Can any k-12 teacher (s) answer a few questions asap?

Question

I would like to get as many different persepectives and I can for my research paper. Thanks for your help!

Q1.How important is each of the following for successful teaching at your grade level: knowledge of content, pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of learners and learning? How do you use educational research to improve your teaching?

Q2.How much does the ability of your students vary? What strategies do you use to deal with ability differences?

Do you use "ability grouping" in your school?

Q3.How do you capture attention at the beginning of class? How do you personalize lessons and encourage involvement? How do you provide feedback?

Q4.How do you create order in the classroom? How do you ensure that students understand tasks, are challenged and successful?

Q5.How do you convey enthusiasm about the topic, caring and positive expectations?

Q6.Do you provide opportunities for students to rehearse information? How?

Answer 1

these questions can not be covered adequately in an online response.  so... i won't even begin.  you should go to your local bookstore... half price, barnes & noble, etc.  there is plenty of information there. =)

Answer 2

1-All of these things are very important, but there is a balance.  Pedagogy in education has made a huge shift in the past 10 years and school are overseeing their teachers in ways that had never been imagined before.  In my school, we are presented with training and research on a very regular basis, so you can hardly fall behind.

2.  My students are all over the board.  Some are newly arrived from Mexico and have no English at all.  They are very bright, and some have had a good education there.  Some, however, are from very rural areas and their education was spotty at best.  Many of them are fine in terms of academics, but the need to learn English before they can really start moving here.  I've had very gifted students all they way to kids who were identified as special ed. in the same room.    You differentiate for them, which means you teach the same content but at the level that is appropriate for them--that's where ability grouping comes in.

3.  Ability grouping is a very touchy thing.  You don't want to track kids and have them get stuck.  We do ability group for language and math at my grade level.  There are only 2 of us that teach that grade and we are very careful to stay flexible.  Kids don't stay in the same group if the begin to struggle or excel.  We switch them back and forth.  You need to know your students well--not just academically, but emotionally.  Our students are about 10 years old and moving down can be hard.  We do it if needed, but we have to really be aware of how the student is feeling.

3-4  Hard to answer.  I think, in the end, you can't mimic another teacher.  Kids are smart and they see through it.  Find your own place in the classroom.  Who are you?  Be authentic.  Students like authentic people who are good leaders.  Don't try to be their friend.  Be their leader-firm but fair.  Kids like structure.  Find something to be interested in in everything you teach.  It's the mark of a good student and you need to show them how that works through your own action.  If you make your room comfortable and exciting you will get lots of feedback and you'll keep asking for more--verbally, on paper, on individual white boards--think, pair, share.  Jazz it up.  You'll find that you get a rhythm.  As the lesson moves you can start seeing who needs to be pulled into small group and who is ready to move on to something harder.

5-Enthusiasm should come across in the way you teach it.  You can to care in order for them to care.  I act as if everything I'm doing is exciting because it is interesting or because it's a challenge and I just know they can do it.  Be direct with your expectation and hold them to the letter of the law.  They will respect it.  Caring comes in your compassion towards individual students who are struggling.  

6-This is done during the guided practice part of every lesson

Answer 3

1.  All of these are very important to be successful in your field.  A teacher who is not prepared in these areas will likely have lower success rates less control over classroom management.  I am constantly reading new books on new up and coming strategies to use in the classroom.  Educational research will continue to improve the state of our schools and how we teach and approach learning.

2.  I have had students as high as 3-4 levels above grade in reading and math and and those who were 2-3 levels below in reading and math.  I meet with different groups for reading every day, so that I can focus on the skills they are lacking in or excelling in to provide appropriate interventions and enrichment.  For math I do the same.  While students are able to work independently I meet with students who are struggling to provide them with more individualized instruction and repetative practice to retain their skills.

3.  I use a Time Timer (it's a clock that counts down how many minutes left in an acitivity and then beeps when time is up) and when the timer beeps the students know they must clean up and line up by their center or if they're at their seats they stop working and wait for further instructions.

4.  I create order by providing consistent, daily routines.  If there are changes in our daily routine, I announce them at the beginning of the day.  We practice our routines the first few weeks of school so that they understand what is expected of them and this creates order in my classroom.  I constantly monitor students, I usually keep a checklist with the goals the students are supposed to meet and mark whether they are beginning, developing or secure in those skills.  This also drives my planning for further lessons.

5.  I do thorough research on each topic I present.  I try to relate it to them by allowing them opportunities to share what they know and what they wonder about the topic.  This gets them motivated to begin studies on a particular topic.  All students who want to share are given the opportunity to do so.

6.  I am not completely sure on this question what it is that you mean.  I provide students with the opportunity to read and reread books we're practicing (I teach 1st grade).  This gives them practice on recognizing high frequency words and new vocabulary.  A new book is introduced nearly daily early in the year and we read it in class and then they read it at home with their family.