Principles of Good Teaching Transcript

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The purpose of this workshop is first to encourage you. Many of the characteristics of good schools are inherent in the home school model. Another purpose is to challenge you by giving you some specific ideas for setting goals to improve your home school. My hope for you today is that you will go home encouraged about your strengths and determined to put one or two specific ideas into practice. Don't try to change too many things at once or you'll be overwhelmed and nothing will change. Don’t aim for perfection. Aim to do your best, to improve, and to be diligent.

Once you find one or two goals you would like to implement, you have my permission to tune out the rest of this talk. Just look up once in awhile and smile to keep me encouraged!

My background

Before we go on, I should tell you a little about me. I grew up in the Colorado Rocky Mountains 35 miles west of Denver. I went to elementary school in a tiny, two-room mountain school, graduated from Nederland High School in a class of 25, and went on to the University of Northern Colorado where I earned a degree in Elementary Education. I moved to Alaska in 1979 and taught intermediate grades for 10 years with the Anchorage School District. My mission is to support home schooling families in any ways I can so that they have the greatest chance of success in this very important endeavor.

One question I'm always asked concerns my personal experience with home schooling. I did not home school but I have a very good excuse. I have no children. I have, however, been privileged to work with home schooling families in Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, Washington and Texas over the past 10 years. I think home schooling is the best thing going in the field of education today and I commend you!

Why a Session on the Principles of Good Teaching?

I have always been interested in what's called "effective schools research." Some schools are better than others. Students achieve more, there's a more positive atmosphere, and the kids are happier and healthier. What makes the difference?

I also wanted to share with you some of the very best of what I learned in my college and inservice training. On the whole, I think it may be better if you don't have a degree in education. Think about it. You're separated from kids for four years and taught some very persuasive philosophies which I learned later weren't true. I still struggle with overcoming some of what I learned in college. You can learn how to teach from your children. Be sensitive to the feedback they give you.

Nevertheless, some of what I was taught was very useful and improved my teaching. One little example is what is called "wait time." After you ask a question, bite your tongue and wait. This is quite difficult for many Americans, and I am no exception. Conversation in America usually like an exhilarating game of ping-pong, with participants bouncing ideas back and forth in rapid succession without many pauses. Most children have not learned to think that fast. We really don't think that fast either. Most of what we talk about we've already thought through, so we're generally repeating ideas and opinions rather than formulating them.

Wait. When your child answers, bite your tongue again and wait some more. What often happens is that the student will begin to expound on his/her answer and talk about the subject in more depth. One of the best things you can do to help your child learn to think is wait. Pause. Train yourself not to be impatient or uncomfortable while your child forms his thoughts.

A Few Introductory Comments and Cautions

• No school, no matter how effective, is perfect. Don't strive for perfection. Instead, strive to do your best and to keep improving.
• Some teachers break all the rules and still do an incredible job. The principles and characteristics I'll be talking about are common to most effective schools, but by no means all.
• Some of my strong recommendations reflect my personality and may not be appropriate for you.
• If you like the results you're getting, don't change.
• Focus on your strengths. Don't discount your strengths just because they seem easy or obvious to you. They may not be so easy or obvious to the person next to you. As I go through these things, don't just write down what you need to improve. Write down what you're already doing well and feel good about it!

In preparing for this talk, I reviewed effective schools research and also asked excellent teachers and home schooling parents what one or two things they learned over the years they consider most useful and valuable. I actually used index cards in preparing this because I had so many little bits of information. They fell into ten categories. Note that the first six have to do with the context of education. The last four have to do with the actual process of teaching.

1. Vision and Goals
2. Nurturing Relationships
3. Structure
4. Consistency
5. Balance
6. Communication
7. Planning and Preparation
8. Instruction
9. Practice
10. Evaluation and Accountability

1. Vision and Goals

Principle: The success of any endeavor depends on the ability of its leaders to hold on to their vision and to set achievable goals that take them from the current reality to the realization of the vision.

This is a potential strength of home schooling, not an inherent strength. The reason is that in a public or even a private school, hundreds of people must agree on what should be the vision and goals of the school. It can be a great challenge for leaders to help so many diverse people reach a consensus. In a home school, the leaders are mom and dad. It's much easier to get two people to agree with each other than hundreds.

Knowing your vision helps you keep first things first. It gives you a source of inspiration, even in the thick of a thousand pressing details.

It is important to put your vision into words. Read it frequently and keep it foremost in your mind. You might want to put it on the wall or tape it to the inside cover of your plan book. You can revise it whenever you want, of course. After all, it's your vision. It might change over time.

Here's an example of a vision statement, just to give you an idea of what kinds of things you might want to include.

Our vision for our children is that they will develop into well-rounded, academically sound, socially adept, physically healthy, solidly Christian adults who value integrity and have the strength of character to stand up for what is right. We hope that they will internalize the virtues of humility, responsibility, gentleness, perseverance, justice, self-discipline, resourcefulness and generosity. We wish for them to enjoy learning, have a strong work ethic, be confident of their ability to achieve and overcome obstacles, and have a good background of foundational knowledge and skills. We want them to leave home with a sense of life's greater purpose as well as with vocational and entrepeneurial skills. We wish for them to marry well, establish stable homes, and become mature, responsible, contributing parents and citizens whose lives attract others to Jesus.

If possible, you want something that will grab your heart and put the stars back in your eyes. This should be an expression of your deepest dreams.

You've probably heard the saying: The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. In truth, the journey begins with determining where you want to go and making plans for how to get there. If your steps are random, you'll end up lost.

My husband and I had the opportunity recently to meet a man who walked 1000 miles. We rented a couple of our snowmachines to an Italian film crew that was covering the Iditasport, a race in which contestants walk, ski, or bike from Knik (north of Anchorage) to Nome, 1050 miles. We watched all of them leave and could only imagine what the next few weeks would be like for them.

Well, the Italian film crew wasn't all that experienced in riding snowmachines, especially over Rainy Pass. We got a call a week later that both machines had run into the same tree and parts were needed. By the time we rounded up the parts and flew our Cessna 172 to Farewell Lake to drop them, it was too late to return to Anchorage, so we flew on to McGrath, where we met several of the racers, including Roberto, the man who'd won the race to McGrath several times before and was now walking all the way to Nome.

Roberto is an extraordinary man. He's 56 years old, about 6'5" tall, and has only one eye. He has a small farm in the hills of Italy and makes his entire living from 14 or 15 cows, making cheese. In the race, he tows a small sled with provisions and is always in last place until at least Skwentna. But overall, he averaged 50 miles and about 22 hours a day. I asked him how he did it and he said his secret is to only focus on three hours at a time. At the end of the three hours, he sets a new goal.

Recommendations:

• If you haven't yet put your vision into words, make it a topic of conversation with your spouse and write a vision statement. Read it frequently to stay focused and on track.
• Set small, achievable goals and work on improving only one or two things at a time.

2. Nurturing Relationships

Principle: The best learning happens within a context of caring. Children don't care what you know until they know that you care.

This is an inherent strength of home schooling because no one, no one, cares more about your kids than you do. There are many caring teachers in the world, but no matter how much they care, the relationship can never be as deep or significant as the parent-child relationship. Friends and teachers come and go, but family is forever.

A few years ago, Fortune magazine reported that the #1 indicator of success for a child is a good relationship with a nurturing adult. #1!

Touching is one of the best ways to communicate that you care. Even a light touch on the shoulder can be incredibly powerful! I learned this in an inservice class. The teacher was modeling what she taught and walking through the room monitoring what we were doing. At one point, she lightly touched me on the shoulder and said, "Good job!" I'll never forget how much greater an impact her words had when accompanied by that touch.

It has been known for years that babies who are not touched die. Most people are starving for touch, especially in our fast-paced, high-tech world. Schoolteachers may be discouraged or even prohibited from touching students, even lightly on the shoulder.

You have no such restrictions. Use the power of touch to show your kids how much you care about them, and your teaching will be more effective.

Recommendation: If you were raised in a family that didn't do much touching or hugging, make it a goal to do more. Even if it makes you uncomfortable, it may be exactly what your children need.

In the best schools, kids have a sense of what we called "school spirit." They identify themselves with the school culture and are proud to be part of it.

I define "culture" as "the personality of a group." Your family has a culture. It consists of your history, your special stories or jokes, the way you do things, your customs or traditions, and the concepts you all share. You may not be especially aware of it because it's context, but it exists.

Recommendation: You can change and enhance your family culture intentionally, just as the best schools do. You might choose a motto, make a flag, write a family history, or start some special customs or traditions.

I stayed with a home schooling family in Kodiak, Alaska a few years ago. In that family, mom had started what she called "Fun Food Friday." On every other day of the week, the family ate nutritious, sensible food. But on "Fun Food Friday" the kids could have "fun food" like ice cream, hot dogs and candy. Some home schooling families dress the same, or use other ideas to increase the feeling of identity both children and adults have with the family unit. When children know who they are and where they belong, it's much easier to focus on academics.

3. Structure

Principle: The most effective schools are well-organized and structured.

This is not an inherent strength of home schooling, especially in families with an infant or toddler! It is possible to have an unstructured environment where people learn effectively, but it is unusual. It's not the norm.

I understand that you don't want too much structure. One reason you're probably home schooling is that you value the freedom and spontaneity that is available to you. Without some structure, however, nothing much may get done.

In my experience, the vast majority of children crave structure and are very unproductive without it. Schedules or norms help people make sense of the chaotic, distracting world so they can focus and be productive.

My husband, one of several excellent, experienced teachers I interviewed, told me that the single most important thing he learned in student teaching was to write the daily schedule on the board before the kids came in in the morning. The single most important thing...

A schedule gives both kids and teachers a sense of security and direction. It's a means of communication that can prevent misunderstanding and upset.

Not only that, a schedule increases what is called "time on task." "Time on task" is the time spent actually engaged in educational activities. In any environment, a certain amount of time is taken up with mundane tasks: going to the bathroom, getting books and materials out and ready, eating meals, etc. The most effective schools have much more "time on task" in a typical school day than less effective schools. Routines are streamlined so that "time on task" is maximized. Some families can get all their schooling done in 3-4 hours a day, in large part because that entire time is spent focused and "on task".

Structure is a potential strength of the home schooling model. You are free to choose whatever structure you like. One mom once asked me if it was OK to do most of her teaching in the evening. Yes, it is. If that is what works best for your family, do it. The point is to have a norm or structure that everyone understands. You can then vary it as needed.

There's a column in Practical Homeschooling called "A Day at Our House." In the selections I've read, I've been impressed by how the kids know there is a schedule or structure, even though it may not be followed. For example: "Normally, we practice piano at 10:00 but Dad is on a midnight schedule so we'll wait until later." There's a norm from which to deviate.

Routine is an element of long-lasting and successful marriages. I recently rediscovered this book in a used bookstore. It's titled Lucky in Love: Secrets of Happy Couples and How Their Marriages Thrive, by Dr. Catherine Johnson. I don't know if it's still in print, but I read it years ago and it made a big difference in my life. The author interviewed a large number of happy couples who had been married for at least 10 years. She was looking for what, if anything, they had in common. One thing she found is that happy couples establish and follow daily routines.

The stable family begins each morning with a cherished pattern of waking, rising, greeting the day. One partner always makes the coffee, one partner always walks the dog, both partners read the paper over breakfast. All of the happy couples as well as most of the not-so-happy but stable couples with whom I spoke led married lives kept on track by various daily routines.

A daily routine works by making life predictable. Family members know what they are supposed to be doing and when; life makes sense. The routine reinforces their sense of family reality, allowing people to take their families for granted, to believe without question that when they wake up in the morning, the family will still be there. Routines, in short, promote confidence; they promote trust in the natural and inevitable existence of the marriage. They do not in and of themselves produce happiness, ... but they underlie and support the blessing; they are a necessary if far from sufficient condition for the thriving marriage.

In practice, this means that those of us who feel our marriages (or home schools) to be adrift would do well to set about creating routine where there has been none before. Establishing a family dinner hour, setting a time at which both partners put work papers aside to concentrate on each other, brewing each other a fresh cup of coffee each morning: all of these small routinized gestures strengthen a marriage (or home school) much more than one might think. In the happiest of marriages such small, repeated detail becomes a source of enduring pleasure and strength. Routine is also of crucial importance to children: one study of National Merit Scholarship finalists found that the only factor that these high achievers had in common was that all of them ate dinner together with their families nightly!

I was a National Merit Scholar. Although my family wasn't the happiest, we did eat dinner together every night and during that time we discussed current events, what we learned that day, what we thought and why. I credit my parents with teaching me to think at the family dinner table.

Recommendations: If structure is an area you think you could or should improve, here are some specific suggestions for structuring and minimizing distractions:

1. Write the schedule for the day on a white board.
2. Give each individual a checklist of their tasks and assignments for the day.
3. Limit outside activities to a day or a few afternoons each week.
4. Don't answer calls between certain hours. Ask friends not to call and turn on an answering machine. Set aside sacrosanct time for learning.
5. Use Dad or other friends and family members to set up "fences" to protect the time.
6. Train the baby to sit quietly on your lap for up to 45 minutes.
7. Set up routines and systems so housework doesn't distract or overwhelm.
8. Try to stick to a basic routine for three weeks. That's the time it takes to form a habit. Once the routine is established and internalized, it won't matter as much that you deviate.

4. Consistency

Principle: When it comes to behavior management, consistency beats severity every time.

Remember when we talked about "time on task"? If you don't have kids' behavior under control, you won't get much done. Most of what teachers do is classroom management. You don't have to get caught in the same trap.

One of the most important things I learned in my tenure as a teacher is that small but dependable consequences for minor misbehavior make a huge difference in the long run. It's our natural temptation to overlook minor misbehavior until it becomes major, then come down with a severe consequence, like grounding the child for a month. Once the crisis is over, it's hard to follow through. Adults often soften and lighten the consequence. That is a very bad idea. It's inconsistent.

It's extremely important not to lie to kids. They need to know that you mean what you say. It's the basis of their trust in you and that trust is critically important. Psychologists have determined that what most damages children in an alcoholic family is not the alcohol, it's the lack of consistency. Kids don't know what to expect. Adults say one thing and do another. Promises are made and not kept. Kids learn they can't trust the people they love and it affects the rest of their lives. Adult children of parents who were inconsistent often have the same psychological syndrome as adult children of alcoholics, even though their parents didn't drink at all!

If you tell your children that they must follow a rule or standard of behavior, you owe it to them to follow through, for their sakes. Don't threaten. Don't lie to kids. Follow through.

Take time to train children in good habits, one tiny step at a time. You may feel pressure to hurry on into academics, but without the foundation of good habits, everything you do may be compromised and undercut. Training requires day after day of consistency and reinforcement, so that when it counts, kids know exactly what to do.

A few years ago I was privileged to attend a home church in Indiana. After church, a young mother of newly-rebellious two-year old twins was asking for help and advice. An experienced mom said she takes time when babies are very small to train them, so that when she gives a command and it really counts, the children respond automatically. She said, "For example, several times a day, I'll say, 'Abigail, come to mommy,' and then I reward her when she comes."

Abigail was playing with other babies on the floor. As soon as she heard those familiar words, "Abigail, come to mommy," she raised her head, looked at her mother and crawled to her. Her response was automatic.

Here's a suggestion for effectively and consistently reprimanding children for minor misbehavior:

1. Make sure they know exactly what is expected of them.
2. Tell them beforehand you will let them know how they're doing.
3. Reprimand them immediately when needed.
4. Tell them specifically what they did wrong.
5. Tell them how you feel about what they did wrong, in no uncertain terms.
6. Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let it sink in. You want them to feel how you feel.
7. Shake hands or touch them to let them know you're on their side.
8. Remind them how much you love and value them.
9. Reaffirm that you think well of them, but not of their behavior in this situation.
10. When it's over, it's over. Start fresh and don't mention it again.

Recommendation: Take time with your spouse to formulate behavioral expectations for your children, and come up with a system that works for you. If you've been inconsistent in the past, apologize to your children and tell them you are going to improve for their sakes. Be accountable to each other for consistency!

5. Balance

Principle: Strive for balance in everything.

Find a balance between:

• being too permissive and being too strict.
• book work and hands-on activities.
• focused time and free time.
• work, study and play.
• mind, body and spirit.
• feeling and thinking.
• routine and interesting activities.
• talking and listening.
• individual activities and group activities.
• indoor and outdoor activities.
• academics and arts.

Recommendation: It is impossible to achieve perfect balance, but keep this principle in mind. Evaluate your long-term and weekly plans regularly to see if anything is seriously out of balance and make corrections.

6. Communication

Principle: Good education rests on a foundation of good communication.

This is one of the inherent strengths of home schooling because, in general, there are fewer children per adult. This isn't always true. I met a young, energetic home school mom in Colorado who had 23 kids. Many of them were adopted, of course, and she was passionately committed to home schooling them. I have no idea how she did it. I stand in awe!

In home schools, kids have more opportunity to talk as well as listen. And adults have more time to listen as well as talk.

We talked earlier about effectively reprimanding children for minor misbehavior. It is at least as important to praise them when they do well. There should be at least three times more compliments than complaints, as a rule. When I first learned this, I wondered where I would find so many positive things to say to children who were driving me crazy. I finally discovered that it's OK to say the same positive thing again and again!

Here's one way to praise children. It's the flip side of the reprimand we talked about earlier.

1. Make sure children know exactly what is expected of them.
2. Tell them beforehand you will let them know how they're doing.
3. Praise them immediately when they do right.
4. Tell them specifically what they did well. Include character words: You were kind. You showed perseverance. You were considerate.
5. Tell them how good you feel about what they did right and what effect it has on you and others.
6. Pause to let it sink in. You want them to feel how good you feel.
7. Encourage them to do more of the same.
8. Shake hands or hug them in a way that communicates your personal support of them.

Good communication requires you as the adult to listen as well as talk. One mother I know of scheduled a "listening time" each week where the kids set the agenda and the parents gave them one-on-one, 100% attention. There were two kids in that family so the parents did this at the same time and traded every few months. This should be active listening only. Don't use it to give advice or introduce topics, although that can happen at other times.

But you know how it goes. Your children talk and seek your attention all the time but the minute you sit down and say, "Talk to me. You have my 100% attention," they may not be able to think of a thing to say. Over time, though, they will. They will learn it is safe to talk to you about anything on their minds or hearts, and if they someday need to talk about something scary or uncomfortable, there will be a built-in opportunity and a foundation of trust.

The woman who shared this idea with me said that "listening time" wasn't the favorite part of the week for her or her husband, but the kids loved it. When her eldest daughter went off to college, she breathed a sigh of relief. Now, she thought, she'd have some extra time on Sunday afternoon. But precisely on schedule, the phone rang. It was her daughter. Listening time.

Listening time continued over the phone throughout the college years. Then the daughter got married and mom again breathed a sigh of relief. But the next Sunday, precisely on time, the phone rang. Both the daughter and her husband were on the line. Listening time. She encouraged the new couple to do that for each other instead!

Recommendations:

1. We talked about "wait time" earlier. Train yourself to wait.
2. Take time to discuss ideas and events as a whole family.
3. Talk slightly above the child's vocabulary level. According to research, mothers are especially adept at this.
4. Praise at least three times as often as you reprimand. Look for opportunities to give honest and specific praise.
5. Consider setting up a "listening time" for each of your children.

7. Planning and Preparation

Principle: Good teaching depends on good planning.

At last we're past the context to the nitty-gritty skills of effective teaching. Never underestimate the importance of the context, however! It's like the foundation. You may not see it, but if it's not strong, everything else you do will be undermined.

Diagnosis / Prescription. This is an ongoing process. The best teachers know what their students know and what they need to know. They then teach the difference. You, as parents, know better than any teacher what your kids already know. You were with them on the vacations; you saw the same shows or films. Find out what they need to know, and you're well on your way to good teaching.

Assessing Readiness. How does a teacher assess readiness? The best way is to guess. Try something. If you see the kids' eyes glaze over, back off and do something else. They're not ready. Don't press on until the tears come. Try to figure out why they weren't ready and teach the prerequisites first. If you've done all you can think of and they're still not getting it, wait. Children mature at different rates and their readiness to learn is related to physical changes in their brains. Something can be incredibly frustrating and difficult to learn today but relatively easy in a few months.

Task Analysis. This is what distinguishes a good teacher from someone who really knows a subject. Task analysis is breaking what needs to be learned into small, sequential steps that build on one another. I once had a nuclear scientist speak to my sixth grade class. He was brilliant and he really knew his subject, but the kids couldn't understand more than a few words in a row. He may have forgotten all the small steps he took to reach his level of mastery. He certainly had not done what is called "task analysis."

Recommendations: You can't neglect planning for long without paying a price.

1. Schedule uninterrupted planning time once a week. Maybe Dad can help. Don't be tempted to use that time to catch up on phone calls or do the laundry. Use it to plan!
2. Formulate long term plans once a year or once a quarter. Then weekly plans will fall into place more easily.
3. Write weekly plans in pencil and change them as needed. If you don't get something done, don't worry about it, just do it next week. The point is to have specific goals because if you don't set goals, you'll never get where you want to go. Be gentle with yourself but keep on keeping on.

8. Instruction

Principle: Research has shown that some instructional methods are far more effective than others.

A researcher named Dr. Madeline Hunter spent a lot of time figuring out what makes for a good "lesson." Not everything educational is a "lesson" of course. Her model for teaching, however, was one of the most valuable things I ever learned, and other teachers told me the same thing. It may not be possible to include everything she taught in every lesson in the real world, but the more you include, the better your teaching will be. First lessons are very important. Take the time to plan first lessons in something new, such as fractions or magnets, very carefully. Just like first impressions, first lessons set the tone for everything that follows. You may be able to easily recover from poorly taught lessons later on if the kids succeeded early on and learned to like, not fear, the new area of learning.

Here's a overview of Dr. Hunter's teaching model:

• Standards
• Set the Stage (Anticipatory Set)
  • Objective
  • Purpose
  • Transfer
  • Motivation
  • Check for Understanding
• Instruction
  • Review
  • Input Information
  • Model
  • Check for Understanding
• Guided Practice (Practice without Penalty)
• Closure
• Independent Practice

Standards are the context. Without structure, efficient routines, materials ready and behavior under control, lessons can't get off the ground.

Anticipatory Set. This means building anticipation. You've probably heard that you should tell people what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. This is telling them what you're going to tell them.

• Objective. What are you going to learn today?
• Purpose. Why is this important to know?
• Transfer. How does this relate to what you already know?
• Motivation. How you will be held responsible for knowing this.
• Check for understanding. Students restate the above when prompted.

I'm going to model this for you with a lesson on comparing fractions. What the teacher says is in red.

• Objective. Today you will learn how to tell which of two fractional pieces is larger.
• Purpose: Knowing which of two fractional pieces is larger is much different than determining which of two wholes is larger. This is an important and often misunderstood concept of fractions. If you don't understand this, you will be very confused later on.
• Transfer: You'll be using the fraction kits just like we did yesterday.
• Motivation: Tomorrow we'll have a quiz on the basic concepts of fractions we've learned so far. This is one of the basic concepts of fractions and you need to know it.
• Check for Understanding: What will you learn today? Why is it important? How will you demonstrate your understanding tomorrow?

That's the anticipatory set. Now we move on to the actual instruction.

Instruction

• Review. Review any prerequisite skills or knowledge that is necessary to understand the new concept.
• Input information. Teach the new information, definitions, steps, rules, or procedures. Teach only what is necessary and avoid distractors. Involve as many senses as possible.
• Model. Demonstrate what students are expected to learn.
• Examples. Present several examples, then some non-examples. Maintain a ratio of four examples to every non-example. (A non-example is an example of doing something wrong--the children should be able to tell you what you did wrong.)
• Check for Understanding. Student restates what he has learned.

I'll continue with the lesson on fractions.

• Review: Yesterday, you learned how many fractional parts are in a whole. How many halves are in a whole? (Two) How many sixths are in a whole? (Six) How do you know? (If you cut something into six equal pieces and you have all six of them, you have the whole thing.)
• Input Information: You will use the symbols < and >. The big side, or opening, will go toward the larger fractional piece. The small side, or point, will go toward the smaller fractional piece.
• Model: Lay out your pieces in piles like you did yesterday. Then pick up the two pieces you are asked to compare and see which is larger, like this: (Teacher picks up 1/3 and 1/2, writes on the board 1/3 and 1/2, and writes the appropriate symbol between them.)
• Examples: Do a few more examples. Then do a non-example, such as just writing the symbol between the fractions without picking up the pieces and looking at them. The children should notice and say what you did wrong. Do a few more examples, pass out the worksheet, and give final instructions: Be sure to pick up and compare the pieces for all problems above the dotted line, even though you may see the pattern and be tempted to rush ahead. Find the rule for comparing fractional pieces and tell it to me before you do the problems below the dotted line.
• Check for Understanding: Which side of the symbol goes toward the larger piece? the smaller piece? What are you supposed to do above the dotted line? below the dotted line?

Closure. I'm going to mention closure here although it usually comes after guided practice. Closure is "telling them what you told them." You can summarize what was learned, or better yet, have the child verbalize and review what he/she learned.

Recommendations:

1. Put a copy of Madeline Hunter's model in your plan book. Keep it in mind as you plan and teach.
2. Try to incorporate one thing at a time, such as checking for understanding, until it becomes a habit and feels "natural."
3. Remember that even the best teachers may not be able to incorporate all these elements in the real world. Just do your best and strive to improve.
4. Make it a habit to have children tell you what they learned at the end of each lesson.

9. Practice

Principle: Practice makes perfect (perfect practice, that is).

There are several types of practice, including guided practice, independent practice, and distributed practice.

Guided practice happens immediately after instruction. For this type of practice, the teacher should be right there, watching and encouraging. Do not allow a child to practice errors. Give immediate encouragement or gentle corrective feedback. This is where you learn whether the instruction has been effective. If it's very clear the child did not "get" the concept, it might be best to back off. Analyze what went wrong. Maybe the child did not have prerequisite knowledge. Teach it. Maybe the task analysis wasn't good enough. Did you teach too much at once or skip steps? Plan another lesson with a different approach. If all goes well and the child does 10 or so problems under your close supervision, he/she can go on to independent practice. Guided practice should be "practice without penalty." Don't grade or score at this early stage of learning.

Independent practice is what teachers would call "homework." Its purpose is to strengthen and reinforce learning. Without it, much or even most of what you've taught will likely be lost. If new learning is not recalled or used within 24 hours, recall drops to about 75%. If it's not used or recalled within 48 hours, recall drops to 25%. If it's not recalled or used within 72 hours, you might as well not have taught it.

Distributed practice takes place after the student had grasped the concept and leads to eventual mastery. It maintains the learning and holds children accountable for remembering what they've learned forever. Otherwise, children may decide that it's OK to delete the information from their minds after the test.

Recommendations:

1. Allow for practice without penalty. Don't feel you have to grade or score everything.
2. Vary types of practice to keep it interesting.
3. Periodically review earlier learning so students know they have to remember it beyond the test.

10. Evaluation and Accountability

Principle: Both teachers and students are more focused and productive when they feel accountable to someone else.

One inherent strength of home schooling is evaluation. You're close to the kids. You evaluate their progress informally all the time. You're on the alert to make sure the "get" what you're teaching.

Accountability, however, can be a weakness of home schooling. Not necessarily, of course, and even when it is, it can be overcome.

I once had a friend confide in me that he wanted to compete in a fencing competition but he was having trouble getting motivated to do the necessary daily practice. I offered to call him late each day and ask if he'd practiced. It made a huge difference. Just knowing I was going to call and ask was the little extra motivation he needed. He won the competition and gave me credit. All I did was call once a day.

The key is to choose your own goals and then find someone who cares enough to support you in achieving those goals. You don't want a critic. You want someone who supports and encourages you to be diligent in the pursuit of your goals and dreams. That person could be a spouse, another family member, or a friend.

Hold students accountable primarily for following instructions, being attentive and respectful, being diligent and putting forth their best effort. Keep track of your goals and achievements, and teach them to do the same.

Especially as your children get to high school age, hold them accountable for doing things in a timely manner. There have been many brilliant and well-educated home school students who were admitted to top colleges and soon flunked out, not because they couldn't do the work, but because the didn't do it timely. They thought if they weren't ready for a test one day, they could do it the next. If they didn't have their paper done by the due date, they could turn it in later. Such flexibility is OK when kids are young, but the world doesn't work that way.

Recommendations:

1. Know your goals.
2. Find someone to whom you choose to hold yourself accountable.
3. Dads, hold kids accountable. Have them tell you what they learned each day. Insist on an answer! If they learn you're going to ask every day, they'll be ready with answers.
4. Formal tests show kids that they know what they need to know. They need not be scary or punitive.

There is much more I could talk about, of course, but time is limited. Remember, your job today was to note things you're doing well and to select a couple of ideas you really want to implement.

I want to close with one final principle and a true story to illustrate it.

Principle: What you focus on, grows. If you focus on the positive, you'll get more positives. If you focus on the negative, well, you can figure it out...

I met Mark when he was about 4 years old. He was the fourth of five children in his family and his oldest sister was my best friend in high school. Mark's dad was a diplomat with the United States Information Service. They moved a lot from country to country as he was given new assignments. They had slides and artifacts that really interested me. Although they were in Colorado only for a year while Dad earned his master's degree, our families have stayed in touch for over 30 years.

A few years ago, I received word that Mark's parents were driving up the Alcan Highway and would give us a call when they got to Anchorage. During their stay, I heard Mark's story for the first time.

Because he was the fourth of five children, his parents knew from early on that he was different from the other kids. He didn't catch on to things as quickly and had trouble learning to speak.

When he went to first grade, they fully expected to get a call from the teacher. When no call came, they called her, and were told that Mark was doing fine. At the first parent-teacher conference they pressed for details, but were told that everything was fine.

At the end of that year, Mark's dad was transferred and Mark started second grade in a new school system. This time, the teacher called right up. He was not at all ready for second grade, she said. He should be tested for special services and he should repeat first grade.

Needless to say, the parents were not too happy with the first grade teacher. But there was nothing to do now but address the situation.

Mark struggled through elementary school, never doing that well. Because of his speech defect, he wasn't verbal or especially popular. He was fortunate, however, to have a valued place at home. His family loved him and knew there was more to life than academic success.

His sixth grade teacher was especially concerned about his shyness. She called his parents and asked, "Is there anything Mark can do especially well?" She wanted to focus on his strengths.

"He can ride a unicycle," they said.

So the teacher talked to Mark and asked him to bring his unicycle to school to show the other kids. He was an instant hero. The other kids saw him in a different light and he began to see himself in a new light. He was even featured on a local TV news show. This was a great boost to his confidence. He began to study harder and his learning improved.

Before he entered ninth grade, the family moved to Spain. There, Mark chose to attend the demanding British prep school rather than the American high school.

Again, the teacher called right up. "Mark really doesn't fit in well with the other students at this level," she said. "He know so much more than the other 9th graders that we recommend he move up to 10th grade."

So Mark graduated on schedule and went on to college. He continued to do well and was even elected student body president in his senior year. From there he joined the Navy. He became a fighter pilot and earned the distinction of becoming a "Top Tail Hooker" by making 10 perfect consecutive landings on an aircraft carrier. He's happily married and has two children.

He never completely overcame his speech defect. He still has some problems. But he's made a good life for himself, in large part because he had a family who loved him for being himself and parents who did not give up on him, even when he was tempted to give up on himself.

None of us knows what the future will bring. It will almost certainly surprise us. Our visions may or may not become reality. Our responsibility is limited to doing our best with what we have, and taking things one step at a time.

Thank you for your attention, and I wish you all the best as you go forth to do the most important job in the world as you teach and love your kids.

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