Instructional Friday Focus: Social Media for Professional Learning

Dear Bison Colleagues,

Happy Friday!  As we close out another great week at Buffalo Grove HS, I am focused on the topic of social media for professional learning.  Happy Halloween!

Teach and Learn with Passion!

Teaching and Learning Quotes:

"Just as we teach our children how to ride a bike, we need to teach them how to navigate social media and make the right moves that will help them. The physical world is similar to the virtual world in many cases. It's about being aware. We can prevent many debacles if we're educated."

Amy Jo Martin

"When you've got 5 minutes to fill, Twitter is a great way to fill 35 minutes" - @mattcutts

“LinkedIn is for the people you know. Facebook is for the people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know” ~ Source unknown

Danielson Framework for Teaching reminder:

There are 4 domains, 22 components and 76 elements that are considered aspects of a teacher's responsibility as documented through empirical studies.  The 4 domains are:

1. Planning and Preparation

2. The Classroom Environment

3.  Instruction

4.  Professional Responsibilities

Looking at Domain 1  Planning and Preparation 

1e: Designing Coherent Instruction

Here's a peek at what "distinguished" looks like for 1e :

All of the elements of the instructional design support the stated instructional goals, engage students in meaningful learning, and show evidence of student input. Teacher’s lesson or unit is highly coherent and has a clear structure.

Strategy/Tool to Try: (thanks to ITF Jeff Vlk)

Crowdflik a free app that allows a group of people observing the same event from multiple perspectives to combine all their photos or video footage together.  Users can edit the media clips together into a video containing multiple viewpoints or perspectives of the same event.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crowdflik.-crowd-powered-video./id659091959?mt=8

Instructional Focus:  

District 214 November Tweet Calendar:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1udKir9l_UJzj0piL4N79tvzgUGBLNyeRCw-U9P8i3aI/edit

Links:

http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/32016653/Twitter

http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/using-twitter-for-professional-development.shtml

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/06/5-effective-ways-teachers-can-use.html

http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/1239-amazing-ways-twitter-can-help-in-your-professional-development

Bison Learning Leaders:  

• The Dean's office for all the support they provide to students and staff

Keep up the great work, Bison!  Happy Friday! 

Instructional Friday Focus: RtI

Dear Bison Colleagues,

Happy Friday!  As we close out another great week at Buffalo Grove HS, I am focused on the topic of Response to Intervention.

Teach and Learn with Passion!

Teaching and Learning Quotes:

“We should seek to be fellow students with the pupil, and should learn of, as well as with him, if we would be most helpful to him."

- Henry David Thoreau

Danielson Framework for Teaching reminder:

There are 4 domains, 22 components and 76 elements that are considered aspects of a teacher's responsibility as documented through empirical studies.  The 4 domains are:

1. Planning and Preparation

2. The Classroom Environment

3.  Instruction

4.  Professional Responsibilities

Looking at Domain 1  Planning and Preparation 

1d: Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources

Here's a peek at what "distinguished" looks like for 1d :

Teacher seeks out resources for teaching in professional organizations and in the community, and is aware of resources available for students who need them, in the school, the district, and the larger community.

Strategy/Tool to Try: (thanks to ITF Jeff Vlk)

https://www.instapaper.com/

A dream for Teachers doing research based projects.

Save all of the interesting articles, videos, cooking recipes, song lyrics, or whatever else you come across while browsing. With one click, Instapaper lets you save, read, and manage the things you find on the Internet. Instapaper syncs the articles and videos you save so that they’re waiting for you on all your devices - iPhone, iPad,Android, or Kindle. You can read anything you save, anywhere and anytime you want, even offline!

Instructional Focus:  

Response to Intervention, or RtI as we call it in education, is defined by the National Center on Response to Intervention as follows:

"RtI integrates assessment and intervention within a school-wide, multilevel prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavior problems.  With RtI, schools identify students at-risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions, and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions based on a student's responsiveness."

​

Check out these sites for more resources:

http://www.rti4success.org/sites/default/files/What_is_RTI_2010_07_14_placemat.pdf

http://www.edudemic.com/response-intervention-rti-learning-disability-ld/

http://www.rtinetwork.org

http://www.interventioncentral.org

http://www.jimwrightonline.com/php/rti/rti_wire.php

As educators, we all play a role in the RtI process, whether it is helping to identify a student in need of an intervention, communicating with counselors and the PST team or implementing best-practice Tier I interventions/safety nets in the classroom to support struggling students.  

Here is the link to our Tier I interventions:

https://docs.google.com/a/d214.org/presentation/d/1ER79-Dzc01bh2pWlA_5IORD675gR_zOWJgOZpHnLTNg/edit?usp=sharing

​

Bison Learning Leaders:  

• The cast and crew and faculty who were involved with The Taste of Sunrise fall play last week - what a heartfelt performance!
• The many, many teachers who's classrooms I've visited this week  - your commitment to the growth and education of our students is above and beyond!  I look forward to seeing more of you in action over the next few weeks!
• To the RtI Dynamic Duo of Tim and Milan - seeing the impact that your hard work and commitment to our student success and your partnering with the rest of our teachers and student services to ensure success for all is amazing!

Keep up the great work, Bison!  Happy Friday! 

Instructional Friday Focus: Classroom Management and behavioral management

Dear Bison Colleagues,

Happy Friday!  As we close out another great week at Buffalo Grove HS, I am focused on the topic of classroom management and behavioral management.

Teach and Learn with Passion!

Teaching and Learning Quotes:

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all."
- Aristotle

"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg -- not by smashing it."
- Arnold Glasow

Danielson Framework for Teaching reminder:

There are 4 domains, 22 components and 76 elements that are considered aspects of a teacher's responsibility as documented through empirical studies.  The 4 domains are:

1. Planning and Preparation

2. The Classroom Environment

3.  Instruction

4.  Professional Responsibilities

Looking at Domain 2: The Classroom Environment 

2c: Managing Classroom Procedures

Here's a peek at what "distinguished" looks like for 2c:

Classroom routines and procedures are seamless in their operation, and students assume considerable responsibility for their smooth functioning.

Strategy/Tool to Try: (thanks to ITF Jeff Vlk)

Questia is an iOS app that allows you to quickly find credible books, scholarly articles and topics for your research papers. You can read full-text books and articles within the app and save what you are reading for future access in a project folder

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/questia-library-scholarly/id331637962?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Instructional Focus:  

The 2×10 strategy: a miraculous solution for behavior issues?

The  2×10 strategy is simple: spend 2 minutes per day for 10 days in a row talking with an at-risk student about anything she or he wants to talk about. There’s no mystery to the reasoning here, of course–the strategy builds a rapport and relationship between teacher and student, and lets the child see that you genuinely care about him or her as a person.
http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/2014/10/the-2x10-strategy-a-miraculous-solution-for-behavior-issues.html?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/2014/10/3-biggest-obstacles-in-building-relationships-with-kids.html

Bison Learning Leaders:  

• The Art teachers and Sandy for such a classy opening of our beautiful, professional, new Art Gallery.  If you haven't been down to it yet, go check it out!
• The teachers, staff and students involved in the Fall play "The Taste of Sunrise"-- Break a leg!
• Our RtI, Lit Lab and PST team for their continued work ensuring success for every BG student in Tiers II and II Response to Intervention.  Teachers: Keep up the great work you are doing in Tier I in your classrooms to support the entire RtI structure!

Keep up the great work, Bison!  Happy Friday!

Instructional Friday Focus: Differentiated Instruction

Dear Bison Colleagues,

Happy Friday!  As we close out another great week at Buffalo Grove HS, I am focused on the topic of differentiated instruction.

Teach and Learn with Passion!

Teaching and Learning Quotes:

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

Aristotle

Danielson Framework for Teaching reminder:

There are 4 domains, 22 components and 76 elements that are considered aspects of a teacher's responsibility as documented through empirical studies.  The 4 domains are:

1. Planning and Preparation

2. The Classroom Environment

3.  Instruction

4.  Professional Responsibilities

Looking at Domain 1  Planning and Preparation

1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students

Here's a peek at what "distinguished" looks like for 1b :

Teacher demonstrates thorough knowledge of students’ backgrounds, skills, and interests, and uses this knowledge to plan for individual student learning.

Strategy/Tool to Try: (thanks to ITF Jeff Vlk)

 http://appcrawlr.com/ios/myhomework

Instructional Focus:  

Differentiated Instruction is the key to successful teaching and learning.  There are countless ways to differentiate a lesson.  Whether you choose a variety of grouping or offer students choice in the way they display their learning - everyone benefits when students are better engaged through differentiated strategies.

This link is to a PLETHORA of differentiation resources...check one out and give it a try!

http://cybraryman.com/differentiated.html

Differentiation Strategies:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-strategies-pbl-andrew-miller

http://www.ascd.org/publications/curriculum-update/winter2000/Differentiating-Instruction.aspx

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/differentiated-instruction-content-areas-strategies-reading-thinking-and-writing-learn

Bison Learning Leaders:  

• Student Council and Blue Crew for planning a fantastic, fun-filled Homecoming week!

Keep up the great work, Bison!  Happy Friday! Happy Homecoming!!

Instructional Friday Focus: Homework

Dear Bison Colleagues,

Happy Friday!  As we close out another great week at Buffalo Grove HS, I am focused on the topic of homework in the context of assessment for learning.

Teach and Learn with Passion!

Teaching and Learning Quotes:

"Decades ago, the American Educational Research Association released this statement: “Whenever homework crowds out social experience, outdoor recreation, and creative activities, and whenever it usurps time that should be devoted to sleep, it is not meeting the basic needs of children and adolescents.” It is the rare school that respects the value of those activities—to the point of making sure that its policies are informed by that respect. But some courageous teachers and innovative schools are taking up the challenge."  Alfie Kohn: The Homework Myth

Danielson Framework for Teaching reminder:

There are 4 domains, 22 components and 76 elements that are considered aspects of a teacher's responsibility as documented through empirical studies.  The 4 domains are:

1. Planning and Preparation

2. The Classroom Environment

3.  Instruction

4.  Professional Responsibilities

Looking at Domain 1  Planning and Preparation

1c: Selecting Instructional Goals

Here's a peek at what "distinguished" looks like for 1c :

Teacher’s goals reflect high-level learning relating to curriculum frameworks and standards; they are adapted, where necessary, to the needs of individual students, and permit viable methods of assessment.

Strategy/Tool to Try: (thanks to ITF Jeff Vlk)

This video, made by another D214 ITF, shows students how they can use the "Reminders" App on their iPad as an assignment notebook. 

Instructional Focus:  

I've read The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn and wanted to share some resources in the Friday Focus.  I only ask that you reflect on your own homework assignments and policies and make sure that they are aligned to your instructional goals and to the current research and best practice for students and families.

Here are two resources about "Fair vs Equal" in assigning HW:

:

Here is the transcript for a recent #ILEdChat which was also on the topic of Homework: https://storify.com/kdruben/iledchat-9-7-15-homework

Some other good links to read regarding homework:

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/dwh.htm

http://www.ncca.ie/en/Curriculum_and_Assessment/Post-Primary_Education/Junior_Cycle/Assessment_for_Learning_AfL_/Homework/AfL_Homework.html

http://rtschuetz.blogspot.com/2014/01/grit-rigor-and-missing-angle.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/my-daughters-homework-is-killing-me/309514/

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar07/vol64/num06/The-Case-For-and-Against-Homework.aspx

Bison Learning Leaders:  

• The Art teachers and Sandy for organizing the opening of our new Art Gallery next Friday!
• The Pro Start students for a wonderful first Bison Grill

Keep up the great work, Bison!  Happy Friday!