Thursday, April 24, 2008

What Great Teachers Do Differently: Fourteen Things That Matter Most

What Great Teachers Do Differently: Fourteen Things That Matter Most; will be presented by Todd Whitaker at the 2008 Texas ASCD Annual Conference. What are 14 strategies you, and your school can do to have a great school year in 2008?

This session will show you what “great” teachers are doing versus the normal everyday teacher. Growing up, we all remember having that one teacher that we enjoyed, learned a lot from and as we entered the next stage of our life, we always went back to visit them. What did that teacher do differently from all the other teachers we had? Teaching is no easy task, but there is something that can be said for those teachers that have passion and transfer that passion onto our youth.

A sneak peak at 1 of Todd Whitaker’s 14 things that matter most is: Great teachers establish clear expectations at the beginning of the school year and then follow-through with these expectations as the year continues. Great teachers are prepared and organized; they know what to expect during the school year and are able to overcome whatever is thrown their way. How many times have you been in a situation where you didn’t know what you were suppose to be doing or what you were going to gain by being somewhere or doing a particular task? People like to know what the big picture is and how they will reach an end point. Being able to let students know what you, as the teacher, expect and what they will be doing throughout the year will make a big difference in the classroom.

Please join Todd Whitaker on Monday, October 20 at 2:45 p.m. to hear more of what matters most.

Please feel free to answer the questions below or make a comment on this subject. We would like to know how you feel about the topic.

1. Do you consider yourself to be a great teacher?
2. What things do you do differently from the rest of your colleagues?
3. What characteristics do you think “great” teachers have?


Upcoming Texas ASCD events:

June 25 & 26th, 2008
Boot Camp for Curriculum Administrators
John Crain
Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD (Dallas/Fort Worth area)

June 26 & 27th, 2008
Successful Instructional Math Strategies for Students
CaLandra Pervis
Region 16 ESC (Amarillo)