Term 2 is already underway with junior report writing, parent interviews and mid-term exams looming in the not-to-distance future. With this in mind, I thought a few ideas on Time Management might be... well.... timely.
In this post you'll find:
- Tips on managing time and workloads
- Suggestions to reduce your internet time by using RSS, Ted/Ed, YouTube for Teachers, and Google for Teachers
- What's in the latest 2 editions of Education Leadership Magazine - available now in our library.
[Please note that PD bites will be bi-weekly for the duration of the year, appearing sometime between Friday morning and Sunday night]
TIME AND WORKLOAD MANAGEMENT:
Here are my favourite 4 tips:
- Plan lessons in "chunks" of 2- 3 periods rather than period-by-period. Planning a short series of lessons takes less time and provides a more organised flow than planning them one-by-one. Things won't always go according to plan but if you've got a clear idea of what's coming next it's easier to adjust on-the-fly and you'll be better prepared to take advantage of any "teachable moments" that develop along the way. Additionally, I find myself feeling more in control of, rather than controlled by, my workload - that positive mental boost does wonders for my motivation and ability to focus.
- Good Enough is Enough. I confess to trolling for the perfect image for almost an hour when one that I found in the first minute would have done the job just fine. This is what I call "advanced procrastination" because it LOOKS and FEELS like I'm working. Borrowing from Pareto and Juran, 80% of the preparation time for a new resource can be spent "tweaking" in what amounts to only about a 20% improvement. Combat perfectionism by recognising your motivation. Are you continuing towards perfection to improve student learning, to avoid other commitments, or to satisfy a psychological need of your own? Here's a link to a good, short read on the underlying reasons for procrastination and how to over come them.
- Enough is Enough. The more time we have to create a lesson resource, the more time we take to create it. Many of us could work less and still get roughly the same amount done (although it might be about 20% less perfect) "Ease The Load", a Teachers.tv series about life-coaching teachers, had an unbelievable tool for managing workload: a timer. Teachers' were instructed to set a timer and work for a set amount of time at home - and then stop. Just stop. None of the teachers thought that it was possible because so much just MUST get done, but the transformations were amazing. The amount of work accomplished was reduced by very little and the teachers became much happier and healthier - which of course leads to better teaching.
- Walk and Talk . Need to discuss a simple issue with a teacher or student? Have them join you during your morning tea/lunch duties while you are walking around. Always carry a pen so you can deal with messages, notices, signup sheets immediately as they are presented to you - don't carry them back to your desk where they just become part of the larger pile (I've heard this concept called the "touch paper once rule"). Want to keep a conversation "contained" to a limited time? - have the conversation ask you walk with the student or colleague from your/their classroom to the staff room or the student's next class - reaching the destination provides a clear "end point" to wrap up any discussion and thank them for their time and attention.
Some Tips from the Experts:
- A video of Tips: (14 minutes) "The Secondary ABCs of Time Management" TeachersTV video of Time Management Tips:Covers: Displacement Activities, Marking, Know your best times
- A comprehensive list of tips from Education Oasis (recruitment agents)
REDUCING INTERNET TIME:
YouTube. Most of us have spent hours sifting through quite terrible videos in search of a high quality one. YouTube has an answer for this: Check out:
YouTube for Teachers : A collection of playlists of videos that align with common educational standards, organized by subject and grade. These playlists were created by teachers for teachers so you can spend more time teaching and less time searching.
and
YouTube Education : An area within the larger YouTube site that restricts access to only videos from well-known organizations like Stanford, PBS and TED as well as from up-and-coming YouTube partners with millions of views, like Khan Academy, Steve Spangler Science and Numberphile. No pop-ups. All comments and related videos are disabled.
Google also has a Google For Teachers' Section with advice on how to search more effectively with Google.
The site offers quick access to resources for:
-Creating and using YouTube videos in your classroom
They are just getting started with a Lesson Plan Search Engine but it needs a bit more development before it will be particularly useful.
TED - Ed : Lessons Worth Sharing site has the same overall theme as the TED conferences but are videos geared specifically for use in classrooms.
RSS & Aggregators - Have your favourite websites come to you.
Most browsers have built-in RSS readers which will send new material from your favourite websites to you whenever they are updated - so you don't have to repeatedly visit the website to check. Here are some good explanations:
For the iphone/ipad users out there - my favorite aggregator is Flipboard.
Flipboard aggregates feeds from facebook, Twitter, various news agents, and my favourite education blog: MindShift. It is limited though to which feeds you can select.
If you're not onto Twitter yet - it is a treasure trove for teachers - but I'll save that for another post!
PROFESSIONAL READING:
Two more editions of Educational Leadership Magazine are about to arrive in our library.
March's edition is entitled: Reading: The Core Skill and is packed full of great stuff (see below)!
Here's what's inside:
April 2012 | Volume 69 | Number 7
College, Careers, Citizenship
Feature Articles
Deborah Perkins-Gough
Robert Rothman
The common core state standards offer schools an opportunity to advance equity and excellence.
Jean Johnson
Former students tell why a college diploma is beyond their reach.
William Damon
How do we teach students to care deeply about their country?
David T. Conley and Charis McGaughy
The debate about whether high school is for job training or college prep is over.
William C. Symonds
Why we need more and better career education and counseling.
Suzanne M. Bouffard and Mandy Savitz-Romer
Motivating students to aspire to college and career requires a developmental approach.
Robert Kunzman
If students are to navigate public life, they must know how to talk about their religious differences.
Rick Wormeli
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor makes the case for rebuilding civics education.
Roberta Espinoza
At crucial times, educators have the capacity to change students' lives.
Linda Murray
What schools can do to address barriers to college readiness for all.
Tony Wagner
How some (but too few) schools are encouraging young people to transform their world.
Web Hutchins
High school students are lobbying leaders to give all students a civics-rich classroom experience like their own.
Jennifer Glenn Morrow and Alex Torrez
An early college experience creates expectations for success.
Kimberly A. Hill
A high school offers engineering, cosmetology, and auto tech, to name a few ways it combines college prep with career readiness.
Barbara Bartholomew
The emphasis on utilitarian text will derail the literary arts if next steps are not planned carefully.
Columns / Departments
Robert J. Marzano
Getting students moving is an effective learning strategy.
Thomas R. Hoerr
Look around the corner for an expert on building community.
Carol Ann Tomlinson
What kids learn from observing their teachers on the job.
March 2012 | Volume 69 | Number 6
Reading: The Core Skill
Feature Articles
Marge Scherer
Richard L. Allington and Rachael E. Gabriel
A powerful reading prescription for all students.
Pam Allyn
Give struggling readers the tools to triumph over their fears.
Gina Biancarosa
How to take adolescents who haven't mastered the basics to higher-level literacy.
Thomas Newkirk
We never stop looking for the storyline, the author contends. Plot is at the heart of all good writing.
Nell K. Duke, Samantha Caughlan, Mary M. Juzwik and Nicole M. Martin
Is the genre dramatic, persuasive, informational? Real-world uses matter.
Carol Jago
A call for a reading renaissance.
Larry Ferlazzo
The community organizer's guide to teaching reading.
Anne Goudvis and Stephanie Harvey
Social studies need not require a passive slog through textbooks.
Timothy Shanahan, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
Equipping students to deal with text complexity.
John T. Guthrie and Susan Lutz Klauda
Five crucial practices to motivate adolescents to read informational texts.
Debbie Abilock
In the dizzying world of click-and-go information, how to judge credibility?
Joyce Kasman Valenza and Wendy Stephens
E-books and social media have expanded the definition of the word "book."
Columns / Departments
Bryan Goodwin
With early intervention, we can get students back on track.
Robert J. Marzano
Proficiency scoring is more precise than assigning points to test items.
Thomas R. Hoerr
Helping kids learn to respond to failure is part of the job.
Carol Ann Tomlinson
How to tap into the (sometimes buried) intrinsic desire to read.
Read readers' stories here and online, and contribute your own response to an upcoming question.
Gary Houchens
Gary Houchens and James Harvey debate school choice.
James Harvey
Gary Houchens and James Harvey debate school choice.
