Two Teachers Talking™

Maybe the most boring episode yet–but it's for your own good. Backup strategies that will save your butt. Securing student information, correspondence, and work, and keeping it private. Grab a cup of joe.

No matter how great the idea, any attempt to “change things” is bound to upset somebody and meet with resistance. So, how do you up your game without drawing the ire of “we fear change” muckety-mucks? Tony and Charles discuss their strategies for stealth teaching.

The question of whether or not homework “works” is not a binary proposition. What makes a “meaningful” assignment, how does one approach crafting one, what questions need to be asked, and what considerations need to be made.

We all know 90 minutes is not enough. (It’s too much, too, but that’s another topic.) Web pages can provide an extra channel of information and communication between you and your students, as well as serve as a planning tool and a record of what’s been done in class. Plus, it's the perfect answer to “I was absent.”

The world makes no allowances for your lesson plan. Earthquakes, typhoons, death, divorce, illness, heartbreak, ICE, all find their way into your classroom. So, Teach, how do you handle that?

Special guest interview with Prof. Alison Kitzman of Kindai University in which she tries to unpack Bloom’s Taxonomy. A glance at this graphic before listening will be VERY helpful: http://bit.ly/bloomrose.

Besides being an English teacher, you’re a teacher. So, besides English language skills, what are the things you try to impart to your students? Tony and Charles go through their (partial) lists, from manners to finances to joy.

The one thing each of us needs more of this or any other time of the year is time. We do a bit of a deep dive to find where we can (or can’t) shave some seconds or minutes from our routine teaching tasks. (See https://twoteacherstalking.org for links).

While the “why” of foreign language education is always among the elephants in the room, presentation skills offer the student relevant, powerful tools that have real, practical value and use. If you can change people’s minds, you can change the world. That’s why it’s important to get this one right. Or, at least one of us thinks so. So, how important are presentation skills and how do we teach them? Turns out to be a long one. And Tony apologizes in advance for his lapses into vulgarity.

Barry Fishman of the University of Michigan has developed a task-completion model for grading that he claims encourages his students to keep trying in their pursuit of A grades. We weigh in.

Mentioned in the podcast:

The Hechinger Report https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-01-08/michigan-students-count-way-to-a-college-a

Gradecraft https://www.gradecraft.com