District Administration - January 2007 - (Page 44)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT comfort level, especially for young children . Teachers may also wish to take the opportunity to suggest pert i nent “what if” kinds of questions and comments, such as “How many different ways can you get a bulb to light using one wire and a ﬂashlight cell?” If teachers turn to other matters as students are working, such as correcting papers, it sends a message that the activity is not very import a nt. 6. Resolve Differences by Returning to the Materials Some of the best learning experiences occur when students come to different conclusions in an activity. When these occasions arise, encourage students to return to the materials and demonstrate support for each position. Such back-and-forth negotiations are valuable opportunities to use evidence in resolving differences, and teachers should not intercede too quickly. cedu res and concluding the activity. Teachers may also want to edit the summarized information and distribute copies to each student. 3. Avoid Lysiphobia! The word “lysiphobia” was coined by the late Dr. Robert Karplus of the University of California at Berkeley and is a powerful teaching concept deﬁ ned as the “fear of leaving loose ends.” A lysiphobic teacher, therefore, attempts to wrap lessons or activities into neat packages by summarizing what was learned. While summarizi ng lessons is of course important, it is the loose ends that encourage thinking to continue. So while many teacher competency measures require each lesson to have a clear conclusion, I recommend allowing an unresolved part of a lesson or activity to spill over to another day. For example, if students use their senses to try and ﬁgure out the content s of a mystery box, the activity will be more compelling if opening the box is deferred. This technique also provides natural links to subsequent lessons and activities and may even prompt students to talk about the experiences with their parents, which in itself is marvelous! 4. Provide for At-Home Activities Getting parents more involved with their children’s learning is one of the best—and least expensive—avenues to improving education locally. An outstanding way is to give students materials for activities they can do at home, which brings the beneﬁts of materials-centered teaching to out-of-class time and almost always involves other family members. Assignments may also focus on fami ly participation, such as opinion surveys, interviews, and asking parent s to serve as online or in-person resources. DA Odvard Egil Dyrli, gdyrli@edmediagroup. com, is editor-in-chief of DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION and emeritus professor of education at the University of Connecticut. Instructions on Giving Instructions Giving instructions is central to teaching and learning and includes the following techniques: • Make Instructions as Concrete as Possible The key to giving instructions is to list them as steps to be followed—with lists of materials that are needed—since giving directions in paragraph form is almost always less effective. Whether presented in a chart, a handout or online, instructions are easier to follow if students can mentally or physically check off each step as it is completed. • Give Instructions in Different Ways In addition to giving instructions verbally—orally and in writing—they can also be given symbolically through pictures and diagrams, and concretely using sample sets of materials and examples of work to be completed. Some students prefer to read instructions, others prefer to hear instructions, and still others focus best when they can see what they are expected to do. Appealing to different learning styles engages more learners more quickly. • Give “Bite Sized” Instructions When students are given too many directions at once, the inevitable result is confusion. Instead of packing all directions at the start of an activity, it is useful to break instructions into manageable chunks and do each part in sequence, for example, asking students to “Work only through step 3 and then we’ll talk about our results,” to be followed later by “Now complete steps 4 through 6.” Dividing lessons into episodes also adds interest by alternating the types of activities. Techniques for Concluding Learning Activities 1. Alert Students to the Approaching End of Each Activity Welldesigned learning activities can be so captivating that time passes quickly, and an abrupt signal to end an activity can be an unwelcome intrusion. It is therefore better to alert students to the approaching end of an activity without talking over group noise— see above , so they can plan to ﬁnish what they are doing. Announcements made to each group, such as “We will talk about our results in about ten minutes,” make transitions ﬂow more smoothly. 2. Use a “Group Focus” to Display Information for Discussion It is important to meet periodically as a class to discuss results. At such times, the discussion will be more effective if the students can all see and think about the contributed content. Recording responses on a large chart, chalkboard or word processor can serve as such a group focus for making conclusions, reviewing pro- 44 January 2007 District Administration professional developmentJP.indd 44 12/13/06 3:10:31 PM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Overheard on the Pulse...
Teaching Techniques for Supervisors
Why Buy New When Used Might Do?
Past Becomes Future
Financial Rescue
Speaking Out
The Online Edge
Research Corner
Problem/Solution
Computer Literature
New Products
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - January 2007