Will Gourley Constant Learning, General, Modern Learning, self reflection, Wellness

The Groove

This is my follow up post to Am I Teaching in a Rut

By Shane Gavin [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Shane Gavin [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Without offending your musical sensibilities, I want those who might have been singing Madonna’s Get into the Groove, to turn it off of their mental playlist for a few minutes, and spin Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground instead.

It’s OK, if you have both battling it out in your brain. I did. Stevie prevailed in case you wondered.

Although it’s catchy, the Madonna track gets me into a small groove, but it can’t keep me there. Music is like that. I count on it, always, to get me in a steady groove and to keep me there. Shouldn’t education be like that too?

So, what’s a groove?  Is it a track or channel that you fit yourself? Is it a vibe or a feeling? Is a groove smooth? How do you distinguish when you’re in a groove versus a rut? And how does it relate to my practice and pedagogy when you’re in one?

A groove is something that fits you perfectly. A groove feels good. When you’re in a groove, it never feels like what you’re doing is work. Being in the groove is contagious. It helps others around you find theirs too.* Imagine a whole school where everyone is in their teaching and learning groove? Students are witness to enthusiastic educators who are fearless learners and relentless encouragers.

What an incredible opportunity to learn, grow, and share everything that is awesome in education?

The groove is good

So whenever it feels like work then you’re in a rut. A rut travels from A to B or deeper. A rut wears down the traveler and the trail. Teaching in a rut is like being on auto-pilot because you’ve been down the same worn path over and over. A rut leaves its travelers dulled before, during, and after the journey.

The foundation for this post was set by wondering whether I am teaching in a rut or rocking/rolling along in a groove? And whether one was different from the other? My original post can be summed up in 3 key points to help stay out of a rut;

  1. Being a flexible learner in front of students and colleagues
  2. Being open and adaptable to what and where I teach(kind of like #1).
    Seeing the challenge as something to accomplish rather than feeling punished for it.
  3. Being unafraid of change even when it is something unknown

Thinking about this might be scary for some. Many of us have been raised in a corporate culture that requires keeping a nose to the grindstone, focused on the job, and safe from risk. That is precisely why we have to lift our heads and stretch our outlook. This comes from taking chances in the classrooms, hallways, staff-rooms. We have to encourage one another to share ideas, passions, successes, and failures. Teachers need to celebrate “the hard times and the good” with our students and with each other. That’s how we will find our groove(s)?

For me the groove is what gets me out of bed before the sun rises. It makes me excited to share learning with my students and with a world of educators. A groove does not have time for pettiness, negativity or self indulgence. A groove is designed for the positive, potential, and process in education.

Now the hard part…

What’s your groove? If you could do anything in education knowing you’d succeed, what would it be?
Thank you for reading. Please share and keep the conversation going in the comments section.

Will

* Oh, oh! I just thought of a B52’s song to go with this post.

I love music in most of it’s forms. It pervades my day, accompanies me as I work/relax, and provides me insight into people as an inter-generational time machine and lens. For a deeper understanding about the soundtrack to my life, click on this link to I(n) Tune.

 

Mike Beetham Classroom Management, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Literacy, Professional Learning and Growth

Anchoring Learning

Anchor charts have long been identified as a high-yield learning tool. What exactly is an anchor chart? Why use them? How do you determine what should be on an anchor chart? These are common questions faced by teachers as they try to establish optimum learning environments for their students.

I have heard anchor charts best described as the ‘third teacher’. The following is a quote from Scholastic’s Literacy Place – For The Early Years, 2010. “ To promote literacy skills and encourage independence, you will want to make strategic and purposeful use of print resources such as posters, signs, lists, charts, and student/teacher writing samples in your classroom. One tool in particular, the anchor chart, is very effective in promoting student success. An anchor chart outlines or describes procedures, processes, and strategies on a particular theme or topic and is posted in the classroom for reference by students. Examples of anchor charts include: what to do in an interview, tips on using commas, what readers need to do when they infer, how to choose just right’ books, or how to write a literature response.”

This of course aligns perfectly with the visual learner. Visual learners learn through seeing, observing and anchor charts allow them perpetual access to critical information and not just when instruction by a teacher is occurring. They can return to the key ideas or concepts when they need to and as often as they need to.

One lesson that I have learned is that not everything can be an anchor chart even though it is all so valuable. If the visual scene in your classroom becomes cluttered the benefits of this tool diminish as they just become part of the scenery and no longer a tool for the students. In my class we have a large variety of anchor charts positioned around the classroom with different colours, fonts, sizes, shapes and almost any other way I can make them unique and stick out. I did an experiment with my students one day where I gave them post it notes and asked them to go around and put them on the anchor charts they used most often and felt were most helpful to them. Prior to that I had made my prediction of what might occur. Needless to say, what I thought was most important did not align with their view. Sooooo from that point on, my anchor charts became a mutual task created by my students and myself. I still do all of the finish work, but the content and positioning in the room is a shared decision. One final change in my practice as a result of that data collection was that I am constantly changing the visual cues so that they stay fresh as learning tools and not just become a regular site in the room.

Another feature of this great tool is that I also have personal anchor charts around my desk that help me as I learn new pedagogy to add to my practice. I am able to return to them throughout the day to evaluate my growth and development progress. IMG_1799 IMG_1803 IMG_1804 IMG_1797 IMG_1806 IMG_1798 IMG_1800 IMG_1801

Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, self reflection, Wellness

Memories

 

I remember my first day of teaching as if it had happened yesterday and not 32 years ago. As my journey of teaching continues, there have been countless scenarios that have occurred that brought a smile to my face, made me cry, challenged me, taught me and humbled me. Those are the moments that inspire me each and every day I enter my classroom. About 13 years ago a very passionate and visionary principal I worked with started our year off by giving each teacher an empty box. She then went on to describe how it is up to use to fill that box with memories, moments in time that are like treasures not to be lost or forgotten. Ever since that time I have kept a memory box.

 

This box is filled with magical moments that I have been a part of in my teaching experiences with colleagues, students and/or their families. There are letters, cards, toys, photographs, trinkets, phone call summaries, thank you cards, trip mementoes, amazing accomplishments of individual students as well as class accomplishments. What goes into that box is anything that reminds me just how precious and important my efforts are and that no effort is wasted. I take the time to go and revisit my box in moments of self-doubt, challenging times or just when it seems that nothing is going right. After just a few moments of revisiting these wonderful experiences I can raise my head and once again forge on filled with confidence and positive energy. I look forward to the day (not too far in the future) when I can stop, reflect back on a career as I take the time to go through each item in my memory box, piece by piece, story by story.

I hope you take the time to stop and smell the roses in your everyday teaching and life. Make a pledge to start your memory box in 2017. Happy New Year!img_20170107_131253

Tammy Axt Wellness

The challenges during the holidays

My sister in law specializes in helping people with eating disorders. As we sat together over the holidays, I asked her how her patients were handling this time of year. She shared with me some challenges that are facing her patients such as: relationships with family are strained due to all the stress that is caused by the constant change in schedule, food is such an overwhelming center of many of the celebrations which makes this holiday season difficult and finally many support services are closed at the time when people need them the most.

It was a reminder to me that not everyone has a wonderful holiday experience. We went on to talk further about many of the challenges that are heightened at this time of year for many other people, which includes many families of the students we teach.

Some families have lost their jobs and are trying to make ends meet and feeling the pressure to buy gifts to put under a tree.

Some families have lost loved ones this year and their absence is heightened during family traditions.

Some families are far away from their loved ones this year and are missing them a lot.

Some families are struggling to get along and being in the same room for days on end is not helping.

Some families have mental health concerns that are heightened by all the visitors and the change in routine.

Some families have spent Christmas in a hospital this year with sick or dying family members.

Some families are just struggling to make it through the day.

The conversation that my sister in law and I had was not a pessimistic one at all. Just a reminder to me that some of our students are facing challenges over these two weeks off from school. I will be sure to remember that the holidays are not perfect for many people and that when the students come back to school they may need some support. I will be on the lookout for those students who need an extra smile or a divergence from the conversation about presents and festivities.

Beverly Papove Mental Health, Wellness

Time to Recharge

The way work slammed into the holidays this year explains why I find myself sleeping in late every morning. Phew! That just happened! Now the two weeks ahead seem like all the time in the world to do anything but work. So, what is the best way to spend this time off?

Some things are out of our control around these super-charged holiday periods – traveling, family time, weather, finances, health – but finding some time to shut down and recharge your energy supplies should be a priority before heading back to work in January. Things really start to gather momentum when we return to the classroom with end-of-term reports being the biggest extra-curricular activity for teachers at this time of the year. Not that I’m thinking about work. Well, maybe a little. I am finding it really hard to walk by recycling boxes in the city without glancing in to see if there is some cardboard – kindergarten gold – I can harvest. The holidays have already provided me with an abundance of recyclables for the Creation Station, so it is not as if I need to keep gathering items. I will just be super ready for our first Monday back and I’ve made sure I have some sturdy plans in place for the first week for a smoother re-entry.

Trying to shut off “work-brain” is not easy – in spite of all the distractions over the holidays – and in fact, distractions are often not quite enough if you want to really recharge your energy. Quiet time, time for self-reflection, is what this dark, cold season warrants, sort of like housecleaning for the brain. Whether it is by walking/skiing/snowshoeing in a forest, field or city park, listening to natural sounds, or while listening to your heartbeat as you bob around in a floatation tank filled with warm, salinated water (doesn’t everyone have one of these kicking around the house?), we all need time to ourselves. Hopefully, you will find the opportunity to gather some loose ends within your mind so that you don’t return to work frazzled and unrested.

Our jobs are stressful, no doubt about it, with a high rate of burnout, so that is why there are so many reminders, to new teachers especially, for the need to look after ourselves. Occupational burnout is a real thing and I recall a doctor friend, whose patients included police officers and teachers, who was fond of saying, “You guys are always on stage. If, for some reason, you aren’t able to perform, I will have to take your badge away.” With that in mind, we are lucky to have a break in between gigs, where we can slow down, take some things off our plates, stare into space and breathe deeply to recharge those batteries.

Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians

Positive vs Negative Student Balances

When you look at your bank account you work extremely hard to ensure you always have a positive balance. By having a positive balance you are able to pursue so many options in how you may use that surplus. When you are not able to keep a positive balance, you become very limited in the options you have and may in the worst circumstance go bankrupt.

I look at each and every child and each and every family in that way. I start in September with a zero balance as I am just opening up that account. From the first minute I interact with each child as well as their family, I am either making deposits or withdrawals. Each and every positive statement I make, word of encouragement I offer, inflating vs deflating statement said, either builds that account or reduces that account balance.

When a conflict occurs (and it will) you are now having to look at the account you have created and will make a withdrawal as you help that child understand the choice they made and how to learn from it. If you have a built up a strong, positive balance with that child you are able to make that withdrawal without having any ill effects on the relationship that exists between the both of you. If it is a call home in regards to a negative scenario that occurred at school, the family’s reaction will be either supportive or defensive depending on the balance you have established at home with the parent(s).

I use a variety of tools to help foster a positive balance. The two most effective for me are ‘Sunshine Calls’ and rephrasing my comments when I react to the day-to-day events that unravel in my room. In a sunshine call I am truly just trying to send a positive message to each family about their child. It can be as simple as a comment about a great writing effort that occurred today, how their child read aloud for the first time in front of his/her peers or what a positive decision they made not make a small problem bigger. Over time I can actually hear the change in how the parent reacts to me once they recognize their child’s teacher is calling. Within a few months, the calls home are very sociable and appreciated by the family.

The second strategy took me a while to develop. I had to literally think about how and what I would say when events occurred. First I had to examine my approach and found that my initial comments were deflating or withdrawing from that account balance. For example if a student made a mess, I would say, “ You need to be more careful and not make a mess”. This type of statement always puts a student on the defensive. I am learning to rephrase my comments to be able to send a message but not put a student on the defensive. I now say “ Are you okay, accidents happen to everyone. How can we clean it up?”

A very unintentional but amazing benefit of this approach was that I was modelling for my students each day how to be respectful to each other in the way they communicate. Soon, this type of positive communication becomes the norm of the class. There are less and less conflicts between students simply due to the way they learn to communicate with each other and the people around them.

 

Mike Beetham Assessment, Classroom Management, General, Learning About Your Students, Planning, Resources

Ontario Student Record Search

Wow, we are already into the second month of this school year and I am not sure I really know my students very well yet. I have a working idea of who they are as students and as people but need to gather more information to help me with my programming. That is where using their Ontario Student Record (OSR) can help you gather further data to assist me  in this process.

I typically do not complete my OSR searches until after the first month of school so that I can establish my own opinion about them as learners. The OSR is a cumulative record of them as a student since their entry into the Ontario education system. It is a legal document that travels with them from community to community and school to school in Ontario. It is a valuable tool for any educator who is working with a student.

There is a wide variety of information that exists in a student’s Ontario Student Record. First and foremost are the provincial report cards from their time at school. It is here that a teacher can gauge where a student has typically performed in the various curriculae. In addition there is often a wide variety of other sources of information specific to that student. For example, there could be documentation around outside supports such as occupational therapy, early intervention, psychological assessments, legal documentation around custody, Family & Children Services involvement, suspensions, Individual Education Plans and Safety Plans. When you look at the back of the OSR you can see a history of whether a student has had a stable education in one school or whether their circumstances show multiple schools with little or no stability. I have had one student who was entering into his 8th school and he was only in Grade 4.

There is a combination of hard data as well as data that has a subjective component and is based on the interaction and opinions of adults. It is important to differentiate between the two. I am not saying you should discount in any way or ignore that data, but rather understand that the circumstances in which that data was obtained may have been affected by many outside factors. For the student who was entering into his 8th school, his OSR showed that he had difficulty making friends. That data was accurate but was also impacted by his inability to be in a single place long enough to establish friendships or the fact he knew if he did make friends, he would probably be moving soon.

The OSR search is most valuable to me for my at risk students. Students who I know come with challenges either from an academic or behavioural standpoint are the first ones I search, as they demand my attention immediately. When I have a firm understanding of what level of achievement my students are displaying I then look at previous report cards to help me. If for example a student is obtaining a lower mark in mathematics then what has been previously reported it prompts me to further examine my assessment data to ensure my determinations are aligned with my criteria.

It is important to familiarize yourself with the proper protocol of what goes in an OSR, who can access an OSR, where that OSR can be viewed and the responsibilities a teacher has in regards to filing information in a student’s Ontario Student Record. A really rewarding aspect of doing my OSR searches is that I get to see how they have changed over the years with their annual photo. I have attached a template that I use when completing an OSR search.

 

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Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education

Harvesting Our Apples

It is that time of year when I am able to enjoy the labours of my endless hours of worrying, endless hours of commitment and endless hours of planning for my students. We call it our harvest time.

At the beginning of every school year a new group of students come into our program with a variety of dysfunctional behaviours accompanied by a lack of success in school and we always start with the same story. I bring out a group of apples in various conditions and ask them which one would they choose. Of course all of their decisions are based on what they see on the outside. Is it bruised? Is it ripe enough? Does it have the right shape as compared to all the other apples? But yet the best part of the apple is the part that nobody can see, the inside. That is who my students are. They are completely judged by what people see on the outside and from what they have experienced from the outside. Often, past teachers have no opportunity to experience what a wonderful, young person they truly are due to the violent, aggressive behaviour they exhibit. My first question to the students is how do we show people what an amazing person you really are on the inside. How do we show them your best part?

That is the question that was first asked over 10 months ago and after a year of academic and behavioural programming we have arrived at harvest time. They are now being judged for who they truly are and not what they previously looked like. Both the adults and students in Room 16 take great pride and enjoyment during harvest time. In our daily circles we are preparing them for that transition back to the regular world. That begins by revisiting awkward or negative scenarios that took place in our room, except at this time of the year we are able to laugh about it. The students shake their heads in disbelief as they have come so far and changed for the good so much, those past behaviours seem incomprehensible to them (self evaluation at its best).

They then begin to identify which strategies or skills have worked best for them over the year. They make a list of their most effective strategies, expressions or visuals and we put that together into a laminated bookmark. That is taken with them as they transition back to their next academic setting and becomes the foundation for their next year’s success.

I hope you are taking the time to enjoy your harvest time!

Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Student Ownership

Get, Give or Pass

As part of our end of the week celebration my class convenes with our daily circle discussion. In addition to our debrief of the week’s events, we add our ‘Get, Give or Pass’ activity. Each person in the circle is asked whether they would like to give a compliment to another person, get a compliment from a fellow student or pass. This is truly a very powerful measure of the level of community that my class has evolved into.

In order for this level of comfort to be present in my group I have to spend time daily working on team building tasks that facilitate a comfort level between all members of the class. In addition, there is extensive time spent modelling and supporting effective communication skills. As with any other outcome, this has to be scaffolded over time in order for the activity to be successful. If this activity is done without the time spent in building to this level of trust it could and will most often produce negative results.

Two pieces of advice I would offer to teachers in implementing this strategy are first and foremost to spend daily time reinforcing the expectations you have around how people are expected to treat each other in your room. This is best done by finding and recognizing students who are exhibiting the target behaviours you seek to develop.These expectations must be clear and consistently followed through on. The second critical piece is the modelling by  you of the way to speak, to listen and how to give and receive compliments from other people.

Tisha Nelson Building Inclusion, General, Inspiring Teachers, Mental Health, physically active, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

How do we nurture positive relationships amongst our colleagues?

“We come to work for our students but isn’t it nice when we get along with the adults? (Heart and Art Book of Teaching and Learning, pg. 12)

As teachers, we are so careful to nurture positive learning environments for our students to learn and thrive in. We are mindful of the social, emotional, physical and mental well-being of our students and work diligently to ensure that they are safe and secure in our care. Our families are grateful for the love in which we care for our learners and they are resolved in knowing that the adults in the building are committed to their personal well-being of their children. How then, do we nurture this same kind of environment for ourselves and our colleagues? After many years of working with many different educators, I’ve come to realize that adults are super comfortable addressing the needs of students but act in ways that are incongruent with how we take care of ourselves. Collectively, we are intentional about teaching students to be respectful and cooperative, but how might we nurture these great habits amongst ourselves? The following, though not an exhaustive list, are some things we can try tomorrow to foster healthy working relationships amongst our colleagues:

  • Send a thank you note or email to express gratitude.
  • Visit the staffroom for lunch at least once a week. Sharing a meal lends itself to conversation that allows you to get to know those you work with and appreciate the diversity they bring.
  • Start a wellness club that encourages physical, social and mental well-being through physical activity and healthy eating.
  • Escape your “divisional cubical” and reach out to those you may not have the opportunity to work with. We have more in common than we think.
  • Start-up a book club. My favourite thing about reading a good book is talking about it. Why not explore a text together and see how much that ignites collegiality amongst the staff.
  • Say “please” and “thank you”. Manners just makes the world a better place.
  • Presume positive intentions but also be honest when an offence has occurred. Talking it out with the presumed offender will invite a learning opportunity, as opposed to engendering future conflict and harbouring resentment.
  • Smile wide and laugh loud. The radiance of a smile and the joy of laughter always makes for a welcoming.

As the adults in the building, we really need to take care of each other. We are growing the adults of the future and the model we set is read more nuanced than the one we say we expect. Let our actions speak volumes in our commitment to serving our learners. Let us serve the community. Let us serve each other.