E is for Educational Excellence omaisa.com

Plan B Global Education Foundation
1518-B Evelyn Lane
Honolulu, HI 96822
ph: 1-808-499-4538
brookw@hawaii.edu

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Omaisa.com -- a wide-ranging educational website

This is a site that provides visitors with a variety of articles, resources, links, and information about education, teaching, history, even student motivation and discipline. We explore from deep in the very foundations and philosophy of education, to the immediate-- various perspectives regarding super techniques to try in the classroom. Grow in your ability to reach the unreachable with differentiated discipline!

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Read all about meeting the needs of students in our modern educational world.

Resources

Find out what is available online from other sites!

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Reports

Inform yourself about some different graduate departments at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Classroom Excellence TopTips

One lesson of prevention is worth a semester of cure..

Get to know and like the subject(s) you teach through mastery, finding exciting outside materials, new resources, and 'real-world' uses to share.
Use team-building strategies (such as Tribes) so students get to know and trust each other.
Have students start with a fun, quiet assignment or 'reading zone' (10-20 minutes) while you take care of administrative tasks at the beginning of each day/session (Wong & Wong, 1991).
Have students try again if they misbehave in minor ways, or answer incorrectly, until they get it right. Don't switch to another student, even if others call out with raised hands.
Avoid unconcious bias by using a method of random selection of students: e.g. a jar of popsicle sticks with names on them.
Include students in the community: allow for expression of class issues like safety, give them responsibility and duties, and discuss management issues from the students' perspectives before switching activities when things go wrong.
Be organized and communicate clearly so students are not left wondering what to do, or with the impression the teacher is unreliable.
Learn non-confrontational communication techniques such as "I'll wait until it is quiet," and other "I" statements.
Variety is the spice of school: brighten their days with multiple media like music, scents, student-active inquiry, dance or movement. Remember that monotonous lectures and reading can quickly lead to boredom and fidgeters' misbehavior.
Learn your students' attention and 'interest' spans for topics, e.g.: special learners - 10-15 minutes maximum; ages 3-6 -- 6 to 25 minutes; grades 2-4 -- one to two lessons; grades 5-6 -- two to three lessons; and so on.