Questioning In The Classroom [Comment from Jim Doherty]
One of my newer commenters, Jim Doherty, left this comment in reply to my Edutopia piece:
The key piece to me is the questioning piece. I think that I always hope that my actions will serve as a model for my students, but I realize more and more that I need to explicitly point out the behavior that I want the students to see. I need to be clear when I am questioning in a way that they can use themselves. I am good at this in one-on-one conferences, I need to be better when I am talking to a group of students.
That’s a big part of my classroom routine. Having kids think for themselves is something many of us wish we could achieve, and it’s still a work in progress for me. More often than not, it’s about making sure kids know we’re not going to give them an easy way out of their thinking. Thanks, Jim.
Mr. Vilson
On Taking Professional Development Into Your Own Hands [CTQ]
Mary Beth Hertz Clutching Gadgets
Of course this comes from a real situation. Why else would I write it? Only on the Center for Teaching Quality:
Yet, there’s a new type of professional development that’s arisen from connected educators. I’m calling it a third-rail professional development, a hybrid of tech savvy and a healthy dose of networking can make for professional development that neither stagnates nor overbears. The thing with PD right now is that, no matter how creative central offices try to be, teachers still come out of them feeling like they learned nothing of substance when they hoped for at least a nugget of information. Principals want something tangible to come from these meetings, often choosing only a select group of people to attend these things and expecting a boost of some nature from kids.
Read more at The Middle of Teaching and Leading. Comment please. Thanks!