The Math Classroom Management and Leadership Tool Kit Part II

Other ideas for classroom management and leadership:
Environmental changes: Lights up, lights down Open door, close door
Walk around with a pen so you can mark up student work
Popsicle sticks with student names for cold calling
Hands on activities
Guest speakers
Skeleton for notes

In today's fast paced society, where in person meetings must compete with online games and social media, we can help create opportunities for students to be actively learning.  This is a challenge as students may not see the importance of Math and/or education.  If we are willing to change modalities and keep up the pace, we may be able to lead our students and  engage them for a longer period of time thereby creating more learning opportunities.

Ideally, we would like students to be self-motivated but more on that in the next post.

The Math Classroom Management and Leadership Tool Kit Part I

Students can be a tough audience.  Most students are in Math class because it is a requirement so what can teachers do to keep students focused and engaged?  I know I cannot always delight and engage my Precalculus students for 75 minutes at a time.  It is hard to remember the "tool kit" in the moment.  Please send suggestions via email or post comments if you have any other suggestions to add or modify this "tool kit"

This partial list includes modalities of learning and teaching as well as physical items that may help in the Math classroom.

Using a timer (displaying it sometimes)
Switching between using technology and not
Calculator use vs not
Voting systems like remote clickers or if cell phones are allowed www.polleverywhere.com (this worked well for one section but the other section posted up inappropriate comments that displayed in real time on the screen in front of the classroom -- yikes!)
Independent work including exit slips/tickets, checkpoints and quizzes
Group work with groups they choose or groups you choose

Part II will include more Tool Kit items so please stay tuned

National Educational Standards...Leadership

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/opinion/05herbert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
This Bob Herbert op-ed piece outlines a new Harvard Ph D in Educational Leadership that will emphasize reform, learning and policy. He discusses the challenges of public education in our country with its video game culture and high dropout rate.

Leadership is essential in education at the national, district, school and classroom level. Will add some leadership links later in the month.