Productivity
Managerial tasks are "teacher tasks" such as prepping materials for art, vaccuming, working on bulletin boards, going back to track things in My Procare, etc.
Materials needed for the day should be prepped in advance of the day, and not in the moment. Be sure to utilize your planning breaks for prepping materials.
During business hours when your room is considered open with children, that time needs to be dedicated to children, and they need to have access to everything in the classroom.
When we fail to plan ahead and be prepared, it takes away from learning time in the classroom and often times brings unwanted behaviors.
Why should you use a variety of modalities when teaching?
Like adults, children all have different learning styles. While some children can learn by sitting and listening, other children really need to have things to look at or touch in order to fully grasp the lesson. When appropriate, find opportunities that allow children to move. This could be as simple as doing hand motions during a song, or as active as re-enacting a story.
What is an example of brainstorming, planning and then producing something with children?
If a child wants to build a castle, you might help them brainstorm the different parts of a castle, get paper and help them draw a plan for what they want to create, and then allow them to actually use the blocks to produce their castle.
What is scaffolding and how can you scaffold children's learning?
Scaffolding is acknowledging a child's current level of understanding, and building on it by offering hints and providing assistance to help them get to an answer or complete a task.
Scaffolding can take place both during whole group activities as well as indiviudally. During whole groups, if a child doesn't respond with a correct answer, you would give them a range of possible answers rather than just correcting them or moving on to antoher child and allowing them to choose again and feel successful.
During centers, if a child can't figure out a puzzle, you could sit with them and offer hints rather than telling them where the piece goes.
Providing scaffolding helps children perform at a higher level than they could on their own.
How does repeating and extending children's language help them?
When you are repeating what children say, you are modeling appropriate and more complex language, and providing examples for different ways we use language. For example, if a child says, "It's an AB pattern." a teacher might say, "You strung the beads on in an AB pattern." This response models complete sentences, pronunciation, and more complex vocabulary.
When children are wandering during centers, what does this mean and how should you help correct it?
If children are wandering, they are bored and/or having a hard time connecting with an activity. If you see children wandering during center time, you should use what you know about the child and their interests to help engage them in something that is genuinely interesting to them.
When children have to just sit and listen for long periods, they often loose interest and start to wiggle around. Aim to find opportunities in each lesson to involve children and keep their attention focused.
What does it sound like to apply concepts to the real world and to children's lives outside of the classroom?
If you are talking about sequencing, you might ask children to tell you the order of the steps for burshing their teeth or getting ready for school. Knowledge is more meaningful to chidlren when it applies to their experiences outside of the classroom. Always look for ways to use examples that are likely to occur in children's lives.
Another example would be asking children if they ever eat certain foods you are having at school at home. This could then lead into deeper conversations about what they have at home vs. at school, and what both share in common.
What is a feedback loop?
We don't want to hear:
"What did you do this weekend?"
"Went to the zoo"
"Fun."
How would you keep this conversation going?
Why should you encourage children to talk to one another?
Peer conversations encourage children to use a variety of language and develop their communication skills. It also helps them to deepend their relationships with one another.
Children know the routines and rules of the classroom so well that the classroom would be capable of running without a teacher present.
How can you help reinforce the objectives of your lesson, and help to clarify your learning objectives in a simple manner for children?
The use of webs or other organizers are oftentimes useful for children. You can do a web before you begin a new theme to see what children know, and then after you are done with the theme, you can add on to your web, or create a new one to see what they have learned.
What does it sound like to link concepts to previous learning and across activities?
If you are learning about trees, you might find ways to talk about trees, or elements of trees throughout the day. For example, in science you might read a book about where paper comes from - linking it back to trees. Then in art you might do leaf rubbings, again linking it back to trees. Next you might turn your dramatic play center into a gardening center, where you talk about seeds and planting - going once again back to trees. Purposefully choose learning activities, both within a given day and over time, that focus on similar concepts. This will help children to develop a deeper understanding of those concepts and integrate new information.
How can you focus on the process of learning?
Slow down and give children time to explain what they are doing and why. When they express the reasons behind their actions and comments, new opportunities to expand learning occur.
What are open-ended questions and why are they important?
Open-ended questions enfourage an extended response. "How" and "Why" are great ways to start open ended questions, because then children can't generally reply with only one word as an answer. "What happened here?" or "Can you tell me more" are also great examples.
For example if you say, "Did you build that?" Children will reply "yes." but if you ask, "Wow, can you tell me how you made that?" The child now has to go into more detail and use more language to tell you about what they did.
This is important to help model that language and to get children talking more.
What does it look like for a teacher to be prepared for curriculum/activities?
A teacher who is prepared has all materials ready and accessible, and has a plan of execution in mind.
We want to see that teachers are not "winging it", because oftentimes, this comes with time then being spent away from children, and promotes unwanted behavior in children who are bored and having to wait.
Why is it important to use a variety of materials and to have them avaliable throughout the day?
Encouraging children to use a variety of materials will increase their interest within actvities. When children get used to seeing the same materials day after day, they eventually grow tired of them.
Adding variety could include adding envelopes and a mailbox to the writing center, using clay in the art center, turning your dramatic play area into a vet clinic, etc.
How can you encourage the use of analysis and reasoning skills? What's an example of a higher-order thinking activity?
Plan activities that focus on higher-order thinking, such as problem-solving and comparing/contrasting. Find ways to ask children to predict and experiment as ways to explore concepts and to expand approaches to learning. Encouraging children to develop their thinking skills leads to deeper understanding of concepts.
An example of a higher-order thinking activity could be having children categorize felt peices by shape or color and ask why they think the shapes are different or alike.
What does specific feedback sound like? Why is it important.
Rather than saying, "nice job" or "good work," give them specific information about why their answers are correct or incorrect. This not only provides the child with more information, but may also help other children who weren't sure of the correct answer or how to complete a task.
This will be dependant on the age and abilites of the children present. A lot of people tend to overthink this and try to use very complex words. An example of using more advanced langauge would be to say, "Let's put on our boots and zip up our coats. it's absolutley freezing out, and there is a lot of fluffy snow to play in" rather than " Time to get dressed and go outside.
What can you do during transitions to eliminate waiting?
Children should not wait longer than 3 minutes with nothing to do. When children are required to wait, with nothing to do, they begin to get bored and in turn, you start to see behavioral issues.
To eliminate waiting you can sing songs, play games such as I Spy, or offer something to play with such as magnet tiles or puzzles.
**Books cannot be used as a timer filler if children are not genuinely interested.
What does effective facilitation look like during activities and lessons?
During centers and small groups, the teacher is moving around the room asking questions, playing with children, participating in their activities, etc. This allows children to get the most out of the materials that are avaliable.
During group time, the teacher stays away from going through the motions and asking and answering questions him- or herself, and instead uses open-ended questions that allow the children to get involved in the activity.
How can you help children understand concepts on a more deep level?
Challenge children to think about the hows and whys of learning. Focus their attention on the process of generating solutions to problems rather than just getting the right answer. Understanding ideas rather than memorizing facts prepares children to analyze unfamiliar concepts they encounter. Rather than saying, "That piece doesn't go there." You could ask a child, "Why doesn't that rectangle fit in the triangle spot?" and then walk the child through problem solving.
How can you provide encouragement and affirmation during the the day?
Recognize and acknowledge chidlren's efforts and encourage them to persist by using a specific feedback. For example, if children are working on a floor puzzle, you might say, "I see how hard you are working on that big puzzle. With teamwork, I know you guys will be able to do it. Call me over if you need any help!" This kind of positive recoginition encourages children to keep working on difficult tasks and try new strategies.
What is self talk? What is parallel talk?
Self-talk is when you are narrating what you are doing as you do it. "I'm opening the box of graham crackers. Now I am handing out two to each of you. One, two!" Think of the host of a cooking show and how they talk about everything they are doing.
Parallel talk is when you provide language for children's actions, such as "Look at you! You are putting on a chef's hat and an apron and getting out a pot. You are a real chef!" Think about a sportscaster and how they tell you everything hapening during a sporting event.