MRVED Business

Communication Briefings
Improve your personal productivity:
1.  Resist busywork. When contemplating a long to-do list, you may be tempted to tackle a cluster of easy, fun or low-priority items first.  A wiser strategy:  Jump on your number one priority first, even if doing so takes more time and forces you to postpone more pleasurable tasks.

2.  Stop procrastinating.  Follow the "two minute" rule:  If you can complete a task within two minutes, don't put it off.  Do it now.

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

Tech Tip

Ustream
Ustream is a service that allows you to broadcast events online for free.  There is a paid version that is ad free and of better quality.  If you are not in the mood to broadcast events, you can always browse the variety of live events being streamed.  A couple live streams of note are the International Space Station and the variety of live Eagle and Aquarium cams.

Ideas for what to broadcast live: (After getting permission from parents, administration, and technology coordinator)

• Special classroom events
• Student presentations
• Typical classroom day
• When you are absent

First Days of School - Increasing Student Learning and Achievement

According to Harry Wong there are three major characteristics of an effective teacher:

1. They have high expectations that all of their students will succeed.
2. They are extremely good classroom managers.
3. They know how to design lessons to help students reach mastery.

We have spent 2 months on having high expectations and classroom management.  The last two weeks of the MRVED update will focus on lesson mastery.

"If the student cannot demonstrate learning or achievement, the student has not failed - WE have failed the student."

Increase Student Learning

The million dollar question is how do we increase student learning?  If there was a silver bullet answer to that question, everyone would be doing it.  What we, as teachers, can do is increase the amount of time the students are working in our classroom.  The research shows that the person who does the work is the only one who learns.  Wong says if you were to walk by any classroom, who is doing the work?  The teacher!  No wonder why teachers are so tired at the end of the day and students are so full of energy walking out the door.  The teacher has worked and the student has sat there doing nothing.  Wong states that according to research, most schools devote only 35% of their time to learning.  The other 65% is spent on "other" tasks.  If a business ran at 35% efficiency, it would be bankrupt!

It would be interesting to do a study in each of our MRVED schools and track actual learning time in the classroom.  I think we would all be astonished at the results.

To increase the amount of time the student works to learn:

• Have all assignments posted for students when they enter the room.
• Have "bell ringer" activities ready.
• Teach procedures and routines to minimize interruptions and maximize learning time.
• Constantly monitor students to keep them on task.

An hour is an hour and you will never get more than 60 minutes out of it, but you do have control over how you spend that 60 minutes.  Take a day or two and track actual time on learning in your classroom and I bet you will be amazed!

Summer Workshops for Science Educators

Minnesota Zoo Teacher Programs

Did you know the Minnesota Zoo offers teacher education programs?  The Minnesota Zoo will be offering a series of workshops focusing on conservation issues facing Minnesota wildlife. Come learn more about these animals in our own back yards– observe them at the zoo, learn about their habitats, exploring their roles in the ecosystem, and discuss some of the challenges that they face here and beyond. Gather ideas and activities for teaching about these animals and broader conservation issues in your classroom. Workshops are open to all educators.

Check out their programs by going to their website.

The Minnesota Center for Mineral Resource Education

The MMEW is a three-day workshop for K-12 Earth science educators and pre-service teachers that offers short courses and field trips focused on the geology and mineral resources of Minnesota. The upcoming 17th annual MMEW will be held June 17-19, 2014 at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, MN. On the first day of the workshop, participants may choose among 16 different short course topics taught by professional geologists, academics, government scientists, and K-12 educators. Many of the courses introduce curriculum ideas for various grade levels. The second and third days of the workshop will involve field trips that are designed to familiarize participants with the geology, mineral resources and environmental issues of southwestern Minnesota.

Participants will receive a variety of resource materials including rock and mineral samples, lesson plan ideas, posters, maps, videos, and other useful information. Upon completion of the workshop, attendees will be provided with a certificate of participation listing contact hours. We are looking into again being able to offer graduate credits through the University of Minnesota Duluth with the submission of a lesson plan in addition to full workshop attendance.

You can find out more and register by going to their website.