To read part 1, click here. Spanish 9
It was hard to get a decent photo, but this is actually my classroom transformed into a maze on the annual 'prank day' of which I was totally unaware (thanks teachers!). Nah, my room was pretty sweet and easy to clean up in comparison to others who had anything from a million pictures of kilts to live fish. Bodies in Creation
| Independent Learning Program
I'm not entirely sure all of what the students processed from the PBS doc I showed (and attempted very hard to censor, out of respect for the school) about Kahlo, but I certainly enjoyed it. It reignited my passion for and interest in surrealist art, the 1920s, and authentic self-expression in all of its glory and profanity. Spanish 30
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I'm back teaching grades 8 and 9 again, and 7 as a new addition, and have found myself wondering whether my approach to "classroom management" is working. It seems like each class the students have behaved differently, and I'm trying to get a sense of personalities, student relationships, overall class dynamics, weekly rhythms, behaviours to allow, behaviours to ignore, and behaviours to address for both individuals and the class as a whole. This is seriously tricky business! Mostly, I question whether I'm totally failing. I feel like I tolerate too much chaos, and spend more time than I'd like repeatedly regaining students' attention when teaching the class and helping individual students. I was encouraged, however, when returning to some advice from Alfie Kohn and related thinkers, and realized that, in my heart of hearts, my approach - while messy and noisy - is an attempt to help students develop while relinquishing my own need for control. I don't want to be a power-monger; I want to empower the kids. Maybe this will help others battle their desire for control and compliance while helping students to develop as ethical and social beings.
Beyond Discipline Behave Yourself! Seven Tools for Positive Discipline I will continue to look at physical factors (like seating arrangements) and ways to structure my lessons to minimize confusion and maximize focus, as well as to chat with other teachers and EAs to get their ideas. Successes
Each student has his or her own folder for assignment submissions. They submit their completed work into their folder along with the rubric. I provide written feedback on their work and use a separate rubric to assess them. Then they get a chance to review the feedback and do a self-assessment using the rubric. Only then do they receive their assessment from me. This has made assessment (I think) less threatening. It also helps me stay organized. I keep all of the folders in a box in the classroom. I use D2L (like Moodle) to update my students each day, and occasionally send emails to the whole class. My 10-1 class is better about checking D2L, but my 20-2 class is catching on. Students in my 10-1 class also email me with questions, and I'll post answers in the News feed on D2L. I have started using an electronic dropbox on D2L for assignments (in addition to the folders) which has helped address any printer issues. Additionally, because it is integrated with Turnitin, I can easily see what/if students have copied and pasted material from the internet. Challenges My 20-2s have attendance issues, which affect their ability to complete and submit work on time. I have used "Incomplete Assignment" forms for students who are behind in their work. This helps them keep track of what they owe me, establishes an expected date of submission, and lays out plans for what needs to happen. I need to use the forms more consistently, I think, but they've helped some. Also, I did this a bit reluctantly, but I also put a "catch up" chart on the board that listed students who needed to "catch up" and had to move their name to a time/date before or after school to get work done. I've also hunted students down during spares this week - super effective! Routines for a "healthy learning environment" We are very fortunate at my school: kids with anxiety or other issues have the option to complete work or tests in the "Learning Centre." The students who have taken advantage of this tend to be able to focus better and get work done in a less stressful and very supportive environment. Within the classroom itself, students do a lot of work in pairs or small groups. The seating arrangements tend to be pairs of desks, but next week I may put them in pods of fours, as I think both of my classes (and the nature of the work we'll be doing) would benefit from this change. Today I had my students all work with someone they hadn't worked with before, and it was good to mix things up. There was a lot of on-task chatter. I work closely and communicate often with admin and guidance regarding students I have concerns about: it's a team effort to make sure these kids get the support and direction they need. I greet the students at the door. I smile and laugh a lot with my students, and make an effort to chat about things other than class work with them--especially the things they're most interested in. Other thoughts My attitude and approach to classroom management is closely aligned with my beliefs about assessment. I've been influenced primarily by Joe Bower, Alfie Kohn, and Ross Greene. On the surface, this may appear too permissive or like I'm trying to be the students' friend, but I'm really trying to be intentional about avoiding a control-based tactic where students are manipulated using "choices." I think it's important that students learn self control and for the right reasons (i.e., not out of compulsion to comply or 'play the game'). I also think it's important that I maintain relationships with my students such that they feel my expectations are fair and that their dignity is respected. One student commented that the way I approached assessing and giving feedback on their autobiographical poems made her feel good when her previous teachers made her feel simply judged. I chatted with a student today whom I caught plagiarising. After I allowed her to go through the process of stressfully defending herself and attempting to fudge her way out of it, I was able to collaboratively problem-solve with her to determine what changes we might try to ensure that she does her best in class so she doesn't feel the need to allow friends do her work for her. The Canadian Safe School Network, and like-minded organizations, are engaged in the important work of both tackling violence, bullying, and cyberbullying. In my limited experience with anti-bullying initiatives, much of the focus is on modifying attitudes and consequent behaviour through providing information and engaging kids, teachers, and parents in activities and strategies to develop a different mindset or lagging social skills.
Earlier this summer, I took a short contract with a pipeline company to enhance some of their security documents, similar to work I'd done previously. Part of my work involved incorporating design considerations into construction security standards, using the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) Guidelines as a basis (quick overview here; more in-depth document here). As I worked through how these might apply in designing new plants, compressor stations, or area offices, I also reflected on how these principles can and should be used in designing new schools. Some of the suggestions from the guidebook that stuck out to me were:
One of the things my PSII teacher associate reinforced to me is that kids will be more engaged and respectful of the activities that take place in the classroom if the classroom itself (physical) is clean, tidy, and orderly. These documents reinforce the idea that people's attitudes toward one another and their perceptions of themselves and others are greatly affected by their physical environment, whether or not they are conscious of it. Perhaps the bullying, violence, and vandalism could be addressed, at least in part, through reconsidering and adjusting the school's physical layout, appearance, and maintenance to make students feel more in control and proud of the school and what goes on within the property. Calgary has been on board with CPTED since 1991, but interestingly, the facilities in scope include only houses, apartments, public spaces, neighbourhoods, and businesses (do schools fall under businesses?). In anticipation of new schools being built in Calgary, I hope that CPTED is used in the decision-making, and that the CBE works collaboratively with the Calgary Police Service, ergonomists (especially when also considering Universal Design) architects, engineers, and construction companies to make design decisions that will help support initiatives to make our schools safer. I had originally planned on making this presentation into a Brainshark video, but my free account only allows me 15 minutes of recording time, so I was unable to do that and it's considerably complicated to make a timed PowerPoint presentation into a YouTube video. This attempt showed me that I have more to learn about "flipping" my classroom through direct instruction via technology (I think I'll eventually purchase Camtasia and a good mic).
Regardless, I wanted to make the information available to anyone who might benefit from it, so here is the PowerPoint with the "meat" of the presentation located in the "notes" section on each slide. For quick reference, I also want to include in this post the steps I plan to take to use social media in my classroom (references are in the PowerPoint).
This is a very thought-provoking talk that fits nicely with my current courses on problem-solving through comm tech and philosophy of tech in education. McCandless' discussion on visualization and on 'data as the new soil' reminded me a lot of Marshall McLuhan's notions of how the literate culture (the age of writing) is dominated by the eye (also reinforced by the coloured visualization of 9:20) and of his concepts of 'rootedness' and the need to examine the soil from which we are growing as human beings (i.e., how has technology changed the soil makeup? how does that affect our senses and ways of understanding?). I agree that I, too, find myself longing for large chunks of written text to be converted (compressed) into an image/diagram and am relieved when this happens. I think this longing goes hand-in-hand with the speediness of vision. Q: How can teachers incorporate social skill development activities into curricular areas without targeting or drawing attention to particular students?
Teachers can easily accomplish this simply by teaching to the Alberta Program of Studies. Many programs contain learning outcomes related to social skills. For example, the English Language Arts GLO 5 focuses on students learning to respect, support, and collaborate with others. The first goal for Drama involves developing respect for others and exploring, controlling, and expressing emotion. The Health curriculum includes a major focus on emotional, social, and spiritual wellness. ICT General Outcome F3 touches on the ethics of using technology, including etiquette, collaboration, sharing, and privacy. Cooperation is one of the four general outcomes in the Physical Education Program of Study. The Social Studies curriculum includes a specific focus on the development of values and attitudes that promote respect, fairness, compassion, honour, and other and justice as additional support for positive relationships in the classroom. As with any other knowledge or skill, teachers can plan to instruct and assess students from K-12 on social competence and social skill development, as well as have students engage in peer feedback and self-assessment to further learning. In PSI, I often took the opportunity in my language arts classes to revisit guidelines for respectful class discussion. I had also drafted a rubric based on the Program of Studies SLOs that students could use to self-assess their group work skills, asking for input from their group members. The rubric also included a space for students to record what they could work on for next time, with the intention that they could use this to gauge their progress during each instance of project-based group work. (Due to a time crunch, I did not have time to introduce the rubric and have the students practice using it, but I would like to do this in my own classroom throughout the year.) Additionally, I found it natural to teach social skills during my yoga classes for physical education and to include the relevant cooperation-related SLOs in my lesson plans. In yoga, students learn to acknowledge that we all have varying physical make-ups and abilities, and that this difference is not good or bad—it just is. They learn to respect others’ space and need to listen and concentrate, and to manage their emotions through deep breathing and visualization. Students felt much more peaceful and happy after practice. Q: How can educators incorporate strategies to support students with ADHD without drawing attention to these students? Why is it important to understand more about ADHD both personally and professionally?
Educators can best support students with ADHD without drawing attention to these students by making modifications and accommodations based on the principle of UDL. Common difficulties lie with organization, memory and recall, focusing, and maintaining attention. They may also need to expend energy and have trouble managing emotions. Of all of the strategies suggested, I felt that the following 8 were best for UDL: 1) Provide written, visual, oral, and kinesthetic directions and cues to students. 2) Be flexible with time and workload to accommodate students’ pace. 3) Reduce distractions by encouraging students to move to a semi-private area or to use noise-canceling headphones during independent work. 4) Model, provide tools and resources to students, and have students practice strategies for: active listening, time management, task planning and organization, self-monitoring, self-regulating, memorization, specific problem-solving, pre-reading and reading comprehension, basic social skills. 5) Use a buddy system or provide organized activities during unstructured social times. 6) Teach and practice, practice, practice routines, and assign kids roles for daily class errands. 7) For transitions, have routines, and provide written, oral, visual, and kinesthetic cuing, and include a brief activity to help kids use up energy[1] or wind-down (e.g., deep breathing with visualization). 8) Impose an organizational structure in the classroom for managing information and belongings: work with parents to adopt a similar or otherwise sustainable organizational structure at home.[2] It is important to understand more about ADHD both personally and professionally for a number of reasons. ADHD is a life-long disorder and I may have colleagues, superiors, and families who have it. Therefore, I need to understand their strengths and needs in order to collaborate more effectively with them. There continue to be a lot of myths perpetuated about it, and I need to be sure I have the truth so that I can respond appropriately. For example, I need to understand the possible benefits and side effects of medications. I need to be in a position to speak intelligently with parents and counsellors about ADHD, but also be eager to receive their insights and see how I might incorporate their strategies into my instruction, assessment, and management. I want to be able to properly read the signals the kids are giving me. Based on my readings of Ross Greene, I’m already inclined to interpret kids’ maladaptive behaviour as lagging skills (Ainsley can’t do x) rather than motivational issues (Yin won’t do x), regardless of any formal diagnosis. If I am to meet students where they’re at and provide the support they need to succeed, it’s crucial that I understand what they most need help with—especially if they require explicit instruction and skills training—and to be able to provide that instruction and training in ways they can receive. [1] In my workplace, we had a “Challenge of the Day” that was often physical activity and consisted of three levels: basic challenge, “hot shot” challenge, and seated challenge for those with mobility issues. You could choose any level. I like this idea for the classroom. [2] Last summer, I read and implemented strategies from Organizing for Your Brain Type. I presumed that this book would be a bit hokey judging by the title, but it was incredibly helpful for me and very different from other ‘top’ organizational books out there. I could see myself pulling from the myriad of strategies available to help students and their families based on their needs and tendencies. I began my practicum in grade 4 by introducing to students five basic expectations that I had thoughtfully crafted based on what I had learned in my C&I and Ed Psych classes. They were:
- We are kind to each other. - We respect property. - We are safe. - We are focused. - We are ready to participate. We discussed these as a class, and I asked students what each of these might look like so that we had clear, relevant examples (and non-examples). Both the kids and I thought these were pretty reasonable and good expectations, considering that my/our overarching goal was "To learn as much as possible and have fun doing it." Throughout my practicum, I began to reflect upon my goal and expectations, and question whether they were reasonable. The first three are still fine; the last two I think require more effort and thought on my part. Kids' ability to focus depends a lot on the nature of the task for which I'm requiring them to focus, including, but not limited to, duration, level of independence required, room noise level, degree of movement, student self-efficacy, clarity of instruction, resources available, time of day, day of week, and student physical proximity. If students don't want to focus, it's an issue of motivation, which needs to be solved by me ensuring that the task is meaningful, relevant, and worth the time and effort, and perhaps by allowing students more say regarding what tasks they do. If students can't focus, I need to help them develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to meet the task's demands, perhaps through Collaborative Problem Solving or direct instruction, including demonstration. Additionally, it's unreasonable and unhelpful to expect kids to be focused or on-task each period all day. We don't expect adults in their jobs to be totally focused on work the whole day; we allow some degree of socializing, and time to tend to physical needs. Also, it's helpful to take periodic brain breaks to assist in the problem-solving process and to encourage creative thinking. My job is not to be "Task Master" but to collaborate with students to create an environment in which they are both motivated and able to do their best learning. Overall, I don't know that I need to make this expectation explicit to the kids; it's perhaps something I just need to be cognizant of it so that I can continually improve classroom management and instruction. There is a bit of overlap between focus and readiness, but readiness had more to do with organization and materials (e.g., do you have a binder with sections? do you have a sharpened pencil? do you have your assignment out?). Is it reasonable to expect kids to be organized and have the appropriate materials? Sure, but I need to ensure that I provide them a bit of structure and guidance in this regard, including a variety of examples of how to organize (there is no 'right' way), time to organize and prepare materials (so that they're not sharpening their pencils while I'm talking), and places to store finished and unfinished work. If I'm serious and realistic about enabling kids to learn, I also ensure that they're not hindered in doing the work because they forgot/lost/accidentally damaged such-and-such. This means keeping extra supplies and extra copies readily available, and problem-solving with kids for whom forgetting/losing/damaging seems to be a pattern rather than a one-off. Again, this is not so different from what we do and expect in adult workplaces. Overall, I don't know that I'd keep this one either, since it should be addressed by how I structure the agenda and based on the tasks we'll be doing. This quote from Jim Lloyd (Chappius et al, p. 7) strongly resonated with me: "Classroom assessment for learning ... is a way of being. It is a type of pedagogy that when used as a matter of practice makes a profound impact on the way the teacher engineers her learning environment and how the students work within it." The key ideas wrapped up in this quote (and the rest of the readings) are: 1) effective teaching integrates assessment into lesson planning and execution systematically, and 2) it is possible and desirable to engage students in the assessment process.
By integrating assessment into lesson planning, I will develop much stronger lesson plans and be able to support, guide, verify, and report on student learning much more effectively and clearly. By making assessment overt and inviting students to participate in assessment activities, I'm confident that the students will take more ownership of their learning and pride in themselves as learners, and that they will develop skills that will enable them to be lifelong learners in academic and non-academic areas. One notion that stuck out at me was that attendance, effort, and behaviour should not be accounted for in the grading system and that focus should be on what students know and can achieve. In my schooling experience, it was common to get some nominal marks for participation. On the surface, attendance, effort, and behaviour seem important, but I realized that all three affect student achievement. Measuring achievement would make things more simple (because you aren't trying to consider those factors separately) and accurate (because the criteria for achievement are tied to the learning objectives set out by the Program of Study). I also recalled that both formative and summative assessment criteria were hidden from me throughout my education in non-core subjects, including physical education, art, music, and dance. I tended to do well in them, but I had no idea what I was doing to get my good grade, nor what I could do to improve my grade when it wasn't as high as my grades in other subjects. That was frustrating for me, and, while I liked these subjects and the activities we did, I didn't feel I was learning anything, and skill improvement just seemed to come with practice. When I put myself in my teachers' shoes now, I envision structuring these classes much differently. I find that the Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment figure (Chappius et al, p. 5) outlines a logical progression in designing lessons that assess, further, verify, and communicate students' learning progress, as well as engage the students in their own learning. I feel confident that, as I gain knowledge and practice of each 'key', I will be able to, say, take the learning objectives for grade 10 art, design assessment methods to match the targets and provide quality feedback, and empower students to assess themselves and set goals. Having this logic and structure in place is reassuring for me, because it also allows me to systematically check what might have gone wrong if things don't turn out as I predicted they would, and to know what I need to tweak, ditch, or improve. On a related note, I learned that descriptive feedback helps students identify specifically what to continue, improve, and avoid based on comparison to an exemplar, sample, description, or criteria. Evaluative feedback helps students understand whether they need to improve, but not how. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, teachers should increase their descriptive feedback and decrease their evaluative feedback. Research says, however, that evaluative feedback may interfere with learning (Davies, p. 18). This made me wonder whether the time spent designing and implementing evaluative measures are really worth it if the goal is student learning. Evaluative feedback seems to be used primarily to summarize (often average) students' progress (individual or aggregated) to people outside the classroom, who likely don't understand all of the intricacies associated with generating that report and therefore cannot properly analyse and act upon it. Even if I had a clear understanding of how stakeholders will use the assessment information and identified what level of detail is required, I'm not confident that I could generate any reports that explain things thoroughly yet briefly enough for certain audiences to use them properly. I experienced this very problem often in my job as an occupational health and safety analyst. Perhaps evaluative feedback is useful in identifying whether certain teaching strategies are more or less effective, but then it seems that one would have to analyse reports of student progress alongside teachers' lesson plans, classroom management plans, assessment plans, and other tools used in teaching. Alternatively, if descriptive feedback supplements evaluative feedback, it may become more effective. I think this is what the 'balanced assessment system' table (Davies, p. 21) attempts to promote. Looking at this table makes me wish that the school and community leaders would ask more questions related to formative assessment, or at least understand that the questions they are currently asking indirectly pushes teachers to evaluate students in ways that actually interfere with their learning. |
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