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After I take this course, I have many more opportunities to watch other teachers teach. I love the video observation. Every time when I observed a class, I would learn from different styles of teaching, different strategies of solving students’ problems, the advantages or disadvantages. While you are teaching, it is hard to pay attention to every student. While you are observing, you may notice how students react to teacher’s questions, ppt, activities, etc.

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I work in a mix-age class where students are 4 to 6 years old. So it is hard to make a high expectation that fits all ages. However, when I plan my lesson, I will set learning goals and expectations for different age group. I think setting expectation is like picking an apple. An appropriate expectation is something that your students lift up their toes and they can reach. Teachers should set expectations based on their class situations.

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Teacher-Parent conference for each new student, the conference is basically to get to know the family and the new students. Understand their expectations and needs. We also held a teacher-Parent conference for each student around the mid-term  and reviewed what their children have achieved so far and answered any questions. For students with special needs, we would arrange another meeting to discuss more about it.

Daily activity description and photos upload. We need to upload at least 3 activities a day with photos on a learning app called “Dingding”, so that parents can check it out everyday.

Mid-week report and Friday report. We send private messages to individual families and talk about how their children behave in the class socially, emotionally or academically, etc. And we will write summary notes  in students’ communication books on Friday.

Write a final report at the end of the semester.

Make phone calls in two situations: 1.  Whenever there is an emergency, such as a child getting injured  or getting sick. 2. Have not seen the parents face to face in two weeks.

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Class Dojo

1. Teachers could ask students to pick their  favorite creature and engage them in the game.

2. Teachers could give students points for rewarding behaviors, such as helping, participation, being polite, etc.

3. Celebrate students’ improvement weekly or monthly.

4. Show and send the points’ result to the individual parent before or during the teacher-parent conference.

5. Never ever deduct students’ points because it is not helpful at all.

Hot Potato

1. Whenever you need to play a “hot potato” game with your students, you can use it.

2. Teachers just simply press “start” button and wait for the explosion sound

3. Time limit for each round is varied. Teachers just press “start” and play another round.

Scholastic Learning Zone
Many international schools offer full access to the Scholastic Learning zone. I like it because students can take the SLZ test every semester so that their reading materials are varied because it is based on their reading levels. Teachers can check out each student’s level and their improvement.

We have a whole set of Reading A to Z paper books in class. During reading class, we will assign students reading in pairs or read aloud

Voki

1. Teachers ask students to download Voki in their device

2. Encourage them to make up their own characters

3. Allow students to use it as an assignment tool. For example, one of the assignments for the week is to talk about a memorable experience with the family. Student can record or type in text in Voki, and submit it as an assignment.

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Transitions between activities:
Teacher gives warnings. Teachers should tell students what the next activity is.

Use a transition song. We use a clean-up song, circle time song, line-up song to help students move to the next activity.

Call names. We sometimes call out students’ names in the same group, and ask them to move to the next activity as a group.

Whoever finished the last activity can move to the next activity.

After everyone is ready, we will start the next activity.

Bathroom transitions:

Ask all the boys to line up and use the bathroom while girls are reading in the corner

Wash their hands

Drink water

It is girls’ turn to use the bathroom

Nap time transitions

Give students 5 minutes warnings before the nap time

Play a soft music

Turn off the lights section by section

Ask whoever wants to use the bathroom

Ask students to lay down on their beds and close eyes

Outdoor to Indoor activities transitions:

Take off shoes and put them in their own cubbies

Line up to wash hands / use bathroom

Get changed if it is sweaty

Sit down and drink water

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We show grit

Things are not always easy. Tomorrow’s challenges are unpredictable. When students are facing difficulties, such as reading, writing, and failure in solving problems, they become frustrated and want to give up. We want our students to try harder, if necessary try again. As a teacher, while we ask our students not to give up and try again, we need to guide them and show them directions, or break out the task into small parts. Students should build trust with the teacher and believe in themselves that they can overcome the difficulties.

We nurture our curiosity

Curiosity can help us learn better and keep the enthusiasm and love of learning throughout life. When a teacher introduces new content, try to ask questions to stimulate curiosity. For some questions, teachers could encourage students to find out the answers by themselves. Students learn to develop inquiry and research skills. Students understand that they can research online, or in the library, or any tools that could help.

We respect each other

We respect the culture and personal history of others. Students learn to listen and  respect  perspectives of other individuals and groups.. When teachers or students are talking, we should not interrupt it. When we have questions to ask, we raise hands first. We respect others’ choices of their favorite activity or toy.

We express ourselves confidently and creatively.

Students learn to express themselves both in Chinese and in English. We encourage students to express freely and creatively. If some students laugh at others’ opinions, we need to stop them and make it clear that everyone has the right to express themselves. You can disagree with it, but never laugh at it.

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My final reflection of building a positive classroom climate

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My final reflection of building a positive classroom climate