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"Don't smile till November," because that's what she was taught in her teacher education program.

make better teachers

So why does teacher education only give you theory and theory and tell you about standards and tell you about all of these things that have nothing to do with the basic skills, that magic that you need to engage an audience, to engage a student?

content and theories with the absence of the magic of teaching and learning means nothing.

And if we could transform teacher education to focus on teaching teachers how to create that magic then poof! we could make dead classes come alive, we could reignite imaginations, and we can change education.

4.  Spotlight Respect For All Cultures: Reaffirm the message about being supportive of one another, kind, understanding and patient. Encourage everyone to openly talk about their personal cultures, traditions and languages. Have parties celebrating the different cultures in the class, sharing music, historical family photos, dances, games, food and traditions.  Hold discussions about the history of America, immigration, and the value of diversity and differences. Encourage students to share their own stories of immigration, passed down from generation to generation.

5.  Community: If the parents and/or guardians do not speak English, request an interpreter if possible for all school communication, including parties, conferences and special events. Invite parents to all school community functions to encourage and foster a sense of belonging. If possible, introduce other students and/or families who speak the same language as the ESL student. Sharing cultural commonalities will provide strong bonds for students, parents and teachers.

6.  Assess Students Informally: Assess ESL students on an informal basis when they first arrive to class, and ongoing during the school year. It is imperative to primarily check for understanding in regard to basic and social needs. Pay attention from the sideline to see if they know numbers, letters and/or short English phrases. Continuously check for comprehension and growth informally, make notes and never be afraid to raise the bar and challenge a bit.

7.  Don’t Discourage Native Language Use:  With all good intentions, this is a common mistake teachers can make. ESL students who have a stronger foundation of their native language will have a shorter route to acquiring English. Don’t discourage native language use, as this will result in negative feelings about the student’s language and culture, and may cause delay in English language acquisition. Provide free time for the ESL student to read and write in their native language

8.  Use Manipulatives, Visuals, Games, Music and Hands-On Activities in the Classroom: According to William Glaser, we learn 80% of what we experience, and 95% of what we teach others. ESL students do exceptionally well when this theory is followed. Involve them in projects that will encourage them to talk as much as possible with their classmates.   Some ideas for projects are the following:  cooking (following easy directions), art (drawing, painting, sculpture), musical activities (music provides an amazing platform for learning), and acting (for example, charades).

9.  Provide Various Opportunities For Talking and Consider Seat Placement: It is very important to consider seat placement in the classroom for the ESL student. All too often, ESL students are seated in the back of the classroom, which leads to a great lack of contribution, listening, and  participation. Try and seat the ESL student close to the front, especially with other students who are inviting and enjoy conversation. Provide the most opportunities as possible for talking and listening to others in the class via group work. You will be surprised how much shorter the silent period will end. 

10. Communicate with the ESL teacher: Maintain communication with the ESL teacher as much as possible. The sooner both teachers are working together, the quicker the student will learn English. Be open to the ESL teacher’s suggestions, let him/her share in the modification of classwork, and invite the ESL teacher into your classroom. 

. should be embedded within the core subject discipline curriculum so that examples can be course specific and that info lit can be made apparent at point of need and not as a separate (and poorer) cousin.

to allow different teachers to adapt the curriculum to their own teaching style.

I believe information literacy has to be context‐sensitive both in subject but also individual experience.

he need to build on knowledge over time and to ‘scaffold’ the learner with greater levels of support in their first year or at critical points in their career was highlighted. However,it was important for the curriculum to be coherent and to ‘fit together’ and as one expert said:

No longer should the library be trying to sell its resources as part of information literacy instruction. Rather than focusing on resources, IL instruction should be focusing on habits of mind. Librarians’ role as a guide through the information landscape should not be touted but demonstrated.

The IL curriculum needs to consider the whole students information experience – skills are just one aspect.

Collaboration between different groups of staff was considered to be extremely important in terms of the successful implementation of any information literacy strategy or curriculum.

student‐centred approach’.

experts were clear that information literacy should be timed to happen at the point of need, but also that it should extend beyond simple induction.

Effort needs to be made to embed IL into the curriculum at later stages as well.

scalable approach.

Collaboration between library staff and academics was widely advocated, with many experts recognizing the role that learning developers, IT staff and also students could play.

work together to integrate it into the learning experience.

Many experts felt it was critical to the success of a programme that an audit of student abilities was carried out at the outset, to help better understand the needs of the students and any gaps in their knowledge. It would also help in planning more meaningful sessions, as otherwise itwas very easy to make assumptions about what students might know

the concerns of the different stakeholders were considered.

For students the key is to make them see that IL expertise will improve their grades. Students will respond to this most of all. There is some evidence that the term ‘information literacy’ has no currency with students (maybe not academics either), so while we can use it to coordinate efforts within the library, avoid using it externally. We need to show how the library adds value ‐ and increases marks.

Librarians are no longer seen simply as gatekeepers of information, but partners with faculty helping to facilitate learning.

The experts talked about a reluctance by some librarians to regard teaching as part of their role and a lack of confidence around more discursive teaching techniques

there is a danger ofconfusing IT awareness with information literacy.

the digital natives literature has vastly over‐rated info skills of young people, and also they may think they have better skills than they do. At the same time you have to appreciate that some students will be highly skilled online and any introduction that begins at too basic a level will put them off.

Experts agreed that independent learning and information literacy were closely linked: Information literacy creates an independent learning style which can become a self sustainable habit thorough life which must surely be considered as a desirable graduate attribute.

Experts were unanimous in the need to include evaluation skills in the information literacy curriculum.

Rather, it emphasises the need for students to appreciate a wide range of resources used by researchers in their field, although some of those described below might be valuable for students in a variety of different academic disciplines.

intense, deep research skills are lacking. Being able to find not just "good enough" sources but the best sources is critical.

Many librarians might traditionally regard managing information as being solely about bibliographic management, but file management, management of web resources and also developing an understanding of how to keep up to date, should form a fundamental part of the curriculum.

Traditionally this might include an understanding of plagiarism, and citation and referencing techniques.

Sharing information appropriately also forms part of the ethical use of information.

The need to present like someone on TED talks. Is presentation an information literacy skill? It's a digital literacy skill. Being literate in the tools, modes and reach of your presentations (slideshare, podcast, recording and rights.)

I don’t know howyou get across to people that it’s not simply about finding the answer, it’s finding your voice to make a valid answer.

Managing your online identity, web presence or ‘digital footprint’

rodusage ‐ not a consumer but not a producer either ‐ ideas of production and consumption are pre‐internet concepts. Forces of publication/dissemination now much more wide‐spread, democratized. “Produsers” produce and use at the same time. IL is beginning to sound a bit stale

I suppose the idea of synthesising information from different sources – students really struggle with this ‐ the ideasof looking at two different sources and evaluate them – even if its not evaluating for quality, they might both have different opinions about something. Compare and contrast – that idea.

Part of it is developing citizens that are aware and socially conscious ... being an information conscious person and an IL person when it comes to elections and major issues like a referendum.... It’s ina much broader sense we are talking about when we talk about IL.

Of course, some computer skills are valuable, like keyboarding, creating multimedia projects, manipulating programs they'd use in life and school,

"They can run an iPhone like a champ, or the iPads we have here at school. But they're not that exposed to keyboarding skills or using the mouse to move something up and down on a screen."

said her students have been honing their keyboarding skills while using an online curriculum for computer coding.

Using an online math program, they learn to move and click a mouse, and cut and paste text. As they move through the grades, they add more skills, integrated into their core-content study, Ms. Warr said.

"If we were trying to teach the tech skills in isolation, there would be a huge pushback [from teachers], but we integrate them into other subjects," Ms. Warr said.

But because the Smarter Balanced assessment expects more "writing in one shot" online, he's encouraging teachers to shift their "quick writes" to the computer, he said.

1st graders are starting with a free online game called Dance Mat, where they pick out letters one at a time, and work up to typing their names, Mr. Decker said. In 2nd grade, students begin using an online program called Type To Learn three times a week. Third and 4th graders continue it twice a week, and by 5th grade, it's down to weekly.

Collective Participation:

Training takes time

5 Key Points of Professional Development

allowing teachers to actively engage in their own learning can help them retain lessons on using technology to solve classroom challenges.

Active Learning

Sustained Duration:

Content Focus: When providing technology coaching, concrete examples are key

K–12 teachers are interested in adopting technology, but low confidence in their abilities to use it well enough to make the integration worth the investment is a significant barrier. 

K–12 teachers are interested in adopting technology, but low confidence in their abilities to use it well enough to make the integration worth the investment is a significant barrier. 

5 Key Points of Professional Development

allowing teachers to actively engage in their own learning can help them retain lessons on using technology to solve classroom challenges.

Training takes time

Working with mentor teachers, we found that they had an assumption that young student teachers would naturally know the latest and greatest. The truth is that some do but many don’t, so training is essential!

They became models for the classroom teachers

All classes in our research site were inclusive with a diverse community of learners at every grade level including students with IEPs, 504 plans, autism spectrum disorders, and English language learners.

made the mistake of assuming the kids would immediately know how to use the technology in an appropriate way.

Success was more attributable to the fact that teachers who integrated iPads into their lessons tended to do more Project Based Learning (PBL), which has been found to improve student learning across grade levels (Cheu-Jay, 2015)

the hard-to-reach, reluctant, oppositional Edwards all became engaged when introduced to opportunities that the iPad gave them.

students enjoy learning and stay more focused when using iPads

with a little hands-on support, created technology-rich lessons with a minimum of training or professional development. The bottom line was that when we mixed training with support we created a successful and innovative learning experience for teachers and their students.

Flexible Differentiated Plan

how can we make them more independent

requires much collaboration, discussion, and time, because each plan is tailored to that campus and to individual teachers' needs.

improvement in instruction takes work, practice, and a determination to not just recognize systematic problems, but to fix them.

busy students

flexibility

work ahead

work ahead

she did not miss any of the content in that class

science,

. Students are helping each other learn

s in a flipped classroom for

we spend most of our class walking around helping the students who struggle most

science

Giving students the ability to pause their teachers is truly revolutionary.

We often move too fast for some students and too slowly for others

overall interaction increases: teacher-to-student, and student-to-student. Because the role of the teacher has changed from presenter of content to learning coach,

students with special needs can watch the videos as many times as they need to learn the materia

carry out meaningful activities instead of completing busywork.

Because we were not just standing and talking at kids, many of the classroom management problems evaporated.

. Because students are coming with the primary focus on learning, there are two real questions now: Is each student learning? If not, what can we do to help them learn? These are much more profound questions, and when we discuss them with parents, we move the focus to a place that will help parents understand how their students can become better learners.

As it turns out, many of them were watching right alongside their children and learning science

flipping opens the doors to our classrooms and allows the public in

prerecord a lesson for our students ahead of time when we knew we were going to be gone

in which students move through the material at their own pace.

flipped-mastery mode

Our journey has been a process that has occurred over several years, and we recommend that those interested in flipping make the change gradually.

Some would argue that grit is inherent in Albert Bandura’s research on self-efficacy, and that resilience is also part of i

tackling grit in my classroom and school.

Read Books About Grit

Talk About Grit

Share Examples

elp Students Develop a Growth Mindset

rol Dweck from Stanford University teaches us that students who have a growth mindset are more successful than those who think that intelligence is fixed. 5. Reframe Problems Using stories and examples from Malcom Gladwell's book David and Goliath, we talk about "desirable difficulties." Students need perspective about problems to prevent them from giving up, quitting or losing hope. 6. Find a Framework I use Angela Maiers' Classroom Habitudes as my framework. The KIPP framework specifically includes grit as one of its seven traits. Find one that works for your school and includes clear performance values. 7. Live Grittily You teach with your life. Perhaps that is why Randy Pausch's Last Lecture and David Menasche's Priority List resonate. These teachers used their own battle with death itself as a way to teach. But you don't have to die to be an effective teacher. Our own work ethic yells so loudly that kids know exactly what we think about grit. 8. Foster Safe Circumstances That Encourage Grit Never mistake engaging, fun or even interesting for easy. We don't jump up and down when we tear off a piece of tape because "I did it." No one celebrates easy, but everyone celebrates championships and winners because those take grit (and more). We need more circumstances to help kids to develop grit before they can "have it." Tough academic requirements, sports and outdoor opportunities are all ways to provide opportunities for developing grit. Verena Roberts, Chief Innovation Officer of CANeLearn says: One of the best ways to learn about grit is to focus on outdoor education and go out into the wild. Grit is about not freaking out, taking a deep breath, and moving on. 9. Help Students Develop Intentional Habits Read about best practices for creating habits, because habits and self-control require grit. 10. Acknowledge the Sacrifice Grit Requires Grit takes time, and many students aren't giving it. In their 2010 paper "The Falling Time Cost of College", Babcock and Marks demonstrate that, in 1961, U.S. undergraduates studied 24 hours a week outside of class. In 1981, that fell to 20 hours, and in 2003, it was 14 hours per week. This is not to create a blame or generation gap discussion, but rather to point out the cost of being well educated. We are what we do, and if we study less and work less, then we will learn less. Educators Need Grit Now we as teachers just need the grit to do whatever it takes to turn education around, and that starts with hard work and our own modern version of true grit. Teaching it and living it is now front and center in the education conversation. Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher's Profile Sign in or register to post Sign in to vote! (3) The Educational Benefits of GritThe character traits of determination, adaptability and reflection add up to a critical 21st century skill.<< Previous Next >> Learn More About Education Trends Latest Reconnecting Adults With Playful Learning A New Must-Read for All Educators Google for Educators: The Best Features for Busy Teachers What Is Personalization, Really? 20 Top Pinterest Tips Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher Computer Fundamentals, Computer Science and IT Integrator from Camilla, GA follow: http://www.facebook.com/coolcatteacherhttp://www.twitter.com/coolcatteacherhttps://plus.google.com/+VickiDavishttp://www.youtube.com/coolcatteacher/http://www.linkedin.com/in/coolcatteacher/http://www.pinterest.com/coolcatteacher Related Tags: Education TrendsCollege ReadinessResilience and GritCharacter EducationAll Grades In This Series T

Socrative uses a “room” system, and students enter a teacher’s “room” to begin an assessment.