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Professional Readings Chatboard

I wish I could keep up with you guys! It is all I can do

by Tina/8th

Jan 30, 2011

to keep up with my reading for my admin classes and my book study/PD group(s) at school. Where do you guys find the time to do all of this reading? Thanks to you all, I have a list of books that I want to read....it keeps getting longer.

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dc Well, I for one am not taking admin classes. That's a full time job to be in school for you. Lots of reading there. For now, just enjoy the ride and the discussion Tina and hop in when you can!

Jan 30, 2011

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I'm new here. So how does this board work?

by CC

Jan 30, 2011

Is everyone reading the same book at the same time? What is the current book, and what is the next book on the list. Where is the list? I would like to join in at some point. it sounds interesting:)

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judy5ca Hi CC, This board works just like all the others here at Tnet. Post when you want. Occasionally someone says, "Let's read this book." Those who wish to read it do so. We also discuss articles. We often discuss our thinking. We're not nearly as organized as you presume, LOL; there's no list. Judy

On 1/30/11, CC wrote: > Is everyone readi...See More

Jan 30, 2011

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dc Welcome CC---

Post as often as you wish! You don't even need to have read the book to post. Chime in if you see something interesting. Our current book is by Daniel Willingham and it is called Why Don't Students Like School?

We had some brief talk about our next book being "something" suggested by Kim, but now I can't remember wha...See More

Jan 31, 2011

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People Types and Tiger Stripes -- Brad

by Grace/IL

Feb 1, 2011

Brad, I started a new thread on this because I really didn't want to usurp the other one. You said, "I've heard of this book, whether through catalogues or you, I really wonder about the premise you state, because it does sound worth exploring. Does he mention classroom implications?"

You probably remember my mentioning this book. I've nev...See More

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Willingham Chapter 8

by judy5ca

Feb 5, 2011

Well, howdy-doo, this chapter is all about nature/nurture. Not surprising he takes the middle ground: intelligence is a mix of genes and environment and all kids can improve their intelligence through hard work. Who am I to disagree? (do you hear the background vocal?)

And the part about process praise (vs. person praise) cites Dweck. She'...See More

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Jan The problem with feedback is that we can't plan it ahead...and, to be most effective,it needs to be immediate. That leads to statements that we haven't thought out..and don't realize until we've said them that they didn't quite sound like we intended. And, once said, retracting them just isn't possible. I don't know the answer to this one other tha...See MoreThe problem with feedback is that we can't plan it ahead...and, to be most effective,it needs to be immediate. That leads to statements that we haven't thought out..and don't realize until we've said them that they didn't quite sound like we intended. And, once said, retracting them just isn't possible. I don't know the answer to this one other than the more we practice, the more automatic our responses become. I try to memorize a couple of them and then just substitute a name!

Feedback from someone important in a child's life has tremendous power. We don't realize how much stock they put into what we say...and how it sticks with them. I have about 200 former students as FB friends. They are 25-45 years old and they will tell me something I said to them when they were in the third grade! It's scary sometimes to think of the influence we can have. One girl in my first class says she learned to love reading because I gave her a copy of Charlotte's Web as first prize for knowing multiplication facts. She had never had her own paperback before and this was the beginning for her. She still has the book...and I signed it! I remember absolutely nothing about that. What scares me is that I'm sure other kids remember something I said or did off the top of my head that had a negative influence.Who knows? At the time, I didn't know the power of feedback so probably just said whatever. I think if I were in the classroom now, I'd be afraid to open my mouth!

On 2/08/11, Jo to Jan - agree 100% wrote: > I agree 100%. Too bad often it comes out of the mouths as you didn't > work hard enough. > > On 2/07/11, Jan wrote: >> >> You are right that many kids are putting forth as much effort as is >> humanly possible so to tell them that they need even more is not going >> to be very motivating. But, we can tell them that it is possible to >> work smarter not harder...we can make our effort more productive. >> That's where the emphasis on effort should be put. >> >> We consider effort and ability to be those attributions that lead to an >> internal locus of control, but we see ability as fixed and not under >> the person's control, whereas effort is totally controllable. Kids get >> discouraged by this because they see themselves as 'dumb' and think >> there is nothing they can do...."I was just born this way." >> >> However,we have learned that the acquisition of certain strategies >> makes our ability work a whole lot better for us and this makes our >> effort more productive. As dc says, her son has all the ability in >> the world to understand what he's reading, but he doesn't have the >> strategies to access it. Now that he is learning them, is ability is >> more accessible to him so his effort is far more productive than it >> was. >> >> >> Many cognitive scientists are suggesting that strategies be made the >> 5th attribution to locus of control,but officially, only 4 are listed. >> Learning strategies is just seen as a boost to ability and effort, not >> a new loci. One very important thing we can do to help kids see that >> the learning of strategies will give him that needed boost, is to label >> for him how much the new strategy is helping....."Wow, James, since you >> learned that strategy of finding the key idea, the time it takes you to >> read and comprehend is so much shorter" If they see the value in >> strategies, they will seek them out on their own as they get older. >> They'll know it's possible to find a better way and they will take >> time to figure it out...or ask someone to help them. And, this >> increases their feelings of competence. >> >> >> On 2/07/11, dc wrote: >>> I have two high school sons. One is an efficient studier. He can >>> study for one hour and master the material. My other son will >>> study the same material for four hours and not have mastery. I >>> would say the second son "worked harder" but if he had continued to >>> study like this for even more hours, he would not have improved his >>> grade. I have to study with him, help teach him how to find key >>> material, make notecards, etc. It is frustrating to watch the >>> number of hours he puts in to studying that do not get him as far >>> as his two siblings who study the same material for far less time.

Feb 8, 2011

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Jo But learning proper feedback and getting in the mindset of changing how one communicates can be learned and can also be learned by utilizing modeling with adults. Just as a child with pragmatic language problems can be taught through practice to improve that communication, adults studying to be teachers can be taught to think and communicate in a p...See MoreBut learning proper feedback and getting in the mindset of changing how one communicates can be learned and can also be learned by utilizing modeling with adults. Just as a child with pragmatic language problems can be taught through practice to improve that communication, adults studying to be teachers can be taught to think and communicate in a positive manner. We communicate the way we do because we have learned it from somewhere. It could have been a classmate when we were younger using intimidation to get what they want, or a parent, or a teacher. But at some point we saw what seems to have worked (short-term).

No, there is no canned list of phrases that will work all of the time. It is learning how to communicate differently. Massive effort since there are so many teaching schools and teachers.

On 2/08/11, Jan wrote: > The problem with feedback is that we can't plan it > ahead...and, to be most > effective,it needs to be immediate. That leads to > statements that we haven't thought out..and don't > realize until we've said them that they didn't quite > sound like we intended. And, once said, retracting them > just isn't possible. I don't know the answer to this > one other than the more we practice, the more automatic > our responses become. I try to memorize a couple of > them and then just substitute a name! > > Feedback from someone important in a child's life has > tremendous power. We don't realize how much stock they > put into what we say...and how it sticks with them. I > have about 200 former students as FB friends. They are > 25-45 years old and they will tell me something I said > to them when they were in the third grade! It's scary > sometimes to think of the influence we can have. One > girl in my first class says she learned to love reading > because I gave her a copy of Charlotte's Web as first > prize for knowing multiplication facts. She had never > had her own paperback before and this was the beginning > for her. She still has the book...and I signed it! I > remember absolutely nothing about that. What scares me > is that I'm sure other kids remember something I said > or did off the top of my head that had a negative > influence.Who knows? At the time, I didn't know the > power of feedback so probably just said whatever. I > think if I were in the classroom now, I'd be afraid to > open my mouth! > > > On 2/08/11, Jo to Jan - agree 100% wrote: >> I agree 100%. Too bad often it comes out of the >> mouths as you didn't work hard enough. >> >> On 2/07/11, Jan wrote: >>> >>> You are right that many kids are putting forth as >>> much effort as is humanly possible so to tell them >>> that they need even more is not going to be very >>> motivating. But, we can tell them that it is >>> possible to work smarter not harder...we can make >>> our effort more productive. That's where the >>> emphasis on effort should be put. >>> >>> We consider effort and ability to be those >>> attributions that lead to an internal locus of >>> control, but we see ability as fixed and not under >>> the person's control, whereas effort is totally >>> controllable. Kids get discouraged by this because >>> they see themselves as 'dumb' and think there is >>> nothing they can do...."I was just born this >>> way." >>> >>> However,we have learned that the acquisition of >>> certain strategies makes our ability work a whole >>> lot better for us and this makes our effort more >>> productive. As dc says, her son has all the ability >>> in the world to understand what he's reading, but >>> he doesn't have the strategies to access it. Now >>> that he is learning them, is ability is more >>> accessible to him so his effort is far more >>> productive than it was. >>> >>> >>> Many cognitive scientists are suggesting that >>> strategies be made the 5th attribution to locus of >>> control,but officially, only 4 are listed. Learning >>> strategies is just seen as a boost to ability and >>> effort, not a new loci. One very important thing we >>> can do to help kids see that the learning of >>> strategies will give him that needed boost, is to >>> label for him how much the new strategy is >>> helping....."Wow, James, since you learned >>> that strategy of finding the key idea, the time it >>> takes you to read and comprehend is so much >>> shorter" If they see the value in strategies, >>> they will seek them out on their own as they get >>> older. They'll know it's possible to find a better >>> way and they will take time to figure it out...or >>> ask someone to help them. And, this increases their >>> feelings of competence. >>> >>> >>> On 2/07/11, dc wrote: >>>> I have two high school sons. One is an efficient >>>> studier. He can study for one hour and master the >>>> material. My other son will study the same >>>> material for four hours and not have mastery. I >>>> would say the second son "worked >>>> harder" but if he had continued to study >>>> like this for even more hours, he would not have >>>> improved his grade. I have to study with him, >>>> help teach him how to find key material, make >>>> notecards, etc. It is frustrating to watch the >>>> number of hours he puts in to studying that do >>>> not get him as far as his two siblings who study >>>> the same material for far less time.

Feb 8, 2011

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On the hunt: Can you find it?

by KimK1ca

Feb 5, 2011

I have to endure a weekly 'newsletter' that features something called 'Brain Bits.' I am not kidding. The trouble is that the 'bits' are cut and pasted from all over the place and one of the little bits got stuck in my craw. It had to do with seeking to connect your teaching to students' interests - making it relevant.

I KNOW that Willingh...See More

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Parker Kim, you want Chapter 3 p.63-6, right under What Good Teachers Have in Common. Goes along with the "memory is the residue of thought" comments. On 2/05/11, KimK1ca wrote: > I have to endure a weekly 'newsletter' that features > something called 'Brain Bits.' I am not kidding. The > trouble is that the 'bits' are cut and pasted from all ove...See More

Feb 6, 2011

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Chat today on RIGOR

by Jan

Feb 6, 2011

....with Dr. Barbara Blackburn who has written "Rigor is Not a Four Letter Word." I've been very impressed with Barbara's book because she, first of all, explains rigor once and for all: what it is and how to get it. She gives specific ways to be sure our lessons are rigorous This is a book that is not theory, but practice.

Come on over a...See More

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Behavior Management in Middle & Secondary Schools

by Dale

Feb 6, 2011

I just finished reading an article entitled "Behavior Management: Making it Work in Middle and Secondary Schools" from a professional education journal in which the authors draw attention to the mistakes that teachers often make that unwittingly strengthen students' negative behaviors.

The author states that for the use of extinction to de...See More

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Dale The authors of the article ("Behavior Management Making It Work in Middle and Secondary Schools") are Katheryn M. Oberchain and Shanon S. Taylor. It's a great article....thank you for sharing your experiences.

On 2/06/11, Jan again wrote: > > The author of the book you read is pretty much right on. Who > is it? It is very true tha...See More

Feb 6, 2011

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Jan On 2/06/11, Dale wrote: > The authors of the article ("Behavior Management Making It Work in > Middle and Secondary Schools") are Katheryn M. Oberchain and > Shanon S. Taylor. It's a great article....thank you for sharing > your experiences. > Here's a book I can personally recommend :)

Feb 6, 2011

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Schmoker is here!

by Jan

Feb 7, 2011

"Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning" by Michael Schmoker. The taxes will have to wait; I'm reading today.

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Jan I LOVE browsing in a real book store and can spend several hours at my local BN. It is a great browsing place (and I usually buy, too, when I am there).

On 2/13/11, dc wrote: > I like Amazon too, but I get a 20% discount at BN, free shipping, and a 20% > kickback from Discover card when I use BN. I always put in my book order > a...See More

Feb 13, 2011

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cavey I had gotten the update too, and mine came today! Now to find time to read!

On 2/13/11, judy5ca wrote: > I just got this update from Amazon: > New estimated arrival date: February 18 2011 - February 24 2011 > > I had a feeling it wouldn't be as long as they originally predicted. I > like Amazon. I feel sorry for poor Barnes ...See MoreI had gotten the update too, and mine came today! Now to find time to read!

On 2/13/11, judy5ca wrote: > I just got this update from Amazon: > New estimated arrival date: February 18 2011 - February 24 2011 > > I had a feeling it wouldn't be as long as they originally predicted. I > like Amazon. I feel sorry for poor Barnes & Noble, but I like Amazon. > > Looking forward to our discussion, > Judy > > > > On 2/12/11, Jan wrote: >> I think it's sold out at Amazon. I had preordered it. I got a message >> from Amazon that it was coming earlier than expected (only about two >> days earlier) and they would get it out right away. It came 3 days >> later. But, everyone I know is ordering it.....I think half of CSUF >> has it coming....they are expecting there's fairly soon. They >> probably didn;t get too many in the first shipment and they were sold. >> Amazon had it before ASCD which is not uncommon. Strange. >> >> We will not start until everyone is ready..not to worry. >> >> I've given up at BN. I had a big battle with them about a download >> they never got here. Then they charged it and didn't credit it to me. >> By the time my bill came and the credit wasn't on it, they said they >> couldn't refund it because they had no evidence it wasn't downloaded. >> The fact that I made 4 phone calls that night and the guy assured me >> he had put in the credit seemed to fall on deaf ears. They did give >> me the credit finally but it wasn't easy. They guy told me the night >> I called that they were so backed up with the downloads it would not >> come until the NEXT DAY! I told them Amazon could get a whole book >> here in 10 seconds; I find it hard to believe they can't get a short >> booklet here at all. No wonder they are in financial trouble. They >> used to be so good...although never as good as Amazon in my book. Nor >> as cheap! >> >> >> On 2/12/11, judy5ca wrote: >>> I did order it from Amazon (yes to free shipping), but I must have >>> been half-asleep when I ordered because didn't notice the ship date: >>> February 28, 2011 - March 11, 2011 >>> Ugh, I don't know why it is slated to take so long, but I hope >>> you'll wait for me. >>> Thanks, >>> Judy who still loves Amazon >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On 2/12/11, dc wrote: >>>> Can't order it from Barnes and Noble, it's not for sale there >>>> yet. It's on Amazon, but I can get it for so much cheaper at >>>> BN with my discounts and free shipping, plus I get a 10% >>>> Discover card kickback from Barnes and Noble. Anybody know why >>>> BN doesn't sell it yet?

Feb 16, 2011

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Today's Tidbit from Schmoker

by Jan

Feb 10, 2011

From FOCUS, by Michael Schmoker, p 104

This follows several pages of describing reading programs for young students--programs that have whole-group instruction and focus very hard on learning letter sounds. He specifically cites Pat Cunningham and Allington.

"Virtually, any student can learn the mechanics of reading to decode gr...See More

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KimK1ca He speaka my language. I am enjoying this chapter because he reiterates everything I learned from Allington/Cunningham, Hirsch, and Willingham.

Those of us who hAte, haTe, HaTe the canned reading programs are vindicated once again by a researcher who knows what he is talking about.

:-)

Feb 26, 2011

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Grammar

by Ciara

Feb 13, 2011

Hi, everyone --

Does anyone know of any great resources for teaching grammar to 10th grade students? We don't have any books/materials and I need some new ideas.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Ciara

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dc What about the book called Mechanically Inclined? I teach little ones, so don't know if they would be appropriate for 10th graders. You might try posting on the Reading/Writing board and see if they have more helpful options for you. Sorry I can't be of more help here.

Feb 13, 2011

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dc On 2/13/11, dc wrote: > What about the book called Mechanically Inclined? I teach > little ones, so don't know if they would be appropriate for > 10th graders. You might try posting on the Reading/Writing > board and see if they have more helpful options for you. > Sorry I can't be of more help here.

Feb 13, 2011

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