Chapter 5 - Teaching Behaviors

Give us your thoughts on the discussion questions below.  Afterwards, add two comments that add additional insight to the responses of a colleague.

1. Reflect on the voice you use most often in the classroom and your interactions with others.
2. Identify a situation in which you used the positive parent voice and a situation in which you used the negative parent voice. Describe the impact.
3. What are some ways to encourage appropriate responses to your interactions with students?

Chapter 3 and 4 - Formal Register, Abstract Concepts

Give us your thoughts on the discussion questions below.  Afterwards, add two comments that add additional insight to the responses of a colleague.

Chapter 3

1. Explain the importance of formal register and its impact on student achievement.

Chapter 4

1. Explain why mental models are imperative in helping students learn.
2. What are a couple of ways you can modify the way you teach to help students learn based on the information in this chapter.

Chapter 2 - Building Relationships

Give us your thoughts on the discussion questions below.  Afterwards, add two comments that add additional insight to the responses of a colleague.

1. Why are relationships so essential to learning?
2. What are some practical ways you work to build mutual respect with your students?
3. What are some ideas for how our school can strengthen relationships with students?

Chapter 1 - Assessing Resources

Chapter one discusses nine types of resources that impact our students.  Some students have all of these resources at their disposal while others are lacking in one or two of these.  Others may be lacking in several of these resources.  Give us your thoughts on the discussion questions below.  Afterwards, add two comments that add additional insight to the responses of a colleague.

1. Rank the nine resources based on which ones you feel are most important for success in school and work. Explain why.
2. Select one resource and describe the impact it has on school if it is missing; identify interventions that can be made to increase that resource.

Welcome to the 2017 Fall Book Study

Thank you for joining this year's fall book study and taking the time to invest in yourself -- and in the process investing in our students!  We will be discussing Ruby Payne's "Under-Resourced Learners."  In this book, she dives into how the socioeconomic status of our students impacts their learning at school.  Our awareness of this variable and how we work to address the needs of our students can have a huge impact on their success.

We will begin our book study the week of November 13th, completing one or two chapters each week and participating in an online discussion hosted on this website.  All discussions will take place by responding to the weekly prompt through the comments area at the bottom of that week's posting.  Each participant will respond to the prompt and add two unique and insightful comments to one of our peers responses.  All comments will be due at the end of each week on Sunday night.  Participants who complete all six weeks of discussion will receive a $125 book study stipend.

Thanks for your participation -- I hope you find some valuable takeaways from the book and the discussion it generates!