Classroom Management!

Hello Everyone!

                                                           I hope you are doing fine and enjoying the good weather!

"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.- John Dewey"

 

Creating and managing the conditions where students can learn is a teacher’s most important job. The key to lead classes successfully we firstly need to be adapted to the skills of classroom management. 

 

It is obvious that each of us will have to face some problems during teaching children or students of a higher grade, but do you know what is the most important of all? BEING PATIENT.

We have to show patience, respect, tolerance and admiration to our students, so in this way they will give us respect back. If we notice that in the beginning of the class our students will be tired, sleepy or lazy about the day, we should be able to use some warm up exercises that attract their attention and make them feel energetic for the upcoming lesson. 

On the other hand, if we have those kind of prototype students, that never sit and always tease their classmates, we have to think of some exercises to make them sit , think. read or write. So in this way, we will activate their thinking skills.

Geography

I think that the best way to organize the class and to control it, is by creating a circle with the desks and the teacher's table in the middle. I think that in this way each of the students will feel comfortable, appreciated, encouraged and motivated.

The walls will be white, as white is the color that helps you stay more focused and see in more details.

During the time I was in high school, me and my classmates decided to draw the ' tree of life' in the wall, in a corner next to the blackboard, and each of us wrote their signatures in there. Till this day, our names still remain at the same class we used to develop our knowledge during three years.

And I think, that I will try to do the same with my future students, as I think this is a thing that 'lasts forever'.

Motivation

What mostly matters in a classroom management is Motivation, and I will definitely try my best to keep my students motivated. This will affect their grades as well, because as much more motivated you are, as more curious and interactive to the class you become.

The class is something that my students will own, and I will give my best to make them feel as comfortable as possible. 

Tips:

Always try to be adapted to the new forms of technology and always try to give a lot of feedback to your students. This will help them improve. 

Don't be monotonous. You will sound boring.

Built an unbroken relationship with the class. That is the best way to enjoy the lesson. One day they will graduate, and You will be part of the list of thanks for them. Be a Motive for Motivation. 

We only live once!

And don't forget, Knowledge is everything!

We gain what we work for. ☺

                                           I really hope you enjoyed reading this article!

                             Feel free to leave your comments below.

Classroom management Behavior!

 Hello everyone!

                                              I hope you are doing fine and enjoying the last school weeks!

As future teachers, you have to be really careful, while managing your class. Always keep in mind than Behavior Management, most of the time, is the Key to Success. 

Having effective behavior will definitely make an amazingly Big Impact on your class. You can prepare a fabulous lesson, but if you can not manage the behavior, I don't think it will be worth it.

Finding a behavior management style that works for you is a Process.

I will show you some tips:

1.Create a class to identify or improve Behavior

While we decide a class name at the start of the school year, we can chose a name based on the theme of the year, it can be a suggestion from our students or a combination of a few names. Always remember to keep this topic fun, so the pupils will come up always with great ideas.
A few names you can use are:

1. Supermen
2. Leader's club
3. The dynamites

2. Build relationships

Building relationship with students shows that we care about them and that we are really interested in their well-being. At the beginning of the school year, try to save all their contact numbers, and contact with their families, with positive comments during the whole school year. Always be patient and let your students feel free to talk to you when having a problem. Be like a Big Brother/Sister to them. It is well said, 'The teacher becomes our second mother'.

3. Collaborative class rules

When collaborating with our students to make rules, a great classroom environment is also cultivated. We have to create rules that address how students are expected to interact with each-other. how are they expected to interact with each-other and with the physical space as well. Through this stage, they develop a sense of ownership for their classroom.

4. Routines

It will be better if we set clear routines for everything we would like our students to do in class. We have to be explicit about everything. Do not assume that students know the expectations for this class and also be sure to practice the classroom routines.

In my opinion it is a good idea to teach our routines and expectations in a way that allows us to differentiate ignorance versus defiance.

5. Rewards 

Rewards are the sweets of the day! They can be individual, group or class- based. Students contributed to the class rules, allow them to contribute to the rewards.

6. Be calm, quiet and consistent

When administering correction be sure to stay calm. Giving a behavioral consequence should not be emotional, rather it should be a response to the clearly outlined rules and routines of your classroom. Avoid threats and deliver consequences firmly.

7. Set high expectations

Set high academic and behavioral expectations. Everyone in the class should have a clear vision of what they want our classroom to look like in the behavioral aspect. Creating an academically engaging, rigorous class, is a great way to manage behaviors. If we make our class engaging students will be invested in the learning experience and less likely to be off task or misbehave.

8. Be an Example

Model the behaviors you as a teacher would like your students to display. You have to be open to the fact that you make mistakes as well. Of course be humble as well to admit them. Even if you apology to your students there is nothing wrong with it. Remember that respect is reciprocal so if you show respect to them, they will show respect to you. No doubts!

Thank you! I hope you will enjoy it, and feel free to leave your comments below!

Don't forget: You are the Best!

Problems during teaching!

Hello everyone!

                                                                I hope you are doing fine!

In today's post, we will discuss about the problems we encounter during teaching!

I hope you will find some interesting points in this blog and I also would like all of you to write down in the comments some other important problems!
                                                                                              Thank you in advance! 

Increasingly I feel that teacher development, performance review and the whole apparatus around lesson observation should place a strong, central emphasis on understanding the challenges that teachers face in securing learning of all the students in a class. It can often be extremely difficult even for experienced expert teachers to nail every student's learning and this needs to be recognized. Management processes need to be geared towards supporting teachers to tackle the real challenges they encounter.

In this post I want to explore five most common challenges that teachers face:

1. They still don't get it. Persistent learning block.

Despite your best effort, students continue to struggle to understand what you're trying to explain or can't apply basic knowledge to more complex situations.

2. No time for practice. Engineering enough fine-grained practice before moving on.

Even if we know that practice is key, where does the time come from? I see students move from one barely grasped idea to another without having the time to practice in between. Solution to this might be to avoid rushing to use integrated forms of practice, such as extended writing, before students have practiced each part.

3. I can't get around to everyone. Real time checking for gaps in understanding.

It's so easy to sit in a lesson and see students that are masking their learning gaps where a teacher hasn't noticed. Among all the issues, I think the mindset shift is an especially important area to explore, to continually ask and explore the question: Who out there in the room still isn't sure? Have I explained enough? Does any one still not know and understand the answer?

4. If I let them talk, they don't all do it properly. Managing productive talk.

I'm a firm believer in the importance of talk as part of the learning process. It's how we rehearse our ideas, gain confidence with vocabulary and communicate in the dynamic flow of an instructional phase. The solution is to practice. I think it's essential that every teacher works hard to establish routines that allow them to switch from teacher- control mode to pair discussion mode any time they like, as often as they like.

5. They just don't do the work. Infusing peer cultures with a work ethic.

We can take the horse to water but we can't make it drink? The frustrations are real enough. Taking a group of students with a shared peer culture that doesn't include a work ethic around studying and turning them into scholars is hard. The solution is lie in making it easy from them to make them learn gains and to make study from part of group habits and norms: Breaking down tasks into small steps that are achievable and where success can be experienced and celebrated, before building towards more extended or complex tasks, teaching study routines, retrieval practice strategies, giving them accessible study guides, making study time part of the school day structure.

Teachers need time and the right working culture where they can openly express the difficulties they have in order to engage in finding solutions. If school cultures continue to reinforce a focus on teacher performance over student learning, top-down drop in, feedback and all that jazz, and continue to motivate teachers to talk up their practice and mask their difficulties, then we won't be doing anyone any favors, least of all the students.

             Let's solve the problems together!☺

Technology tools for teaching Reading

 Hi everybody! 

                                               Hope you are all fine!☺

Teaching reading is a complex process. The best teachers develop an extensive knowledge base and draw on a repertoire of strategies for working with struggling students. I consider Teaching Reading as Rocket Science. 

Most people don't think about  the process of learning to read until they decide to start teaching their own children. But learning to read is a complex process that doesn't happen on its own. The best way to teach kids to read is by making it fun. 

Comprehension ensures students can read proficiently, eventually allowing them to take the reading skills a step forward, making connections beyond factual, literacy recall. This variety of techniques, combined with technology, which allows for a more personalized approach to learning, makes it easier than ever to help students improve their skills, their own way.

1.Reading Bear

(Technique: Audio, Self- Listening and Highlighting)

Help your students learn and practice phonics with this simple, yet impressive website. It takes students through a thorough and progressive process of learning letter sounds.
Students can use this tool at their own pace, repeating words and sentences as needed.

2. Whooo's Reading

(Technique: Comprehension monitoring and gamification)

This online reading log not only motivates students to read more, but improves their reading comprehension without making it feel like 'work'. what makes this tool so effective is both the gaming and comprehension aspects: Students are rewarded with Wisdom Coins for logging reading and answering open-ender, CCSS-aligned questions.

3. Mindmeister

(Technique: Graphic organization and recognizing story structure)

Graphic organizers help students break down an otherwise complex plotline, text or thought process and understand it more clearly. Students can build these from scratch, or you can build a framework for them to follow.

4. Newsela

(Technique: Approachable non-fiction text)

When students don't understand a text, and don't have the skill to recognize that the text is simply difficult, they become frustrated and often give up. Using a leveled - reading website like Newsela allows all of your students to read the same text, or dive into new and more interesting texts while struggling less. The content on Newsela is all non- fiction and functions as a news site for kids. 

Some other technology tools I decided to use for my reading classroom are:

1. Kahoot - Review literary elements

2. Seesaw - Reflection on reading

3. Spark Video - Book trailer

4. Padlet- I can literally admit that this one is my favorite and I usually use it for pre- reading activities

5. Today's Meet- For a read aloud backchannel

6. Explain everything - I suppose this one to be the best ever. It is used for strategy tutorials

7. Nearpod - I use it for annotating text

8. New York Times VR- It provides background knowledge

9. Spark Page- To publish book recommendations

10. Buncee- Used for shareable reading responses

11. Popplet - Try to organize thinking

12. Spark Post- Try it for a virtual exit slip

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Feel free to leave your comments below😍

Project Feels

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                                                                          I hope this post will find you fine!

Group Work💫

Some say working alone is more beneficial, some say working in a group is more beneficial. Working either in a group or alone is personal preference. But working in a group is mostly more beneficial because there are more ideas, people with different skills work on sudden parts, and work can be done sooner than expected with a better product.

When it comes to working in a group, one of the main benefits is there are more ideas. This type of collaboration benefits the project and gives team members an outlet to bounce around ideas to find the best fit. Let's say there are several good advantages about working in a group, but a member unsure which is the most appropriate one, so it gives other member and opportunity to give their ideas or opinions to help finding the best fit. A mistake that usually occurs is the project drifts off the topic. The group can be seen as a resource. Members work on their tasks, but further information might be needed, according to their experiences and knowledge, they will help.

Moreover, working in a group is about teamwork, people with different skills work on sudden parts that they are really good at and can get help whenever they need. I agree with the fact that 'to solve complex problems and to complete difficult tasks, team works better than an individual.' Teamwork is not just work, it is about communication and motivation. As I was working with B. my team mate, we really enjoyed our group work. We had fun, learnt a lot of new things, and really entertained ourselves with some childhood memories.  As we know people with different skills, work on sudden parts. Teamwork is where members need encouragement to put their view across, make it exciting, interesting and motivating. And this is exactly the main reason I liked working with my teammate. She is very motivational, and always keeps me up with her good sense of humor.

Lastly, working in a group is that it enables the group as a whole to be more productive, more creative, and can get work done in small amount of time. During our project we took a really short time to find what we needed for our presentation, and our preparation I guess was way easier than when working individually. A group that works together can achieve much more, creativity thrives when people work together. One of the benefits of working in a group is that it helps to raise the complete output. People work together using their best skills to make the quality better. A broader range of skills can be applied to practical activities.

I know that this post might look as if I described some of the advantages of group work, but in fact I just explained with short points the most accurate side of working with my teammate B.

Working together, helped us to improve skills such as, communication, teamwork, and leadership as well. Most importantly, it made the work more interesting, more motivating. Being teammates is obviously more beneficial than working alone. People should work together and blend themselves into the community.

People who work together, Slay together!❤

Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments below👇

Technology tools in lesson planning!

Hi everybody! 
                                           I hope you are all fine and enjoying these sunny days! ☺

Technology tools in lesson planning! 

The rise of Technology used in classrooms has made learning much more interactive. The emergence of  i-Pads to browser- based tools in project- based learning, take teaching to a new level in the 21 st century. Even the current trends in education include the use of new technology, from collaborative projects to blending traditional textbook teaching with innovative tools.

For students, the core of aim project- based learning is to put theory into practice and gain new skills throughout the process. From prioritizing tasks to managing sources and summarizing concepts, they will be developing skills for life. As well as using interactive tools in group project helps students to grasp a better understanding of a concept.

A major advantage of digital tools used is better engagement in the classroom. For students it's the curiosity, for teachers it's a great tool to work with, to inspire and to grade student work!
Browser- Based tools and several apps used in education are especially useful for researching, storytelling and collaborative video- making. 
Handy mobile devices allow students to be inspired when outside the classroom by creating and sharing ideas and creations instantly. The benefit of some tools is that they accommodate different approaches to projects. Whether the end result is a presentation, telling stories on an interactive timeline, or a visual board. In the case of project- based learning, the passive 'teacher tells students' teaching has turned tp a more 'hands -on' approach with students finding the best ways to present their own results. 

In collaborative projects, students have a chance to enhance their skills in communication, critical thinking, productivity and problem - solving.

Technology Tools (click the link for some more apps)

Here is a mini- guide to some of the project - based learning tools:

1. Mindmeister
As the name suggests , this tool is great for mapping out ideas. A good way to start a project is by asking driving questions, like what's the essence of a project?  Free app available from the Apple Store, and for Android users.

2. Glogster
This creative tool is excellent for creating digital posters and other multimedia-projects. It can be used as a 'pre-tool' for a major project, or simply to highlight research.

3. Myhistro
This versatile browser-based tool enables students to combine blogging, videos and photographs on interactive Google Earth and Google Maps. Myhistro's chronological timeline makes it great for collaborative tasks, multimedia projects and presentations in History, Geography and Social Science.

4. Pixton

A fun web-based tool for creative storytelling. This dynamic comic building site is easy to use and great in English Literature. Interactive features such as a variety of expressions, background templates , and images make classroom activities interesting and let students creativity flow.

5.Reeldirector
Similar to i-Movie only this useful tool comes with advanced features in video making. It's simple to use and has many features  from stitching together clips to putting transitions between video clips to smooth the flow of the video.

6. Animoto
A fun tool for creating slideshows of field trips and learning concepts. You can illustrate you project with videos, photos and text. Simply choose a video style and add your visual material.

7. Voice Thread
A versatile tool used for commenting on any type of media, from videos to photos. It's especially useful in foreign language classes.

8. FotoBabble
'Talking photos'. a tool used to record a voice over for an image in a slideshow format. It's great for collaborative projects telling a story of a photo or event. In the classroom, students can start a project by analyzing a concept or story and import audio from another source.

9. Audioboo
A similar tool to Foto Babble. This voice over tool is excellent for telling stories of a photograph and other visual projects. It supports recordings from other devices, allows users to tag a location and enter a small description.

10. Popplet
An amazing tool for planning that can be used as a mind map illustrated with drawings, photos and videos. This easy way to use interactive tool is ideal for generating concepts, creating galleries, and adding comments. The main downside is that it's fairly expensive for a mind map app.

Feedback , Reflection and Revision

Technology can make it easier for teachers to give students feedback about their thinking and for students to revise their work. 

Thank you for you cooperation!
                                                                            Feel free to leave your comments below✌

Cooperative Learning

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                                                                              I hope you are fine and taking care of your health!☺

What is cooperative learning?

Cooperative learning is a teaching approach with small mixed groups, with the aim that all participants benefit from the interaction. There is a substantial amount of literature methods and techniques which consider such factors as group ability, success and the awarding of this success. Salvin (1988): cooperative learning covers learning methods in which students work in small groups (generally 4-6 students) and group success is awarded in different ways. Both group rewards and individual accountability means that each individual is rewarded only when others in his or her group also succeed, which prevents high achievers from dominating the work. Thus, cooperative group work that incorporates both group rewards and individual accountability not only forces students to take responsibility for their own mastery of the material, but also makes the students responsible for their classmates’ mastery. However, according to (Christian 1990) cooperative learning is a classroom learning approach which is used to increase motivation and retention, to help students to develop positive thoughts about themselves and their friends, to develop students’ ability to solve problems and think critically and to help the student develop cooperative skills.

 

The main aim of cooperative learning is to install the mentality that the groups is working together to increase their own and their friends learning to the top level and not to encourage competition. Competition adopts a win- lose situation where superior students win all the rewards and recognition while low- achieving students are left demotivated with nothing to show for the lesson. In contrast everyone benefits from a cooperative learning environment. Students help each other and in doing so , build a supportive community which raises the performance level of each member (Kagan 1986) and this in turn leads to higher self-esteem in all students (Webb 1982). Each member of the group should help all the other members to learn. (Reeve, 1996_ believes these are psychological benefits to be gain when students work together. According to Reeves students can be increasing engaged and find significant enjoyment when social interaction is integrated into their learning experience. In order to carry out cooperative learning successfully, the group must have a purpose, and all the students in the group should undertake responsibility to achieve the aim of the group. In this approach, students should combine their own efforts with those of their friends in the group because the essence of this approach is “either we swim together or we sink together”. No matter what his/her success level is, every student should believe that he does what he can to contribute to the success of the group. Every group member should be aware of the concept of commitment of aim and commitment of success. “In this method, the group members should be in face to face interaction. This interaction is obtaining by helping each

other, giving feedback, relying on each other, discussing and encouraging each other” (Johnson and Johnson ,1989). For communication and social skills, students should be taught the required small group skills and interpersonal skills. Such as leadership, decision making, trustworthiness, communicating and resolving conflict skills. If these skills are not present in the student, cooperative study cannot be achieved. Also, no matter what level the students’ ability and competence levels are, their contributions to the group should be appreciated. Students should be given the opportunity to show themselves at the subject they are good at. Slavin (1992) emphasizes that:
“Students will learn from one another because in the in discussions of the content, cognitive conflicts will arise, inadequate reasoning will be exposed, disequilibrium will occur, and higher quality understandings will emerge”

Please find attached the link to my Padlet presentation about Cooperative learning in Education!

Padlet

                                                                                   Thank you for you cooperation guys!☺