Celebrate the Year

We’re quickly approaching the time of year when resolutions are set and we put what we want to do better at the top of our list. How often, though, do we invest as much thought in celebrating all of the things we’ve done well over the past year? In these few days before the Holiday break, help your students celebrate their growth and achievements in the past year (or semester!). Think of the good deeds you’ve witnessed, the improvement in grades, all of the effort that went into that “ah-ha!”, the positive outlook… Follow this link to a template you can print off and jot a quick note to individual students.

Leadership Development Tip for December 22, 2008

Adding Artwork to Your Materials

Clip art was so 1990. Okay, so maybe it has its purpose now and again, but the next time you need artwork to help solidify a point or illustrate a concept, check out Pics4Learning. It’s a website created just for teachers and students.

Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library. The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been donated by students, teachers and amateur photographers. Unlike many Internet sites, permission has been granted for teachers and students to use all of the images donated to the Pics4Learning collection.

If you have your own collection of photos with educational merit, upload them here so others can enjoy them too.

Other image bank sites for teachers:
· Civil War
· Depression Era
· EduPic
· Maps
· NASA Image eXchange
· Roosevelt Presidential Library

· US Air Force
· US Fish and Wildlife Service
· US Navy Images

Classroom Engagement Tip for December 22, 2008

Ready for Resolutions

Tis the season to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Here’s a great You Tube video we found to get you in the mood.






While the video suggest forgetting resolutions, we think they provide a great opportunity o promote leadership development with your students. Here’s an idea we brainstormed:

Announce during class that New Year’s is around the corner and that part of your tradition (at least starting this year) is to have each class come to a consensus about a New Year’s Resolution. Here are the rules:
- The resolution must increase positive behavior that can be applied in this class
- Everyone in the class must support the resolution
- The resolution must be realistic

Use the opportunity to teach about how to build consensus and work together in accomplishing a common goal.

Once the resolution is settled, write it down and post in the room for all to see. Your task is to help hold the group accountable through the weeks and months of the new year. Each time you reference the resolution they made use the opportunity to speak about the importance of follow-through and commitment to excellence; all traits of effective leaders.

Leadership Development tip for the week of December 15, 2008

Getting All Students to Think About College

A great resource website is up and running, KnowHow2Go.org, and it effectively and clearly lays out the case for going to college. You should take a few minutes yourself to review some of the facts and tips (especially the ones for mentors).

Teachers often think most students have already had someone talk about preparing for college with them. That may be true for some, but likely there are many others who are under-informed to make good planning decisions.

Remember, it’s not just preparing for a 4-year college or university. Many of today’s most in-demand jobs require degrees from community colleges and technical schools and the preparation for going to these schools is nearly the same.

Here are a few ideas for sharing this website:

1. Use as a discussion following a quiz or test
Take 5-10 minutes during class to project the website using an LCD projector. Explain how your class is helping them prepare for both college and a future career. Encourage students to write down the site address and to ask questions about preparing for college.

2. Post a link with description on your webpage
Many of you have a webpage on your school’s site. On your page add a note about the importance of college for all careers and post a link to the KnowHow2Go website.

3. Add a link to your email signature
Your email signature likely includes your contact information and might include a favorite quote of the school’s mission statement. If you’re allowed (check your IT policies) add a link to the KnowHow2Go website with a statement encouraging everyone to check it out.

4. Include in notes and progress reports home to parents
Use communication to parents as an opportunity to help them prepare their students for life after school, too. Share the website address and tell them about the great resources available on the site.

5. Provide “prizes” to students who look up the site on their own time
For fun, take time to make a virtual scavenger hunt using the site. Challenge students to find all the information on the website. When students have found all the information provide prizes of pencils, stickers, etc.

Resources like this website are excellent ways to help students help themselves in their college and career planning.

Career Development tip for the week of December 15, 2008

Inviting Students to Be Active Learners

Last week I read an interesting article about learner engagement. The author drew a strong distinction between just "showing up" and truly "active" learning. I have to admit this article like any other on the topic struck a cord with me.

(Allow me a moment on my soapbox...) All too often we mistake simply "showing up and going through the motions" as real engagement. It reminded me of an article I wrote about how to create active learning. You can check it out here: Inviting Students to the Active Learning Process. I wrote the article to agricultural educators (I must admit... I am one!), but I think the underlying principles "stick" in any classroom. If you're a skimmer, like me, then you may want to skip the intro (nice academic background stuff...) and head on over to the third column on the first page. Start reading after the sub-heading there and I think you'll find the most useful information on pages 2 and 3. Enjoy!

Professional Development Tip for 12.3.08

Smart Art is Your Friend

You’ve heard the mantra of graphic and advance organizers for years. Quit wasting your time drawing them by hand! Open up an Office 2007 program, choose INSERT and click on SMARTART. Choose the graphic that meets your needs, enter your information, play with the colors or the layout and you have a beautiful graphic organizer! Below are a just two examples.


Want some more resources on creating effective advance organizers? Check out these sites:

• Ausubel's Theory - Ausubel originally proposed advance organizers as an instructional tool.
• Example Advance Organizers - A great page with a few easy to use examples!

Classroom Engagement Tip for 12.3.08