Most likely we have heard the phrase "work smarter, not harder." Today, this phrase kept ringing in my head as I stared down a classroom of 30 freshmen in our Information Technology (computers) class. Each child represented different needs, skill sets, (language, culture, etc.), ability, and experiences.
I was about to transition to their next activity " creating a flyer, using their textbook " when I realized I need to do this in a smart fashion. Moments after giving the whole class instructions, hands began to fly into the air.
"Sir"
"Mister"
"I need help"
"What page?"
"I am confused."
Plan
I needed to act fast to make this class a fine-tuned learning machine. Here's my plan:
1) I began by telling the students they need to ask at least 2 of their peers their questions before asking me.
2) Vocally encouraged students to help peers that are stuck/confused
3) Vocally praised students for helping others, e.g. "Sam, thank you for helping Gina with how to formatting."
4) Utilize students that finished early to aid struggling students, especially the ELL students.
Benefits
Towards the end of class, I looked out and realized nobody was asking for me. Students felt empowered to walk around, helping each other out. Students were on-task and most importantly learning. This allowed me the freedom to visit the students individually, checking in on their understanding and developing the important student-teacher relationship. Not to mention, the stress level decreased.
Ongoing Process
Tomorrow we will follow the same process. I will repeat these steps over and over until there is a culture of collaboration and team work. It's hard work on the frontend, but over time it pays huge dividends.
______________________________Eric Hougan started his career in business and eventually did a career change into education, merging his two passions: business and teaching. It was during this transition, while a preservice and student teacher, that Eric realized the significant gap of resources and support for student teachers. Ever since, Eric has worked extremely hard collecting tips, strategies, and resources to address the sometimes mystifying process of becoming a teacher, addressing such topics as certification, and ways to develop a beneficial relationship with one's cooperating teacher and university supervisor. Eric hopes this on-line community will address the hiring process by offering interviewing techniques and posting potential teacher interview questions. Overall, the purpose of this website is to provide a supportive network with wonderful resources for individuals pursuing a career in education.
Hougan completed his Master of Arts in Teaching from National-Louis University in Chicago, IL. Currently, he is a secondary-level teacher in Washington. Eric is involved in many school improvement initiatives and is a club adviser for Future Business Leaders of America. Seeking further professional development, Eric completed his National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In the community, Eric is a Board Officer for the King County Bar Association's Future of the Law Institute. Eric is also an author, recently writing Road to Teaching: A Guide to Teacher Training, Student Teaching, and Finding a Job. For his school and community efforts, Eric was recently recognized as a 2008-9 Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) Emerging Leader.
Read more from Eric at his blog on Road to Teaching.
