Classroom Behavior Management

This week I have dealt with a few minor classroom behavior issues. When this happens, I like to address the underlying student issues, but I also make it a point to review classroom procedures implemented by the teacher.

The following four components make-up the classroom behavior management approach:

Classroom Organization
  Students need and expect routine. An organized classroom also allows the teacher to transition seamlessly between activities.

Self Management
   Teaching students to manage themselves not only helps in the classroom, but also prepares him for life outside of school.

Social Development
  Developing appropriate relationships with peers, teachers, and others is important. Sought by employers, social competency is a primary commodity in the American workforce.

Effective Instruction
   Over all other components of classroom behavior management, effective instruction is the crux to creating an learning environment free of behavior interruptions. Included in this area: wait-time, appropriate feedback, scaffolded instruction, and organized lesson plans.


Reference:

https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/form143/index.html

Educational Technology Standards

ISTE National Educational Technology Standards

for Administrators

 

The five ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators challenge educational leaders to grow in the use of effective technology. As I read over the five domains (Visionary Leadership, Digital-Age Learning Culture, Excellence in Professional Practice, Systemic Improvement, and Digital Citizenship) I feel I have many areas I can improve in.

Following standards allows me to measure growth; I can adjust my reading, PLNs, and development in areas of greatest weakness. Without standards, it would be hard to know if I'm focusing my efforts where they are needed most.

The domains in which I am most proficient are Digital-Age Learning Culture and Digital Citizenship. I am slightly knowledgeable in Visionary Leadership and Excellence in Professional Practice; a little work would allow me to be proficient here. I need to focus on Systemic Improvement during my daily professional development; you can expect to read about what I am learning in this area in the future.

Rethinking Learning Spaces... the focus of my PD this week.

Rethinking Learning Spaces

This week I have studied alternative learning spaces, one of the seven pillars of Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger. I'm amazed at how similar most of today's high school classes look compared to those at the turn of the 20th century. See images (a) and (b) below. 

Schools should foster creativity and learning. Simply putting smart boards at the front of classes and giving laptops to students is not enough; we must rethink the environment in which students learn. I often hear leaders at the school district I work at say, "Do what is best for our kids", and that is precisely why the old way is not good enough any more.

Image (a) A turn of the 20th century classroom

Image (b) - A current classroom

While studying this week, I've found many innovative designs for school, none more jaw dropping than Orestad High School in Copenhagen, Denmark. See images (c-e) below. 

Image (c) - the outside of the Orestad High School

Image (d) - The foyer, stair case and student lounges at Orestad

Image (e) - Orestad student lounge area

Rethinking the learning spaces, it's time to change!

Educational Leadership: What do we believe?

I came across an insightful article today during my daily professional development. I'd like to share a portion of it here. I underlined the parts I found most beneficial.

The full article is called What do we believe? The author is Joanne Rooney, a lifelong educator.

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I have also found that reflection on questions such as these helps distinguish essential from ordinary priorities:

• What is our work? Writing a vision statement to hang in the hall or deciphering what the superintendent wants us to do differs dramatically from discovering the passion that resides deeply in our hearts and minds. It must be about kids.
• Does our school's culture reflect this passion? Does "the way we do things around here" reflect our beliefs about kids, teaching, and caring? Learning finds a hostile home in a toxic culture.
• Have we found a context for psychometric data? Currently, test scores often substitute for learning, and the obsession with upgrading test scores defines leadership. It is outrageous that so many hold in high esteem only that which can be measured. We must keep in mind the famous words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's little prince—"That which is essential is invisible to the eye"—and articulate this truth as often as we say "test scores."
• Is our leadership embedded in relationships? Principals are effective not because of positional power, but because of the synergy that flows from positive relationships between the principal and teachers—and among the teachers themselves.
• Are "teachers as professionals" and "teacher leadership" more than buzzwords? Leaders must clearly express—and back up—the expectation that adult learning is crucial to professionalism. And as they show increased acceptance of teachers in leadership roles, principals must trust teachers' decisions, even when they diverge from the principal's preferences.
• Is the principal the head learner? We, too, must tear ourselves away from the paper, e-mail, phone calls, and meetings that jam our days to participate in meaningful professional development, lest we, too, keep relying on information learned for and in a different era.

February 2008 | Volume 65 | Number 5
Teaching Students to Think Pages 88-90 

As I read this article, I found myself nodding my head and saying out loud "I agree" more than once.