Brent Robertson- Teaching 101

The book that I read was “Teaching 101: Classroom Strategies for the Beginning Teacher” by Jeffrey Glanz. Teaching 101 is written so that it is useful for new teachers, independent of what grade they will be teaching. Each chapter title is phrased as a question that a new teacher might ask, such as “How should I write lesson plans?”. This book really makes an effort to cover everything a new teacher needs to know, but obviously because of that it can't go into a huge amount of detail on any individual topic. However the book is filled with tips and strategies for classroom management, to lesson planning and everything in between. It also includes reflections and activities which enhance the reading in many ways. I will give a quick summary of each chapter and include some of the tips and strategies. Frankly there are too many for me to include nearly all of them, which is why I strongly recommend reading this book for yourself.

Chapter 1: Why do we teach?

The first chapter of the book argued that teaching is more of a calling than it is a profession, saying that most teachers chose the job because it gives them a sense of purpose and fulfilment (Glanz, 2004, 5-7). While Glanz does not deny the importance of the knowledge and skills teachers instill in their students, he says that what's most important is how we influence what kind of people they become. This is more a matter of the heart than of the mind.

Chapter 2: What makes a good teacher?

This chapter includes one of the great reflections/activities that I talked about earlier. It challenges us to imagine what we would want a student to say about us when we retire, what kind of teacher were we? My list included caring, passionate, professional, funny/interesting, and knowledgeable. The chapter lists the following attributes as belonging to a good teacher: Introspective, high self-efficacy, caring, fair, professional, likes to learn, has content knowledge, has pedagogical knowledge, has social skills, plans ahead, can manage the classroom, and has a pleasant disposition (Glanz, 2004, 21-22). I think this is a good list to keep in mind and work on.

Chapter Tip: The Ten Commandments of Human Relations

1)Speak to People.

2)Smile at people.
3)Call people by name.
4)Be friendly and helpful
5)Be nice.
6)Be genuinely interested in people
7)Be generous with praise and cautious with criticism
8)Be considerate of other people's feelings
9)Be eager to lend a helping hand
10) Have a good sense of humour, lots of patience and humility.

Chapter 3: Who are the students in my class?

This chapter shows new teachers the things they need to know about their students. Do they have special physical or learning needs? What kind of learning styles and intelligences do they have? How do factors such as culture or socioeconomic class affect their learning? The chapter discusses these factors and why they are important for educators. It goes on to lists 5 basic needs of students for teachers to be aware of: belonging, security, power, freedom, and fun (Glanz, 2004, 47-48). The concepts of inclusion and differentiated learning are also discussed.

Chapter Tip: How to implement Differentiated Instruction (partial)

-Differentiated instruction occurs when a range of activities is provided, whole-class instruction, small-group activities, individualized actives and student teacher conferences.

-Differentiated instruction occurs when teachers allow students to express themselves in diverse ways

-Differentiated instruction occurs when teachers consider that students learn differently and must construct meaning on their own.

-Differentiated Instruction occurs when teachers allow students to take responsibility for their own learning.

Chapter 4: How should I write lesson plans?

Lesson plans are essential because they force new teachers to think about the process, they provide reminders, allow you to work towards goals, and give you something to reflect upon and change. Things to keep in mind when planning lessons include your objectives, what will motivate students, what kind of questions you might ask, what work you will assign and how you will assess your students. This chapter also explains the levels of Bloom's taxonomy, a very important teaching tool. The chapter describes how to evaluate your lessons and provides several sample lesson plans for you to evaluate.

Chapter Tip: Homework Guidelines

1)Develop Classroom Homework in line with school policy

2)Coordinate amount and type of homework with other teachers
4)Homework must be relevant, interesting and appropriate for the level of the student
5)Never use homework as a punishment
8)Students should not be permitted to go home without fully understanding the homework
9)Don't give homework unless you will grade, return and review it
10)Differentiate assignments

Chapter 5: Can I effectively manage my classroom?

This chapter lists the five levels of misbehaviour; aggression, immorality, defiance of authority, class disruptions and goofing off (Glanz, 2004, 108). It also separates discipline into three stages; preventative, supportive and corrective. Preventative discipline is the stage where you plan to prevent misbehaviour. This includes coming up with rules, changing the classroom environment, and using positive reinforcers for good behaviour (Glanz, 2004, 109-110). Supportive discipline is employed in the early stages, when you first detect misbehaviour. It includes being perceptive and calling out misbehaviour, using proximity to help you control the class and using non-verbal signals to show disapproval (Glanz, 2004, 111-112). The corrective stage is the last stage, where misbehaviour requires direct confrontation. Strategies for the corrective stage are being assertive, applying consequences, giving time outs, or coming to agreements with the student (Glanz, 2004, 112-113). While this chapter does give tips, it stresses that every teacher needs to find their own personal discipline strategy.

Chapter 6: How can I help my students learn?

This chapter is basically a repository of strategies and tips for students, some of which are geared towards younger learners, others which are useful for note-taking and studying. Teaching these strategies to students will help them take responsibility for their learning and boost their academic performance.

Chapter Strategies:
Strategy #6: Ask Questions and Ask Teacher to repeat: Encourage students to ask questions. Inform class that you are willing to repeat and further explain any idea mentioned in class.

Strategy #8: Listen, then put the teacher’s ideas into your own words: Teach them to paraphrase. Model an activity for them and have them practice with your guidance and correction.

Strategy #2: Re-write your notes: Rewriting notes aids review.

Strategy #5: Study five minutes each night reviewing the day's lesson

Chapter 7: How can I best incorporate state and district community standards
Since this is an American book not everything in this chapter is relevant to Canadian teachers. It's still worth reading, but I'm going to focus my attention more on other chapters.

Chapter 8: How can I begin to incorporate technology into my teaching?

This chapter details the skills and knowledge we should teach our students about technology. It also gives us a handy guide for students to use when evaluating websites. How can you tell a website is authoritative? Tips include checking for the author's credentials and whether he lists his sources. How can you tell if a website is comprehensive? Make sure the information provided is accurate and that political, ideological and other biases are not evident, etc. Other factors to consider include the stability of the website and the last time it was updated. This chapter also lists websites that are useful for educators, far more than I can include. Unfortunately not all the websites are still functional. Here are a few I handpicked:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html

http://www.nasa.gov

http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm

http://www.teachershelpingteachers.org/

I heartily recommend this book to new teachers. It's handy and easy to read. It points out things that teachers need to be aware of, and also offers many good tips and strategies. Overall I feel as if the book and it's suggestions fall in line with what we've learned in class and with the philosophy of the faculty.