Plant the Seed, Reap the Lesson: Engaging Students to Receive Your Instruction

by Simon Moore, EMT, MHAEnglish Language Arts

Health Academy

Coachella Valley HS

sometimes you don’t know…

-Zoe

Brief background

Raised in PomonaWorked 15 years in Emergency Medical

Services (EMS)BA English ULVMS Health Services Admin. CSUSBMarketing & Business Development for AMRRecently completed a feature film entitled Parts

of Disease Into 7th year teaching HS in Health Academy

sometimes you don’t know…

The Deeper Message

How do your students feel about your class?

Do they ditch your class, yet attend others?Is your room depressing?Do you have long, creepy nose hairs no one mentions?

Objectives

Teachers will understand the “Code of Student Understanding”

Teachers will Create a Personal Teacher Mission Statement

Identify and target market under-achieving students

Activity

IDENTIFY complications to the learning environment.

Teachers will BRAINSTORM problems students create during the delivery of their lesson.

-Fabiola

Know Your Personality Types

1. Extrovert?

a) Outer world

i. True (what you see is what you get)

ii. A show (there’s something else)

2. Producer? Academically, they get results

3. Non-producer - Academically, they low-perform

Know Your Personality Types1. Introvert?

a) Inner world

i. True (what you see is what you get); they’re just shy

ii. A show (they really have issues); they’re quiet, they just don’t know the answer

2. Producer? Academically, they get results

3. Non-producer - Academically, they low-perform

Code of Student UnderstandingWhat all Teachers Should Know About Their Students

1. Like teachers, students report to class with problems and needs.

2. Just because it’s important to the teacher, students don’t always care.

3. Students have an extremely UNCLEAR perception about their future, what they want & what they will do later.

Code of Student UnderstandingWhat all Teachers Should Know About Their Students

4. Most students – and even adults – want to have FUN, and take every opportunity possible to make every situation entertaining.

5. Students only spend approximately 5 hrs. / week with the teacher, leaving 163 hours of PERSONAL time. Impacting the child 3% of the time will render LIMITED results.

Code of Student UnderstandingWhat all Teachers Should Know About Their Students

6. Collectively, most students don’t personally attack teachers. Remember, students want to have FUN [Teachers interfere with the students’ FUN].

7. Students are not much different from teachers. Most teachers were [some still are] just like the students. Students litter, talk when others are talking, are tardy, disorganized & break rules. DIFFERENCE: Teachers have a little more control.

“It’s hard to concentrate”

-Fabiola

Code of Student UnderstandingWhat all Teachers Should Know About Their Students

8. Many students are disconnected with teachers & learning. They believe teachers and education are only meant to harass the students until the students are 18. Afterward, the information is invalid and magical opportunity doors open.

If Teachers ignore these Obstacles, they will become frustrated, Lessons won’t stick and

students will hate the class.

Checklist of Teacher – Student Engagement:

Create a Personal Teacher Mission Statement.

Statement should validate education and your commitment to student learning

What is Your Personal Mission Statement?

Moore Teaching Focus: 

Engage all students with the constant validation of EDUCATION via Common Core Standards and real-

world scenarios

Checklist of Teacher – Student Engagement:

Learn all student names within 2 -3 weeks.

Take notes, sketch likenesses that identify student to commit to memory

Maybe student reminds you of another student, actor, or character you once knew

Checklist of Teacher – Student Engagement:

IDENTIFY historically under-achieving students.

ESTABLISH rapport with the studentASK student (1 on 1):

“related to my class, what do you struggle most with?”

“what do most dislike about school?”“would you like to earn / learn /get out of my class?”

Checklist of Teacher – Student Engagement:

EMPHASIZE your attention to them

Checklist of Teacher – Student Engagement:

POST grades weekly

SPEAK with them about their grade

Have Fun (we shouldn’t hate our job)

Be human and vulnerable, at times

Bottom Line:

If they know you care …

-they care

If they care

-They will learn

Summary

Understand and PREPARE for the “Code of Student Understanding”

Create a Personal Teacher Mission Statement

IDENTIFY and TARGET market under-achieving students

end

Open Discussion

Simon Moore, EMT, MHA

English Language Arts

Health Academy

Coachella Valley HS

simon.moore@cvusd.us