Educational bits and pieces

An education blog by Martina Doytchinova B.A., B.Ed, M.ED, OCT

[educationmd]

10 Strategies for Self-Regulation

1) Alter the classroom environment to help students focus

Make sure to keep the classroom wall decor to a minimum in order to aid students that get hyper aroused by visual stimuli

Be aware of sounds in the classroom which may affect students. Use a calm sound to indicate transitions. Arrange classroom areas purposefully (keeping loud areas away from quiet work areas)

2)Co-create classroom rules with students 

3) Provide a visual schedule and strive to make the day predictable for students

4) Provide students with tools to help them self-regulate

Provide disc cushions to help students who are hyper aroused

Have fidget toys, play dough or worry beads available to students

5) Use a countdown to notify students of upcoming transitions

6) Be aware of student needs and use games and activities to help with hypo/hyper arousal

Play Simon Says (helps to down regulate when students are hyper aroused)

Use Just Dance videos for down regulation and strengthening attention

7) Model self-regulation

It's essential to show students how to self-regulate themselves whether through scripted interactions or by using skits. Self-regulation requires practice

8) Use student interests to engage and keep them involved

Use of inquiry based lessons and student interests in classroom assignments can greatly improve student work ethic and focus

9) Communicate with parents and guardians 

Provide ideas that parents can use to help their kids self-regulate at home for example, providing notifications to kids regarding upcoming transitions or changes in schedule

10) Use character education to help students learn to self-regulate

Character education is a great way to model strategies for self-regulation for example, how to remain calm during a conflict and how to be respectful with their peers

Shanker, S. (2013). Calm, alert, and learning: Classroom strategies for self-regulation. Don Mills, Ontario: Pearson. 

[educationmd]

10 Tips for using restorative practices in the classroom

1) Restorative practices focus on repairing damaged relationships

The offender of the conflict seeks a way to make amends with others and to perform an action that helps to resolve the problem.

2) School wide positive behavioural supports should be in place

All members of a school should be attempting to use similar practices.

A positive school climate greatly improves the success of these practices.

3) Get to know your students

Ask them for their interests.

Ask students to contribute their knowledge to class discussions.

Build rapport by listening to students talk about topics other than academics that interest them.

Ask students for their feedback on the rules or practices they find important in the classroom.

4) Use affective statements

I felt (emotion) when (behaviour or event) because (reason for the emotion).

5) Hold class meetings

A great way to talk about social and academic problems with the whole class.

Teach students to lead the meetings.

Teach students how to share their ideas and respond to the ideas of their peers respectfully.

Allows students to take responsibility for their behaviour and learning.

6) Use a variety of restorative circles in the classroom

Formal circles to handle serious conflicts.

Informal circles to deal with curriculum content or general issues.

Sequential circles lead by the teacher ask all students to respond to a specific topic and prevents some students from not sharing their input. Can be used as an exit strategy.

Circles are a great way for teachers to collect feedback and input from students.

7) Use a talking object during restorative circles

Use an object that can be used and passed around to denote the speaker.

8) Encourage impromptu conferences between students to resolve conflicts

Promotes communication between both students.

Teacher can model to students how to speak to someone that they disagree with.

Teaches problem solving skills.

It’s a quick way to resolve a problem without threatening consequences or punishments.

Students can share their feelings and their perspectives.

9) Follow the 3 phase model for restorative conversations

Unwind (calm down)

Rewind (identify a course of action)

Windup (observers share their experiences)

10) If students are showing resistance to talking with one another ask students to make statements using “If you know me, you would know that...”

Students may begin with general statements but then become more and more specific.

Using this sentence starter helps students share information that may be common between both parties.

Smith, D., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2015). Better than carrots or sticks: Restorative practices for positive classroom management.

[educationmd]

10 Ways to Teach Like Those in Finland

1) Take frequent breaks to recharge

Students and teachers need frequent breaks to maximize their concentration time.

In Finland students and teachers take a 15 min break for every 45 mins of teaching.

2) Incorporate movement into your teaching

Allow students to stand while working at their desks.

Make sure to include time for D.P.A. (Daily physical activity).

Have students switch between sitting, standing, moving often.

3) Perform classroom mindfulness activities particularly during transitions

Use guided mindfulness activities such as Gonoodle.

Allow time for students to take some deep breaths before starting a new task.

4) Bring nature into the classroom

Open windows, allow natural light to flow into the room.

Incorporate nature in Science lessons for example, plants or butterflies.

5) Collaborate with colleagues

Building relationships with colleagues brings greater happiness to teachers.

Co-plan.

Problem solve with colleagues.

Take time to chat and relax with colleagues.

6) Develop rapport with students

Stand at the door each morning and chat with your students.

Take interest in student interests.

Have morning circle with students so that students can share their thoughts with each other.

Eat lunch with your students and have casual conversations with them.

7) Celebrate student learning

Exhibit their work (e.g. gallery walks).

Ask students to share their work with the class.

Use a class blog to display student work.

8) Connect student interests with the curriculum.

In the beginning of the year, ask students to provide information about their interests, likes and dislikes.

9) Provide choices

Provide students choices when working.

Choices allow students to engage in their learning.

10) Provide students with specific, descriptive feedback

Include learning goals for students.

Show examples of successful work.

Meet with students to share your feedback.

Walker, T. D. (2017). Teach like Finland: 33 simple strategies for joyful classrooms. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

[educationmd]

10 Classroom Management Strategies

1) Create a welcoming environment

The classroom should be decorated in an appealing but not overwhelming fashion.

Display student work on the classroom walls.

Add interest based visuals to inspire curiosity.

Make sure to have different areas (ones for quiet work and group work).

2) Hold classroom meetings

Start the year with classroom meetings to co-create class expectations and rules.

Keep the rules short and simple.

Have all students agree on the rules.

Agree on consequences for broken rules.

Send finalized rules home and have parents sign them.

Display rules in the classroom.

3) Have a classroom newsletter and send to parents informing them about learning and important events

4) Consistency is important

Make sure to follow through on your classroom management plan.

5) Use a 3 step discipline plan

Provide a calm reminder regarding rules.

Use natural consequences.

Decide with the class what step 2 and step 3 should entail.

Step 2 might involve delayed choice time during daily 5, delayed chance to be the line leader or doing something positive for the class such as organizing the book shelf.

Step 3 might be to call the parent or speak with the principal.

Do not take away recess as this is often needed for students that are high energy.

6) Use nonverbal signals

Teach students to ask questions with non verbal signals in order to minimize disruptions, for example: holding up 1 finger to indicate needing a pencil, 2 fingers to indicate needing a tissue, 3 fingers needing to use the bathroom and 4 fingers to indicate needing a drink of water.

Use predetermined secret nonverbal signals with individual students to remind them of a goal they may be working on.

7) Reward good behaviour and student successes

Send notes home regarding student improvements, successes and good behaviour.

8) Maintain open communication lines with parents

Let parents know ahead of time of any difficulties their child maybe having.

Provide information to parents about how best to support their child at home.

9) Use contracts with students when attempting to improve agreed upon behaviours

Privately conference with individual students to develop a goal and a plan for improving a particular behaviour.

Have student sign a contract in a business like fashion.

Send the contract to the parents as well.

Do not reprimand students if they do not achieve the goal, instead provide more positive reinforcement when they do achieve the goal.

10) Teach students how to resolve their own conflicts

Teach students a framework such as (stop, think/plan and try it out).

Use several classes to have students practice the problem solving strategy.

My personal experience:

The above strategies I have used before during my years of teaching experience. One particular lesson that I learned recently is regarding the use of Class Dojo. Class Dojo is a classroom website that allows teachers to create their own classroom and provide students with their own avatar. Students can then be given points for good behaviour or have points taken away. Parents may also connect and be informed of their child’s progress. In the past, I have taken away points. I think that in the future, only providing positive points will be my strategy. I learned that taking away points only created a rift in the teacher/ student/ parent relationship. In my past classrooms, students have then been able to use their points to “purchase” treats or cool items from the class store. Although some may argue that the class store encourages extrinsic motivation which may not be completely beneficial for students. I found that students in my classes really enjoyed the classroom shop and some even created art for it to be sold in the shop.

McClowry, S. G. (2014). Temperament-based elementary classroom management. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

[educationmd]

10 important strategies for teaching math

1) Communicate what is being learned

Always display learning goals in the classroom

2) Use the traffic light method to help students communicate their level of understanding

Provide each student with three colour cards (red, yellow, green)

Ask students to place a card representing their level of understanding on their desk

Students with the green card may be selected to elaborate on their understanding

This way the teacher can allocate their resources to help students

Can pair green and yellow students to work together

3) Teach students how to be respectful towards one another

Spend explicit lessons teaching students how to listen to each other, collaborate and provide constructive criticism

4) Provide students with descriptive feedback and avoid using grades until the end of the unit

Research shows that providing students with grades does not help them to learn from their mistakes instead it makes them feel badly about their progress if they did not do well

Instead, provide detailed feedback about student work. Provide one positive comment for each constructive comment

5) Incorporate math in other parts of the day for example with number talks

6) Use math journals to allow students to record their thinking and to show their understanding

Teachers can have a better understanding of student thought processes

Journals are an opportunity to continue to provide descriptive feedback

7) Encourage students to ask questions

Make sure to create a welcoming and safe space where students can feel comfortable to ask questions

8) Making mistakes is important

Remind students that the only way to really learn is to make mistakes

9) Solve problems in a variety of ways using many different methods

Ask students to represent their answers in different ways

10) Use mathematical puzzles to inspire curiosity and excitement about math

Provide students with math puzzles or games to inspire problem solving

Allow for students to express their creativity in math

Boaler, J. (2016). Mathematical mindsets: Unleashing students potential through creative math, inspiring messages, and innovative teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass & Pfeiffer Imprints.

[educationmd]

QR Codes Can Do That?

Seeking new educational uses for QR codes? Consider adding your voice, attaching PDFs, collecting parent information, sending a tweet, or changing the code's online endpoint.

I’m intrigued and would like to try out QR codes in the classroom! 

[educationmd]

A Useful Website to Find Primary Photographs for Inquiry Based Lessons

This is my first tutorial explaining how to access Google's "Life Photo Archive" website in order to find primary photographs to use in an inquiry based lesson.

Introducing my first educational tutorial on how to find primary photographs using the Google Life Photo Archive website for Inquiry Based Lessons. Enjoy and hope it helps you create! 

[educationmd]

holoportation: virtual 3D teleportation in real-time (Microsoft Research)

holoportation is a new type of 3D capture technology that allows high quality 3D models of people to be reconstructed, compressed, and transmitted anywhere i...

The future is here and it’s coming at us at such a quick pace! I cannot begin to express my excitement with this! Holoportation is going to transform our world in exponential ways and education will benefit greatly from this new technology! As I read and discover the ways of the future, I keep getting blown away by the things we create!  

[educationmd]

Digital: Divide & Conquer: Project Based Learning In Your Classroom

Check out this link for some very practical and simple ways to turn your classroom in to a project-based learning center aka inquiry-based learning. #makelearningpractical #curiosityisthekey #inquiry #learning 

[educationmd]

The school year of 2015-2016

 I now have my own grade 3 classroom and teach almost all subjects (math, science, social studies, languages x 2 and health)  to my students in both English and French (French Immersion). I love my students and want to learn more about them and their interests!  This year, I learned so much more than I thought possible. I learned first and foremost how to keep myself organized and how to plan ahead. I have been trying to keep up with recent research and instructional practices.  I feel so proud to have been able to make it this far and look forward to an amazing year! I have currently set my goal on increasing the inquiry-based activities in the classroom. I’m trying to plan during work (in between classes) and after school at home. I have so many creative ideas but am still not sure how to implement them all. In the short term, I will be posting less on this blog but please stay-tuned on Twitter and my new blog @vrlearninq.com which will be launching hopefully by late spring, early summer.  :) @edu_techy 

[educationmd]

Loving each and every student for them and what they bring to the classroom

"A student once asked a professor "how will I ever be able to teach a whole class of children with so many different needs?" The professor replied, "it may sound corny, but the answer is to love them all." By love them all he meant care for them all like they are your own, like your sole job in the world is to be their advocate and to do as much as you can for all of them. You must believe that every single student is as important and deserves as much of you as any other student. You must believe that every student can and will learn and has the right to any supports needed. " Taken from Universal Design for Learning in Action: 100 Ways to Teach All Learners by: Whitney H. Rapp     

[educationmd]

Teaching Math Problem Solving Using Reading Comprehension Strategies

     Given that I am currently a recent education grad looking for employment as a teacher, I do a fair share of reading. Also, as a member of the Council for Exceptional Children I receive several research journals that I now have the time to read. The following is an article that I recently read and that provides a valid and useful strategy for teaching problem solving to students. 

Moran, A., Swanson, H., Gerber, M., & Fung, W. (2014). The effects of

    paraphrasing interventions on problem-solving accuracy for children at 

    risk for math disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & 

    Practice, 29(3), 97-105.

    I never really realized how important reading comprehension is especially in math. Without effective reading comprehension and analysis skills, students can have great difficulty solving word problems in mathematics. Being able to categorize what information is valuable and which is useless filler can make a world of difference for a math learner. I think what makes problem solving so intimidating is the amount of words and information that are used. It can be confusing for students to really understand what information is valuable and what numbers are key to the final calculation. 

    In this study by Moran, Swanson, Gerber and Fung, reading comprehension skill was found to predict a student's overall problem solving accuracy. In their study, they attempted to find out if the strategies of restating and paraphrasing could be helpful in increasing problem solving accuracy in student work. They had three conditions:  the control group (restate proposition condition) in which students were asked to restate the problem question in their own words, the relevant proposition condition where students had to restate the question in their own words while also identifying the needed/useful sentences/numbers and the complete proposition condition where students not only rewrote the problem question in their own words but also, identified the needed/useful sentences and the unneeded sentences/numbers. Results showed that students in the complete or relevant conditions outperformed the control condition. Ultimately, the study shows the value of teaching students how to use restating/paraphrasing strategies to categorize information. If we can teach our students how to organize their word problems, our students will be much less intimidated by this type of math and much more successful in their calculations. 

    Of course, this study had a small sample size and there was some room for error because, although most students were assigned to random conditions, some students (that were at risk), were moved from the control condition to the intervention conditions. They also, did not get a chance to look at different subgroups of students. However, I still believe the study was a valuable addition to my educational knowledge.

    In the future, it would be helpful to study how this might be useful for newcomers and ESL students. 

    I've decided to keep a little binder of interesting research articles and this one definitely makes the cut. Next time a student is having difficulty with problem solving in math, I will know that maybe it's not the the calculation that is the problem, but rather, reading comprehension and the ability to categorize relevant and irrelevant information. 

    If there is anyone out there in the world wide web that already uses these types of methods I would love to hear about your strategies. 

[educationmd]

Aoife Dempsey, chief technology officer at Triumph Learning, shares suggestions for implementing productive struggle in your schools.

   Productive Struggle! It definitely sounds difficult and not something most students would want to engage in. I came upon this article and was quickly intrigued. What could that possibly mean? After reading the article which I hope you will too, I came to the understanding that this is a critical skill or set of skills that we need to teach all students.

   I am currently working as a tutor and teaching some very bright students but, I notice one main theme and that is, when faced with difficulty students often feel stressed and do not want to persevere. It takes a lot of persuasion and support to help them continue on. Even in my own childhood experiences with certain subjects of difficulty such as math, I found myself giving up when faced with challenges that seemed "too difficult". How did we get here? How did we become so afraid of challenge and hardship? This is a very serious problem  and most of us have somehow been conditioned to fear things that are hard or even that appear challenging (maybe not all but most of us would likely agree). 

   In order to make sure that our students succeed in all aspects of their lives academic or not, it is critical that they know that they can solve a problem in multiple ways and not give up upon the first try. I feel as though the Ontario Curriculum is slowly going in the direction of this sort of education. The various school boards already focus on the importance of inquiry, innovation and critical thinking; this is exactly that.

So this is where "productive struggle" comes in. This new terminology refers to providing students with adequate supports while also giving them a significant challenge. How can we as teachers implement this in our teaching? Although the article does not give any specific examples, a few ideas come to mind. I think it is highly dependent on the outlook of the teacher. If you as a teacher accept challenges and embrace them, you can convey this to your students. I think the key to this is passion, excitement and curiosity. We need to show our students that it's fun to struggle at something, it's fun to find different solutions, and that it's OK to try and to fail. At least we will have learned something on the way.  Success and happiness in life, is highly dependent on one's ability to see a problem in different ways and to identify a variety of solutions that might work. It is the people that persevere and try again that do succeed. 

How can we use this practically? I feel like maybe the most obvious but important area to use this in would be math. Many students are often afraid of math because they believe that if you can't succeed in math then you are stupid. There are many reasons for this and specific learning profiles that explain this (which I will explain at a later date) but mainly, it's important to remember to emphasize effort over intelligence. Maybe setting up a lesson where the teacher tells the students that they will be presented with some very challenging math problems and asking students to work in groups to find as many solutions as they can, could be a way of implementing the productive struggle. 

I can also think of using productive struggle in the class with social problems where students work together to solve a personal social problem etc.. Ultimately, I think that incorporating problem solving and critical thinking in all subjects is key. Teaching students to embrace problems and to embrace mistakes as a way of learning to improve is critical.

How else can we use this to strengthen our students in their learning?

This article definitely causes me to self-reflect about the ways that I solve problems as a teacher (and a person) and how I can use this experience to teach my students those critical skills of productive struggle. 

Here are some other cool links and ideas related to the teaching of critical thinking. 

http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/whiteboarding-mistake-game-a-guide/

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-students-to-embrace-mistakes-hunter-maats-katie-obrien

[educationmd]

Full-day kindergarten impacts Grades 1, 2 | Toronto Star

The future of learning? It will no longer be rote. It will be inquiry. This is something that I feel very connected to, a train that I would like to get on and ride for awhile. But I do wonder, how will the school system adjust to such a significant change in academic programming? Already from my own experience as a student teacher in a Full Day Kindergarten placement, I noticed that in general many of the teachers that were being asked to implement and use this new way of educating students were having great difficulties. After so many years of using worksheets and teacher centered learning how are teachers supposed to adapt so quickly? With the administration pushing for the shift that the school boards are requesting they are definitely trying their best to provide workshops and professional development however, I still got a sense that there was a general feeling of being lost among the information. For new teachers this shift will be much easier to accomplish. But what happens when you have been teaching for many years? When you've developed lesson plan after lesson plan and you have developed a teaching style that you think works. Then now they have to adapt to something completely different. It seems extreme. 

However, in the same vein, I feel strongly that students need to be given the opportunity to ask questions, express their thoughts and be taken seriously. In the 21st century, the world is changing at such a quick pace that facts no longer cut it and our students need to know how to problem solve and be able to adapt to any situation. We need to empower students to believe in their abilities and that all good things come to those who work hard. Not those that are smart. Intelligence is overrated. I have begun rambling into another note and maybe I will devote a full post on intelligence vs. effort in the future.  

Through inquiry, students will develop a curiosity for learning that will allow them to continue to be passionate about discovering the world as they grow older. 

Another thing I wonder about is how will the world adapt to this new curriculum of inquiry and innovation? It's like the google philosophy is taking over the classroom. How will students adapt in high school? Will we have to makeover the secondary curriculum as well? Will this curriculum hold together over the years? This article stirs too many thoughts and questions. What are your thoughts? 

[educationmd]

The New Alphabet Students Are Really Learning - Edudemic

We talk a lot here about the technologies available to our students now that were not available to us at that time in our lives. Part of that is almost unavoidable – these technologies form a huge part of our daily lives, and it is really difficult to try not to compare that with the …

The new alphabet of our future students. 

[educationmd]

Do You Know The 4 Stages Of Learning? - Edudemic

The idea that different students may learn differently (otherwise known as ‘learning styles) is a pretty hot-button issue. In fact, I don’t think any other topic has garnered us such a large amount of hate-mail, even though we’ve tried to approach the topic from both sides of the argument. That said, regardless of how you …

Useful to keep in mind when planning a lesson. 

[educationmd]

5 Things To Do On The First Day Of Class - Edudemic

Looking for skills and tips for the first day of class? These visual guides will get you on some steady footing quite quickly!