Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The First Day



The important thing is not so much
that every child should be taught,
as that every child should be given the wish to learn.
John Lubbock

 
 
 Today has been a day full of educational endeavors for me.  I began my morning with some personal reading on brain research; spent the  bulk of the day at a math in-service; and have now capped off my evening with a wonderful webcast on what to do on the first day of school, beyond the first hour.  Never have I been as excited for school to begin as I am now, and this after twenty years.

The major objective of day one should be to teach Rule 1, follow directions quickly.  It should be weaved throughout the rest of your instruction as you learn names, complete required first day, school to-do's, and just plain have fun with your kids.  If I can accomplish this one rule of following directions quickly, then I will have saved myself an incredible amount of time and effort often lost on procedural learning.  I love the idea of completing all other tasks by practicing Rule 1. 
 
 
 
As I mentioned the other day, I will have several different classes coming and going throughout the day.  I will be teaching math to two different classes, an RTI class, and a science class with students from rooms other than my own.  I plan to really focus on Rule 1 and then will have to let the students dictate the pace by how well they are grasping the process. 

For me, I would like to have a list of the items to be introduced and move through it as I deem necessary.  I wouldn't share the list with students,  nor would I have too much on the walls to give away what we will be learning.  I am of the mindset that anything placed on the wall or bulletin boards should be done with students to reinforce learning.  Therefore, after we learn Rule 1, I will place a poster or sign on the wall with them as a reminder and will do this for all of the pieces I introduce.  It makes for a boring classroom in the beginning but gives meaning to the information on the wall.

The big question that I haven't decided how to answer is about all the fun, cutsie, getting-to-know-you activities I have done in the past.  I can't decide if they are necessary.  In many ways, we will be creating community through the wbt process.  Do I need to do additional activities or can I move into curicular content? I would love the opportunity to get going with teaching the oh so large amount of material required.  I know that a safe, fun learning environment is incredibly important; but I also feel that introducing wbt might satisfy those objectives and allow me to really start teaching specific content earlier than ever before. 
I feel that I am going to just have to walk through it this year and trust my experience to gage when students (not to mention me) are ready to progress.  Here is my ordered list of wbt concepts I will introduce:
  1. Class - Yes
  2. Rule 1:  Follow directions quickly
  3. Scoreboard - mighty groan - mighty oh yea
  4. Student names
  5. Mirror (silent)
  6. Teach - Okay
  7. Practice handing out papers - three/peat
  8. Practice lining up - three/peat
  9. Practice opening books
  10. Hands and Eyes
  11. Rule 2:  Raise your hand for permission to speak
  12. Rule 3:  Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat
  13. Rule 4:  Make smart choices
  14. Rule 5:  Make your dear teacher happy
  15. How we answer questions
  16. Oral writing - what is a sentence

Countdown:  16 days to FDoS

Bells

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The First Hour

A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise shall give him no peace. ..................................... Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I believe all teachers have a similar before school process.  We are excited by the idea of our new students and anxious to meet them.  We clean and ready our rooms.  We spend hours sitting in meetings learning the newest teaching methodologies to use and the new administrative duties required for the year.  We feel ready!  We head home feeling exhausted, yet excited for the first day of school.  As we tuck in our own children and climb into bed, the reality hits.... "What will I teach those kids tomorrow?" 

I know I'm not alone in feeling that I prepare and prepare and somehow the most important aspect of the first day of school gets pushed aside.  Not this year thanks to Chris Biffle and WBT.  I just watched my first webinar with Chris and loved the topic of the first hour. It is where we set the stage for the entire school year and I've never felt that I did that first hour justice.

I always want student's first impression of me and my classroom to be positive and safe.  I have done the bioglyphs, getting to know you games, building classroom projects and any other number of first day activities.  I've never started teaching in the first hour until now.

Coach Biffle suggests starting outside of your classroom to greet students and introduce yourself.  Make sure you let kids know you are happy they are there and more importantly how happy you are to be there too.  Nobody wants the teacher who is not excited about the first day of school.

Seat kids quickly.  They do not need to be in their permanent locations.  Begin right away with, "class-yes." Practice the most basic of WBT strategies with different voices and rythyms.  Make this a fun and yet powerful experience for you and the class.  Within minutes, you have their attention and they are waiting for you to show them the road that you will travel together.

Introduce rule one, follow directions quickly, to the class.  Practice saying, "rule one," while students respond, "follow directions quickly."  Show the hand movements which are  both hands in the air moving back and forth.  Have students repeat this in a variety of ways.  Practice them following directions quickly.

Next, introduce the scoreboard.  Teach students the mighty groan and the mighty oh yea.  I'm so excited to teach students how to groan.  They want to do it and now I will be giving them the opportunity to, but within my boundaries.  Practice the class-yes response, and rule one, using the scoreboard. 

I will have to go through this process three times.  I will have a second math class and then a separate science class with different students, as we are departmentalizing this year.  I will also need to integrate the discussion of our pbs behavior matrix and how students are expected to act in all areas of the school. It seems tedious and boring for students but it is required.  I will try to have that discussion using the wbt three step lesson delivery model to make the process relevant.

It feels fabulous to know I have the first day planned before the meetings, before the room is set up and before I have set foot in the building.  It may really be a whole new kind of year.

22 days to FDS (first day of school),

Bells








 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Frustration, Learning and Kids - Red Tape

After returning home from my amazing two-day, Whole Brain Teaching conference, I began wondering if I could get professional development credit for it.  After all, it was sponsored by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary education and they notified me saying that they had verified my attendance and had a certificate of attendance ready for me. 

My district has cracked down on what they are willing to accept for professional development (pd) credit but due to all the reasons already mentioned, I thought it was worth a try to ask the powers that be; after all it was two full days of my summer. 

I was told that since I had not made the request beforehand, that I could not receive in-service hours for the conference.  I'm not that upset since I went for myself and to further my own learning.  I had no problem paying for my own hotel, buying gas for the car and food to eat.  What upsets me is because I did not follow protocol, or the rules that I was unaware of that it somehow lessens my experience in that my professional community (school district) doesn't recognize it. 

Even that doesn't really bother me but it made me wonder about my students and their learning.  Do we, as teachers, recognize their learning even if it doesn't fall within our predetermined procedures.  Further, are they truly aware of the procedures they need to follow? 

I would love to hear your thoughts. 

Thoughtfully,
Bells

Thursday, July 19, 2012

WBT Conference

I'm home from my visit to Union, MO. where I attended my first Whole Brain Teaching (WBT)conference.  It's late and I'm still up as I imagine many fellow conference attendees to be.  I'm sitting in the dark with my laptop keeping me warm while my brain is trying to remember, organize and file all it learned in the past two days.  It was an intense conference which has left me exhausted, excited and even somewhat intimidated.  

The conference began with over 600 participants gathering in the small town of Union, Missouri.  A teacher friend and myself left bright and early Tuesday morning and drove the two-plus hours it took to get there with great hope in our hearts.  I am always hopeful of finding the key to teaching, the piece that will allow me to reach each child and manage every behavior.  Even after 20 years of educating children, I am still thrilled to improve my craft and welcome new ideas.

I'm not sure that all of the material presented was new.  We have been talking about the brain for quite awhile now and are aware of the fact that we need to modify how we teach to reach certain students and that not all children will learn with one stylistic approach.  However, even with this knowledge, most educators have been unable to really overhaul their method of delivery. 

Enter Chris Biffle, his alter ego, Coach B. and WBT.  As a psychology instructor, Chris found himself using lecture as a primary mode of information delivery; which was ineffective for most of his students.  After some realization, reflection and research, he devised the Whole Brain Teaching method of management and instruction.  This method activates all the primary regions of your brain, assisting student learning by making the input and retrieval of  information easier to manage.  It's the type of instruction that children deserve.  Instruction that works for all students and not  just the few. 

I mentioned that the conference was intense and it's true.  Coach B. is energetic and loud.  He speaks firmly and with passion.   He gets your attention and keeps it... for hours.  He demonstrates rather than explains what Whole Brain Teaching is comprised of and requires that all teachers participate in the learning process.  He was able to show us what we should expect from our students by the expectations he set for us.  I won't lie... he intimidated me a at first.  The intimidation I felt though diminished quickly as I was inspired by Mr. Biffle.  He showed me a whole new way of thinking about teaching and now I'm counting down the days to the beginning of school and becoming a Whole Brain classroom teacher.

Excitedly,

Bells

p.s.  28 days until the first day of school