Can you imagine how difficult it is to run centers or do paired work when you constantly hear “but I don’t want to work with him/her.”  Or when the day to day

When I was in high school, I would put on our local alternative music station and I would get focused and do my homework. My father would al...

So hopefully you've an idea of how to go about your planning and preparation after the last post. Now you need to get your classroom management and classroom organisation sorted. As regards classroom...

Do you feel like you are effective when you advocate for your students? • One of the things I think is extremely important but sometimes difficult to do is advocating for your students as an educator. • Many times we’re their voice and know them in the classroom environment at a level that neither the administration nor their families do. • Follow me to hear my top tips for advocating for your students! • | advocating for your students | IEP Meeting | special education |

These are the basic rules of my classroom. Be respectful towards others and they will be respectful towards you.

Download our Class Rules poster and use it to discuss expectations with your children. Also includes lots of suggested rules!

classroom collective

I love music.  I belt out my favorite tunes in the car, I sing in the shower, and I hum when I’m nervous (or concentrating!)  So, why not in the classroom? Today, I want to talk about how I use music in my classroom to help increase my student’s ability to focus. In my first […]

I was reading a well-known and highly regarded book about a significant Jewish spiritual practice when I stumbled onto the followin...

It can be frustrating when students consistently hand in assignments past the deadlines. Over time, teachers have adopted different preventative strategies to dissuade students. But we need to consider, are these strategies fair? What is the purpose of a student's grade? And if we apply behavioral consequences to students' grades, are we really measuring their academic performance?

The way you talk to your class is extremely important since children remember more about their environment than we do.

Browse over 820 educational resources created by That Fun Teacher in the official Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Support special needs learners in art class using this comprehensive collection of real-photo based visuals, schedules, task analysis, and communication aides. Aligned with successful classroom supports, this resource is tailored for art class to enhance communication, reduce problem behavior, increase communication and independence and foster skills. Facilitate a positive and engaging art class environment with easy-to-use and quick-to-setup tools!

Prevent and manage behavior problems in the classroom with engaging instruction and positive, proactive behavioral strategies, supports, and interventions. Good for ALL students; particularly important for students with ADHD and others with behavioral challenges. www.sandrarief.com | See more about Teaching, Noise levels and In the classroom.

Children in classroom. Hard lesson. Normal situation from childhood. Group communication. Teenager behavior concept. Vector illustration in flat cartoon style

We want you to experience the joy and laughter of preschool so here are some tips to help you manage your group so you can get the most out of your time with...

A revolutionary and emerging class of energy-harvesting computer systems require neither a battery nor a power outlet to operate, instead operating by harvesting energy from their environment. While radio waves, solar energy, heat, and vibrations have the ability to power devices, harvested energy sources are weak leading to an "intermittent execution", with periodic power failures and unreliable behavior.

Interior design requires a deep knowledge of human behavior—physical, psychological, and cultural.

Over the course of my teaching career, the words “Role Model” have been a phrase I consistently use and emphasize in my classroom on a daily basis. “Role Model” is a POWERFUL phrase I use every day to encourage my students to be the best version of themselves and inspire others to make positive choices. In fact, I also call my students “Role Models” instead of “boys and girls” or “friends” to help them see that they too can be role models anytime and anywhere.            I am a firm believer behavior choices affect the classroom environment. Students learn best when the environment they're in is positive and supporting, leading students to uplift each other with their right choices and behaviors. When we as teachers create a positive classroom environment for our students, they are more willing to engage, respond, and come to school.           So now you’re probably asking how I manage to do that with my students. About two years ago, I started using these “Role Model” punch cards in my very own first grade classroom to encourage my students to make good choices throughout the day (and for the rest of the school year). I have been using them ever since and am ready to share with you how they work in my classroom. What is the purpose of the Role Model punch cards?           The purpose of these Role Model punch cards is to make your students see their own growth and full potential as an individual. I understand our students are not 100% perfect and who is, but the idea is to make our students see how they CAN positively change a classroom with their choices. We want to encourage classroom behaviors that will result in the students naturally creating a positive learning environment together, allowing everyone to learn and flourish from one another.            In addition, these Role Model punch cards have twelve circles on each card to help students build stamina for making positive choices in the classroom. Instead of rewarding a student every time they make good choices/behaviors, use these cards to teach them to make good choices consistently and naturally overtime. It will take some students a week or longer to get all twelve circles punched on their card, but it will definitely teach them to build character and patience. How do I use the Role Model punch cards in my own classroom?           In my classroom, the Role Model punch cards is implemented as a whole class and individual reward. My students earn a punch on their Role Model punch card at the end of the day if they move their clip up on our classroom’s positive behavior chart. Throughout the day, I punch my students' Role Model punch cards if I see them making role model choices (helping others, completing a hard assignment with a positive attitude, cooperating with their team or a partner, following school rules in the hallway, problem solving their own minor problems, and etc.).                       I always remind my students to have their punch card out on their desk because they never know when I’m going to punch a hole in their card for being a "Role Model". On a daily average, I punch about 2-3 holes in a student’s card. I don’t punch a hole for every praise or compliment I give out. However, if I notice a consistent positive behavior displayed by the same student I would go ahead and punch his/her Role Model card.           I usually have 2-3 students who earned all twelve punches by the end of each week. However, it usually takes about 1.5-2 weeks for my most of my students to get all twelve punches. Again, this is because I use my best judgements to only punch cards for students that showed consistent classroom behaviors and not for every single compliment/praise I give out.  What happens when my students get all twelve punches on their card?           Every time a student gets all twelve punches, they earn a reward!! There are so many ways you can choose to reward your students. The discretion is up to you as their teacher. I understand we get a new group of students every year and each group is different, so the choice for reward is what you think will work best for your students.            Last year I rewarded my students with treasure box. This year I took two different approaches. The first semester, my students earned a reward from our class treasure box filled with Scentos smelly knickknacks from Walmart because they loved scented things. This second semester, I am allowing my students to write their own reward on the back of their card (which must be teacher approved first). My students really love the autonomy to pick their own reward by writing it on the back of their punch card. Do these Role Model punch cards REALLY work?           YES! If implemented correctly and used effectively by the teacher and students, these punch cards will help minimize behavioral issues and promote positive behaviors in the classroom. Now keep in mind that not all behavioral issues can be solve with a simple punch card. We would love for it to be that simple. The purpose of these punch cards is to teach our students to make good behavior choices that encourage their classmates to do the same, resulting in a self-created positive classroom learning environment.           I have successfully used these punch cards for two years now with first graders. The cards have helped my students become accountable for their own behaviors and choices. Our classroom learning environment is a safe place for the students as they inspired each other to be the best version of themselves. My students also understand what it feels like to work hard for something they want (hence picking their own reward) and why it’s important to be a good citizen. I believe that these role model punch cards will work in your classroom as they do in mine. If you decide to try these FREE Role Model punch cards, please let me know how it works in your classroom. :) click the image above to grab the FREEBIE Happy Teaching!

The ensemble description allows us to study the asymptotic behavior of the plasticities for a large class of neural networks and derives an expression for the size of the fluctuations in an unchanging environment for small learning parameters. We study the learning dynamics of neural networks from a general point of view. The environment from which the network learns is defined as a set of input stimuli. At discrete points in time, one of these stimuli is presented and an incremental learning step takes place. If the time between learning steps is drawn from a Poisson distribution, the dynamics of an ensemble of learning processes is described by a continuous-time master equation. A learning algorithm that enables a neural network to adapt to a changing environment must have a nonzero learning parameter. This constant adaptability, however, goes at cost of fluctuations in the plasticities, such as synapses and thresholds. The ensemble description allows us to study the asymptotic behavior of the plasticities for a large class of neural networks. For small learning parameters, we derive an expression for the size of the fluctuations in an unchanging environment. In a changing environment, there is a trade-off between adaptability and accuracy (i.e., size of the fluctuations). We use the networks of Grossberg [J. Stat. Phys. 48, 105 (1969)] and Oja [J. Math. Biol. 15, 267 (1982)] as simple examples to analyze and simulate the performance of neural networks in a changing environment. In some cases an optimal learning parameter can be calculated.