Effective Teaching Blogs

    Demographic information  Age: 8-9 years Gender: Mixed Ethnicity: Semitic/Westerners Nationality: Qatari/Canadians Language: Bilingual (English & Arabic), English is the primary language used at school. Learning Styles Most of our students are high achievers and meet grade expectations. Some of them are tactile learners who enjoy hands-on activities, using manipulatives, and crafting. We incorporate hands-on activities and physical tasks into the lessons. The high achievers amongst them explore topics in depth and pursue interest. They love group activities and assisting their peers. Most of our students are kinesthetic and visual learners. They can easily complete a task just by viewing the instructions but a few of them need to be pulled out in a group to guide them on their learning goal. Academic Level Grade 3 students are currently reading between PM level 21-27. They enjoy reading to themselves or to their buddies. They enjoy illustrated books and like to dis...

 Comparing UDL Lesson Plan Standard and my School Lesson Plan Similarities:  They both have learning objectives/targets. They both have core competencies.  They both have guided practice activities.  They both have assessment. Differences: It does not include Potential Barrier for Learning. UDL doesn't have Global Citizenship Connection. Our lesson plan doesn't include multiple engagement, representation and expression strategies. Reviewing Unit of Study:  At the school we used ongoing assessment to assess students' understanding of key concepts  (assessment for/of learning , Baseline check, Endline check and teacher check) , The end of the unit check we assess  key concept  related to fractions and decimals, including simplification, comparison, operations, conversions, and real-world applications  . As International school with mostly Qatari nationals with a few native speakers. The assessment must include a mix of quest...

Day 3   Case Study 1: Positive Aspects of  Mrs. Friendly Friendly welcoming Relationship Emotional Intelligence Engages students and colleagues   Performance Gaps by Mrs. Friendly Not happy No differentiation No modelling Lack of interest No clear expectation given to students No feedbacks Doesn't challenge students Case Study 2:    Positive Aspects Mr. Noyes Alive  Performance Gaps: classroom management No relationships No structure to learning activity Student needs No growth mindset Fraud/bribery Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Three factors to considers: Relationships Classroom Management SMART objectives How to Measure Relationships: Parents/students Surveys Observation/ students reflection Professional development Peer observation How to Measure Classroom Management: Detailed lesson plan observation How To Measure SMART objectives: Baseline assessment + continuous assessment

Day 1: I was away due to illness but by listening to my cohorts discussing about definition of effective teaching, I can understand better the definition of effective teaching. Effective teaching is about constructing and delivering lessons that are flexible, inclusive of all learners and addresses the various needs. It helps students to take role in their own learning and aims to get rid of barriers in education.   Day 2 : One thing that resonates with me today was one of the 5 enabling conditions for collective efficacy. One way professional educators can learn is by observing one another. It increases teacher reflection and can help teachers identify a dark spot and work towards it.  While observing your colleague, you're likely to pick one or two teaching styles/techniques that might interest you or work for your students. Day 3 : The Circle Time Having shared ideas on moments that we impacted or inspired students and vice versa made me appreciate the effort teachers...

 Day 1: Absent on Day 1 due to illness.  Day 2:   An action that I would incorporate into my teaching practice is allowing student give a reflection of their learning more often. It could be as simple as how they felt about their learning and how they think they could learn better. This will help me understand how each child feels about their learning and refine my teaching styles in ways to meet individual needs of my students.  Day 3:  One action I will start implementing from today is self-reflection. I need to reflect on my teaching practices over the years and identify areas of my weaknesses and improve on that. I will have to set goals to be able to achieve this. One thing i would like to work on is reflecting on my relationships with both students and my colleagues and find ways to improve on that.  Day 4: Showing genuine interest in the welfare of the students is something I will be more conscious of from now. Due to behavioral issues in my grade le...