Remind 101 - Teacher - Student communication

• Remind101 aims to eliminate communication obstacles between teachers, students and parents. Across all grade levels and institution types, Remind101 provides a safe, simple communication solution to help teachers extend their classrooms.

PR, N. (2013, August 13). Remind101 Supports Back To School With Its Safe Mobile Messaging Platform That Improves Teacher-Student Communication In More Than 20,000 Schools. PR Newswire US.

The importance of parent involvement

• Parents who monitor their student's schoolwork and daily activities, communicate frequently with teachers and help develop schools and its relationship to student achievement have been widely studied. Nevertheless, many principals and teachers report that lack of parent involvement continues to be an obstacle to increasing student achievement at school. The purpose of this study was to determine whether emerging technologies facilitate better parent-teacher communication and parent involvement. The study revealed that parents and teachers both place a high value on proactive parent involvement. As access to technology continues to expand, the capabilities for connecting parents to schools will continue to grow.

Olmstead, C. (2013). Using Technology to Increase Parent Involvement in Schools. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 57(6), 28-37

A comparison of class dojo and paper-pencil methods

• Many teachers report using behavioral management charts in their classrooms as a means of managing student behaviors, but little is known about exactly what behaviors teachers are charting, or specifically how. This study sought to determine how teachers collect and track behavioral data. Researchers examined behavioral charts used by teachers in a Title I elementary school that reported using Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports (PBIS). Researchers evaluated charts for ten classrooms (~150 students) and compared the type of data collected by each teacher for each child. Findings indicated that teachers either used no system, their own systems, or a computer-based system (Class Dojo) for charting behavior. An analysis of each of these systems found that Class Dojo provided significantly more data (positive and negative notations) in general, as well as more reliable data than any other system reviewed.

Krach, S. K., McCreery, M. P., & Rimel, H. (2016). Examining teachers’ behavioral management charts: A comparison of class dojo and paper-pencil methods. Contemporary School Psychology, doi:10.1007/s40688-016-0111-0

The Future Ready Framework - Community Partnerships

As a teacher and a parent, I believe that we have the responsibility to prepare our students to be competitive worldwide, and this roadmap can be accomplished through a systemic approach to change, as outlined in the Future Ready Framework. There are seven (7) key categories, called "Gears", in order to ensure a successful process: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Use of Space and Time, Robust Infrastructure, Data and Privacy, Community Partnerships, Personalized Professional Learning, Budget and Resources.

Community partnerships include the formal and informal local and global community connections, collaborative projects, and relationships that advance the school’s learning goals. Digital communications, online communities, social media, and digital learning environments often serve as connectors for these partnerships.
The school serves as a hub of the local community. As such, it actively involves the community in achieving its learning goals, reaching out to the community to (1) extend learning into community centers, libraries, businesses, higher education institutions, museums, and other public spaces; (2) bring relevance to curricula through partnerships that take the shape of apprenticeships, community service, and the use of community-based experts and resources; (3) implement community-based exhibitions, reviews, critiques, and celebrations of student work; and (4) coordinate after school programs, including collaboration with the school and students’ teachers. Community Engagement and Outreach.
Creating a classroom connected with real world examples, and exposing our students to those types of problems, will prepare them to be successful for the next step in their life.


https://dashboard.futurereadyschools.org/framework/community-partnerships

The Good Behavior Game: Effects on and Maintenance of Behavior in Middle-School Classrooms Using Class Dojo

Classroom management is one of the key components for successful instruction and affects both instructors and learners. Although most frequent discipline strategies in schools involve punitive actions, research suggests that using positive statements to teach and reinforce desirable behaviors is more appropriate and effective. A form of a group-oriented contingency that focuses on desirable behaviors is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG). The GBG has been used widely in its original form focusing on undesirable behaviors, and more research is needed on its positive version. Another strategy that can be used within classrooms is Class Dojo, a free Internet application that tracks student behaviors

Dadakhodjaeva, Komila. The Good Behavior Game: Effects on and Maintenance of Behavior in Middle-School Classrooms Using Class Dojo. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, vol. 77, ProQuest Information & Learning, 2017. EBSCOhost, library.aurora.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2016-53065-216&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Science and Technology Educators' Enacted Curriculum: Areas of Possible Collaboration for an Integrative STEM Approach in Public Schools

Brown, J., Brown, R., & Merrill, C. (2012). Science and technology educators' enacted curriculum: Areas of possible collaboration for an integrative STEM approach in public schools. Technology and Engineering Teacher, 71(4), 30-34


There is a strong need for collaboration between Science and Technology / Engineering teachers. This article is based on (a) exploring enacted curriculum of practicing public school STEM teachers, (b) explaining findings from a practitioner-based study focused on the content taught in science and technology/engineering classrooms, and (c) offering suggestions on how science and technology/ engineering teachers can create or enhance partnerships to better utilize the strengths of their disciplines.

There are numerous areas of growth between technology / engineering and science that could be sources of integration. A few examples of integrative classroom activities include:

• Biotechnology: Sample activities can be found in Promising Alternatives in Agri-Technology: Aquaponics (Childress, 2003); Connecting Biotechnology & Society (McLaughlin and Glasson, 2003); and Wind Farm Challenge (Roman, 2009).
• Medical Technology:Sample activities can be found in Conceptualizing Nanoscale (Tretter, 2006); Rev your Engines (Blanchard, Sharp, Sc Grable, 2009); Emergency Preparedness: Balancing Electrical Supply and Demand (Rose, 2006); and Temporary Housing for the Homeless: A Pre-Engineering Design Project (Schreuders, Salmon, and Stewardson, 2008).
• Engineering: Sample activities can be found in Conceptualizing Nanoscale (Tretter, 2006); Rev your Engines (Blanchard, Sharp, Sc Grable, 2009); Emergency Preparedness: Balancing Electrical Supply and Demand (Rose, 2006); and Temporary Housing for the Homeless: A Pre-Engineering Design Project (Schreuders, Salmon, and Stewardson, 2008).

True collaboration between STEM teachers can create partnerships in school settings that merge
abstract and previously isolated principles with practical application to provide a holistic perspective
of what science is and how science is used with technology to better our lives and the environment
around us.