Retired Teacher

Implementing Time To Teach Using a Flow Chart D’Ette Griffin March 11, 2013 EDU 618 Dr. Thinh Nguyen Learning Setting: The learning setting is a middle school in rural Espanola, New Mexico. The school is only 8th and 9th grade, about six hundred students. Having only two grades causes some of the discipline problems of the school to be exaggerated. Schools with only two grades set up unique problems, missing the third grade which balances the school. Eighty five percent of these students are on the free lunch program, many of their families are on welfare, unemployment, disability or have very low paying jobs.The poverty rate in Espanola, New Mexico is very high. The racial break-down is about 49% Hispanic, 28% Native American, 20% Caucasian and 3% African American. The school’s staff has noticed that many of the students lack positive character traits, low level discipline problems; they have low test scores and a huge bullying problem. The administrators and staff hav e decided to bring in a classroom management program that will address these issues. The program the principal has decided to implement is called Time To Teach. The principal has hired a trainer and the dates have been set.This paper will explore the process of choosing and implement a classroom management program by using the project logic model. â€Å"The program logic model is defined as a picture of how your organization does its work – the theory and assumptions underlying the program. A program logic model links outcomes (both short- and long-term) with program activities/processes and the theoretic assumptions/principles of the program. †(Kellogg, 2004 p. 111) The goal of an educator is to educate, but every administrator and educator knows that that is easier said than done.The goal of education is often hindered by inappropriate behaviors that stop teaching, stop learning and are a waste of time. Initial attempts to combat this problem begin with posting all t he school-wide rules and expectations and a list of what the consequences for failure to follow the rules. Schools wanting to create a positive learning environment and sense of community to must go beyond the basic rules and communicate the vision of the school. The vision should be shared among staff, students and the community and all stakeholders need to â€Å"buy-in†.The students must be ‘buy-in’ the importance of good behavior and character, furthermore become active participants in making their school better. The behavioral expectations will be displayed in every classroom as the ‘expectations will posted throughout the campus as well as the schools vision. It is â€Å"equally important to remember to periodically update the vision as necessary to maintain personal and cultural relevance. †(Dahlgren, Malas, Faulk and Lattimer,(2008, p. 188) When choosing a vision for your school it may take on many varied forms the authors continue, there is n o right way to have it, â€Å"the important thing is just to have it. (p. 189) Finally they suggest Vision and Mission statements should be revisited in three to four years to reflect the cultural changes and relevance of the times. Mission Statement The mission of Carlos Vigil Middle School is to guide students to become productive and contributing members of society. Carlos Vigil Middle School will provide strong academic and co-curricular programs. The staff shall coordinate resources of the school and community so that students will respect themselves and others, while appreciating the value of diversity, individuality, creativity.Recognize that problems are opportunities of change. We seek a set of moral standards and character traits that allows them to thrive in the world. Students will be taught with â€Å"Unconditional Positive Regard† and teachers will model appropriate behavior. Students will experience the joy of learning as a lifelong process. The value system t hat underlies efforts to accomplish this mission includes these beliefs and student Expectations: †¢ The school community will be a safe and caring environment that promotes respect, self-worth, creativity, and academic growth. All members of the school community work collaboratively. This process includes good communications, shared decision-making and accountability. †¢ Learning is a process in which all can participate and succeed. Inherent in the process is innovation, risk-taking, and the challenge of one’s personal limits. †¢ The school community should foster the intellectual, emotional, and physical well-being of each student. †¢ Diversity should be welcomed for the strength it brings to the education of all members of the school community. Education should be celebrated as a lifelong process that fosters person and positive growth. The staff and administration and a group of students worked on a committee that helped plan and develop the vision an d mission statements for Carlos Vigil Middle School. Finally, the school will hold a contest to develop a â€Å"Character Logo† that will be in every classroom and part of the school community. The winning design will be made into huge posters, banners, and will represent what we as a school are our most important character traits.Once the vision and mission statements have been decided upon the next step would be to present the ‘Logic Model’, and the flow chart will be explored throughout this paper. The logic model as described by W. K. Kellogg in his Logic Model Development Guide: â€Å"In general, logic modeling can greatly enhance the participatory role and usefulness of evaluation as a management and learning tool. Developing and using logic models is an important step in building community capacity and strengthening community voice.The ability to identify outcomes and anticipate ways to measure them provides all program participants with a clear map of th e road ahead. Map in hand, participants are more confident of their place in the scheme of things, and hence, more likely to actively engage and less likely to stray from the course – and when they do, to do so consciously and intentionally. Because it is particularly amenable to visual depictions, program logic modeling can be a strong tool in communicating with diverse audiences – those who have varying world views and different levels of experience with program development and evaluation. (Kellogg, P. 111) Logic Model Development Guide The school system including the principal, counselors, administrators, and a group of teachers collaborated on helping to decide on the program that would be implemented â€Å"Time To Teach† and which behaviors that we were going to â€Å"Teach To† if we plug these behaviors into the flow chart model each segment will have a chart that represents that particular behavior or character trait. A typical flow chart will incl ude the following:Assumptions| Input| Activities| Outputs | Short & Long Term Outcomes| Impact| Conduct Needs assessment | Money for Staff development and Title 1 monies | Staff training & training activity| Five core beliefs | Students will have better self-esteem| Successful student-teacher relationships | Secure Training facility | Equipment needs | Classroom ecology analysis | Self-control | Improved Test scores | Increased Test Scores by a measurable percentage | Classroom management program will address behavior issues and character traits. Selection of the Time to Teach Program | Teaching classroom expectations & Refocus Establish a base of support Establish â€Å"buddy teachers†Teach Refocus Process Produce Refocus forms | Classroom by Design Teach To’sStudents learn â€Å"expectations† | Lower principal referrals Intended OutcomesStudent Mood Awareness & Rapid Teacher Response (SMARTRTM)Clear classroom expectations â€Å"Teach-To’s†Student s with good self –esteem ~ Unconditional Positive Regard Lower Principal referrals Improved Test Scores| Students will recognize the good in each other and will accept each others differences, there will be less bullying because they are treating each other with the respect that the receive from staff and each other. | Before any program can be implemented the principal will be doing certain activities to get ready for implementing the program. A needs assessment must be completed to determine to what the goals are and what activities are going to be done to reach these goals.After conducting the needs assessment, the principal can determine the goals for the program. Once they have chosen a program, then they must budget for the training, that means acquiring funds. The next activity is choosing a venue to have the training session and planning for lunch and or snacks. Activities â€Å"are the procedures, techniques, tools, events, technology, and actions of the planned pro gram. †(Kellogg, 2004,p. 8) The author continues, â€Å"These may include products-promotional materials and educational curricula; services education and training, counseling, or health screening and infrastructure –structure, relationships, and capacity, used to bring about the desired results. (p. 8) Activities will include students designing character logos and banners, after the implementation of the program. The Time to Teach classroom management program can be implemented into the school system as soon as the training session is over; all the components can be implemented the following school year. The next school year will begin with all the â€Å"classroom expectations† posted in the hallways, classrooms and on the buses. Starting on the first day of school and will continue until all classrooms, school library, cafeteria, behavior on the bus, the first week to two weeks will be spent teaching the expected behaviors to the students.As teachers we cannot afford to assume that students know how to behave properly in need to be taken to prepare for the professional development training program and for implementing strategies after the training has been completed. For example, Implementation activities are â€Å"included for each component of a program logic model. † (McDavid, Huse, & Hawthorn, 2013) These implementation activities teachers can use to immediately start using the techniques of the program. Here is the three classroom integrity classroom questions teachers can mentally ask themselves, â€Å"Am I able to Teach? Are the other students able to learn? Is the student in question able to learn? † (Dahlgren & Hyatt, 2007) This is just a quick sample of a starting point for teachers. Outputs:Outputs can be described as in â€Å"terms of the size and or scope of the services and products delivered or produced by the program. They indicate if a program was delivered to the intended audiences at the intended ‘ dose. †(Kellogg, 2013) The Time To Teach would have to be viewed by the teachers to start to implement the â€Å"product† which in this case it would be the training session. Once the teachers have participated in the training/product they can return to the classroom and begin to implement the Time To Teach strategies and activities so that they can get the desired outcome. The desired outcomes will include ‘buy-in’ by all staff members, parents and teachers.There must be a shared sense of purpose among the staff, students, parents and community. (Dahlgren, & Hyatt, 2007) The authors continue when there is a failure to achieve this ‘buy-in’ by one or more of the stakeholders than there will be limited policy effectiveness and it may even become useless. When the Time To Teach program has been properly implemented and there is ‘buy-in’ by all participating parties then the likely outcomes will be successful. The Five Core Beliefs th at the Time to Teach philosophy incorporates, Self-Control, Classroom by Design, Teach To’s, Refocus, and the student teacher relationships or Unconditional Positive Regard.If the stakeholders do ‘buy-in’ to the program then they end up with 30% higher test scores, better behaved students and lower principal referrals. (Dahlgren & Hyatt,2007) Outcomes: When planning for your program you can demonstrate your programs progress by projecting outcomes. â€Å"Outcomes identify the short-term and long-term outcomes you expect to achieve for each activity. †(Kellogg, 2007p. 14) Outcomes can further be defined as â€Å"specific changes in attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, skills, status, or level of functioning expected to result from program activities and which are most often expressed at an individual level†(p. 8) The activities that are planned ultimately bring the outcomes that are trying to accomplish. The activities approach model also connects progra m resources and activities but does so in great detail. Each outcome is usually dealt with separately by the activities and events that must take place to keep on track. †(p. 12) The intended outcomes for the Time to Teach program will be discussed throughout the rest of this paper. Time To Teach! is an evidence based classroom management program that uses proven, practical, and powerful strategies. These strategies are researched based and ready to be put to use in the classroom. The Five Core components of Time To Teach! mirror what many esteemed researchers say works. Many leading researchers define classroom management in similar terms.Robert Marzano (2003) defined effective classroom as â€Å"the confluence of teacher actions in four distinct areas: (1) establishing and enforcing rules and procedures,(2)carrying out disciplinary actions,(3)maintaining effective teacher and student relationships, and (4) maintaining an appropriate mental set for management†(88-89) C lassroom management was rated as the most important variable in building and sustaining a high achieving classroom in nearly every major study on academic achievement. (Dahlgren, Malas, Faulk, and Lattimer,2008) Once Time To Teach! has been implemented, teachers should be able to read student mood and respond calmly and quickly, as needed. Teachers will correctly read social and emotional cues and correctly perceive students responses to their behaviors. Specifically, when a student becomes disruptive, it is the teachers job to respond calmly and appropriately. Teachers who exhibit this kind of self-control can read their room and will react swiftly, calmly, and compassionately. We call this the SMARTR TM response- Student Mood Awareness and Rapid Teacher Response. †(Dahlgren et. al. ,p. 6) Projected outcome of the Time To Teach! once the program has been implemented students will be taught what the classroom expectations are and the teachers will not how to teach classroom ru les and routines with success. The term Teach To’s was first coined almost four decades ago. (p. 6) With today’s students showing up for class not knowing how to act or what is expected of them is the norm while having students who show up knowing how to act is the exception.The good news is that there is that even if we have students that have bad behaviors that affect the classroom functioning, when successfully â€Å"teaching-to† your classroom rules and routines, â€Å"you will be guaranteed a more effective instructional climate. †(Dahlgren et. al. ,p. 7) The authors continue, â€Å"Teaching-to† behaviors are a foundational and powerful component of the Time To Teach! Program. We have been doing it for forty years. †(p. 7) Conclusion: Students should gain more confidence as teachers continue with the program and as they begin to ‘buy-in’ in to the system. School-wide behavioral- management and character education in todayâ⠂¬â„¢s world is a must. Every classroom in every school can find a room with the rules posted, and talked about once, but these programs â€Å"expectations† will be posted everywhere and will be talked about and taught until every student gets it.Students will be taught how to act and what is expected of them in a positive respectful way with unconditional positive regard. Students will be asked to compete in a contest to design the â€Å"character logos,† whoever wins will receive a prize of some sort and school wide credit. Because somewhere in this face paced world, of video games, cell phones, tablets, and laptops, these latch key students have not been taught how to act appropriately and it is our responsibility as teachers to teach them character traits and behavior management skills. The school administrators have a tough job. They have to try to please the district offices, teachers, parents, students, the community and the government, all while trying to do wh at’s best for the education of the student.In today’s world it is increasingly apparent that it is essential to incorporate the behavior management skills. â€Å"It is important to understand that teaching behavior is as important as teaching academics. †(Dahlgren et. al. ,p. 198) The authors continue, that â€Å"on a school-wide basis, children must be taught these expectations until they understand these expectations, and finally they should be held accountable for these expectations. † (p. 198) Thanks to Time To Teach for making these expectations a reality. References Dahlgren R. , Dahlgren A. , Faulk J. , Lattimer M. , Ludwig. (2011) Associate Training Manual Time To Teach. , Dahlgren R. & Hyatt J. (1994-2007). Time To Teach: Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom. Hayden Lake, ID. , CTE, Center for Teacher Effectiveness. Dahlgren R. , Malas B. , Faulk J. , & Lattimer M. (2008). Time To Teach! The Source for Classroom Managemen t. , Hayden Lake, ID. , CTE, Center for Teacher Effectiveness. W. K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Using Logic Models to bring together planning, evaluation, and action: Logic Model Development Guide. , Retrieved from http://www. wkkf. org/~/media/36693510092544928C454B5778180D75/LogicModel. pdf McDavid J. C. , Huse I. , & Hawthorn R. L. , (2013) Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement An Introduction to Practice. , Second Edition. , Thousand Oaks, CA. , Sage Publications.