More Learning Skills Comments!

One of the most popular posts I have written over the past few years was a collection of Learning Skills comments I put together. It continues to get views and comments regularly, but like most of us, I cringe when I look back on what I wrote three or four years ago. They’re not bad comments, I just feel like I’ve learned so much since then.

So I’m back! With more comment samples for you! You’re free to use these – modify them, mix and match them, grab one or two sentences, whatever you like! These are here to help you and give you an idea of how one teacher in Ontario writes their comments. I’ve also posted some FSL comments for the Core and Immersion teachers out there.


 

Profile: strong learning skills, good leadership qualities, regularly engaged in class, working on developing more confidence

It has been a pleasure having (NAME) as part of our classroom community this year. She is an enthusiastic, hard-working student who always strives to do her best. During lessons, she listens attentively and regularly offers her insights, although at times she seems unsure about her answers. As her confidence builds, her active participation increases, and she should be very proud of her accomplishments to date.

When working independently, (NAME) makes good use of alternative workspaces (e.g., the library, the hallway) to provide her with a quiet space for working. While she occasionally allows herself to get distracted by socializing with her peers, a quick reminder is often all that is required to return her attention to the task at hand. She makes good use of success criteria and learning goals to ensure that her work is meeting expectations. 

Collaboration is one of (NAME)’s strengths. She often takes on leadership roles when working with peers, such as organizing what needs to be done and creating a plan to ensure the group is successful. Her kind, open-minded personality allows her to work with any student without issue. On the rare occasion that conflict arises, she is always able to find a solution without assistance.

(NAME) has become a strong role model for her peers. Her dedication and cheerful disposition are great assets to our school community. Keep up the great work!

 

Profile: weaker learning skills, not fully engaging in French Immersion program, finds academic demands challenging, tends to shut down when encountering difficulty

(NAME) is a kind, compassionate student who is beginning to develop more confidence in his abilities. When he feels certain that he is on the right track and understanding the material, he is an active participant in class discussions. Much of the time, however, he requires frequent reminders from teachers and peers to engage in respectful listening behaviour, as he is often chatting with friends or playing with objects during lessons. Given that he often seems to feel overwhelmed by the expectations of the Middle French Immersion program, particularly during subjects where French is the language of instruction, he would benefit immensely from listening more attentively to his teachers and peers.

(NAME)’s independent work has been inconsistent this term. Much like during class discussions, when he feels confident about his abilities, he is able to complete his work with some support and extended time limits. Most of the time, however, he is quick to become frustrated if he encounters difficulty. Once this happens, even with encouragement and one-on-one support, he often refuses to complete his work. Next term, he is encouraged to seek opportunities to work with his teachers (such as sitting at the round table during independent tasks) where they can more easily check in with him and assist him with his learning.

Collaboration is similarly inconsistent for (NAME). He is most successful when working in groups created by the teacher, as he is less likely to become distracted by socializing. When working with friends, however, he needs frequent reminders to return his attention to the task at hand. He would benefit from reflecting and making careful choices about who he chooses to work with for collaborative tasks.

(NAME) is developing some self-regulation strategies to assist him with his learning skills and habits. When he chooses quiet workspaces away from friends or makes use of classroom tools like noise-cancelling headphones, he is more successful. He is encouraged to continue making use of these accommodations over the second term to help him focus on his learning.

 

 

Profile: strong learning skills, good leadership qualities, tends to go overboard on projects

It has been a pleasure to teach (NAME) this year. She is a cheerful, kind student who demonstrates great curiosity for learning. She is an active participant in class discussions and collaborative tasks, quick to make connections and think critically about what she is learning. Her leadership, reliability, and flexibility have all been wonderful additions to our classroom community.

Collaboration is one of (NAME)’s strengths. While she strongly prefers to work with her friends, she is able to work with most students without conflict. Her conflict resolution skills are well-developed and she is generally able to resolve any interpersonal conflicts without needing to involve her teachers. She is a good leader who tries to ensure that all members’ ideas are included in the planning of group tasks.

When completing projects, (NAME) is usually quick to come up with creative, outside-the-box ideas to extend her learning. That said, sometimes these ideas become too large or complex to complete within the given timeframe. When this happens, she has a tendency to ask for additional time rather than adjusting her plans. Next year, she is encouraged to plan in such a way that she can adjust and scale back the plan rather than requesting extra time, as additional work time for one project results in lost time for other instruction.

All the best next year, (NAME)!

 

Profile: student who tends to rush, engages in discussion on topics of high interest, needs to work on collaboration

It has been a pleasure having (NAME) as part of our classroom community this year. She is a creative, enthusiastic student who always brings a unique perspective to our class discussions. She participates actively in most class discussions, although at times requires reminders to put away her book in order to give her full attention to the lesson. 

When working independently, (NAME) is at her best when she is highly engaged in a task, such as tasks involving environmental issues. When her interest in the topic is high, she puts significant effort into her work and eagerly shares her knowledge with her peers. Conversely, when the topic is less interesting to her, she has a tendency to rush through her work in order to finish quickly and move on to something new. Overall, she takes feedback well when it is about specific criteria that she overlooked, but she is reluctant to go back to add more detail or expand on her thoughts. She would benefit from taking time to review her work, ensuring it is detailed and meets the success criteria for the task.

When collaborating with others, (NAME) strongly prefers to work with her close friends and requires considerable encouragement to engage fully in other groupings. She occasionally needs redirection to stay on task during group work, as she sometimes goes to find her friends’ groups to chat. She is encouraged to approach collaborative work with a more open mind next year, as she is a valuable group member with a wealth of knowledge to share.

 

And a few other snippets you may find useful:

During independent work periods, (NAME) can generally be counted on to stay on task, though he needs occasional reminders not to get caught up socializing with his peers. His willingness to seek assistance or clarification has increased since the beginning of the year, and we hope that he continues to come forward when he needs guidance with a task. Though his resilience is improving as the year progresses, (NAME) continues to become frustrated with himself when he finds a task difficult. Once this happens, he is sometimes receptive to teacher assistance and feedback to help him work through the task. Next term, he would benefit from taking advantage of opportunities to work nearer to his teachers (such as at the round table) during independent work periods to provide him with opportunities to check in more regularly while working.

 

(NAME)’s greatest area of need this term has been in developing positive collaboration skills. She strongly prefers to work with her friends and is reluctant to fully engage in group tasks with some students, sometimes going as far as to ask to work on her own or switch groups rather than work through conflict. She is highly motivated to do well, which sometimes leads to clashes with other students when they have different plans for how to approach a collaborative task. Next year, she should continue to work on “guiding from the side” by helping her group to stay focused and on task while also allowing her peers’ ideas to take the spotlight more often.

 

I’ll also try to put together some of the comments I’ve written for other subjects, particularly things like French. I find it can be very challenging to know where to begin with Language comments for French Immersion – especially for smaller programs like the one I teach (Middle French Immersion). Hope these are useful to someone out there!

 

 

A meme of a teacher wishing for a single point rubric.

Effective Assessment and Feedback: The Single Point Rubric

RUBRIC MEME

I’ve never really been focused on grades in my classroom. Some educators and parents might find it shocking to read a teacher put that in print.  However, what I mean is that I seldom talk to my students about levels and letter grades.  I focus discussion around feedback, improvement, exemplars and success criteria.  When rubrics were all the rage I used them rather unsuccessfully. I found that traditional 4 level rubrics were about evaluating after the fact rather than providing feedback that can be acted upon during the learning. Rubrics are sometimes handed to the students as a “big reveal” when the project has been evaluated without any chance for acting on feedback.  I don’t believe that success criteria should be a secret to be kept from students.  It isn’t fair that students are thinking, “Well, if you’d only told me that was an expectation I’d have been happy to include it.  I can’t read the teacher’s mind!”  Clear is kind.  Be clear about the learning goals and success criteria for an assignment and give the students a rich task that they will have to dig into and get feedback to act upon during the learning.

Apart from the evaluative vs. the assessment function of a traditional rubric there are two other things that I dislike about the traditional 4 level rubric.  The first thing is that traditional rubrics inform students about what the bare minimum is that they have to do to complete something.  Some students will look at level 2 and do only just what it takes to fulfill that level.  Secondly, level 4 is meant to go above and beyond the expectations.  In a traditional rubric, students seeking level 4 don’t need to think outside the box at all.  All of the criteria for a level 4 is clearly stated-no thinking necessary.

The answer to this assessment question?  For me it was the Single Point Rubric.  Using the single point rubric changed the learning for my students and shifted my assessment practices. It focuses on what the student is doing well, what the student can do to improve in the work and exactly what the learning goal and the success criteria is for the learning.  However, it also allows for the above and beyond to be driven by the student.  It lets the student pleasantly surprise the teacher with creative thinking.  It is a clear and kind way to deliver feedback to students to encourage them to be successful in their learning.

I have included an example for a grade four  Single Point Rubric Literary Response.  Feel free to copy and change it to suit your needs.

If you would like to learn more about Single Point Rubrics:

Cult of Pedagogy

Edutopia-6 Reasons to Try the Single Point Rubric

 

 

Create Success in Intermediate Math through Play….

“What are you doing in Math today?” the VP inquires of my grade 5,6,7 and 8 students.

“We’re playing games.”

“You’re playing games?”

“Yes, we always play in math.”

The assessments gathered from these classes provide me insight of where everyone is in their learning. My experience with assessments are that individual conversations to understand the thinking process provides the most valuable information. The range of each of my classes is from a low elementary level to a low secondary level.  This is quite a span. As a school we have been, “Landscaping” these students using; Fosnots– Landscape of Learning.  http://thelearningexchange.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Creating-Conditions-for-Learning-Math-Viewers-Guide.pdf This provides an great snapshot of where your learners are on a continuum. Our board has developed some very specific assessment questions for all grade levels which include strategic numbers to help determine the strategies individuals use.

How do I managed this?

It took me a while with the continuous disruptions to the daily routine. The way, I have adopted my assessment sessions this year is similar to how a reading group would be managed.  Provide the lesson, give the class expectations, then work with a small group on a rotating basis. The entire class already understands the rules and class expectations which have been familiar routines followed to date.

Now what?

I find creating a growth mindset is most important. This is developed through creating a comfort zone for all, including the teacher. Each year I am challenged to ensure my learners grow and develop forward on the continuum. I use a variety of resources such as Sherry Parrish’s-Number Talks http://www.meaningfulmathmoments.com/number-talks.html This is a great beginning to each class.

I resource Dr. Small’s-Big Ideas https://search.library.utoronto.ca/details?7785153&uuid=5d3e7d21-dfef-4e3a-a3d3-9f33f13418b9 for different activities to compliment the concept of study.

Presently I am using, From Patterns to Algebra, by Dr. Beatty and Dr. Bruce https://school.nelson.com/from-patterns-to-algebra-book/

Play, yes these resources include play which I implement on a regular basis.  The students enjoy learning with and from each other while I guide them. During my classes, Play creates a class dynamic for success.

Bs are “A” okay

It can vary from day to day, but for me it begins almost as the last Progress Report parent conference concludes. I become a bit frantic at the realization that Term 1 Reports are going home in about 10 weeks. Quick to follow are the second guesses as to whether or not I have not gathered enough “data” from students. Fast forward to late January and now there is not a minute of instructional time left because it’s “show what they know time”, but where did all that time go? For teachers, like me, who do not have a homeroom class on which to anchor there are a lot of factors that can impede assessment in a quasi-timely manner.

In my situation, I only see some of my classes once per week. Like all schools, class time can be interrupted by any number of events ranging from inclement weather(affects attendance when buses are cancelled), assemblies, sporting events, concerts, staff PD(off site), vacations(theirs not ours), and illness. It is not hard to see how time can speed by between Progress Reports in mid-November through Winter break and whamo it’s January 31st and your assessing, reporting, and writing blogs to meet your deadlines.


Side note: When it comes to writing blogs, it’s always a great reminder to all teachers to take frequent breaks while putting the finishing touches on report cards. Wryting is the perfekt brake four me. I especially like editting my werk, but eye digress. Which ever way you prefer to recharge, make sure you take some time for yourself as you tick the boxes and craft those comments.


This post is supposed to be a comment about assessment and I want to share a few thoughts about expectations in all of our classrooms. This is where I need your help with this question: Is an A- the new B? Are we recording too many As in our markbooks? Is this a function of self-esteem and or family/system/political pressure to show constant improvement? Considering the number of bovine births that happen each year EQAO results are released, it would seem that the adults are taking it harder than the students.

The part that throws me for a loop is how misinformed the press and public are around the results of this annual assessment-palooza. It’s time for education to do what it does best and demystify provincial assessment results for everyone. This way we can get on to helping our students instead of everyone worrying about school rankings and subsequent real estate fluctuations. Now about those marks…

A few years back, a student shared a humourous take on how report card marks were viewed

A = okay
B= better work harder
C= choose a new family
D= disowned

Although meant to be funny, the message shared by this student cut to a startling truth about many existing attitudes towards achievement in education. I have had to communicate with students and parents that achieving a B in a subject is considered success according to Ontario standards. Last September a CBC News story shared how some Ontario universities used a ranking system for  that implied that averages were inflated. This meant that A from one school might only be a B or C at another.

The intrinsic motivations of families who seemingly base their self-worth on a child’s report card are also bones of contention for me? How is this a healthy way to approach learning when students are pressured to be perfect achievers and expected only to bring home straight As in order to maintain family honour? We have to make sure that report cards are seen as snapshots of information that are captured in time. They cannot be reduced to moments of instant gratification and then ignored out of context.

It happens from JK to 12. After each teacher spends hours crafting comments about learning skills and all subject areas the eyes of most people will only track to the Level or Letter grade on the page. The messages of progress, next steps, and encouragement all need acknowledgement too.

I get that parents expect their children to do their best. What else would they expect? Their worst? What becomes difficult to translate to families is the amount of effort that students are putting into their work in order to learn, improve, and grow as learners. It is impossible to simply measure out in Levels or A to Ds. This is why teachers need to work with families to establish realistic expectations about achievement. If we are preparing our students for the real world that we have promised them in high school, post secondary education, and beyond; then marks that are other than As are going to have to B part of everyone’s alphabet.

Bs can be built upon. They show the beginnings of brighter days ahead. Bs can be the starting points of brilliance. So celebrate those hard earned Bs earned by your students because they are A okay everyday.

Innovation Collaborative Inquiry

I am currently starting a really exciting journey which involves myself and a group of 10 teachers. We are choosing a topic that interests us and going on a year long journey to discover the answers to this question. We are currently thinking about our question having to do with student led learning and how can we get students to take the lead with their learning and how to make meaningful tasks that will inspire action.

We are meeting 3.5 days this year and we are able to work alongside these other teachers to discuss our findings and see how we can put this plan into action in the classroom.

The first meeting involved getting to know all the teachers. We did this by mingling with the crowd based on which card in the deck we had (all sixes went together, the tens went together..) and then we met up with the same suit cards and then we had a few different challenges after that. When we met with our random groups, we answered the question how have we seen or used innovation in our classroom. It was amazing the chats that we had when this question was posed to us. I felt happy explaining my students current inquiry projects where they research a question of their choice which they will then present to the group it relates to. I also shared about selecting meaningful projects that will somehow create change or an action in our school. We discussed all of our innovation ideas and then we were asked to go back to our seats.

A teacher across the room shared about something that someone had said to her that will change and solve all problems involving math: going gradeless. She mentioned there would be various levels in math like when children go to swimming lessons and they wouldn’t be able to move onto math level two until they finish level one. In a way it sounds like an IEP but it would be in place for all students.

The rest of the morning we had to find a group of people that had a common area of focus as us and that is how I ended up in the student led learning group where students guide themselves to tasks that they find to be meaningful and essentially are 21st century learning tasks. This group will meet next week to discuss our plans.

After going to this exciting learning opportunity, I went back to my class and made a self reflection for our drama haunted house that the students had just finished planning, creating, presenting and then cleaning up. I had them assess themselves using four words: not engaged, somewhat engaged, engaged and very engaged. I told them to circle which word best described their involvement before, during and after the haunted house. It was incredible to see that the word they had circled lined up with the way I would assess them. If they had done this same self assessment and I had put marks or levels on the page, I am not so sure they would have been as successful with their assessment.

I am excited to continue learning with my inquiry group and keep trying out things that we learn as a group. The gradeless self assessment was just one small thing that I know will come of this exciting learning opportunity. It is very fun being apart of a group of like minded people that are really hoping to see a positive change in our classrooms.

More to come!

Education Acronyms

PLC, IEP, TPA,…. Just a few acronyms in the world of Ontario education. I managed to complete the expectations of those three letter words, this month.

WOW! Some may say, “What are you talking about?”, others may say,” HOW?!”

As a person who is a futuristic thinker, I am continuously planning, creating lists and maximizing my energy.  I plan each weekend to complete a portion of the upcoming expectations for the month. This past month, I spent time creating unit plans to ensure a smooth sail through the four Junior and intermediate Math classes I teach.  While knowing that IEP’s (Individual Education Plans), are due in early October and help me understand my students. I reviewed and updated these a few at a time.

Yes of course this is my TPA (Teacher Performance Appraisal) year. Things have changed since I graduated from Teachers College.  I was just as nervous as my first evaluation.  This one was much different because I have learned many new teaching strategies, and ways to interact with all the people we come in contact within our profession.  I look at each year with a lens of the time. October, pumpkins are in season.  Pumpkins are a great way to create a hands on unit in Math for all grades. If you are still learning about making the many connections to the Big Ideas, there are many units on the web.  This is a perfect topic to bring excitement into the class, being aware of all the variables from cleanliness, to the use of sharp objects, and social skill development for group work.  This TPA in my umpteenth year of teaching was successful. After I reviewed my assessment, I realized some things still need work.  I need to clearly connect to daily learning goals to guide the directions of my students and their exploration. I also want to find a way to create easily displayed information charts/word walls that can travel from class to class? Keeping abreast of recent research and data helps.  A specific focus is important  so ideas don’t become lost in the many theories of our closely connected world (www).

This year I’ve noticed my board is using Monthly meetings and PD (Professional Development) days to facilitate PLC’s (Professional Learning Communities).  To my advantage, our focus is on math.  The discussion and connections for all help create a purposeful direction in our teaching and learning.  The superintendents and lead teachers carefully create PD to learn from and directly effect board and school goals. As a team, we have each other to support our teaching and direction.  If communication is continuously supported in meetings, this assists in sharing and supporting each other and the growth of our students and programs. Some of my observations from these meetings are: Don’t get rid of the old…some strategies are still good. Things are changing quickly. It’s admirable to see colleagues rise to new and connected positions while keeping valuable connections.

At the beginning of the month, I was apprehensive about completing these monthly tasks.  Tah Dah…another successful month as an educator.

Links:

Learning for All: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/LearningforAll2013.pdf

Planning for Learning: 

http://www.etfo.ca/SupportingMembers/Resources/ForTeachersDocuments/Planning%20for%20Student%20Learning.pdf

TPA: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teacher/pdfs/TPA_Manual_English_september2010l.pdffbclid=IwAR3rtRjDQ50iFr81Lb45e9SXuzhXJebIzEdjFhzqIFTNqtvnw_IMaGV-V3kspecific links

http://www.etfo.ca/SupportingMembers/Professionals/Pages/ALP.aspx

Pumpkin Unit Ideas:

Ultimate Collection of Pumpkin Math Ideas for K-12

Progress Reports

It is that time of year again! Progress reports are due in most boards this month. It is a hard task to think about what your students have done in just a month and a half of school.

I like to give students time to reflect on their learning skills as well as what they have done in each subject. Each year I create a survey for students to self evaluate themselves. Then, I include comments from this evaluation on their progress report. I like to use google forms to create the survey so all of their answers stay in my google drive.

For learning skills, my current grade eight class has made it quite challenging to comment on. They have good and bad days but it is important to set these students up for their next grade. Getting an “E” has to be true at all times since next year I am nervous about how their learning skills would measure up. I gave my students time to come check their current learning skills today and only one student came to my desk to see their mark. At my old school, the entire class used to line up to check their current learning skills. I feel that they may know they aren’t doing the best since they did not come to see their marks.

For math and literacy, progressing very well is very hard to receive as a level four is hard to achieve at all times. I have explained this to my class so that they will not be disappointed by the “progressing well” comment on their reports.

Other subjects we are just getting started on so the “progressing well” comment is hard to justify. “With difficulty” and “very well” also wouldn’t make sense since we have just begun. It is for that reason I find the progress reports timeline a bit challenging and I wish students had a bit more time to dive into each subject. It is hard to get students interested in their marks as well for the first time in my career so this thought makes me nervous for them in high school as well as for the rest of the year.

Is getting students interested in their marks something I can teach or is it just something students come to school with? I am hoping my students will gain that desire soon.

Google Forms as Pedagogical Documentation Tools

 

 

 

I really love using Google Forms for anecdotal notes (something like this). I hate having to keep track of sticky notes, photos/samples of student work, class lists with comments, etc. and then try to make sense of it all come report card time. A few years ago, I was introduced to the magic of Google Forms at a tech workshop, and I immediately jumped in. Since then, I’d say that the most common tech question I’m asked as my school’s digital lead is, How do I set up pedagogical documentation with Google Forms?

So… here I am with a tutorial! Fair warning: this post is photo-heavy because I’ve provided screenshots throughout.


 

Step One: Create a New Form

 

forms tut 1

 

Open up Google Forms and hit the “Blank” button under “Start a new form”. You should end up with something like this:

forms tut 2

Step Two: Change the Title & Add Student Names

Set the title (blue arrow) to something you’ll remember. If you have multiple classes, you should include the class name in the title. Then name the first question “Student Name” and select dropdown from the menu to the right (red arrow). Time-saving tip: if you have an electronic class list file, you can highlight a column of student names, copy (ctrl + C), and paste the names into the response field for the question. It’ll populate the list with all of the names from that column.

I recommend setting this question as “Required” (black arrow) so that it won’t allow you to complete the form without selecting a student.

forms tut 3

Step 3: Create the Learning Skills (or Subject) Question

Your next question should be where you select which learning skills and/or subjects you are commenting on. I like to set this question to a checkboxes response style (black arrow) so that I can select multiple learning skills/subject areas when appropriate. I often set this question as “required” as well.

forms tut 4

Step 4: Create the Comments Field

Next, you want to create a place for you to type in your observations. Google Forms is pretty intelligent and automatically selects paragraph as the response style when you name the question “Comments”. Paragraph simply means that when you open up the form, it’ll give you a large field to type into. I recommend paragraph over short answer so that you don’t hit a character limit. I recommend setting this question as required, since it’s… you know… kind of the point of the form. 

forms tut 5

Step 5: Create a File Upload Question (if you want)

I always include a “file upload” option with my anecdotal forms so that I can attach samples of student work (scanned work, photos, files from Drive). It can be really useful if students are doing group work, hands-on activities, or work that is otherwise hard to keep around. Also useful for keeping your piles of student samples to a minimum!

When you first select “File Upload”, you’ll get a notice like this, and you just need to click “Continue” (black arrow):

forms tut 6

Then your question should look like this:

forms tut 7

 

I don’t play around with the options there, personally. I like to leave it open and flexible.

Step 6: Set Your Form to Collect Responses in a Spreadsheet

This is one of the best parts of Google Forms: if you ask it to, it’ll collect every response you submit in a spreadsheet, where you can access ALL of your anecdotal notes in one place. You can sort by student name, learning skill, whatever. Responses will be date/time stamped, so you know when you made the observations. You definitely want to do this.

To set your form to collect responses in a spreadsheet, first select “Responses”…

forms tut 8

Then click this little green button (the Sheets icon)…

forms tut 9

It’ll pop up with a window that looks like this…

forms tut 10

And when you hit “Create”, it’ll take you to your new spreadsheet, where responses will automatically be added as you submit them! It’ll look something like this:

forms tut 11

 

That’s it! You’re done! Your form is now ready to use. 

Final suggestions:

  • Bookmark it and add the bookmark to your bookmarks bar for easy access.
  • Share it with teaching partners so that all of your observations are in one place.
  • If you use Google Classroom and have multiple classes, make the header for your form the same as the header for Google Classroom so that you know you’re in the right one.

Hope some of you out there found this useful! If you’re looking for a more visual/simple way to track student work and learning skills, especially those in Kinder and Primary, consider using Google Keep instead of forms.

 

Building a Community

School begins by building the student community. We invite guardians into the space and include them in building the environment.  Often this is done with a newsletter or email introducing the subjects and the adults whom have contact with each child.  Any special events or classroom supplies are mentioned to assist students with a successful transition into the new year. September is a great time to host a, “Meet the Teacher” event. This is a time when family are invited into the school.  They are able to see where their child is spending 1500 minutes a week. They are able to see what students are doing and where they do it.  Samples of the work students produce are displayed in and around the school. The learning environment set up and seating arrangements are unique to each area. Some educators will include special items to make the space inviting and safe.  These objects, such as specific lighting, and seating will be board approved to meet Health and Safety standards.

Getting to know the students begins the moment your class list is in your hands.  Every educator is responsible for reviewing and updating the IEP’s (Individual Education Plans) of their students.  This can provide valuable information about one’s learning.  A survey or the wonderful, “One Page Profile” is another way students can share more about themselves. This is complimented by a conversation with the individual.  Each board suggests specific assessment in each subject.  As an educator choose the assessment that will be most valuable to your curriculum direction and the individuals you are educating. Ensure it will provide information to direct your year plan and understand your learners.  Continuous contact with guardians is important to help develop the necessary inclusion of those in the student’s community. Some educators will call each home at the beginning of the year to introduce themselves. Some will send home a letter with information about themselves and the class.  Each day includes a variety of interactions.  If you begin slowly with non threatening activities that keep students within their comfort level, they will grow to be more receptive of inclusion and community building. The community circle for these students includes peers, educators, support staff, custodians, administrators, family members and many more. Community involvement helps grow the circle of support.

My year began in a similar way.  As I was gathering information and building the school community I reflected on many of the unique situations our students encounter.

One students’ parent has a brain tumour, another child’s father died in a motorbike accident yesterday. One individual got their first goal in hockey, and another preformed as a main character in the local theater group.  Everyone including your peers bring something different to their day.  It is important that what you see in that individual, may not be what is actually going on. Empathy, patience and a smile every morning can make wonders in a person’s life. The small steps of communication and goal setting will provide the school group with a strength based community who will support each other when they feel others care.

This is a valuable time to build the community in order to provide a safe supportive space for all. Congratulations on setting the stage and tone for the valuable learning that will happen this year.

 

https://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2012/11/20/10-items-every-special-educator-should-have-in-their-classroom/

http://www.sheffkids.co.uk/adultssite/pages/onepageprofiles-1.html

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/individu.html

https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-assignments/group-work/group-work-classroom-types-small-groups

 

My Yearly Notebook

Each summer I buy a brand new spiral bound notebook.  Not the skinny ones that you get in the 3 pack from Hilroy with the flimsy cover that rips within a few uses. I am particular about my stationary.  It may be a kind of a problem.  I get the 8 1/2 by 11 solid cardboard spiral bound notebook.  It is where I keep my lists.  Lists of things to buy for the classroom.  Lists of things I want to change in the physical space of my classroom.  Lists of books I’d like to read or add to my classroom library.  Lists of things to get done before September.  Lists of the curriculum topics I’ll be teaching and in what months I plan to teach them.  Lists of special events each month that I might highlight or celebrate with my students.  Lists…of lists.  I use that big notebook all school year long to add notes from meetings, professional development sessions and of course, more lists.  I have many already filled spiral notebooks of new ideas that I’d like to try over the school year on my shelf in my office.  This summer I realized something.  After the school year is over I have NEVER opened those notebooks again.  There are lots of great ideas in there that I didn’t implement and then I feel guilty about that!  Teacher guilt never seems to stop, unless of course, I choose to stop it.

This summer I quickly read the book, “Ditch That Textbook; Free Your Teaching and Revolutionize Your Classroom” by Matt Miller. It has fantastic teaching tips for technology integration in the classroom.  Although I do not have the desire nor the access to the 1:1 technology to go completely paperless, I found a lot of wisdom and great teaching tools in Matt’s book.  I have also provided a link to Matt’s blog.  Matt helped me to break a cycle.  I haven’t bought a spiral bound notebook this summer and I’m not planning on buying one.  Among many pieces of advice in the book, Matt suggests picking two new things that you are really excited about to add to your teaching practice, being clear about your intention for using those practices and following through.  I’ve been guilty of overdoing the professional learning to the point that I overwhelm my students by doing a whole bunch of new things all at once and then don’t end up sticking to any of them.  I also get overwhelmed by the many great ideas out there and wonder if I do something else, what I’ll have to give up doing.

I’ll admit that I’m already kind of cheating.  Instead of just choosing two teaching practices I’m also choosing two new technology platforms to learn about for next year.  One of the practices that I would like to get in the habit of doing is adding more descriptive feedback to assignments that students do online and have multiple opportunities for the students to respond to that feedback and re-submit assignments with changes.  The second thing that I would like to do is educate parents on how to leave constructive feedback for their students online rather than a thumbs up or “Good job!”  I plan on exploring the video and audio creation tools, WeVideo and Voki.  I may explore more than these but these are the ones that I am committed to doing.  Since I have written my commitment here on the blog, I also commit to sharing what I thought about those tools in a review format.  If you get a chance to read Ditch That Textbook, I highly recommend it. It is a quick read with great already-made lists and hey, it made me “Ditch That Notebook”.