MRVED Business

Upcoming Meetings
May 28, 2014  Superintendents' Council
June 4, 2014     MRVED Board (7 p.m.)
June 25, 2014   Superintendents' Council

Communication Briefings
Skilled vs. skillful.  Both words imply possession of a skill, but skilled most often is used in reference to specialized training or education, as gained by a craftsman or technician:  "We hire only skilled accountants."  Skillful, on the other hand, means showing proficiency, knowledge or aptitude:  "A skillful persuader, Jack usually got his way."

Tech Tip

Answer Garden
If you do brainstorming in your classroom and you are looking for a tech tool to assist with this task, look no further than Answer Garden.  AnswerGarden is a minimalistic feedback tool. Use it in the classroom as an educational tool or at work as a creative brainstorming tool. Post it in a tweet or you can embed it on your website or blog to use it as a poll or guestbook.  You simply add your question, give the students the address, and watch the answers come in.  There are a couple unique features; answers need to be 20 characters or less, the more an answer appears the bigger the word is (creates a nice visual).

First Days of School - How to Have Students Follow Classroom Procedures

"The number one problem in the classroom is not discipline; it is the lack of procedures and routines."

Procedures and routines are one of the most important aspects to managing your classroom.  Effective teachers have procedures and routines (PR) for everything, and the students are well versed in the procedures and routines.  PR's need to be explicitly taught to your students.  It is a mistake to assume that students know how you want things done by just telling them how you want it done.  Practice makes perfect!

Procedures vs Discipline
A procedure is a method or process for how things are to be done in the classroom.  Do not confuse PR's with your discipline plan.

• Discipline concerns how students behave.
• Procedures concern how things are done.
• Discipline has rewards and penalties.
• Procedures have no penalties or rewards.

An example of a procedure is opening a combination lock.  If you do not follow the procedure, the lock does not open.  There is no penalty for not following the procedure other than your lock simply does not open.  If you follow the procedure correctly, the lock opens.  Likewise, there is no reward for following the procedure other than the lock simply opening.

Importance of Procedures

A procedure is how you want something done.  It is your responsibility to state clearly how you want a certain task completed.  A routine is what the student does automatically without prompting.  A routine becomes a habit.

• Procedures are statements of student expectations necessary to participate successfully in classroom activities...
• Procedures allow for many different activities to take place efficiently in the classroom.
• Procedures increase on-task time and greatly reduce classroom disruptions.
• Procedures tell a student how things operate in a classroom, thus reducing discipline problems.

Examples of Classroom Procedures

This list below is not an all-encompassing list of procedures in the classroom.  The list is provided for you to think about how these procedures are completed in your classroom, and if the students fully understand those procedures.

Possible Classroom Procedures
End of the period or class	End of the day	Walking in the hallway
Starting class	Transition from activity	Asking for help
Taking attendance	Using the restroom	Going to the office
Using the trashcan	If you forgot something	Passing in papers
Late work	Fire drill	Tornado drill
Lockdown	Gathering supplies	Group work
When you are tardy	Band lesson	Substitute Teacher

The Three-Step Approach to Teaching Procedures

"Most behavior problems in the classroom are caused by the teacher's failure to teach students how to follow procedures." (Wong, 174)

3 Step Process

1. Explain - State, explain, model, and demonstrate the procedure.
1. Use concrete terms
2. Demonstrate, step by step
2. Rehearse - Practice the procedure under your supervision.
1. Actually practice the procedure
2. Repeat until it becomes routine
3. Reinforce - Reteach, rehearse, practice, and reinforce until the procedure becomes a routine or habit.
1. Praise students once procedure has become a routine

Be sure to teach the students how you want certain procedures completed from the beginning of the year.  If you don't teach the procedure from the start, you will face an uphill battle all year long.  The time spent teaching the procedure is well worth it in the long run.  By teaching procedures, you will actually gain time in your classroom as students will not need to ask questions or be confused as to what they are to do.