Mentoring in the 21st Century!

WOW! What a great day filled with sharing and wonderful resources! We hope many of you have had a chance to look through your new Mentoring In The 21st Century resources! How will you use these resources help you become a better mentor?

Hello friends,

The session today was great! Kathi is a wonderful, motivating and extremely knowledgeable individual. This session was filled with lots of "Aha!" moments. It was also very confirming for me. It seemed as if Kathi and I had been reading from the same page as my previous blog contained several of the exact things that she spoke of on today. (especially the motto about change...) I really enjoyed the clock buddies as a way of stepping out of our comfort zone and getting to meet other sensational and inspiring educators. It is quite difficult for me to toot my own horn because it's buried under the mounds of responsibility and paperwork that is scattered between school and home. However, recognizing and accepting that we are looked upon as experts and teacher leaders(leaders of teachers) is something that we should all be proud of. Thanks to my partner for sharing her goal for today's session. I truly will be able to better handle the K.I.A's that I may have to mentor and the others with whom I may come into contact with! If she hadn't asked, we wouldn't have gotten the answer. (get it?) It would be great if the district utilized the "Why Didn't I Learn ..." book as a best practices course available to new and veteran teachers for a PLU.

"Peaches," thanks for all that you are doing to help us be successful in this endeavor! Classmates, I hope that you all enjoyed this session as much as, if not more than, I did. I look forward to seeing and learning with you all again next time.

Foster :)

P.S.
Look on the bright side... We are getting wonderful resources to add to our collections. We are building relationships while mentoring one another. Oh, and last but definitely not least, we are getting the rare opportunity to eat a lunch that beats the cafeteria food!

Time Management

Hello Friend :)

Try to remember these words of wisdom: "Time is about control. When you allow time to control you, you never seem to have enough of it. On the other hand, when you control your own time, you can effectively allocate your available time to complete your required tasks and duties."

Time management is difficult and overwhelming for all of us in the school system regardless of position or job title. Well, come to think of it, this is the case for any position within any organization both at work and at home! Look at the bright side... You are definitely not alone or truly inexperienced when it comes to this issue. However, it is a definite fact that some us are better time managers than others.

There is hope on the horizon! Take a peek at some of these ways to take control of your time while in the classroom:
1) Have a "working" schedule which can be viewed at a glance daily, weekly, monthly.(calendar)
2) Be sure to have a well thought out, thorough, and tested plan. (lesson plans)
3) Prioritize (by due date first, if given, then by importance, once determined) Make a list and cross things off as they are accomplished.
4) Allot reasonable amounts of time based on your schedule and plan.
5) Utilize all available resources. (includes delegating duties to others such as students, paraprofessionals, parents, co workers, etc.. when practical and possible)
6) Chunk tasks or assignments into smaller or related, more manageable pieces or parts.
7) Keep things flowing with little to no interruption or "overkill".
8) Teach and use transitions which are ways to move from one activity to the next.
9) Just say, "no!" Face it, some of our problems with time management come from taking on more than we can handle be it voluntarily or involuntarily. There are ways to say no with style and grace.
10) Recognize and accept that you are not perfect, nor anyone else for that matter! Therefore, things may and still will be difficult, overwhelming, or even out of your control at times.

Your primary goal as a classroom teacher is to engage your students in productive learning time. This is when students are engaged in meaningful and appropriate work. After all, the more productive learning time you have, the more your students will learn. There are things that will come up unexpectedly. Over time and with experience, you will learn to not only expect the unexpected, but to also accept the unexpected and do the best you can with what you have! Be realistic. Be patient. Be forgiving.

I will end with more words of wisdom: You can only change or affect those things over which you have control. You can only accept those things over which you have no control. Remember time management is about control. You have to control it otherwise, it will control you.

Let me know if you are in need of more assistance in this area. There is a wealth of resources available via internet, printed media, and personal assistance. I will be glad to help you further.

Foster :)

Building Positive Parent Contacts

Dear Candace,

First, let me welcome you to Paula Rutherford School. You will quickly find that it is a wonderful school and the other teachers will be glad to help you in any way they can. Don't be afraid to ask for their ideas. There are some great teachers on staff with some wonderful ideas and practices.

As for developing positive parent relationships, it is important to remember to be as positive as you can when making the early contacts with parents. So often parents may feel that teachers only makes contact with them (the parents) when there is a problem with their child's behavior or academic performance. Try to make a positive initial contact with the parents during the first two weeks of school. A phone call will work just fine, but let the parent know who you are and that you are looking forward to teaching their child this year. Find at least one positive thing you can say about their child in the conversation. Find out if there is anything particular you should know about their child; extreme likes or dislikes, any health issues, etc. Also find out if the parent has any specific skills or interest that may be helpful to enrich learning experiences in your classroom. Briefly share with the parents any exciting projects that you might be planning during the year or an interesting learning activity you might be working on during the upcoming weeks. This is not a time to discuss any behavior or academic issues you may have already noticed. Also keep it short. This is to be a quick, positive introduction that will begin to build a productive relationship with the parents.

Keep the lines of communications open with regular contacts such as emails, a teacher created website for the classroom, positive notes home (a handwritten note is more personal), a regular classroom newsletter, and even short, positive phone calls. When you see a child's parent in the hallway, stop and have a short converstaion with them. This is not the time to discuss major issues, such as behavior and grades, but a quick check in with the parents to see how they feel things are going with their child.

As teachers, we always need to remember we are in a partnership with parents to educate their children. Even though we spend a major portion of the day with the students, the parents have a much greater impact in their lives than we do. We need to be careful that we no dot send unintentional messages to the parents that we are the experts in raising their children. We need to be sure that we are not demanding certain things be done to make their child sucessful in school. If you need to discuss serious manners, such as behavior and grades, be sure to show respect to both the child and the parents. Even though you are discussing some negative things, be sure to keep the discussion as positive as you can. List specific behaviors that have been observered. Do not pass judgement on the child or the parenting skills of the parents. If you stay positive and professional, parents can be your greatest asset in correcting the behaviors and problems you see developing with a particular student.

Good luck this year. I'll be checking in with you often to see how I can help. But do not be afraid to come and see me when you have a question or a concern.

Mark Montgomery

Reluctant Readers

Dear Tom Uga,

Let me assure you that you are not alone. At some point every teacher has difficulty finding ways to motivate their students to read. I am pleased that you would ask for my advice and I hope that I can help you. It is important for teachers to share what works for them because it is one of the best sources of information that we have in our profession.

One strategy that has helped me is I have my students complete a reading survey at the beginning of every course. They answer questions such as “What type of books do you read? and “What do you enjoy doing after school?”. Their answers help me get to know my students better and choose reading that they can relate to on a more personal level. Remember that it helps to make the reading as meaningful as possible not only for them but for you as well.

Another technique is to get the students to predict what the reading is going to be about. You can use a variety of objects to get them started such as a picture, the cover of the book or a quote. Students can write their predictions on a piece of paper and share their ideas with the class or wait until after the reading and then reveal their answers. Whatever you choose is up to you. Remember that students love to make predictions and it gets them thinking about the topic.

Another important technique is to make sure that you activate the students’ prior knowledge about the reading. For example, if you are going to read about Fidel Castro don’t assume all of your students know the history of Cuba or for that matter know where the country is located on a map. I have made this mistake many times before. In order to save yourself a lot of time and to avoid possibly embarrassing the students, have them answer questions, discus the subject in groups or complete a survey. Regardless of which strategy you choose, remember to take the time to build the students’ foundation of prior knowledge so that they will not get lost as easily.

Finally, a little competition always seems to work. Through the years I have discovered that most students love to compete. I enjoy creating different games in my classroom because it tends to motivate the students and it is a fun way to teach. In order to increase their motivation to read, you can create a game yourself or simply steal the idea from others. For example you might try putting the students in groups and answer questions about the reading. I find that group work is less intimidating for some students and it gives everyone the opportunity to discus the questions and help each other. After a certain amount of time, the group must answer the question. If they miss it then the question continues to the next group. The group with the most correct answers wins. You can offer whatever incentives you prefer. Remember to have fun with the students and they won’t even realize that they are learning.

I hope that these few suggestions will help you or at the very least get you thinking about a solution that works. Remember that not every class will respond the same way to your strategies. Don’t let it get you down. Stay positive and continue to focus on finding ways to motivate them. I’m sure that you will do fine. If you have any other questions or if there is something that you would like to share with me please feel free to do so at anytime.
Thanks,
Mr. Campbell

Standards-Based Classrooms

Dear Dominique Dawg,

Welcome to Paula Rutherford School. You are a great asset to our faculty and it is also nice to have a fellow UGA graduate to work with. I am sure we will have lots of fun sharing Athens stories for many years to come.

Being a first year teacher brings many challenges. College does not prepare you for everything that you will encounter as a teacher. Remember to roll with the punches and not get too stressed. While it may seem like you are alone, always remember that every teacher was once in your shoes. We are always willing to help—don’t ever hesitate to ASK.

A standards-based classroom involves preparation and planning. However, I am sure you are probably already doing most everything it requires—now the key is to package it and present it according to our administrator’s guidelines.

Here are a couple of pointers to make your life a little less stressful when coordinating and implementing your standards-based classroom.

Gather all of your resources—print out multiple copies of your standards for each class that you teach. These can be found on the Georgia Department of Education website—link off of MCSD staff page. (This semester I have three different classes—two of which have standards while the third is still using QCC’s.) Also found on this website are great teaching ideas incorporating the standards. You will find that there are lots of great ideas on the web. Another wonderful idea tool is the Atlas Rubicon Curriculum Mapping site. The key is don’t try to reinvent the wheel when you have resources available. As you become more familiar with your profession, then you can venture out. Take it slow. Rely on your mentor—don’t be afraid to ask questions. Muscogee County provides a great service by providing mentors for new teachers. This way you will never feel all alone—there is always someone that you can turn to for answers or just to vent. Mentor teachers have years of experience and can offer valuable insight into different situations—thus making your life a little easier. Talk with your department chair—this person can help you with your specific subject area. They may have some valuable resources to share with you.
J Post the standards—at Jordan we have a specific blackboard configuration that we must follow. Part of that configuration is posting the standard being covered that day. Even though I prepare a Daily Document each day for my computer students to read on their computer (their own personal screen), I still have to physically write the material on my classroom whiteboard to meet the requirements of our administration.

Discuss the standards—start and end each period discussing the standard so that students understand what they are going to learn and why it is important to them. Sometimes the language that is used in the standard can be confusing so you may have to break it down and explain the words that they do not understand.

Word Wall—post the important words for your lesson in a special place. This way student s can easily look at the vocabulary for that lesson to help them better understand what is being taught.

Evaluate students on the standards—students should be assessed on what they have learned. This can be accomplished in many different ways—you don’t always have to give them a test. They enjoy projects and unconventional methods—be creative!

Standards-based classrooms are in place to help students master the material and skills—once you get the hang of it then I am sure you will find it to be a breeze. Always remember—no question is ever dumb! That is one way that we learn—by asking. I am always available to assist you and look forward to working with you.

Amy Strickland

SOS - Student's Own Self-Assessment

Dear Barbara Bear,

We are excited about having you on our staff as well. It is great that you are trying learner centers in your classroom. This is a great way for the children to learn and for you to be able to assess/observe others or work with groups while the other children are occupied. Keep up the good work and I hope that these suggestions will help you.

Student assessment is a common problem with first year teachers, as well as, veteran teachers. The first rule of thumb that you need to remember is to train yourself and the children on how to do the assessment. By teaching them to self assess you are involving them more so in their learning. Self assessment is a tool that they can use to help them see what they are learning. It also helps you in evaluating what areas of strengths they have but also their weaknesses. An important thing to remember is to not be "Super"teacher and try to do everything at once. Allow yourself time to get accustomed to using one form of assessment effectively before you go to the next form. It can be overloading on you and will only frustrate you to the point of not wanting to do it.

There are many options of self assessment that they children can learn to do in the centers. The most popular is the rubric. This is a great tool of assessment for the younger children because you allow them to see what is expected in their work in order for it to exceed, meet, or not meet the standards/skills that you are focusing on. Just be sure that when you are developing your rubric that your descriptors are carried throughout the format of your rubric. This is a common mistake made when developing rubrics. You can get more information in the book "Why Didn't I Learn this in College?" on page 165/166.

Another form that works well in the lower levels is journal entries. This can be as simple as a student commenting on an experiment they did or ways that they could solve a problem in math. Journals are a creative way for the students to express and share their ideas with the other students as well. They are used to writing in journals so there is not much training for you. You will need to design some open-ended questions that they could possibly answer that would help you determine if they accomplished the standard(s) that you were evaluating.

Another great way to help them self assess is through "Sort Cards". These are cards that you have made before hand or ones that they have top make to show different processes such as scientific process or historical events through time. These can be found on pages 93 - 95 in the book "Why Didn't I Learn this in College?".

The last assessment tools that you could try are Performance Assessment Task List and Checklist. These are both good low stakes assessment tools. The main thing to remember with these tools are to give them to the students before hand. These tools need to guide the students throughout the process. They both use a point scale and need to focus on the content knowledge needed to demonstrate mastery of those skills and work habits that students need to be successful. Examples of these can be found on page 155 and 166 in the same book. Remember to teach them the assessment first through modeling otherwise their assessment will be faulty.

Your mentor..........David Kirkland

Laying It All Out

Dear Cory,
Thank you for the kindness shown in your letter. I am equally as pleased to be your mentor!

I find it extremely comical that the one thing you ask my opinion of is one of the TOP concerns of mine, not only my first year of teaching, but my 17Th year as well! Each year brings new students with unique needs and this should, of course, be a factor as you determine the layout of your classroom.

Thinking back on our book study of Paula Rutherford's, Why Didn't I Learn This in College?, let me remind you of a few key points made in the book and add some personal advise of my own:

• Begin early teaching the students the "lay of the land" so to speak. Show them where the things they may need are located as well as when and how often they may be used.
• Make the room aesthetically pleasing-use plants, posters, calendars, bulletin boards with student work/projects, etc.
• Be sure that you are able to see all students and computers at all times-students should also be able to see you with a very limited amount of physical rearrangement. Stick close to them!
• Dont't get boxed in! Try using different types of seating-pillows, lounge chairs, benches, etc. to appeal to students' need "comfort spaces" that make them feel relaxed and ready to work. Use individual desks and chairs when possible/needed in order to form instant small group areas in which the students may work.
• Let some furniture serve double (or even triple) duty. While the shear size of bookcases, storage cabinets, and file cabinets will most likely determine their placement, often they may also be used a mini bulletin boards or room dividers.
• Once you have prepared your unit(s) begin to think about which areas in the room would be used to expidite learning centers. If space is limited, think about using common items such as folders, boxes, or crates to house materials needed.

Cory, don't be afraid to make changes as they are needed. Teachers should always (from year 1-year 31) remain flexible. Remember that you are the facilitator in the classroom and it is your duty to do whatever you can to make great things happen! I will be there soon to help you PHYSICALLY put this puppy together! We'll make it happen! Best wishes for a "well layed out" year!

Your Mentor and Friend,

Zina Mose

Transition Troubles

Dear Colton,

I think all teachers are challenged by transitions, so hang in there. The most important thing is to take a little time to think about your students and when the problems are occurring. Take time to think about what you expect and want to happen. (Be realistic.) Then make a plan. Be proactive and teach the students the procedures that you want them to follow. It will take more than just telling them. You'll need to model and then practice until they've got it down. Having a signal will help. It can be a song, a pattern clapped, or a hand signal. Just make sure they know what you expect when it happens. Be sure to praise and appreciate their cooperation as you see good examples.

Many of the innate problems with transitions can be remedied just by making sure that you're prepared and all of your materials are ready. Follow a regular routine, then provide interesting learning experiences for the students to do when they begin a lesson, finish their work, and as they wrap-up. You can make these activities simple and fun too! Interactive bulletin boards, learning stations, and games are all kid pleasers. Just make sure that they support your learning objectives and are not just busy work. Something as simple as soliciting student comments on a post-it as they finish a lesson will engage students and help them feel valued. It will also distract them from engaging in some of the time-wasters that often come with transitions.

Hope this helps. I can see that you have great instincts, so trust them. Let me know how things go and I'll help you come up with more ideas as you need them.

Diane Tucker

Standard-Based Enviroments

Dear Mark,

It's very stressful for all new teachers to design a standard-based classroom or so they think. Once you stand back and look at your room I am sure you are already well on your way to have a successful standard-based classroom. Here are some key factors in ensuring that you are providing your students with a standard-based classroom:

• You need t0 know how to access the standards. Here in MCSD we use the MCSD website (www.mcsdga.net) and click on the link For Staff. Then click on the GA Performance Standard link, subject and grade level. Hint if you are wanting to copy & paste the standards make sure you click on the I looking icon at the top or else it want let you select what you want.
• Once you have located to standards you need to print several copies so that you can use them when creating lesson plans. It's very simple to copy, cut & paste the standards from the website into your lesson plans. I can come by and show you how.
• Use one of the list of standards you printed as a checklist to check off the standards as your students master them.
• Make sure you post all of the standards so that your students are aware of what standard they are learning. (Here are some ways to post them: power point if you have an aver key or smart board, on chart tablets (takes awhile to make), or magnetic sentence strips to go on the whiteboard.
• Always begin and end each lesson with discussions on the standard(s) you are covering. Explain what each standard means and why it's important for the students to learn and most importantly relate the standard to the students.
• Assess the students only on the standards that were taught.
• Make sure that you make learning fun and meaningful with using the standards.

I hope that I have been helpful. Let me know if you need any more help or if you would like for me to come to your room to help you set your classroom up for a successful standard-based environment.

We are all so happy to have you here.

Your Friend,

Lindsay Luther