Group items tagged

"Time for another staff meeting. Need an idea for something that engages teachers? Shakes things up a bit? Starts the year off right? Lessee. Maybe you can group teachers in some cool way -- by their birth month or favorite Jimmy Buffet song. Maybe you could play an inspiring video from YouTube, streaming it from your phone to seem all high-tech and whiz bang."

"If education is viewed as a relationship with students, families, and the community, then good communication should be a priority. Communication skills are critically important in education. Teachers and administrators communicate with parents/guardians, community leaders, co-workers, and other stakeholders. A principal can be successful if he understands curriculum design and knows how to support teachers. However, if his communication skills are weak he will not last long as a school administrator. In a world where most people use a SmartPhone for coupons, Twitter, Facebook, alerts from the pharmacy, seeking information, and driving directions, families expect to receive real time communication from school staff. While it is important to focus on curriculum development, assessment, healthy school lunches, exercise, and student safety, some schools could benefit from focusing on how well educators are communicating. Educators could begin by asking, "Are we communicating?" "

"Dear school leader, Really tired of ho-hum, sit-n-get professional development? You've been there, done that. Why not take control of your own learning? You are the lead learner in your classroom, aren't you? Do you model for your staff and students that you are a learner first and foremost? Embark on a user-generated learning experience, and you won't regret it. But where to begin? Dr. Kristen Swanson is an accomplished educator who truly understands the power of learning communities and networks. She has served as a classroom teacher, educational technology director, and college instructor. She's an active blogger and tweeter and a founding member of the Edcamp Foundation. Her book, Professional Learning in the Digital Age: The Educator's Guide to User-Generated Learning, is a must-read for educators today and belongs on a small shelf with other valuable connected learning resources like The Connected Educator and What School Leaders Need to Know about Digital Technologies and Social Media."

"SMART is an acronym that often stands for goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. They're written by many organizations to set actionable goals commensurate with the group's vision and mission. While these types of goals have saturated staff meetings around the country enough to make the term a little cringe-worthy among adults, my third graders loved dissecting the acronym, and I found them more highly engaged in writing goal/resolutions than I can remember in recent years. This week, I'm happy to share with you how my students got started writing their new year's resolutions this week. "

"The U.S. Department of Education released a free, web-based survey Thursday that schools can use to track the effectiveness of school climate efforts and resources on how to best improve learning environments for students. The surveys, developed with input from researchers and the department's office of safe and healthy students, can be administered to middle and high school students, staff, parents, and guardians, providing real-time data about their perceptions of the school environment."