domestic_engineer Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Hive - do you have any resources that you can recommend to help me be a better teacher to my elementary kiddos? Something along the lines of child development or teaching techniques perhaps? I'm not afraid of the information that I need to transmit to my child, but I'm not sure that I'm doing a good enough job of *transmitting* that info. Any help, please? Also I'm in a season of life where suggestions of the quick-read or easiest-to-implement variety would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 How old are your kids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Under 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I would highly suggest reading Marva Collins Way and Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. Both excellent, pragmatic books, getting to a CC practicum and sitting in on a CC foundations class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Was just about to suggest Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. Very inspiring and practical at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 nm. I don't know if we're allowed to link YouTube videos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 nm. I don't know if we're allowed to link YouTube videos Could you describe the YouTube video? I can google it on my own. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I would recommend reading links describing Bloom's taxonomy and Socratic dialogue. Understanding both will lead to better teaching skills and will help you develop your children's higher order critical thinking skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Or you could just read through 8's new curriculum: Treasured Conversations! Even though I'm not specifically teaching it to either of my little ones, I feel like a better teacher after having read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I second Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. It is an easy read and very motivating. However, I don't remember a lot of actual teaching advice and what was there was more relevant to middle school. I would also recommend Why Students Don't Like School. This is another easy read with a lot of practical advice on teaching. Here is a thread where this book was discussed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Could you describe the YouTube video? I can google it on my own. ;) Yes, sorry, I got distracted by children who needed attention and didn't have time to follow up on this. (Anyone know if we can post youtube videos here?) Go to youtube and search for "This Will Revolutionize Education" The talk is ostensibly about technology & education, but I really love how he describes how learning happens and the role of the teacher. I had happened to see the post and be inspired by it right before reading your question yesterday. I also like the pp's suggestions - Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire and Why Students Don't Like School. For Math education specifically, Patricia Clark Kentschaft's book Math Power is excellent. I am always inspired by Michael Clay Thompson's writings about how to teach the classics without killing the love of books - Classics in the Classroom is good for this. These forums are an excellent resource, too - search for posts by old-timers (sorry, guys!) whose teaching styles you find inspiring, and you will find many gems - some to start are with are 8FilltheHeart, Nan in Mass, Lori D, JennW in SoCal, and lewelma. Some time ago 8FilltheHeart posted a link to a document about Jesuit education. I learned from that the concept of prelection. That would be worth a search & read. Learning about how learning works is incredibly helpful. Coursera has a class called Learning How to Learn and the related book is A Mind for Numbers. These are both excellent resources, and things your kids can read too once they get a little older. My 7th grader started the year with those two things and got a lot from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannyaunt Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 You might look at the whole brain teaching on YouTube. I believe there is also a book on Amazon. It is geared towards classroom teaching but I think it can be modified for homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I read this book for one of my graduate education courses and really liked it: http://www.amazon.com/Research-Based-Strategies-Ignite-Student-Learning/dp/1416603700 There are inexpensive used copies, and it is also available for Kindle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 Thank you, all, for your suggestions. I've already ordered Marva Collins' Way ... and my library has Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. So that along with the posts here on the hive should keep me busy for a bit until I can Interlibrary-Loan some of the other suggestions. Again, many thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 nm. I don't know if we're allowed to link YouTube videos You can. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Liping Ma's Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I have a blog series I wrote awhile back when I worked through applying The Seven Laws of Teaching to homeschooling: http://www.simplyconvivial.com/2012/seven-laws-of-teaching-your-own-series I know Jennifer Dow at Expanding Wisdom is also going to start publishing videos of examples of socratic dialogue teaching soon, but she already has several short pdf resources. She's a homeschool mom who went through CiRCE's teacher apprenticeship program. http://expandingwisdom.com/teaching/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 If you have boys, I would also highly recommend you read a few books on how boys learn differently. This is something that I think is very important for moms teaching sons (and btw will also shed light on why many of our curious, excited boys go into b&m schools and do not thrive there.) Man, most of the books I read years ago, so I'm trying to recall titles. Books by Michael Gurion were really good. These should get you started and you can find more at your library or bookstore. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I don't know if you like to listen to talks while you do housework (I love to :) )but these may be helpful. http://www.societyforclassicallearning.org/index.php/resources-guest/media-guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Here's an NPR series on 50 great teachers - this first one is on Socrates and the Socratic method: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/10/29/359325963/50-great-teachers-socrates-the-ancient-worlds-teaching-superstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 I don't know if you like to listen to talks while you do housework (I love to :) )but these may be helpful. http://www.societyforclassicallearning.org/index.php/resources-guest/media-guest Thanks! I do like to listen while I clean. However I don't like to clean which reduces the frequency I listen. Ha ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expandingwisdom Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I just published this article. It is a broad overview of the particulars one can attend to in becoming a better teacher. '5 Simple Ideas for Becoming a Better Classical Teacher in 2015' http://expandingwisdom.com/2014/12/5-simple-ideas-for-becoming-a-better-classical-educator-in-2015/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pod's mum Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 There are some talks here that I've had recommended to me. Unfortunately when I tried, I couldn't download from Australia. I should try again. http://peacehillpress.com/audio-lectures/ From conversations with others I would say there was no better 'course' at becoming a better teacher than: an incredibly challenging child who doesn't learn well from most of the great resources that are out there. If you ask I'm sure you'll be overwhelmed with offers of a child that fits the bill. ;) They will keep pushing you to read, research and try harder. I taught my eldest through primary years pre-web, we found the early version of this forum for her high-school years. There are some responses in this thread that will be pasted into my resources file. Second time around we rely much less on curriculli, especially as she has reached those magic middle years. Good luck, enjoy the ride with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pod's mum Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 There are some talks here that I've had recommended to me. Unfortunately when I tried, I couldn't download from Australia. I should try again. http://peacehillpress.com/audio-lectures/ Just tried again and was able to get the download sent to me. I look forward to working my way through these lectures. Thanks for the prompt original question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 My first recommendation is the book "Why Don't Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom" by Willingham. The subtitle is a much better descriptive than the actual title. This book is jam-packed with useful information, and is a very easy-to-read writing style. I LOVE this book. I'm due for a re-read actually. :-) Next (am I allowed this one? lol): I am in the process of creating a blog that is essentially Teacher Training for the Homeschooler. It is essentially empty right now (still at the stage of playing with format/layout and finishing my first ten posts which I will then mass publish), but it is my 2015 goal to get two posts up per week. You might want to just save it in your blog reader or bookmark it. The address is www.homeschoollaboratory.com Ok, self-promotion over. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSinNS Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Auditory learner that I am, I love the Circe talks: http://www.circeinstitute.org/audio some are more helpful than others in terms of practical tips, but all are inspirational. and the Society for Classical Learning Talks: http://www.societyforclassicallearning.org/index.php/resources-guest/media-guest My personal favourite for teaching me how to teach so far has been from 2012: Andrew Kern on How to teach literature without killing either the book or the student (stick with it, it's worth it.) They also have free back issues of their newsletter. Oh, and the John Mays lectures about science are very good. I found the ones on his website: http://www.novarescienceandmath.com to be even better than the ones on the Society for Classical Learning site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Two years ago I followed 'how to learn math', it made a difference in my approach in homeschooling. I am raised with the idea you can math, or you can't' you can languages or you can't. This course learned me about a grow mindset. It makes a difference in our mathlessons. My attitude changed so dd's attitude changed. Besides that we got regurarely struck in a subject. The flow is gone, the motivation is running low, etc. I've never regret to take time to work on motivation for a subject. here , it helps to seperate that disliking learning certain skills, isn't the same as disliking the subject. Hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Flower Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I've read many of the books listed here. I would start with "Why Students Don't Like School." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 With young ones, you might enjoy learning about the Reggio Emilia philosophy. It can bring a lot of joy and creativity to your homeschool. Google Reggio Emilia, Project Approach, and Study Approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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