High-Leverage Practice 18: Instruction

I am going to discuss High-Leverage Practices as mentioned on the CEC website organized around four aspects of practice. I hope you will join in the conversation!

HLP18 Use strategies to promote active student engagement.

I think it is so important to keep students engaged in learning. If they aren’t engaged in learning, they tend to be disruptive because they are bored.

By keeping students engaged, there will be fewer behavior problems and more excitement about learning.

One way to promote student engagement is to make sure that they are active participants in their learning. It is important that they don’t just sit and listen to the entire lesson. Ways to encourage participation is to have class discussions, question and answer, fill out an anchor chart, or have students help model what is expected.

Getting into small groups will also help encourage discussions and conversation. By encouraging conversations, it will increase the understanding of complex concepts. 

Incorporating movement in a lesson will help keep students engaged. Having students do a dance or an exercise that teaches the lesson is very motivating. Having students jump on a life-sized number line for math facts is a great way to incorporate movement into the lesson.

Letting students create something new with their new skills or concepts can be very engaging. This makes students use their imagination and sometimes collaborative skills to make something. I don’t think we allow for creativity enough in the classroom.

I think by including movement in the lesson, it encourages student engagement. When students are moving around, they are paying attention better. Incorporating exercise or dance might help the more active students stay on task. Movement helps keep students from being bored or apathetic towards the lesson.

What are some ways that you promote active student engagement? Please share.

Photo by Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash

Heading Down the Rabbit Hole

In The learning monster… from Blogush, Paul Bogush  shares,

“I think somewhere in the last few years I slipped into trying to control their learning.  I wanted to capture their excitement and curiosity by making them do incredible things…and we did.  But at what cost?” 

This is why I try to ask students what they want to learn. Of course at the beginning of the year, they don’t trust me or anyone else. They think this question is a trap. So, I try to work out ways to help them feel comfortable sharing this information.

I try to get them to share things that interest them. I have them work with a partner and their partner has to introduce them to the class by sharing at least 2 things they are interested in. I put a limit on it because they may say that nothing interests them but by giving them a specific number, most can come up with at least 2 things. I keep a list of all the topics to use for lessons later.

A month later as we learn to trust each other, I may ask them to list 2 things that they are good at. I want to know what topics they would be bored with and they are usually quick to tell me what they don’t want to learn about. They feel they know all they need to know about certain topics. I keep a list of these and who gave me the topic. This can be used to have them talk more about these topics in a lesson.

Some lessons can be individually designed so each student can learn more about what they are interested in. Sometimes I can make a list of 5 topics and have students check off the top 3 that interest them and then I have them learn in small groups. I might think the topic is worth having the whole class learn more about it but work on individual assessments.

I think it is important to allow students input into the topics that are taught. If I have to teach a specific subject area, I may chose topics within that subject and let students have some choices about the topics. Then I can bring all of these topics together at the end for a big conclusion.

Just because I am given standards of some kind, there is no reason that I can’t adapt them to fit my class’s individual needs and interests. The more input that the students have in the decision making process, the more vested they will be in learning. When they feel they are getting something useful out of the learning, the more engaged they will be. Isn’t that the way most of us feel?

How do you involve the student’s in their own learning? Please share.

Image: 'Down the Rabbit Hole'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54357435@N00/311526846
Found on flickrcc.net

Everyone Gets to Play

In The Visually Impaired Kid in the Outfield from Special Education Law Blog, Jim Gerl writes,

“My Dad organized a league so that I could play.  Pretty cool, huh?  He was the coach of our team.  One of the rules he established was that anybody who came to the practices and followed the rules got to play in the games.  It seemed fair.”


This made me think about my classroom and the students in the class. In my special education class, my students had good attendance. I didn’t usually have the truancy problem that many of my colleagues had. Since some of the students rode the special education bus, they were less likely to be absent. Other students were driven to school by their parents so they tended to be at school regularly.

Coming to school regularly was just like showing up for practices and playing in the game. I needed to make sure that I gave each student the attention that they deserved. I heard other teachers commenting about students who slept in their class or did not participate and the teachers just ignored them. I feel this is just another way of not letting them play the game. I need to engage these students in learning the best way that I can.

Many of my students told me that when they are in general education classes, they are treated like they are invisible. Since many times my students would have the wrong answers, they did not try very hard in these classes. Even though many teachers felt like they were being sensitive to my students by not calling on them, my students felt like they were being excluded. When I heard about this, I decided it was time to call a meeting. Both sides needed to communicate better in order for my students to be more successful.

When I called the meeting, I explained the situation from both sides to all of the participants as best as I could. Then I would let each side expand on my explanation if they needed to. Since the students didn’t tell how they felt to the teachers, how could the teachers know this? And since the teachers felt like they had been doing the right thing, how could they know that the students felt invisible?

Now that everything was out in the open, we needed to discuss what to do about this. We needed to come up with a plan of action for the student. Input from the student was very important at this stage so the student wouldn’t feel invisible during the planning. First we needed to find out why the student had difficulty learning the material and see if we could come up with strategies to help the student. We also needed to help the teacher find ways to assess the student’s knowledge and still be sensitive to the student’s disability. The teacher needed to be commended for trying to be sensitive to the student and not be put on the defensive.
I think this communication and team planning would really help the student be successful in the classroom. Once everything is out in the open, everyone would be able to be a team player. Since the student and the teacher “show up for practice,” it is only fair that both get to play the game!

How would you handle this situation? Please share.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).
Original image: 'Ball Impact. UNF Baseball vs. Florida Gulf Coast University'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8363028@N08/3355674016

Recovering from the Holidays

In Is Your Heart Bigger Than Your Hammer? from Tips For New Teachers and Student Teachers, Sam tells us,

“… I would rather be known for the size of my heart, than for the size of my hammer.

If there is any lesson that I could take from this to offer to new teachers, it would be to be easy with the hammer. There will be times when you’ll have to make your point, and follow through with your threats of consequences for poor behavior, but try and take some time to see if there are any underlying reasons why the student is not paying the attention that you require. Could there be something else on the student’s mind, like parents who are in the middle of a divorce, or a recent death in the family, or a mother who is not there?

Be known as the teacher with the big heart, instead of the teacher with the big hammer.”

This reminded me that during the holiday season, my students may be going through things that I could never imagine. I need to be sensitive to a wide range of emotions when they return to the classroom.

Many of my students worry about keeping their electric or water on or getting something to eat.

It is cold where I live and many of them do not even have warm coats.

Others may have family members or even themselves dealing with mental illness.

Some may have parents who lost their jobs and getting Christmas presents is a real strain on their budgets.

Some may even be worried about losing their homes.

Some of my students may be dealing with alcohol/drug abuse or other abuses unimaginable.

Even though this was a joyous holiday season for me, not all of my students are feeling the joy. This may come out as acting out behavior or withdrawn behavior.

I know that I sometimes want to make an impression and come down hard on my students during this chaotic time of being back in school. I want to reel them in before they get too over stimulated but I need to do this with a loving hand rather than with a hammer.

I need to make time to spend some personal time with each student so I can get an idea of what they are feeling and how they are dealing with these feelings.

I think it is important to give students the opportunity to talk about their holiday vacation if they need/want to do so. But I would give them different options in order to do this. Some may want to verbally report about their adventures and others may want to write it privately. Either way will be accepted. I see it as a “debriefing” or “venting” so the students don’t keep these feelings bottled up inside of them so they explode. Sometimes this can make a big difference in a student’s behavior.

Do you notice this in your classroom? If so, how do you handle this?

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Extreme fatigue'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46425925@N00/114137112 by: Polo

My Years as a Student

From the Fall Blog Challenge by Melanie Holtsman, this week’s topic is thankfulness.

Challenge: Our students and colleagues never knew us as children. What were you like at the grade you teach? What were your interests? Did you like school? Share a photo if possible.

I taught high school for most of my career so I will talk about my high school years.

During grades 7-9, I attended a junior high and high school did not start until 10^th grade. My oldest sister had died that summer and we were very close so this was a traumatic time for me. I was going to a high school out of my attendance area because my assigned school was so large that they had to hold 2 shifts at one school. Knowing that education was the only way out for me, I begged my parents to let me go to the school where my sister and her family lived which was about 5 miles away from us. I was able to take the public bus from my corner right to the high school and did that for 3 years. I know it was wrong to use my sister’s address but I was desperate. The school in my area was overcrowded and over run with gangs and drugs so I needed to get away from there.

It was very scary starting the first day at a new school but I was glad to see some people that I knew from my church youth group. They immediately took me under their wings and made my life so much easier. I ended up having a best friend, Bunny, who stuck with me all three years. Never one for cliques, I had many different friends from many different groups. I also became very involved in the drama club and worked backstage for every production that was done over the three years. And I remember being a “mathlete” and was part of a math competition team for our high school.

For some reason I had gotten further ahead of everyone and ended up taking all AP classes during my senior year. I took AP Calculus, AP English, AP Biology, and AP French and then was given an early dismissal since there was nothing else I could take. Since I planned on going to an out of state private college, I knew those AP courses would save me a ton of money so I studied furiously and passed all my tests with flying colors.

I felt very overprotected by my family since I was the youngest and was very determined to leave home and go very far away. I think I was so focused on studying and leaving town that I didn’t make a lot of deep friendships during high school. Even though I had many friends who were acquaintances, the only friend I stayed in touch with after high school was Bunny. Now that I look back, I guess I was in the group that would be labeled Nerds today. I wasn’t part of the popular group or any special group and stayed more to myself or on the edge of a lot of different groups.

I think that is why I understand students who don’t fit in with a crowd or are different. I remember being that student and how I felt. I hope my experience during those times can help a student who is going through the same thing.

Do you feel your experiences as a student made a difference in your actions as a teacher? If so, please share.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'the professor is six minutes late'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55779593@N00/127023370 by: Jonathan Pobre

Weeds in my Garden

It is now spring time which makes me start to focus on my gardens. It is during this time that I know I need to get out all the weeds that are appearing and plan for new plants to be planted. I have all these bright ideas and hopes for good things to come.

Dandelions are a weed in my yard, yet many people make dandelion wine. Some violets are cute in the forest but I don’t want them littering my green lawn. In fact, some people sprinkle sugar on them and add them to their salads. What one person considers a weed may be considered a beauty to others.

I want a pretty garden. But it takes work. And I mean a lot of work; work that is not so pretty and fun like weeding and mulching. It is dirty, sweaty work. But it is necessary if I want to achieve my goal of a beautiful garden.

As I’m weeding my flower beds, I wonder about these small tender plants that I’m pulling out. They are a nuisance and they make my flower beds look ugly. But what is the purpose of a weed? Surely they were put on this planet for a reason (other than to drive me crazy or help me lose weight by weeding instead of eating). In fact, some of these so called weed are actually pretty. I don’t usually know the names of these weeds but I know that I don’t want them in my flower bed mixing with my beautiful flowers.

Sometimes I look at my class that way on the first day. I am full of anticipation and hope and I think my students are too. I have goals in mind for how I want them to grow. But it is going to take a lot of work to get there. It will take a lot of dirty, sweaty work. And it might not be fun at times either.

Then it hit me. This is exactly how I see some students in my class. Some of them are just weeds. They are a nuisance and keep me from achieving my goal. I want to yank them out and get rid of them from the room. I don’t want them mixing with my other beautiful wonders.

But what is their purpose in my class? Surely there is a reason for them but will I take the time and effort to find out what it is? Am I willing to get “dirty and sweaty” for the same of some weeds? How many times have I written them off in my mind? Oh, they are just weeds. I don’t need to really know them because I’m getting rid of them. I hate to say that this happens but I have to be honest and admit to feeling this way sometimes. Sometimes I just don’t give these poor weeds a chance to thrive and show their beauty.

I hope that I can stop and look at each student as a flower instead of a weed. I hope I give each one a chance to thrive and survive in order to show me their beauty. There is a purpose but I just need to find out what it is. I need to search for the answer and not give up. I believe if I can do this with every student, I would be a more successful teacher.

So, do you have any weeds in your classroom?

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Summer field'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30201239@N00/2231535533 by: b k