Giving successful online lessons - the new normal...

 

Causes and Remedies of Poor Academic Performance and Red Flags to Watch out For

So many students are struggling and not performing at their optimum academic level for so many reasons. Have you as a teacher, noticed signs that show that things are not as they should be with the child? What remedy would you proffer to these identified challenges?

Building strong foundations in children

 

The foundations we help build in children is extremely important. Parents and teachers are accountable for the type of foundations we are laying in each child.

Planning Lessons During this New-Normal Era

If you fail to plan, you definitely plan to fail.

In this era of the ‘new-normal’ everybody has had to learn basic IT skills at the very minimum and to teach in virtual classrooms to an audience of learners that you can only monitor to an extent… you REALLY need to plan.

What exactly will you be teaching? Have you factored in the fact that the learners are at home and not in the physical school?

Who are your learners? What range of ages are they? What are their learning styles, abilities and challenges?

How will you be teaching this topic? On what platform will you be teaching? With what resources? How will the resources be deployed?

How will you know what they know before you start the lesson, as you teach them and after you have finished teaching them?

Planning, planning, planning!!!

 

Continuous Professional Development sessions on Online teaching during this period of Lockdown

Our 'Lockdown-Continuous-Professional-Development) Series (CPD) started with us tackling the question:

'What challenges have you encountered when you started teaching online?' https://m.facebook.com/groups/1791597727771197?view=permalink&id=2549745181956444

Different teachers from different sections of the school spoke out. Then we sought solutions to those challenges.

Next, we talked about 'Focusing attention of our learners during our online learning sessions. How do we do this for the various levels?'

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1791597727771197/permalink/2561226250808337/

This week, our CPD session was on Giving Quality Feedback to our learners in different sections of the school, as we teach online.

There was a tie in the assessment results.. This was one of the 2 best results:

Upper Elementary:

1) Quality feedback should be more specific and less ambiguous.

2) Quality feedback should state what went well (WWW) before stating the correction (EBI - Even better if...).

3) Quality feedback should come in an encouraging tone, so that it doesn't become counter-effective.

Mid-Elementary:

1) When giving quality feedback to a person who needs to improve, specify what exactly and the approach to take.

2) Quality feedback should be personalized. Example, by including the child's name.

3) Quality feedback should be timely. It makes the receiver know that you are actively involved.

Lower Elementary:

1) Quality feedback should be given, bearing in mind the individual needs of students.

2) Use of audio enables more quality as it is more engaging.

3) Hosting a one on one meeting with a child is also a very effective feedback method as it boosts the child's morale and makes him/her feel important.

Purple Team (Preschool):

1) Naming children's efforts and success is a great way to give high quality feedback.

2) Quality feedback should also be given during lessons and questions should be asked.

3) Use of stickers and emojis goes a long way for children. It is a type of high quality feedback.

Orange Team (Toddlers):

1) Quality feedback should be given in good and appropriate choice of descriptive words.

2) Appropriate voice tone also enhances the quality of feedback.

3) Positive reinforcement and acknowledgment of improvements make a more quality feedback.

Additional Support Unit:

Quality feedback should be given in a positive and impactful manner.

Giving feedback in a constructive way makes it more qualitative and effective.

Quality feedback should be immediate and timely.

Still on Assessment but Criterion-Referenced-Assessment this time

"What would the learner have to be able to do, to earn an A, B or C in this topic?" This is what we mean by Criterion Based Assessment.

For example, in a Science lesson where assessment is based on various aspects of the experiment and the teacher has to assess if the observatory skills of the learners have been engaged and to what extent they were able to use what was observed to explain the concept being taught; if they can infer and link the experiment to past knowledge and to the world around them, they attain a high level skill in Science ( Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation - the higher tier of the order of thinking), the following would be termed 'Criterion-referenced-assessment:

'to get an A* you must be able to use Scientific knowledge to explain your observations'

Do you empower them with this level of assessment when you set your objectives, knowing that they should be able to self-assess their performance by the end of the lesson?

Don't just give a general target in your lesson objectives, include criteria.😎

What is your take on Formative Assessment?

Culled from: 

Outstanding Teacher's Trainer series - Attaining beyond the limits in your practice Assessment 2B by Olufunmilayo da-Silva

"Formative assessment focuses on teaching and learning. It involves continuing to check on learners' understanding of what the ongoing work is all about.
Formative assessment is the starting point of any lesson. It entails finding out what a learner already knows, understands and can do. Fresh learning should link with learners' previous learning and take it forward..."

Just how effectively do you use this tool to improve the learning experiences in your class?

 

Does your marking give an effective feedback each time?

When you mark learners' work, do you just tick and write seen or do you do what is professionally required by giving qualitative feedback and feedforward? Are corrections done and subsequently implemented?

Reflection Time...

Rate your lessons thus far, this session.
How have they been -
Good?
Bad?
Could be better?

Can you pinpoint the exact area of challenge?

How exactly are you planning improve?

Ensure that you reflect on your practice and hone your teaching skills.
Get a pack of 10 minibooks and 11cds on all areas of your professional practice and help yourself improve as an individual,  group or as a school.

Free delivery, just for this midterm period. Send private message or mail to place orders:

outstandingeduconsult1@gmail.com
www.outstandingeduconsult.com

In these days of expendable staff, be one of those teachers that the school is not ready to lose at all. 😎

Lessons with a positive memorable experience need planning...

Planning Lessons:

If you fail to plan,  you plan to fail.

It starts with the lesson objectives. Very many  teachers underestimate the impact  of ensuring that the objectives are SMAT:

Simple  - use simple verbs
Measurable  - be able to judge how well
Attainable  - realistic actions
Time bound - allocate timings

Ensure that you set an objective for each ability   so,  list (everyone can do this)  should be one. For younger children,  touch,  show,  say can be used. 
Describe,  explain, recall,  compare are for a higher  level.
Apply,  construct,  utilize,  for even higher levels.

Remember Blooms Taxonomy?  Use it!

Make sure that you share the objectives with your learners at the beginning of the lesson,  so that they have  a focus for  achievement.

From time to time  refer to it audibly.

At the end of the lesson ensure that your assessment of the lesson  tests for understanding in:
the Affective Domain (attitude )
the Psychomotor Domain (skills)
the Cognitive  Domain  (knowledge )

Let them self assess (you are teaching reflective skill)  by seeing if they met the objectives for the lesson.

You are then sure that you indeed guided and moved their learning forward.

Be intentional in delivering a positive,  memorable learning experience in all your lessons this week 😎

#EmotionalIntelligence

It's end of the session and prize-giving/Award presentation day is coming.

As teachers and schools, we should identify children who show empathy and other aspects of Emotional Intelligence and reward them in age-appropriate ways.

Awards should be given to the kindest/most caring /most thoughtful in the class.

Is your school going to reward and motivate Emotional Intelligence through awards to identifiable ambassadors of EQ
(Emotional Intelligence)? 😎

Just how important is Emotional Intelligence(EQ) in our classes?

                               

   





How much higher has your EQ gone since last academic session?

Remember, you cannot give what you don't have and you certainly can't teach what you don't know!

Emotional intelligence enables people to have positive interactions with each other, anticipate other people's thoughts and feelings and show appropriate degrees of empathy.

Research has proved that EQ can be linked to the level of bullying and self esteem found in schools and the society at large.

The higher a person's EQ, the higher the self esteem and the lesser the tendency to become a bully, be affected by bullies, or succumb to drastic actions that will assuage the feeling of low self esteem.

Enable a high level of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in your class, talk to the children, be a living daily lesson... 😎

Organization In The Classroom

Start off the year with one of the things that contribute to successful Classroom management:

 -Good Organization -

Everything inclusive of how you welcome the learners as they come into your classroom,  the class environment,  seating arrangements, lesson planning,  lesson delivery,  class  activities and the way you communicate with your pupils.

It also includes making your expectations clear,  giving them prompt feedback,  involving other adults in the class, all the details down to how the learners leave the class...

 All this must be in an orderly, functional and structured manner to be termed
'good organization of the classroom'

Let your class be tagged 'The Good-organization class' this year.  😎

Why do children have poor academic performance?

We often just judge and get angry and exasperated with learners who perform poorly.
Have we stopped to think of what the cause(s) could be?

What could have happened at home?
What is happening in school?
What is happening in the child's personal world?

What are the signs to look out for (red flags)?

In your experience,  what remedy would you  or your team proffer? 

Remember EVERY CHILD MATTERS! 

Reflection Time...

''Academic performance means the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their short or long-term educational goals”                                                                                                     

Wikipedia

How was the academic performance of the learners in your class this academic session?
Would you say their performance was good or poor or in between?

From the definition given by Wikipedia, POOR academic performance means a student, teacher or institution has NOT achieved their short or long-term educational goals.

Research has shown that learners perform poorly due to the following reasons:

•Abuse

•Bad teaching/inadequate lessons

•Stress

•Fear

•Tension

•Financial challenges at home

•Health issues

•Laziness

•Inadequate study time

•Lack of study materials

•Broken home

•Doubt

   Do you know that way before the performance of learners become poor, there are symptoms  you should look out for? These are called RED FLAGS. 
  
  Go to:  
  www.outstandingeduconsult.com 
   to learn what red flags to watch out for and the diagnosis.

Holiday Reading for Teachers...

Unwind, rewind and leap into another academic year, well prepared.

Get a pack for your holiday reading leisure 😎

www.outstandingeduconsult.com
funmillayodasilva.blogspot.com

Are we inspiring and rewarding demonstration of Emotional Intelligence in our schools?

It's end of the session and prize-giving/Award presentation day is coming.

As teachers and schools, we should identify children who show empathy and other aspects of Emotional Intelligence and reward them in age-appropriate ways.

Awards should be given to the kindest/most caring /most thoughtful in the class.

Is your school going to reward and motivate Emotional Intelligence through awards to identifiable ambassadors of EQ (Emotional Intelligence)? 😎

Seamless transitions, poor transitions, no transitions...Transitions make or break a lesson 😎

Classroom Management 1D

If transitions are not well planned and executed, the lesson objectives will not be met and that lesson will not be satisfactory.

Well executed or seamless transitions on the other hand, contribute towards an outstanding lesson.

Have the lessons you were observed teaching and in which you were rated as giving an unsatisfactory performance been because of poor or absent transitions?

Learn how to factor in transitions during your lessons 😎

Tips on qualitative observation of a lesson 😎

#Assessment Of Teachers while Observing their lessons:

How does the teacher introduce the lesson? What is the starter? Does it hook their attention or is it boring?

How is the lesson introduced?

Are expectations and lesson objectives made known clearly?

Is learning guided, led or ignored?

Are learning tasks differentiated?

Are qualitative resources used to move learning forward during this lesson?

Is collaboration amongst learners planned for and implemented?

Are the lesson objectives gone back to at some point during the lesson to keep on track?

How were the transitions, if any?

Were  all 3 domains of learning assessed?

Is there a plenary? Does the teacher take cognizance of the result of this plenary?

Did the teacher show reflection on the last lesson's mistake with a view to improvement in this lesson?

Did every child achieve and learn during this lesson?

Was this lesson a poor, satisfactory, good or outstanding lesson?

When you go and observe a lesson or if you are going to be observed, do you factor in all the above? 😎

Keep working on your practice to bring about improvement.😎

'A sea that does not have water flowing into it becomes dead, dead seas stink'
- proverb

Don't live on past glory! Always strive to improve. Watch other colleagues teach live or via the internet. Keep working on your practice to bring about improvement.

Reflection and being open to coaching and mentoring are very vital towards good classroom management.

How seriously are you taking this aspect of your development? 😎