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Friday, October 28, 2016

MRVED Business

October 19, Professional Development Day
The MRVED wishes to thank everyone for their participation in our first common professional development day on October 19.  We hope the day was beneficial to you as an educator and helped move you forward in your professional learning.  The MRVED would also like to thank the people who were willing to facilitate the meetings.  Without them, this day would not be possible.

If you have not already filled out the evaluation for the day, please do so.  You can access the evaluation by clicking the link below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyfc3X_UtiPxyJp1Xnm61aglJF_jww522PK3lxFnvdpoTTsg/viewform

We look forward to providing another excellent day of professional development on January 16, when we will all gather for the MELT conference.  This year is shaping up to be the best MELT yet with many new presenters.  You still have time to submit a presentation proposal.  More information can be found at the link below.

http://mrvedupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/melt-2017-call-for-presentation.html

MRVED Meetings

November 18, 2016   Principals' Council
November 23, 2016   Superintendents' Council

December 2, 2016     Title III Teachers
December 5, 2016     District Assessment Coordinators
December 15, 2016   TAC
December 16, 2016   Principals' Council
December 21, 2016   MRVED Board (7 p.m.)
December 21, 2016   Superintendents' Council



What Great Teachers Do Differently - Prevention versus Revenge

Prevention versus Revenge
As we continue on our journey through Todd Whitaker's book What Great Teachers Do Differently, we are looking at the 17 things that matter most.  This chapter deals with student discipline.  It offers a great way to think about classroom management, and more importantly discipline.

The first thing that struck me while reading this chapter is the mindset of how to deal with a student who misbehaves.  Whitaker states "Effective teachers want to prevent misbehavior, whereas ineffective teachers focus on punishing a student ... (Whitaker, 25)".  The effective teacher finds ways and deals with a student in a manner that will prevent the misbehavior from happening again.  The ineffective teacher will punish the behavior and often times see the same behavior happen again.  Ineffective teachers deal with the past, whereas effective teachers deal with the future.

When misbehavior happens, all eyes are usually on the teacher to see how he/she responds to the situation.  If the teacher blows up, yells, or embarrasses the student, often times the behaviors will reoccur.  If a teacher can deal with the student at an opportune time and in a private matter, often times the behavior will not reoccur.  Students are smart, if they know the teacher will fly off the handle while everyone is watching, the student got what they wanted...attention and amusement.

In short, deal with the future not the past when handling misbehaving students.

As usual, there is so much more in this chapter, so I highly recommend reading this great book by Todd Whitaker.

MELT Presenters

MELT Presenters
The MRVED is still actively pursuing teachers to present at the MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together) conference in January.  Please see this previous post that explains all about presenting.  If you know someone who is doing something great in their classroom, encourage them to present, or if you are doing something great, please fill out the form.

Google Education On-Air Conference

Google Education On-Air Conference
Google will once again be hosting their Education On-Air conference on December 2nd and 3rd.  This is a great opportunity to learn from some of the top thinkers and educators in the world.  The event is free and all you need is an internet browser.  There are a variety of topics and people presenting this year.  Check out the Education On-Air Conference webpage today!


Free Social Studies Workshops

Social studies teachers can take advantage of a variety of Free workshops to enhance their own knowledge and pedagogy.

1) Thanks to a generous Library of Congress grant, the Minnesota Historical Society and partners are offering free workshops for social studies teachers! In the 2016-2017 school year, nine regional workshops throughout Minnesota will focus on historical and geographic inquiry, and primary sources in the classroom. Workshops are open to current classroom teachers in grades K-12, and are limited to the first 25 registrants. Visit the grant website for more information and to register: http://education.mnhs.org/loc/workshops.


2) Register NOW to attend a free workshop about ArcGIS Online! Educator Day at the MN GIS/LIS Conference in Duluth is on Wednesday, October 26. Join us to learn about ways to engage students in spatial thinking and problem solving using several online mapping tools from Esri. Visit the website to learn more: http://www.mngislis.org/?page=2016_conf_k12_form


3) Join us for "Shaping America's Elections," a free workshop sponsored by Colonial Williamsburg. Social studies teachers in grades 5-12 are invited to register for a day of discussion and learning about historical elections. The workshop will take place on Saturday, November 5 at the Minnesota History Center. Visit the website for information or to register: http://education.mnhs.org/node/11687

If you have any questions, let Brandon know and he will point you in the right direction.