Classroom Managers

My most "proud" moment of this last week was not something that I did, but instead it was a moment in which I was proud of my students. This seems really simple, but it meant a lot to me.

After the NTI Summer Semester, I have been working on implementing my lab management plan. Last week I introduced the classroom manager positions with the video and other materials we produced over the summer. For the first time, I am letting students apply for the positions instead of assigning them. I didn't get much feedback in class from the students when I introduced the positions. Another teacher in my department even asked if I though any students would willingly apply for the positions since they weren't being "forced" to do it. I was really discouraged until the next day when I had so many students apply that I ran out of my printed applications. I had to print out more and had a line of students come and pick them up on their way to the bus after school. This sounds so silly, but I was so proud of the students who wanted to give of their time to make the classroom run smoothly. What made me the most proud was that many of my students who have autism or other learning disabilities were some of the first to apply. I immediately assigned students to fill the positions and they are already stepping up in ways I didn't expect. I am so proud!

Last Week's Football Game

Last week we were still in pre-planning but football is in full swing. We have a tradition that ever senior football player is allowed to pick one teacher that has influenced them the most over their time in high school. Wednesday i revived an email that said that I had been chosen, which did not surprise me much since i had some boys form my Youth Group from church that I have had in class and know since he was a young boy, I had assumed he picked me. When I arrived at the game Thursday night it was not the young man that I had know for years but a student I had meet just last year. Apparently he and the other boy both picked me but they did not give it to the one that had know for years. Shocked was one of many words that can describe how i felt, proud would be a better one I had no idea that in one year I had affected someones life so deeply.

My Proud Moment

The proud moments in the classroom are some of the greatest rewards of teaching for me. The "Ah ha!" moments, the "finally getting it" moments, or the moments when a kid comes running to tell you about a connection they made with course content outside of the classroom. 

My biggest "proud" this week was in a young lady who has been in my class before...and, in fact, failed my class before.  Frankly, this student has struggled through much of her academic career with low grades and poor study habits. She has some personal difficulties that have contributed to her troubles. She is now a senior.

From the beginning of the year, she has worked very hard improving her study habits, getting her work done on time, engaging in group assignments and even volunteering to answer questions in class. This week, she made the highest grade that I have ever given her on a unit exam: an 86! I was so excited as I was marking her test. I honestly can't wait to give her answer sheet back to her in class tomorrow. I know she will be as proud of herself as I am of her. 


I certainly can't take the credit for her new-found success and motivation, but I hope that my persistence and coaching has helped promote the positive changes that she has made this year. She is inspired by her own struggles with emotional health to pursue a career in mental health care. I believe she can do it! 

Although I'm not teaching as of yet, I would feel most proud to be given the chance to inspire and encourage the students mind to love the art of cosmetology. And to see every student interact and be involved in what I presented as instructor would show that my goal to have a positive effect on every student has been accomplished.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2

Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

In my level 2 Criminal Justice Essentials class we are learning about proper courtroom testimony and professional demeanor.  The students took 2 days to write a DUI report with details I provided them.  They were given creative freedom with how they handled the impaired driver and which field sobriety evaluations they performed.  The then were called to "the stand" to testify in a jury trial.  The rest of the class served as the jury members.  I gave them a list of pre-prepared questions I would ask them as the prosecutor and then I would flip roles and "grill" them as a defense attorney with questions they were not prepared for.  I was trying to teach them to think on their feet and also show them how important every single word that comes out of their mouth is when testifying in open court.  The students loved this activity!  We laughed a lot!  My students kept saying, "I smelled alcohol on the driver".  I asked them, "What does alcohol smell like?"  This question stumped them.  This is just one example of a question asked on cross examination.

Now on to what I am most proud of with this activity.....I have a student who is new to the school this year.  He is very quiet and shy and does not talk to me or his peers in my class.  It was his turn to present and he was very nervous and told me in front of the class he did not want to take the stand.  I urged him to participate, as this was being counted as an assessment grade.  I told him that there was nothing to be afraid of and the class supports one another.  The class then began to clap for him and urge him to take the stand.  This student eventually took the stand and performed outstanding!!!  Easily in the top 5 in the class.  I was so impressed with his courtroom testimony and demeanor!!!  He received an A on the assignment.  When he was finished, the class again applauded loudly for him and told him how great he did.  It was the first time I saw him smile in 5 weeks! 

After class, the student approached me and asked me how he did.  I told him how wonderful his testimony was and that I was so proud of him.  He told me it was the first time he had ever spoke in front of his class.  He said in the past, he would always find a way to get out of presenting or just take a zero as a grade.  He told me he realized today that it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be and that he now had the confidence to stand up in front of his peers. 

I was so proud of this student and so proud of myself and my class as well.  I created an educational and fun activity that the class enjoyed; the students rallied together to help a fellow student gain confidence; and a new student over came one of his biggest fears!  To me, this was a successful week!  I'm proud of everyone in my class! It made me feel like a very proud teacher that my student over came his fear!

My Proud Activity!

Hmmm… Well… I can say that overall I’m somewhat proud of all the activities I have implemented even if the students thought they were cool or not. Sometimes, learning isn’t fun but it is still beneficial. I teach Intro to Criminal Justice and Criminal Justice Essentials. The standards for both levels are similar in some ways. The standard we are covering is “Career Exploration.” The students are exploring careers with in the criminal justice field and learning the different duties and responsibilities of each. We have been talking about courtroom roles. Sad to say, the students did not know what a prosecutor or defense attorney was. On the other hand, they knew what a defendant and judge was (how ironic). Well, I sat and pondered on how I can make learning about the courtroom personnel fun. Once again, I began to talk to myself. I said, “Crystal, what can you do to make this fun, interesting, and memorable?” Just then a light bulb went off and I came up with the idea of having the students’ debate about criminal justice and school related topic. One student had to be the prosecutor and the other, the defense attorney. Needless to say, all the classes enjoyed it for the most part. My freshman and sophomores had a blast and wanted to debate for the next few days. So to grant their wishes we debated for two days!!

Thinking about last week was really rough due to the behavior issues at my school. I will say my most proudest moment is when my students got permission to design a bulletin board within the school was great. We were working on the Sanitation standard and they had to design Newsletters about Foodborne illnesses such as; E. Coli, Salmonella, and Hepatitis A. One of the student came up with idea of the class notifying the public of an 'Outbreak". The board was right outside the cafeteria, so they knew plenty of people will see it and gain some knowledge of the different foodborne illnesses. Why this moment made me proud because I use some of the small group strategies and a new template  to create the newsletter. The students were engaged in the activity and they made it into a competition who had the best one.

Something very helpful that I learned in NTI that I implemented the first week of school was to establish an effective classroom management plan to help set the tone to prevent behavioral problems and learning curriculum. This is how it worked, the students were able to be more involved in the rules about the classrom. It made my new year different by having the stuedents more involved and motivated to engage with classrom activities.

Something I learned in NTI this past summer that I implemented the first few weeks of school was teaching zones, classroom managers, and I also switched my desk from the front of my classroom to the back. All of these strategies worked very well. Teaching zones enabled me to exchange dialogue and make contact with students. Students in all 6 of my classes were very excited about the possibly to be the classroom managers. Having my desk at the back of my room allows me to view each student to ensure they are remaining on task. These things made my new year different by allowing students to feel involved, and be integral parts of how the classroom tasks, and assignments are ran.

A Different Start to the School Year...

The 2016-17 school year began very differently than the prior year...

I implemented many of the strategies that I learned in my NTI courses this past summer.  Clear and precise classroom rules were supported by a detailed syllabus.  Each of these documents laid the foundations for expectations in my Health Care Science class. What a difference it makes to point to a rule and refer to the syllabus - it's huge!

Another thing I implemented was a review game that we did at NTI.  As a knitter, I have no problem coming up with stray balls of yarn.  Attached is a picture of a class review game using a ball of yarn.  The kids loved it!

Kolena Chavers

Something I learned in NTI this past summer that I implemented the first few weeks of school was __the introduction to the student and what they are wanting to know on the first day. This is how it worked, student were glad to know how the class would run and the way they would be graded, and they learned a little about me. It made my new year different by letting the students know more about me and the class, making the student know what is expected.

Something that I learned this summer that I have implemented in my classroom is the use of Celtx, which is a professional website used for screenwriting. Adding this site to my instructional practices continues to meet my personal goals of preparing students for life in the industry that desire to work in video production or film. So far, students have been excited about using the site and it allows them to really take ownership of their work and have something to follow along as they continue to create videos. 

Great start to my year due to NTI class

Something very helpful that I have learned is how to build great classroom management with starting classes with great group activities. This allowed each person to learn more about each other and the end result was knowing how to deal with different personalities in a positive light.

Some things that I was able to implement the first week of school was the Halo Effect.It was extremely important to me that I made a good first impression. I also made sure to focus on my objectives. The "how well" was the most challenging. I will continue to work on it.

First Impressions!

There were several things I learned over the course of the summer during NTI class. Considering I have never taught before and I was going into my first year of teaching, there were a lot of things I didn’t know. I knew that I needed help in every aspect of teaching. One thing I remembered learning was “First impression is the last impression” and that is what students will remember. I said to myself, “Crystal, you will make the first impression our best impression.” Well the summer went by and the first day of school grew closer and closer. I grew more nervous I thought I was going to forget all of the good information I received over the summer. Well, here it is, the first day of school, and I made the BEST impression ever. I let the students know that I was excited to be there and I wasn’t there for a check, but to help them succeed in their educational career. We are now going into the 4^th week of school and the students all say the dame thing to me, “Ms. Kimble, I wish I had your class for all my periods.” I can’t get rid of them. That is a good feeling to know that my students enjoy being in my class. I guess I made a good impression on them.

Something I learned in NTI this past summer that I implemented the first few weeks of school was __the introduction to the student and what they are wanting to know on the first day. This is how it worked, student were glad to know how the class would run and the way they would be graded, and they learned a little about me. It made my new year different by letting the students know more about me and the class, making the student know what is expected.

Anthony Love

During my first week of class I used my classroom management plan that I created in NTI this summer. I went over my classroom expectations that were posted on my wall. Last year I did not have classroom expectations posted on my wall because I did not know any better. I learned that teachers must set expectations in their classrooms and ensure that the students are following them on a daily basis. I also posted some movie posters on the wall as indicated in my classroom management plan. Students that I taught on last year were very impressed and thanked me for putting up my expectations as well as the posters. I am definitely having a better start this year than I did on last year. I feel honored to be a part of the NTI program at GSU.

Week 1 Reflection - Jessica S.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure..."

Currently we are about 3 weeks into the school year (crazy to think we are nearly a quarter through the Fall semester already!). I have had a really good start to the school year, and have implemented many things I learned from Summer NTI. 

One of the things that has been most successful and beneficial to my classroom has been the approach I took to teaching classroom procedures and behavior expectations. I decided to dedicate the first 3 to 5 days of the school year to a program "orientation." During this time, we discussed procedures specific to my classroom, covered the syllabus, use of Google Classroom, and employability skills. 

I believe that taking the time to communicate clear expectations has helped this year get off to a smooth start and I have had very few issues with transitioning activities or behavior problems because of it. 

Additionally, having the clear expectations posted both on the wall with my poster and in the syllabi for my courses allows me to frequently reference the policy when behavior corrections are necessary. It has made classroom management a much more seamless part of my job, and has given me more time and energy to focus on instructional activities. 

I'm looking forward to learning even more new methods this Fall and my continued growth as a professional educator. 

Good afternoon,

things that I learned in the NTI session this summer were classroom management. I made sure that when I started the school year off, my students knew that I meant business. I learned that we can work hard and also be able to play too. I treat my class like a family and work together.


Abshul

Something I learned in NTI this past summer that I implemented the first few weeks of school was the first day of school agenda and teacher introduction video. This is how it worked I...Greeted the Students at the door, Instructor introduction video, class rules, syllabus scavenger hunt, design challenge, presentations of design challenge, transfer out / closing.  It made my new year different by allowing me to know exactly what I was going to do and say.  

Shelley Carter

Test Post!

Hello Class,

It has been such a pleasure meeting each of you! I wish you all much success this school year....

During the summer I learned the importance of applying economics to my daily life and teaching practice. For example, what is the cost benefit of me completing this course or spending time with friends? I decided to complete this course, which is a requirement for my job and overall provides future employment possibilities.

 I learned from the Summer NTI session was to always monitor my students when they are completing their assignments and ask them for feedback when the assignment has been given to them. This strategy helps them understand and provide some source of feedback if they got a full understanding of their directions. I also will like to add how having the Sponge/bell ringer for the students to begin their assignment is great for them to transition into the class and focus on education.

Hello fellow NTI ...It is such a pleasure to see all of you again. I would like to welcome the new teachers who are joining us today. You will find Dr. Burns instruction to be helpful and very useful when navigating the classroom.

This Summer in NTI I learned classroom management as it relates to behavior. I have used the eye contact technique as well as walking up to the student when they are off task. It truly works when you follow the systems in place.

Mrs. Day

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1

Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

I posted my main classroom rules in the front of the classroom where all students could see them.  I went over them in detail the first day of school and continue to review them with the students on a regular basis.  One of my main rules is no cell phones in class unless instructed to use by your teacher.  This was a huge problem for me last year.  I have strongly enforced this rule since day 1.  I am certainly off to a stronger start with the cell phone problem this year than I was last year. 

Another rule I posted this year was students will remain seated until dismissed by the teacher.  I no longer have a problem with students lining up at my door at the end of class and waiting for the bell to ring. 

Something I have started using to get the students quiet is turning off the lights like Dr. Burns does to get our attention. It has worked really good. Now I do not have to raise my voice to get their attention.

I learned some great things in the NTI this summer session. I am implementing the positioning of the desk really determines the kids focus. I also have classroom managers that keep up with the day to day work of the class. The last thing that helps me is the ask three then me rule it makes the kids really think before they ask the same question repeatedly.

Something that I learned in NTI this Summer was how to effectively write an objective and complete a task analysis for upcoming units and demonstrations.  This helped me in the sense that it taught/allowed me to completely dissect the steps that needed to be covered in an orderly and coherent fashion.  In doing so, I was able to pinpoint specific areas that need more focus and very clear, basic instruction.  As a result, I've noticed it has helped slow my teaching pace down so that all students fully comprehend the lesson, and no student is left behind!

NTI First Fall Semester Blog Post

Hello all,
During these first few weeks of the 2016/2017 school year, I have implemented several of the techniques that we learned in NTI over the summer semester. One of the strategies which has had the biggest impact is the use of the "events of instruction". This includes the set induction, transfer in, learning activities, closure, and transfer out. By structuring my classroom in this way, it has provided a framework which encourages learning. It also helps me with my time management. I plan to continue to use the NTI lesson plans and events of instruction to structure all of my units in AVTF I.
Thank you for reading,
Anna

What I plan to do.

Since Murray County does not start school until September 6th I plan on creating groups for lab management to help me keep track of time, organize tools, clean shop, and do all PR related activities. I hope this will free me up to monitor the class better thus keeping students on track. I also hope to answer questions and assisted groups that cannot be answered or helped by my "foremen".

Sample Post to First Week Question

Here is a sample post for you:
Something I learned in NTI this past summer that I implemented the first few weeks of school was _______________________________________________________________________________. This is how it worked _________________________________________________________________.  It made my new year different by _____________________________________________________.