Tag Archives: School Advisor

Beliefs Hierarchy Revisited, Active Listening, 315 Prep, Conceptions of Teaching, & Microteaching Prep: Update for Monday, 17 October 2011

In the spirit of Trooper, we were here for a good time AND a long time (3.5 hours!):

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idMqKNVxOyo&feature=related[/youtube]

Here’s how we spent our 210 minutes together:

Stop. Start Continue:

Dave and I asked for some formative assessment of our practice using a Stop. Start. Continue organizer.  We appreciate your comments, and we will report out on our findings in a subsequent lesson.  In doing this, we are both aiming to gather suggestions for refining our instruction and modeling the importance of seeking feedback from students.

Here’s a link to how a teacher in England uses S. S. C. with her students: Action Research – Stop, Start, Continue.

Beliefs Hierarchy Revisited & Active Listening

After a quick write on a triad of beliefs-related questions, Dave asked you to discuss your key beliefs with a partner.  Prior to the discussion, he reviewed 4 methods of active response to use during a conversation.  Those methods are:

  • Paraphrasing
  • Perception Checking
  • Ask Questions
  • Say More

These active listening techniques will prove particularly useful during discussions with your SA and the students you’ll teach.   The more you practice them, the more comfortable you’ll be sliding them seamlessly into the conversation.  Even if your aren’t the smoothest at first, you will certainly come across as more eloquent than ol’ Vicky Pollard:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mpMEnxcVkA[/youtube]

EDUC 315 Prep

We took a few questions and outlined what you can expect from your SA:

Next, we outlined the format for your weekly practicum reflections.  You are to complete a reflection after each of your 6 in-school Tuesdays and email them to your FA.  Each reflection is due on the Tuesday evening.  Here’s the template for your reflection:

Conceptions of Teaching

Having already considered the Freire piece in your Entrance Slips, Dave and I thought it would make sense to look at some other conceptions of teaching.  We chose to view / read the following with this question in mind:

  • What teacher qualities are indispensible in this conception of teaching?

Sir Ken RobinsonTED Talk (as interpreted by RSA Animate)

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U[/youtube]

Adora SvitakTED Talk

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-bjOJzB7LY&list=PL454495DD4F6692B4&index=1[/youtube]

William Ayers – 2-pages from To Teach: The journey of a teacher

Here’s a clip explaining how Ayers’ book was transformed into a graphic novel:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Uwcw2DzaY[/youtube]

Oh, and for good measure, here’s “an incredible conversation” with Paolo Freire:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFWjnkFypFA[/youtube]

After considering the key qualities of a teacher implied in each speaker’s / author’s vision, we asked you to “bring to life” each conception of teaching.  These brief presentations were a lot of fun to watch and should provide food for thought as you begin to articulate your own philosophy of teaching.

Please remember to post your Freire piece Exit Slip on the Vista site by the end of the day. In your Slip please write 2 or 3 sentences on how your thinking has changed, how your outlook has  been enlarged, or touch on any other reaction to Freire or the in-class work on conceptions of teaching.

Microteaching Preparation Time

To start, we outlined the Microteaching schedule and here it is:

 

Then we took some time to review the Microteaching Lesson Plan format and Dave and I conferenced with the groups.  We look forward to seeing the presentations on Monday, 24 October. Please be sure to bring a hard copy of your lesson plan to class, to review the criteria for the task, and to bring all required materials / resources.   Here’s the task handout for your reference:

’til Monday.

– Lawrence

The Final (Practicum) Countdown & MIAB Speech Analysis Tasks Gallery Walk: Update for Monday, 4 October 2010

NOTE: You’ll get so much more enjoyment out of this post if you read it while the music from this video plays.  Trust me.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyggY_R3jU8&p=61349DCC17CB1C98&playnext=1&index=55[/youtube]

Clock Partners

Clock Partners are a great way to set up partnerships in a classroom setting.  It gives students some choice over who they will speak/work with for a given activity while speeding up the partner finding process.  Here’s the Clock Parnters sheet I handed out for you to record your appointments.  There are instructions for the activity on the back of the page:

Weekend Rating

We found our 6 o’clock partner (I think) and rated our weekends… positively, on the whole.

Pre-Prac Prep Wrap Up

Improv

In a nod to my weekend – I went to see live Improv with Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops of Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame – we did some improv to get our brains working this morning.  We started with Hey, what are you doing?” and progressed to One Word Story.  Directions for these activities and many, many more can be found in the online Impvov Encyclopedia.

A video clip with hilarious highlights from one of Richard Simmons’ visits on WLIIA? is below.  Watch at your own risk!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTxkxG3DF4k[/youtube]

Protocols

Please observe the following protocols when you arrive at the schools:

  • Arrive by 8:30 am
  • Check in at the office and meet the secretaries
  • Expect to wear a Visitor Badge to identify yourself as a guest in the building
  • Smile and make eye contact with students you meet
  • After OKing it with the classroom teacher, interact with students as they work
  • Use the Staff Washrooms
  • Bring a journal and take notes in it about what you see
  • Have fun!

SA Expectations

A lot is expected of you during practicum.  You can expect your SA to support you as you grow into a dynamic beginning teacher, mind you.  Below is a list of the type of assistance your School Advisor should be offering:

  • Get to know your teacher candidate. Endeavour to create a warm, friendly working relationship.
  • Learn specific strengths and needs of your teacher candidate. What does s/he need to know and understand about you and your classroom to help ensure a successful working partnership?
  • Be a listener: Be empathetic, patient, and encouraging. Provide opportunities for your teacher candidate to discuss what was learned in coursework on campus.
  • Introduce your teacher candidate to your class as a “teacher.”
  • Help your teacher candidate become a welcome and participating member of the school staff.
  • Maintain open communication and consultation with the faculty advisor.
  • Ensure that the match between your teacher candidate and yourself and your class is appropriate. Raise any concerns with the faculty advisor and/or school coordinator at the earliest opportunity.
  • Provide opportunities for your teacher candidate to become familiar with the school and district personnel.

If you feel your needs for support in the classroom aren’t being met, please advise me as soon as possible.

Teacher Presence – Introducing Yourself

As a dress rehearsal for tomorrow’s meetin’ and greetin’, I asked each TC to:

  • State the name they want to go by in the classroom
  • Give a brief introduction of themselves

EDUC 315 Task Expectations

Journal: Bob and I are asking you to keep a journal of your thoughts as you tour the school and, eventually, as you work with your SA on 6 consecutive Tuesdays starting on 19 October.  Here are some observation tips that will help you focus your classroom viewing:

Lesson: Also, at some point, you will need to teach (a minimum of) one lesson.  The what and when of this lesson will be worked out with your SA.  We’ll be covering a lesson planning format soon in class.  We ask that you please email a lesson plan to us 24 hours in advance of your teaching and that you send us a copy of your reflection on the lesson, too.

Me In A Bag Gallery Walk

There was great diversity in the post-speech analysis products on display in class this morning.  We viewed them with a Gallery Walk strategy and I collected all the pieces at the end.  It was a bit hard to hear the songs, so I’ll take time next class to play them for the whole group.  Also, next class we’ll consider the benefits and drawback of differentiating end products in your middle level teaching.

That’s a wrap.  I may bump into some of you in the morning as I visit various schools firming up the placements.  Of course, I’ll see all of you in the Montgomery Middle School Library at 1:30 for a debrief of the morning’s happenings.  (I promise to not make any mention of M. Night Shyamalan’s movie The Happening, if you don’t.  Here’s a way better Happening from The Pixies that I’d be more than happy to talk about:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWNm1ZF8wwg[/youtube]

Later alligators.

– Lawrence