Thursday 13 March 2014

Jaylene Hoffman A12 - “The First Days of School” by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong




Jaylene Hoffman - “The First Days of School” by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong

Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: how to be an effective teacher (4th ed.).    Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.


Summary
The text that I selected to review for my teacher’s toolbox entry was “The First Days of School” by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong. This incredible husband and wife duo are award-winning teachers, authors, and owners of their own production company. In addition, Harry Wong is an extremely sought after speaker and has received endless outstanding awards and acknowledgements for his contribution to education. A friend of mine, who is also a teacher, gave me this book when I entered the Faculty of Education, emphasizing its practicality and ability to provide imperative tips that only veteran teachers could offer. With this glowing recommendation in mind, I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to sit down and crack open this book, reflecting on the ideas offered in this text, and adding them to the pool of strategies provided by my peers.
This text was delivered in a practical, yet inspirational way that allowed me to not only gain valuable tips, but also created excitement about the thought of implementing them myself. The ultimate message that this book delivered was the meaning of effective teaching and the impact that an effective teacher could have on a student’s learning experience. In order to achieve this goal, it was emphasized that these practices must be implemented starting from the very first day of school. It was stated repeatedly that “what you do in the first days of school to affect the lives of your students will determine your success the rest of the year” (pg. 9). The text provided tips on how to handle situations that were not addressed during university class or in student teaching, such as how to start the first day of school, how to handle transitions, or how to effectively organize a classroom. It provided new teachers, who may have limited experience and exposure to these situations, with insider advice from other teachers and research-based methods of instruction.

Throughout the book there were snapshots (shown below) that summed up the key points for each chapter in an easy to follow list. This was a very small detail, however I appreciated it immensely as it allowed me to place the points of discussion back into the overall context and purpose of that particular section.
(pg. 13) 

According to Harry and Rosemary Wong, an effective teacher is comprised of the following characteristics: positive expectations, classroom management, and lesson mastery. The book is broken down into five sections, with an introduction, a section on each of the three characteristics of an effective teacher, and a concluding section describing the never-ending desire to learn that is necessary within this profession. Therefore, this book provided an incredibly valuable look at how new teachers can effectively begin their year and set their class on a path for success. I know I will definitely be turning to this book for support when the anxiety about the first days of teaching sets in and it is comforting to know that I will always have such a helpful resource to turn to.

Resources
I will break down each of the five sections into the strategies and ideas that I found the most meaningful.
Unit A: Basic Understandings
The power of effective teaching was established with the following observations (pg. 23):

The importance of using “proven, research-based teaching practices” was also highlighted, emphasizing the large volume of research and knowledge that teachers should utilize in their teaching practice. 

Unit B: First Characteristic - Positive Expectations
“Students tend to learn as little or as much as their teachers expect. Teachers who set and communicate high expectations to all their students obtain greater academic performance from these students than teachers who set low expectations” (pg. 42) and thus “will greatly influence their achievement in class and in their lives” (pg. 37). 
This section provided interesting ideas to welcome students to school on their first day to set positive expectations from the very beginning, including having a first day of school celebration, a school newspaper to illustrate school values and spirit, guides in the hall, greeters at the door, and a warm, friendly message at the door.
Promoting positive student behaviour by displaying manners and thanking students for their effort or kind actions can also go a long way to establish the level of expectation that you are setting in the classroom.

Unit C: Second Characteristic - Classroom Management
This was declared to be the most important unit in the book and the first clarification made was how effective teachers manage their classrooms, while ineffective teachers discipline their classrooms (pg. 82). It was stated that “the most important thing a teacher can provide in the classroom during the first week of school is consistency” (pg. 83). Students will feed off of a teacher’s disorganization, thus it is imperative to maintain a predictable schedule during the start of the year.

The first step was the process of preparing a safe and organized classroom environment. This involved preparing the floor space, work area, student area, wall space, bookcases, and teacher area. Point form tips were provided for each of these areas. The level of detail required for this intensive planning and organizing was quite remarkable! Considering factors such as the proximity of the teacher’s desk to the students, flow of traffic in the classroom, identifying a place to hand work in, and having a method of matching students to desks (to name a few) are all decisions that must be carefully considered BEFORE the first day even begins.
This section also suggests sending a letter home to each student before school begins, ensuring the classroom is clearly marked, and making an effort to communicate with parents before school even starts. Here are some ideas on how to do this! (pg. 103)



Another suggestion was to arrange the desks according to the type of task that is being carried out and the form of communication required by the students. Some examples are shown below (pg. 116).


           The importance of establishing procedures was a major part of this unit and through the three step process of teaching, rehearsing, and reinforcing, procedures can become student routines (pg. 193).
In the picture shown below, a morning routine has been established. Bellwork assignments are implemented in this example to provide immediate instruction to students as they enter the classroom. These instructions are posted on the whiteboard or SMART Board to eliminate any possible confusion or miscommunication. There are many other similar terms for this idea, such as energizer, prime time, DOL (Daily Oral Language), or WOD (Word of the Day) (pg. 127).



Unit D: Third Characteristic - Lesson Mastery
Harry and Rosemary Wong refer to mastery as “how well a student can demonstrate that a concept has been comprehended, or perform a skill at a level of proficiency, as determined by the teacher” (pg. 13).

When it comes to creating lessons, there were four steps that were determined to be critical in creating an effective assignment:  
1.     Determine what you want the students to accomplish
2.     Write each accomplishment as a single sentence  (objective)
3.     Give the students a copy of the same sentences
4.     Post or send these sentences home with the students (pg. 227)
 As my faculty advisor explained, learning should not be like a surprise party, the objective should be clearly stated at the beginning of the lesson, not pop up unknowingly at the end.  

Finally, the backward design process was also introduced as an effective planning technique to reach the desired objectives.
The backward design process includes these steps:
Step 1. Identify Desired Results.
Step 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence (form of assessment for desired learning.)
Step 3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction (pg. 260)

Unit E: Future Understandings - The Professional
Beg, Borrow, and Steal! (pg. 301)
Or in other words, take every resource you can get your hands on from fellow colleagues!

“The First Days of School” DVD - describes Chelonnda Seroyer, a first year teacher, implement the step by step instructions laid out in the text. This is an amazing resource and if there is any confusion or question as to how to apply a certain strategy, a video representation can be loaded in seconds.

Check out this site for additional resources such as…
-       - Important questions to ask during an interview
-       - First day of school scripts
-       - Seating configurations

Critique
Overall, the text succeeded in finding an ideal balance between providing practical advice and motivational support. The layout created a magazine like appearance, with statements from teachers, key points, and quotations in the margins, in an easy to follow format. I found the text to be very well suited for early years teachers as well, focusing on the importance of implementing this style of effective teaching from a young age. I appreciated the level of detail that was used when discussing every element necessary to organize and plan for the first day of school. It opened my eyes to factors that I had not considered and will now plan for as a result. Although some may argue that several sections covered in the text are common sense in nature, such as professional dress, I think it is still advantageous to review and remind ourselves of the reasons behind the actions we routinely complete.  
Connecting the strategies offered in this text to some of the theories presented in class, there were both contradictions and areas of collective agreement. The topic of motivation was a connecting link; both stressing its importance and role in maintaining engagement and ensuring that learning is a positive experience. In addition, the connection between establishing positive expectations to increase positive student behaviour was also a common thread.
However, I found that the book did not really address the topic of holistic development. As Kohn stated “we should be supporting children’s physical, emotional, social, moral, and artistic growth as well as their intellectual growth” (2011). The message of this book, however, revolved around the idea that effective teaching ultimately leads to success. I believe this theory is slightly flawed, as there are so many other ongoing factors that contribute to a student’s learning experience. Further discussion about these outside factors and concurrent areas of development could have helped to enrich this text even more.
In regards to the issue of classroom management, Charles (2008) addressed disciplinary situations by asking the student how they think they can solve the problem, involving the student in their own learning process, whereas Wong & Wong (2009) attribute “most behaviour problems in the classroom are caused by the teacher’s failure to teach students how to follow procedures” (pg. 175). From a viewpoint of effectiveness, I suppose this technique is valid, as long as there is reasoning provided to the students as to the benefits and purpose of the procedures. However, it is contradictions such as these that I now am able to recognize, reflect upon, and use to make my own decision that is in line with my personal teaching philosophy.
Therefore, I found this book to be a tremendous resource that I would recommend and re-read several times in preparation for my first day of teaching. If you are looking for a book about useful tips on effective teaching and classroom management then this is an excellent choice. 

Charles, C.M. (2008). Today’s best classroom management strategies: Paths to positive discipline. Boston: Pearson.

Kohn, A. (2011). “Well, Duh!” -- Ten Obvious Truths That We Shouldn’t Be Ignoring. American School Board Journal, 1. Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/duh.htm

Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: how to be an effective teacher (4th ed.). Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.

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