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What is a power struggle? A power struggle is the fight for power in the classroom. The typical power struggle occurs when a teacher implements consequence and a student refuses to comply to that consequence.
When a student acts out in class it is hard not to yell right away at the student especially when it is a students who always misbehaves. The best way to confront a student who misbehaves is to address the problem the first time it happens! Do not wait until the third or fourth time because by then, students already think they can walk all over you. If rules are made in the beginning of the school year to follow, students should know the consequences to their wrong actions already.
After the student is told that they did something wrong, as a teacher we need to speak with them in private so no words are not said that the teacher or student will regret in front of the entire class. It is good to do this in private so there is no power struggle created.
However, these types of ...

When talking about the words consequence and punishment we like to think of them of having the same meaning. In some cases this may be true but from a teaching aspect, it is not. These differences are significant and can help your students and yourself substantially in the classroom. You're probably wondering, "What are these differences?"
A punishment is a form of revenge by the teacher because a student is misbehaving. The goal of a punishment is to instill fear into the student so the misconduct will be avoided. A consequence, on the other hand, is related to class management. If a set of mandatory rules is clearly laid out and followed throughout the year then a set of consequences should follow. This means that it could be a positive or negative. Dealing with the negative aspect, a consequence is a reasonable way to help the rule-breaking student learn the proper way to perform from the occurrence that has happened in the classroom. Experts say the main objective of consequences ...

Ensuring classroom safety begins with solid planning. We can't prevent accidents from happening, but we can prepare for most of them in a way that will minimize their effects. As a result, all school boards have systems and procedures in effect for a host of challenges from fire drills to clinics. However, as a teacher there are things you can do to make minimize problems in your classroom. Here are a few things to consider as you set up your classroom.
Ergonomics: Slips and falls are a serious concern and account for the majority of the injuries that occur in schools each year. As you set up your classroom, pay special attention to patterns of movement. Can you and your students move around the room easily without having to dodge obstructions? Are there cords or items that may trip someone up? Is the furniture in your room the appropriate size for your students? Is ventilation and temperature control adequate? What about lighting? Will your students have trouble seeing the board on ...

With so many states adopting the Common Core and trying to increase the rigor of the reading that is required of students, teachers are faced with a "common core" problem. Many students, whether they are in a rural or urban area, have limited experiences outside of their immediate neighborhoods. The increased rigor of texts means that teachers will either adopt a "sink or swim" model or will increase the level of background information for the students. It is becoming essential for teachers to strike a balance between giving all of the background information and letting students "discover" it of their own accord.
One of the main issues teachers have with the "sink or swim" method is the great possibility students will complete a required reading and activities to go along with that reading and essentially take nothing from it because "something" was missing. The "something" that is often missing is the background information. This doesn't refer to just a little piece of information ...

You ask yourself, "What is definition of Blended Learning?" I asked the same question and realized that it is something I wanted as a teacher and didn't have a name for it, nor did I have the technology and administrative support to do it.
Now it seems that there are more and more administrators supporting teachers in their blended learning efforts. Personally, I think it sounds great. Our society is on the internet. Learning is acquired from everywhere, why not let this opportunity seek into the classroom.
Blended learning is the combination of having face-to-face classes with courses that are integrated with technology for instructional approaches. This model reminds me of the flipped classroom, but not totally flipped.
Here are examples of models of blended learning:
-Face-to-face driver: teacher delivers most of the lesson face-to face in class. Online resources are also available to supplement or revise course materials.
-Rotation: Students rotate between a period of face-to-face ...

Maybe it is just me - Ha, yeah right! - but grading is one of the most difficult parts of this whole teaching thing.
I know I am not the only teacher who feels this way. In fact I had a student tell me that he was thinking of being a teacher until he realized all his teachers complained about the grading. I actually felt bad that I contributed to his negative thinking and apologized to him for complaining about my job. I gave him honest reasons why teaching is amazing and why it can be a challenge.
I then decided to not say a word about grading to my students and simply keep my thoughts to myself, a few close friends, and you.
My aversion to grading is rather new. I never used to mind grading. I actually used to like it. I enjoyed seeing what my students learned and reading their thoughts.
It all changed this year. I know that there are ebbs and flows with everything and that teaching is one of those things. I know there are good years and OK years and years that make you think "Good ...

Email communication has a pivotal role in business communication.
The following tips will help you to make your email communication efficient and effective.
1. A Meaningful subject line
People receive a huge number of emails are present in the mailboxes every day. To get your email noticed among them, it is important to give your email a subject line that grabs the attention of the receiver. The subject should also associate closely to the content of the email. When replying remember to change the subject line rather than just let the mail program add "Re:" at the front.
2. Cue it right
It is important to send the mail to the right recipients. No one wants to receive emails in their inbox that really do not concern them. You should use the cc and bcc options only where it is important. Moreover, emails should have a personalized touch to make people relate to them more.
3. Grammatically correct
It is very annoying for people to find mistakes in an email. That is why you ...

With the increasing popularity of ed-tech, teachers have a variety of tools available to improve their workflow or enhance their students' learning experience. Web tools for teachers add a little fun to the learning; they can make the connection with students more effective. Fortunately, many of these tools are either free or freemium and can be used almost immediately after signing up. Here are some of the most effective tools recommended by educators in the community:
SlideShare
This presentation platform makes it easy for teachers and students to upload and share their slideshows to the public or to a specific audience. With many slideshows shared publicly, teachers can find interesting, relevant content to share with their classes.
Google Docs
When naming some of the best tools for teachers, we can't forget Google Docs (accessed via Google Drive). This comprehensive set of tools can help you create/share documents and presentations with your students and allow them to collaborate ...

Overcoming negativity in a classroom in regards to achievement and behaviour can often be a problem that has many strands. For many years I struggled on the rung of being a good teacher, sometimes dipping into the holy waters of being an outstanding practitioner with no great consistency. One of the Eureka moments that improved my teaching and ability to influence a class was to understand Assessment for Learning (AFL). Too many times, buried in the back of a University lecture hall, I had been washed over by the myriad of equally intangible ways to assess a child; never really understanding the simple truths of effective assessment.
Effective assessment has many forms but I will proceed to share a lesson that steered me on a course of a simple truth in AFL. This simple truth tangibly propelled me a few rungs further up the ladder of being an effective teacher.
Imagine you walk into a teacher training course and the lecturer asks everyone in the room to draw a house. All the teachers, ...

Can you remember a time in class as a student either at school or university, when you were bored with the lesson and you began to count the number of times your teacher used a particular phrase or performed, subconsciously, a habit he or she had? It might have been an utterance like "ah" or gestures such as touching the nose or pushing hair out of the face. On the other hand, the lesson might have been interesting or important but you kept being distracted by a teacher's mannerisms.
You may have not been doing the counting but I'm sure you knew someone who was. You may even have discussed the mannerisms at lunch and as a result, your group may have given the teacher a nickname that recalled the mannerism.
These mannerisms, be they verbal or physical, impact on the way your students react to your teaching. At Teachers' College, during a subject called, "Art of Speech", our lecturer talked about the need to have pride in the way we, as teachers, use language. It was important always to ...