It’s that time of year again…exciting, crazy, and overwhelming. Too much to do in too little time, but somehow we always seem to get it done by the time school is over.

Here in Manatee County we are down to our last two weeks!

And, with final exams, award ceremonies, textbook collection etc. it may seem difficult to find the time to do something that I think is very important for every teacher to do.

What is it?

Well, if you’ve been reading my blog posts for a while now then you know that every year around this time I stress the importance of letting the students evaluate their teachers.

This is a GREAT way to better prepare yourself for next year. Yes…I know…right now the last thing you want to think about is next school year, but by taking the time to let your students evaluate your teaching, you will easily be able to determine what worked and what didn’t work from the perspective of your students…and who better to let you know.

Here is the evaluation form I will be using this year: http://www.TeachingTipsMachine.com/TeacherEvaluationForm.pdf

(Feel free to pass it on…just click the “share” button below)

Also, here are some links to past posts I have made about the importance of letting students evaluate their teachers:

http://teaching-tips-machine.com/blog/a-twist-on-the-teacher-evaluation/

http://teaching-tips-machine.com/blog/an-end-of-the-school-year-tip-for-teachers/

http://teaching-tips-machine.com/blog/how-to-be-a-10-better-teacher/

Good luck with the end of your school year!

Best Wishes,
Adam Waxler
Teaching Tips Machine, LLC

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Do you need end of the year awards and certificates?

Every student deserves some form of recognition for good attitude, hard work, academic excellence and outstanding performance.

Classroom Awards, Certificates and Passes contains 73 colorful and visually attractive pages that make it possible for teachers of all levels to recognize and reward students, without having to design the pages from scratch.

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Teachers ask hundreds of questions a day so it is important that they use questioning techniques that challenge the thinking of ALL students.

Here are five teaching tips for high-level questioning:

1. Require ALL learners to answer the question. This is when using the “all-write” strategy is very helpful. Instead of simply asking a question and having one or two students raise their hand to answer, the teacher should have ALL students write down an answer to the question. This way the teacher has gotten all of her students involved in the question and answer process. Or, instead of having all students write their answer, the teacher could simply ask the question and have ALL students share their response with a partner.

2. Require students to defend, or back-up, their answers.

3. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to create high-level questions. For example, instead of asking, “Which U.S. President authorized the use of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II?” a teacher could ask, “Was President Truman justified in using the atomic bomb to end World War II and why do you think that?”

4. Differentiate questions as appropriate.

5. Promote examination of new and different perspectives. For example, instead of asking, “What happened at the Boston Tea Party?” a teacher could ask, ‘If you were a British soldier, how would you have reacted when you heard the news about the Boston Tea Party?”

By using these simple teaching tips for high-level questioning, teachers can not only get ALL their students involved in the lesson, but also get all those students to gain a deeper understanding of the content by challenging them to think critically about each answer.

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Are you looking for more teaching tips?

For effective teaching tips that you can start applying to your very next class make sure read 52 Teaching Tips @ www.52TeachingTips.com

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Just a quick teaching tip: Don’t forget to be flexible!

This time of year, teachers are feeling the crunch. Many states still have their state tests to give and final exams are right around the corner. Therefore, teachers are feeling the pressure to make sure they get everything “covered” in the little time remaining.

However, it is important that teachers don’t forget that just because the material gets “covered” doesn’t mean the students have actually learned that material. Teachers need to continue to be flexible and must still take advantage of those teachable moments.

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