Education with DocRunning

My first year teaching I was ready for the students who didn't want to be there, for the pregnant teens (I had 3 that year), and for the long hours. I had chosen deliberately to teach in a high poverty school, and I was eager to make a difference and remind each student that there was an adult who cared what s/he thought and became. I wasn't ready for the isolation (I was the youngest teacher by at least a decade), the lack of a textbook or even curriculum guide (I was told to teach world history, that was all), the amount of my own money I would spend on pencils, paper and more, or the colds (take vitamin c every day), to name a few of the early year challenges. And while I'm still learning, I do wish I had more support in those early years. I asked some of my colleagues to share their tips for new teachers. Their collective wisdom is not to be missed:

I've rarely had my own classroom. As such I have limited space not only for assignments but also any kind of decor. With multiple classes and limited space, it can be difficult to give student work their due. To solve this dilemma I created the "wall of awesomeness".

The wall of awesomeness:

-encourages high quality work

-demonstrates what constitutes high quality work

-promotes student recognition of each other's skills

-develops persuasive argument skills.

-delivers smiles.

Rampant cheating in high school classrooms is a common discussion in the teacher's lounge. I've even heard of students who have bought the teachers editions of curriculum. While we. An debate the reasons for the cheating, and definitely we should, sometimes band aids need to be put in place until the source(s) of the problem are addressed.

My solution, and you may not like it, is open-ended projects. Students can literally not find the solution on the internet nor can they cheat off each other's papers.

See you in August...

Math Mondays is a bi-weekly blog post (2nd and 4th Monday of each month) sharing tips, ideas, resources, and products for teaching math. If you have questions or think there is something I should include, you can leave me a message in the comments section below or at the store in the question and answer section.

Some years I am not ready for the end of the year, but this year I am counting down (just 4 days to go!) It has been a fantastic and exhausting year. And while I will miss my students and their amazing energy, I am ready for the break. As such, this will be the last Social Sunday post before the Summer break.

I thought quite a bit about what to include.

My students spend time at the end of the year reflecting on the past year as well as looking forward. I also like to reflect, because after many years of just surviving, I finally have time to look back, evaluate and learn so that the next year I can improve upon previous years.

This year was filled with "new." I took on an integrated math class that merged Algebra 2, Geometry and Statistics. I tackled Pre-Calculus. And I tried out several new types of resources to continue to run my classes in a self-paced, mastery learning program. Here's what I discovered:

The idea of centers (or stations) started largely in elementary schools. As students get into middle school and high school, centers or stations start to disappear. Less and less time is spent on different learning styles and more time is spent by the teacher talking. Lectures often become king in the secondary history classroom. Lecture is easy yet also the least effective way of teaching. Centers take time to set up and implement, even in flipped classrooms. Still the engagement that comes out of well-designed centers make them a valuable part of secondary classes even if you only use once a week.
Here's what I have learned about setting up and using centers in the secondary social studies classroom:

I suppose in some ways it's a little silly as a teacher myself to thank all the other teachers out there, but I am grateful for my colleagues as well as my own teachers: from Mrs. L. who used manipulatives and problem solving in math when others were teaching times tables to Mr. G. who started every class with classical music in the background and made each of us know that he cared and wanted us to understand and excel in Calculus. I learned so much from Dr. J. who never let me get away with the easy answer and pushed towards deeper thinking and Dr. T. who reminded me that there are many ways to approach problems. I am thankful to all the great teachers I had. And to thank all of those great teachers out there today, my friends and I got together to give back a little something to many of you in our TEACHER APPRECIATION GIVEAWAY.

Here's how it works:

1. Enter in the giveaway below. Increase your chances by entering up to 12 times.
2. 12 lucky winners will be randomly selected to win a product at one of the co-sponsoring stores.
3. 2 lucky winners will also receive a $50 TPT gift card each courtesy of Education with DocRunning and Jean Adams.
4. Entries begin today and end Tuesday May 9th, 5pm PST.
5. Winners will be notified no later than May 10th.

And even those who don't win will win with savings up to 28% at the participating stores on May 9th and 10th. Just enter code THANKYOU17 at checkout.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you from all of us to all of you.

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