TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The question of professional development is still widely discussed. There are different

examples of pilot projects which can be worth implementing, to my mind. One of them you can find following this link: http://people.umass.edu/educ870/teacher_education/Documents/Craig-book.pdf

This is so called “Focus School Project” model.

One of such projects is The three-year Primary Science and Technology Project (Sci-Tec) between the South Australian Education Department and the former South Australian College of Advanced Education (now the University of South Australia.

Schools within the local districts are clustered together to enable joint professional development activities, the sharing of resources, and the dissemination of information. There is generally one focus school selected per district cluster. Thirty focus schools were identified and two teachers from each of the schools were designated focus teachers. 

The project had three phases. In phase one, the focus teachers developed their own classroom practice in teaching science. They then assisted teachers within their own schools to develop their classroom practices. In phases two and three of the project, the focus teachers worked in pairs in schools in their clusters to assist local teachers first to develop their own classroom practice and to develop the teaching skills. The project provided focus teachers with 20 percent release time from the classroom for three years. The focus schools were required to match this release time from their professional development budget. The teachers were provided with additional release time at the beginning of the project to attend a two-week program at the University of South Australia on classroom practice. At the end of phase one, additional teacher release time enabled focus teachers to work on their inservice skills.

It might be rather interesting (and challenging as well) to participate in such model of teachers’ development. Would you like it? 

Collaborative Learning

I am really sure that collaborative learning is very effective. As we say, two heads are always better than one. While practicing different group activities I witnessed how my students can share strengths and develop their weaker skills at the same time. They also develop their interpersonal skills while collaborating. In some situation they even learn to deal with conflict.

So, group work can result in the production of:

·         wikis

·         proposals

·         reports of case studies

·         in-class or video presentations

·         posters

Here are some ways to provide feedback on group productivity throughout the process as well as on the group product.

·         Evaluate students on both their contributions to group processes as well as the final product.

·         Create a detailed explanation of what your expectations are.

·         Provide scores for individuals as well as groups.

·     Use rubrics.  Consider asking students for feedback and including some of their ideas to the rubric.

·         Incorporate peer and self-assessment at various milestones. This is a good way to check in on the assignment progress as well as the group dynamics.

·         Communicate clearly to students at the beginning how you will calculate their grades.

One of the first things you can do when assessing students' learning is present them with a problem that will elicit a recall of various skills learned throughout a particular course of study. In the traditional manner, give them clear objectives, criteria to demonstrate what they have been learning, and a rubric that defines clear expectations. Then, let them go. Allow your students to organize into work groups. Let them define the roles needed for the task and allow them the opportunity to use various technologies to present, but don't suggest or define a specific tool.

So to quickly review:

·         Step 1: Set clear objectives and tasks

·         Step 2: Allow for open collaboration

·         Step 3: Allow access to learning tools

·         Step 4: Limit explicit direction

·         Step 5: Define clear expectations 

4 Great New Google Docs Templates for Teachers ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

4 Great New Google Docs Templates for Teachers ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

How to make an effective group

I don’t stop telling my students the words of Tom Peters “Today we live in a project world and, if you are in a project world, you’ve got to be a great teammate .” I try to learn them to contribute the group work by being a part of their team or group.

The first rule to be a good teammate is to communicate, communicate, communicate. If any of them  has a problem with someone in their group, I ask them to talk to them about it. As they shouldn’t blame others and they should support group member's ideas. If a teammate suggests something, always consider it – even if it's the silliest idea you've ever heard! Considering the group's ideas shows that the person is interested in other people's ideas, not just their own. And this makes them good team members. After all, nobody likes a know-it-all.

Another rule is no bragging! Don't act like a superstar – that is what I say. Sometimes it happens with my children and it comes to the situation that a group doesn’t want to have those “supers” among them.

Another thing I always ask my students is to listen actively and to look at the person who's speaking to them, nod, ask questions and acknowledge what's said by paraphrasing points that have been made. If they're unclear about something that's been said, I advise them to ask for more information to clear up any confusion before moving on. Everybody knows that effective communication is a vital part of any team, so the value of good listening skills shouldn't be underestimated.

And the last rule but not the least is to get involved. I do tell my students to share suggestions, ideas, solutions and proposals with their team members.

 Follow these tips:  

• Create the groups based on student personalities and skill sets.
• Make sure students understand the value of group work by having a session with them about why group work is important.
• Have a team skills training session so that students know how to work well with each other.
• Provide an environment that builds mutual trust by…:

• having the group assign roles.
• having the group decide their means and frequency of communication.
• having the group create a process for conflict management and resolution.

• Make sure the group has set clear goals.
• Assess the students as a group AND as individuals. You can also evaluate the final product, as well as the team process.
• Consider involving students in the assessment process by having them submit documentation about their group process as well as a variety of evaluations (team, peer and self).
• Provide sufficient external support by planning how you will support groups/students that have poor attendance, don’t do their share of the work, receive poor peer evaluations or that can’t resolve a conflict.

Jigsaw Reading Activity

I would begin Jigsaw technique with teacher modeling.  If my students were not familiar with this activity, I would explain to them that they would be working in different groups: a jigsaw or home group, made up of students who have read different texts, and expert group that all reads the same text.

Then, with a piece of text appropriate for my group of students, I would read and think-aloud as if I were working in an expert group, focusing on thought processes such as:

How can I put these ideas into my own words?

How will I tell the members of my jigsaw, or home, group about this material?

To prepare students for returning to their home, or jigsaw, group, I would demonstrate thinking they could use to monitor their performance there:

Do people understand what I’m saying?

Then I would organize students in their home or jigsaw groups and share with them the learning goal or guiding question for the lesson.  I would remind them of the modeling they saw. After appointing the roles I would check their understanding by asking:

·         Will everyone who will be experts raise your hand?

·         Can those responsible for the group work stand up (Leaders)?

·         How much time will you have for reading?

http://www.adlit.org/strategies/22371/    Teachers can use the following steps when developing the jigsaw strategy for a class:

1.       Introduce the technique and the topic to be studied.

2.       Assign each student to a "home group" of 3-5 students who reflect a range of reading abilities.

3.       Determine a set of reading selections and assign one selection to each student.

4.       Create "expert groups" that consist of students across "home groups" who will read the same selection.

5.       Give all students a framework for managing their time on the various parts of the jigsaw task.

6.       Provide key questions to help the "expert groups" gather information in their particular area.

7.       Provide materials and resources necessary for all students to learn about their topics and become "experts".

8.       Discuss the rules for reconvening into "home groups" and provide guidelines as each "expert" reports the information learned.

9.   Prepare a summary chart or graphic organizer for each "home group" as a guide for organizing the experts' information report.

10.   Remind students that "home group" members are responsible to learn all content from one another.

MIXED ABILITY CLASSES

MIXED ABILITY CLASSES

Actually, all our students are individual. They have different names, different appearance, different age and gender, different background. They are different in their character, their interests and their likes and dislikes. Naturally, every our student processes and learns new information in different ways. It means that all of them have different learning styles out of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ones. As we deal with the problem of mixed ability classes, we should realize how to learn and what methods of learning best fits our students. Understanding this can help maximize time you spend teaching by incorporating different techniques to meet the classes objectives.

We know that mixed ability classes are those made up of students of different levels of proficiency. It means that students may have different strengths, weaknesses and approaches to learning. They may respond differently to various teaching methods and classroom situations. According to Georgina Ma http://www.witslanguageschool.com/NewsRoom/ArticleView/tabid/180/ArticleId/58/Teaching-Tips-Mixed-Ability-Classes.aspx we can outline the next reasons for mixed ability classes:

·         Age or maturity 

·         Intelligence and multiple intelligences

·         Learning style

·         Language aptitude

·         Language levels 

·         Mother tongue

·         Learner autonomy

·         Motivation or attitude towards the subject

·         Cultural background

Basing on Richmond Publishing According to Ur (1991: 303), some of the challenges teachers of mixed ability classes may face include: 

·         Discipline - Teachers may find their mixed ability classes are chaotic or difficult to control. Discipline problems occur when learners feel frustrated, lose concentration, get bored, or behave in a disruptive manner. Some reasons why mixed ability classes may be more difficult to control may be because different learners may find the subject matter easier or more difficult to grasp, weaker learners may require more assistance from the teacher, or more advanced learners may dominate aspects of the lessons. 

·         Interest – Learners may differ in their learning styles, motivation and interests. Teachers of mixed ability classes may find it difficult to provide content and activities that are motivating and interesting to all learners in a class. 

·         Effective learning for all – In mixed ability classes it is difficult to provide effective learning for all learners. The content or activities in a lesson may be too easy for some and too difficult for others. 

·         Materials – Materials are usually rigidly aimed at a certain kind of learner and may not offer teachers options or flexibility. 

·         Individual awareness – Teachers may find it difficult to get to know and follow the progress of all learners in a class. In classes where there are many differences, teachers are not able to devote time and attention equally to all learners (Šimanová, 2010). 

·         Participation – In mixed ability classes, more advanced learners tend to participate more actively than weaker learners. Lack of participation or attention from the teacher, may further affect weaker learners proficiency in the subject. 

·         Correction – Teachers may feel overwhelmed by the marking load and may also not feel equipped to deal with the errors made by a student. For example a subject teacher may not feel comfortable correcting a learner’s language errors. 

Dozens of Great PowerPoints for AP History Students & Teachers

Dozens of Great PowerPoints for AP History Students & Teachers

75 Google Apps Video Tutorials

75 Google Apps Video Tutorials