Opening Procedures:

At the middle school those teachers meeting their students at the door and greeting them for the day have reported identifying who the “hot spots” will be that day. In addition, there have been several teachers reviewing procedures by standing students up and taking them back out for a second attempt at entering, walking through or “fish bowling” what the activity expectations are before they begin.

Transitions (From one activity to another):

Each teacher has their own “bag of tricks;” Transition signals or attention getters are increasing in frequency at all of the campuses. These are unique signals for each teacher. You have to be comfortable with it to use it. A few observed are snaps until all students are snapping along, “My Voice” a focus that the students have come to understand as a time to listen to that voice, the teacher says; “Marco” and the students respond: “Polo” kinda fun way to get attention!

1) In a middle school classroom, I saw a teaming structure that gave each student a role (supplier, timer & editor, producer etc). The roles or jobs were distinct and independent but the students had to “come together” to complete the tasks; a structured cooperative activity.

2) Math is an abstract subject for many of us and unless it comes alive or is tied to the real world many of us don’t need it. I have been fortunate enough to see high school students in Math rap, build, and work their way to understanding.

3) Finally, I will share this week’s ephiphany for instructional design. I watched 2 separate teachers teach the same exact content this week and recognized that their approaches were completely different but both came to the same end point. It is not the end point it is the journey. The students were engaged in both activities and at the end they ALL had an understanding of the content. The goal is to facilitate learning through a process that is comfortable and understandable for YOU the teacher. How do you help students understand a subject you don’t understand? “Enjoy what you do!”