Rigor in Career/Tech Classes

I love listening to this marketing teacher from Tennessee.  He uses rigor, motivation, and engagement to lead his students to success!

Teachers Build the Future

My biggest challenge as a teacher was keeping myself motivated. I hope that you remember everyday that you build a future for your students, one they may not be able to see. 

Ultimately, motivating yourself is about making a choice every single day that you are going to do your best, and you are going to stay positive—no matter what. It may be just remembering that you do make a difference. Or it may be continuing to do your job; even when the crowd is yelling at you. It is going in every day to teach, even when you don’t see that you are making a difference. It’s believing the best, even when the students don’t act their best. One thing that great teachers have in common is that they keep themselves motivated and they do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Make the commitment now to starting every day off RIGHT!

R Remind yourself of why you do this.
I Invest energy in positive activities.
G  Grin—it’s contagious.
H  Hang out with positive people.
T Take time to reflect and renew.

Thanks for remembering to vote in the poll on the right!

What is Instructional Rigor?

Take a look over at Suite101 for my next piece, and introduction to the concept of instructional rigor and classroom-based examples.

What is true instructional rigor? What are classroom-based strategies that are rigorous?

Instructional rigor has become a controversial topic. Educators disagree about the word itself, citing a dictionary definition of harsh or rigid. A friend of mine points out that if you look it up, the word rigor falls between rigamarole and rigor mortis.  True instructional rigor, however, is centered around student learning. Rigor is "creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels (2008)."

A Rigorous Environment

What would those concepts look like in a classroom? An environment of rigor includes a focus on progress for each student, in addition to meeting a standard of achievement. If your school has an honor roll, consider adding a progress roll, which recognizes the small steps that each student makes in order to reach the larger goal. Success breeds success, so as students make progress, they are encouraged to try for a higher level.

Read more at Suite101: What is Instructional Rigor? | Suite101.com http://barbarablackburn.suite101.com/what-is-instructional-rigor-a404575#ixzz1oqikusNF

Reviewing for Higher Levels of Learning

I used a pizza wheel to review material students are assigned to read prior to or during class. Each student writes a fact he or she learned in one of the pizza slices. Then, working in small groups, students pass their papers to the next group member, who also writes a fact. This continues around the circle until each pizza is full. Students can discuss the material, using the pizza wheels as a prompt. Then, ask students to write an extended response to a higher level question. For struggling students, one of the stumbling blocks to application-oriented questions is ensuring knowledge of basic facts.  This provides an instant go-to guide for a reference.

An added bonus is ensuring that each student participates, rather than certain students dominating group work. Although you can measure students’ understanding in an oral discussion, asking each student to write ensures that all students are involved in the lesson and provides an opportunity for every student to respond.

Have you seen my new Pinterest site? Also love to look at other educators' boards...contact me!

New March poll is also up (look to the right). What's your biggest challenge with the CCSS?

The Common Core State Standards and Text Complexity

I'm writing a new series of blogs over at Suite 101.  The newest one is on the increased emphasis in the Common Core State Standards and text complexity.Be sure to check it out!

The Common Core State Standards focus on increasing text complexity. What does that mean? How can we address that in the classroom?

The Common Core State Standards are one of the hottest topics in education today, especially since they are designed to increase rigor in the classroom. Increasing text complexity, or the level of text students are expected to understand is embedded in the standards. It's important to keep in mind that text does not mean only books. The CCSS emphasize non-fiction, informational text materials that will prepare students for college and the workforce.

Read more at Suite101: The Common Core State Standards and Text Complexity | Suite101.com http://barbarablackburn.suite101.com/the-common-core-state-standards-and-text-complexity-a404421#ixzz1oqVAJ0zA

Headed to NASSP!!

Is anyone attending the NASSP conference in Tampa starting today?  If so, I'd love to see you.  Ron Williamson and I will be presenting Rigor in Your School: A Toolkit for Leaders at 2:30 on Saturday. Participants will be live tweeting at #EdRigor. I'll also be signing Rigor Made Easy, which makes its official debut at the conference.

Prior to my presentation on Saturday, I'm looking to connect with great leaders!  Contact me through my website or via Twitter @BarbBlackburn if you'd like to chat. 

I almost forgot...some other great sessions I'm looking at: Ron and Howard Johnston have an early Saturday morning session on social media, Eric Schessinger is presenting on Educational Leadership 2.0 on Saturday, and on Friday at 7:30, a group including Carolyn Guthrie (I was so impressed when I met her two years ago) is presenting "Creating a Rigorous School Culture".  Awesome choices!!