How can you reach students in the high school class? What can you do to motivate and teach so that your students are ready to succeed in life as well as school? In this course, you'll learn about the latest teaching strategies and techniques that can help your secondary students achieve academically and behave responsibly. You will cover a broad range of topics, including differentiated instruction, classroom management and discipline, assessment strategies, and gaining parental support. You will discover tips for creating need-fulfilling lessons that engage students, suggestions for using simulations and games that make learning enjoyable, and how to teach your students the social-emotional skills they need to succeed both in school and in life. You will learn how to motivate students with recognition, rewards, and reinforcement, how to deal with discipline problems, and the value of varying your assessment strategies.
Throughout the course, you will view videos that illustrate the concepts you're learning. You will hear from education experts and see actual classroom teachers demonstrating the techniques taught in this course. Guest experts appearing in the videos include Dr. William Glasser (Choice Theory), Dr. Carol Tomlinson (The Differentiated Classroom), Dr. Jane Bluestein (The Win-Win Classroom), and Jon Erwin (Inspiring the Best in Students). By the end of this course, you will have mastered proven ways to help your high school students succeed both in school and in life!
Annemarie Thompson is an award winning learning designer with over 15 years of experience in the distance learning industry. She produces courses on key teacher development topics including Differentiated Instruction, Classroom Discipline, and Classroom Management. Her courses have been offered by more than 100 colleges and universities and were the basis of an accredited online master's program.
The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.
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Lesson 1
What motivates high school students? How do their brains work? We'll delve into those questions today with a look at adolescent psychology. Understanding why your students make the choices they do can help you guide them to make better, more responsible choices. And knowing how your students' brains function will help you create engaging, effective lessons.
Lesson 2
You can have an orderly, smooth-running classroom! In this lesson, I'll show you several seating arrangements that you can use to match your teaching style. You'll find out about high-tech and low-tech aids that can enhance your instruction. And I'll give you a lesson plan that will help your students establish a classroom constitution. Everything you will learn in this lesson will help you teach smarter rather than teach harder.
Lesson 3
Today we'll explore the role that relationships play in creating a classroom atmosphere that fosters academic achievement and responsible behavior. You'll learn to connect with your students and provide a positive environment for them. We'll discuss one of the most powerful relationship-building tools available: the class meeting. Finally, we'll talk about using interest inventories to get to know your students and thereby help them succeed.
Lesson 4
It's time to look at recognition and positive reinforcement at the high school level. First, you'll learn the difference between ineffective praise and effective encouragement. Then we'll discuss how effective positive reinforcement differs from conditional praise. Finally, we'll explore the key components of an effective schoolwide reinforcement system.
Lesson 5
How can you use differentiated instructional strategies to meet your students' diverse needs? Today you'll find out how to determine your students' learning styles and how to use strategies such as flexible grouping to adapt your lessons to those styles. We'll also discuss using differentiated assessment strategies to allow your students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
Lesson 6
How does social-emotional learning relate to your students' success in school? Today we'll investigate why SEL should be an integral part of your instruction. I'll explain how to teach your students to identify emotions in themselves and others. Then we'll discuss how to teach your students to manage their emotions and disagree with others in a respectful manner.
Lesson 7
How can you create lessons that have their basis in your students' current knowledge, that meet their needs, and that take advantage of their strengths and preferences? We'll explore this complex issue in Lesson 7.
Lesson 8
How can you gain support from your students' parents? Today we'll discuss the barriers that can prevent you from gaining parental backing. Then we'll talk about how you can overcome those barriers and create a home-school partnership. We'll also go over how you can conduct parent conferences—both regularly scheduled conferences and ones related to solving a problem.
Lesson 9
In this lesson, we'll examine the more traditional question-based assessment. Then we'll explore two types of assessment that focus on evaluating how students use what they've learned: problem-based and performance-based assessment.
Lesson 10
Do you have students who use phones or other electronic devices without permission in your classroom? Do you have students who talk when they should be working? What about students who refuse to do their work or who cut class? We'll examine these common discipline problems and explore ways to deal with them effectively and efficiently.
Lesson 11
How can you help students who are defiant and who resist your attempts to help them be more responsible? Today we'll look at preventive and remedial approaches to bullying and cyberbullying. We'll also examine what you should do when you face a violent or potentially violent situation.
Lesson 12
How can eyedroppers and M&M's enliven your curriculum? Today we'll look at how to use simulations, competitions, and games to make your instruction fun and effective. I'll include examples from different subject areas and different parts of the country.
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