10 Qualities of a Great Teacher

COMMENTARY
Attention, Gates Foundation -- 10 Qualities of a Great Teacher
By James D. Starkey

http://tinyurl.com/yc25w27

the punchline?
(1) has a sense of humor;
(2) is intuitive;
(3) knows the subject matter;
(4) listens well;
(5) is articulate;
(6) has an obsessive/compulsive side;
(7) can be subversive;
(8) is arrogant enough to be fearless;
(9) has a performer's instincts;
(10) is a real taskmaster.

Reading Reflection 6 - Instructions

After reading the two book excerpts, post in 300 words or less, your thoughts on what efforts you might pursue to make change in public education.

Blog post instructions / reminders
• Respond in your own course blog page.
• Title your response: Reading Reflection 6 - *replacewithmyname*: Change Agent
• Due: March 8, before class.

WEEK 7 (Mar. 1): Powerful Teaching

First, a brief summary of today's work:
1. Debriefed Ethnography experience, especially considering the use of peer feedback / peer assessment
2. Considered classroom use of Twitter
3. Continued thinking on implementing groupwork. Did Rainbow Logic task, to consider teaching new behaviors in the classroom.
4. Discipline groups designed a task to teach content through Problem Solving
5. We closed with some brief discussion on classroom management and discipline actions observed last week.

Homework - for Mar 8.

• Read Ch. 3 on the "Inquiry Method" of Postman & Weingartner's book Teaching as a Subversive Activity [download pdf here WebCT \ Course Content \ Required Readings]. You may also appreciate Ch. 1.
• Read pp. 63-83 on "Guidelines for Action (for Teachers)" of What's Worth Fighting for in Your School by Fullan & Hargreaves. [download pdf here or WebCT \ Course Content \ Required Readings]
• Complete assignment 5 Classroom Discipline, part C. Post to WebCT.
• Reading Response – write to your own blog
• Tweet – in particular, please share ideas or resources that speak to being an agent of change
• Answer question below

This week’s question: What stress reducing activity have you (re-) discovered in the past week? I relax by doing projects in, or better said on, the house. This weekend we did a lot of repotting and adding to our container gardens. Next weekend will be laying sod in a currently unused portion of the backyard.

Tips & Ideas for developing your Classroom Discipline strategies

Especially for Wallingford (because he teaches Physics, not cos he's saggin'). Enjoy Idol fans! -brian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYsvRL37FiE

Reading Reflection 5 - Instructions

In deference to discussion initiated by Tiffany, I invite you to post, in 300 words or less, whatever is on your mind after completing this weeks reading assignment.

Blog post instructions / reminders
• Respond in your own course blog page.
• Title your response: Reading Reflection 5 - I'm thinking...
• Due: March 1, before class.

Social Loafing

Don’t Be a Sucker or a Free Loader!

busywork

Good point Tiffany. You tweeted, "The busy work is KILLING ME SOFTLY!!! And you want quality work??"


I have three main thoughts about this. First is that, I think I would consider good teaching to be marked, in part, by minimal student death. OK - kidding. But I do mean that the feel of doing work for no real purpose, as I believe you refer above, is minimized.


Second, I know that I have intentions other than busy work for what I ask my students to complete outside of class. These intentions are usually of the type:
• explore, learn of something new, things that can be done alone;
• press for deeper levels of understanding or personal meaning, along the levels of Bloom's taxonomy; and
• prepare for the face-to-face interactions a classroom affords.


And third, please raise this issue when you consider the effectiveness of ways in which technological tools were used in this class, EDSS 530. I am exploring each of these tools, both for myself and encouraging each of you to do so. Share these thoughts with colleagues, and in class when we have opportunity to debrief all the technology-related efforts this semester.


An honest thank you for your tweet!