Teacher Development Meeting last Sunday was productive and fun. A total of seven teachers in all, representing schools in Chiba, Kawasaki, Tokyo and Nagano. The venue was my classroom at Hello Kids in Komazawa.

We discussed these issues:
– Songs and chants from the WELCOME series. How manageable were they for our students in terms of speed and challenge level?
– Student motivation during Book 3.
– Homework stamp, “Blue stickers vs Gold stickers”
– Positive reinforcers: stickers, points, praise, game-time etc.

It’s interesting how we teachers sometimes feel the value of actions we take in the classroom, but at the same time feel a sense of “perhaps in the long-term, it may not necessarily be good…”

Stickers or a point-system for “good behavior” in the classroom is a case in point. While we sometimes use them to encourage positive behavior, it can possibly lead to students expecting something EVERY time they behave positively.

Later in the session I had a short activity idea from Book 3 to present, as well as individual student work to show.
All in all it was a great afternoon of teaching development.

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Now, arguably the biggest dates of the year are coming up! Be sure to pen them into your schedule:

November 27th: LEARNING WORLD WORKSHOP Osaka

December 4th: LEARNING WORLD WORKSHOP Tokyo

December 11th: LEARNING WORLD WORKSHOP Nagoya  ⇒ Click here!

It’s honor and a pleasure to be sharing presentation time this year at these workshops with Kawahara-sensei and Nakamoto-sensei!

I look forward to seeing you there!