tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41740597299355085392024-02-19T23:58:39.041-08:00Adventures of a Future TeacherPops-O-Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04966365847996994489noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-43580355643239302452014-11-03T07:41:00.001-08:002014-11-03T07:41:34.782-08:00School Counselors and Teachers: A Power Team
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hannah Rash, a 2015 School Counseling
Master’s Candidate in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development
in the UNCG School of Education, talks about the relationship between school
counselors and teachers.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J257Zv6bLwM/VFehbuSTK7I/AAAAAAAAA2A/tKiH_I6Gfu4/s1600/PIC12475%2BSaundretta%2BCaldwell%2B238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J257Zv6bLwM/VFehbuSTK7I/AAAAAAAAA2A/tKiH_I6Gfu4/s1600/PIC12475%2BSaundretta%2BCaldwell%2B238.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Schools can be insanely busy on a pretty
regular basis. Each staff member has unique responsibilities, deadlines,
expectations, and schedules. It can be easy to forget that we are all working towards
the same goals – student achievement and success – and that we can be valuable
resources for one another. This week, I am going to speak directly to the
relationship between school counselors and teachers.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Often times it seems that teachers and
counselors operate in different spheres and misunderstandings are bound to
happen. Of course, this varies from school to school and even from teacher to
counselor. As a school counselor, I feel it is my responsibility to build
relationships with teachers and make sure that I am communicating well enough
that all school staff understand my roles and what I have to offer, while also
recognizing the valuable insight teachers have of students.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Teachers spend their entire day
interacting face-to-face with students. They get to know the students’
personalities, work ethics, general demeanors, and social idiosyncrasies. Unfortunately,
counselors are unable to spending that amount of time with all students at the
school. However, we may be more likely to hear personal and social concerns
from students and their parents/guardians. Can you imagine how effectively we
can support students if we came together to build interventions and resources
for students!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It seems that there is sometimes a lack
of thorough communication between teachers and school counselors. Sometimes
teachers don’t understand why a student was moved to their particular class or
counselors wonder why teachers aren’t implementing classroom interventions.
Purposeful collaboration is the perfect place to start in providing the best
learning environment and opportunities to students. While I can’t speak about
teachers, I can outline a few of the skills and knowledge school counselors
have to assist teachers, and ultimately, the student.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Creating behavioral, emotional, and social
interventions AND helping teachers understand how to implement them
successfully</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Bringing students, parents, and teachers together in
mediation, communication about class changes, and concerns with academic
performance</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Building a school counseling program that assist
students with personal/social concerns, career planning, and academic success</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Helping students find additional resources outside of
school if they are struggling with a particular subject</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Forming plans with students on appropriate classroom
behaviors and how to cope with stressors during class time in order to be
focused and not disruptive</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Listening to teacher recommendations and
co-constructing ideas on how to support a student with anything from study
skills and organization to time management and peer relations</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wZdlER5vlE0/VFeh5aFUgNI/AAAAAAAAA2I/1ZZ067FthRU/s1600/PIC12816%2BStudent%2BLife%2B687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wZdlER5vlE0/VFeh5aFUgNI/AAAAAAAAA2I/1ZZ067FthRU/s1600/PIC12816%2BStudent%2BLife%2B687.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As an intern, I am provided the luxury
of having the time to go sit down with teachers during planning periods to ask
about specific students and learn about what’s going on with them in the
classroom. While I know I will probably not have quite as many opportunities
for these conversations once I take on a full time position, I hope to create a
space for teachers to feel they can openly talk to me about student concerns. Even
seemly smaller efforts such as an email or a quick stop by a classroom in the
morning to say hi can help build relationships within the school. Relationships
and collaboration don’t magically happen, and I hope as I continue my journey
as a school counselor that I will be able to help foster collaborative
environments and encourage others to do the same.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I would also like to say thank you to
Sophia </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Á</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">ngeles
for suggesting this topic and reminding me that this is such an important subject
to keep in mind and talk about!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-31705516382078671972014-10-03T08:41:00.000-07:002014-10-03T08:41:10.821-07:00Expect the Unexpected
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hannah Rash, a 2015 School Counseling
Master’s Candidate in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development
in the UNCG School of Education, provides insight into the day to day world of
a school counselor.</span></i></b></div>
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After officially completing a full month at Northwest High School for
my internship, I wanted to give you folks a little insight into the typical day
of a school counselor. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that looks like.
Before jumping to any conclusions, I’m actually going to my internship – I
promise! However, when it comes to school counselors, predictable days are few
and far between.</div>
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Flexibility is key. I can’t count the times I came in, in the morning
with a plan of action and a long to-do list and didn’t get to more than 1 or 2
items. Even as an intern, I’ve often been caught up in the unpredictable entity
that is high school and all the people in it. Even with the most well-laid
plans and determination to accomplish specific goals, students, teachers,
administration, and staff have plans all their own and specific needs that
arise each day. From crisis situations, parent drop-ins, teacher concerns to
scholarship help, last minute college recommendations and program planning, you
never truly know what each day is going to bring.</div>
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It’s one of the reasons I love being able to work in the school system.
Not only do I have the opportunity to work with such a variety of people,
positions, and problems, but how it all plays out keeps me on my toes. Sure,
it’s a whirlwind, and it’s hard to really be ready for when you’re celebrating
with a student for finally completing that first college application one minute
to supporting a student who recently experienced a significant family loss the
next, but I wouldn’t wish for it to be any other way. School counselors are in
a unique position to be a readily available, consistent resource for students, parents,
teachers, and staff, whether they need someone to be happy with them, sad with
them, advocate for them, help solve a problem, or just listen. It’s tiring,
fulfilling, exciting, and humbling all at the same time.</div>
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As cliché as it is, you learn to expect the unexpected.</div>
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If I’m being completely honest, the days that no one drops by the office
or calls me to a classroom are cherished just as much sometimes. Hey, we all
have paperwork to keep up with.</div>
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P.S. I hope everyone is keeping wellness in mind! As fall rolls in,
take some time to do something revitalizing and relaxing!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-69312683460651748242014-08-29T07:35:00.000-07:002014-08-29T07:35:08.709-07:00Wishing You Well
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hannah Rash, a 2015 School Counseling
Master’s Candidate in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development
in the UNCG School of Education, is our featured blogger this semester for Adventures in Education. </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What is wellness? Wellness is more than
just not being sick. Wellness incorporates health and well-being of the mind,
body, and spirit for optimal functioning. It goes beyond the absence of disease
towards a higher quality of life. For example, instead of being only tolerant of
your job, you feel fulfilled in your position and excited to go to work. So...
“Why are you talking about this?” you ask. Good question! But first, let me
introduce myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hello, folks! My name is Hannah Rash,
and I am a second year Master’s student studying school counseling in the
Counseling and Educational Development (CED) program. I entered graduate school
straight from Gardner-Webb University, where I majored in psychology and
minored in American Sign Language and communication studies. I ended up at UNCG
thanks to my undergraduate advisor, who highly recommended the program. When I
showed up on interview day, little did I know about CED being nationally ranked
or about all the unique opportunities the program had to offer. Luckily, I
found that out after the interviews and not before when it would have made me
extra nervous. Even though it has only been a little over a year since that
interview day, I feel like I have come so far in my development as a counselor.
This year, I have the pleasure of interning at Northwest Guilford High School
for the full school year and being able to put into practice much of the
knowledge and skills I’ve acquired in class. </span>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hX4cuMZTJIw/VACOuDkazrI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/GjxahpC4KMw/s1600/Rash%2BVikings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hX4cuMZTJIw/VACOuDkazrI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/GjxahpC4KMw/s1600/Rash%2BVikings.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With public schools recently starting
back, there is a lot of hustle and bustle trying to get students in the right
classes, helping parents understand what their child needs, working with new
teachers and administrators, finding and storing a variety forms, and just the
general chaos that comes before settling into a routine. Students, parents,
teachers, admins, counselors, and especially the new counseling intern are in a
whirlwind of transitions from new rules and policies, new concerns and
problems, to new goals and aspirations for the school year. It’s easy to get
caught up in all your responsibilities and demands that you forget about
yourself. This is where wellness comes in.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">CED’s chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (CSI),
the internal counseling honors society, has chosen wellness as this year’s
theme. In my opinion, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Most of my
cohort-mates are also starting internship this semester, accompanied by classes,
assignments, jobs, relationships, and a variety of other activities that
require our attention and energy. Speaking from personal experience, when I
have a lot of work to do, setting aside time to recharge or even taking a
moment to assess my stress level and how I’m feeling quickly gets pushed aside.
How often have you cancelled plans with a friend because you had work to
finish? How regularly do you eat lunch at your work desk because there are
emails still needing responses? I’ll admit it, I’m guilty of both much more
frequently than I would like to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of course, we all have obligations that
can’t be ignored. Wellness isn’t about completely ridding your life of all
stressors; that just isn’t possible. Wellness is being able to recognize what
those stressors are and making choices that will make your situation and
environment more fulfilling and positive, which will help prevent sickness and
ill-being. Each environment may look differently, too. What you need to have a
more positive work environment may not be the same as what you need at home, in
class, with family or friends, in your romantic relationship, or with your
spiritual beliefs. Even seemly small steps can make a huge difference—eating
your lunch outside, taking a 10 minute walk every day, journaling during an
emotional difficult time, looking back on old pictures with a friend,
committing to daily meditation or prayer. Perhaps it’s overwhelming to change
several little things. Try picking one aspect to focus on for a month and see
where it takes you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I leave you with this encouragement…
regardless of your job(s), what program you’re in, or what your schedule looks
like, pick one aspect of wellness (social, physical, occupational, etc.) and
incorporate one—just one!—activity that promotes your personal wellness this
month. I know this will be challenging for me, personally, but I am committed
to not ignoring my well-being as I take on one more role as a school counseling
intern. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Best wishes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">P.S.: Thanks to Myers, Sweeney, &
Witmer for their research on wellness! If you’d like to learn more about
wellness or the wellness wheel, you can search their names online.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-62248317168226104942014-04-02T10:22:00.002-07:002014-04-02T11:48:10.312-07:00Why Should You Pursue a Career in Educational Research?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>This month, Christine Meyer reflects on her time at UNCG and why she chose to pursue a degree through the Educational Research Methodology department in the School of Education. </i><br />
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I’d like to reflect on my time at UNCG in the Educational Research Methodology (ERM) department. I stumbled in to the department, not really knowing what I was getting myself into, and I am so glad I did. Not everyone who wants to be in education wants to be a classroom teacher, and I think that’s okay. My experience teaching for several years was invaluable and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world, but educational research is the right field for me. Why? Well I’m glad you asked! <br />
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<i><b>Top Five Reasons to go into Educational Research Methodology: </b></i><br />
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<ol>
<li>Many of the people who go into education understand that learning never stops and they enjoy learning. With educational research, you are constantly reading new literature and learning new things every day! </li>
<li>It’s frustrating as a teacher to constantly implement new programs as the old ones get cancelled after just a year or two. Program evaluation allows evaluators to help improve programs in the schools rather than just saying, “It’s not perfect so let’s get rid of it and try something else.” This is the primary reason why I love what I do! </li>
<li>There are some very exciting things going on in the measurement and assessment world, and you can be a part of it! With a degree in Educational Research Methodology, you can work for any number of big testing companies, including those that make the SAT, ACT, MCAT, LSAT, and numerous licensure exams, such as for CPAs. You can help create better End-of-Course and End-of-Grade tests for students. </li>
<li>You can still teach! Some of the people from my department go on to teach at other colleges and universities. Some go into other education departments, some teach statistics, some teach research methodology courses. </li>
<li>The people are wonderful! You will work extremely hard, but you will meet wonderful people along the way and work with a great team. Not only do fun things as a department, including bowling tournaments and going to see minor league baseball games, but we also have fun with outside social activities, too! </li>
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Of course, beginning graduate school should be a careful decision that is not taken lightly, but it is a huge and exciting step. It’s funny because there are three, count ‘em, three, of us from ERM who are currently working in the Research and Evaluation Department at WS/FCS. One finished his coursework before I started and just finished his doctorate (congrats!!) so he’ll be graduating in about a month. The other started the ERM program at the same time as me; we both finished our Master’s this past December, but he’s going on to get his PhD as well. Additionally, I had received my job offer here before I had officially graduated in December. Others in our department have received job offers before they’ve had their diploma in hand as well. It says a lot about our program that our people are in such high demand! <br />
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To wrap it up, if you are even considering heading off to graduate school, I really do recommend that you check ERM out. I’m glad I did! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-10062031229862363832014-03-03T11:26:00.001-08:002014-03-03T11:34:06.552-08:00A Week In The Life of A Program Evaluator<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>In our March installment of ‘Adventures in Education’, ERM alumna Christine Meyer takes us through a week in the life of a program evaluator. </i><br />
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Just like in classroom teaching and numerous other careers, there is no “typical” day when you’re a program evaluator. Instead, I’ve decided to share some of the activities that I typically do within a week to give you an idea of what my days are like. Most days, I’m at work 8:00 – 5:00, so I’ve got good overlap with the schools and programs that I am evaluating. Three of my programs take place during the typical school day and one of my programs is an evening program for students returning to school to receive their high school diplomas. While a majority of my time is spent at Central Office, I do get to go out to schools some; this will increase as I begin to do more data collection. My mornings are typically the only times that are pretty consistent. When I get to work just before 8:00, I usually make a cup of tea, check through my emails to make sure that I’m caught up, and outline what I need to get accomplished that day. Throughout the week, here are some the typical activities that I do: <br />
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<li>Work on writing or updating evaluation plans </li>
<li>Writing data collection protocols (surveys, interviews, observation rubrics, etc.) </li>
<li>Going over the projects and where I am with the director of my department </li>
<li>Sending out surveys to participants, or sending follow-up reminders and thank you notes </li>
<li>Analyzing data as it comes in </li>
<li>Meeting with program directors to go over evaluation plans, data collection instruments, evaluation updates, etc. </li>
<li>Going to schools to meet with administrators about how their schools will be involved in the evaluation process </li>
<li>Going to schools to observe grade level team meetings</li>
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I’m currently at the unglamorous stage of finishing up evaluation plans and instruments, but I’ve been able to begin some data collection (my favorite part!). I’m excited because I’m at the point where data collection is starting to begin in full-swing, so I’ll be heading out to the schools quite a bit more. <br />
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One of the nice things is that there is usually something fun and exciting going on. Leading up to the month of February, many of the people in my department were working on getting ready for the North Carolina Association of Research in Education (NCARE) that took place in downtown Greensboro at the end of February. Five of us went to the pre-conference workshops that took place the night before the conference (the intern in our department, who is a doctoral student in Educational Research Methodology (ERM) at UNCG, even presented at one of the workshops!), and four of us returned for all of the sessions the following day. From WS/FCS, we had people presenting papers and posters about their research. I was able to create a poster about incorporating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into Educational Evaluation and Research. I had a great time at the conference, and it was wonderful to see all of my friends from my old department at UNCG. In one of the pictures, you can even see that Jonathan, the graduate intern from ERM, and I are hard at work on our WS/FCS evaluations even after the conference was over! <br />
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Overall, this is a very different job than I had when I was classroom teaching. I work in a cubicle at Central Office and I’m behind a desk a lot more, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-29512774721266893902014-02-04T05:55:00.001-08:002014-02-04T07:15:52.487-08:00Lessons Learned So Far <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>This month, Christine Meyer talks about her first month on the job as a program evaluation specialist with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, and shares the important lessons she’s learned along her journey. </i><br />
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I have now been a full-time educational program evaluator for just over a month, and it’s been an exciting one! I absolutely love my new job and am still excited to be here. While in the Educational Research Methodology program at UNCG, I was fortunate enough to have an assistantship on an evaluation where I got “real life” evaluation experience. I was able to help write evaluation plans, conduct focus groups and interviews, analyze survey data, etc. Collaboration was a huge part of the work that I did, and I was part of an amazing team. Now, with WS/FCS, I am still part of an amazing team. That being said, I’m on my own so much more than I used to be, and it’s a shift that I’m still getting used to. <br />
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I still remember the days leading up to my first day as a kindergarten teacher. I was terrified! Yes, I had a wonderful student teaching experience, but I always had the safety net of my mentor teacher. I remember vividly the moment that I realized that if anything happened in my classroom, it was up to me to fix it. I was in charge. These children’s entire kindergarten experience rested in my very new hands, and it’s a lot of responsibility. I feel something similar to now. I have four programs that I am responsible for evaluating. While I do have wonderful people around me to help (similar to having a good principal, assistant teacher, specials teachers, etc.), the responsibility for these evaluations are in my hands. I am in charge. I am not a natural leader, but it is something that I am learning to improve on. It is at both times scary and exciting. I am very much so a new evaluator and I am soaking up all of the learning experiences that I possibly can. Here are some of the lessons that I’ve learned so far that I feel apply to both program evaluation and teaching: <br />
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1. <i><b> Be organized!</b></i> I have a lot on my plate because I am evaluating four separate programs in a very short time frame (about five months). I’ve found that I need to write down everything because I’m lying to myself when I say “I’ll remember it later.” I have a huge desk calendar that has everything: school visits, data collection dates, meetings, etc. I also keep a large “to-do” list that includes long-term activities for all of my programs as well as short-term items that I must complete that day. <br />
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2. <i><b>Find a school/school system with supportive administration/staff.</b></i> It makes a world of difference if you are in a school with a supportive principal and administration. Similarly, I’ve found that the director of my department, as well as everyone who works here, is absolutely wonderful. My boss is extremely supportive when I need to add things to my plans and reports and she frequently tosses out little tidbits of advice. I cannot stress how important it is to find a positive, supportive work environment. My first day here at Central Office was the Monday after I graduated. I came in to a cubicle that was decorated with balloons, streamers, and signs. It meant so much to me that even though I was new, they were genuinely happy for me. <br />
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3. <i><b> It’s okay if you’re not perfect.</b></i> Even though this is my first full-time evaluation position, I feel like I should be turning absolutely perfect work. It’s just not going to happen starting off the bat. I am learning to do the best that I can, make as many edits as I can and thoroughly think through everything that I am doing, but as a new evaluator, I often don’t know what to expect or how context might come into play. The first several years of teaching are similar (you can do it, I promise!). You will learn new things every single day and start planning for how to improve on lessons and units the following year. You might have the most perfect lesson planned, but when a snow delay throws things off or if your document camera dies in the middle of a lesson, the lesson may not be as effective. It’s okay. Learn from it, think through what you will do in the future if it happens again, and move on. I remember that my third year of teaching was so much better than the first two because I knew what to expect. I’m hoping it’s the same way with evaluation! <br />
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As time goes on, I am sure that I will learn many more lessons and have much more to tell. Until then, stay warm and good luck! <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-67403180942346263342014-01-13T06:33:00.001-08:002014-01-13T06:33:30.660-08:00Christine Meyer<br />
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<b>Christine Meyer, who graduated in December 2013 with her M.S. in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation degree, will be the focus of our Spring 2014 ‘Adventures in Education’ blog. Follow Christine this semester as she discusses her experiences in her new job with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools as a program evaluation specialist. </b><br />
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As a child, I grew up wanting to be a veterinarian. I have always loved animals, and my desire to help anything that was struggling was strong. I was in high school biology lab when I learned that being a veterinarian wasn’t for me…I’d rather play with animals than perform surgery on them. So, what to do now? After much thought and consideration, and considering how much I loved children and learning, I decided that maybe education was where I was meant to be. Fast forward to college, I earned a degree in elementary education from Emory & Henry College (VA) and was excited to begin the next chapter of my life. I was hopeful that I would have a job lined up and ready to go when I graduated…life, of course, did not work out as planned. After sending out more job applications than I can count, I was hired at the end of beginning of August and would be teaching kindergarten in back home in North Carolina. <br />
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I was fortunate to be at a wonderful school with great support from parents, fellow teachers, and my administration. Yet after three years of teaching, I still felt like something was missing. I knew that I would enjoy teaching for a few more years, but also that 30+ years of teaching was not for me. At least teaching was a step in the right direction…I love school, I love learning, and the education field was definitely the right one. But what else can you do in education if you don’t want to be a classroom teacher? The answer is, LOTS! <br />
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I stumbled upon UNCG’s Educational Research Methodology (ERM) program after a little Google searching and decided to learn more. I met with some students from the department and even though I was a little unsure about what I getting myself into (psychometrics, statistics, what??). I applied to the program, was admitted, and began another new chapter in August of 2011. Best. Decision. Ever. I now get to stay in the field of education and do program evaluation. This means that I collect data from teachers, students, school administration, etc. about various school programs in order to help improve them. The teacher part of my heart is happy that not just test scores are being used to judge the value of a program; although test scores are used and they do matter, I also do interviews and focus groups with people involved with programs to find out how to improve the programs in schools and how to help teachers. <br />
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In fact, I was lucky enough to accept a job offer with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools before I even graduated with my Master’s; I am their newest program evaluation specialist! I feel beyond lucky and blessed to have ended up with a position that I absolutely love. I had never even heard of educational program evaluation three years ago when I decided that I wanted to go to graduate school, and now I’ve found my true calling. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-4114691291457118152013-11-07T06:56:00.000-08:002013-11-07T07:02:39.068-08:00Rachel’s Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In October, my school participated in a Rachel’s Challenge assembly. If you don’t know who Rachel Scott is, she was the first student shot and killed at Columbine. The assembly exposed students to Rachel’s story and was very emotional for many. The main point of Rachel’s philosophy on life is outlined in her five step challenges. Our students embraced Rachel’s Challenge with amazingly open arms. After the assembly, leaving very few with dry eyes (including people who already knew Rachel’s amazing story), students were invited to show their acceptance of Rachel’s Challenge by signing a banner.<br />
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Part of Rachel’s legacy was the extensive amount of personal journaling that she did. Her journals have proven to be extremely inspiring to many people because of her commitment to living up to her own challenge. As a way to continue to promote Rachel’s philosophies, our students were invited to sign up for free journals to write their own thoughts and feelings in.<br />
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The response was overwhelming. When the first round of journals went out, over 200 students received one and immediately began writing. Our amazing Media Specialist took it upon herself to purchase all of the journals. And she didn’t just provide the students with run-of-the-mill journals. She went out of her way to find fun, decorative journals that the students could pick from. She also organized a sticker drive where people donated stickers for free so that students could use them to decorate their journals and personalize them. After the first round of journals went out, another 200 plus students asked if they could also have journals. Practically our entire middle school student body wanted to take part.<br />
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Students also responded by wanting to have more opportunities to be inspired. They wanted to read more stories like Rachel’s. They wanted to be inspired, which is a big deal for middle schoolers! Many students found something that they could be passionate about. Our Media Specialist even provided a special section of books specifically for these students.<br />
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I could go into a LOT of detail about Rachel and her story, but that’s not exactly the focus of this blog entry. The focus of this entry is to relate her challenge to my first year of teaching and what I have learned about teaching. <br />
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This entry could possibly be emotional for some as you relate it to your own experiences, so I won’t go into a lot of the details about Rachel. If you are interested in knowing more about her story, please visit: <a href="http://www.rachelschallenge.org/">www.rachelschallenge.org</a>. You will also find information on how to bring her story to your own students there. <br />
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What you do need to know is that Rachel was a compassionate, caring person. That is obvious through the writings that she left behind in her personal journals, through an essay that she wrote for one of her classes, and through the testimonies of many of her peers. Here are her challenges, and how I hope to relate them to my students and others in the school:<br />
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<b>1. Look for the best in others </b><br />
It’s very easy to get information from others on students. In fact, we receive information on students before we ever even meet them in most cases. It could be paperwork, it could be work samples, it could be stories around the water cooler. But how much of that information relates to students’ strengths? How much of it has to do more with what others feel we need to know? How often do you hear “Little Johnny can’t sit still and talks all the time” before you ever get the chance to know what an amazing artist little Johnny is? And, honestly, I know time is a factor. It may be more of a pressing issue to know what challenges lay ahead of us for around 120 students before we can focus on the strengths. We definitely need a heads up on where a student is going to struggle (or be a struggle) in the classroom. It’s a scary thought to walk into the classroom completely unaware of what difficulties may arise. <b> I’m certainly guilty of looking at a new student’s IEP and flipping past page one (which CLEARLY states the students strengths and visions for the future) and going straight to the goal page.</b> What goals does this student have? Where are we going to find the deficits? <br />
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But here’s the good news: we can work through those challenges by looking at the strengths. Look for the best in our students. It’s hard. Believe me, some students MAKE it hard. But that’s why it’s called a challenge! Starting off your students with interest inventories or surveys and really assessing where they shine, even finding out how they learn best, can really help hone in on how to get past “little Johnny can’t sit still and talks all the time.” Could little Johnny’s talking be a strength? Can we draw on that? And it’s not always difficult. Just asking a student what they’re good at could be a great place to start. In doing that, you begin to build a relationship with that student. Even occasional short conversations can be enough for a student to see you as a real person and not just the Charlie Brown-esque teacher standing in the front of the room “wah-wah-wah”ing. <br />
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And certainly use your resources. Hearing that you can use little Johnny’s talking as a strength in the classroom may seem like a daunting task, but a quick google search or chat with a co-worker may be just the way to capitalize on all that chit-chat. And also remember: little Johnny probably has many, many more good characteristics. We just have to search for them more than we search for his weaknesses. <br />
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<b>2. Dream big </b><br />
This one is a two parter. We need to dream big both for our students, and for ourselves. <br />
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We’ll start with dreaming big for our students, because it relates to looking for the good in them. Many times we encounter students who don’t care. I was surprised at how many of them I’ve come across already in middle school. It seems a little early to have given up, but I just recently heard two students, both who had received failing grades, laughing over the fact that one of them had earned five more points than the other. It’s a little devastating and unnerving. I have to wonder, if they aren’t focused on any purpose in school, who is focused on it for them? Is there someone rooting them on? I had had a discussion earlier with one of those students regarding her dreams for her future. Most questions were answered with shoulder shrugs and “I dunno”s. She did not have a vision for her future besides “I don’t know, work at, like, McDonald’s or something.” This is where we can take the first challenge a little further. When we see that good in our students, that thing that they do surprisingly well, that something that they really enjoy, that’s when we can run with it. How can they apply it to their future? Is there a club or organization, in school or in the community, somewhere that they can learn more about their strengths? Is there some way we can help them turn their strengths into dreams? <br />
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Sadly, many students don’t have anyone to dream big for them. And I’m not putting down parents, here. Often times, parents and guardians are trying their best just to provide for their children and make it from day to day. We have a responsibility to step in and really go to bat for our students when we can. Again, when the students see us putting in this type of effort and concern for them, we are strengthening our relationships with them. They will be more willing to put in effort if we set the standard on how to do it for them first. <br />
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On a personal note, I have just completed my first official real life Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavioral Intervention Plan for a student of mine. His behaviors have, admittedly, gotten out of control, and he has begun to use a behavior that once had a function, as more of a game. Even I am annoyed by the behavior most of the time. And I have a lot of patience for kids. (Not as much with adults, I use it all up on kids.) So while putting together his FBA and BIP, I met with some of his teachers, counselors, and administrators. We discussed his behaviors and I could see the annoyance and fed up feelings in all of the faces. I realized we were going to have to dream big for this kid, even if we had to convince ourselves first. There is always a function behind these behaviors, and we have to believe in the interventions we are setting up for the interventions to even be possibly successful. So, here I am, first year teacher, reminding my peers (and myself) that we all need to believe in this kid and our intervention attempts. Of course, my amazing co-workers were all on board! All it took was a reminder that someone needs to believe in this kid and we need to dream big for him. He’ll get there. I know he will. <br />
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Now. We need to dream big for ourselves. <br />
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Again, we need to role model for our students. If we don’t have clear goals and ambitions, why should they? This doesn’t mean that we all need to go back to school and earn several doctoral degrees. This just means that we are ever broadening our own horizons. We have goals set for ourselves, and we are able to share bits and pieces of this with our students (when appropriate). When my students find out I’m in graduate school, they ask me a lot of questions. Isn’t it hard? Don’t I get really tired? Isn’t it boring? (It’s not boring, for the professors who may read this, but the students assume it will be!!!) Why would I go back to school to get a higher degree if I could just be a teacher with a regular degree? They are really interested. And I have goals beyond this. There is the possibility that I will go back, again, eventually. I also want to learn Spanish. I also want to learn sign language. I want to learn to play the piano and guitar. I want to keep learning. If I continue to have these dreams for myself, and continue to pursue them, I can continue to provide examples for my students of why dreams are important, and why putting in the work now is going to be worth it someday. <br />
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<b>3. Choose positive influences </b><br />
This challenge is going to be more focused on my teaching career than specifically on my students. Choosing positive influences is huge. Remember the water cooler talk I referred to earlier? It’s really easy to get caught up in that. Even if you don’t have a water cooler at your school. There is always somewhere that people congregate to vent. I’m not saying that venting is a bad thing, or that we don’t all need to vent sometimes. What I AM saying is that, as a first year teacher, I can’t be anyone’s shoulder to cry on. I’m doing what I can to get by. I am not able to take on any additional burdens, and may not be able to put myself in that position for a very, very long time. As much as I want to know the gossip, or hear all the crazy things that people have to say about So-and-So and Whatshername, I NEED the positives. This is where we need to figure out the things we WANT to do and the things that we NEED to do. <br />
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I am lucky to have an incredibly supportive, positive team that I work with. I definitely have several people that have been teaching long enough to know what they should tell me, and what they should not tell me. My advice to new teachers would be this: find out where the venting and gossiping happens early on. Then don’t go there. It’s just too much to try to take on anyone else’s negativity this early, plus, you don’t want your name in it, in any way. You will probably be provided with a mentor. Use that person to help you when you need to vent or have a problem, and use them to help you find other positive people to support you in the same way when they are not available. <br />
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<b>4. Speak with kindness </b><br />
This seems obvious, but it can be extremely hard at times. Frustrations can build up and emotions can get the best of any of us. Add to the daily schedule the fact that you probably stayed up late trying to finalize those lesson plans and find that perfectly differentiated activity to cover all of your students. You’re probably extremely tired. Plus, it’s only Wednesday. Is it really only Wednesday? You have two more days until the weekend. Yeah. That’s stressful. Kindness might be the last thing on your mind by now. <br />
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But it’s important. <br />
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As part of Rachel’s Challenge, my school had an extra meeting for students later in the afternoon. Students were invited to come and talk about how they were affected by the assembly. I did not attend the second meeting, but another of the EC teachers that I work with did. When I asked her about it, she described to me how emotional it was. She told me that one of her students from last year had gotten up to talk. He talked about how he has Autism, and how he gets picked on, and how he can’t help it. He just wants to be himself and be happy. Other students talked about things that have happened to them at home. Still others discussed the fact that they had considered harming themselves, or even suicide. Her reaction was: “All of this stuff is going on at home, and we are trying to teach them what main idea is.” <br />
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This really spoke to me on how important it is to speak with kindness. We have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. We have no idea what some students are simply surviving through from day to day. I would encourage you to also view this short book to get a better idea of what some students are going through behind the scenes, and why the way we talk to them is so important: <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDwQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvickyswikisafespace.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2FIf%2BShe%2BOnly%2BKnew%2BMe.ppt&ei=uLB5UojmFYapsATr84CYDw&usg=AFQjCNFcja55vuvZYiW0e0Irr472nlJv8g&sig2=x7TnC664wIQKCE8MhKgaCQ&bvm=bv.55980276,d.cWc">http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDwQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvickyswikisafespace.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2FIf%2BShe%2BOnly%2BKnew%2BMe.ppt&ei=uLB5UojmFYapsATr84CYDw&usg=AFQjCNFcja55vuvZYiW0e0Irr472nlJv8g&sig2=x7TnC664wIQKCE8MhKgaCQ&bvm=bv.55980276,d.cWc</a> <br />
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(It will come up as a PowerPoint. I promise it’s safe, if you’re interested in looking at it!) <br />
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<b>5. Start your own chain reaction </b><br />
This is Rachel’s final challenge, and many schools make a physical representation of it. If you’ve seen the movie Pay It Forward, this is a similar premise. If you do something positive for someone, they will be inspired to do something positive for someone else, and the chain will continue. The physical representation is made up of paper chain lengths with positive things written on them, linked together. It’s a great way for students to see their positive actions leading to more positive actions! <br />
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All of the previous challenges can relate to this final one. If we look for the best in others, they will be inspired to look for the best in someone else. <br />
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If we dream big for ourselves and others, they will be more inspired to dream big for themselves. <br />
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If we choose positive influences, we can be more positive influences for others, who will then be positive influences for the people in their lives. <br />
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If we speak with kindness no matter what, we are being role models to our students for how to deal more appropriately with difficult situations and emotions, and they will learn to speak with kindness to others. <br />
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I would like to wrap up by encouraging you to really look at Rachel’s Challenge on your own time. This is a very basic look at her challenge and all of the amazing, inspiring things that she wrote and did. In no way do I feel like I have covered it all. I do, however, feel that I was extremely inspired by the assembly in her honor and all that it has done to inspire my students. I hope that you will be inspired as well! <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-91035909384155365332013-10-09T11:58:00.000-07:002013-10-10T06:18:12.573-07:00Behavior Management In The Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This month there will be three rules while reading my blog entry:<br />
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1. NO yawning. <br />
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2. NO scratching your head. <br />
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3. NO licking your lips. <br />
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Now. Repeat each of the rules to yourself at least five times until you have them memorized. Come on, you guys, it’s just three simple rules. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to follow them. Just don’t yawn, even though seeing someone else yawn, or just the thought of yawning, is slightly contagious. Don’t scratch your head. No matter what. Even though it’s probably starting to itch as you read. Oh, and definitely don’t lick your lips, even if they suddenly feel super dry. <br />
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Now on to the main topic of this month’s blog: behavior management in the classroom. One of the topics that I felt has been really drilled into my brain since day one of graduate school, was behavior management. Specifically, while focusing on Special Education, behavior management is huge and there is some component of behavior management in every single class I’ve taken. Every. Single. Class. <br />
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So I wanted to outline the parts of behavior management that I have found to be most important in my first year of teaching. <br />
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<b>1. Have rules/routines ready to go from day one, and make sure they are stated in a positive manner. </b><br />
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Don’t tell students what you DON’T want them to do, tell them what you DO want them to do. So you can forget my original rules, because, surprise, they were only used to illustrate my point. When rules are stated in a negative way (“no this, don’t that, etc), the behavior kind of sticks in your students’ minds. So, from my example, did you suddenly feel sleepy, or did your head begin to itch just a little, or did your lips feel suddenly chap? My point is, make sure your rules or routines are simple, stated in a way that the students know the expectations, and are useful on a daily basis. <br />
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The way I’ve used this concept this year is by setting up a daily routine that students get points for. They are expected to participate in three “parts” of the day, respect their peers and teachers, and maintain an orderly classroom. Because I started this behavior management program from the first day, students know exactly what is expected from them. <br />
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I’ve also learned, from one day that did not go by the “normal” routine, that my students have the routine down pat and are amazing at transitioning, as long as the day goes by that routine. The one day that was different, due to having an altered schedule for a school wide assembly, my kids were totally confused and transitions were not what they usually were. A shortened class period felt even shorter. <br />
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<b>2. Use a system of “rewards,” but begin fading as soon as your students are ready. </b><br />
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Looking at the point sheet, my students know that they must earn four out of their five points in order to gain “yardage” on a football field to earn a touchdown. The touchdown takes two weeks, and they receive a small incentive. They can have one day that they do not get to move up and still earn a touchdown. They can also earn an extra point during the two weeks to make up for a bad day. <br />
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At the beginning of the year, I knew that receiving a point immediately when they earned it would be immediate incentive, but that they may need a little more tangible incentives before the two weeks were up. So, I let them know that if they received all five of their points for the day, they would earn a piece of candy. I use Jolly Ranchers. For the first “touchdown” students scored a homework pass. Free prizes work great. <br />
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Since they caught on to the point system pretty early on, I have begun fading the use of candy. I now use an online spinner with the choices of “yes/no/maybe” to determine if they earn candy at the end of each class. The kids enjoy using the spinner and being picked to be the person to actually spin it, even if they end up with a “no.” If they get a “maybe,” they get to spin again. The point is, they don’t even realize that their candy earning is being faded, and they are still continuing to work just as hard during class. <br />
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<b>3. Let students be as successful as possible during the beginning, but still be firm. </b><br />
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I had one student who decided to test the point system the first week of school. He decided not to participate during class, and therefore got left behind on the football field during the first week. He did, however, work harder the rest of the two-week period and still earned his touchdown. It was a great opportunity for me to show students in class that refusing to participate was not an option, but that one “bad day” would not ruin your week. I have had students since then who did not earn a touchdown due to behaviors during the first week, but had really stellar second week behaviors. For those students, I required them to make-up a work sheet before participating in the touchdown reward, which was playing math games on the computer. Odd how they got really excited about playing math games. Educational, and rewarding. Win/win. <br />
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<b>4. Have routines and rules clearly stated somewhere in your classroom. </b><br />
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I use a routine rather than rules in my classroom, and the students know what is expected. Their routine is outlined on their desk daily because of their point sheets. I also link the routine to the curriculum by having an agenda on the board daily. It works as a visual schedule so they know exactly what is happening, what page they need to be on, and how much more they will be required to do before they earn their point. <br />
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I also have a traffic light system that I use to let them know when they are allowed to talk and how much they are allowed to talk. They know that being allowed to talk to their peers to increase their learning is a privilege and if they don’t follow the rules (positively stated), the privilege will be taken away. They do pretty well with following the rules. <br />
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Even though there are far more technical and detailed behavior management techniques and programs that can be used, these four components are what I have started out using with my small resource class. I have felt very successful and know that my students feel successful when they get to move their football player or cheerleader along the field. Many other strategies exist, but these four components are parts of most behavior management programs, no matter what your school is using. My school is in the process of starting PBIS, so make sure you check with your school to see if there is anything school-wide being used. Also, if you work on a team, check with your teammates to see what kind of programs they use. I have found my teammates to be an amazing source for just about any question I have, and a team approach always promotes solidarity. <br />
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You may now go back to yawning, scratching, and licking as normal. Thank you for following my rules. You have earned a very special prize: a sneak peek at baby GIRL Mason, who is due in February!!! <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-26104914771136914222013-09-03T07:59:00.001-07:002013-09-03T08:06:58.563-07:00Hollie Mason: September blog entry<br />
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I always have a hard time describing myself, but, lately, I’ve decided that the best way to describe myself is to give others a list of the things that I DO and let them put together their own image of Hollie Mason. So here is my list:<br />
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<li>I teach seventh grade Exceptional Children at Walkertown Middle School. More on that later! </li>
<li>I am completing my final semester of graduate school at UNCG. </li>
<li>I remember really odd things that others may forget. Specifically, random conversations or minor details. </li>
<li>I read biographies and history-related books (among other books, I love to read!) while actively hating history-related classes. I also promptly forget dates and details about the history-related books that I read (kind of negates the above item on the list, but that’s just my weird brain). </li>
<li>I eat. All. The. Time. The most common thing I say is “I’m hungry” followed closely by “I’m really hungry.” </li>
<li>I crochet. Like, really really unique things (and some normal things, but I like challenges). </li>
<li>I make balloon animals. Yeah. Balloon animals. It was a great summer part-time gig! </li>
<li>I am a wife of four-and-a-half years, and still learning more about love and patience. Pretty sure he’s still learning more about love and patience, too. In fact, I’m almost positive that his patience has grown exponentially since meeting me. </li>
<li>I procrastinate in the most productive way. My mom describes me as the most productive lazy person you’ll ever meet. Sounds crazy, but I think it’s accurate. </li>
<li>I talk. A LOT. </li>
<li>I am the mommy to two beautiful, spoiled rotten puppies. I’ll probably still manage to fit them into my blog posts on teaching. (And at four-years-old, they’re not really puppies anymore, but they’re my babies!) </li>
<li>I suddenly find myself writing for a blog. </li>
<li>Oh. And I’m growing a tiny human in my ever-growing belly. The puppies are NOT going to understand what is going on come February. </li>
<li>And with that knowledge, you will likely understand that I nap WHENEVER I get the chance. Especially considering my list once included the constant consumption of coffee (which you will notice is now absent from my list).</li>
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I don’t necessarily do all of the above listed items at the same time, but I do keep myself busy. I don’t do quite as well when I don’t have something due. <br />
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I mostly wanted to introduce myself in my first blog entry, but a huge part of who I am is who I was. I grew up at the beach and went to college in the mountains (go App!); I never thought that I would be happy anywhere besides one of those two extremes, but here I am, happily residing in Winston-Salem, not as close to either extreme as I thought I’d be. I majored in Psychology at Appalachian and immediately began work at Grandfather Home for Children in Banner Elk, NC upon graduation. Without getting into too much of the technical mumbo jumbo and acronyms involved in mental health, Grandfather Home is a Level III group home for sexually abused/sexually at-risk children and teenagers. I worked with various groups of children between the ages of 5 and 18 to help them overcome the terrible abuse they had suffered and just learn how to keep surviving in the real world. I left that job when I got married and we decided to make our home in Winston-Salem. I am still in contact with some people who work there and love the mission. It is a huge part of my heart.<br />
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Other than that, I worked as an Intensive In-Home service provider, going to the homes of families that included children who had been diagnosed with various mental health disabilities (mostly ADHD, ODD, PTSD, LMNOP… you get the point). I helped educate parents on how to help their child in the home and support them in the school setting. After that, I moved to working at an alternative school, where I realized my calling was teaching, and met the person who introduced me to UNCG’s Project ENRICH. <br />
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And now we find me finishing up my Project ENRICH duties, sitting on my couch, eating Spaghetti-O’s, and writing for the School of Education’s blog (what an honor)! My previous experiences, plus my year-long residency at Walkertown Middle School last year, have helped me really hone in on my dream. And I’m not sure I’ll be done after graduate school (though I’ll definitely slow down for a while with a new tiny human relying on me).<br />
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Finally, because I wrote way more than I intended to, I want to leave you with: why Special Education? Well. More of my history helped with that decision. When I was four years old, I was involved with a pretty unique accident. I was run over by a riding lawn mower. Without going into gory details, my skull was crushed and a large part of my brain was destroyed. Miraculously, I not only came through alive, I came through with absolutely zero complications. With the exception of some serious “blonde” moments, which I’m sure I would have dealt with regardless of the accident, my brain and body function perfectly. I even made it to first-chair drummer in All-County band three years in a row, proving that my coordination was no problem at all. So, why Special Ed? Because those children that sit in front of me, I could have been any one of them. The fact that school came easy to me, that I could walk and talk, even that all of my hair grew back… those things lead towards me understanding that I am the exception. And I should use my gifts and my abilities to give back to those who were not the exception.
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I am quite a few weeks into my full-time student teaching now, and if asked what has been the the hardest lesson learned thus far I would without a doubt say the realization that I am no longer staring at a class full of “hypothetical” students, in “hypothetical” desks, learning “hypothetical” content. This lesson has been both the hardest and most fulfilling to learn.<br />
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In your education classes you learn the tested and well proven theories of the “best and brightest” teachers that have ever walked the planet, and if you are like me, you begin to believe that you are one of those “best and brightest” and will be able to demonstrate it just as soon as you walk through the door of your classroom. Well, I would like to “gently encourage” you (a teacher term you will learn soon enough) to WAKE UP! I have experienced that wake-up call in the past few weeks myself. The first week of full-time teaching I pranced down the hall and into my classroom thinking because I cared SO much the students would too. I thought - <i>I am going to come in with these great, inquisitive, fun filled lessons and the students will all fall at my feet and thank me for being the greatest student teacher to ever grace the halls</i>. Turns out my “those students” mentality was my exact problem<br />
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I was instinctively looking at my students as a collective group. They were my “students,” my “fourth core,” my “social studies class,” or just “the kids,” but I wasn’t yet seeing them as Steven, Tiffany, Blake, or Amber. I was forgetting the importance of individuality! I was pressed to recognize that I didn’t have a class full of students, in a class full of desks; I had <i>individual</i> people that had <i>individual</i> needs, who deserved <i>individual</i> attention. So, I altered my game! I made it my mission to know my “people” in the classroom; to learn at least one thing about each of my individual students and take the time to truly know them before I began tossing content straight at them and expecting them to just sit there and learn it because I wanted them to. Well, it was extremely gratifying to accomplish that mission. To my surprise I could now tell you almost anything about the uber important adolescent topics of k-pop, one direction, dub step, conspiracy theories, or basketball all-stars. Someone once told me “your students won’t care what you know until they know that you care.” I am now living and breathing proof of that philosophy.<br />
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After finally accepting my faults and making some adjustments, it was evident that the students’ became more receptive to the content. Only then was I able to take those “best and brightest” theories and put them into practice. Since, I knew my students as individuals I was able to really accommodate what I was teaching in class to their interests. The changes in teaching techniques have been extremely rewarding. My students have created products in class that have completely surpassed my expectations. They have produced digital encyclopedias, worked on whole class committees, held discussions via twitter, completed in depth research projects, written essays from multiple perspectives, planned service learning projects, held seminars, and debated modern social issues. Since I was able to really know my “people” in class, I was able to take their personalities, ideas, beliefs, abilities, preferences, and most importantly feelings into consideration when teaching them; they appreciated that. However, since they are middle school students they didn’t exactly express that gratitude in the typical “thank you for caring” way. Instead the occasional smile in the hall, the “Hey Ms. Hewett” as they are at track practice, the questions about what we were doing in class today, and the slow movement when the bell rings for them to be dismissed showed that their interest were undoubtedly peaked and they were finally engaged. Their motivation to not only complete assignments, but to also learn the material is what ultimately blew me away! I could tell success stories for days!<br />
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More than anything the success I have seen with student attitudes speaks volumes about the importance of knowing your students personally. I may have had to learn a tough lesson, and really get an “ego-check” but the truth is the lessons my students taught me about modesty are ones I would not have gone very far without learning. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Of course you will insist on modesty in the children, and respect to their teachers, but if the boy stops you in your speech, cries out that you are wrong and sets you right, hug him!” The immediate rejection of my entitled attitude by my students taught me an invaluable lesson. For that reason I will continue to “hug” my students with differentiation, modifications, inquiry projects, 21stcentury geared lessons, and most of all – INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION!<br />
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Until Next Time… Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174059729935508539.post-66445397040813500222013-02-01T10:55:00.002-08:002013-02-01T13:00:06.385-08:00The Great Awakening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, I must say I have visualized my student teaching since the day I entered the Middle Grades program at UNCG. Where would I be teaching? What grade would I be teaching? Which of my content areas would I be undertaking? What would my students be like? What would I wear? Let’s begin by saying – the only vision I had that remained intact would be the wardrobe. Everything, and I do mean everything, has been so much more than I expected.<br />
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My first shock came when I received a call from my cooperating teacher over the summer explaining that instead of completing my student teaching in Language Arts, as I had planned, we would now be teaching both language arts and social studies. After my initial kick of sheer excitement, I was immediately hit with – what felt like – a two ton brick in my stomach. Two content areas meant two preps, two sets of lessons, two sets of assessments, two sets of modifications, and most importantly two times the impact! I was instantly petrified that I would irrevocably scar my students and go down in history as the biggest student teaching failure of all time. (A little dramatic I know!) I am rather pleased to say I have yet to fulfill either of those initial predictions! In fact, the two content experience has taught me, what I believe is, the first life-long lesson of teaching…<br />
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I cannot destroy my students’ opportunities of a bright future, simply by not knowing the exact length of the Mexican American War or by accidentally misspelling a vocabulary word on the board. I breathe a sigh of relief daily at the enormous weight that has been lifted from my shoulders just by accepting imperfection.<br />
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Now that I am a few months into my student teaching I know for certain that this is supposed to be a time of trial and error. I am learning just as much as the students – if not more- and I am confident that not having all the answers is not equivalent to being incompetent. My plan-a-holic, type A, personality has had to take a back seat to the laid back, go with the flow mentality of my students. I thank them every day for that lesson! I can only imagine what is in store in the coming months of this experience, but I do know that whatever it may be – I am accepting it with a wide open mind as well as wide open arms.<br />
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Until Next Time,<br />
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-A Future Teacher Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3