On The Bookshelf….. ………………………...So Many Books, So Little Time! What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most, by Todd Whitaker People Styles at Work: Making Bad Relationships Good and Good Relationships Better, by Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, by Robert Marzano

What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most, by Todd Whitaker This short book is about “what great teachers do that sets them apart. Clarifying what the best educators do, and then practicing it ourselves,” it purports, “can move us into their ranks.” It offers 14 chapters that examine different elements of effective teaching styles. Chapter titles include “It’s People, Not Programs”, “Prevention Versus Revenge”, “Who is the Variable?”, and “The Teacher is the Filter”.

14 Things That Matter Most Great teachers never forget that it is people, not programs that determine the quality of a school. Great teachers establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses. When a student misbehaves, great teachers have one goal: to keep that behavior from happening again. Great teachers have high expectations for students but even higher expectations for themselves. 5. Great teachers know who is the variable in the classroom: They are. Good teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control—their own performance.

Great teachers consistently filter out the negatives that don’t matter and share a positive attitude. Great teachers work hard to keep their relationships in good repair—to avoid personal hurt and to repair any possible damage. Great teachers have the ability to ignore trivial disturbances and the ability to respond to inappropriate behavior without escalating the situation. Great teachers have a plan and purpose for everything they do. If things don’t work out they way they had envisioned, they reflect on what they could have done differently and adjust their plans accordingly. Before making any decision or attempting to bring about any change, great teachers ask themselves one central question: What would the best people think?

Great teachers continually ask themselves who is most comfortable and who is least comfortable with each decision they make. They treat everyone as if they were good. Great teachers keep standardized testing in perspective; they center on the real issue of student learning. Great teachers care about their students. They understand that behaviors and beliefs are tied to emotion, and they understand the power of emotion to jump-start change.

Some excerpts from What Great Teachers Do Differently Chapter 1: “She was absolutely phenomenal—the teacher you wish your own children …could have. Her spark and energy never gave out. One day I asked her how she managed to stay inspired. She replied, ‘This is my 38th year teaching fifth grade, but for these students, it’s the first time around.’” Chapter 2: “If my third-grade daughter has a great teacher, I think highly of her school. Otherwise, I see her school as less than stellar… There are two ways to improve a school significantly: get better teachers and improve the teachers in the school. We spend a lot of time and energy looking for programs that will solve our problems…Believe me, if there were such a program, it would already be in place in our schools.”

Chapter 4: “When a student misbehaves, the great teacher has one goal: to keep that behavior from happening again…Effective teachers are motivated to prevent misbehavior; ineffective teachers are motivated after a student misbehaves.” Chapter 5: “The variable is not what teachers expect of students; many teachers of all skill levels have high expectations for students. The variable—and what really matters—is what teachers expect of themselves. Great teachers have high expectations for students, but even higher expectations for themselves.” Chapter 6: “Great teachers know who is the variable in the classroom: They are.” “Clearly, the best teachers accept responsibility for their classrooms and the worst teachers do not…Some teachers lament, ‘This is the worst group of students I’ve ever had!’ Others rise to the challenge of making every class their best.”

Chapter 6: “Success is any profession starts with a focus on self.” Chapter 7: “As educators, our role is to take a positive approach—ten days out of ten…Effective teachers treat everyone with respect, every day. Even the best teachers may not like all their students—but they act is if they do. And great teachers understand the power of praise.” “To be effective, praise must be authentic, specific, immediate, clean, and private.” “Authentic doesn’t mean that it is earth-shattering or that it is a magnificent accomplishment. The only requirement is that it be true. You don’t need to wait until your friend loses 55 pounds before you compliment him. He won’t mind hearing that he’s looking good after just ten days of puffing around the track! (In fact, that may be when he most needs to hear it.)”

Behavior in the Workplace People Styles at Work: Making Bad Relationships Good and Good Relationships Better, by Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton Behavior in the Workplace This book emphasizes understanding the outer behaviors of our co-workers and our own outer behaviors. It explains how to improve working relationships by observing these behaviors and identifying our own work style and other’s work styles.

What’s Your Style? A person’s style is his or her pattern of assertive and responsive behavior. The pattern is useful in predicting how the person prefers to work with others.

Behavioral Inventory ……………… More likely to lean backward when stating opinions …………. More likely to be erect or lean forward when stating opinions …….. Less use of hands when talking … More use of hands when talking ……………… Demonstrates less energy …………. Demonstrates more energy …….. More controlled body movement ….. More flowing body movement

Behavioral Inventory Cont. …………Less forceful gestures ….. More forceful gestures …….. Less facial expressiveness …. More facial expressiveness ……………… Softer-spoken …… Louder voice …….. Appears more serious …… Appears more fun-loving

Behavioral Inventory Cont. ……………… More likely to ask questions …………. More likely to make statements …….. Less inflection in voice ……… More inflection in voice __ __ __ __ Total Scores

The Social Style Grid Less More R E S P O N I V A S S E R T V E N E S S

Characteristic Behaviors of More Assertive People Exude more energy Move faster Gesture more vigorously Have more intense eye contact Be erect or lean forward, especially when making a point Speak more rapidly Speak louder

Characteristic Behaviors of More Assertive People Cont. Address problems quicker Decide quicker Be more risk-oriented Be more confrontational Be more direct and emphatic when expressing opinions, making requests and giving directions Exert more pressure for a decision or for taking action Demonstrate anger quicker More assertive people have most but not necessarily all of these characteristics.

Characteristic Behavior of More Responsive People Express feelings more openly Appear friendlier Be more facially expressive Gesture more freely Have more vocal inflection Be comfortable with small talk

Characteristic Behavior of More Responsive People Cont. Use more anecdotes and stories Express more concern about the human aspect of issues Prefer working with people Dress more casually Be less structured in their use of time More responsive people have most, but not necessarily all, of these characteristics.

Style Grid For Self - Assessment ANALYTICAL Less Assertiveness And Less Responsiveness DRIVER More Assertiveness And Less Responsiveness AMIABLE EXPRESSIVE Less Assertiveness And More Responsiveness More Assertiveness And More Responsiveness

You Learn…. There are four styles of people – none of which is better or worse than the other styles. Each style has characteristic strengths and weaknesses not shared by the other styles. Each individual has a dominate style that influences the way that individual works. Our population is evenly divided between these four styles. People of each style can be successful. Behavioral patterns of one style can trigger stress in other styles. To create the optimum working relationships, it is necessary to get in sync with the style based behavioral patterns of the people you are working with.

Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, by Robert Marzano Categories of Instructional Strategies that affect student achievement Identifying similarities and differences Summarizing and note taking Reinforcing effort and providing recognition Homework and practice Nonlinguistic representations Cooperative learning Setting objectives and providing feedback Generating and testing hypothesis Questions, cues and advance organizers

Good Qualities of the Book Organization – good reference book for teachers Extensive compilation of educational research Examples for classroom use Research based without being different to read and understanding Practical applications List of resources in the index

Chapter 3 – Summarizing and Note taking To effectively summarize, students must delete some information, substitute some information and keep some information. To effectively delete, substitute and keep information, students must analyze the information at a fairly deep level. Being aware of the explicit structure of information is an aid to summarizing information

Research and Theory on Note Taking Verbatim note taking is, perhaps, the least effective way to take notes. Notes should be considered a work in progress Notes should be used as study guides for tests. The more notes that are taken, the better.

Classroom Practice in Note taking Teacher-Prepared notes Formats for notes Informal Webbing Combination notes

Why is this book important? Stressed the need for high quality staff development at a critical time when schooling and teaching is becoming more of a science than an art. For change to occur we all must provide and participate in: Provide time for adequate modeling and practice Provide Feedback Allow for differences in implementation of strategies Celebrate teachers as learners!