Using SMART Notebook Software and the SMART Recorder

One of the most amazing aspects of my using the SMART Board and SMART Notebook software in my classroom, is how far my classroom now extends.  The SMART Board has extended the reach of my classroom both for my students and for me. 

Utilizing the SMART Notebook software I can take my students on field trips without leaving my classroom. We have travelled to Mono Lake using Google earth to measure shoreline changes of the lake.  We have followed the path of the LA River from the Arroyo Seco and San Gabriel River watersheds to the ocean.  I have visited Arlington National Cemetery on Veteran's Day and New Orleans to see the effect of Katrina. Through the use of SMART recordings and You Tube, I have taught my students in their home when they are sick or when they are travelling with their family.

My classroom  has travelled all over the world by posting SMART recordings and FLIP cams to post You Tube videos that have been used by students throughout the country and around the world. I have taught students Dalton's Law in Virginia and medical students in Saudi Arabia the skeletal structures of the Ulna and Radius.

The expansion of my of my classroom is only limited to the breadth of my imagination and my willingness to share the lessons I wish to provide.  While there is a greater workload in the beginning, once the materials have been created they can be used again and again in the future.  Once posted on You Tube or my online classroom (Moodle)  they become available for my own students or anyone else around the world who can put them to use.

The technology is only limited to my willingness to embrace it.

      

Formula Cards

I create formula cards for each of my students to assist them in maniuplating formulas to isolate various variables and help them to solve for each part of a given equation.

Partners and Groups

When students pair up for activities, discussions, peer editing or labs, it is very difficult to keep students on track when they only work with their friends or those they are most comfortable.  Creating variety in grouping students is vital to a classroom but can be time consuming.

One method I use is a partner sheet. I create a sheet with 6, 8, 10 items that are relevant to the subject or even the specific topic we are studying.  I have images and words for each item on the sheet along with a space for a name.  I try to put these on cardstock so that they can be kept and used for the entire year.
An example of a simple machine sheet I use in physics is below....

I have students choose a partner for each of the items on the card.  Each student signs their partners card and their partner signs their card.  When I need students to partner up, I will tell them to get together with their pulley partner. Students check their cards and move to the students they signed up with as pulley partners.  I can change partners in an instant by simply asking students to switch to their wheel partner, and so on...

By creating three or four of these cards throughout the year, I can have a variety of groupings at any time.  English teachers can create cards with the characters from a novel, ie. "Move to your Holden Caufield partner."  In Spanish it could be vocabulary words. In Math it could be math symbols.  The options are unlimited. 

To increase variety in grouping, I have guidelines like, you can only ask one person from your current table to sign your card, or you must get a partner from each row of the classroom. I remind students to keep these cards in their notebook so that we can use throughout the year.  They can also be useful to trigger a quick review of material throughout the year.

Professional Development Workshop

DYNAMIC TEACHING IN THE

BLOCK SCHEDULE

The Dynamic Teaching in the Block Schedule Workshop focuses on the creation of a community of learning, based upon those skills that are absolutely necessary for students to transition into their future.  A future where the majority of jobs do not even exist yet, using technology that has yet to be invented and solving problems that have not yet been created.  The skills students must master for success in the next three decades are the Three C's of learning: Think Critically, Work Collaboratively and Communicate Effectively.  It is these three skills that educators should promote within their classroom whether the curriculum path they are on is English, History, Math, Science, Art or Technology.

The workshop will incorporate powerful teaching strategies to enhance the culture of learning, to enhance problem solving skills, increase student participation, develop creativity and increase collaborative abilities. Teachers will be immersed in a classroom experience that places the student at the center of the learning and allows the teacher to become the mentor of their learning success. Imbedded in the workshop is the idea that transforming teachers in to the "Guide on the Side" will have a more positive influence on student learning than does remaining the "Sage on the Stage".  

Dynamic Teaching in the Block Schedule will provide a model of an interactive and robust classroom where both students and teachers value learning as a process of exploration and discovery.

For more information on scheduling this workshop for your school faculty, contact Brian S. Miller at smarterteacher@gmail.com.

100 Posts - 7000 Hits

When I first began this blog, I had no idea of what it would become, what it would entail, or how involved I would become in this process.  In the beginning I had doubts about whether I would be able to produce blogs consistently throughout the year.  My plan was to post two or three times a week and make it through June.  I am now in my seventh month.  This is my 100th post and as of Sunday my blog has recieved my 7000 hits.  from more than 110 countries. 

I would like to thank those of you who have visited throughout the year.  It is my hope that something I have posted thus far has provided a W.P.A. (Worth the Price of Admission) moment for you. 

This blog as provided me with  a new sense of focus, some moments of frustration, some excitement and has become quite therapeutic.  I hope to continue posting three or four times a week up until the end of the fall semester. At that time I think I will cut back to a once a week blogging pattern.

Thank-you
SMARTER TEACHER

 

16 Ways To Be A SMARTER TEACHER

Originally put together in 2001 by Chuck Salter, for Fast Company, this simplified list of the 16 ways to become a Smarter Teacher has become a checkpoint for me as I review my course development and lesson planning.  I constantly strive to be the 'Guide on the Side' rather than the 'Sage on the Stage' in encouraging my students to become fully engaged in their own learning process.

16 Ways to Be a Smarter Teacher

1. Students take risks when teachers create a safe environment.

Students have to acknowledge what they don’t know, take risks and rethink what they thought they knew. That can be uncomfortable - even scary - situation for anyone. A little warmth goes a long way.

2. It’s not about you; it’s about them - “a guide on the side”

The best teachers see themselves as guides. They share what they know but they understand they are not the focus - their students and their learning are.

3. Study your students.

It’s not enough to know your material. You need to know the people you are teaching - their talents, prior experience and needs.

4. Great teachers exude passion as well as purpose.

The difference between a good teacher and a great one is not expertise. It comes down to passion, passion for the material and passion for teaching. The desire is infectious.

5. Students learn when teachers show them how much they need to learn.

Students need to see the gap between where they are and where they need to be. Once they see that, they can begin to learn.

6. Keep it clear even if you can’t keep it simple.

One of the chief attributes of a great teacher is the ability to break down complex ideas and make them understandable. The essence of teaching - and learning - is communication.

7. Practice - vulnerability without sacrificing credibility.

Sometimes the best answer a teacher can give is “I don’t know”. Instead of losing credibility, the teacher gains students’ trust and that trust is the basis of a productive relationship. Acknowledging what you don’t know shows that you are still learning, that the teacher is, in fact, still a student.

8. Teach from the heart.

The best teaching isn’t formulaic; it’s personal. Develop your own teaching style based on your experience and watching exemplary teachers (your mentor, for example).

9. Repeat the important point.

If you want your listener (student) to remember something, you need to give it to them more than once. The first time you say something, it’s heard. The second time, it’s recognized. The third time it’s learned, especially if practiced. The challenge then, is to be consistent without becoming predictable or boring.

10. Good teachers ask good questions, and keep asking until they really understand.

Effective teachers understand that learning is about exploring the unknown and that such exploration begins with good questions: Questions that open a door to a deeper understanding.

11. You are not passing out information.

The best instructors are less interested in the answers than in the thinking behind them. They help people learn how to think on their own rather than telling them what to think.

12. Stop talking - and start listening.

Effective learning is a two-way street: it’s a dialogue, not a monologue.

13. Learn what to listen for.

Listening is what the students have to say helps them assemble the information and organize their thoughts. Allow them the opportunity to speak to the issues going on in the lesson and the class. Contextualized information is more easily understood and retained.

14. Let the students teach each other.

You are not the only one your student learns from. They also learn on their own and from their peers. Allow the students to work together to form deeper understandings.

15. Avoid using the same approach for everyone.

Good teachers believe that every student can learn, but they understand that students learn differently. Some are visual, some grasp the abstract, some learn best by reading. The effective teacher must adopt a differentiated approach.

16. You are always teaching.

Effective teaching is about the quality of the relationship between the teacher and the student. It does not begin and end with the bell. Your every action and word with students is teaching. Be aware of your influence at all times: in the hall, the cafeteria, the playground, etc.