Superintendent Attends School District n-service; Sends a Powerful Message

On January 4th, 2010 I had the pleasure of presenting a seminar on teaching strategies to over 150 teachers from  Havana School District 126 in Havana, Illinois.  The Superintendent, Dr. Mark Twomey,  was there too meet me before the session started, he not only introduced me, he STAYED for the entire presentation.   It’s not uncommon for an administrator to stop by and greet me, or to say a few words of motivation before I begin a presentation,  but for an administrator to make the time to spend his entire day, on the first day back from holiday break, in a seminar… that is huge.

We spent the day discussing teaching strategies and ways to involve all learners in the classroom. At the end of the full day session, Dr. Twomey got up and endorsed the ideas I had spoken about.  He expressed his desire to see the strategies that we covered actually being implemented in the classroom and was so passionate about that desire that he offered an incentive to his staff.  He asked that teachers nominate each other and identify who they saw actually using strategies to differentiate instruction in their classrooms. He promised that he would have periodic drawings  to recognize and reward those teachers for implementing strategies learned in the session.

Teachers Nominated by Teachers and Rewarded for Outstanding Work

I  learned late last week that Dr. Twomey had just awarded a FREE day off to each of three outstanding teachers (one from each district campus).  I’m not talking about extra prep time, or a sick day.  This administrator awarded each of these outstanding teachers a day off, with pay, and no strings attached!

An Administrator who Follows Through!

So often administrators fail to follow through, or simply don’t know how to support their teachers, or motivate them to be the best teachers that they can be.   I could not pass up the opportunity to recognize Dr. Twomey and the tenacious support he offers his teachers and, in turn, the students of Havana School District 126.

Congratulations to Wendy Saylor, Music Teacher at New Central Elementary, Janet Barker, 5th Grade Teacher at Havana Middle School, and Barb Ramsey, Chemistry Teacher at Havana High School for their hard work and dedication to good teaching!

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Special Needs in the General Classroom: Strategies that make it work by Susan Fitzell, M.ED, CSP

For more information on differentiation strategies to reach ALL learners, see Susan Fitzell’s book, Special Needs in the General Classroom, Strategies That Make It Work. Available in both print and electronic versions!

We also offer a Professional Development Kit, for all teachers, with a Graduate Credit Option!

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Another issue students often face is unfamiliar vocabulary on tests.  I discuss the importance of teaching test vocabulary in some of my seminars, but sometimes students need other options. Rachael Woolbright from Rockwell Charter High School in Utah suggests allowing written responses on multiple choice tests. If a student is unsure of an answer, they can write in another answer they think is correct.  This strategy also benefits extroverts who need to be able to process their answers more deeply than multiple choice testing allows.

Joelle Brummitt-Yale offers some additional vocabulary specific strategies in her article, “Effective Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary.”  Take a look and remember to consider the vocabulary you use  when working with your students.

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While I do talk about the Jigsaw in some of my seminars, and I train the teachers I consult with to use it, I don’t talk about it in great detail. There are a variety of print and online resources that discuss this teaching strategy, but the clearest and most comprehensive, in my opinion, is The Jigsaw Classroom, a website devoted entirely to the use and implementation of the Jigsaw. Take a look and add this great strategy to your teaching tool box.

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I’ve often talked about the value of mandalas for their calming effect on students and their ability to expand creativity. Michelle Waymouth attended one of my seminars and shared that her students love mandalas and are proud of their work. She said that one year she pieced all of her students’ paper mandalas into a “quilt” and hung it in the hallway. Students were encouraged to write a message about how their mandala made them feel. Those messages were also hung up next to the quilt.

Jennifer Jones, from Ector County ISD, suggests putting a mandala (with enough copies for each student) into each of her substitute folders. The students can work on their mandalas and give the substitute teacher some time to prepare.

Mandalas can also be useful teaching tools. They lend themselves well to math and geometry lessons, and they can also be incorporated into units about Native American or Asian cultures.

Mandala patterns can be simple to complex and can be purchased or downloaded for free. Just do an image search, download the patterns you like, and print them for your students. My website also has several hand made mandala designs that you can use in your classrooms. Enjoy!

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