Facilitator's Guide to What Successful Teachers Do. Neal A. Glasgow

D. Hicks is currently the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA)/Induction Coordinator for the San Dieguito Union High School District in Southern California. She oversees a two-year induction program for new teachers. She is the coauthor of What Successful Teachers Do in Diverse Classrooms: 71 Research-Based Strategies for New and Veteran Teachers (2006); What Successful Teachers Do in Inclusive Classrooms: 60 Research-Based Strategies That Help Special Learners (2005); What Successful Mentors Do: 81 Research-Based Strategies for New Teacher Induction, Training, and Support (2004); and What Successful Teachers Do: 91 Research-Based Classroom Strategies for New and Veteran Teachers (2003). Cathy serves on the executive board of the California Association of School Health Educators (CASHE) and is on the adjunct faculty of California State University, San Marcos. She has presented at more than a dozen mentor-teacher leader conferences. She has taught at both the middle and high school level for over twenty-seven years.

Introduction

      This facilitator’s guide is a companion to What Successful Teachers Do: 101 Research-Based Classroom Strategies for New and Veteran Teachers (2nd ed.), by Neal A. Glasgow and Cathy D. Hicks. It is designed to accompany the study of the book and provide assistance to group facilitators, such as school leaders, professional development directors, peer coaches, team leaders, mentors, and professors. Along with a summary of each chapter in the book, Glasgow and Hicks have provided chapter discussion questions, activities, journal writing prompts, and suggestions for practical application. Corwin also offers a free 16-page resource titled “Tips for Facilitators,” which includes practical strategies and tips for guiding a successful meeting or seminar. The information in this resource describes different professional development opportunities, the principles of effective professional development, some characteristics of an effective facilitator, and the responsibilities of the facilitator and useful ideas for powerful staff development. “Tips for Facilitators” is available for free download at the Corwin Web site (www.corwinpress.com, under “Extras”).

How to Use the Guide

      When using the guide during independent study, focus on the summaries and discussion questions. For small study groups, the facilitator should create an agenda by selecting activities and discussion starters from the chapter reviews that meet the group’s goals and guide the group through the learning process.

      Because this book does not have to be read “cover to cover” to be effective, we have found the following format to be useful to new teachers. Most new teacher induction programs meet either weekly, biweekly, or on a monthly basis. Teachers are assigned one chapter per meeting or seminar. The facilitator’s guide for that chapter may be used to guide the meeting, discussion, or seminar.

Chapter-by-Chapter Study Guide

       What Successful Teachers Do: 101 Research-Based Classroom Strategies for New and Veteran Teachers, Second Edition

       by Neal A. Glasgow and Cathy D. Hicks

Preface

       Discussion Questions

      1. As a new or veteran teacher, what goals have you set for yourself this year?

      2. What characteristics does a successful teacher possess? Who is a successful teacher in your school? What makes this teacher successful?

      3. What’s in it for a school or district not to have to recruit and retain new teachers each year? Or, what’s in it for a school or district to retain excellent teachers?

      4. How can site administrators and other school leaders assist in helping new and veteran teachers be successful?

      5. What makes you want to be a successful teacher?

      6. Explain what the concept “work smarter, not harder” means to you.

      7. How can the experiences of veteran teachers aid a new teacher?

      8. What do you expect from this book (or workshop seminar)?

Chapter 1. Interacting and Collaborating With Students

      Empathy is one of the most valuable concepts or tools a teacher can possess when interacting with students. Seeing the classroom environment through the eyes of the students can serve all teachers well. This chapter features strategies that help teachers gain insight into how students see the educational environment and how this knowledge can be used to improve teaching and learning, specifically classroom interactions between teachers and students and between the students themselves. Highlights include the following:

      • A look at homework, an uneven educational playing field that favors some and handicaps others.

      • Strategies targeting a range of peer-to-peer interactions used to enhance cooperative learning opportunities.

      • Insight into differentiation of instruction based on what research tells us about gender and learning.

      • Techniques that increase self-reflection skills and reduce the emotional distance between teachers and their students.

       Discussion Questions

       1. Why do you give homework in your class?

       2. What would be the ramifications of doing away with homework in your school?

       3. What are some of the factors within your students’ lives that make homework success more doable for some and less doable for others?

       4. How do you help students learn to reflect on their own academic success and failures?

       5. How can you structure classroom activities so that your students learn the importance of team work?

       6. What are a few caveats in allowing students to work cooperatively?

       7. What are some positive results of having students become self-reflective learners?

       8. What advantage is it to you to train students to become peer tutors?

       9. How do you address gender issues in the classroom?

      10. How is humor used successfully in your classroom?