Some schools divide one school year into five grading periods. Each
period has weekly quizzes and a grading test. But wait a minute! Are
these tests too much for you? If they are making your teaching life
fully-packed, the students, too, have to brace themselves and have no
options when they are pushed to the limits. On you part as a teacher,
you have more
actions to be done before, during and after testing the
students. One of these is to identify the topics, skills and percentage
of items. Next is the marking of test papers and computing students’
grades. Well, everything is a cycle; however, there is a big deal in the
preparation of your test. Good preparation will not only benefit the
students but it also gives you more benefits. Let us see some tips which
will make those positive outcomes to happen.Click on Stuff for teacher to read the full article.
The challenge of handling children with special needs in the classroom
In
a class, how many children are there and how many needs does each child
have? To what extent should an annoying behavior be tolerated? There
is no exact formula to use how to face challenging diversified needs of
children. No wonder why there are teachers who freak out during the day
and end with frustration over situational classroom behaviors. Others,
too, take control of outward attitudes lightly and creatively. To be a
teacher is a profession of art; oftentimes a teacher has to be an actor
or actress, angry or kind, firm or considerate.
It is true that to
teach those children with special needs is very challenging. You need
to use your teaching styles and approaches suitable to the individual
needs of the children you teach. On the other hand, your daily
objectives must rhyme with what you utilize, so it is important to be
aware of those objectives at the same time. To further enhance what you
already have as a teacher, here are some tips to make your teaching more
fun!
Click on STUFF FOR TEACHERS to read the full article.
Giving grades is supposed to be
treated as a delicate issue in the sense that the class records should
be kept by teachers completely and accurately. Grades are not fabricated
out of “memory guess” or out of luck or nepotism. Teachers have to
provide unbiased grades so that the students could understand the extent
of their performance and mastery.Click on STUFF FOR TEACHERS to read the full article.
How a teacher feels about giving
grades reflects his/her values and personality. At school there are
times when students talk about their teachers especially in terms of
teaching style, knowledge of subject, discipline and classroom
management and giving marks or grades. Is there such a generous or
stingy teacher? Well, let us take a look at how we give grades to
students.Click on STUFF FOR TEACHERS to read the full article.
How to Deal With an Angry Coworker
My
school conducted the last round of admission of prospective students
for the next school year. Aptitude tests and interview of applicants
were the main tasks for one whole day. Parents of these applicants
gathered at the gallery to listen to a presentation of school programs,
activities, etc. Considering the circumstance, I would say that every
staff had a “to do” list to make the activity successful .
What made
me think over was that one of the AV staff could hardly realize how
important it was for him to do his job as a technician. For example, at
times when a microphone doesn’t function well, the first thing to be
done is trying to check how it works well. In this case, you don’t need a
staff to do it for you since you basically use your little technical
know-how. However, whenever your effort to fix fails, the last thing to
do is to call for assistance. And from whom do you seek help? Naturally,
you’ll ask help from the in-charge himself. In the issue of asking
help, politeness and professional approach are necessary.Click on STUFF FOR TEACHERS to read the full article.
In
reality, the better days of a teacher are the days when his/her students
behave in class, i.e., a teacher can teach the lessons with less effort
on discipline but with great participation and positive learning
outcomes. For a teacher to have these glorious days, there must be a
predetermined plan which should be adapted. Teachers should get rid of
the idea that discipline is done in a fierce manner so that the
objectives set for the day may be achieved. The end of discipline must
be understood. It is to train the students to have good manners such as
taking responsibility, politeness, respect, obedience, etc. In this
course of action which is necessary in every learning situation, a good
discipline plan works out. In my own experience, I have come across with
proactive discipline after a few years of “trial and errors”.
Negatively, to try one and discard it after a failure took a lot of
energy and produced stress on my part. I have learned from one seminar
the tenet of proactive discipline. Well, there might be no perfect plan,
but at least, an effective plan based on proactive thinking and action
works.
Proactive discipline is a kind of discipline which
encourages sense of responsibility, building of self-esteem, trust and
confidence among the students. It builds a strong foundation of a good
relationship between a teacher and his/her students. A classroom that
lacks discipline or control before a situation happens could be a worst
nightmare of a teacher. This happens when a student takes the chance of
provoking his/her teacher. The teacher’s reaction is ignited and chances
would be that the teacher shouts and scolds that student causing the
provocation. Who is now out of control at this time? The whole class
eventually know quickly that their teacher has lost his/her composure.
However, the outlandish attitude shown by the teacher can be avoided
when he/she is proactive. A proactive attitude is characterized by
preparedness, organization of the lesson, cooperation and compassion.
If a teacher is prepared, he/she has readiness to greet the students
everyday. Aside from this, the teacher always informs his/her students
about what will happen within the day and tomorrow. In other words,
there is a clear cut direction generally involving the whole class. A
teacher who organizes his/her lesson plans has a daily routine. There is
no time wasted and every time is a productive time for both teacher and
students. The teacher lists down what are the necessary things for the
day and takes all of these in class. Besides, he/she designs in advance
the lesson plans. In the light of a proactive classroom control, it
starts with setting the tone of the classroom in a few minutes, before
behaviors can become problems. If a teacher misses the opportunity for a
smooth beginning of the class, more time is needed to settle things
down. Normally, a teacher aims to have a participative class. Therefore,
there is a need to also collaborate with other teachers and with the
administration. A teacher needs not to be the only one who “swims” in
the middle of an unpleasant situation. It means to say that the
administrators are able partners to follow up warnings, reminders, and
other disciplinary resources. A compassionate teacher is quick to
respond to the needs of his/her students. A solution to any problem is
well-thought and provided with an appropriate action and right timing.
Therefore, quo vadis, teachers?
Why some students don’t do their homework?
I have read a post on my social network wall: If child labor is an offense, why do teachers give homework? Does it make any sense? Well, it is just a joke for everybody to laugh and think for a moment. This does not apply to a school situation where homework is given as a follow up to the previous lesson, as an advanced lesson or simply as reinforcement or an enrichment activity. Whichever is the purpose, teachers do give assignments to their students. Some give almost every day-in two or three subjects. Considering the reactions of a student who has to complete two assigned tasks, a teacher perhaps thinks and shakes his or her head while saying “Why is my student’s homework done roughly and why all my students have the same answers?” An instance like this one exists and is discovered when the teacher does the marking of homework. Oftentimes, some students also fail to submit on time or they never submit at all. This leads into a poor academic performance of students, which would somehow make the teacher think twice and assess the kind of homework that should be given to them. Not only that, a teacher must know the possible reasons why his or her students don’t do their homework.
Some causes of non-compliance of homework could be any of the following situations: (1) Homework is mind-numbing. Students should be challenged when they spend their extra time in homework. A good homework must be something that develops their critical thinking skills and that will provide more venues for brain storming. Why not give those puzzles, activities using their imagination, interactive activities like interviewing people, working as a group and other dynamic and interesting tasks. (2) Instructions are vague. Any individual cannot do a certain work if instructions are not clearly understood. How could a student read the minds of teachers? Clear and concise directions are very important in homework. Although students find this as an excuse-“that the instructions are confusing”, there shouldn’t be a chance for them to find a hole in this area. (3) Too difficult and too easy. These extreme declarations are said to be common reasons also. I heard, one time, my student saying, “ Teacher, the homework is very difficult! We don’t know what to do!” Oooppss! Whether the assignment is easy or difficult, students always complain! So, if the students find the homework as “easy as a pie”, they tend to take it for granted. Therefore, a teacher has to design a homework which is achievable by the class. A win-win situation is good indeed! (4) They have forgotten the homework. The most common answer of students, “Teacher, I am sorry. I didn’t remember my homework!’ Obviously, it is a human nature to forget something to be done; however, time management must be encouraged among the students. Teaching them how to prioritize their tasks is more effective rather than giving reminders. There is a difference between being said and being done. (5) Student’s rebellion. Students who have grudges against a teacher or a family member will show negative behavior in the classroom like being unable to hand in the homework. Aside from this, if a student doesn’t like the subject, well, what do you expect from him or her? That very homework given by the teacher whom he or she hates is a trash!
The enumerated reasons are only few of the many. However, teachers need to apply an antidote when a situation occurs. Always tell and show to your students that you take note of their complete outputs and that you have a record of every submitted work. Not only that, there is a need for teachers to give praises and incentives when the homework is done neatly, and correctly and when it is handed in promptly. In addition, marking of homework should be understood, and if possible, the scores or ratings should be numerical.
In a classroom setting, teaching and learning activities should be
interactive. Asking questions and handling the learners’ responses will
depend on how skilful a teacher can be. Can you imagine a classroom
which is characterized by a spoon‐feeding teaching circumstance? This
is just simply letting the students to say “YES” when they agree and
“NO” when they disagree with what the teacher asks. Mostly, these
kinds of questions are literal and closed‐ended. Thus, there is a
limitation of responses; the critical ability of the learners is not
practiced in accordance to their level of learning and thinking.
One of the components of effective teaching is the art of
questioning, which remains in today’s modern education. Even if a
teacher has been into teaching for several years, the proficiency in
questioning is an issue. I had observed several language classes and
had checked lesson plans of language teachers I supervised. In a week,
they had to submit five plans and these must be handed in on the
weekends. A lesson plan for teaching a specific story was done by one
teacher. From there, I also got a very good idea based on how she
made the plan achievable. At the back page of the leaf, there was a list
of ‘what”, “why” and “how” questions written by the teacher. When I
asked her about it, she pointed out that those questions would be
asked during the progression of the lesson. Teaching literature is not
easy, yet it is a perfect timing to integrate values easily. Well, I
appreciated what she did because those questions would certainly
provoke the thoughts of her students.
To be able to enhance the teacher’s art of questioning, classroom
experiences, professional readings, and teacher’s evaluation by a
supervisor should be taken into consideration. The questioning skill of a
teacher is very essential to provoke the minds of his or her students.
Constant practice improves one’s ability and techniques in asking
questions. For some considerations, let me share some effective
questioning techniques:
1. When the teacher asks questions, he or she should not rush, but
instead, he or she must encourage the learners to think freely. A
clear modulated and natural voice is necessary to avoid tension.
2. The teacher should give the learners a time to think before calling
anybody to respond. Remember that, just like any other
individuals, the learners have the right to formulate their
answers. It is a classroom setting and different from that of a
court room.
3. The questions should not be too loaded. It means to say that the
teacher must simplify his or her questions.
4. There must be enough questions which create a student‐centered
way of learning.
5. Questions should be answered by the majority of the learners.
Letting one or two students to monopolize the responses is not
resulting to an interactive discussion. That is why, a teacher must
know the capacity of the students as to who can answer difficult
questions and easy questions. In that case he or she can maximize
the participation of her students.
6. A random way of calling the learners to answer questions can
lead to their active involvement. The teacher should encourage
the learners to speak clearly and loudly.
7. Thought‐provoking questions cover the level of questions
(Bloom’s taxonomy) knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
8. If the learners give incorrect answers, the teacher has to take
time to correct them by not showing a threatening manner. The
teacher should be specific enough to point out the wrong answer.
An encouraging way will help the learners strive for more. They
will be motivated to try their best if they receive appreciation for
every correct answer they give.
As a teacher faces her class, a lot of situations will be dealt
with squarely. To become effective in asking question, a teacher
should continue to learn and adapt updated questioning
techniques. The traditional way of questioning has made
education move in a slow pacing; thus, it has paralyzed the critical
skills of the learners. Modernity is already infiltrating in our
teaching methodology and activities at this time. Therefore, why
stick to the old style of recitation focusing on “what”, “where”,
“when” and “who”.
Teacher’s way
Learning new English words, the students seem to find a certain amount of difficulty or if not, they just hear the new words and forget them in a short time. Many strategies can be used to increase the amount of words and to retain them easily. Some of these strategies could be through definition with multiple synonyms, using those newly encountered words in context, and structural analysis of the word. Whatever strategy used by a teacher may or may not work well. It will still be leaving a great weight on the learning skill level of the students.
To introduce a new word or new words to my students, I had my own way how to deal with it so that my students had put less effort on learning yet retention is proven. I used this strategy most often especially when I was teaching poetry or prose to my students. Normally, they came across with more than ten words at one setting and to handle such a time of vocabulary building was not easy at all. I wanted that they would find fun at the same time and they could easily remember the words when they would meet them again.
In one of my English classes, the first strategy I employed was “STICKY NOTE-WORD”. I distributed colorful sticky notes to my boys and girls. At first they wondered on what they would do until finally I explained to them the whole process.
The first thing to be done, when using this strategy, is to write the words on the white board. The question, “What do you associate with the word on the board? Write your idea on the sticky note and post it on the board after writing.” As a result the students would do as fast as they could and as many as they could. Through this strategy, the students don’t just depend on the teacher himself/herself. They learn new ideas from one another, which is the best way of learning. It is not a one-man show in that case. The use of sticky notes is also good when you are introducing a short story or when you have a brainstorming session. To motivate the learners more, spend time to read and check their sticky notes to affirm their ideas. At the end of your session, make a summary of all the notes posted on the board.
