Home > Articles by: Mary Palin

Look! Learn! Go!

By Mary Palin · March 9, 2010 · Comments(0)

We are pleased to announce that tribes.com has a new look and feature.  Notice our home page; you will see two important large “buttons”.  One is a quick and important link to our friends at CASEL, and the other is our new page called Teach Community; Learning Experiences for Tribes Educators.
CASEL is the Collaborative [...]

Have you looked in the “mirror” lately?

By Mary Palin · February 24, 2010 · Comments(0)

Synonyms for “mirror” – echo, emulate, signify, represent, reflect.
It’s that last one that should trigger a familiar response.  And the question becomes, “(What) have you reflected (upon) lately?”
As a Tribes TLC educator, you know the value and significance of reflection on learning.  You intend and/or do it often in your teaching…for your students.  But do [...]

Did you know….?

By Mary Palin · February 11, 2010 · Comments(0)

Did you know that there are over 1200 active Tribes TLC trainers throughout the world, and conceivably more than 10,000 Tribes TLC-trained educators?  In some areas, the Tribes TLC-trained people comprise a critical mass (the Wikipedia sociodynamic version of the definition:  a threshold value of the number of people needed to trigger a phenomenon by [...]

Is my class ready for “tribes”?

By Mary Palin · November 8, 2009 · Comments(0)

It’s November (already!).  Could it be time for “tribes”?  Or at least, “trial tribes”?
If you can answer “yes” to the following questions, it’s time for a more long term, or “tribal” approach.

Do students now each other’s names (everyone!)?
Are the agreements alive and well?
Have students experienced multiple groupings, and have they had success in groups of [...]

Tribes and your After School Program

By Mary Palin · October 21, 2009 · Comments(0)

Whether or not you have had, or know about, the After School Program training for implementing the Tribes process…here are a few reminders and checkpoints for a healthy and productive after school experience.
Remember:
These kids have just spent 6+ hours doing school!  If you expect quiet and subdued, you will likely be disappointed.  The best thing [...]

Homework?!

By Mary Palin · October 8, 2009 · Comments(1)

It sounded like a good idea to have some support for homework…especially for students who need help getting it done. But doing it quietly…for an hour…after school? Hmmmm.
Here are some ways to make that hour more productive, and pass by without too much incident:
*Begin with a question or statement on the board, or [...]

Tribes is the “plate”

By Mary Palin · September 25, 2009 · Comments(1)

Have you ever heard or said, “This is just one more thing to add to my already full plate…”
Consider the perception that Tribes IS the plate; the process supports all the good teaching, methods, tools, and inquiries that educators strive to apply and synthesize.  This happens because Tribes TLC is a process that creates a [...]

Using the Tribes TLC process for “back-to-school” night

By Mary Palin · September 16, 2009 · Comments(1)

If you are coming up on a “back-to-school” night, here are some suggestions for involving parents and modeling what the Tribes TLC process is…if your “back-to-school” event has passed, these strategies are still good for a PTA or PTO meeting, or just plan a parent night for Tribes!
You can also view this post in the [...]

Weekly Tribes

By Mary Palin · September 7, 2009 · Comments(1)

How about a reminder and/or a fresh idea for Tribes each week?!  For now, you can visit the forum on this site for the feature “weekly Tribes” for just that.  We offer a pertinent or timely strategy, a reminder for incorporating more reflection, an idea for …whatever you might request.
This week’s entry is for those [...]

Is there a staff meeting this week?

By Mary Palin · September 1, 2009 · Comments(1)

Are your faculty meetings painful? Is attentive listening absent? Can you remember the important topics that necessitated the staff meeting? Does one person do all the facilitating?
If you answered yes to one of the questions above, injecting a little of the Tribes TLC process will make a staff meeting more enjoyable, productive, collaborative, and collegial.
Here [...]

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