Engaged Conversation as a Learning tool

My reflections after reading “Investing in Your Life: Your Biggest Investment Opportunities are Not Necessarily Financial”:

Yes, I have missed it all – being one that is very obsessed with efficiency, I have in the past view conversation as very superficial and tried my best not to be too personal or engaged.  But after reading the buy-in portion of the book, I GOT IT and realized how much learning opportunities I have missed by being NOT in engaged mode during conversations with others.  To my surprises, just by putting effort to be engaged during one of my conversation with a Security Officer for a private building, I learnt at least one to two things I have never known before from that conversation!

A good start but let me continue this learning journey.

Road to Damascus

Have you ever have such a moment - a frank feedback from your spouse or colleagues on a blind spot that is very obvious to everyone else around you but definitely not visible to yourself?  Yes, this rare moment is similar to "Road to Damascus", one that may be hurting but gives you the opportunity to grow drastically.

Building TRUST as a Teacher

Reference: Stephen M.R. Covey "THE SPEED OF TRUST - the one thing that changes everything"

How to inspire trust with our students?

First, start by building our own credibility - the 4 CORES:

Integrity => Intent => Capability => Results

Then, consistently behave in a trust-building manners with our students:

#1 Talk straight

#2 Demonstrate respect

#3 Create transparency

#4 Right wrongs

#5 Show Loyalty

#6 Deliver results

#7 Get better

#8 Confront reality

#9 Clarify expectations

#10 Practice accountability

#11 Listen first

#12 Keep commitments

#13 Extend trust

Try them and start right away!

Improving Attendance in School

* good attendance is a basic pre-requisite of raising achievement
=> improvements in standards of education at school can be achieved only if children are attending regularly
* there a wide range of factors which affect attendance, but also that the diverse nature of schools has to be taken into account when tackling the issue of attendance
* Each school has its own characteristic pattern of attendance which is dependent on the nature of the school community and the school itself. To improve attendance schools must understand their existing pattern of attendance and the reason for it
* Key points for consideration in attempting to improve attendance:
› A developing and appropriate curriculum.
› Support mechanisms for teachers in dealing with disruptive students.
› Strategies for monitoring post registration truancy are monitored and reviewed.
› Attendance and punctuality are given a high profile throughout the school.
› Issues of attendance and punctuality are incorporated into the whole school merit system.
› All staff share responsibility for attendance matters.
› Attendance recording systems are constantly reviewed.
› The school partnership with the education welfare system is based around focussed meetings.
› Clear school policies on attendance and punctuality are developed and communicated to students and parents.

Reference:
Improving attendance at Leek High School.

The First Day of Class

What can we do on the first day and what should we do?

1. Involved the students quickly - self introduction, small group discussions
2. Identify the importance of the module
3. Set expectations
4. Establish rapport
5. Reveal something about yourself
6. Establish your credibility
7. Establish the "climate" for the class
8. Provide administrative information
9. Introduce the subject matter

" Remember that it is imperative that you do on the first day whatever it is you want the class to do the rest of the semester. If you want them to discuss, discuss on the first day. If you want them to work in small groups, find something for them to do in small groups on the first day."


Reference:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/firstday.htm

Strategies to improve retention and performance

Although the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is only applicable in US, some of the strategies compiled in year 2005 are also suitable for us back in Singapore, in order to reduce attrition and to better prepare the students for the future in a dynamic work environment.

http://www.chse.org/qkey9/qkey9.pdf

"Increasing the Rigor of the curriculum", "Increasing the Relevance of the Curriculum": we did these during the first review. Now that the level is more difficult, we will need strategies to help the weaker students that are trying to cope.

"Improving Student Relationships and Personalization":
- Encourage caring and supportive relationships between teachers and students
- Provide opportunities for youth service and leadership

Practical example "Des Moines Public School"
- added common planning time for teachers, implemented a scheduling model to provide struggling students with extra time and support

Practical example "First Thing First" (a framework for school reform, has one goal: to help students at all academic levels gain the skills to succeed in post-secondary education and good jobs )
- Objectives: 1. Strengthening relationships among students and adults, 2. Improving engagement, alignment and rigor of teaching and learning in every classroom, every day, 3. Allocating all resources – budget, staff, time and space – to achieve the first two goals.
- Strategies: ..., a Family Advocate System and instructional improvement.

Making Your Teaching Creative and Interesting

Creative teaching often a result of a teacher’s conscious planning, it is also the consequence of what author refer to as situated invention—a teacher drawing on his/her existing professional knowledge and improvising it to meet the demands of an unforeseen situation

From author's observations:
- there are some teachers who continually try to be creative (either in their lesson plans or in the flow of dialogues during the lesson), and others who recalled situations during lessons when an idea (e.g. a powerful metaphor, a insightful question, a novel example) sprang to their minds and translated this into productive communication to the students
- sometimes when an idea cannot be developed in situ, it is later reflected and elaborated on, and subsequently developed and used as a teaching/learning resource for future lessons
- sadly, some teachers give little thought to make their teaching interesting; their focus is simply on relating the subject content to stated learning outcomes. Further, many teachers are more preoccupied with covering the content rather than making the learning process interesting for the students. As one teacher commented, “the content must be covered”.

What teachers do that result in students perceiving them as ‘interesting’?

Making teaching interesting—which really means making learning meaningful for the students—is a continual challenge for teachers.

Some teachers continually look for ways to make their teaching interesting through either systematically planned lessons or situated inventions as doing so is consistent with their values and beliefs.

The following are some ways in which teachers can make their teaching interesting for students:
* Communicate in a clear, concise, engaging and friendly manner with the aim of achieve rapport with students
* Imbue students with positive beliefs about self and learning
* Enhance student’s psychological states
* Make learning meaningful for the students
* Engage students in challenging activities with achievable goals
* Use stories and metaphors to create emotional anchors
* Use relevant real world examples to sustain students’ interest
* Use humor constructively (and respectfully!)
* Use varied (be very selective!) audio-video materials to engage senses


Other ways to make teaching materials more interesting and how to make them suit your students better
1. Think of activities that can make the class more active
2. Set the goal for the activities. Notify the students what the goals of the activities are
3. Don't use the material just for fun
4. Pre-activity and post-activity teaching is necessary
5. Be consistent with the previous and the following lessons
6. Make the material as communicative as possible (note: "Communicative" doesn't only mean exchanging oral messages)
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Reference:
http://cdtl.nus.edu.sg/link/Jul2004/tm3.htm
http://www.cieej.or.jp/toefl/mailmagazine/mm43/SELHi_appendix1.pdf