Education Leadership

Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Teachers

How Teachers Can Use Praise Effectively

Praise is a powerful tool that teachers can use to improve students’ behavior and attitude towards learning. It should be used correctly to be effective enough to change the overall behavior of a student to make them do better.

We take a look at the different types of praise that teachers can use to effectively apply them the right way.

Benefits Of Praise

Research shows that it is not used by teachers nearly enough and is, in fact, underused with students.

It is also found that teachers who use praise as behavior management tools have better relationships with their students.

What Types Of Praises There Are

There are three major types of praises that teachers often use to help manage the behavior of students. Of these three, two are more effective.

Personal praise: this type of praise is when a student’s unique characteristic is praised, such as saying a child has a beautiful voice. This may seem like a suitable method, but it may have adverse results with the child who may think they are not as good as you think.

This may cause them to become less willing to try new things because they are not confident in their own skills and abilities.

Praise Their Efforts: effort-based praise may have a more positive effect on the child where the teacher will praise the hard work they put in. You must use this type of praise to show the student that their hard work has been noticed.

Using the example of a student with a beautiful voice, it will be better to show the student that you are impressed with the effort and hard work they put into learning the notes and song.

Behavior Praise: When you tell a student that you are proud of how they did something and show them, they did the right thing. For instance, tell the student that you are proud of them for taking their homework out before being told to do so.

How To Apply It Effectively

  • Be specific to why you are praising the student, so they will know precisely what they are praised for
  • The expectations of the teacher for the student must be clear so the student will know what to do
  • Use praise for all the steps, from the beginning and the process to the outcome of what they are praised for

Concluding Thoughts

As you can see, praise used at the right time and with the right attitude will positively affect the student. It is a good thing when teachers use various behavior managing tools to improve overall relationships.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Teachers

What Are The Benefits Of Differentiated Instruction?

Differentiated Instruction is making breakthroughs in the field of teaching. Students of all ages are benefitting from the approach. It has made learning flexible, especially with digital innovation. 

However, many people still don’t understand how it is helping students. That’s okay. Everything you read from now on will help you understand that.

Differentiated Instruction is an approach to teaching that tailors the teaching process to every student’s needs. Those needs are categorized, and teachers take measures to make sure they learn in the best way possible. Here are a few benefits that come out of using this approach.

Constant Evaluation of Strengths And Weaknesses

Differentiation allows for consistent evaluation to take place. Because every student’s learning plan is based on their needs, teachers need to know what to plan next. If a student is skilled in one area, they don’t need to undergo any training or lesson for it again. 

Hence, consistent assessment helps in better planning. This way, all students are engaged in a meaningful way throughout the year. You will be able to see the progress. 

Everyone Gets Valuable Lessons

One of the best parts about differentiated Instruction is that everyone takes home valuable lessons. No student has to sit through dull and boring lessons. They are constantly learning something new or something they want to get better at. 

These lessons not only help them prepare for the future but also learn the importance of their lessons. Differentiation makes sure that the learnings stay with the students for a long time.  

Allows Healthy Socializing

A crucial part of differentiated Instruction is flexible grouping. Here, children are grouped according to their readiness, interest, or learning profile. The main area where this helps is that students can better relate to each other since they have something in common. 

However, they also learn in a better way because of targeted teaching. Many students also socialize with various students in different ways because of flexible grouping. They realize that there is something common between them with each person. 

This creates a healthy classroom environment where all students understand their own differences. What’s more, is that they will also accept them. 

Concluding Thoughts

These are only a few of the benefits of differentiated Instruction. Differentiation is now an approach that is widely used because of the impact it has on students. It has helped them develop in amazing ways. 

Many teachers are now actively using differentiated Instruction and its strategies in their classrooms. It is all for the benefit of the students. Learning to engage with students at their own pace is one of the best things to do. You can see the difference yourself in a matter of time. Improvements will be visible.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Special Education

Screen Testing At School For Possible Learning Disabilities

Screen testing is a procedure various schools-generally public but some private ones as well- implement. This screening aims to assess and evaluate signs that indicate a student having a specific impairment. 

While most of the time, this is sometimes parents and guardians that usually highlight at the time of admission, not all impairments are identified in toddlers. Therefore, kindergarten to third grade are the years with the high possibility of the emergence of a child’s possible impairment. 

Importance And Basis For Identifying Students With Special Needs 

Screening is done to see if any student is unable to cope up with schooling and on the verge of failing in education. The process targets the students suspected to have disabilities based on their immensely low scoring and grades. 

Though yes, there are chances that the student might be a bit slower than the rest of the class and least interested in studies. But getting exceptionally low scores in every subject reflects the high potential of a student having a certain kind of impairment. 

Also, before the testing, it is the school’s primary responsibility to consent the parents. However, in the case of a student developing a disability in later years, no testing done in the initial years would be able to detect it. 

Issues Of Screening At School 

When it comes to checking the potential handicapped students, the whole process comes with certain limitations. 

First is the issue of general standards. While the testing is done based on some basic guidelines, it fails to acknowledge that every child might be different. It might be that one student shows different signs for the same impairment compared to the other student. 

Secondly, screening results aren’t always guaranteed to give the right results. The third is that the testing doesn’t effectively identify students with social impairments and disorders like isolation, depression, and phobias. 

Ways To Resolve The School Screening-Related Hurdles 

One way to overcome the hurdles is by implementing a three-staged screening to shortlist students and fill their checklists. 

Independent professionals should then assess such students. Collab Consultations and Instructor Assistance Groups can also help enhance the efficiency of screening by offering expert conclusions based on their experiences and increasing observation of each student. 

Concluding Thoughts

Screening is one of the most crucial tasks, which helps check if any student has any disability. Because it is done in the child’s initial years, the chances of detecting impairments are high. 

This way, parents and schools get the chance to plan the student’s future education accordingly and not let any hurdle come in between the child acquiring academic success.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Matthew Lynch

Important Concepts of Instructional Leadership

In instructional leadership, the principal’s role is deeply involved with setting the school’s direction. The “mission” dimension focuses on the principal’s role in cooperating with staff, ensuring the school continuously runs on clear, measurable, and time-based goals that result is the academic progress of students. Principals are responsible for communicating goals, which should be widely known and supported throughout the school.

The process of goal development is not considered; its importance is less critical than meeting performance outcomes. This is a weakness in the model. The research simply accepts that goals should be set by the principal, in collaboration with staff, to achieve effectiveness.

Ensuring that the staff incorporates performance goals into their daily routines is crucial in instructional leadership. Vague, ill-defined goals must be put aside, in favor of clear a dividing line between academically focused efforts and “teaching to the test.”

A great example of the problems standardized testing can cause in a school was recorded in a study by Hallinger & Murphy in 2005. Teachers in “effective” California elementary schools were observed while teaching. One teacher had a unique activity center located at the back of the class, but researchers observed that students were not working at the center during the class period.

When questioned, the teacher stated that, although she genuinely liked the activity center, she had no time to use it, since the class hadn’t made the required ] progress in basic subjects. She then reported that her principal expected teachers to spend more time on reading, spelling, writing, and math than were necessary to achieve the expected progress in basic subjects. The principal restated this expectation almost verbatim when asked.

The following bullet points delineate best practices for using instructional leadership to define a school’s mission:

• The administrators’ objectives are clearly expressed and modeled, in writing, all around the school. Teachers and administrators all use the same language to discuss academic priorities.
• Teachers give priority status to the schools mission in their lesson planning and implementation.
• The goal are well-articulated, actively backed, and modeled by the school’s administrators.

Instructional leaders can apply this research to their mission-building strategies. The questions that this principal asked themselves while defining the school’s goals were:

• Are the goals clear and easily understandable?
• Are they written down and known by everyone in the school?
• Do the goals apply in the day-to-day activities at the school?
• Do I constantly and actively reinforce and explain these goals?
• Do the goals have the support of the rest of the school?

Managing the Instructional Program

This second dimension focuses on coordination and control of the school’s curriculum, and all instructional elements. Three leadership functions: supervising and evaluating instruction, coordinating the curriculum, and monitoring student progress are incorporated here. Managing the instructional program requires the principal’s active participation in stimulating, supervising, guiding, and monitoring teaching and learning in the school. The principal must possess expertise as well as commitment, getting “neck-deep” in the school’s instruction and curriculum.

In the California school example noted above, teachers were questioned on how they monitored student progress. Several teachers said the principal knew the reading level and academic progress of almost all students in the elementary school. This kind of personal engagement is not possible in every school, but reflects the degree of the principal’s involvement in observing and managing the school’s instruction and curriculum.

Promoting a Positive School Learning Climate

The third dimension of instructional leadership supports several academic strategies for success:

• Protecting instructional time
• Promoting professional development
• Maintaining high visibility of administrators
• Incentives for teacher success
• Developing high standards
• Providing incentives for learning to students

The broadest in scope and purpose, promoting a positive school learning climate brings alive the widely held belief that effective schools create an “academic press,” by developing high standards of learning, as well as greater expectations from both students and teachers. These schools pursue a culture of continued improvement, where rewards complement the aims and practices of the school. The principal should model the values and practices that create continuous development and improvement of teaching and learning.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership

National Education Association (NEA): Everything You Need to Know

The NEA is the nation’s largest professional employee group and labor union that represents both public school teachers and other support personnel in relevant fields. The association also represents retired educators and college students who hope to transition into a teaching role upon completing their education.

Organizations affiliated with the NEA are present in each state and over 14,000 communities across the nation. They bring the drive, expertise, and dedication of 3 million members and allies to champion excellence and justice in public education. NEA’s 3 million members elect 9,000 delegates. Next, these delegates elect the association’s top officers, decide on issues to debate upon, and set NEA policies and strategic directions to build capacity, create opportunities, and make the environment secure for educators, students, and their families.

The roots of NEA can be traced back to 1857, when the association started its journey as the National Teachers Association. In 1870, it merged with the American Normal School Association and the National Association of School Superintendents to form the NEA.

The organizational structure of the NEA is quite complex. First, it’s an individual membership organization with the general purpose of advancing the cause of public education and its member’s welfare. It also sets up commissions and committees that offer several services, such as publications, research, protection of professional rights, promotion of federal legislation, and liaison with federal-government agencies.

Second, the NEA consists of various national bodies that are based on professional, specialized, and vocational interests. These autonomous organizations have their own staff, officers, and members, and in several cases, even local and state affiliates or branches. An example is the School Superintendents Association that works to ensure equitable access to the highest-quality public education for all students, along with developing and supporting school system leaders.

Third, the NEA can be considered a union of affiliated state and local education associations. The NEA’s representative assembly, which elects its officers and sets its policies, is made of delegates chosen by these affiliated associations that are represented in line with the number of their members belonging to the national body. The rapid growth of NEA members began in 1921 when its representative assembly was created.

Whether someone has been a teacher for just a day or thirty years, they can join the NEA to make their voices heard and noticed in the halls of power. By becoming a member of the NEA, they can improve public school classrooms for themselves and their students.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Teachers

21 Ways to Encourage Students Not to Leave Their Seat Without Permission

Are you looking for ways to encourage students not to leave their seat without permission ? If so, keep reading.

1. Plan short learning activities for the learner to perform while seated. As the learner shows success staying in their seat, slowly increase the length of the learning activities.

2. Provide the learner with frequent chances to leave their seat for appropriate reasons (e.g., getting learning materials, running errands, assisting the teacher, etc.).

3. Talk with the learner to explain(a) what they are doing wrong (e.g., leaving seat without permission, etc.) and (b) what they must be doing (e.g., remaining in their seat, asking permission to leave their seat, etc.).

4. Create classroom rules: • Complete every assignment. • Complete assignments quietly. • Remain in your seat. • Finish tasks. • Meet task expectations. Examine rules often. Praise students for following the rules.

5. Make sure that the expectation for the learner to remain seated is appropriate for their level of development and capacity and ability.

6. Urge the learner to remind himself/herself to wait when they feel the urge to get out of their seat (e.g., “Stop. Count to 10.”).

7. Urge the learner to self-monitor their behavior to decrease the need for teacher intervention to remain seated.

8. Talk regularly with the learner to, keep their attention to the learning experience (e.g., ask the learner questions, ask the learner’s opinions, stand near the learner, seat the learner near the teacher’s desk, etc.).

9. Inform the learner when needed to remain their seat.

10. Praise the learner for staying in their seat: (a) give the learner a concrete reward (e.g., classroom privileges, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the learner an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).

11. Urge the learner to take part in high energy learning activities after school that let them release excess energy (e.g., racquetball, soccer, etc.).

12. Give the learner frequent chances to participate, take a turn, etc., to keep them involved in a learning experience.

13. Stop the learner from becoming overstimulated by a learning experience(e.g., frustrated, angry, excited, etc.).

14. Place the learner near the teacher.

15. Separate the learner from the peer who stimulates their unacceptable behavior.

16. Give the learner the most attractive and exciting learning activities possible.

17. Give the learner a calm, quiet environment in which to work.

18. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

19. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

20. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

21. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership

The Vital Importance and Benefits of Motivation

The importance of motivation cannot be overstated. People may find it difficult to complete tasks or achieve their goals without motivation. This can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization.

Motivation is a key component of any successful organization. It can help individuals achieve their goals and improve their performance. Organizations can also benefit from a good mix of motivation and motivation-related measures.

Here are five important reasons why motivation is so important:

1. It Strengthens the Individual

Individuals may find it difficult to complete tasks or achieve their goals without motivation. This can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization.

2. It Encourages and Requires effort

People may find it difficult to complete tasks or achieve their goals without motivation. This can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization.

3. It Creates a Team spirit

Without motivation, people may find it difficult to work together as a team. This can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization.

4. It Increases team spirit

Without motivation, people may find it difficult to work together as a team. This can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization.

5. It Encourages Innovation

Without motivation, people may find it difficult to develop new ideas or improve the organization’s performance. This can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization.

Motivation is a key component of any successful organization. It can help individuals achieve their goals and improve their performance. Organizations can also benefit from a good mix of motivation and motivation-related measures.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership

How Using Different Types of Authority Affects Leadership

Leadership is a critical part of any organization or team, and effective leaders use a variety of different types of authority to influence and motivate their followers. Understanding how different types of authority affect leadership can help create a successful work environment and ensure that the team or organization is successful.

Legitimate authority is based on a leader’s official position or title. This type of authority comes from having the power or authority of a job title. For example, a manager or supervisor has legitimate authority to give orders to employees and delegate tasks. This type of authority is highly effective because it is based on the leader’s position in the organization, and it can lead to a stronger team dynamic.

Reward authority is based on the leader’s ability to offer incentives in exchange for work. Leaders who use reward authority will provide rewards, such as praise, recognition, or tangible rewards, in exchange for work that meets or exceeds expectations. This type of authority can be effective in motivating employees to work hard and strive for excellence.

Coercive authority is based on a leader’s ability to punish employees for not meeting expectations or for not following instructions. Leaders who use coercive authority often use threats, reprimands, and punishments to ensure that employees perform their duties. This type of authority can be effective in certain situations, but it can also lead to resentment and a decrease in morale.

Expert authority is based on a leader’s skill, knowledge, or expertise. Leaders who use expert authority often rely on their qualifications and experience in a given field to guide their decisions and provide direction to their team. This type of authority is effective because it is based on a leader’s expertise, which can inspire confidence in the team.

Charismatic authority is based on a leader’s ability to inspire and motivate their team. Leaders who use charismatic authority often rely on their charisma and personal charm to persuade and influence their followers. This type of authority can be effective in engaging and motivating employees, but it can also lead to a lack of accountability and a decrease in productivity.

In conclusion, there are a variety of different types of authority that leaders can use to influence and motivate their team. Understanding how different types of authority affect leadership can help create a successful work environment and ensure that the team or organization is successful. 

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Teachers

19 Strategies to Teach Students to Behave Themselves in Small Groups

Are you looking for strategies to teach students to behave themselves in small groups? If so, keep reading.

1. Do not force the learner to participate in group situations.

2. Select a peer, paraprofessional, friend, etc., to sit/work directly with the learner (e.g., in various settings such as art, music, or P.E. or in various learning activities such as tutoring, group projects, running errands in the school building, recess, etc.).

3. Reward or urge other students for participation in group situations.

4. Give the learner responsibility for helping a peer in group situations.

5. Give the learner duties in group situations so others might view the learner positively.

6. Ask the learner a question when they are most likely to be able to respond successfully (e.g., when discussing a topic in which the learner is interested, when the teacher is sure the learner knows the answer, etc.).

7. Attempt several groupings to ascertain the situation in which the learner is most comfortable.

8. Get peers to invite the learner to take part in school or extracurricular learning activities.

9. Get the learner to lead a cooperative learning experience when they possess mastery or an interest in the learning experience.

10. Let the learner be present during group learning activities without requiring active participation. Require more involvement over time as the learner becomes more active in group situations.

11. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Fear of failure may cause the learner to be reluctant to take part in group situations.

12. Get the learner to work with one or two other group members. As the learner becomes more comfortable, slowly increase the size of the group.

13. Show respect for the learner’s opinions, responses, suggestions, etc.

14. Give the learner the chance to pick a topic or learning experience for the group to work on together.

15. Give the learner the chance to select a cooperative learning experience and the group members (e.g., along with the teacher, decide what the learning experience will be and decide what individual group members will do, etc.).

16. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

17. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

18. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

19. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Teachers

How to Implement the Vocabulary Knowledge Rating Scale Teaching Strategy in Your Classroom

This strategy allows learners to pre-assess their knowledge of essential vocabulary they will encounter in the content. Learners rate each word from 1 to 4: (1) never seen/heard, (2) have seen/heard, (3) can define word, or (4) can use/teach the word.

Learning Outcomes

  • Introduce word meanings
  • Review word meanings

Implementation

Before Reading:

  1. Provide learners with a list of essential vocabulary words that they will come across in the content, usually no more than 12 words.
  2. Read the words to learners, asking them to echo the words after you. When learners are familiar with the pronunciation of a word, they are more likely to use it in their discussions.
  3. Read each word in a sentence for the learners to hear it again to understand the parts of speech, but do not give the definition.
  4. Learners write the word on the Knowledge Rating Scalegraphic organizer (Click here to access all of our graphic organizer forms) and rate their level of understanding on a scale of 1 to 4.
  5. With a partner, learners look up the definitions in at least two sources (e.g., online or paper dictionary, glossary, thesaurus).
  6. Working together, both learners agree on the best definition, utilizing the context and the definitions from the previous step.
  7. Next, they then record the definition, along with a synonym, on the graphic organizer.

During Reading:

  1. As learners read the content, encourage them to look back at their definitions to help comprehend the content.

After Reading:

  1. Once learners have read the content, they should review their scores for each word on the Vocabulary Knowledge Rating Scalegraphic organizer and fill in the “after instruction” portion utilizing the same scale as they used the first time.
  2. If learners are at a 3 or 4, the instructor may ask the student to use the word in a sentence.
  3. Using the word in a sentence allows learners will show what they have learned, assessing their growth by giving a thumbs-up if their score increased, a thumbs-down if it decreased, and a flat hand to show no change.
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