Calling All Students
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Inspired Teacher Essay Contest Deadline: 4.01.08
Students in grades 1 through 12 are invited to submit essays of 200 words or fewer answering the question: How does your teacher inspire you?
This year, through a partnership with the Washington Wizards, winners and their teachers will be celebrated and awarded a prize package on center court for the Wizards' last home game of the season. Winners will be selected from elementary, middle, and high school categories. Excerpts of all essays will be published on the Inspired Teaching website and all entrants will receive 2 tickets to the April 13 Wizards Game.
Learn more about the contest and have your students submit their entries online.
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Do you know someone who wants to be a teacher?
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NEW:
Inspired Teacher Certification Program
Center for Inspired Teaching is now offering a 15-month teacher certification program that recruits, selects, prepares, and supports highly qualified individuals who wish to serve the children of the District of Columbia as teachers. The Inspired Teacher Certification Program prepares educators in 3 areas: Early Childhood, Elementary, or English Language Arts (middle and high school).
Spread the word and, better still, submit your own application!
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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BECOME A FAN OF INSPIRED TEACHING
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Is there a better way to prepare for the test?
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If you teach a "tested" grade or subject, March finds you deep in the thick of test prep season.
Even if you abhor the memorization drills, endless practice tests and quizzes, and constant review activities that characterize much of instruction this time of year, they're hard to avoid when everyone else is doing them.
You're hounded by the fear that if you don't do enough, the kids won't do well, and it will all be your fault. But at the same time, you know that this kind of teaching isn't really how kids learn. It might get you short-term gains, but give the class a few months and most of this material may be long forgotten.
So what's the alternative? Stick to what we know about how kids learn and apply that to your test preparation activities.
Make Connections to Real Life
We all learn best when what we're learning in relevant to our lives. This holds true even in the world of test prep. If you can connect concepts to the daily lives of your students they're much more likely to retain the information. Examples might include:
- Reviewing literary devices in the context of popular song lyrics or movie plots
- Applying math concepts to sport statistics
- Practicing reading comprehension using interesting articles from the local newspaper
- Taking a field trip through the neighborhood to review science concepts related to nature
Remember the Power of Fun
Yes, fun. We know it's a dirty word this time of year, but it's actually quite effective when it comes to test review and even test day. Several Inspired Teachers have reported great success when they turn the whole concept of "the test" into a game. A sports analogy fits quite well:
- Studying = training
- Practice tests = conference games before the championship
- Practice test data = player stats
- The big test = the championship game
In this context teachers carry the analogy further by creating review "games," and all the better if they are physical because most kids learn and remember best what they have experienced through movement. You might try:
- HORSE - ask questions before kids get to shoot baskets.
- Review relays - kids "hand-off" the baton only after they get a question right.
- Stress busters - take a break from the content and teach a stretches for relaxation, warm-ups to get the blood flowing to the brain, or Brain Gym exercises to get the mind engaged.
Empower Kids to Know the Test
Because our school's reputation, our kids' futures, and often our jobs are so closely linked to success on the test, it's easy to turn the test into a bigger, scarier monster than it has to be. The more mysterious and daunting we make the test seem to kids, the more likely they are to freeze up and not perform well in its presence. This is a natural human response when confronted with something we're afraid of, but you can lessen the fear factor by helping students deconstruct the beast.
- Show them the standards you've been told will be on the test.
- Share with them any practice test material you have and don't give a letter grade to their practice attempts. Instead, let them correct wrong answers and discuss why they got them wrong.
- Help students analyze any data you may have from a given test. Only give them their own numbers, of course, but show them how to assess areas of strength and weakness and talk about what they can do to improve in places where they're struggling.
- Discuss why tests are given in the first place, show them how multiple choice answers are created, and have them create and take their own tests based on material they've learned.
- Teach confidence. Countless teachers will tell you that a student who believes she will pass a test is much more likely to do so than one who thinks otherwise.
And Finally... Trust in Your Teaching
If you're truly an Inspired Teacher, you don't need to get hysterical about this test just because it's now a few weeks away. Cram if you must, but remember: you've been teaching your heart out all year, unpacking the standards and making them stick. Your kids have been growing as brilliant individuals, largely because of to all the engaging learning opportunities you've created since the start of the school year. You've been fostering critical thinking and problem solving from the beginning. So don't you think all of these life skills and experiences have equipped your students with an impressive toolkit when it comes to tackling a multiple-choice test?
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More Test Prep Ideas
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Here are a few more ideas from the Inspired Teaching archives. These have all been tested by Inspired Teaching staff when they were in the classroom. Please send us your ideas and we'll share them with the rest of the Inspired Teaching community.
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Resources for Teachers
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No Pain, High GainThis is a very useful article about standardized test preparation by Nell K Duke and Ron Ritchhart, found on the Scholasitc website. It includes several alternatives to the "drill and kill" method of test prep. DCPS Leadership OpportunityDCPS is seeking applicants for "Teachers Central to Leadership" (TCTL), a new central office fellowship for DCPS educators. This fellowship provides DCPS educators with the opportunity to participate in senior-level decision-making and gain first-hand experience in systemic education reform. Key Dates: April 3, 2009 - Applications due by 5:00 pm May 22, 2009 - Inaugural Class of Fellows Announced June 29, 2009-July 31, 2009 - Term of TCTL Fellowship Ready Classroom ProjectDC Voice is initiating a new program to get teacher perspectives on instruction, professional development, personal efficacy, and empowerment and school climate. To participate: 202-986-8535 or RCP@dcvoice.org. | |
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