Whether you are a full-time gifted facilitator or are a part-time gifted educator that has students identified as gifted in your classroom, it’s important to know what to expect (and not to expect) from your learners. Here are some Dos and Don’ts of Gifted Education to help you give your students the best educational opportunities.

DOs

Set boundaries with parents and families.

To begin with, parents of gifted students are traditionally very involved in their students’ education. That’s wonderful! Of course, I love that parents are advocates for their kids. However, it’s important to set boundaries with parents and families early on. First, let them know that you will reply to emails or phone calls within 24 hours. Although differentiation is extremely important for students, there are many requirements that students can’t opt-out. In addition, remind parents that you know what is best for their kids and you’re on the same team. Just because a student is identified as gifted doesn’t mean they may not struggle with schoolwork or expectations. Have those conversations with parents early and as needed.

Know your gifted standards.

Did you know there are national gifted standards? These standards for gifted education focus on gifted knowledge and programming standards. To begin, the knowledge standards focus on what you as a teacher should be able to demonstrate to acknowledge the differences that gifted learners possess. Knowledge standards not only look to the academic but also the social-emotional and cultural needs of gifted learners. Finally, gifted educators should be able to design learning to help enhance their individual gifts and talents. Programming Standards are divided into six standards that focus on teacher preparation and expectations.

• Learning and development
• Assessment
• Curriculum planning and instruction
• Learning environments
• Programming
• Professional development

Source: National Association for Gifted Children

Know the type of gifted programs you are expected to offer.

Depending on your school or district, you may facilitate workshops, have scheduled pull-out for your gifted learners, or support your teachers to supplement and differentiate curricular materials. Instead of just giving teachers materials, ask them what they need to support their learners. Also let them know you are there to support them, not replace them.

Seek support from admin/guidance.

I’ve already mentioned classroom teachers and parents, but gifted education is a team effort that extends to administration and counseling as well. First, schedule meetings early in the year to make sure you know your budget from administration and how to support your learners’ social-emotional needs from counseling.

Collect data.

In some districts, your gifted learners have individual education plans (IEPs) just like students with special education needs. You’ll be expected to fill out reports for learners identified as gifted. In addition, you will need to test students that are in the identification process. You may also use input from parents and classroom teachers in the identification process. Data is an important part of gifted education.

Implement opportunities for problem-solving and critical thinking.

Whether you are pulling out kids for gifted learning time or providing supplemental materials, you should be implementing opportunities for problem-solving and critical thinking. Share these early finisher activities to support your learners with logic activities and more! Check out the math specific early finisher activities to use all year! This bundle includes eight activities each month to support your learners with deductive reasoning and problem-solving opportunities.

DON’Ts

Don’t expect gifted education to be more work for students.

If your gifted students have met a given grade-level standard, the work you’re providing is an extension and a replacement for that work. Gifted doesn’t mean more work, in fact, it means a different kind of work. This is an important conversation to have with classroom teachers. Let them know that their gifted learners are expected to take assessments, for example, but classroom work made be replaced with extension materials when they have met a standard.

Don’t expect gifted education to be less work for you.

When I was teaching gifted education, it was hard to explain to other teachers what I did all day. It was a lot of work! Even though you may not have learners all day in your classroom, you will be meeting with parents, teachers, students, administrators, and counselors often. Of course, you will also be responsible for designing lessons for various content areas and levels. You’ll also be collecting data and giving assessments. Gifted education is a lot of work, but it’s so rewarding!

Don’t anticipate that this curriculum or program is right for every student in your classroom.

Gifted learners learn differently! That’s no secret. However, it’s important to remember that individual gifted learners also learn in different ways. Be ready to help teachers and students differentiation instructional materials to best suit the learning needs and gifted standards for your students. Do remember that you were chosen for this job for a reason! Your advocacy for gifted learners and the desire to learn more will help you meet the needs of your amazing students. Don’t forget to reach out for help! We are here to support you with materials and information to support your students!

The post The Dos and Don’ts of Gifted Education appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

Use open-ended prompts and tasks.

Using project-based learning in math not only promotes deeper thinking, it helps your students see the real world connections. Project-based learning lessons are typically open-ended. First, students get a problem to solve. Next, they receive some tools to do so. Finally, they come up with a solution on their own or in small groups. With this project-based learning unit on angles and using protractors, your students receive a task to install security cameras in a community. To start, students have a budget, rulers, and protractors. Next, learners create the ranges and angles for each camera on a community map. Finally, their task is to have as many houses as possible within the view of 12 (or fewer) cameras.

Using project-based learning, open-ended tasks like this one help your students discover math beyond the drill and practice problem sets while they understand the “why” behind concepts.

Ask questions that promote understanding beyond memorization.

By far, my favorite way to teach math with rigor and help my students understand “why” is with POWER Problems. These problems start by asking questions that help students understand the why and the concepts behind the math skill rather than simply memorizing different algorithms to find an answer. Here’s how POWER problems work. First, POWER problems are PURPOSEFUL. That means they keep students focused while encouraging them to keep going! Next, POWER problems provide OPPORTUNITIES. These problems are used as bellringers, to introduce a lesson or new concept, as spiral review, or even to assess a skill. In addition, POWER problems are about ENGAGEMENT. These are real-world, relevant problems that are of high-interest to students. Because the problems are complex, your students are engaged. Finally, POWER problems are designed with RIGOR. Students are going to be challenged by POWER problems. Rather than just memorizing algorithms and procedures, your learners will practice conceptual understanding in order to get beyond applying a formula.

Use activities that promote self exploration.

Letting students explore concepts to generate discussions and inquiry is a perfect way to bring discovery into your math lessons! One of my favorites to use with upper elementary students is the types of triangles classifying activity. Help your students explore different types of triangles with this simple group activity. When I was in school, we simply memorized definitions of triangles. With this activities, students identify triangles and create “always, sometimes, and never” statements on triangles. Overall, this activity builds conceptual understanding. I also love teaching my students about quadrilaterals conceptually! First, have students study the attributes of quadrilaterals. Give them time to explore and “play” with manipulatives. Exploring geometry (and other math concepts) makes them more clear for learners. I am all about hands-on teaching! Overall, giving students opportunities to explore and discover math concepts in your class will help them go beyond memorizing and understand the “why” behind the math!

The post How To Use Math Resources To Promote Discovery and “The Why” For Deeper Thinking appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

One of the most important things you will do in your classroom the first week of school is providing team building opportunities for your students. Students need to get to know to each other to build trust and respect. Your students will be expected to collaborate with one another throughout the year, so the earlier you can start this process the better. You’ll also build a classroom community where students feel accepted and safe.

The older your students are the harder it is to find team building activities that are age appropriate and ones they haven’t done before. Here are 10 team builders I have used in my classroom for upper elementary that are fan favorites amongst my students!

Digital Classroom Escapes

Nothing says teamwork like when you’re trapped in a room with a bunch of people and must depend on one another to get out. This Back to School Digital Escape isn’t as dramatic as that, but students must work together to navigate their way thru a series of digital locks and challenges to “break out.” My students also love the Growth Mindset Challenge which promotes perseverance and embracing challenging work.

First Day Fiasco Logic puzzler

Logic puzzlers are the perfect way to spark some problem solving the first week of school. Designed to be thought provoking, students must use deductive reasoning to solve the puzzler. Clues aren’t overtly obvious and sometimes it takes reading a clue a few times for it to click! I put my students in pairs for this activity so they can bounce ideas off one another. 

Free Fred

This activity is a fan favorite every year. Start by instructing your students that they are going to save a life today; this statement always gets their attention. Next, explain to students that Fred’s boat capsized and he needs to get out from under the boat and put his life vest (the peach gummy) on. Students must help Fred with his life vest, but they can ONLY touch the materials using a paper clip (one clip per student). Sounds simple, but it can get pretty tricky! 

Scattergories

This activity puts a twist on the traditional game of Scattergories. In this version the teacher will provide a topic for students. Students will think of words associated with that topic that begin with the letter shown. Quick and fun!

Apple Annihilator STEM Challenge

You will definitely score major “cool teacher” points with this activity. For this STEM challenge students will design and build an apple wrecking ball. My weeks my students talked about this activity and many noted that this was their favorite STEM challenge of the year. Implementing STEM activities in your classroom can feel overwhelming but Kerry Tracy includes videos and many handouts to guide you and your students.

Follow the Leader Lesson

If you’re looking for a way to pinpoint classroom leaders and students that need more guidance, this activity is for you. Students will take turns verbally dictating a specific directive to their group so students can complete the easy faces on the sheet. This activity promotes Active listening; a skill that is so important as students collaborate throughout the year on academic projects. 

Cup Tower Building Activity 

This activity is so fun! I found the idea on Pinterest. The prep is easy and the initial cost is low. Students must work together to stack the cups in certain formations while only using the rubber band/string contraption. CLICK HERE for more directions. 

Getting to Know You Puzzles

In this activity students will create a personal puzzle that illustrates different things about themselves. Students will team up with one another and solve each other’s puzzles. It’s a way nice for students to share unique traits, family details, or anything else that they are passionate about. 

Stand Up For Your Classmate

This activity carries a more serious component to it. Students will fill out a survey anonymously; some questions touch upon anxiety, bullying, and feelings of being left out. The teacher will collect all surveys and then redistribute the surveys back out to students. Students will each hold a survey that doesn’t belong to them. As the teacher reads aloud the statements on the survey students will stand if that particular sentence has been checked off on the survey that they are holding.The purpose is to show students that they are not alone in their feelings. Most of us share the same anxieties about the first day of school or taking tests, but everything is anonymous. 

Getting to Know You Jenga 

I found this activity from Jennifer Findley. It’s a great spin on the traditional getting to know you questions we have our students ask one another during the first week of school. Students will play Jenga with colored blocks. When they pull a block, they will then answer a question that is associated with the colored block they selected. Jennifer has a more detailed summary on her website, along with all the FREE templates you need. CLICK HERE to read more.

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Teaching division is a complex skill with a lengthy formula for students to remember. But learning and more importantly understanding division doesn’t start with memorizing procedural steps. In fact, teaching the standard algorithm of division should be the last thing you teach your students.

How To Start Your Division Unit

To ensure I target conceptual understanding I ask my students a simple question to launch our division unit.

What is division?

“Division is seeing how many times a number can go into a number.”

“Dividing is when you make a number smaller.”

“Division is the saying does McDonald’s serve burgers.”

Such responses as the three above illustrate a lack of understanding of the concept of division.

I don’t give my students the answer. Instead I make them work for it.

I give my students a bag of centimeter cubes. My students sit in groups of 4-5, so I put a specific number of cubes in the bag to ensure that there will be a remainder amongst students.

I ask them to divide the cubes amongst the people at their table.

This sparks great discussion. I walk around and listen. Your students will look to you for the answer. They will stare at you with big eyes screaming “HELP US!” Don’t cave in. Let them explore.

“How many should each person get?”

“Brian has more than me.”

“Who gets the extra cubes?”

“Everyone needs to have the same amount, that’s what divide means!”

BINGO. You want each group to come to the conclusion that every person should have the same number of cubes sitting in front of them.

As each group is arriving at this conclusion, I go over to each table and ask them to create a division equation that matches their work. I also ask them to label each number in their equation.

Now when I ask them what division is, I get the response I’m looking for. Division is putting objects into equal groups or putting the same amount of pieces into groups.

Take The Exploration To The Next Level

The next day I hand my groups another bag. This time the bag has base ten blocks. I give them the same prompt.

Divide the bag amongst the people at your table.

An even greater debate commences.

“How are we supposed to divide these?”

“I don’t get it!”

Finally, a group will approach me. “Can we trade a hundreds flat for 10 tens?” Sure! I complete the trade and the group forges on. Other groups start to catch up and pretty soon my room is transformed into a barter station.

These are simple but highly effective lessons to implement in your classroom. Don’t start with having students memorize steps or a weird saying about burgers. After your students conceptualize division then you can teach them the formula.

Sign up below for your FREE Division Task Cards!

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See Jane learn. Learn, Jane, learn.

Wouldn’t it be easy to have a class full of Janes? Imagine teaching a class where all the children were on the same, “average” level.

It might be easy, but it would also be boring! The challenge of teaching is meeting the needs of the children at the higher and lower ends of the learning spectrum. Even the same student can have varying needs. He may be “average” in math, need enrichment in reading, but need intervention for spelling.

It’s difficult to fully meet the needs of all my students. Therefore, I find it helpful to clearly define my goals for intervention and enrichment.

Intervention Defined

The official definition of an intervention is “a strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an existing skill to new situations or settings.” An intervention has specific, formal steps. It’s also tracked to measure your student’s progress.

Interventions are often associated with reading or math RTI, but they can come in all areas of student skills:

• Academic – can include study skills, time management, note-taking skills or organization
• Instructional – typically in reading or math
• Behavioral – to teach and reward positive behaviors

Implementing Intervention

Often, teachers think of intervention as below grade level work for struggling students. However, that’s a big mistake! Thinking of intervention that way shortchanges you and your students in a few ways:

• It cuts out students who need non-instructional interventions. Sometimes the life skills that you teach through behavioral or academic interventions are the most important of all.
• Does your grade level have a standardized test? If so, you have to teach the grade level content to weaker students, too.
• Students on grade level may need short-term, targeted interventions in a specific skill.

Creating intervention materials is time consuming, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Check out my intervention packs for loads of great resources for you and your students.

Enrichment Defined

The definition of enrichment is “meaningful instruction at a higher level for those who need it.” But enrichment doesn’t have to only be academic. Therefore, enrichment can include extra activities in:

• Student government
• Music
• Art
• Drama
• Science
• Game strategy
• New language

All those activities give students a chance to develop and expand important skills. However, these non-instructional enrichments usually happen outside the classroom.

Implementing Enrichment

Within the classroom, we face the challenge of enriching the students who already show mastery of the new material. Similarly to interventions, instructional enrichments are often misunderstood.

Enrichment is not just work that’s above grade level. It’s definitely not about simply giving students more to do. Because our goal is to create meaningful educational experiences we don’t want to punish the advanced student with busywork.

Meaningful enrichment can:

• Extend a student’s learning by having them explore or research a topic in greater detail. For example, a class is studying the Revolutionary War. A student can research an additional battle or find out more information about General Washington.
• Expand a student’s understanding of the material. This is easy to accomplish with attention to Bloom’s Taxonomy.  Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchy of thinking skills. For instance, a teacher might require the class to complete a sheet of multiplication problems. That assignment only tests knowledge. But she can ask her enrichment students to solve word problems that apply multiplication concepts to real life. Application is a higher-order thinking skill.
• Give a student a chance to learn a new skill. Don’t be afraid to think out of the box. You can offer your students opportunities to explore some of the non-instructional enrichments listed above. For example, the fourth grade is reading A Cricket in Times Square. Students can compose a song or perform a skit on the material as an enrichment exercise.

To keep class running smoothly, I like to prepare enrichment kits ahead of time. I have them available in bins or envelopes for students who finish their work early. Here’s a link to take a look at my Early Finisher Kits.

Enrichment or intervention, here’s to meeting the needs of all our students.

The post Understanding The Terms Intervention and Enrichment in the Classroom appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

If only it had turned around and seen the open door on the other side of the room.

As teachers, we’re all that poor fly sometimes. We have the best intentions to help our students succeed. When a method isn’t working, we’ll try harder, putting in more time and resources to solve the problem. Sometimes, though, we need to try smarter instead of trying harder.

That, in a nutshell, is what RTI is all about. For years teachers saw students struggling, but didn’t have an effective system for evaluating and assisting those students.

RTI is that elusive system. It’s a roadmap for assessing students’ skills and then using the data to choose the proper interventions.

What is RTI?

RTI stands for Response to Intervention. Throughout the process, the students are evaluated based on how they respond to the teacher’s interventions. The term became widespread starting in 2004 when IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) was reauthorized. The goal was two-fold:

• Make sure that students weren’t diagnosed with learning disabilities before having a fair chance with appropriate teaching best practices.
• Identify and address weak students before they fell so far behind that they needed special ed services.

Is RTI effective? According to famous researcher John Hattie, the answer is a resounding yes! Hattie’s research concluded that when teachers implement RTI properly students can advance by 2 to 3 grade levels in just one year!

Three RTI Tiered System

The RTI Model has three tiers of instruction:
1. Tier 1 is the strong, core teaching that every student should receive. In this tier, students are assessed two or three times a year to find weaknesses. Within this tier, a teacher will provide differentiated instruction to groups of students with particular gaps. If that strategy doesn’t work within 8 weeks or so, Tier 2 is introduced.

2. Tier 2 is specialized instruction that students receive in small groups a few times a week. Extra help is provided during enrichment activities or electives. That way, they don’t miss out on core instruction. We assess students in Tier 2 approximately every other week to track their progress. By the end of a grading period, a student should either be ready to go back to Tier 1 or moved into Tier 3.

3. Tier 3 is the highest level of intervention. Students receive data based individualized instruction targeted to their weaknesses. These children may be assessed weekly or even daily to make sure that they’re meeting their goals. If a student doesn’t show improvement the next step is an educational evaluation to facilitate movement into the special education framework.

These tiers should be fluid. Sometimes process needs to give way to common sense or parent/teacher intuition. A parent or teacher can ask for a special ed eval for a student at any time.

The Benefits of RTI

Why have educators jumped on the RTI bandwagon? Because it works!

Teachers who use RTI see multiple benefits:

• Early intervention means that fewer students enter the special education system. This saves the precious special education resources for the kids who truly need them.

• Students who need help can still receive their core instruction in the general education classroom.

• A child can get help before they fall so far behind that they need to attend summer school or repeat a grade.

• If a child is referred for special education services, there’s already lots of documentation about the child’s needs.

Pages and pages of research are available on all aspects of RTI. (If you like data, statistics and meta-analyses, check out rtinetwork.org.) Teachers can use RTI to improve outcomes in reading, math, behavior and more.

How to Implement RTI for Math Instruction

So far, we’ve been talking about RTI theory and concepts.

Now it’s time to get down in the trenches. In Parts 2 and 3 of this series, we’ll be looking at hands-on, practical tips for math-focused RTI.

The success of RTI is directly tied to the quality of the screenings and assessments you use. That’s why Part 2 will be packed with practical information on the materials you need for the RTI process. Look out for tips on how to find the best teacher-tested assessments to monitor and track your students.

Part 3 will focus on another crucial part of RTI: data tracking. We’ll cover the hows and whys. You’ll learn proven tips and best practices. You’ll see how to use your data to get top results for your students and collaborate with your administration and parents.

Stay tuned for more. Sign up for my newsletter or follow me on Pinterest to make sure you don’t miss out on the rest of this series.

The post What Every Teacher Needs to Know About RTI in the Math Classroom – Part 1 appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

Orchestrating effective parent-teacher conferences promises an array of positive outcomes for your students, their parents, and your role as an educator.

Conferences are a fantastic opportunity to help parents realistically understand and analyze their child’s ability, but sometimes that can be hard discussion to have. If a child is struggling it can be difficult for parents to come to terms with that fact. Emotions run high and things may become tense. Following these simple tips will help ensure that your parent-teacher conferences reach their optimal level, while giving the parents of your students a clear picture of their child’s ability.

Come prepared with samples of work that the student completed independently. 

During a conference, it’s important that parents feel they’ve gained a clear understanding of how their child is performing in the classroom, and recognize areas that need work. Chose samples of each students work which showcase areas of strength, as well as areas that need improvement. This will help provide parents with a clear picture of their child’s progress, strengths, and weaknesses. Providing parents with samples of their child’s work also helps to support specific points you bring up during the meeting.

Bring samples of assessments/standardized testing scores with graphs.

Using written assessment strategies to gain insight on each student’s progress and understanding is likely something you already practice in your classroom. Assessments are excellent tools to utilize during parent-teacher conferences. Bring samples of written assessments, along with routine quizzes and standardized testing scores. To avoid overwhelming parents with a stack of graded assessments to sort through, choose a few key pieces which represent their child’s overall strengths and areas that need improvement. Before the conference, prepare a graph that displays the assessment scores in a simplified data chart.

Compare the test scores of the student vs the class averages of the same assessment.

An effective and unbiased way to display a child’s academic ability is to construct a graph which depicts and compares the test scores of the student to the class average for the same assessment. Providing objective information about their child’s test scores helps the parent understand how their child is performing compared to the rest of the class. This serves as a good opportunity to discuss their child’s strengths and challenges, and to lay out some proactive improvement strategies. Be prepared to answer any questions the parents might have regarding the test scores.

Start the conference with positive attributes.

It is important for parents to feel like their child is seen and supported, they want to know that you like their child and have their best interest at heart. This is why it is important to open each conference on a positive note. Start by discussing strengths. Share a success story, something unique that stands out to you about their child, or any natural talents you’ve seen them display in the classroom. When it comes time to discuss more difficult topics or areas that need improvement, speak tactfully and make it known how important it is to you to help their child to succeed. Discuss strategies for improvements, listen to their input, and let them know you believe in their child.

BE HONEST but gentle.

The purpose of parent-teacher conferences is to give parents an accurate portrayal of their child’s academic performance. Honesty is important even when it feels difficult to bring up areas that require improvements, or while discussing behavioral issues. The key is to approach these topics gently and to establish a mutual understanding with the parent that it is necessary to address these challenges so that you can work to help their child overcome them. Some parents may perceive these topics in a negative or defensive way, but try to remain calm if they do. If things spiral in an unpleasant direction during a conference, it is always best to tactfully shift the subject towards the next topic you had planned to discuss during the meeting, or to respectfully bring the meeting to an end. 

Bring back up in the form of administration, guidance counselors, and support staff.

Having a trusted administrator, guidance counselor or support staff sit-in on the conference to act as a facilitator and to give additional support can be beneficial. If there is something specific you plan to discuss with the parent, having another staff member who is familiar with the matter will help the parent feel that they are being offered an unbiased summary. This approach is also particularly helpful if the tone of the conference happens to get heated.

It’s never easy having difficult discussions with parents. Come prepared with data and samples to support you. Prepare in advance. For more tips on parent-teacher conferences check out this blog post.

Check out the advice from my upper elementary teacher friends. Click on the advice to learn more about their tip for a successful school year and grab free reflection tools, checklists, questionnaires, and more!

• Kerry Tracy of Feel-Good Teaching says, “Take the time to reconnect with your calling to get you through the rough patches!”
• Tammy of Tarheelstate Teacher says, “At the end of the school year, reflect on your favorite lessons and experiences. Consciously plan to take what worked into the upcoming school year.“
• Brittany Hege of Mix and Math says, “Incorporate call and response chants as part of your classroom management…It will work for you and is fun for students!”
• Jeanine Schneider of Think Grow Giggle says, “The time spent building student relationships is the best time you will spend all year!”
• Laura Hurley of Reading by Heart says, “Build decoding independence by giving your readers white boards and teaching them to ‘operate on’ words they want to decode. This tip shows you how.”
• Kathie Yonemura of Tried & True Teaching Tools says, “Find your teacher tribe!”

The post Helping Parents Understand Their Child’s Ability appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

Prepare like a champion and do your homework.

Hopefully you’ve documented the struggles and achievements of each child in your room. It’s a big task, but from the parent’s perspective, this is the most important part of a conference. They’ll want to know where their child is struggling and where they can improve.

I would suggest having an organized system for conferences. If you devote time to creating an outline and jotting down the most important things you’d like to discuss, time won’t get away from you, and you’ll have a productive meeting.

If you haven’t adequately prepared for the conference, and you haven’t done your homework, the parents will likely be unimpressed, and you’ll have a tough time recovering from a tarnished relationship with them. It’s much harder to be a teacher in a classroom where parents aren’t on your team.

Invite the parent(s) to express thoughts/concerns.

Parents want to be heard, above all. They want to feel invited to share any thoughts and concerns they may have about their child, your instruction, the classroom, or even other students. Give them time to vent, ask questions, and give you feedback. In the meantime, keep your cool. Reacting emotionally instead of logically can damage your reputation and your relationship. Write down the concerns that parents bring to you. This will help you in step 5: make a plan for following through.

Be ready for surprises.

Parents enjoy taking an opportunity with a new teacher to talk about the difficulties they may have had in the past. They also may want to use this time to vent about their frustrations or struggles at home. Oftentimes, parent teacher conferences involve much more than just discussion of the child. Remember that the way you handle yourself during a conference says a lot about who you are, personally and professionally. Keep your cool and do not engage in bad-mouthing another teacher. Instead, move the conversation back to the experience they are currently having, and offer to do what you can to make their child’s experience a better one.

Keep your tone (and your focus) positive.

No parent wants to sit through 20-30 minutes of “your child should be doing better.” Instead, focus on keeping your comments positive. Encourage parents to provide ideas on how you can all succeed. Is there anything you can do to make their student’s experience in your classroom more enjoyable or easier? Parents will respect that you’re putting yourself out there. Make them feel as though the burden for their child to succeed isn’t only on their shoulders – you are part of their team. Parents will leave your parent teacher conference feeling much more confident in their child’s ability and much more comfortable with who you are personally and professionally. 

Make a follow-through plan with the parents.

When parents express concerns, they’re hoping for something to change. Sending their child to school in a classroom where they’re unhappy is no parent’s dream. During parent-teacher conferences, write down any concerns that parents may bring up, and before the conference is over, make sure you have a plan. If you really want to go a step further, encourage them to reach out to you at different checkpoints; maybe later in the fall or just before winter break. This will help you hold yourself accountable and will give parents “permission” to check-in on how things are going with their student.

Parent-teacher conferences can be intimidating – especially for new teachers. Instead of dreading them, see them as an opportunity to grow closer to your student’s families. Building relationships is half of the battle when you’re a teacher and having parents on “your side” will aid you tremendously throughout your career. Parents need to feel that they can trust you; that they can come to you when there’s an issue. Describe your open-door policy, and remind them that email is always a great way to communicate. If you work in a school where parent involvement is lacking, make sure you emphasize how willing you are to work around their schedule – whether that’s a phone conversation or an early morning meeting. Families are truly a part of who your students are. A parent-teacher conference is your opportunity to become just a small part of their family.

The post 5 Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

Though there are literally hundreds of videos available to watch, there are a select few that are incredibly important for teachers. Ranging from improving instruction to staying motivated in a tough profession, the following 5 TED talks will ignite a fire under you; they’ll remind you why you became a teacher in the first place:

Bill Gates: Teachers Need Real Feedback

Bill Gates discusses our education system in terms of how we give teachers feedback in order to stimulate improvement. His statistics are mind-blowing and will spark your inner drive to become better at what you do. Gates describes how Shanghai ensures new, young teachers are mentored by master teachers, ensuring that quality instructional practices are passed on. The Gates Foundation’s “Measures of Effective Teaching” project has partnered with 3,000 teachers across the country, and, in this TED talk, you’ll see how the project is helping teachers learn from their actions through video recording. Your classroom performance will improve after spending just ten minutes watching this TED talk.

Rita Pierson: Every Kid Needs a Champion

Just a few minutes out of your day with Rita Pierson will inspire you; not just to become a better teacher, but to become a better person. She emphasizes relationships, and how important you are in each and every one of your student’s lives. Her humorous stories will easily keep you engaged, and her ideas will leave you wanting more. My favorite phrase comes at the end of her talk, “Is this job tough? You betcha. Oh God, you betcha. But it is not impossible. We can do this. We’re educators. We’re born to make a difference.”

Carol Dweck: The Power of Believing You Can Improve

As “growth mindset” classroom décor becomes more and more popular on various teacher websites, sometimes you might lose sight of what having and teaching a growth mindset really means. Dweck uses studies, science, and facts to detail how important it is to teach your students that life and learning are about moving forward. One of her most powerful questions asks society if we’re raising our students to make A’s or if we’re raising them to dream big. One thing is for sure: she’ll have you sitting back and re-thinking your daily classroom routine.

Kelly McGonigal: How to Make Stress Your Friend

Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal discusses stress in regard to perspective. Did you know that changing how you think about stress can actually make you healthier? Instead of dreading the stack of papers you have at home to grade, or feeling pressured to complete your professional development hours, view your quickened heart rate and increased body temperature as your body rising to the challenge. McGonigal also discusses how caring for others, spending time volunteering, and generally doing good for the world can greatly impact the effect of stressful events on your body. As an educator, stress simply comes with the territory. But after listening to Kelly McGonigal’s TED talk, you’ll know exactly how to handle the upcoming semester. 

Astro Teller: The Unexpected Benefit of Celebrating Failure

One of the more common thoughts in the mind of a student is what happens if I fail? Because our society has made failing such a negative experience, it is often what people are most afraid of. Even adults in their “adult jobs” are afraid of failing, and therefore may resist a chance to explore a dream or a new idea. Astro Teller’s TED talk on celebrating failure will change the way you “fail” in your own classroom. Instead of wiping your slate clean and heading back to the drawing board, you’ll get out an eraser and tweak what didn’t work. Because failing is what drives us to improve,failing is celebrated. After watching, you’ll want to head into your classroom with the attitude that mistakes and failing are just another part of the learning process – there’s nothing to be afraid of.

If you haven’t signed up to receive TED recommendations, it could truly change both your professional and personal life. You’ll be intrigued at the number of topics people give talks on, and you’ll wind up yearning for a video more and more often. It’ll be good for you – especially as an educator.

The post 5 TED Talks Every Teacher Should Listen To appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

If you’re like many teachers, though, these concepts are new. It wasn’t how you learned math. It wasn’t how you trained to teach math.

Yet, the stakes are high. Students who don’t understand math lock themselves out of crucial STEM based careers

So, how do you learn to integrate those practices into your math teaching? As a math teacher, you give your students hands-on guidance, examples and real-world applications to understand new concepts.

Here are three of my favorite math professional development books that give you all that and more:

1) Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching By Jo Boaler

Most of us have heard about Carol Dweck and her research into the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Jo Boaler applies this idea to learning and teaching math.

We’ve all had students (often girls!) tell us that they’re not good at math. Is that a fixed mindset, or what?

Boaler explains how it’s possible to move children from fixed mindset math thinking to growth mindset math thinking. This includes the many children who experienced “math trauma” and damaging messages in the past. She uses a two pronged approach of better teaching methods and growth oriented messages so that all children can learn and excel at math.

Boaler presents the science behind the theory. Then she offers practical ideas and suggestions for changing our messages, improving our math activities, and overhauling our assessments.

The original book is now expanded as a series, with books dedicated to all different ages and levels.

2)  Visible Learning for Mathematics By John Hattie, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

A math teacher can get lost in the forest of math resources and activities available today. Do I need to cram in more variety? Which approach is right for which student or age level? How do I have time in my math block for it all?

The premise of Visible Learning is that it’s not about which activity you choose. It’s about when you choose that activity and how you implement it. The authors present three phases of learning:

• Surface learning phase when students learn new concepts on a procedural level.
• Deep learning phase when students become proficient in the procedures and deepen their understanding to conceptual learning.
• Transfer phase when students move on to independent thinking and application of the new concept.

Visible Learning is very hands-on. It includes templates, rubrics, charts, examples, and videos. It takes strategies such as vocabulary, meta-cognition, questions types and many more and shows how to use them for the different stages of the learning cycle.

You don’t have to be a math teacher to know that 300 million is a very, very large number. That’s the number of students involved in the research for this book! Like the previous resource, it’s also expanded into an entire series.

3) Reimagining the Mathematics Classroom  (an NCTM publication) By Cathery Yeh, Mark W. Ellis, Carolee Koehn HurtadoBy Cathery Yeh, Mark W. Ellis, Carolee Koehn Hurtado

Setting up math rotations involves more than cutting up flash cards. Successful math rotations depend on the proper use of physical space. With the wrong set-up, Jimmy and Johnny are wrestling on the floor instead of playing math games.

And that’s just one example. How do you create a classroom space that encourages deep thinking and understanding? How do you set up your classroom routines with both structure and flexibility?

Reimagining the Mathematics Classroom is a great resource for these kinds of questions. It gives advice on rules, routines, assessments and integrating technology. The book even includes extensive advice on the elusive goal of parental involvement.

You’ll get loads of examples, pictures and case studies to learn from. Buying the book also gives you access to supplementary materials on NCTM’s More4U website.

These are my top picks for math professional development books to help you help your students with best practices in teaching math.

Any faves of your own? Let me know!

The post 3 Professional Development Books Every Math Teacher Should Read appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.