Works with PLC’s, coaching teachers, School Improvement Models…
- Ask teachers to define student achievement first…then what comes next?
- Answer traditionally teachers….
- STOP…THINK…teachers don’t cause student achievement, STUDENTS cause student achievement…
- Design lessons to get students to get involved/do what they need to do….because designing lessons has to be about getting students to do what students need to do to achievement.
- Ask yourself…what signs would you look for in a classroom that would predict student achievement will go up? what behavior would predict that behavior…
- students questioning
- participation–explaining their learning/talking…Student voice
- Self-relience
- giving time to the work…
- an emotion present..sometimes it’s a body language, sometimes a tone
- risk taking
- having Remedial kids observe AP kids….help the kids understand what the appropriate behavior is–not quiet but maybe demanding
- Step back from teacher behavior…to student behavior…then on to teacher behavior
- REMEMBER: Teaching is a profession…that means EXPERIMENTING!!! like doctors and lawyers, you tinker until you get it right…not one right answer…
- high achieving cultures have different teacher strategies/behaviors but the common link is high-achieving students!!!
- The way to decide what you’re doing is effective, the students are doing what they students have to do…THAT’s IT!
What do you students look like in each of these stops on a continuum: ……..Fear……Attention…..Comfort……Bored……
Suggestions: maximun student effort “just in time learning” between Fear and Attention…cannot be too scared! This is why one-on-one tutoring is so effective…allows you to jump to the next level or pullback to repeat…no getting bored, no fear, ….no over-exertion, but no boredom…like a personal trainer @ the gym…
Fear in a high school student looks like bored….need to engage…how ?? Raise the anxiety level!! give a harder problem, move closer, etc…students may act out BAD…
Efforts x Ability (focuses on a manageable task) = Success
- View of Ability….Fixed? Growth? Ability is cultivated through effort….Ability grows then if you believe this…and effort multiples ability!!!
- many kids think Ability = Success …. parents reinforce this…ooops
- some kids think Ability + Effort = Success …. use weight-lifting as example..set benchmark and each 8 week checks on ability…
- kids think Smart = NO effort!!!!
- Kids need a picture of success…the most successful students have a picture of their future…work toward it…#1 behavior with successful kids was that the most successful adult in that kids life was an adult who always talked about the future with them….
- 5th grade teachers takes kids to auditorium 1st day of school and dresses them in cap and gown and takes their “graduation photo”…paste it in planner…10 minutes everyday to reflect, think, comment oh what you are doing to get their…for 180 days this vision is before them….LIFE SKILLS????? PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
- Updraft/Downdraft about peer group and teachers that the kids get caught in a group at high school……
- Teach kids what effort is…If you want the kids to put in effort, you have to teach them what effort is…help differentiate among ability, effort, degree of difficulty or luck.
- Teach EFFORT…the majority of freshman cannot explain your learning style, then how can you put a study plan together…so need to teach them how!!!! Help them uncover how they best learn…then teach them how to study to for their style–kinesthetic kid…vocab on note cards, definition on the back…cards on ground….dribble to each..check definition…do it until you can dribble to all without looking at the card
- Outliers by Malcom Gladwell….exceptional time practicing…
- Repetition of success…..continue to practice even after you get it…NOPE…keep practicing
- Ask kids to give themselves an “Effort Score” w/ explanation of why????? Why not???? Get kids to recognize their effort contribution Begins a conversation…! Why low grade and high effort
- Manageable Task….if you know how to do? do these two if you need practice? do these If you don’t know how to begin? do this gets all kids to put forth effort
Tapping Students Efforts by Steven Barkley
comment: We need to do this!!!! Let’s do a one day on this with teachers….as we determine all the “best practices”
