Susan Fitzell-Educational Consultant & Speaker
Practical Strategies to Get High Test Scores Now!
The Value of Coaching and Experience in the Learning Process
From Susan’s booklet, “Martial Arts and the Awakening of a Public School Teacher”
Copyright 1995 by Susan Fitzell
“How are skills learned? By experience. How, then, are they best taught? By coaching. I, the teacher, can tell you rules for writing — grammar, forms of felicitous phrasing, types of argument. I can show you examples of good and bad writing, and with the aide of an overhead projector, I can demonstrate for you how to analyze a piece of work. However, until you write and I criticize your writing, your expository skills and the thinking behind them lie latent.”
–Theodore R. Sizer, Horace’s Compromise
I had an experience just this week, that drove this point home. I have been training in the martial arts for almost three years. For the past year, I have been studying Kickboxing along with a formal style of Kung fu. I have been learning the skills, and the rules, necessary to effectively defend myself. In the academic world, this would be similar to learning grammar rules, dissecting sentences, and practicing penmanship. The pieces are studied and practiced. Individual skills are tested. Form is learned. I am told and shown what works, how it works and why it works, just as academic teachers “tell” their students how to write. However, I have seldom Read the rest of this entry »
Kung Fu & Self Defense with Susan Fitzell
A program developed specifically for youths ages 6 to 15. Classes are based on traditional Kung Fu and will focus on physical self defense. Verbal skills will be taught for dealing with bullying and conflict. Students will learn self-discipline, leadership skills and conflict management strategies. Students will also develop fundamental athletic skills.
http://www.executivehealthclub.com/Group_Exercise_Classes/Index.asp?ID=74
I’m testing for my next level in Kung Fu in a couple months and one of the requirements is to memorize quite a bit of information from the Kung Fu Members Handbook. Memorization has never been easy for me. I think that’s why I have so many strategies in my seminars to help students memorize information. I’ve used the strategies myself with tremendous success and have found students surpass all expectations (their own and those of their teachers) when they use memorization strategies.
One of my favorite strategies is using good, old fashioned flash cards. I’ve almost always used standard flash cards for study and have handwritten the questions and answers using color, pictures, and mnemonics to help me or my students remember. This time, I wanted to try doing them on the computer and taking advantage of colored fonts, san serif -fonts, photos, etc. Then I could print them out and enhance them by hand if I wanted to. I believe that many times students don’t create flash cards to study from because they hate to write them out. So, this seems like a motivating avenue to explore.
The first step is finding out if there are any online resources for creating flash cards. I found some that I thought were not only heartening, they were helpful and effective. The first link I came across was written about a daughter who helped her mom remember words and people after a stroke. I had never considered that implementation of flash cards. So, consider how many ways we might use an age old technique like flash cards for study to help others.
Create Flash Cards in MSWord by Dian Chapman (for her mom): http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=289. This site allows you to download a free MSWord Template for flashcards. This is what I was originally looking for on this quest. Sure I could have made one up myself, but how many times would I have to mess with the dimensions before I got it right? I figure, why reinvent the wheel. Someone else must have done it. Well, Dian did.
This next website has flashcards for ESL; however, the flash card instructions are generic and can be used for any subject. If you are looking for ESL flashcards you can make your own or pay for access to their ready made cards. http://www.eslkidstuff.com/flashcard_printing_instructions.htm
Flashcard Exchange dot com is the site that helped my daughter get through her advanced placement courses in high school. One wonderful benefit we discovered was that if you type in the title of a text book, you might find ready-made flash cards made by another teacher or student! This site has a feature that allows you to download flashcards onto a PDA! I might consider this option. Then I can study anytime anywhere discretely with my PDA phone! http://www.flashcardexchange.com/
And then there’s Quia, a site that allows you to create flash cards, games, activities, etc. www.quia.com
And finally, Microsoft’s website has templates for flashcards and designates exactly which Avery product fits the dimensions.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT102530781033.aspx
Enjoy making flash cards and seeing your students increase their test prep success!
I wrote the essay below in 1992 after starting martial arts in my early thirties. The message still applies today so I dusted it off and posted. it. I hope you enjoy.
Susan
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I’m a Learning Disabilities teacher at a public high school. I have worked with “at-risk” kids for the past nine years. I’ve always thought I had a good understanding of my students, and could empathize with their hardships. However, throughout my own educational training and career, I’ve had very little academic difficulty. I had to work hard, but, I always did well. I had enough confidence in my ability to learn that I was willing to make the investment.
Now, when it comes to physical pursuits, I perceive myself as “learning disabled.” I would describe myself as a klutz. I’ve had enough bruises in my life from bumping into things to back up that perception. I never could Read the rest of this entry »
