| Mary Lou Folts |
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Don’t Lecture Me! Providing lessons that engage all students is always a challenge for teachers. In this workshop you will explore techniques to entice the reluctant participant while allowing the eager student to contribute without dominating the classroom. You will participate in a variety of activities that enhance discussion, elicit active listening behaviors and guide interactive note-taking skill development. Finally you will experience a lecture model that engages students by using cognitive theory to make the information “stick.” Teaching by Heart Chances are you did not enter the teaching profession to help students prepare for taking standardized tests, yet in 2007 that is exactly the task that occupies much of your classroom time and energy. In this era of “data-driven instruction,” how can you revive and maintain the spirit and enthusiasm that originally brought you to the profession and specifically to the humanities? How can you transform the requirements at the national, state and local level into engaging lessons that give your students crucial life experience and provide you with professional fulfillment? This workshop, which is based upon teacher motivation and adult learning research, will help you, novice or veteran, to examine your core beliefs about teaching, learning and this very human line of work that we have all chosen. You will have the opportunity to explore more of the why and less of the what, finding ways to renew your commitment to the basics of teaching and learning. English Language Learners in the Secondary Classroom: Supporting their Needs While Encouraging their Independence* Each year more and more students enter our classrooms without a traditional background in English language and literacy. This workshop will help you to welcome these students and use their presence as a resource in designing your lessons, whether you have few or many English language learners. You will see models of adapted lessons and observe methods for including novice English speakers in classroom discussions and activities. Designing a District-/School-Wide Writing Assessment This workshop is designed for the building or district administrator as well as the grade level team leader or department chair. As a participant, you will review one district’s experience with a 7th grade curriculumbased English/social studies writing assessment and learn ways to adapt this experience to your own environment. You will follow the planning from the initial review of state standards through design of the units, goals and materials, to the nuts and bolts of the administration of the writing task itself. You will learn about the scoring process and the communication of results to students, parents and teachers. Finally there will be an analysis of lessons learned in five years of administering the assessment. The Interactive Content Journal and Student Understanding As teachers, we know intuitively that each student is an individual. Yet curriculum requirements often prescribe one set of topics and one set of outcomes for all. Using the writing journal as a tool for exploring individual learning is a way to encourage students to express their unique reactions to content and to help the teacher monitor individual and group learning, adjusting instruction as needed. This workshop will provide you with techniques for eliciting student responses to content in a variety of subject areas and ways to use these responses in developing a learning community within the classroom. * Repeated workshop Mary Lou's Bibliography Handout Mary Lou's Workshop Handout , and another |
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