Beliefs and Their Impact Fall Meeting, Central Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics October 8, 2009 Cynthia L. Schne

1. Beliefs and Their Impact Fall Meeting, Central Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics October 8, 2009 Cynthia L. Schneider, Ph.D. cschneider@mail.utexas.edu

2. Purpose: To ultimately enhance the quality of our school environment and the effectiveness of our teaching.

4. But first the context�. Belief Systems Mission/Vision/Values

6. Facilitator Notes: Recommendations include the 5 positive strategies on p. 86, the ratio on p. 56, the reality check on p.57, the making it personal on p. 79. ? (10 min) Take 1-2 minutes to reflect individually. Then have a table discussion. Identify a reporter that will be willing to share one of your answers to these questions. ? (15 min) Popcorn out to whole group example or answers to these questions. Facilitator Notes: Recommendations include the 5 positive strategies on p. 86, the ratio on p. 56, the reality check on p.57, the making it personal on p. 79. ? (10 min) Take 1-2 minutes to reflect individually. Then have a table discussion. Identify a reporter that will be willing to share one of your answers to these questions. ? (15 min) Popcorn out to whole group example or answers to these questions.

8. Facilitator Notes: ? (15 min) Take 3-4 minutes to jot down your individual ideas; have a table discussion about these questions. Be ready to share 2 book references about the causes and impact of a negative culture and one example of the difference between negativity and constructive criticism, have a recorder capture these ideas on a post-it note. ? (10 min) Facilitators will collect references and examples generated by groups on sticky notes and place them on poster paper, facilitator will share consequences with the whole group. (So we�re only debriefing orally on the consequences.) Facilitator Notes: ? (15 min) Take 3-4 minutes to jot down your individual ideas; have a table discussion about these questions. Be ready to share 2 book references about the causes and impact of a negative culture and one example of the difference between negativity and constructive criticism, have a recorder capture these ideas on a post-it note. ? (10 min) Facilitators will collect references and examples generated by groups on sticky notes and place them on poster paper, facilitator will share consequences with the whole group. (So we�re only debriefing orally on the consequences.)

10. Facilitator Notes: This is about delving in to the Five Strategies and giving folks an opportunity to brainstorm ways they can see these being used. ? (10 min) Take 1-2 minutes to self-reflect; have a table discussion. ? (10 min) Free choice to create a summary of each table�s discussion into a two-minute report. (Act it out, sing a song, make a poster, mime, draw a picture, etc.) ? (30 min) Have each group make their two-minute report to the whole group. Facilitator Notes: This is about delving in to the Five Strategies and giving folks an opportunity to brainstorm ways they can see these being used. ? (10 min) Take 1-2 minutes to self-reflect; have a table discussion. ? (10 min) Free choice to create a summary of each table�s discussion into a two-minute report. (Act it out, sing a song, make a poster, mime, draw a picture, etc.) ? (30 min) Have each group make their two-minute report to the whole group.

23. Positive Strategies Catch yourself before uttering a negative comment Shine a light on what is right Make best friends Give unexpectedly Do unto others as they would have you do unto them (Reverse the Golden Rule) From How Full is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. (2004) Big Ideas by Chapter according to the Design Team discussion on June 5: Chap. 1 Negativity Kills We all have a bucket How full our bucket is determines how well we are doing Chap. 2 Positivity, Negativity, and Productivity Examples Praise should be meaningful to the person being praised Distinguish between negativity and constructive criticism Chap. 3 Every Moment Matters Frequency of positive and negative comments Culture of negativity, we in the U.S. have a weakness-based approach Chap. 4 Tom�s Story: An Overflowing Bucket Focus on the positive does not imply ignorance of the negative Chap. 5 Making It Personal Individualize, individualize, individualize Chap. 6 Five Strategies for Increasing Positive Emotions Five strategies Big Ideas by Chapter according to the Design Team discussion on June 5: Chap. 1 Negativity Kills We all have a bucket How full our bucket is determines how well we are doing Chap. 2 Positivity, Negativity, and Productivity Examples Praise should be meaningful to the person being praised Distinguish between negativity and constructive criticism Chap. 3 Every Moment Matters Frequency of positive and negative comments Culture of negativity, we in the U.S. have a weakness-based approach Chap. 4 Tom�s Story: An Overflowing Bucket Focus on the positive does not imply ignorance of the negative Chap. 5 Making It Personal Individualize, individualize, individualize Chap. 6 Five Strategies for Increasing Positive Emotions Five strategies