Question !

What is teaching really about ??
I believe teaching is about being there for your students and helping them along the way as the develop and grow. By getting to know each child on a deeper level it is easier to connect with them through their learning. Relationships with your students are very important to their success during each year. When these relationships are strong students will enjoy coming to school, making them more open to learning and new ideas. Also because of your knowledge of how each child learns and processes information it makes it easier to know when they are struggling and need your help to get through a rough subject or concept. 

Current Trends

1. Use at least some performance based assessments
2. Try to examine higher order cognitive skills (blooms)
3. Use multiple assessment methods
4. have high performance standards (setting the bar high)
5. Use computers as part of assessment (incorporating new technologies)

As a teacher you have to be aware of new and upcoming trends to keep your teaching ways up to date. Keeping up with what is new in the teaching community allows you to provide the best environment for your students and yourself.

Assessing Students' Learning

Alberta Assessment Consortium 

1. Teacher as planner: determining which outcomes to focus on
2. Teacher as coach: "scaffolding" -constructivism -student centered planning
3. Teacher as judge: gathering data to base evaluation on how much they've learned; judgement of learning that is taking place (evidence)

I believe that every teacher needs to take these jobs very seriously. By following their directions it makes teaching a very rewarding job. Mastering these skills will assure the best education for your students and the best experience for yourself.

Types and Features of Assessment

4 Types 

1. Before Instruction Assessment: takes place before instruction occurs - to provide us with a baseline 
2. During Instruction Assessment: (formative assessment - assessment for learning) Diagnostic - to help ourselves and students to know how their doing, if they need help, or if they need to do something differently
3. After Instruction Assessment: (assessment of learning) 
4. Assessment as Learning: dimension of metta cognition (thinking about our thinking) - becoming aware of our own learning 

3 Features

1. Reliability - assessment instrument yield, constant/predictable results - results are reproducible, stable and dependable 
2. Validity - measures what it claims to measure
3. Fairness - no barriers - all learners have the same opportunity to learn and demonstrate their skills 

Managing the Classroom

Minor Interventions
- keeping your students moving in a positive direction
Small Interventions/Non Verbal: progressive discipline  
Direct Interventions: directly and assertively tell them to stop
- always consider where the child is coming from; developmental needs

Moderate Interventions
- semi formal interventions
Ex. Detention, Withholding privileges, Time Outs (student realization of what they were doing and why they need a time out to cool down and rethink the situation)

Serious Interventions
Formal
Ex. Involve school admin, Suspensions (in school or at home), Expulsion
- last resort

*If you do not have a well planned schedule/organization system/curriculum, this leaves room for misconduct and bad behavior.  

ACT - how

A - action
C - conditions
T - terms

How:
*how will this be assessed?
*how will we know it is working?

Instructional Taxonomies
There are many versions of taxonomies.
- Blooms Taxonomy - Classical
- Revised (one we use)
Also includes affective taxonomy and psycho taxonomy

Learner & Teacher Centered Planning and Instruction

Learner-Centered planning and instruction


Three Strategies:
1. Problem based
2. essential questions (essay question)
3. discovery learning (research assignment)
    - links the project to their curiosity
    - allows students to discover connections for themselves

Integrating the Curriculum
- more real - more authentic

Video: Sugata Mitra (TED)
- shows how children teach themselves

1)  Remoteness - effects quality of education: schools and institutions in remote areas outside of mainstream life are found to have a lower standard of education.
* 6-13 year olds will self instruct if they have the resources
* primary education can happen on its own

2) Children can self organize - learning is a self organizing system

"Any teacher that can be replaced by a machine, should be ..."
* I think this is a fair statement because if a teacher is not able to give his or her students the in depth learning experience that a computer or some type of technology could, there is no point for them being there other than to supervise. If the technology is there for students to use, it should be utilized in everyday learning.

Teacher-Centered planning and instruction

- what is it?
- connected with traditional views: teacher makes all decisions
John Dewey - progressivism (more student centered)

Behavioral Objectives
ex. By April 15th, Marta will correctly read the following survival words: exit, push, pull, Women's, Ladies, washroom, information, with 80% accuracy.

Condition.Action.Term 


*statements that communicate proposed changes in students behavior to reach desired levels of performance
1. student behavior - what they will do
2. conditions under which the behavior occur - where, when, how
3. performance criteria - terms, degrees of accuracy, quality