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Providing ideas and resources for K-12 teachers and school-based administrators.
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 27, 2014
Wednesday Aug 27, 2014
When a leader is assigned to an organization…success or stumbling is determined by the individual's plans for making change.
Is it... I am here to save the day and we will proceed according to my plans or is there an attempt at creating a team mentality which means that the leader is working to create trust?
Leadership requires more than a plan but time spent purposefully building trust.
As Seth Godin, in Tribes, comments... “Leadership is not management.”
This means that you have to get others on board…you have to spend time building a team…and creating a trusting organization…avoiding…It’s my way or the highway…Not just thinking that I only have to tell people what to do and they will do it.
Throughout this episode I reflect on comments from the works of Dan Pink, P. Lencioni, and J. Maxwell.
After listening, I hope that you will spend some time evaluating your team direction and decide whether you have created real trust. Ask yourself…Do your members really interact with each other or are they simply complying for fear of retribution or being wrong?
Enjoy!
Listed below are the links to books that I mentioned as well as the opening YouTube clip. I hope that you will take time to explore these wonderful tools for developing your teams.
Patrick Lencioni YouTube Clip from Opening
Winning With People by John Maxwell
The 17 Indisputable laws of Team Work by John Maxwell
To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink
Length 28:30
Wednesday Aug 13, 2014
Wednesday Aug 13, 2014
Like most people I taught myself how to do Twitter… but I wanted to make sure that I did it right! I had the chance to take a class titled Twitter 101 and many of my questions were answered.
Leslie Houck is a Social Media Specialist with the Georgia Department of Education who has a background in communication and journalism and says , “I kind of fell into social media as a job.”
Leslie gives advice for educators who might be afraid of using Twitter primarily because they only hear about the bad situations that have happened.
Leslie comments that Digital Citizenship 101 should be taught in every class to all kids and to the staff. She noted that New York City Schools, Facebook, and Edutopia have recently released examples of these guidelines for schools to use.
No matter what, she emphasizes that it is important to “be smart with our on-line reputation.” Make sure that you pay extra close attention to this part of the interview as she makes many points that help to address the use of social media in the classroom and as a professional educator.
We also talk about Twitter etiquette, RTs, MTs, follows, Favoriting, the restriction of 140 characters, creating a handle, the list function, and of course the # Hashtag!
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn about Twitter from Leslie and I know you will, too!
Check out the links below to some of the resources she referenced.
Enjoy!
Length 55:58
Wednesday Aug 06, 2014
Wednesday Aug 06, 2014
Lynda Williams started teaching elementary school and now teaches beginning teachers at Utah Valley University. She has been in education for 28 years. She specializes in how to teach science.
I think that you will really enjoy this very practical and user friendly episode. It is filled with ideas for challenging your students to expand their understanding of the content through the use of foldable graphic organizers and interactive notebooks.
Lynda explains what foldable graphic organizers and interactive notebooks are and describes how to use them. She talks about why teachers should want to use them and how they can help the kids with retention. Lynda states, “The notebook gives the kids a chance to process an idea in writing…it is great for explaining and recording information visually and linguistically.” She notes that kids and students of all ages enjoy using the organizers and the notebook, even her adults in college.
Creating the notebooks is engaging and retention of content information is increased but there are other benefits. Lynda reflected, “ A couple of side benefits of using these resources is that the notebook makes an awesome study guide and the students have created a portfolio of their work.”
Lynda suggests that teachers who are experimenting with the organizers and notebooks should model frequently and keep their instructions clear.
Lynda has an amazing blog, posts on Twitter, has very helpful boards on Pinterest, and has a store at Teachers pay Teachers. See the links below. I hope that you will take the time to check out her many resources.
Lynda's Teachers Pay Teachers Store
Teaching Learning Leading K12/ Lynda's Guest Blog
Enjoy the Show!
Length 35:11
Thursday Jul 24, 2014
Thursday Jul 24, 2014
Every organization should have a way to support new staff members.
Induction programs are great but they are just one part of supporting new staff.
Everyone needs a coach.
It can’t be left to chance.
In this podcast I talk about the #1 reason for having a coaching program and the 5 components the coaching program should address.
I discuss why most coaching programs in schools fail and what can be done to make them work.
I hope that you will listen and take a look at your school. Do you have a program for coaching your new teachers or other staff? How about at the system level? Do you have a program in place where coaches work with your principals and others throughout the district? If not, why not? If not then get started! A good coaching program will help you keep good…no... great staff members!!!
As always, I hope that you will share with family, friends, and colleagues.
Here are links to articles that I talked about in the show.
Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership by Terrence E. Deal and Kent Petterson
Making Sense of Social Networks in Schools by Terrence E. Deal
Get the Most Out of Executive Coaching by Steven Berglas
So What is Executive Coaching by Dr. Woody
The Coaching of Teaching by Bruce Joyce and Beverly Showers
Teaching How to Teach: Coaching Tips from a Former Principal by Shane Safir
In Search of a Metaphor for Coaching by Elena Aguilar
Enjoy!
Length 36:30
Monday Jul 14, 2014
Monday Jul 14, 2014
It is extremely important that the classroom teacher get to know and use the names of the kids.
The children need to know that you know who they are.
The better teacher has strategies for doing this as soon as possible. Whether it is the beginning of a new semester or school year, the better teacher takes time to learn and use the names of the kids.
Today, instead of an interview...it’s just me talking about getting to know and use the names of the kids.
What ways do you have for learning and using the names of the kids?
Please share them with me. I would love to hear your ideas about this.
Take care.
Enjoy!
Here are the links to the works by Deborah Meier.
The Power of Their Ideas by Deborah Meier
In Schools We Trust by Deborah Meier
Length 22:53