tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post3794583524870176557..comments2024-01-03T04:58:04.221-05:00Comments on I Hope This Old Train Breaks Down...: Absences; Peer ObservationsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-22891452635280906492011-03-14T23:24:38.952-04:002011-03-14T23:24:38.952-04:00@grace I read somewhere on some blog a while ago t...@grace I read somewhere on some blog a while ago that for a PD they just watched videos of "masterful" teaching and discussed what they saw. If only every school had regular PD such as this, either with outside resources or with each other's teaching tapes! I guess it also takes a really open school culture to be able to do that.untilnextstophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15285583728476473117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-62638981006976684042011-03-14T20:23:38.247-04:002011-03-14T20:23:38.247-04:00I've marked this unread in Google Reader and h...I've marked this unread in Google Reader and have been meaning to respond forever... because I love love love classroom observations. My first semester, I only taught from 12-5, and so I spent all morning lesson planning and grading in the backs of more experienced teachers' classrooms. I noted everything from the language they used to correct misbehavior to the types of questions they were asking, and it helped me grow so much that first semester. I'd walk in thinking about what I was struggling with (content or culture) and leave with so many concrete ideas.<br /><br />Now, I'm mostly focused on the instruction and the way the teacher interacts with students (or ratio of talk time, as Lemov puts it), specifically in terms of questions or non-answers that push students to engage at higher levels. It's certainly reinforcing for me the interplay between culture/management and content... so hard to improve one without the other. <br /><br />I also like to do a rigor check to get a sense for the depth of content and complexity of content that students are working on; observing at high-performing schools was particularly helpful in this sense, and made me repeatedly raise my expectations for my students.<br /><br />Maybe I'm just really nosy and like seeing what others do, but I think observations are the most fun and one of the most effective ways to improve :)gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09629147659164801681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-15860262394177157452011-03-06T17:30:18.791-05:002011-03-06T17:30:18.791-05:00@Paul That sounds amazing! I am really lazy and do...@Paul That sounds amazing! I am really lazy and don't regularly observe other teachers. If I had some other buddies at school who did it regularly as well, it'd really help me stay motivated. Thanks for the idea! (Even though, I have to say that I'm really protective of my teaching time in class; I don't like it when other people cover my classes, because it affects my kids' learning a lot. So, I'd probably work out a different deal...)<br /><br />@bestcase I'm glad you sound so positive. (And the stuff on your blog is really interesting, even though I don't teach statistics!) Keep it up. :) :) On my end, I'm hoping that the absences are tapering... Already we only see each kid 4 hours (instead of 5) a week. I need all the time that I can get with them!!untilnextstophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15285583728476473117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-87887619043535382011-03-03T11:58:37.281-05:002011-03-03T11:58:37.281-05:00Oh, observation! You're so right -- every time...Oh, observation! You're so right -- every time I do it, it makes things better. So why don't I do it more? Thanks for your post; it will prod me in the right direction. <br /><br />And as to absences, oh, man, I have that one too. Right now, baseball season is starting. Four of my 18 play varsity. Which means that they ALL miss one class in three -- in addition to others being away at leadership conferences, college visits, wisdom teeth extractions, etc etc. Which makes it hard to keep everything together and moving forward. <br /><br />But forward we go anyway! <i>¡Adelante!</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-45547785322662792522011-02-28T18:55:55.974-05:002011-02-28T18:55:55.974-05:00I'm putting together a list of the top 100 hig...I'm putting together a list of the top 100 high school teacher blogs, and your site was recommended by another blogger on the list. I'm contacting all the bloggers via e-mail so I can interview them for my article...I couldn't find your contact info so could you please e-mail me at alexisbrett@gmail.com and include the title of your blog in the e-mail? thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-87747286438908578922011-02-24T10:11:18.553-05:002011-02-24T10:11:18.553-05:00My first year of teaching, I made a deal with a co...My first year of teaching, I made a deal with a colleague for her to cover my class during her planning period one day every other week (I did the same for her on alternate weeks). On my covered day, I would spend my planning period and my covered class period observing two teachers who taught the same subject. I spent a semester observing two 20-plus year veteran chemistry teachers and my colleague observed a veteran and a second year journalism teacher. After our observations, we’d meet up afterschool and discuss the differences between the two teachers we observed: either how both of their differences worked equally well (formal vs informal style, structured vs unstructured, etc.) or how one teacher’s lesson seemed to have a more positive impact on student learning than the other’s and what the specific difference was that made it more successful. <br /><br />It was an invaluable experience because we focused our energies on the differences that had the greatest positive impact on learning, rather than what I consider the “book report” approach common to observations of classes outside your subject area: I saw this this and this in the classroom but I have no idea if lectures or small groups would’ve been the best approach for this lesson because I don’t teach history or language arts.<br /><br />Paul Hawking<br />Blog: <br />The Challenge of Teaching Math<br />Latest post:<br />Dear Parents Letter<br />http://challenge-of-teaching-math.blogspot.com/2011/02/dear-parents-letter.html?https://www.blogger.com/profile/09000980455095316183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-86728755531841836372011-02-23T17:02:40.946-05:002011-02-23T17:02:40.946-05:00Katy, that article breaks my heart. Is that the ki...Katy, that article breaks my heart. Is that the kinds of students you work with? If so, hats off to you.<br /><br />Back in the Bronx we had kids with crazy families, but they had stability at school, at least, and most things that happened at home weren't crazy enough to keep them out of school...untilnextstophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15285583728476473117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651514617266100245.post-33573986286178434932011-02-23T16:35:24.159-05:002011-02-23T16:35:24.159-05:00mimi! you must read this essay: witness.blackmount...mimi! you must read this essay: witness.blackmountaininstitute.org/archive/xxi/Bascom-Witness-XXI.pdf<br /><br />it's about absences and so much more. bascom talks about writing it here: http://www.creativenonfiction.org/thejournal/articles/issue37/bascom37.html<br /><br />i also LOVED what you had to say about observations--such an important exercise. when we have faculty meetings and talk pedagogy, i ALWAYS leave with juicy gems!Katyhttp://katyranklev.comnoreply@blogger.com