1. Classroom Management: What is in a Name?

What's in a name? This is an important question when it comes to classroom management. How you address your students - and how you ask them to address you - can play a significant role in setting the tone of your classroom environment. Let's find out how some educators handle this aspect of teacher/student interaction. Use the following links to find a teacher chat room, message board, newsgroup, or e-mail list, then pose one or more of the questions below.

The Collaborative Classroom

K12.chat.teacher (Usenet newsgroup)

Teachnet.com

• Do you allow students to call you by your first name?
• How do you feel about students using Dr., Mr., Mrs. or Ms.? What about "sir" or "ma'am"?
• Do you address students with titles? nicknames? last names?
• Are you consistent with all students, or do gender, favoritism, or other factors play a role in how names are used?
• Do you address students by the names they request, or by ones you choose?

Write a summary of the answers you receive. What are the advantages and potential pitfalls of the various approaches? What role might grade level, age (of teacher), gender, social class, geographic area, or cultural background play in how names are used?

For an excellent collection of online resources related to classroom management, click here.

2. Problem-Based Learning

To see how educators are using the Internet to carry out problem-based learning, visit the following Web site:

NetPBL: Collaborative Project-Based Learning (at the Global Schoolhouse)

After perusing the entire NetPBL site, choose a Project Example and use it to illustrate the five characteristics of problem-based learning discussed in your textbook: learner cooperation, higher-order learning, cross-disciplinary work, artifacts and exhibits, and authentic learning.

What do you think are the special issues teachers must consider when using the Internet for problem-based learning. What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of this approach?