| News for the Education Profession |  |
| ASCD Special Report: The Positive Classroom (Part 1) |
| Even when resources are short and stress is high, a teacher can shape a child's future with a few gentle words, a virtual trip across the globe or a carefully chosen question or compliment. But classroom management rarely comes easy for new teachers and many veteran educators still struggle to keep class running smoothly while meeting the needs of every child. This two-part ASCD SmartBrief Special Report, "The Positive Classroom," offers advice from veteran educators and psychologists on developing and maintaining classrooms filled with caring and learning. Part I surveys some instructional techniques, strategies and new technology that can help educators build positive classrooms. Part II, to be published Thursday, reviews proven methods and research on making classrooms work as well as strategies designed specifically for disadvantaged students. If you don't receive ASCD SmartBrief on a daily basis and find our report on positive classrooms useful, we urge you to sign up for our timely e-newsletter. ASCD SmartBrief delivers the stories making news in your profession directly to your inbox -- for FREE. |
| At a Glance |  |  |
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- Positive educators care
It is easy to lose your positive attitude when faced with difficult situations at school, writes Educational Leadership Editor in Chief Marge Scherer, but educators like Randy Pausch and Cindi Rigsbee have found a positive approach to the classroom often improves matters. While educators' methods vary, the underlying message of positive classrooms is that teachers care about students and their learning. Educational Leadership
(9/2008)     
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Professor touched the world with "Last Lecture": Shortly after Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, 47, learned he had just months to live, he delivered a lecture that has inspired millions. "If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you," he said in the Sept. 18, 2007, standing room-only lecture that has been viewed by millions on YouTube, transformed into a best-selling book and condensed for Oprah viewers. "I'm dying, and I'm having fun," Pausch said in his lecture. Pausch passed away in July. NYTimes.com
(7/26), The Washington Post
(7/26), Los Angeles Times
(7/26)
| Instruction & Assessment | | |
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- Teachers' words can shape students' lives
The language teachers use can inspire or discourage students for the rest of their lives, writes Paula Denton, who has developed techniques to help teachers encourage students with their words. "Our language can lift students to their highest potential or tear them down. It can help them build positive relationships or encourage discord and distrust. It shapes how students think and act and, ultimately, how they learn," she says. Educational Leadership
(9/2008)
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Little moments may matter most: Moments that teachers have long forgotten are often the ones that inspire students the most, writes veteran music educator and blogger Nancy Flanagan. One of her students became a civil-rights lawyer, inspired in part by a classroom discussion of the lyrics of the Three Dog Night song "A Child is Black, A Child is White" while another self-described "punk kid" said a few words of encouragement helped him become a songwriter. Teacher in a Strange Land
(8/31)
- Relaxation techniques help students manage stress
 Educators can teach their students how to find peace in a turbulent world, writes veteran teacher Linda Lantieri in her new book, "Building Emotional Intelligence: Techniques to Cultivate Inner Strength in Children." Providing quiet time each day for introspection and giving students the option to take a moment to calm themselves in a "time-in" can help them learn, Lantieri says. Edutopia.org Blogs
(8/13)
| Viewpoints/Strategies | | |
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- Differentiated instruction helps individuals learn
 In an interview with Teacher Magazine, Carol Ann Tomlinson, who has studied differentiated instruction extensively as a University of Virginia education professor, says she believes differentiated instruction is a more positive approach to student learning, and offers advice on the method. "The reason I think differentiated instruction is important is that students do vary in so many ways, and our student populations are becoming more academically diverse," she says. Teacher Magazine (free registration)
(9/10)
- Professional-learning communities improve morale
Cindi Rigsbee, North Carolina's 2008 teacher of the year, has spent most of her career working at disadvantaged middle schools and was used to poor teacher morale, but when she switched to a new school before classrooms were even finished, the teachers began to work together in a newly formed professional-learning community. The experience, she says, was transforming: instead of trading woeful classroom tales, educators collaborate to boost student achievement. Teacher Magazine (free registration)
(7/2)
| Technology Solutions | | |
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- Virtual field trips bring the world into the classroom
Class trips to the Louvre or the Grand Canyon may seem like a pipe dream, but technology can allow almost any student to "travel" to such attractions with only a Web browser or video-conferencing software. "Virtual field trips offer inspiring ways for students to engage with the world outside their immediate surroundings," said Ruth Blankenbaker, who organizes such field trips. "Geographic boundaries disappear, and the world becomes their classroom." eSchool News (free registration)
(7/14)
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Positive attitudes are infectious, writes blogger and special educator Elona Hartjes. When teachers truly believe all students can succeed, she writes, they'll prove you right. 
