name.

you may need to take few seconds at the end of the period or day to remind those students of their pentatly

failure to work off the penalty automatically moves the student up to the next level of the consequences or doubles the penalty.

2. transparency. this is similar to the chalkboard method except an overhead projector is used.

3. ticket. you may feel that putting a student’s name on the board is too embarrassing. consider another method, such as handing out a yellow card, as is done in soccer when a penalty is called

pg 167

A vast majority of the behavior problems in the classroom are caused by the failure of students to follow procedures and routines. There are three main reasons why students do not follow procesdures:

1. the teachers has not thought out what happens in teh classroom
2. the stduents have not been trained to follow the procedures
3. the teacher spends no time managing the classroom.

thus the students do not know the procedures. and obviously, students cannot follow procedures they do not know.

Pg 167

Classroom management should not be equated with disciple. … procedures are not found in a discipline, plan; not should a procedure be a threat, a rule, or an order. a procedure is simply a method or process for getting things done in the classroom.

Procedures are routines are different from a discipline plan.

• Discipline concerns how students behave
• procedures concern how things are done
• discipline has penalities and rewards
• procedures have no penalties or rewards

A rule is a dare to be broken, whereas a procedure is not. A procedure is a DO, a step to be learned.

pg 170

Procedure: What the teacher wants done.

Routine: what the students do automatically

Students are less likely to act up in frustration, trying to figure out what the teacher wants, if the classroom procedures are clearly stated.

Classroom procedures answer such qeustions as:

• what to d when the bell rings
• what to do when a pencil breaks
• what to do when you hear an emergency alert signal
• what to do when you finish your work early
• what to do when you have a question
• what to do when you need to go to the restroom

Tell your students that classroom procedures are there for their benefit. Following procedures will help them do their work with less confusion and thus help them success. Knowledge of classroom procedures tells your students such things as these:

• how to enter the classroom
• what to do whe they enter the classroom
• where to find the assignment
• what to do when you want their attention
• how a paper is to be done
• where you want the paper placed
• what to do if they want to sharpen a pencil
• where to find assignments if they have been absent
• what to do at dismissal of class

pg 174

The three-step approach to teaching classroom procedures

Most behaviour problems in the classroom are caused by the teacher’s failure to teacher’s failure to teach students how to follow procedures.

The three steps to teaching procedures

1. Explain: State, explain, model, and demonstrate the procedure.
2. Rehearse. Rehearse and practice the procedure under your supervision.
3. Reinforce. Reteach, rehearse, practice and reinforce the classroom procedure until it becomes a student habit or routine.

Explain: … know what activities need to be done and have worked out the procedures for each of them. … teach the procedures verbally…

It is essential that you have the procedures for each opening-of-school activity ready on the first day of school. Revise and hone these procedures year after year until they become models of efficiency.

Rehearse classroom procedures until they become routines … spend a good deal fo time during the first weeks of school introducing, teaching, modeling, and rehearsing procedures. Do not expect the students to learn all the procedures in one day… behaviours must be taught, modeled, practiced, monitored, and retaught.

Pg 177

Procedures for Dismissal at the end of the period or day

You will want to explain the criteria for dismissal, such as how clean you want the desk or work area and where and how you want the chairs and equipment to be positioned. Show and demonstrate this procedure. Have several students (never one, as it makes a show-off example of one) demonstrate the procedure. Praise each so that the students know that you are validating the correct procedure.

One the first day of school, remind the class of the dismissal procedure a few seconds before the bell rings at the end of the period or day. This will reduce the hassle of correcting the class; hoevwer if any students begin to leave at the bell, you simple say:

no, no, no. Tom, joel, anne, please return to your desks.

Do not scold, yell, or demean. And do not use meaningless phrases or questions like “listen to me” or “what did I say the dismissal procedure was?” You do not want a discussion, an argument, or a response. you want all students at their desks. Calmly , be in a voice of authority, tell the students who began to leave to return to their desks.

Reinforce

Every time a procedure needs to be corrected:

1. REMINDED the class of the procedure.
2. have the class EXPERIENCE the procedure.
3. … have the students see, feel, and experience each procedure. The students see all the others remaining in their seats and experience the procedure correctly.

Procedure for Quieting a class

Explain

Students I have a procedure when I want your undivided attention. you will see me stand here with my hand up. Or I may tap a bell because some of you will not be able to see my hand while you are working in a group. When you see my hand or hear a bell, the procedure is as follows:

1. Freeze
2. Turn and face me; pay attention and keep your eyes on me
3. Be ready for instruction. I will have soemthing to say.

Let me repeat and demonstrate what I said.

Repeat and look for class understanding

Byron, please tell me the procedure when you see my hand or hear a bell.

Byron does so.

Yes, yes, yes. thank you byron

Repeat this with several more students.

Is there anyone who does not understand or know what to do if you see my hand or hear a bell?

Rehearse

Good, let’s rehearse the procedure. We will be working together this year, so let’s get to know one another. Please look at the person to the right of you. You may have two minutes to introduce yourself and get acquainted.

Procedures for

• students seeking help
• movement of paper (handing out worksheets etc)

Pg 217

The most important words to use in an assignment

To teach for accomplishment, you must have a series of sentence that clearly and precisely state what is to be accomplished. These sentences are called OBJECTIVES or LEARNING CRITERIA.

Each sentence must begin with a verb that states the action to be taken to show accomplishment.

blooms taxonomy:

1. Knowledge
2. Comprehension
3. Application
4. Analysis
5. Syntheis
6. Evaluation