Important Information Every New Teacher Should Know!

1. Important Information Every New Teacher Should Know! By: Nicole Seamans, Kelly Quinn, and Todd Hilmes

2. Overview • Motivations to teach • Classroom and student needs • Student engagement and using reflective practices in the classroom

3. Motivations to teach • Why is teaching attractive to many? • What can a teacher hope to accomplish? • What qualities do a good teacher possess?

4. Why is teaching attractive to many? • Impact on students—knowledge and future • “Convenient reasons” • Making a difference—Ghandi, Martin Luther King, etc.

5. What can a teacher hope to accomplish? • Many goals! • Academic • Social setting, richer moral fabric, and improved academic achievement • Engage community! • Remember why you are teaching!

6. What qualities do a good teacher possess? • Prepared to meet the needs/challenges of students • Academic, flexible, and enthusiastic • Support the learning of students

7. Classroom and student needs • What do students really need?What does a good classroom look like?What does a good classroom feel like?

8. What do Students Really Need? All of these needs relate to classroom management Safe environment to learn Respect from teachers and peers High expectations on their behavior

9. What do Students Really Need? • Accountability • Differentiation of teaching styles • High expectations of learning • Excited to learn All of these needs relate to rigor in the classroom

10. What does a good classroom look like? • Clearly stated goals and objectives • Routines and structures are in place • Engaging students and purposeful teaching • Learning is modeled through critical thinking

11. What does a good classroom feel like? • Sense of community • Positive atmosphere • Respect shared amongst all members

12. Student engagement and using reflective practices in the classroom • What is truly meaningful in student learning? • How does a classroom become a place of reflective practice?

13. What really matters? • Students are physically and emotionally safe and secure. • Students have learned. • Students are engaged in their own learning. • Students are successful and excited about learning.

14. How can teachers help raise everyone’s achievement? • A teacher who is reflective and thoughtful about their own practice will strive to improve. • A teacher who differentiates instruction and assessment for individuals will see a better picture of learning. • A teacher who promotes and encourages learning will inspire improvement.

15. Reflective Practice: It makes a difference!!! • Every learner knows their strengths and weaknesses. • It creates personal connections to material taught. • It compels ownership in the learning process for the learner.

16. Values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes: How do we know which are of most worth? • Personal opinion – but involve your school community. • Consider the cultural characteristics of your students • Knowledge of material and being positive are always in style! • Respect that others have their own beliefs

17. The Student, The Classroom • Whenever possible, empower students to have control over learning options in the classroom. • Enforce respect and model it at all times to all people. • Don’t be afraid to ask and answer questions.

18. Conclusion • Why teach? • What are the needs of your students and how meeting those needs? • How are you engaging your students?

19. Bibliography Canestrari, A. S., & Marlowe, B. A. (2004). Educational foundations : An anthology of critical readings. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. Ellis, A. K. (2001). Teaching, learning, and assessment together : The reflective classroom. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.