Teacher Meetings

Parent-teacher meetings are a regular feature of school life. Often they add to our stress loads. Not only do they usually occur before or after a busy day of teaching, many teachers feel uncomfortable dealing with parents.

Setting up the environment for the interviews is important. You should have a clear space to meet with the parent. Wherever possible, avoid setting up a table between you and the parent. Ideally you should be seated alongside the parent so that you can discuss and look at examples together.

It is important to ensure the space is private and that conversations can be held confidentially. A clearly signposted waiting area should be provided for parents. Provide waiting parents with a folder of their child's work samples or a list of questions they might like to reflect on. Be prepared! Identify key points and issues to discuss. Use appropriate work samples to illustrate key messages.

It is important to adhere to the designated appointment times. If a longer period of time is likely to be needed, book a double block of time. If the allocated time has been utilised and there are more issues to be discussed, make another appointment.

Always begin the meeting with something positive about the student. Many teachers find the 'sandwich approach' helpful. Start with a positive, discuss areas where improvements can be made and close with a positive statement. Parents want to know that you know and care about their child - even if there are challenges.

It is essential that the meetings are honest and clear. The Stephen Covey term 'Talk straight' is particularly relevant to Parent-Teacher meetings. It is important to ensure you are not'sugar coating' things too much to avoid confrontation or being too blunt and thereby causing offence. Parents need to be given accurate information. However we also need to phrase things carefully so that we are not seen as criticising their parenting. Getting the balance right ensures that at the conclusion of the meeting the parent has received the clear message that you had intended.

The intention of Parent-Teacher meetings should always be for both parties to share information about the student. The aim should be for both parties to have a better (hopefully shared) understanding of the student. It is therefore important to listen as well as give information to parents. Ask if they have any information that you should be aware of.

Avoid meetings becoming a 'point scoring' event. The meetings are NOT about who is right and who is wrong. They are about building a partnership to assist the student. Give some thought to how parents of this particular student could assist them at home.

Young Teacher's Guide To Speaking In The Classroom

Speaking is what we do as teachers. To do it well is the first step in becoming and being a fine teacher. It is assumed that teachers will automatically be good speakers. This is often not the case. It takes practice to become a good speaker.

I often advised the trainee teachers under my supervision to join a public speaking club to learn the secrets of speaking well. A teacher must practise good delivery over and over again and be critical of how he/she speaks at all times. Remember, you are the example of speaking that your students see every day. You must use the language of your subject/s disciplines well and often.

Becoming involved in a public speaking club called Rostrum (the British version of Toastmasters) for many years, I watched many great speakers and learnt what makes a good speaker. In the article below, I have listed those strategies that I feel apply to the classroom situation and are important for young teachers to know for them to become good speakers.

1. Face your class before you begin to speak. This allows you to make eye contact with your class, helping ensure the class is ready to listen.

2. Make sure there is light on your face for students to see your lips and facial expressions. Your facial expressions add meaning and emphasis to what you say.

3. Don't shout when you are in a teaching/speaking situation. However, add colour to your voice. Use pause or slow down your words or raise your voice to create a feeling of importance in what you are saying.

4. Speak more slowly when teaching than your normal conversational speech. This allows students more time to absorb the meaning of what you are saying.

5. Avoid noisy backgrounds. This distracts the students and lessens their concentration.

6. Get the point across quickly. Don't over explain the new idea.

7. Use the 'KISS' principle: 'Keep it simple, stupid'.

8. Be enthusiastic about what you teach. Show your love for the subject and that you enjoy what you are doing.

9. When your class seems 'lost', begin again, rephrasing what you are saying.

10. Watch your audience closely and react to their body language as it will tell you how successful you are with your presentation.

11. Get the attention of your audience with a strong or interesting or controversial opening.

12. Use body language, facial expressions and gesture to help to get your message across and to emphasise the important points or issues.

13. If you are nervous, take a few deep breaths before you start. This nervousness may occur early in your career or when you begin to teach a new topic. However, once the lesson gets underway, this nervousness will disappear.

The Young Teacher's Guide To Empowering Students

Listening, as the complimentary aspect of the spoken language, is often neglected as a skill by the teacher. We teach our students how to speak but we rarely spend time teaching them how to listen effectively. I believe listening effectively is a most important skill because, in class, that is what the students spend more time doing - listening.

Listening skills are just as important to the teacher as they are to the student. They, too, must have powerful listening skills to interpret what students ask so that they can give the correct answers.

One of the common complaints that teachers make about students is that they don't listen well. Perhaps, it is not that they don't listen. It is that they don't know how to listen effectively. Therefore, we must teach our students how to listen effectively and powerfully.

The purpose of this article is to give you some ideas on how to create powerful listeners. If you are able to do this, then you will create more successful learners and you will become a less frustrated teacher.

Here are a few ideas on how you might go about solving this problem.

    Encourage your students to sit with good posture. It should be comfortable but keep students active and not too relaxed.
    Encourage your students to eat well and drink enough water to prevent tiredness of the brain due to dehydration and lack of energy.
    Encourage your students to get the required hours of sleep to allow them to stay on task.

These initial ideas are suggesting that your students need to be physically ready to listen before they can listen effectively. Now, if they are physically ready, then we can teach students the skills of powerful listening which include:

    Keeping their eyes on the teacher.

    Watching what he/she is talking about. Doing this brings into play the visual aspect of learning which is the most powerful.

    Watching the body language, facial expressions and the gestures used. This helps the student gain a better understanding of what is being said. The physical aspect of the speaker's presentation will reinforce the important ideas to be remembered and learnt.

    Noting the speed, stress, pause, loudness of the words the teacher uses. This gives you further evidence of what is important.

    Teaching students how to make quick shorthand notes, particularly if they want to ask a question. They must ensure that they can read their 'shorthand notes' back.

    Encouraging them to ask questions as soon as possible after they arise in their mind. The teacher is then aware of to what the question is related. Then, the student can use the answer immediately to enhance learning and continue to be involved in the listening process and not lost through lack of understanding.

    Encouraging students to ask follow-up questions to gain further clarification, if necessary.

    Encouraging the development of listening skills by using competitive listening games such as "Chinese Whispers".

    'Selling' your next lesson to give the class a sense of expectancy.

Making The Most Out Of Teacher Appreciation Week

Each year, administrators have the opportunity to formally recognize the contributions of teachers to the success of their schools. Teacher Appreciation Week is an event that honors the work of teachers. Usually funded and coordinated by PTA and PTO organizations, they may involve a breakfast or luncheon as well as a gift of appreciation. But this event can be so much more than an obligatory free meal and tchotchke giveaway. Organizers can turn the appreciation week into a school motivation celebration, involving the students, parents and entire staff.

Expand The Appreciation - Teachers are not alone in the education of our students. Turn the celebration into Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week, inviting the entire staff to be honored. Include teachers, school nurses, janitors, guidance counselors and administrative staff in the recognition, highlighting the team's efforts and how they all take part in bringing a student from grade school to graduation.

Decorate For Years - Budgets are always tight for events such as Teacher Appreciation Week. Organizers can ease the pressure on future planning by purchasing certain decoration items without a date on them. By leaving a date off of a Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week banner, and imprinting the school mascot instead of a unique theme, it becomes a reusable decoration. The same approach can be used for balloons, allowing them to be purchased in bulk, reducing the per-piece price and allowing for leftovers to be used in future years.

Gift With Practicality - The investment in a teacher gift will easily be justified if the item given is a useable one. A custom lunch bag, tote or travel mug with a slogan of thanks will be appreciated during the Teacher Appreciation Week celebration, and will have the added benefit of being used long after the event. Each time the school staff member enjoys the item, they will be inspired by the sentiment that was customized on it. Inspiration such as this will continue the good feelings throughout the year.

Get Active - Breaking through the standard luncheon/gift routine can give an appreciation event an edge over years past. Coordinate a raffle or set up a scavenger hunt for the staff. Friendly competition between departments can fuel the excitement and make the activity into an annual tradition. Students may also be allowed to take part, being split up among the departments and not as their own entity, further incorporating the entire school.

Top Three Mistakes Teaching Children With Attention Disorders

There are countless articles and books on the topic of ADD and ADHD. Experts are quick to recite search on the best practices, but what about mistakes and worst practices? I have narrowed down three out of many mistakes made by teachers.

1) Assigning the same peer tutor. Peer tutors are great for children. It gives them a chance to learn information presented in a way the child understands. One mistake teachers make is pairing up students with the same peer tutor each time. Children are just like adults. We don't want to get dumped on. There are sweet children out there who don't mind helping, but don't make their classroom experience or grades suffer because you are pairing a children with an attention disorder with the same student. This is also just an overall teaching tactic as well. Mix it up!

2) Requiring the student to make eye contact with you. This a tip I've heard from teachers who take an "old school" approach to academics. This makes sense to anyone born and raised in the United States. It is an assumption someone who looks you in the eye is listening and attentive. What about other areas of the world? Are all students in the classroom born and raised by American parents? It is not uncommon in Latin and Asian countries to practice indirect eye contact as a sign of respect. This is a mistake if you do not take in consideration different cultural customs that could make eye contact forbidden for children. Be very careful with this and culturally aware.

3) Separating the student from other students. I know. I know. I'm getting tomatoes thrown at me about this. I can hear it now, "But you don't understand! This child won't do ANYTHING unless he is completely isolated." Sometimes this has to be done, but on a temporary basis. Isolation should rarely be long term or all class period. It should be a means of refocusing the student. If instruction is being differentiated, it will be nearly impossible for the student to be alone for long periods of time anyway. See? Gotcha! Tier your assignments, practice different grouping for classroom lessons, vary the format information is presented, and present your lesson in interactive ways. If the student is still not as responsive as he or she could be, consider an alternative assignment

Trainee Teachers' Guide To Teaching Practicum

During your years of teacher training, you will have teaching practice in a real classroom. Your teacher supervisor will give you advice on what to do and where you need to improve. However, it is important for you to set goals on how to expand your teaching capabilities during each practice session. The strategies below are ways you can develop your teaching capabilities. They are not listed in order of difficulty. Each trainee teacher will have their own strengths and weaknesses. They need to take those into account when deciding the order in which the strategies are introduced into their planning.

Obviously, you cannot pursue all these strategies at once. Initially, select the ones you feel are easiest to attempt. Include them in your preparation and work out a way to assess how you incorporated them. Perhaps, you could ask your supervisor to comment on a particular strategy, e.g. using gesture to add meaning to what you are saying.

It is also important to prioritise the strategies you use and have a time line for when you will introduce them into your teaching practice. Don't expect that you will succeed on your first attempt.

This list is, by no means, an exhaustive one. You may find others you wish to add. Your supervisor may suggest others. You may like to discuss how you might incorporate these strategies within the supervisor's plans for you. Remember, the supervisor is there to help and direct you so make sure you do all that is asked of you and try to incorporate the advice given to you in each lesson you teach. Be ready to discuss your progress at any time and the success or otherwise of all the lessons you teach.

The strategies are:

    Make sure you know the content you teach perfectly.

    Over-plan your lessons.

    Aim to teach a little amount initially but plan extra if all goes well.

    Always check for understanding as you go. Ask questions as you proceed.

    Always move around the class while teaching or while the class is working to offer help or to ensure students are on task.

    Make sure you start simply to ensure the students understand what you are doing. Then slowly increase the difficulty of the work you are teaching.

    Make sure your eyes roam over the whole class so every child feels your eyes are on them.

    Always have everyone's attention before you start.

    When you use a board or a screen, move away from them often so that you do not obscure what you have written on the board or have projected on the screen.

    Be flexible in your approach. If it is not working, change tack. Use a different approach.

    Plan your questions carefully, even having a set of written ones ready to use to test for understanding as you go.

    Remember to spread the questions around the class to help keep students wondering who will get the next question. This helps to encourage them to stay involved in the lesson.

    Rephrase questions that do not elicit the response you want. Offer hints to lead students towards the answer.

    Practise your board work often.

    Make sure you use various teaching techniques during your practice teaching.

    Make your introductions interesting, exciting, challenging and short.

    Get to know the students' names quickly and use them every time you speak to a student.

    Talk as little as you can. Get the class working actively and quickly.

    Always test the class's progress at the lesson's end with questions to check what progress has been made.

    Practise using your voice in different ways to excite, to warn and to question.

    Practise using gesture and body language to elicit different responses from your class.

Teacher Tips on Developing Your Blind Student's Overall Classroom

Organizational skills are of the utmost importance in a blind student's educational setting and include: student/teacher organization, management of materials, timely preparation of class lessons into transcribed braille, and even interlining of Nemeth braille math workbooks so that non-braille reading staff can offer assistance when needed. Your blind student will have an easier time maintaining class pace in an organized and well prepped class setting. It is essential to instruct your staff and student on simple preparation tips, modifications and techniques that will make the school day an efficient and effective learning experience.

1. It is always easier to teach good organizational skills right from the start (Pre-school-Kindergarten) opposed to teaching them in later school years. Teach your student to be prepared and organized by being a good role model.

2. Your braille student will most likely require additional space to store numerous materials, braille books and miscellaneous adapted materials. Here is a suggestion that worked for my students!
Provide (2) student desks to allow for good storage and organization of materials.

Desk #1 This is your Student's desk for classroom work and storage of frequently used literary braille materials. Literary materials to be stored in this desk may include: braille/auditory dictionary, Perkin's eraser, slate & stylus, marking items (crayons, color pencils with braille labeling for easy identification), and literary braille code reference guidebook. Store currently used literary braille books in volume order underneath the student work desk/literary desk.

Desk #2: This desk is for storage of Nemeth work folders, materials associated with math (braille ruler, auditory calculator, abacus, analog braille clock, multiplication and division braille charts and miscellaneous math materials). The student may also use a Nemeth reference guide sheet or book while in the process of learning their Nemeth symbols which should be readily available in this desk. Store currently used Nemeth braille books in volume order underneath the math desk in a crate or box for easy access. It is helpful to the blind student to have this extra desk and enough table/storage area next to them to avoid constant lifting of heavy materials such as the Perkin's Brailler. Therefore, store the Perkin's Brailler on top of this desk to the left of the student so that it is readily available.

3. Keep updated literary and Nemeth braille reference sheets which includes all the literary and Nemeth code the student has learned up to date. Both reference sheets should be updated during braille lessons to include newly learned braille code for reference. Offer a small reference guidebook once the literary code is completed by the student. A list of basic rules that govern the braille code should also be available in braille as reference for the student. This reference guide list is an especially useful reference tool for the more complicated Nemeth code.

4. Educational braille books not currently being used should be stored in a convenient location in the classroom; review the location with the student and encourage them to access their braille books on an independent basis or shadow them until the student becomes fully independent in this process. Volumes should be removed once completed or no longer required and sent home for reference.

5. Look into having your student's Nemeth workbooks fully or partially transcribed with print above the braille so that non-braille reading staff can assist the student with instruction when needed.

6. Store smaller items such as a pencil, crayons, small ruler, Perkin's braille eraser and miscellaneous items in a container for easy access.

7. Provide a braille calendar in the early educational years for use in group activities and include your blind student in calendar group activities. Have a small braille calendar available for student reference during group table-top activities. It is essential that the student is taught how to tactually read a braille calendar in an organized and efficient manner. Students should also have a calendar available in the home setting. These calendars are readily available at major companies that manufacture adaptive products for blind individuals.

8. Use non-slip material under the Perkins Brailler to reduce sliding on the desk-top.

9. Use canvas or cloth back-packs on the back of the student's chair for organization and storage of daily work folders and assignments. Classroom work and homework assignment folders should be clearly marked in braille for easy identification, organization and accessibility. Having braille folders easily accessible to the student will allow them independence in organization and placement of homework assignments and classroom work. Chair back packs are now commercially available or easily made.

10. Have sight words readily available as transcribed braille flashcards. Provide braille flashcards for use in both school and home settings. Sight words can be easily reviewed in braille lessons and updated as needed. Keep cards protected in plastic index card boxes.

How to Write Effective Multiple Choice Questions?

You have almost certainly taken part in multiple choice quizzes and tests in your time. It is also possible that you have also been involved in setting the questions. If so, you probably already realise how difficult it can be to write effective questions.

If you are not careful the answers can be too easy to guess. In some case the questions can be difficult to understand. Sometimes it can be difficult to relate the questions to the topic being assessed. In fact, there a variety of ways in which a question can go wrong.

If you find yourself having to write multiple choice questions you can avoid the problems associated with them by following four basic principles.

1. Start With Objectives
Effective multiple choice questions must always be linked to clearly defined objectives unless you are writing them for a fun quiz. Clearly define what you are trying to assess and make sure that all of your questions are aimed at this. Avoid trick questions that are not related to objectives. Ultimately they prove nothing.

2. Clear and Understandable
As a general rule, language and sentence structure should be kept as simple as possible. Only use essential technical terms. Take care to avoid ambiguous questions, answers and distracters. Remember that you are trying to test objectives and not the ability of people to understand poorly written questions.

3. No Soft Clues
It can sometimes be possible to guess the correct answer from the question itself. Questioners may leave clues in the question, answer or distracters that they do not intend. One of the biggest mistakes that people make when writing multiple choice question is the failure to use meaningful distracters. This means that people answering the question can guess the correct answer by eliminating the options that are obviously wrong. Once again it is important to remember that you are assessing objectives not the candidate's ability to guess most of the answers correctly.

4. Meaningful Feedback
If your questions are part of a test the minimum that candidates will need to know is whether they have achieved the pass mark. If the questions are aimed at helping people to learn a particular subject then they will need to know whether their answers were right or wrong. They also need to know why they were right or wrong. There is much more to writing effective multiple choice questions than it is possible to cover in a short article. However, you will be making a good start if you follow the four basic principles outlined here.