Coaching Connection
September 2019
Welcome to the 2019-2020 School Year!
What is the Coaching Connection?
This is a newsletter that provides information regarding instructional strategies, professional readings, and potential professional development (PD) learning opportunities. If you have a great resource that you feel others would benefit from, please share with your IDSS!
Professional Readings
Give the Kid a Pencil
We've all had students come to class unprepared. If a students shows up without a pencil, how should a teacher respond? Read one professor's response.
Are You Really Connecting with Your Students?
Connecting with students allows for the possibility of effective teachers. This article gives a top 10 list for connecting with students and also gives credit to a book that goes in great detail about how to connect with students.
How 1-on-1 Time with My Students Made Me a Better Teacher
When we take time to hear our students personal stories, we begin to see their humanity and can meet their academic and social-emotional needs differently.
Engagement and Instructional Strategies
Share Words of Wisdom
Integrate Quotes into Your Curriculum
Once you’ve got the quotes, you can use them in many different ways.
- - Begin each class or each day with a quote.
- - Ask students to copy it down to improve their penmanship.
- - Use it as a writing prompt.
- - Start a new unit with a discussion about one or more quotes on the subject.
- - Looking to integrate quotes and decorate your classroom at the same time? Why not try a quote wall – especially good for decoration around the board. Make a list of quotes and print them out on colorful paper. Then cut them up and post them on the wall. You can choose quotes to fit each book you will read in a year, quotes on different character traits you want students to develop, or just quotes you like. You can refer to them when you’re teaching, and students will constantly see inspiring words.
Use Strategic Seating
Use your seating chart to help you be aware of how often you speak to each student and what you say. Make several copies of the seating chart and keep it in front of you as you teach. Put a mark by each child’s name when you speak to him or her, and if possible, mark whether you made a positive comment, a negative comment, or a neutral one. Do this every day for a week or so, then look at the results.
You may notice a few common patterns: you speak to the same few kids and “ignore” the rest of the class, you are almost always positive with some students and consistently negative with others. Once you’re aware of your personal patterns, consider how you might want to change them. Can you make an effort to call on the kids you rarely speak to? And what do you think your problem student might do if you found something to compliment him/her on?
Professional Development Opportunities:
PLC Training: Building Your Capacity
Other PD Opportunities
PELSB Cultural Competency trainings - 10/15-16 Competency link
2019 MEA conference Oct. 17 Registration is now open
Workshop: teaching with primary sources w/James Loewen - 10/5 Sources
Science Educators MnSTA Conference - Nov. 7-9 MnSTA link
Increase Engagement Through Absent Narratives - Oct. 12 Narrative link
Strategies for Challenging Behavior in the Classroom - October 16 Strategies link
PBIS 101 - October 30 PBIS
Farmington Education Association PD sessions Registration link
ELA: MCTE
Math: MCTM
Social Studies: MDE Newsletter
PE: MNSHAPE
TDE/QComp/PLC Tidbits
TDE Quick Reference Guide TDE Quick Reference Guide
Establish Individual Growth Plan based on CD Framework Charlotte Danielson Framework
Develop PLC focus and Student Growth Goals (Shared, Class, Targeted)