High Expectations
Having high expectation creates a mindset for students to
achieve at high levels. The teacher sets the tone and students believe in themselves
and are motivated to learn. Teachers with high expectations of their students
can set the tone in a school building for some or most teachers and maybe even
the administrators. We have to start somewhere.
That makes me wonder what it means to have high
expectations. Can I have high expectations for everyone? Are expectations the
same as standards? I think that high expectations refer to an individual’s
learning and this leads to a class climate of possibility that involves
everyone. The reality is that there is rarely enough time to personalize
expectations for everyone. For me it boils down to expressing high expectations
for the class based on grade level standards and working with individuals or small
groups toward those class expectations. I really struggle with my special education
students because I don’t feel that I am supporting them at a high enough level.
The special education teacher has more than 20 students under his care and the
program is the typical basic math and reading skills sort. I kept my students
in the classroom during math with the help of the special education
paraprofessional, but because of the time limitations it often meant them working
on basic skills in the classroom. Not what I was hoping. I don't think my vision is clear. I will develop a vision of where I want my special education students to be at the end of next year.
Radical
I just watched a TED
Education special on PBS (Highly recommended viewing - I had recorded it about
a month ago and finally got a chance to watch it). Geoffrey Canada of Harlem Children's Zone
highlighted the fact that the dial phones of the 50s have been changed and
improved, but if you decide to innovate our education system you are considered
a radical. Change is needed and I will continue to try new things in my
classroom to motivate students and tap into their natural curiosities.
PLC
Does anyone have experience of how a professional learning
community works? As far as improving teaching practice this idea continues to come
up. This seems to fit the idea of professional development that really works.
It is sustained and allows teachers to leave the isolated islands of their
classrooms. What really matters here is that it is a cheap way for teachers in
a building/district to come together to improve their teaching practice. It
would also help build trust amongst the teacher members which might lead to an
even more powerful improver of practice – observation and feedback of real
classroom lessons. In our building we talk about observing each other, but no
one ever does – too busy. I bet it really comes down to trust. We haven’t had
the opportunity to build real trust. It takes time so let’s propose moving to a
professional work schedule (full-year contract or 11-month if we water it down a bit) that will provide us the time to
devote to real professional development and collaboration.
If you are interested in my white paper about full-year contracts use the link below.
http://mvsdmultiage45.weebly.com/
If you are interested in my white paper about full-year contracts use the link below.
http://mvsdmultiage45.weebly.com/
I think it is just absolutely outstanding that you kept your students who are on IEP's in your room for math. You might consider a co-teaching model with your SPED teacher rather than having the para-pro in your room. I did this with my 4th and 5th graders for reading and math this past year. It worked well enough that now my principal wants me to do it in every grade level. Co-teaching is tricky and requires trust between the two teachers and massive amounts of planning. In the end it is worth it and with practice it gets easier.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, my school does something similar to PLC. We have weekly meetings and we are supposed to observe each other on a monthly basis. We can have our classes covered to provide time for the observations. We just added the observation component this year and while I was there it went really well. I know it was good for me.
ReplyDeleteWe have PLC's in Lapwai...A Language, Math, Behavior and Standards-Based Report card team.
ReplyDeleteActually Traci, Kelly and I are all on the Langage Improvement Team. We have weekly Wednesday morning meetings for one hour (before school) at 7am. I think it is working, but definitely takes time to begin implementing changes. Money always comes up as an issue because even when you have a direction you want to go often times there is no money to do it or time to train the staff in it. I do feel optimistic that we will eventually have made big changes to help our staff and students perform at a high level. This next year we will have half-day Fridays with kids, so every Friday after noon will be focused professional development based on what the PLC's and the Leadership Team plan. I'll let you know how this goes!
I am interested to hear more about the PLCs going on. This year our district is moving to late start on Mondays for students, so teachers can participate in PLCs. I am already wondering if one hour is really enough time to get done what is needed. Cindy, it is interesting to hear that you all are moving to half day on Fridays. Is this because one hour was not enough time? This past year I ordered Common Core Mathematics in a PLC at work by Timothy Kanold. I naively thought this summer I might have time to read it. Maybe in August - I have not heard of an observation component to what our district is trying to implement, but I can see the value in participating in that. It is hard not to get dejected about some of the issues in education, but when I hear about things like this that are happening across our region, it is hopeful. I just hope that the time is given to really let these initiatives take hold and make some progress.
ReplyDeleteWe will still meet with our PLC's on Wednesday mornings, but we will work on Friday after noons implementing what the PLC's and DATA determine we need including grade level common assessments, developing units of study aligned with the common core standards, explicit instruction, looking at our data and improving our instruction. We formerly had usually one full day a month of in-school professional development, but this new schedule will give us more time!
ReplyDelete