Dec 2010

Volume 4, Issue 12 Inspiring Teachers

Pic above: Workshop for MEd Students at Institute of Advanced Studies in Education, Osmania University, 2009

Articles this month:

Beyond Classroom –

Editor ……..….2

The difference a teacher can make – Jaye

Lewis ………..3

Dysfucntional Illusions

Sridhar Chitta ….5

Driving educational change through excellence in teaching

This month we have a true

story of how a teacher can

make a difference …with a

note from the author. The

story is really touching.

Some classroom tips and

some extracted observations

from Stanford’s Tomorrow’s

Professor (sent by Dr Sridhar

Chitta). These are findings

from a study.

There is an article on how to

Editor’s Comments

November & December at Teacher’s Academy

1. Sessions for Effective Teaching

Skills for NMREC

2. AMSSOI - One day workshop on

Innovative Teaching - Dec 10th,

2010

3. 4th batch of Teacher Training

Program at Enhance Edu, IIIT-

H - Nov 1st to Dec 5th, 2010

4. Adam's High School - Long term

school development project -

two more training sessions

5. Workshop at Aditya Engg

College – Nov 17th to Nov 19th,

2010

create interactions outside

class with students.

A few useful links that you

should not miss and the

regular schedule at the

Academy complete this

issue.

Our website is undergoing

the annual make over, we

will be interested in

knowing what will make

teachers come to the site

regularly. These have been

captured in some of the

polls on the site. But please

do drop a line to info@...

We will be seeing you again

in 2011 and with lots of

plans and actions for the

new year.

Read, enjoy, forward, and

do ask your friends to sign

up.

Do you want to be a part of excitement

@ Teacher’s Academy?

Short term project for faculty

from professional colleges

We need innovative and competent teachers of

engineering and management colleges for a short

term project of one month. The mandate is to

create sample lessons plans and actual videos of

these innovative methods. Selected candidates will

have to work at Hyderabad for the period. They

will be paid an honorarium. Excited and

interested faculty may send their profiles

including their methods of teaching and why they

want to be in this project to info@inspiring-

teachers.com

Inspiring Teachers Page 2 of 5

Tip!

Your private help or discussions outside

the class should be about classes or

problems but keep

your exam and assignment

discussions within

boundaries defined by you.

Many times, the light

teachers try to light in the

minds of students is like a

candle – it gets blown out in

the breezy yawns in the

classrooms. If it manages to

survive there, it gets

extinguished in the winds of

campus activity. And we get

disappointed that we are

not able to light a flame!

But sometimes, inspiration

occurs unexpectedly,

without a lesson plan or

design on part of the teacher

– outside the class; maybe

in your staff room, or when

students visit your house, or

during a bus journey

together. A professor relates

how a student came to his

office with her assignment

in which she got a C grade.

She wanted to know what

was wrong with her

assignment, though the

professor had written

detailed comments. As he

sat her down and started

finding out how she wrote

it, and looked at her notes,

she understood that her

main points weren’t

conveyed in the paragraphs

that she read. Suddenly, it

was clear to her, and she left

Beyond the classroom Uma Garimella

with a big smile. It wasn’t

just the student who

learnt, states the

professor. Through this

discussion, he could see

that his comments were

not helpful, and also that

his teaching needed to

address some more issues.

Now the question is how

many students actually

come and meet you in

your staff room? Just

telling them that you’re

available doesn’t help.

Some students are too

scared to approach you,

while others barge into

your room for the smallest

reason.

I have personally found it

useful to make a schedule

and see them. I ask 6-8

students (specific roll

numbers) to come and

meet me (one on one),

and I take the opportunity

to discuss their

performance, attendance

and other issues. In one

such meeting, a student

told me he didn’t

understand English, and I

had to call him for a few

sessions in Telugu on the

subject. This interaction

should take place at least 2-

3 times in a semester/term.

The risk of such interactions

is that you might develop a

personal bias, which may

not go down well with the

rest of the students.

But I have seen teachers

who maintain their

professional reserve while

being helpful. They lay

down ground rules in class -

what is negotiable and what

is not.

Another suggestion is that

you discuss the solution to

an exam paper before you

start grading their papers –

I typically do it in the

immediate next class after

the exam. This opens up

some valid deviations

students have made from

my ‘solution’.

(Contd. On Page 5)

Inspiring TeachersPage 3 of 5

schoolbooks. Grim faced and

determined, he headed for the

woods.

The following Monday he

arrived at school on time, and

he waited for Miss White to

enter the classroom. She

walked in, all sparkle and

smiles! God, she was beautiful!

(Contd on Page 5)

On email: It is a true story, every word. It

amazes me every time I

think of it. My

husband just recently

had a massive heart

attack, and we almost

lost him. Praise God

for the miracles of

modern medicine. The

reason I'm sharing this

is because I've heard

time and time again,

from complete

strangers, since

his heart attack: "He's

such a wonderful man,"

or "He's such a good

man." I like to think

that the intercession

of that good woman is

one of the things

that has made my

husband, the man he is

today. He has overcome

much, and he is a good

man.

Thank you for your

request. It has

particular meaning

right now. Of course

you may use it!

With gratitude,

Jaye Lewis

other things, as the day

wore on. His heart was not

in school, but in the

woods, where he often

escaped alone, trying to

shut out the sights, sounds

and smells of his alcoholic

home. No one checked on

him to see if he was safe.

No one knew he was gone,

because no one was sober

enough to care. Oddly,

Steve never missed a day

of school.

One day, Miss White's

impatient voice broke into

his daydreams.

"Steve!!" Startled, he

turned to look at her.

"Pay attention!"

Steve locked his gaze on

Miss White with

adolescent adoration, as

she began to go over the

test results for the seventh

grade.

"You all did pretty well,"

she told the class, "except

for one boy, and it breaks

my heart to tell you this,

but..." She hesitated,

pinning Steve to his seat

with a sharp stare, her eyes

searching his face.

"...The smartest boy in the

seventh grade is failing my

The difference a teacher can make Jaye Lewis

Steve, a twelve-year-old boy

with alcoholic parents, was

about to be lost forever, by

the U.S. education system.

Remarkably, he could read,

yet, in spite of his reading

skills, Steve was failing. He

had been failing since first

grade, as he was passed on

from grade to grade. Steve

was a big boy, looking more

like a teenager than a

twelve year old, yet, Steve

went unnoticed... until Miss

White.

Miss White was a smiling,

young, beautiful redhead,

and Steve was in love! For

the first time in his young

life, he couldn't take his

eyes off his teacher; yet, still

he failed. He never did his

homework, and he was

always in trouble with Miss

White. His heart would

break under her sharp

words, and when he was

punished for failing to turn

in his homework, he felt

just miserable! Still, he did

not study.

In the middle of the first

semester of school, the

entire seventh grade was

tested for basic skills. Steve

hurried through his tests,

and continued to dream of

class!"

She just stared at Steve, as the

class spun around for a good

look. Steve dropped his eyes

and carefully examined his

fingertips.

After that, it was war!! Steve

still wouldn't do his

homework. Even as the

punishments became more

severe, he remained stubborn.

"Just try it! ONE WEEK!" He

was unmoved.

"You're smart enough! You'll

see a change!" Nothing fazed

him.

"Give yourself a chance! Don't

give up on your life!" Nothing.

"Steve! Please! I care about

you!"

Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it!!

Someone cared about him?

Someone, totally unattainable

and perfect, CARED ABOUT

HIM??!!"

Steve went home from school,

thoughtful, that afternoon.

Walking into the house, he

took one look around. Both

parents were passed out, in

various stages of undress, and

the stench was overpowering!

He, quickly, gathered up his

camping gear, a jar of peanut

butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle

of water, and this time...his

Inspiring Teachers Page 4 of 5

1800-Teacher.com http://www.1800-teacher.com/

Free training & development resource center http://thetrainingworld.com/

Fun & Games http://www.funandgames.org/index.htm

Kash Club http://kashclub.com/

Teacher Plus – Honoring The Guru http://www.teacherplus.org/event/honouring-the-guru

CDIO http://www.cdio.org/

Schoolscape http://www.schoolscape.in/en/index.html

Illusion 1: Hard courses

weed out weak students.

When students fail it is

primarily due to inability,

weak preparation, or lack

of effort.

Realistic view: When

students fail it is often due

to inappropriate

pedagogy. Substantial

improvements were

produced (see above) even

in classes traditionally

regarded as necessarily

difficult, among them

calculus, physics,

chemistry, and economics.

Dysfunctional illusions Sridhar Chitta

Useful Links

Faculty Development

program at Sir MVIT,

Bangalore in 2009

This is not to say that

students have no

responsibility for their

own work. Rather, we

have grossly

underemphasized the

faculty members’

responsibilities.

Illusion 2: Traditional

methods of instruction

offer effective ways of

teaching content to

undergraduates. Modes

that pamper students

teach less.

Realistic View:

Evidence is equally clear

that these conventional

methods are not as

effective as some other far

less frequently used

methods. The comparison,

still from physics, is that

alternative methods teach

on average twice as much

as traditional lectures.

from Chapter 10, Dysfunctional

Illusions of Rigor: Lessons from

the Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning, by Craig E. Nelson,

Indiana University, in the book,

To Improve the Academy:

Resources for Faculty,

Instructional, and Organizational

Development, Volume 28, (Eds)

Linda B. Nilson and Judith E.

Miller

(Contd. From Page 2)

Many times this is a

perspective you have missed

or you have worded the

question ambiguously. Then

I either invalidate the

question or consider new

answer options during my

grading. This saves lot of

embarrassment and

heart-burn after marks

are handed out.

Remember, to become a

good teacher, you should

be open to interactions

outside classrooms. But

don’t get drowned in a

flood of students.

Maintain a schedule that

is comfortable to you and

the students. Be practical

and don’t get frustrated

by setbacks.

Beyond The Classroom

Inspiring TeachersPage 5 of 5

The difference a teacher can make cont’d from page 3 Teacher’s Academy

Hyderabad

PHONE:

97011 41118

E-MAIL: info@inspiring-teachers.com

See us at:

www.teachersacademy.co

He yearned for her smile to turn on him. It did not.

Miss White, immediately, gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried

through the test, and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss

White took his paper. Obviously puzzled, she began to look it over. Steve walked back

to his desk, his heart pounding within his chest. As he sat down, he couldn't resist

another look at the lovely woman.

Miss White's face was in total shock! She glanced up at Steve, then down, then up.

Suddenly, her face broke into a radiant smile. The smartest boy in the seventh grade

had just passed his first test!

From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same,

but life still changed. He discovered that not only could he learn, but he was good at

it! He discovered that he could understand and retain knowledge, and that he could

translate the things he learned into his own life. Steve began to excel! And he

continued this course throughout his school life.

After high-school Steve enlisted in the Navy, and he had a successful military career.

During that time, he met the love of his life, he raised a family, and he graduated from

college Magna Cum Laude. During his Naval career, he inspired many young people,

who without him, might not have believed in themselves. Steve began a second career

after the Navy, and he continues to inspire others, as an adjunct professor in a nearby

college.

Miss White left a great legacy. She saved one boy who has changed many lives. I

know, because I am the love of his life.

You see, it's simple, really. A change took place within the heart of one boy, all

because of one teacher, who cared.

About Teacher’s Academy…

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