Best Practices? Help!

[teachertiffy]

Good morning everyone! I'm new here, but I I really need some advice.

I'm a long-term high school English learning support sub, but I'm interviewing for a 4th grade Gen. Educ. position for next year today at 1:00!!!! It's in the same school district, but I'm still so very, VERY nervous!

My friend interviewed at this school last year, and she told me one of the very first questions that they asked her was...

"What 3 best teacher practices do you use in your classroom?"

It is such a broad question, and I know so many things I can say, but I want to focus on other things besides just instruction. I know I definitely want to say differentiated instruction, but what else can I use as a best practice for classroom management, time management, etc?

Any ideas would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Chef Dave]

Best practices will vary depending upon where your school is located.

For example - a school with a history of low performance might want to address the capacity to diverse student needs. You develop this capacity by hiring the best qualified personnel you can find. Historically - inner city districts have attracted more than their fair share of novice educators or teachers who are uncertified in their field or lack a major in the subject area they teach. (Education Trust, 2000). Students of lower ability classes are also less likely to have qualified instructors. Accordng to Neild, 2003, freshmen at low performing high schools are more likely to have less experienced and less qualified teachers than students in upper grades.

A school with a CTE program (careers and technical education) might want to create cross connections to the community by creating externships with employers and offering college level classes through local colleges. Research has shown that 9 out of 10 CTE students who take college level classes are likely to graduate from high school.

In terms of more generic practices:

1) Address the instructional needs of students who enter high school unprepared for rigorous college prepratory work.

According to a research study performed by Haney in 2004, most states do not regularly report grade retention data. Many districts do not have a monitoring system in place to identify students who are "off track" or "at risk" for drop out.

The state of Indiana now requires high schools to report the number of freshmen who are not earning enough credits to become sophomores. This is considered a critical step towards identifying students at risk of droping out.

The Chicago Public Schools ahve integrated a 9th grade "on track" indicator in their accountability system to identify at risk students. The indicator uses student class credits and failures to predict whether students will graduate on time.

"Rigor" is one of the new three R's of high school reform efforts - rigor, relevance, and relationships. At my school we have intervention programs for students who have failed AIMS testing. Our intervention programs include mentors, student tutors, and access to a self paced CAI tutorial program.

In Virginia, the state has matched funds from districts to conduct interventions for students in grades 6-9 who are at risk of failing the end of year 9th grade algebra exam. The intervention includes 2 1/2 hours of tutoring per week in a 10:1 student to teacher program.

Some schools are implementing talent development programs by offering "catch up" courses. For example, at my school, freshmen with deficient math skills take "contemporary math" which is basically a remedial math program that prepares students to take advanced math classes.

Other schools have implemented "Freshmen Seminars" which combine study skills, personal goal setting, and social group skills designed to prepare students for high school.

2) Personalize the learning environment to address individual needs and reduce the sense of anonymity.

In a 2006 study conducted by Bridgeland, 47% of all drop outs reported being bored or disengaged at high school. 38% believed that they had "too much freedom" and not enough direction. Intervention strategies need to be in place - especially for 9th graders who are making the transition to high school.

For example, Georgia has implemented an initiative to put a graduation coach in every high school. These coaches work with students who are at risk of dropping out of high school. They link students with community mentors, create individualized graduation plans, and develop credit recovery programs. The coaches are trained by a partnership of a national organization, Communities and Schools and the Georgia Department of Education.

Another initiative is to use small learning communities to create an interdisciplinary team who work with a group of students. Teachers assume responsibility for the educational progress of their students through high school. At my high school, I work with four or five other teachers to work with the graduating class of 2011.

The Minneapolis Public Schools use a program called Check and Connect. It's a drop out prevention program for students in an urban system with learning, emotional, and/or behavioral disabilities. The program was created by researchers at the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota. In this program, each student has assigned mentor who checks attendance, behavior, and academic progress. Students in this program are more likely to stay in high school and to be successful compared to students who aren't.

[DarrenB]

Don't forget about having a measurable class management system, something that encourages positive behavior and reduces the amount of time spent disciplining students. There are a ton of class management systems out there. Just be sure you mention how important your consistent response is to the students' success.

Good luck!

Darren