Teacher Notes

If you are a school and  concerned with communiation between school and home, then Teacher Notes is for you. 

 

If you are a parent and concenred with knowing how your son/daughter is doing in school, then Teacher Notes is for you.

 

If you are a school administrator and concenred with building a support community around student work, then Teacher Notes is for you.

 

Frankly, Teacher Notes makes the work of school better for everyone.

 

 Simple in concept, but elegant in design, Teacher Notes is the one solution offered by Gryphondale which can have the quickest impact.

 

Here's a scenario -

 

Mrs. Jones thinks that Joshua did a great job on his latest English essay.  She wants to let him know.  She writes Josh a Teacher Note.  As soon as she send it, the notes is copied to Josh's parents, his advisor, perhaps the guidance counselor, and maybe someone else concerned with Josh's learning.   By the time Josh gets home, his parents and his whole support network are ready to give him the high-five of a job well done.

 

Here's a second scenario -

 

Mrs. Jones wants Henry to spend more time in completing his math homework.  Careless errors have cost him, both in homework and on formal assessments.  Mrs. Jones sends a note to Henry, and of course, it is copied to his parents, his adviosr, perhaps the guidance counselfor and maybe someone else concerned with Henry;'s learning.  By the time Henry gets home, his parents know that a few more minutes on homework may be more important than the time spent in World of Warcraft.  Some changes are in order.

 

Here's the point - Teacher Notes help to create a support network for learners.  And, just as importantly, Teacher Notes puts everyone on the same page.  When students come to school, they know that lots of adults are caring for them and for their learning.

 

And one more thing - Teacher Notes are archived and organized.  When it's time for a parent-teacher or parent-school meeting, Teacher Notes can be summarized and serve as a multi-faceted case study on student learning.

 

For the first time, all the information on a student's learning life can be assembled in one place and made available for those who are most connected to the student.

 

There is a bottom line - it's about learning, and Teacher Notes help make that happen.


 


Think about this -


"Phrased differently, meaning emerges more from what is absent, tacit, literalized, and forgotten than from what is present, explicit, figurative, and conscious. Attentions"
 
Davis, Brent & Dennis Sumara. Complexity and Education: Inquiries Into Learning, Teaching, and Research