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November 6-7, 2014
Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, Dallas, TX
Spicing up Secondary Interventions
(Middle School)
Nick Erber
Your presenter:
• Nick Erber (@nickerber)
• 2nd year running FFW and RA at a Title I
comprehensive MS in Oak Cliff.
1
My Lab
• 135 students
• One of the larger labs in the district
• One of the more successful labs in the
district
• 10% of students made 2+ years gains
• 20% passed STAAR (none had EVER
passed a reading test before)
2
Three things:
1. A very clear plan
2. Procedures (and enforcement thereof)
3. Buy-in
3
A plan!
• “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”
• Follow best practices for a regular
classroom!
– Seating chart
– Clear expectations
– Boy-Girl-Boy seating
– FFW is independent!
4
The Panopticon
• Tip: Seat your students in a Panoptic
arrangement
– You can see them, they can’t necessarily see
you.
5
6
Stu
de
nt Fo
cu
s
Leaderboard
Class Decoration
• Unless it’s useful, keep it off the walls
• Again, it’s an individual activity, no need
for talking unless it’s with the instructor.
7
Procedures
• Many of our students have behavior
issues
• Procedures should be enforced from day
one!
8
Procedure PRO TIPS!
• Be specific:
– Backpacks under the desks
– SLANT-ing
– Headphones on AT ALL TIMES
– No bathroom breaks (in a 45 minute class
period)
9
Enforcing procedures
• Must be done with a kind demeanor
• Must be done consistently
• Discipline must be done in a spirit of de-
escalation
10
Discipline
• No one will learn if students feel
disrespected.
• You have to see them 180+ days this year
• Relationship building is paramount
• My advice, my style:
– Give students a choice
– Generally, don’t yell
– “It’s boring!” = “Can I help you out?”
11
Might seem limiting…
• But my experience with students:
– They’re orderly and they learn to focus for
longer and longer periods
– They feel EMPOWERED and TRUSTED
– If they’re actively monitored and provided
timely feedback, they GROW!
12
Feedback
• Do it weekly
• Do it with a printout
• If you can, staple it into their planner “daily
carry” item
• Super easy to provide with a Weekly
Achievement Report’
• ALSO: Actively monitor!
13
Buy in
• The most important part of a FFW
classroom
• MUST BE UNDERPINNED WITH
CONSISTENT PROCEDURES AND
FEEDBACK
14
Framing
• Present it to them like this:
– Make them feel exclusive, special
• “You’ve been selected from over 1400 students
to…”
– Make it sound like something fun
• “play video games in order to improve your
reading!”
15
Explaining
• Be up front that some of the activities will
be hard and/or boring
– Draw a metaphor to weightlifting
– Mention neuroplasticity, exercise of the mind
– Ensure them that you’ll be by them the entire
way
16
Competitions
• Holy moly, my students are competitive
• Keep prizes sparse, at no cost to you
• Make sure to update the board frequently
17
18
In conclusion…
• Plan!
– Come up with a seating chart and daily activities that work for you, not against you.
• Enforce Procedures!
– Be consistent and firm, but be the “nice guy”
– Build relationships.
• Promote Buy in!
– Run a competition.
– Students work for affirmation, not prizes.
19
Connect!
20
@nickerber
about.me/njerber
linkedin.com/in/nickerber