It’s time!  It’s time!

Oh yes it is…

Time to officially announce the line up for the 2012 Teacher Art Retreat!

I am so happy to post the information many of you have been waiting for – the second annual Teacher Art Retreat is on for August 13-15 (8am-3pm at the Amesbury, MA cultural center) and we have a great time planned for you!  Each of the three days, retreaters will be participating in a composition workshop where they will go through the process of writing a song with the guidance of Debbie Ambrose.  Then each day, the teachers will be part of a great arts infused workshop.  One day we will discover The Art of Math with Amy Mitchell.  Another day we will create Vision Boards with yours truly.  And finally we will chart the territory of storytelling and history as we partake in Lori Cotter’s workshop Historically Speaking.   And along the way there will be movement and dance, collaborative creation, great food and more.  (There’s even a raffle!)

The purpose of each of these workshops is for teachers to participate in the creation of art as they learn new skills and strategies for the classroom.  The goal of the retreat if for you to feel refreshed with new ideas and invigorated to tackle a new school year.

*You know  you want this!*

So, let me define what we mean by “Teachers.”  Maybe the more appropriate word would be educators.  We want educators of ALL ages, grade levels and subject areas, those in the classrooms and those working in offices, aspiring teachers and veterans alike.  This is the type of professional development that inspires ALL educators.

Here’s a taste of what I mean:

For ALL the information you want about the Teacher Art Retreat, including how to register, go to our Retreat page.  (And the sooner you sign up, the more you save on registration.)

We hope to see all of you at the retreat this summer!

~EMP

Related posts:

1. Teacher Retreat 2011
2. Teacher Retreat 2011- A Success!
3. A PD Retreat

It’s always great to hear successful stories from other teachers.  It keeps us motivated knowing that we are all working hard to reach our students.  Today, Iris Yuan brings us successful teaching strategies and tips from two great educators.  We hope you are enjoying your Teacher Appreciation Week! ~EMP

Teachers face a wide number of challenges both in and out of the classroom. Below, two amazing teachers share strategies and tips that have proven successful in their teaching careers. Jamie Nestor has worked with students from grades 5-12 for over ten years, teaching Latin and Ancient Greek.  Aaron VanderYacht started out as a Teach for America corps member eleven years ago, and now teaches reading, writing, and math in grades 4-12.

For Aaron, a successful lesson revolves around the mindset of his students.  He recognizes that every student does want to achieve more, so he takes the time to assess each student’s attitude, strengths, and weaknesses from the start. Meanwhile, Jamie uses a “student-centered” approach, so that her students have more control over how the curriculum runs.

“I start by activating prior knowledge – figuring out what students know when they come to me.  Then, I identify misconceptions and work to deprogram them and build upon truths,” says Jamie. She would also take note of what type of learner the student is, such as auditory or kinesthetic.

The next step is to keep the student motivated and engaged.  To accomplish this, Aaron uses funky colored pens or paper, stickers, jokes, and laughter throughout his lessons.  He notes, “As much as a 9th grader might try to pretend that he doesn’t care about some silly sticker, you can bet that somewhere in there he’s excited.  Nowadays, I love to carry around stickers, stamps, and other simple rewards.”

Despite these efforts, it is inevitable that some students feel lazy or unmotivated at the start of the lesson.  Usually, it’s the, “I’m never going to get this, why bother…” or “I don’t need any help, I’m fine.”  To counteract these attitudes, Aaron makes sure to highlight positive progress along the way.

“Even when working with a student who is really struggling, I try to constantly create ‘positive sandwiches’.  This means that I will start most of my comments to a student by highlighting something positive (‘I see your organization is really clear in this paragraph.’), follow it with constructive feedback (‘I see you tried to add a detail from the paragraph, but this detail doesn’t directly support your topic.’), and then finish with a positive comment (‘Let’s look back at the text, because I saw that you did a great job of highlighting a lot of important details.’).  When feedback is ‘sandwiched’ between positive comments, problematic reactions are less likely to ensue later on,” he says.

Another common challenge is figuring out how to adjust these strategies from an individual level to a classroom setting.  “It takes careful planning, strategy, insight, and adaptability to anticipate and provide what each child in the room needs for the best learning outcomes,” says Jamie.  “That’s why tutoring is so great.  In a 1:1 setting, I can build a relationship with a student more quickly, and with that, perceive what that child needs. I can then provide that learning space more immediately and with undivided attention.”

Regardless of where the lesson is taking place, getting direct feedback from students at the end of the day is vital to moving the lessons forward.

“One of the best things that a student can say to me is, ‘That was easy!’  I always respond by saying, ‘Of course it was, because you practiced and put in hard work so that it would be!’  It’s especially meaningful to me when I hear this after a student has taken a major test or quiz.  Knowing that he or she is able to sit with their work and feel confident and relaxed is what makes teaching exciting,” says Aaron.

Iris Yuan is an Education Consultant at Tutorspree.com, a website that aims to rebuild the tutoring system and make it transparent for the educational community. Follow @tutorspree on Twitter for more information.

Related posts:

1. 5 Keys to Teaching with Arts Integration
2. Similarities Between Running a Business and Teaching Students

Today is National Teacher Day.

With so many mixed feelings about our profession, a day like this is important to remember and even take a little seriously.  Our job is not easy; there are many obstacles and challenges.  From the struggling students we yearn to reach to the occational parent that doesn’t do their part, from the testing that is looming over our job to the seemingly growing distaste with the education system we work so hard to reform.  Yet, there are the great things too and those are the things we need to keep in mind.

No matter where you are coming from here are some ways to celebrate this day and week.

SHOW UNITY – The union in the state I work (Massachusetts) is encouraging us to show our pride in what we do by wearing blue today.  I’m assuming blue because it is the academic color for education.  (I’m happy because it’s my favorite color. )  We are doing this to show our solidarity:  “When community members ask why we are all wearing blue, we can tell them that it’s because we work hard, and we deserve to be respected. “  It will be nice to see the teachers in our school come together for this.

SHOW APPRECIATION - May 8th and the days surrounding it, have become a time for parents and community members to appreciate what we do for our children.  In fact, each year I really look forward to the teacher luncheon and other fun things our PTA puts on for we teachers.

But we can also show appreciation for one another.  In the last couple of years my principal has invited us to take a notecard from the office and send a word of encouragement and thanks to another teacher in our building.  I can personally say that getting these notes from colleagues is heart warming.  It’s nice to know you are appreciated!

We really should be taking a moment or two to celebrate each other.  Consider sending a note or an email to a colleague and letting them know what a difference they may in the school community.

REMEMBER THAT SPECIAL TEACHER – Teachers touch our lives!  I bet you can think of one who made a difference in your life.  Maybe they thought there was something great in you, gave you confidence in a talent you have or were just so cool, that you wanted to be just like him or her.

I invite you to read some of the great stories people have been adding to our Google Document “In Appreciation of Teachers”.  So many of them are stories of teachers who have touched the lives of their students, changed them, helped them grow, even inspired another to become a teacher.  Please consider adding your sentiment to the Google Doc.

GET A PEP TALK

This job is tough, believe me I know.  I was just reminded of how much of a toll it can take on you just yesterday.  I’m sure we all have our own stories…

Sometimes it can take a little push to get through the day.  This week, to take the edge of  a cough I’ve been fighting, I’ve been taking Halls cough drops.  Just yesterday I looked at the wrapper and, sure enough there was a Pep Talk on the wrapper.  (Just like their commercial promises.)  Here is what my wrapper said.  Take each line as you need it!

• Let’s hear your battle cry.
• Get through it.
• Put your game face on.
• Keep your chin up.
• Elicit a few “wows” today.
• Bet on yourself.

INSPIRING WORDS- There is a great website I was introduced to earlier this week on educationcloset called InspireTeachers.org.  “Studio 360 asked Hyperakt, a Brooklyn design studio, to create a new visual vocabulary that reflects the multi-dimensional role of teachers.”  The site showcases some great visuals that you can dowload and use. Here’s one that I particularly like.  You can print these or use them in emails to surround yourself with inspiration about what you do.

So, take a moment today to consider what you do, what the teachers in your community do and recognize this as something worthy of praise!

Enjoy your day!  ~EMP

Click one of the tags from this post to find related posts.

Anyone who knows me, know I love dance!  And I bring movement into my classroom any chance I can – which can be difficult to do sometimes.  Here is this week’s guest blogger, Lauren Bailey to discuss some of the great things dance and movement can do.  Hopefully this will motivate you to do more in with your own students.  ~EMP

Many educators have just enough time to fit the necessary coursework and activities into each day that there is very little time left to dedicate toward activities not commonly brought into the standard classroom. Most teachers strive to provide unique ways to stimulate the minds and souls of their students, but it can be difficult to keep things like that up these days, with most educators bogged down by paperwork and standardized testing preparation.

One simple way, though, to break up the school day with some positive and inspiring activities is to introduce dance and movement into the classroom. Not only is dance great for the body, it can truly lift the spirit, as well. Read on for some of the top reasons why dance and movement can be a powerful and uplifting activity for students of any age.

1. Physical Fitness

The best thing about dance and inspired movement is the fact that it is a fun way to get some exercise. Dance helps improve coordination between the mind and body, it’s an excellent aerobic activity, and it helps build muscle and flexibility. When kids spend about 20 minutes a day participating in some form of aerobic dance or group movement, they, just like adults, lower their risk of obesity and heart disease. They will also see an increase in endorphins, which will improve moods all around, and they will build up their endurance so they can participate in even more physical activity in the future.

2. Creative and Emotional Outlet

Some students do not have an outlet to express themselves, and dance is an excellent way to give children of all ages a way to be creative in a fun and safe environment. Not only are students able to be expressive in ways that they are generally not during regular school activities, making an emotional connection to music allows students to release tension and connect to their emotions on a higher level.

3. Connection with Peers

While students have plenty of opportunities to make friends and connect during regular school activities, learning a dance as a group is a unique and special way for students to bond and work together. Following the steps to a dance and creating a final dance performance is really a group effort. The feeling of accomplishment and connection that comes with learning movements in time and successfully performing an entire dance as a group cannot be overstated.

4. Confidence

Not all students make straight A grades or are spectacular at sports. In fact, the majority of the students attending any given school are neither of those things. Offering dance and movement programs gives students with different skill sets the chance to try something new and possibly discover something they love to do. Performing a dance in front of other people, especially when you are new to dance, is a huge risk, and challenging students to take those kinds of risks can build confidence for years to come.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

Related posts:

1. The Joy of The Dance
2. Providing for Creativity in Students
3. Effects of Quality Community Building

I bring them to the large room

My students sit to wait

They’re talking and they’re anxious

To start up from their break.

I take a hold of one small drum

Caress it with my hands,

And as I beat so softly

They seem to understand.

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

Some students start to stare at me,

Some students look away,

Some students start to tap with me

On the floor, they start to play.

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

Other classes start to enter -

It’s a fourth grade meeting thing.

As they walk into the large room

They notice as I sing:

“Come right in,” Doom doom chick

“Come and sit,” Doom doom chick

As naturally as muses

they succumb to my one drum.

Class by class they enter;

They sit, they sway, some hum.

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

And now we’re in a rhythm

Over 100 are all there.

Community is building

As magic fills the air.

Slap-slap, clap; Doom doom chick

Slap-slap, clap; Doom doom chick

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

Doom, ckick-a chick; Doom doom chick

It’s time to start the lesson

A countdown I now say:

4 – - -; Doom doom chick

3 – - -; Doom doom chick-

2 – - -; Doom doom chick

1 – -  -; Doom doom chick

Silence,

Smiles,

Applause

We are ready to begin.

So, what was that?   This depicts a fantastic musical experience I had with the fourth graders at my school last Friday afternoon: a moment of musical magic I wanted to share.  Hope you enjoyed!  ~EMP

Related posts:

1. Drum Circle

Enjoy this short, but informative piece about how the brain works.  Using just these three concepts can help mold your teaching.  ~EMP

When it comes to how students learn most easily, there are three principles that seem to repeatedly surface.

1. Students progress better in an active, play-based learning environment. This may seem too obvious to state, but it’s true. Boredom is the death of learning. When students are actively engaged in a task or activity, that bit of knowledge being learned – whether practical or theoretical – is more easily made concrete in the brain. Recent pedagogical studies have brought this to light with empirical research; just Google it and you’ll find many pages of relevant results! Students that are primarily kinaesthetic learners especially thrive on this kind of learning environment, though all learning styles benefit from it.

2. Stress is the enemy of education. Stress reduces your cerebral activity and therefore your ability to succeed at a task. When the brain interprets there being a threat or risk of some kind, it shuts down all higher functioning and focuses on responding to the stressful situation at hand through the classic fight or flight paradigm. All kinds of learning require this higher brain functioning, so keeping activities which create anxiety or duress out of the classroom environment is key. If a student is too easily stressed, then it is important to try to build up his or her confidence through short, structured learning exercises where failure is an unlikely outcome.

3. Emotion is a powerful player in developing memory. In fact, memory retention is one of the key roles of our emotions.  When your emotions are not engaged, your memory retention level is much reduced.  So the old Victorian routine of creating an environment of extreme fear in the classroom would have reduced the ability of the students to perform due to stress, but counteracting that, it might have helped them remember some knowledge taught.  However, we don’t recommend employing scare techniques as a strategy!  Positive emotions allow high performance AND good memory retention as well.

David Morgan is Managing Director of Oxford Learning Solutions, creators of the Easyread System, which teaches struggling learners how to read. Easyread specializes in cases of dyslexia, highly visual learning styles, and auditory processing deficits. Find out more at www.easyreadsystem.com and follow the latest literacy news at www.facebook.com/easyreadsystem.

Click one of the tags from this post to find related posts.