The Eye On Education Blog

Eye On Education at the NASSP

2010-03-19T19:49:00Z

This post was contributed by Steve Melis, Eye On Education’s Sales Representative.

Educators from all over the country got a chance to catch some Arizona sun at the NASSP Conference in Phoenix March 12-14 and hear from the best speakers in the field. Eye On Education’s books were available through the friendly folks at the NASSP bookstore, so I got a chance to sit in on our authors’ sessions, a real treat.

On Friday, March 12th, Pamela Salazar kicked things off with an exciting session on "High Impact Leadership for High Impact Schools."

Barbara Blackburn and Ronald Williamson had such a good turnout for their presentations that attendees had to take chairs from nearby rooms just to get a seat! In case you were there and didn’t get a handout for their session on "Rigorous Schools and Classrooms," you can download it in PDF format on Barbara’s website here.

(Click to watch Ron and Barbara's "2Minute Takeaway" on the NASSP's YouTube channel.)

Todd Whitaker brought the house down with his Saturday and Sunday sessions on "Dealing With Difficult Teachers" and "Leading School Change." Todd is such a good presenter that I sat there mesmerized even though I’ve seen the presentations before!

I saw this Tweet later:

@Wsstephens: Mrs. Dewey jokes aside, picked up some amazing people management tips from Todd Whitaker’s session. #NASSP2010

Overall, a nice conference and a welcome escape from the east cost’s stormy weather. Looking forward to next year in San Francisco, February 25-28, 2011!

Eye On Education at the ASCD!

2010-03-18T14:24:00Z

Many members of the Eye On Education team attended the ASCD Conference in San Antonio two weekends ago. We were certainly looking forward to getting away from the cold New York weather!

The conference was bustling with activity from start to finish. Author Todd Whitaker kicked off the conference on Saturday morning with his session "Leading School Change." After the session, he signed books at our booth in the exhibit hall. We were so busy! It was great to see the response to Todd's session and to meet so many educators.

Our team spent all day helping customers at the booth and attending sessions to listen to what you all are talking about. We ended the day, exhausted, with dinner with authors Victoria Bernhardt and Bradley Geise.

On Day 2, a lot of people came by the booth to meet Don Kachur and pick up his book Classroom Walkthroughs to Improve Teaching and Learning.

One of my favorite things about conferences is getting to meet educators from all over the world. Here's a short list of countries: Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Korea, and Jamaica. We also met with authors past, present, and future. I can't tell you just yet about the new authors we hope to publish, but trust me... they are very good. You'll just have to be patient and see what we come out with later this year!

Lots of books sold, Tex-Mex food eaten, and people met... a very successful conference!

Dan and Bob Sickles, the Vice President and President of Eye On Education (Can you see the family resemblance?)

The exhibit hall after it's all over... not so pretty.

Were you in San Antonio? Please comment below. See you next year!

Season 3, Episode 4 - Revolutionary Moments

2010-03-17T14:18:00Z

In their first Tales from a Teacher's Heart, Leighangela Brady and Lisa McColl tell the story of a paradigm shift in their thinking on assessment - from traditional tests to exciting and authentic assessments. Watch below to see the Tale come alive.

Click to enlarge video.

The day started out like any other day. As a new principal and vice principal team, we set out on our daily classroom visits. It was a Friday, and many teachers were administering tests to their students. We saw math tests, spelling tests, vocabulary tests, and more. In our school, like most others, it was the norm; tests were the way teachers assessed what students knew and were able to do.

In one fifth-grade classroom, all the students were seated with a chapter test from the social studies book on the Revolutionary War. They were quiet and focused on the tests in front of them. As we approached Room 15, we heard shouts coming from behind the door. We looked at each other in concern, bracing ourselves for the worst. What were we in for now? We opened the door and were astounded by what we saw.

Click to continue reading.

Also, get a tip from these authors, previously featured on our blog.

Quote of the Week

2010-03-17T14:02:00Z

"Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood."
-Jr. Teague

*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.

Recognizing Rigor

2010-03-15T14:23:00Z

Everyone is talking about rigor... but what is it? In her book Rigor is NOT a Four-Letter Word, Barbara R. Blackburn paints a picture of what rigor looks like in the classroom. Teaming up again with Ronald Williamson (their first collaboration was on The Principalship from A to Z), Blackburn and Williamson wrote Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way as a school-based guide on rigor. Read below for a tip from the book.

Recognizing Rigor

It’s important to reward teachers who are leading or supporting increased levels of rigor. One way to do that is to keep a pad of "Recognizing Rigor" certificates, which you can use to acknowledge a teacher’s work when conducting learning walks. We'd also recommend you encourage teachers to also use the certificates. Give each teacher a handful and keep some near teacher mailboxes in your mail room. As you model the use of the awards, promote the idea that everyone can and should recognize efforts toward increasing rigor.

Another way to build in this idea is "Name it, claim it, and explain it." As you see an example of rigorous work in a classroom, take a digital picture of what is happening. Begin each of your faculty meetings with a PowerPoint slide of what you saw. The first item on your agenda is always a celebration of something positive related to rigor. Ask your faculty, "I saw something great related to rigor this week. It's up here on the screen. If it belongs to you, stand up and and name what you did, claim it as yours, and explain what you were doing."

Regularly recognizing and celebrating positive examples of rigor will reinforce the commitment to a rigorous school and classrooms.

Click here to read sample chapters of Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way by Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn.

Download Recognizing Rigor certificates.

Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship

2010-03-11T20:00:00Z

Robert Lynn Canady, an Eye On Education author and expert on school scheduling, was honored with the creation of a fellowship at the University of Virginia by his former students, colleagues, and friends. Aptly named the “Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship,” it was established in 1999 to honor his contributions to the University of Virginia and to the Curry School of Education, where he is Professor Emeritus. The fellowship is awarded every year to an undergraduate or graduate student who exhibits “enthusiasm and dedication reminiscent of Dr. Canady’s passion for teaching.”

Eye On Education would like to congratulate Sarah Oh, the 2009-2010 recipient of the Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship!

Click here to see the full list of recipients of The Curry School Foundation's awards, fellowships, and scholarships.

Click here to learn more about Robert Lynn Canady and browse his Eye On Education titles.

The Poetry of Annette Breaux - Who's In Charge?

2010-03-10T15:10:00Z

Eye On Education has just published a new collection of Annette Breaux's poems, 101 Poems for Teachers. The book is illustrated by L. Susan Brandt. Read below for a poem and strategy about effective classroom management.

Who’s in Charge?
She was a classroom teacher, and she didn’t use much prudence
She tried to fit in by acting and by dressing like her students
When asked just why she did this, she said, “They’ll think I’m cool”
And so they did, but not one kid respected her at school
And she couldn’t understand just what could have gone awry
They liked her but didn’t respect her. Each day, big tears she’d cry
No learning in her classroom, just foolishness all day long
She tried to undo the mess she’d wrought, the tangle of things gone wrong
It changed the day that she stopped adding “injury” to “insult”
The day she finally realized that she was the adult
And from that day she donned a most professional attire
She set clear rules and procedures—her classroom hummed like a choir
Her enthusiasm was contagious and her students were infected
And she became one of the rare ones that every child loved and respected.

(from the new book by Annette Breaux, 101 Poems for Teachers)

The secrets of effective classroom management. Remarkably, through observation, it was found that the most effective teachers’ classrooms all looked uncannily similar. And, of course, the same can be said for the less effective teachers—their classrooms all looked uncannily similar. Let’s take a look inside the less effective teachers’ classrooms first. Here is what they all had in common:

Lessons lacked enthusiasm and excitement on the part of the teacher and, consequentially, among the students.
The teacher did most of the talking, and the students did little listening.
There was little, if any, evidence of structured routines and procedures.
The teacher was reactive.
A clear objective was usually nonexistent.
There was little teacher movement around the room. The teacher generally stayed at the front of the room. Guess where most of the behavior problems occurred!
The punishment for any given infraction lacked consistency. The severity of the punishment was usually in direct proportion to the teacher’s anxiety level.
The lessons were usually “one size fits all.” Unfortunately, most fit none.
There was little, if any, positive reinforcement.
The teacher rarely smiled. In fact, in almost all cases, the teacher appeared to dislike teaching.

This list could go on and on, but the point is clear. So now for the good news. Here’s what was found in the classrooms of the most effective teachers: (The list below is the exact opposite of the list above.)

Lessons were filled with enthusiasm and excitement on the part of the teacher, and, consequentially, among the students.
The students did most of the talking and the doing, prompted by the teacher’s questioning and guidance.
Routines and procedures were evident. Students knew exactly what was expected of them.
The teacher was proactive.
The objective of the lesson was always clearly established for the students.
There was no doubt in their minds what they were learning and why they were learning it.
There was constant teacher movement around the room. Guess what happened to behavior problems! They were almost nonexistent.
The punishment for any given infraction was consistent.
The teacher almost never openly showed frustration. Even in the rare case of misbehavior, the problem was handled seriously but calmly.
The lessons’ activities were varied to meet the needs of all learners.
There was constant positive reinforcement.
The teacher often smiled and always appeared to actually love teaching.

So it’s really quite simple. You now have a blueprint for what an effective teacher’s classroom looks like. Make your room look like the classrooms of the most effective teachers and see what happens. Go ahead. You can do this.

(from Seven Simple Secrets: What the Best Teachers Know and Do by Annette Breaux and Todd Whitaker)

Browse books and audio CDs from Annette Breaux.

Human Sentences: Introducing Sentence Variation

2010-03-08T15:30:00Z

In their book Teaching Grammar: What Really Works, Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger share procedures for teaching grammar effectively and dynamically, in ways that appeal to both students and teachers. Read below for a tip from the book that helps students put together sentences in a very visual way. This technique helps students learn sentence variation and vary sentence format with the correct grammar and punctuation. This is a fun and interactive activity that allows the students to work in groups.

Make Human Sentences
When introducing any sentence variation, such as the compound sentence, distribute sentences on strips of construction paper, along with several conjunctions and a comma. Each group of students assembles a compound sentence in front of the class, holding up the sentence strips, conjunction, and comma to notice the right and wrong placement of the comma and conjunction.

This activity has substantial impact on adults, as well as students, because its visual nature ends confusion about the punctuation of dependent and independent clauses. Participants enjoy seeing friends shift the sentence parts and punctuation marks.

Here are some suggestions for groups studying compound sentences:

Group 1: I missed the bus. I was late for school. And. So. Comma (“,”)
Group 2: Sam fell on the sidewalk. He didn’t go to the nurse. But. So. Comma.
Group 3: Maria had to baby-sit. She also had to do homework. Yet. So. Comma.
Group 4: Tomas went home after school. Had a Coke™ and some pizza. And. So. Comma. (This one does not actually use the comma because it does not have two complete ideas.)

Using Human Sentences: Teaching Semicolons
There are many ways to apply human sentences in the classroom. For example, on the first encounter with semicolons, Sara wants her students to see the placement of the semicolon at the end of the first independent clause. She asks for student volunteers who will hold up some poster-board clauses in front of the class and function as human sentences.

Two students hold clauses, another student holds up a semicolon, another has the word however, and another a comma. As they move into place, the class can see clearly the function of the semicolon and the comma: "Poe’s narrator claims to be sane; however, his actions reveal his insanity." Sara asks the students to explain the function played by the semicolon and then the comma. Afterward, when Sara moves the students holding the semicolon and comma into the wrong order, class members recognize how the punctuation marks fail to function as separators of full ideas: "Poe’s narrator claims to be sane, however; his actions reveal his insanity."

After the human sentence activity, the students are ready to work independently with semicolons. For homework, Sara tells her students to insert two compound sentences with semicolons into their writing samples. This time students should highlight the semicolon and comma with one color and the hitching word (however or therefore) with another.

Click here to read sample chapters from Teaching Grammar: What Really Works by Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger.

Quote of the Week

2010-03-08T14:22:00Z

"If the fish keep getting sick, change the water."
-Gary Phillips

*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.

The Eye On Education Blog

Eye On Education at the NASSP

Top Educational Video Finds!

Eye On Education at the ASCD!

Season 3, Episode 4 - Revolutionary Moments

Quote of the Week

Recognizing Rigor

Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship

The Poetry of Annette Breaux - Who's In Charge?

Human Sentences: Introducing Sentence Variation

Quote of the Week