Classroom Management Strategies via Lino

I have been finding a lot of great tools for teachers through iPad apps lately.  Anything that makes me a more productive learner, teacher, communicator, or facilitator of knowledge in any way is of interest to me.  I recently stumbled upon Lino, an interactive bulletin board that uses virtual post-it notes to create awesome idea organizers.  I made my own board on Lino this morning called "Classroom Management Strategies" and I invite anyone to post their most effective classroom management strategies.  Please share your simplest strategies or your most complex.  I feel that teaching and sharing information and ideas go hand in hand.  So share away!  

Classroom Management Strategies

Assessing Math Skills

While I was doing a read aloud during tutoring, I came across a snippet that I thought was interesting. Although it was meant to be humorous, I can’t help but think that it’s a realistic situation in many classrooms.  Teachers are quizzing students on skills that they know how to do, but they’re bored with the way it is presented.  

To setup the scene, the student (Andrew) is doodling instead of completing his math problems at his desk while his teacher is watching.

In the front of the room, the tall teacher looked up from his large metal desk.  “Andrew, get busy,” he called out.  “Let’s start working.”

Andrew nodded.  He filled in two more answers before doodling a vampire with fangs dripping blood in the upper corner.

“Stop wasting time, Andrew,” called the teacher.  “If that math work isn’t completed by recess, you’ll stay inside doing it.”

Andrew counted the remaining problems.  “Let’s see, I have seven minutes to do twenty more problems,” he told himself.  “That’s… let’s see, seven times sixty is four hundred and twenty seconds divided by twenty. That’s only twenty-one seconds per problem.  How can I ever get all this math done in time?”

 Any thoughts?

I personally believe that if we presented problems in a "real life" sort of way, it would interest students a lot more.  I understand that with standards to meet and Common Core Curriculum modules and units, we feel as if we have more expectations to reach and less freedom when it comes to what we do in our classrooms, but that doesn't mean every single day is dictated for us.  If we want to reach our students, we need to make learning more fun and engaging for them.

Excerpt from Math Rashes and Other Classroom Tales by Douglas Evans (2000)

Life Lessons from Substitute Teaching

I feel like substitute teaching has made me take myself less seriously and roll with the punches more in life.  The job has definitely opened my eyes to many aspects of education and a multitude of grade levels.  I've dealt with different teaching styles, administrative styles, and curriculum designs.  I've had good days and bad.  I've been faced with a number of different issues that have turned me into a better problem solver.  I know that my position is temporary - most of the time only a day or two - and the problems that arise each day are not going to be "the worst in the world" and they're not going to be the last problems I ever have.  The next day will bring new challenges and new triumphs.  Subbing has not only helped me learn more about myself as a teacher, but it has helped me learn more about my own capabilities and weaknesses as a person.

Memories of School

As educators, we know that it's important to reflect on our own teaching styles and abilities and constantly hope to improve upon the way we teach.  It's equally important to put ourselves in our students' shoes and evaluate the way we are touching their lives and affecting the way they learn.  Another great thing to do is to take ourselves back to when we were students and think about our favorite things in each grade.  It might be a project we completed, a field trip we took, or a particular achievement we attained...  Whatever it happens to be, I think it's important to remember what we enjoyed when we're thinking about what our students might also enjoy today.

If you have a few minutes, I'd appreciate it if you would complete this survey.  It's a reflection broken down by grade level where you can share your favorite memories at each level.  If you can't remember something from a particular year, don't fret.  Any information will be greatly appreciated.  The survey is completely anonymous and I will share some of the responses on here so we can all take a look at what we enjoyed to perhaps spark some ideas about what we could recycle and use again in our classrooms.

Please feel free to pass the survey along to your friends, family, students, classmates, and fellow educators.

Educational Tweeting

I have just gotten back into Twitter and I must say, it's much more helpful than it was last time I used it.  I don't know if it's just the fact that more people are using Twitter than the last time I was really into it, or if my interests and objectives for the social media website have been altered and I have found more useful reasons to tweet.  Either way, I wanted to share the fact that I think it's really useful from an educator's standpoint so that other educators might start using it, too.

Not only are there countless educators tweeting their thoughts, feelings, and ideas, but many educational organizations and websites have joined the party as well, providing a wealth of resources for teachers in any point in their careers.

With so much uncertainty about job security in many school districts across the nation, it's nice to know that there is a teaching community online to turn to when you're looking for advice or ideas or just a place to vent about your personal thoughts.

If you are already on Twitter or if you decide to sign up at some point and join the conversation, please follow me @katrinakrull.