M-STAR Survival Tips for Educators

M-STAR: Some Quick Tips on What You can Do to Survive Your Evaluation

Mississippi Statewide Teacher Appraisal Rubric is the new method of evaluation classroom teachers in Mississippi. M-STAR evaluations include two formal evaluations and at least five walk-through evaluations. This system is designed to help teachers reflect upon their own teaching methods and to provide quick, meaningful feedback. Whether you are new to the classroom or a veteran educators, the new system can be confusing. Instead of constantly worrying about your evaluation, use some of these tips to plan ahead.

Individualized Teaching

M-STAR is all about making the student the focus of learning. One of the main things you will want to do is to individualize your teaching to fit each of your students. Have activities for your visual learners, your kinesthetic learners, and your auditory learners. Have a center where you are stationed to help your struggling learners.

Technology

You can’t escape the computer age. The new teacher evaluation system wants to see you use technology in your classroom. So, incorporate the computer, promethium board, netbooks, or eBooks into your lesson plans. There are tons of computer programs that you can use to do this. You can also have your students take interactive quizzes on line. Make sure that when you are being evaluated that you show your evaluator that you do work with technology.

Print Rich Environment

It doesn’t matter which subject you teach. Having a print rich environment is a must. Create a print rich environment in your classroom by having books, magazines, posters, ankle charts, and other reading material on your subject area readily available and in plain view. You can even opt to section off an area of your room where books and magazines on various topics are displayed. Your students are bound to come across something that they may want to read.

Across the Curriculum

It has been said that no man is an island. Well, teaching is no longer a one man show. Teachers are no longer expected to just teach their own subject area and move on. You are now expected to teach across the curriculum. You must be sure to integrate other subject areas into your lessons. It is also a plus when you hang posters or student work that displays the incorporation of other disciplines.

Make Connection to Real World

Students always want to know what the subject has to do with them or why they have to learn something. So, it is important to make a real world connection. If you are teaching a book, be sure to compare the book to a real life situation or experience that you have had. Then, allow your students to briefly share their experiences that connect with the subject of your lesson.

Explain the Objective

Before you dive into the lesson for the day, explain what you will be teaching. Explain why it is important, and make those real world connections.

Questions Please

The new M-STAR evaluation requires teachers to think about the way they question their students. Instead of asking questions that require simple responses, M-Star encourages educators to ask questions that require students to use their critical thinking skills and creativity.

Safety

As teachers, most of us are more concerned with teaching the lesson than checking out our classroom. Well, we must begin to do a quick evaluation of your classrooms. Check to see if the room is safe for students and yourself. Are there book bags in the aisles? Are there other things that can pose safety hazards? These things must be addressed before your evaluation.

No Down Time

Do not allow any downtime for the students. Activities should flow smoothly. So, plan accordingly.

Make Corrections

Be sure to handle any disciplinary problems in your classroom quickly and promptly. Post classroom rules throughout your room, and make sure that they are visual. Refer to your rules throughout your class.

Procedure

Make sure that you have taught your students classroom procedure. The person doing your evaluation will look for these things as they are observing your class.

M-STAR evaluations can be scary. Know what to expect and plan accordingly.

http://mpbonline.org/News/article/inside_mississippi_teacher-evaluations
http://home.mds.k12.ms.us/docs/rocurement-library/m-star-system-guide.pdf

Things Administrators Look for When Doing Classroom Observations

All teachers get them-those nice little walk-through and formal evaluations. So, what exactly is your principal looking for when he or she stops by? Check out the following list.

Objectives

One of the first things that your administrator will do when he or she enters your room is check to see if you have your objectives posted. These can be your objectives for the day or for the week. It is crucial that you have these posted and in a place of high visibility. And, make sure you go over these objectives with your students each day.

Classroom Engagement

The principal or administrator will also check to see if your lesson is engaging. Are your students actively involved in the lesson or if you are doing only lecture? So, try to plan lessons that will require your students to be involved and actively engaged.

Teacher Location and Movement

The principal will check to see where you are when he or she enters the room. Are you sitting at your desk or walking around monitoring your classroom? Not many of us can stand on our feet all day long. However, your principal will want you to spend the majority of the day walking around your class. This will help to decrease the amount of behavioral problems in your class and ensure that you students stay on task.

Classroom Organization

How is your class organized? Are your desks in straight rows or are they set up in small groups? Administrators want you to encourage correlative groups. So, try to plan group work for a majority of the time.

Time Management

Another big issue is time management. Your principal will observe your time management skills. He or she will check to see how you use the time you have to get the most out of your class. They also want to make sure that you stay on task. Most want you to teach from “Bell to Bell”. This means form the time that the students enter your class to the time that the bell rings for them to be dismissed. Although you may can’t accomplish this all the time, make sure if your boss is present that you do this.

Student Work

Not only will your boss check to see you are on task and your students engaged, he or she will check to see if you have any of your students’ work displayed. Be sure to hang some student work somewhere in your classroom or outside of your door.

Meaningful Lesson

Your principal will also check to make sure your lessons are meaningful and relevant. Some lessons are cute, but they don’t go with your curriculum. If this is the case, don’t waste your time teaching them. They will count as a strike against you.

Readily Available Lesson Plans

Keep your lesson plans in a place that you can find them at a moment’s notice. Your principal may ask to see these when he or she stops by to evaluate you.

Don’t be caught off guard. Be prepared for walk-through and other evaluations from your principal.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7666347_teach-lesson-evaluation.html

http://voices.yahoo.com/tips-being-successful-teacher-11906762.html

Rigor in the Classroom

How many times has your principal been in your classroom or wrote on your lesson plans "Increase the rigor in your class"? Well, if you are like me and so many other educators, you want to know what rigor is. I asked for a sound way to do this from several different teachers and administrators. The answer was always vague. So, I did a little research. This article will explain what I found out about rigor and how to actually increase it in your classroom.

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-increase-rigor-classroom-12469766.html

How to Keep Students Interested in Learning

Keeping Students Interested in Learning

Keeping students actively involved in learning can be a challenge. Sadly, your students may not love  your subject area as much as you do. The following are a few strategies that you can use to help motivate your students to keep learning. 

Relevance

No matter what you teach, you will need to make it relevant to your students. Use "real world" examples. If you are a teach math teacher, teach your students how to balance their check books, how to make a family budget, how to look at unit prices at the grocery store. Help your students understand how to invest, how to manage money, and the importance of saving. Use fun games that teach the importance of math.  If you teach English, you can teach your students how to compose resumes, essays, analysis papers, and letter writing.

Blogging

Your students love to voice their opinion. Let them. Design a class blog. On this blog, students can share ideas and important information that they have learned in class. They can also post their poems, essays, research papers, and school related pictures.

Outdoor activities

Get those students outside. Let them explore nature. How? If you teach art, let them paint pictures of nature. If you teach English, you can have them compose poems about nature. You can have them write comparison/contrast essays about the different types of flowers, seasons, or other objects you find outside. If you teach math, let them go outside and measure the distance from one building to the next. If you are a science teacher, the great outdoors offers a wealth of activities that you can use.

Power point presentations

Let your students do power point presentations. They love to work with technology, so let them. Have them design a power point presentation that is relevant to your subject area. Be sure to provide guidelines.

Use different ways to motivate your students to learn. Try the above activities.

Federal Income Tax Tips for Teachers

As tax time approaches, I know all of us are thinking of refunds. As teachers, we spend a large part of the money we make on supplies. So, this year get some of your money back by filing those things that you spent money on during the school year. Are you wondering just what you can write off? Here are a few:
1. book you bought for your classroom
2. any supplies you bought for your classroom like paper, pens, computer ink, typing paper
3. gas mileage for your drive to work
4. your clothes or uniform that you bought to wear to work
5. any professional magazines or subscriptions that you have
6. professional development workshops
7. professional memberships like National Teachers of America, Mississippi Association of Educators
*8. your phone if you used it to call parents, do school business, or connect to the internet to find lesson plans.
*9. your computer if you used it to do lesson plans or other school related activities.

***Please note that to write off your phone or computer you need to have kept a log of your school related activities. If you didn't keep up with your computer activity, you can still retrieve it from your computers history. This should tell you which dates your were on school related websites. Can you prove you used your phone to contact parents. Fortunately, I can because I have to keep a parent log that lists the date of parental contact. This keeps up with which parents I called. If you didn't keep a good log last year, you can this year.

*** Be sure to check with your tax preparer.

You can find more information at:
http://www.ehow.com/list_6819304_common-tax-deductions-teachers.html

5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew

5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a teacher? If you are honest, you will admit that it seems like a pretty easy job. Teachers get their summers off. They get two weeks off for Christmas, a week off for Spring Break, and three or more days off for Thanksgiving. However, there is more to teaching than what meets the eye. The following are five things that teachers wish parents knew.

Your Involvement Is Key

Yes, we want you to be involved in your child’s education. In fact, you play a key role in your child’s education. You can do what we can’t. You know your child intimately. You know what he or she likes and does not like. You are the biggest influence in your child’s life. And, you know what it will take to motivate them. So, yes, we want you to be involved. We love for you to check-up on your child. We look forward to seeing you at Parent-Teacher Conferences and other school events.

Keep Us Informed

Don’t keep important details from us. We need to know what your child is allergic to. We need to know what medicines he or she is on. And, we need to know what your child’s interests are. If there is a death in the family, let us know because this can influence your child’s grades and behavior. Although you may not want to divulge that you and your spouse are going through a divorce, it could help us to better understand why you child is acting out in class.

Be Careful What You Say

Monitor what you say in front of your children. Whether you want them to or not, you children come back to school and repeat the things that you have said. They don’t mind let their teachers know just how you feel about them.

Teachers Have Lives Outside of School

Parents seem to forget that teachers have lives away from school. So often parents call after-hours or on weekends. When this happens, teachers are nice and address your concerns, but they find it frustrating.  A good rule of thumb is to call during the teacher’s planning time. If this is simply not possible, then call before it 7:00 P.M. and avoid calling on the weekends and Friday nights all together.

It Isn’t About the Money

Contrary to what some parents may think, teachers are definitely not in it for the money. In fact, compared to other professions, teaching does not pay well. And, most teachers end up spending what little money they make buying school supplies and other materials for their classroom.

 For more tips check out:

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-improve-relationship-childs-12419118.html

Welcome Teachers

Hi. I would like to welcome all of you teachers to my blog. Unlike my other blog, this one is dedicated to things that involve teaching, education, and parenting tips. I hope you all continue to visit my site and enjoy.