About Tales from a Teacher's Heart
Tales from a Teacher’s Heart is a video series that tells heartwarming stories about students, schools, and teachers like you. From the lives of our authors, these true stories celebrate and explore all the ways teachers make a difference.
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Quote of the Week
"Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army."
- Edward Everett
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
- Edward Everett
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
Quote of the Week
"Success in any profession starts with a focus on self. After all, we are the one variable that we can most easily and most productively influence."
- Todd Whitaker
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
- Todd Whitaker
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
Quote of the Week
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them."
- Mark Twain
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
- Mark Twain
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
Ask Our Authors
And the last installment of answers to Monday's question, from Christopher R. Gareis and Sandy Harris...
What is one thing teachers and principals can do to continue their professional development over the summer?
Christopher R. Gareis, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the College of William and Mary and author of Teacher-Made Assessments: How to Connect Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Learning
In the current era of high-stakes testing and accountability, it is certainly important to disaggregate data and analyze assessment results in order to identify patterns of student weakness. However, a possible unintended consequence of this process is well described in the old adage that one must avoid "failing to see the forest for the trees."
The summer offers an excellent opportunity for teachers and educational leaders to re-familiarize and re-commit themselves to the larger, more important aims of education. Here's a simple exercise that I have used with both new and veteran teachers on many occasions, in different subject areas, and at practically all grade levels.
1. First, think of an example of an objectively measurable understanding or skill in a subject area that you teach. (Chances are, if you are thinking of an objective in a core content area, this is an understanding or skill assessed by your state's assessment.)
2. Next, think of an example of one of the most important understandings or skills in a subject area that you teach – an objective so important that your students should carry it into adulthood.
3. Finally, thinking of the important objective that you just identified, ask yourself how you, as a teacher or school leader, can find out if your students have acquired this objective. If you allow yourself the mental space to think and explore this final prompt, your response is likely to become rich and maybe even kind of exciting. You are also likely to begin to see how state assessment oftentimes can measure the discrete objectives of your curriculum, but that they are not adequate to the task of evaluating students' acquisition of the larger and more important aims for student learning. Just because it's not objectively measurable does not make it any less important. (Remember the quote attributed to Einstein: "What's measurable is not always important, and what's important is not always measurable.")
Taking a little time in the summer to reconnect with the more important and long-standing objectives of the curriculum and to explore the related question of how to assess those objectives can be invigorating. I've seen teachers engage with these questions and come away with a refreshed appreciation of their curriculum, new ideas for how to teach complex objectives, and fresh perspectives on how to assess students in ways that promote – not simply measure – learning.
Sandy Harris, Professor and director of the doctoral program in Educational Leadership at Lamar University (TX) and author of Managing Conflict: 50 Strategies for School Leaders
One of the best ways that I continued professional development over the summer was to engage in directed self-reflection. During the school year, I spent much time reflecting every day on projects and issues. But during the summer when it was quieter, I intentionally took my previous year's calendar and considered events and people. As I reflected, I made closer inspection of the various events. This led to self-correction which I then noted on the new year's calendar as I worked to refine it.
Self-reflection leads to closer inspection which results in self-correction. This personal evaluation time is a valuable way to continue one’s own professional development. There is no cost. All it takes is time and personal honesty.
What is one thing teachers and principals can do to continue their professional development over the summer?
Christopher R. Gareis, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the College of William and Mary and author of Teacher-Made Assessments: How to Connect Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Learning
In the current era of high-stakes testing and accountability, it is certainly important to disaggregate data and analyze assessment results in order to identify patterns of student weakness. However, a possible unintended consequence of this process is well described in the old adage that one must avoid "failing to see the forest for the trees."
The summer offers an excellent opportunity for teachers and educational leaders to re-familiarize and re-commit themselves to the larger, more important aims of education. Here's a simple exercise that I have used with both new and veteran teachers on many occasions, in different subject areas, and at practically all grade levels.
1. First, think of an example of an objectively measurable understanding or skill in a subject area that you teach. (Chances are, if you are thinking of an objective in a core content area, this is an understanding or skill assessed by your state's assessment.)
2. Next, think of an example of one of the most important understandings or skills in a subject area that you teach – an objective so important that your students should carry it into adulthood.
3. Finally, thinking of the important objective that you just identified, ask yourself how you, as a teacher or school leader, can find out if your students have acquired this objective. If you allow yourself the mental space to think and explore this final prompt, your response is likely to become rich and maybe even kind of exciting. You are also likely to begin to see how state assessment oftentimes can measure the discrete objectives of your curriculum, but that they are not adequate to the task of evaluating students' acquisition of the larger and more important aims for student learning. Just because it's not objectively measurable does not make it any less important. (Remember the quote attributed to Einstein: "What's measurable is not always important, and what's important is not always measurable.")
Taking a little time in the summer to reconnect with the more important and long-standing objectives of the curriculum and to explore the related question of how to assess those objectives can be invigorating. I've seen teachers engage with these questions and come away with a refreshed appreciation of their curriculum, new ideas for how to teach complex objectives, and fresh perspectives on how to assess students in ways that promote – not simply measure – learning.
Sandy Harris, Professor and director of the doctoral program in Educational Leadership at Lamar University (TX) and author of Managing Conflict: 50 Strategies for School Leaders
One of the best ways that I continued professional development over the summer was to engage in directed self-reflection. During the school year, I spent much time reflecting every day on projects and issues. But during the summer when it was quieter, I intentionally took my previous year's calendar and considered events and people. As I reflected, I made closer inspection of the various events. This led to self-correction which I then noted on the new year's calendar as I worked to refine it.
Self-reflection leads to closer inspection which results in self-correction. This personal evaluation time is a valuable way to continue one’s own professional development. There is no cost. All it takes is time and personal honesty.
Barbara Blackburn is featured in The Hechinger Institute’s report, “Understanding and Reporting on Academic Rigor”
Released on June 3, 2009, the 28-page report offers journalists an objective primer on the concept of rigor in education. Barbara Blackburn, author of Rigor is NOT Four-Letter Word, is referenced in several places in the report.
The Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media is an effort built out of the Teacher’s College at Columbia University. Launched in 1996, the institute has since hosted 63 informational seminars for members of the media who cover educational topics.
Click here to read the full report.
The Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media is an effort built out of the Teacher’s College at Columbia University. Launched in 1996, the institute has since hosted 63 informational seminars for members of the media who cover educational topics.
Click here to read the full report.
Ask Our Authors
Here's a continuation of Monday's "Ask Our Authors" question-and-answer post, with answers from authors Jennifer Hindman and Nelson Beaudoin.
What is one thing teachers and principals can do to continue their professional development over the summer?
Jennifer Hindman, Education Consultant and author of People First: A School Leader’s Guide for Building and Cultivating Relationships
Take advantage of the summer weather to do walk-and-talks with a colleague. Years ago (pre-kids), co-author Angie Seiders and I used to do a 5-mile walk on the Noland Trail (local trail around a lake) after summer school each day to debrief our teaching day. It was a wonderful way to reflect on and bounce ideas off one another, as well as exchange lessons. Sometimes we chatted about upcoming presentations, coursework for graduate school classes, or our dogs. There was also the added bonus of exercise.
Now that Angie and I have kids, our schedules have altered. But we still take summer mornings (starting at around 6 am) to walk around the neighborhood and talk about the upcoming workday. We also brainstorm and of course share personal tidbits. Often, one of us will have a concern that the other has some insight on, either from practice or research. So as we wear out the tread on our sneakers, we communicate as both friends and colleagues.
Nelson Beaudoin, Principal, Kennebunk High School (ME) and author of A School for Each Student: Personalization in a Climate of High Expectations
Go to the beach, go hiking, go work in the flower garden or go to some other place where rest and relaxation can be Priority One. As you find that special place or activity to recharge your batteries, you can engage in the best professional development that exists: ongoing reflection.
Reflection is the process of actively looking at one’s work with the intention of improving it. By exploring the quality of your relationships, by questioning the expectations you have for yourself and others and by focusing on how you can truly make your work about the students in your charge, you can recommit to why you went into education in the first place.
Professional development, whether it is through conferences, course work, reading groups, or collaborative teaming, works best when participants have the mind-set that settling on being ordinary is not an option. Show me a teacher or a principal who thoughtfully looks at past work to inform better practice and I will show you an educator who is developing professionally. This introspective approach can make devotion to educational improvement possible.
On-going reflection is free and accessible to all. Better yet, it is part of an accountability system that schools desperately need. We need to ask ourselves some tough questions and we need to adjust our work if the answers are not really what they should be. Whether you are lounging on a beach, taking a hike, or gardening, you can reflect on your vital role in education and position yourself for even more success as the new school year approaches.
What is one thing teachers and principals can do to continue their professional development over the summer?
Jennifer Hindman, Education Consultant and author of People First: A School Leader’s Guide for Building and Cultivating Relationships
Take advantage of the summer weather to do walk-and-talks with a colleague. Years ago (pre-kids), co-author Angie Seiders and I used to do a 5-mile walk on the Noland Trail (local trail around a lake) after summer school each day to debrief our teaching day. It was a wonderful way to reflect on and bounce ideas off one another, as well as exchange lessons. Sometimes we chatted about upcoming presentations, coursework for graduate school classes, or our dogs. There was also the added bonus of exercise.
Now that Angie and I have kids, our schedules have altered. But we still take summer mornings (starting at around 6 am) to walk around the neighborhood and talk about the upcoming workday. We also brainstorm and of course share personal tidbits. Often, one of us will have a concern that the other has some insight on, either from practice or research. So as we wear out the tread on our sneakers, we communicate as both friends and colleagues.
Nelson Beaudoin, Principal, Kennebunk High School (ME) and author of A School for Each Student: Personalization in a Climate of High Expectations
Go to the beach, go hiking, go work in the flower garden or go to some other place where rest and relaxation can be Priority One. As you find that special place or activity to recharge your batteries, you can engage in the best professional development that exists: ongoing reflection.
Reflection is the process of actively looking at one’s work with the intention of improving it. By exploring the quality of your relationships, by questioning the expectations you have for yourself and others and by focusing on how you can truly make your work about the students in your charge, you can recommit to why you went into education in the first place.
Professional development, whether it is through conferences, course work, reading groups, or collaborative teaming, works best when participants have the mind-set that settling on being ordinary is not an option. Show me a teacher or a principal who thoughtfully looks at past work to inform better practice and I will show you an educator who is developing professionally. This introspective approach can make devotion to educational improvement possible.
On-going reflection is free and accessible to all. Better yet, it is part of an accountability system that schools desperately need. We need to ask ourselves some tough questions and we need to adjust our work if the answers are not really what they should be. Whether you are lounging on a beach, taking a hike, or gardening, you can reflect on your vital role in education and position yourself for even more success as the new school year approaches.
From the archive: Season 1, Episode 9 - Their Best Hope
Eye On Education is finishing the school year with one of our favorite Tales from a Teacher's Heart movies from Season 1, "Their Best Hope." Author Barbara Blackburn tells her tale of how she motivated a group of discouraged teachers at a school struggling to raise their standardized test scores. (This movie is also available on the Tales from a Teacher’s Heart DVD.)
Click to enlarge video.
Valley Middle School was a Title I school experiencing challenges improving its standardized test score, but it was also a place where kids wanted to be.
I was hired as a consultant at Valley, and when the curriculum coordinator introduced me to the teachers, I saw slumped shoulders and heads hung low. They looked tired and dejected, as if they felt their hard work wasn’t making a difference.
The district review team was coming to the school in a few days, and I could tell from the teacher’s faces that they felt too disheartened to be receptive to my workshop on rigor.
Click to continue reading.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Questions from the Tales from a Teacher's Heart Study Guide by Sally Zepeda
1. How does teacher morale affect student achievement? How does student achievement affect teacher morale?
2. What is the most important lesson to be learned from this tale?
In case you missed them, click here for more blog posts on rigor, including some of Barbara Blackburn’s favorite rigorous activities. Or, look at the right side of the screen and scroll down until you see the section “Archive by Category” and click on the category “Barbara Blackburn.”
Click to enlarge video.
Valley Middle School was a Title I school experiencing challenges improving its standardized test score, but it was also a place where kids wanted to be.
I was hired as a consultant at Valley, and when the curriculum coordinator introduced me to the teachers, I saw slumped shoulders and heads hung low. They looked tired and dejected, as if they felt their hard work wasn’t making a difference.
The district review team was coming to the school in a few days, and I could tell from the teacher’s faces that they felt too disheartened to be receptive to my workshop on rigor.
Click to continue reading.
1. How does teacher morale affect student achievement? How does student achievement affect teacher morale?
2. What is the most important lesson to be learned from this tale?
In case you missed them, click here for more blog posts on rigor, including some of Barbara Blackburn’s favorite rigorous activities. Or, look at the right side of the screen and scroll down until you see the section “Archive by Category” and click on the category “Barbara Blackburn.”
Ask Our Authors
Welcome to the first entry of “Ask Our Authors” where teachers and principals will find expert advice on a handful of topics related to improving their practice. We hope you find the information useful, and that you keep checking back for more tips on maintaining your skill set over the summer months!
What is one thing teachers and principals can do to continue their professional development over the summer?
Douglas Hartley, Assistant Principal, Tabb High School (VA) and author of Solving the Assistant Principal’s Puzzle
Summer is a good time for educators to decompress and relax. The season is well-suited for educators seeking to slow down and reflect on how the previous school year went. Make a list of things that went well. Also, develop a list of areas in need of change. Once you create these lists, you can begin to evaluate a new approach for the upcoming school year. This may require some reading up on current trends in education, attending a conference, or formal and informal conversations with peers over lunch about helpful strategies.
Be sure to examine your positives, as these skills can be transferred to work on the areas in need of improvement. Be sure to jot down notes and hold onto resources collected over the summer, and revisit them closer to the school year.
There is so much activity at the end of the school year that it is very important to take a good long break and reflect with a clear mind. This will help you see things from a different perspective, one you may not have considered during the fast-forward motion of the school year.
Harry Tuttle, author of Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students. Visit his blog at www.eduwithtechn.wordpress.com
Go to TweetGrid.com/Search. Type in a professional topic you are interested in such as "formative assessment" or "critical thinking" and click on Search. You can put a different search in each box to find variations on your topic. See what your colleagues from around the world are saying about the topic and the links they've included.
Send a "tweet" to people to find out more about what they've said. Make sure you grow from reading multiple perspectives on the same topic.
What is one thing teachers and principals can do to continue their professional development over the summer?
Douglas Hartley, Assistant Principal, Tabb High School (VA) and author of Solving the Assistant Principal’s Puzzle
Summer is a good time for educators to decompress and relax. The season is well-suited for educators seeking to slow down and reflect on how the previous school year went. Make a list of things that went well. Also, develop a list of areas in need of change. Once you create these lists, you can begin to evaluate a new approach for the upcoming school year. This may require some reading up on current trends in education, attending a conference, or formal and informal conversations with peers over lunch about helpful strategies.
Be sure to examine your positives, as these skills can be transferred to work on the areas in need of improvement. Be sure to jot down notes and hold onto resources collected over the summer, and revisit them closer to the school year.
There is so much activity at the end of the school year that it is very important to take a good long break and reflect with a clear mind. This will help you see things from a different perspective, one you may not have considered during the fast-forward motion of the school year.
Harry Tuttle, author of Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students. Visit his blog at www.eduwithtechn.wordpress.com
Go to TweetGrid.com/Search. Type in a professional topic you are interested in such as "formative assessment" or "critical thinking" and click on Search. You can put a different search in each box to find variations on your topic. See what your colleagues from around the world are saying about the topic and the links they've included.
Send a "tweet" to people to find out more about what they've said. Make sure you grow from reading multiple perspectives on the same topic.
Quote of the Week
"All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants."
- John W. Gardner
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
- John W. Gardner
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.