Teachers Matter Magazine Issue 37

PROFESSIONALLY & PERSONALLY

TeachersMatter The Magazine of Spectrum Education

Raising Resilient Kids

10 Tips for Higher Quality of Life

When Memorisation Gets in the Way of Learning

Valuing Thinking NZ$19 / AU$19

Leaders in Developing Teachers

ISSUE 37

EDITOR’S NOTE

“I’m not sure how to solve long division problems…yet.” That one word at the end of a student’s sentence is more powerful than ever in an ever increasing world of instant gratification and lack of problem solving skills among children. This issue provides valuable teaching tips and insights on how to combat student mindset from being fixed to being able to grow.

Growing our students is what we are all about as educators: in order to do this, we must model this growth mindset ourselves. Karen Boyes’ article entitled, “The Power of Expectations” brings a more in depth analysis of how to further build this mindset in our students.

As teachers are looking for new ways to help facilitate this thinking shift, Ben Orlin’s article on memorisation versus learning will provide thought provoking questions to shape future lessons. Rebecca Alber’s article, “6 Opening and Closing Routines,” frames a structure we might use to enhance every moment with students and boost their mastery of a subject.

Finally, in an effort to push students to own their own mindset shift, read through Laura Manni’s article on valuing thinking. Ensure that students are given plenty of “wait time” and different processes to work out their thoughts, no matter how unconventional they may seem.

I hope this issue of Teachers Matter finds you each refreshed and that it rejuvenates you for the great and mighty task set before us: the education of the whole child. I know that these articles have certainly done just that for me!

Yours in Education,

Jessica Youmans

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CONTENTS

In this issue COVER ARTWORK BY NIKOLA RAKIC

p11 - Raising Resilient Kids

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Editor's Note

JESSICA YOUMANS

6 5 Most Frequently Asked

Questions on Personalised Learning

BENA KALLICK & ALISON ZMUDA

10 Quote 11

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Raising Resilient Kids RYAN MARTIN

Future Focused Education FRANCES VALINTINE

Teachers Matter

14 Disruptive Classroom Technologies

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p18 - Valuing Thinkinng

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The Power of Expectations

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5 Pieces of Data Your Leadership Team Should Be Analyzing

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KAREN BOYES

DAVID FRANKLIN

Effective Communication for Leaders ALAN COOPER

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Meaningful Service Learning

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6 Opening and Closing Routines for New Teachers

TARA BARTON

DR. REBECCA ALBER

DR. SONNY MAGANA

31 Quote

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Valuing Thinking

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LAURA MANNI

Celebrating Our Brilliant Brains

MEGAN GALLAGHER

p28 -Opening and Closing Routines for New Teachers 35 Quote 36

Setting PRO Goals

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A Sandpapered Brain

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When Memorisation Gets in the Way of Learning

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The Teen Mask in the Classroom

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Selective Mutism

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Needing a Time Management Boost?

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Mothers Teaching Money

KAREN BOYES

KATHRYN BERKETT

BEN ORLIN

MAGGIE DENT

ZAREEN BYRNE

MADELEINE TAYLOR LAUREL MAKOWEM

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Teachers Matter Magazine Team Publisher, Sales and Advertising Karen Boyes Editor Jessica Youmans Art Director Brenda Mihalko Printer Spectrum Print, Christchurch

Subscriptions Toll free (NZ) 0800 373 377 Toll free (Australia) 1800 249 727 Thanks to the educators, speakers and authors who contributed interviews, articles, photographs and letters.

Teachers Matter magazine is registered with the National Library: ISSN 1178-6825 © Spectrum Education 2018 All rights reserved.

p46 - The Teen Mask

p66 - 10 Tips for Better Quality of Life 68

Help Your School Flourish This Academic Year

57 Quote

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Last Word

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Seeing Straight AMIRA HAFDA

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Useful Products & Services

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Going Full STEAM

75 Quote

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Saying No: When is it Okay?

KATE SOUTHCOMBE

MICHALLE KORENFELD

Can Happy Teachers Really Change the World?

THERESE HOYLE KAREN BOYES

Parts of this publication may be reproduced for use within a school environment. To reproduce any part within another publication (or in any other format) permission from the publisher must be obtained.

The opinions expressed in Teachers Matter are those of the contributors and we love them!

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ROBYN HARWOOD

Fax: (NZ) +64 4 528 0969

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TRICIA KENYON & BARBARA GRIFFITH

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10 Tips for Better Quality of Life

ROBYN PEARCE

www.spectrumeducation.com Lioncrest Education Postal Address: PO Box 340 Cessnock NSW 2325, Australia Phone: 61 2 4991 2874 or 1800 249 727 info@lioncrest.com.au www.lioncrest.com.au

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BENA KALLICK & ALISON ZMUDA

5 Most Frequently Asked Questions on Personalised Learning Responses from Education Consultants

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s education consultants working with countless school administrators and educators, we field many questions. Some are asked so frequently, in fact, that we have written our responses below.

Question #1: What is personalised learning, really?

There are so many definitions out there for personalised learning that it is often difficult to get through the noise. In responses to Dan Meyer and Annie Murphy Paul, we offer that personalised learning is personal — honoring the student in front of you as a partner, cocreator, and community member. Personalised learning is a progressively student-driven model where students deeply engage in meaningful, authentic, and rigorous challenges to demonstrate desired outcomes.

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One of the examples that we love comes from Henry County Schools in Georgia where they worked with their community to clarify what Personalised Learning is, and what it is not. They built what they affectionately nicknamed the “Parthenon.”

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Also found as incredibly impactful was their visual to dispel some of the misconceptions that they have heard voiced from various stakeholders in the community.

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ALEXANDER TRAKSEL

BENA KALLICK & ALISON ZMUDA

Question #2: How do we make sure the “juice” of PL is worth the “squeeze?”

How can we increase personalised learning without sacrificing achievement?

Why is this good for kids?

Personalised learning is truly about equity — honoring the person in front of you. Manchester Public Schools in Connecticut made a powerful statement on “the why” for personalized learning: “As a result of a substantial achievement gap in our District, we believe that a transformational shift to personalised learning will change both our culture, expectations, opportunities, and outcomes for every child and also inform and transform our adult communities in the same manner.”

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We also must ensure that the promise of personalised learning results in a more growth-oriented experience by making certain that there is:

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• equitable access to resources and opportunities in school and community • an understanding and acceptance of cultural differences • relevant and rigorous curriculum • a culture of trust as we expect the best of one another • remaining open as we engage in innovation and self-discovery • an opportunity to become an advocate for learning, not only for the students but for all members of the personalised learning community • dedication to encouraging the dreams and passions that learning can inspire

BENA KALLICK & ALISON ZMUDA

Personalised learning is a progressively student-driven model where students deeply engage in meaningful, authentic, and rigorous challenges to demonstrate desired outcomes.

Question #3: How do we get our colleagues to share our desire for personalising learning?

1. It is really important to show what it looks like, feels like and sounds like.

It is always better when you can point to examples within the school division. In addition, you might want to look at two powerful examples, such as Blueprint or Design 39.

2. Provide various entry points of how teachers can begin.

Question #4: How do we communicate to our families about what it means to shift to a personalised learning environment?

In a personalised learning classroom, the role of the student clearly shifts. They have more: freedom to shape inquiries and ideas. responsibility with self-direction and managing the heavy lifting of investigating, generating, reconceptualizing, and revising.

We need to include parents and caretakers in our conversations about why we are moving toward personalising learning. A good catalyst for the conversation could be the inspiring TED talk by Simon Sinek or perhaps one of the blogs on the ‘Learning Personalized’ site.

What is most significant is that the content inspires a good and thoughtful conversation and that the process of learning how to listen to one another with understanding and empathy paves the way for thinking flexibly as people share their concerns and excitement.

Question #5: Why have we connected the Habits of Mind with our approach to personalised learning?

As we design work with our students, we also need to pay attention to the ways that they are developing emotional, social, and project-based skills that will remain as important in school as they will in their lives beyond schooling. The ’16 Habits’ are a set of dispositions that students will need as they become more self-directed and thoughtful in their learning.

These habits represent a key to effective thinking. Students develop the habits through practice as they are challenged to use their voice to engage in the work of school, join others in the co-creation of project designs, learn how to use the expertise of others as they socially construct deeper meaning in their learning and as they discover who they are and who they are becoming as they reflect on their learning.

Another important aspect of communication with parents and caretakers is to share student work so that they see the quality of how students demonstrate what they know and are able to do. Avoid trying to persuade; rather, let the work and the voice of students be the tour guide for the changes.

Make certain that everyone understands that we are progressively moving toward personalising. It is not a race but a journey.

Check out the seven elements of Personalised Learning in articles from Education Leadership.

3. Create and sustain a culture dedicated to growing innovative ideas in empowering environments.

That means we operate with the mindset of entrepreneurs, engineers and artists. We allow ourselves to take responsible risks.

We become critical friends to one another — critical meaning that we are able to thoughtfully critique because we are a friend of everyone’s success.

Bena Kallick and Allison Zmuda are authors, friends and colleagues. They co-authored the 2017 book, Students at the Center: Personalized Learning with Habits of Mind.

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SANGOIRI

Teachers Matter

RYAN MARTIN

Raising Resilient Kids Resilient Kids Require a Village of Support

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am not the type of person that puts inspirational quotes up around my office but as an educator, the quote, ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child’ resonates loud and clear to me. But what if the whole village was lowering the bar to such an extent that your village was not living up to its expectations? It would be fair to say you might have some thinking to do.

This may seem a little dramatic, but if the lowering or smothering of standards puts at risk the development of resilient kids, then we all need to sit down and evaluate the environment we are creating. The perfect storm is being created via some of our school, sporting and community organisations. Rules such as no ball games at school, no scoring, everyone gets an award, no clapping at assemblies, no running on the grass, etc. This all seems crazy to me. This is not a helicopter approach, but a bulldozer approach where everything is smoothed over so much, that there is not a hurdle or bump in sight.

Surely, that can’t be good for our kids.

‘Although it’s natural for us to want to protect our children from negative experiences, it’s important not to shield them completely from life’s challenges.’

(Beyond Blue) Schools have an important role to play in this space and it doesn’t require extra work. If all the research points to resilience as a vital human character trait, then schools need to stand strongly in this space. Teachers as experts, use newsletters, assemblies and any other public forum to display their expert knowledge about teaching and learning. This expertise is needed because often we need to be the change we want to see in our community.

Kids become more resilient if we teach them to think independently, manage their emotions, deal with and manage conflict and communicate clearly.

If working through difficulties, challenges and problems, with village support, gives kids a chance to learn about themselves, develop resilience, and grow as a person, then let’s get that message out there loud and clear. It requires very little extra work and in fact might just reduce the line up at the Sick Bay.

HANNAH FLUNKER

‘It takes a whole village to raise a child.’

African Proverb

This is not a helicopter approach, but a bulldozer approach where everything is smoothed over so much, that there is not a hurdle or bump in sight. Surely, that can’t be good for our kids.

Ryan Martin, recently awarded with the Northern Territory Principal of the Year, is an experienced school leader with a proven track record in behaviour management, leadership and coaching.

He has a sharp focus on changing the trajectory of students from highly complex and disadvantaged backgrounds. Ryan has a passion for education but you might also find him surfing, skating or tinkering around with old cars.

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FRANCES VALINTINE

Future Focused Education: Who Are We Fooling?

Acknowledging What our Students Really Need for Their Future

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ecently I found my 17-year-old son busy sanding (yes, with sandpaper) his name off his calculator, as he had been informed that his engraved name contravened the rules of ‘no notes’ in his upcoming exam.

Come again? This is yet further evidence of a deeply contradictory bimodal-world of education that claims to be fit-for-purpose yet has long since passed its use by date.

Teachers Matter

The education world I work in has young students overflowing with enthusiasm and excitement as they discover, discuss and create solutions using the technological tools of their time. Research is active, involving testing and trials, searching and validation. Creation involves 3-D modelling, web development and the creation of videos and games. Maths

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I want us all to be restless about what we know to be true. Let us be champions of a new path for our children and our grandchildren rather than accept ‘what is’ on the basis that, ‘it has always been done this way.’

is a living concept that provides solutions to engineering problems and helps guide robots around spaces and places. Skills are learned, shared and developed: not measured, compared and judged.

I have seen too much. I have run out of patience. Not for these incredible young minds, but for the analogue, rigid system that continues to prepare them for a world that no longer exists.

I do not say this to be alarmist. I say it because in the past four years my organisation has taught over 100,000 students and I can tell you we aren’t fooling them. These students are highly connected, informed, inquisitive and part of the single largest demographic group of humans the world has ever seen. These young people watch world events play out in real time and they are all privy to the massive technological, social, demographic and environmental changes that unfold every day of their lives.

So who are we fooling? Ourselves? Are we really that committed to the status quo that we are happy to pretend that the world isn’t a very different place than it was when we grew up?

So with this opinion as a backdrop, I was dismayed recently when I woke to an article that stated ‘New Zealand has the most futurefocused education system in the world.’

Compared to what? Are we happy to play the game of comparing our country to every other nation who also offers an analogue, industrial education system that ignores the increasing number of students who leave school demoralised, unconfident and illprepared for the new world of work?

Are we so obsessed with measurement and comparisons that we will seek justification of our dated practices and failing education models just to deflect the hard conversations that we should have had years ago?

I stopped believing our national hype many years ago. We don’t punch above our weight. Number 8 wire isn’t going to get us out of this one.

This year the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report stated, for all the world to see, that the third biggest issue for New Zealand is our ‘inadequately educated workforce’ followed by our ‘insufficient ability to innovate.’

No filing of my son’s name from his calculator is going to solve this problem.

Across New Zealand, there are businesses looking around the world for talent to fill skilled jobs that New Zealanders are unable to tackle. While at the same time we have over 90,000 young people defined as NEETs, who are not in education, employment or training. These are just some of the young people that our existing education system has failed.

Imagine if these NEETs were lucky enough to be educated in a country that truly was the most future-focused education system in the world? Imagine if students left high school as confident as when they started? Or if they felt like they could take on the world by showing what they could do, or were able to share their knowledge by articulating what they thought? Instead, we continue to defend the process of measuring all students on how much they can retain in a threehour hand-written exam.

Why as parents, educators and employers are we not banging on the doors of Government demanding rapid change to the broken assessment system? Why do we clap our hands in delight with headlines claiming our place in the education hall of fame, when we are failing so many?

A couple of weeks ago I championed a nation-wide initiative kicked off by KPMG and ASB seeking companies to remove the requirement for applicants to have

FRANCES VALINTINE

a qualification to apply for roles in their companies. Over a period of 14 days not one or two companies signed up, but more than two-hundred.

Two hundred businesses who value skills and great attitude over qualifications. With around 40% of technology and digital roles left unfilled in this country, you can see why employers are starting to feel the impact of long-term education neglect.

I want us all to be restless about what we know to be true. Let us be champions of a new path for our children and our grandchildren rather than accept ‘what is’ on the basis that, ‘it has always been done this way.’

The headline may state that, ‘New Zealand is the most future-focused education system in the world,’ but I know this is not true. I didn’t need to read the small print to know that this study didn’t measure student preparedness, confidence or skill levels.

Turns out this study evaluated ‘inputs to our education system.’

There it is. A system, that on paper, looks all shiny and fit for purpose.

I s n ’t i t a s h a m e t h a t w e m a k e i t a l l complicated by putting students into this same system?

Frances Valintine has been an educator for over 20 years, committed to shifting education practice and policy within the technology-driven global environment.

She founded The Mind Lab by Unitec, which was developed to empower students, teachers and principals with skills for today's world.

Frances sits on the boards of Callaghan Innovation, KEA, NZ Artificial Intelligence Forum,Tech Week NZ, as well as a US Board of Talentnomics.

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DMITRIY SHIRONOSOV

Teachers Matter DR. SONNY MAGANA

DR. SONNY MAGANA

Disruptive Classroom Technologies Transcending the Status Quo with the T3 Framework

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eachers are like pipers at the gates of dawn. Educators and educational leaders bear enormous responsibilities for orchestrating and shaping the future. We do so by empowering our current students to interact and develop deeper connections with knowledge, each other, and themselves in a modern world context. This is what makes teaching the noblest, and perhaps most portentous profession.

Arguably, the modern world is experiencing a profoundly disruptive period. Across the globe, digital technologies have enabled radical transformations in nearly every imaginable endeavor from archeology to zoology. It stands to reason that educators must effectively manage modern teaching and learning tools and processes in order to better prepare students for social and professional success many years down the track. Towards that happy occurrence, national educational systems have optimistically invested billions in tax revenues to digitize traditional classrooms.

School infrastructures have been updated, new and emerging tools are regularly purchased, and teachers are trained on how to use these new tools.

Sadly, the evidence on the impact of these investments does not match the optimism.

Despite decades of evidence-free propaganda bombarding teachers and educational decision makers about the inherently transformational nature of digital tools in schools, the reality simply does not match the hype. In fact, the average impact computer technology has had in education has been downright dismal.

A meaningful way to look at the evidence of technology’s impact in education is to use a measurement called effect size—a statistical construct that was advanced by internationally renowned education researcher John Hattie. One can think of effect size as a scale starting with practices that negatively impact student learning, and incrementally moving towards methods

that positively impact student learning and achievement. The tipping point on Hattie’s scale of effect sizes is the average impact of the hundreds of educational interventions that were analyzed. This average is .4 and can also be considered the entry point for practices that have a desirable effect on student achievement (see Figure 1).

Practices with an effect size above .4 can be considered desirable—in fact, the higher on the scale, the more desirable—anything below an effect size of .4, not so much.

After reviewing over 160 meta-analyses from over 10,000 studies on the impact of computers in education, Professor Hattie observed that the average effect of digital tools in schools is an anemic .34, well below the zone of desirable effects. Worse still, this meager impact has not changed in over 50 years, despite vast leaps in digital technologies since the swinging ’60’s. The meter for innovation in education appears to be stuck—on low.

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Figure 1: 50-Year Average Effect Size of Ed Tech is .34

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DR. SONNY MAGANA

Educators must effectively manage modern teaching and learning tools and processes in order to better prepare students for social and professional success many years down the track.

Perhaps the main reason for this disappointing impact is that the inclusion of technologies in schools has done little to change the “tell and practice” approach to teaching and learning—the predominant p e d ag og i c a l p ra c t i c e o f o ur t i m e . I n this model, teachers tell students what knowledge is and what knowledge is worth knowing; meanwhile, students invest their limitless capacity for investigating, thinking critically, creating, hypothesising, and collaborating by memorising and practicing what they’re told.

Fortunately, there is indeed cause for renewed optimism—once again based on evidence provided by rigorous research.

After more than 30 years of investigating the wicked problem of advancing technology and innovation in education, my colleague Dr. Robert J. Marzano and I have observed that when technology tools are used to enhance innovative practices that are grounded in sound research and theory, one can expect large to very large gains in student achievement and learning productivity.

One implication of this problem is that if the tell and practice model remains steadfast, then we can expect the impact of new and emerging technologies—like VR (Virtual Reality), AI (Artificial Intelligence), and the Internet of Things—to be about .34 for the next 50 years or more. That, my friends, is double trouble.

In order to disrupt the predominant use of educational technology tools one might use the T3 Framework for Innovation in Education as a lens through which to view schools and schooling. The T3 Framework is an evidence-based model which increments technology usage in schools into three distinct domains: T1: Translational, T2: Transformational, and T3: Transcendent (See Figure 2).

T3 Framework for Innovation in Education

T3: Transcendent

T2: Transformational T3.1: Inquiry Design

T1:Translational

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T2.1: Production

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T1.1: Automation

T3.2: Social Entrepreneurship

T2.2: Contribution

T1.2: Consumption

Figure 2: The T3 Framework for Innovation in Education

DR. SONNY MAGANA

T h e i m p a c t o f t h e T 1 : Tr a n s l a t i o n a l stage of technology use—that is, simply automating teaching and learning tasks, or consuming content knowledge and information through digital tools—has been historically low. Rather than placing a greater burden on teachers, advancing from the Translational phase of technology use to the Transformational stage engenders shifting the loci of learning experiences from teachers to students. While there is no common definition for this shift, I suggest the following: “Transformational technology use in education reflects the intentional application of digital technologies to unleash students’ learning expertise, in ways not possible without technology, to achieve ever higher levels of knowledge and mastery.” (Magana, 2017, pp. 39).

The two elements of this stage are: T2.1: Production, and T2.2: Contribution. In the former, students leverage technologies to produce digital representations of what they know (declarative knowledge) and what they can do (procedural knowledge), as well as to capture and make their thinking pathways explicit. In the latter stage, students use digital tools to design, create, share, and scale digital knowledge products with the purpose of teaching others what they know.

In this digital era, it is no longer appropriate to ask students what they want to be when they grow up. There is a far more important two-part question to ask of our students: “What problem matters to you, and what are you going to do about it?” Thus, the final stage of technology use, Transcendent, begins with student passion and concludes wi t h students engagin g i n d e s i g ni ng original lines of inquiry and applying social entrepreneurship strategies to solve wicked problems that matter to them. Doing this at least once a week — say, on “Wicked Problem Fridays” — will give your students

ample opportunities to explore, interpret, discuss, and critically analyze knowledge and information that is important to them.

Moreover, doing so will empower your students to become leaders for action who make a significant contribution to their local and extended communities.

The strategies associated with the Transformational and the Transcendent uses of digital tools, as I’ve defined and identified in Disruptive Classroom Technologies, have an effect size of 1.6. The impact of this effect size on student learning is equivalent to three or more additional years of student achievement in a single academic year, perhaps even more.

To o n c e a g a i n q u o t e P r o f e s s o r J o h n Hattie, “Moving beyond translation and transfor ming current practice to transcendent uses of technology is clearly where we should go. We need to build collaborative communities of students solving problems, explaining to others (regardless of ability) and using the social media aspects of technology to change classroom conversations from monologue to dialogue, increasing student impact questions, and allowing errors to be stated and dealt with—this can be so transcendental…and indeed this is how we’ll see technology really make the difference we’re after!”

No one can predict the future. However, I will make a bold prediction that together we can use guidance provided by the T3 Framework to not only disrupt the historic pattern of low technology use in education, but to transcend the expectations and limitations of organized educational systems to unlock students’ limitless learning potential. That is arguably a set of ideas worth pursuing and sharing by today’s pipers at the gates of dawn.

Dr. Anthony J. “Sonny” Magana III is an educational futurist and pioneering educational technology researcher. An advocate for transcending the status quo, Sonny founded and served as Principal of Washington State’s first CyberSchool in 1996, a groundbreaking blended learning program that continues to meet the needs of atrisk students in Washington. An avid musician and beekeeper, Sonny holds multiple degrees in education and can be reached via Twitter @sonnymagana or at www.maganaeducation.com

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LAURA MANNI

Valuing Thinking

Making Thinking Visible for Young Learners “What Makes You Say That?”

M

y nephew, niece and I have a tradition at meal times. We take turns sharing the three things we are most grateful for about the day. Shortly after we started this tradition, we had a meal with the whole family: parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters from both sides. There were 11 of us altogether. As we were coming to the end of the dinner, Lily, my niece, who was four at the time, turned to me and said. “Let’s do the thankful thing.” I briefly explained to everyone at the table the plan and said that Lily would start to demonstrate.

Everyone nodded in an agreement, and all eyes turned to Lily. After a few seconds of quiet, as Lily sat thinking, her grandmother leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Lily looked a little confused, but then went back to thinking.

From across the table, her mom whispered “Lily” to get her attention and then mouthed and acted out something that they had done that day, a possible answer. Lily’s eyebrows scowled a bit. Trying not to sound annoyed, I gently said, “Give her time, she’s thinking.” After a few quiet moments, Lily looked up and said, “I am thankful that daddy shaved his beard because now it doesn’t hurt when he kisses me.”

Not one person sitting around the table that night could have given Lily that answer.

Teachers Matter

So why the rush?

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There seems to be a discomfort with silence.

It is probably why we feel compelled to choose the first hand that shoots up after we ask a question. Or why we ask increasingly closed questions: the kind that get us to an answer, or in many cases THE answer, we are looking for so that we can march forward to a predefined destination. We too rarely assume this silence is the result of processing and thinking time.

And when we model speed, we quietly encourage it and give the impression that we value it. When we reward children who get things done quickly (e.g. with stickers, or playtime), we inadvertently tell them that fun and play is on the other side of learning.

The truth is, that when a child finishes a learning experience too quickly, or raises his/her hand within seconds of a question being asked, chances are the task was too easy and that they already knew the answer.

What is the value in praising a child for recalling something they already knew?

What are the possible consequences?

We need to grapple with why we feel this discomfort with silence, and consider why this silence and a slower pace are so important, especially for our youngest learners.

Imagine this scenario: You have only a few more minutes before the end of the day, and you want to finish the book that you started. You have just asked a question prompted by some event in the book. One child raises his hand. You start to panic because this child is notorious for deviating/ straying from the topic. You look around hopeful that another child, benefiting from the unexpected thinking time, raises his/her hand to save you. No such hand is raised.

So, you reluctantly call on the student, with a caveat that mommies and daddies would soon be arriving. As anticipated, the child says something totally unexpected and seemingly unrelated and you say something politically correct, “Thank you, Samantha.

Ok, let’s see what happens next in the book.”

This was a common scenario in my classroom when I let time and my objectives determine my interactions with students. Too many years later, I had the opportunity to attend a session entitled: Creating a Culture of Thinking at Harvard’s Project Zero Institute.

Amongst the many things I learned over those five days, this one sentence led to an unexpected transformation:

What makes you say that?

This is one of the many thinking routines that Ron Ritchhart et al., share in their book,

Making Thinking Visible. A thinking routine is defined as, “short, easy-to-learn, ministrategies that extend and deepen students’ thinking and become part of the fabric of everyday classroom life.”

But, this ‘simple’ routine became much more than that for me; it revealed to me the importance of allowing and encouraging children to make their thinking visible, and to never underestimate a child’s capacity to make connections and find meaning.

Now when children say something that seems entirely disconnected, rather than avoiding them or worse, ignoring them, I simply ask, “What makes you say that?” or some other question or prompt that allows the child to continue talking.

What I find over and over again, is that when given the opportunity to make their thinking visible, children will almost always impress you. And when you take the time to ask, what you show them is that you value what they have to say and that makes them so much more willing to share their thinking. When you have access to their thinking, you know everything you need to be able to support them.

Valuing What They Say How can you value what children have to say, while still honouring and acknowledging time tables for your class?

Let’s face it, the school day has a beginning, middle, and end. Here are a few simple but powerful ways to honour children’s thinking while still getting things done: 1. Ask “What makes you say that?” and then listen to what they say. Really listen, with your ears, eyes, body, and response.

2. Post-it Notes Sometimes a child will ask a question that you just can’t answer because a) you don’t know the answer or b) you don’t have the time. Take a post-it note, write down the

DOLGACHOV

LAURA MANNI

child’s question or comment, and stick it on your whiteboard or computer screen. This action alone shows the child that you value his/her contributions.

3. Follow-Up Take the time to follow-up and respond to the questions or comments that you put aside earlier. If it didn’t happen to be relevant to the whole group, you could follow-up individually with each student.

However, there is a lot of good modelling when you come back to a question: it demonstrates to everyone that their thinking and questions matter.

4. Document Take the time to record children’s thinking.

When you are having a discussion as a class about a book, concept, idea or whatever it is, record what the children say. It slows things down a bit (which is great), and the act of writing it down validates their contributions.

We need to grapple with why we feel this discomfort with silence, and consider why this silence and a slower pace are so important, especially for our youngest learners.

5. Populate your Classroom Be sure to bring books, objects, resources, and when possible, experts into your classroom that connect to the things children talk about and care about. This is a visual and tangible indication that you care about things that interest them.

We all have Objectives to Meet C h i l d r e n ’s v o i c e s a r e p o w e r f u l a n d can reveal so much about their current understanding (or misunderstanding) and thinking. Finding ways to encourage and value children’s talk might be the most important skill a teacher can master.

The more students are able to make their thinking visible, the more we truly know their level of understanding.

Laura Manni is Director of Development at Bridges of Peace and Hope and the Manager of Community Engagement and Communication at CMMB. She also works as an early childhood consultant, running training and interactive workshops around the world. Laura has worked in the field of Early Childhood for over 16 years. Her most treasured personal experience is her involvement in setting-up Mukwashi Trust School in Zambia, where she serves as volunteer director since 2006.

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KAREN BOYES

The Power of Expectations

Creating a Culture of High Standards in the Classroom

“S

hoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars.”

Having great expectations and high standards are proven to help raise achievement in the classroom. Recognising that our beliefs also shape behaviour is a vital key to success.

In his book, Creating Cultures of Thinking, Ron Ritchhart discusses the role of expectations and outlines five areas to be aware of as a teacher:

Teachers Matter

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.”

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1. Focus on the learning, not the work.

Too often, the goal in a classroom seems to be completing the work, getting it finished before the bell, deadline, or next topic starts.

Towards the end of the year, it is common to hear teachers celebrating, or lamenting, on how many lessons they have left to complete the teaching of a subject. The challenge in all of this is that just because a student has completed the work, does not mean they have understood or learned it. The chief goal in the classroom must be about the learning.

For this to happen, students must able to articulate, firstly, where they are at in the learning journey; secondly, where they are going; and thirdly, to know the steps to get there. Sharing learning progressions is useful in this endeavor. Students must understand the learning process, that learning is about what you don’t know, learning is often challenging and the learning pit is an uncomfortable place to be.

As a teacher, ‘Listen for the learning.’ Ask questions such as, “Tell me what you have done so far.” “What questions do you have?”

“What does that tell you?” Avoid questions such as, “What have you done?” or “Are you finished?” Rather, ask, “What have you learned?” Of course the learning may not just be about the content. Learning may include life skills, dispositions, personal awareness and so much more. When focusing on the learning, students must understand that mistakes are opportunities to learn and the word ‘fail’ stands for First Attempt In Learning. Remember to provide feedback to inform learning using clear success criteria.

2. Teach for understanding, not knowledge.

Knowledge is the accumulation and storage of facts, procedures and skills whilst Understanding is going beyond the information given to “figure it out" and depends on richly integrated and connected knowledge.

Ideas to teach for understanding include: · Designing generative topics with a big idea for students to explore; · Creating specific goals for understanding; · Generating performance tasks that require students to use skills and knowledge; · Providing ongoing feedback to improve performance.

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Source: Creating Cultures of Thinking - Ron Ritchhart Infographic © SpectrumEducation 2018

Classrooms

8 Cultural Forces that

Chief goal is LEARNING.

Recognising how our beliefs shape our behaviour Teaching for Understanding vs Knowledge

One gets smarter through one’s efforts.

Accumulation and storage of facts, procedures and skills.

KNOWLEDGE:

Embrace challenges + mistakes.

Mindset can vary.

- Carol Dweck

Developing a Growth vs Fixed Mindset

UNDERSTANDING: "Go beyond the information" to “figure it out" depends on richly integrated and connected knowledge.

1. Generative topics: Big idea 2. Specific goals for understanding 3. Performance tasks and require students to use skills + knowledge 4. Ongoing feedback - to improve performance

of work or grades.

Must focus on learning,

Focus Students on the Learning vs Work

Internally motivated to be reflective, resourceful and effective learners who can accept challenge.

Encouraging Independence vs Dependence

Being able to apply learning at different levels of complexity.

Encouraging Deep vs Surface Learning

Focus on learning, not comple�on. Provide choice and op�ons for assignments. Teachers "listen to the learning".

"Tell me what you have done so far?"

"What ques�ons are surfacing for you?"

"What does that tell you?"

Mistakes are opportuni�es to learn, to grow, to rethink.

To provide descrip�ve feedback that informs learning.

KAREN BOYES

3. Encourage deep rather than surface learning.

5. Develop a Growth rather than Fixed Mindset.

It is important for students to apply their knowledge at differing levels of complexity and in authentic contexts. Rather than just focusing on memorisation, students are asked to use the knowledge and skills to problem solve and apply their learning to differing contexts. Deep learning includes students being able to ask further and more complex questions, reason a point of view or show connections between ideas.

Carol Dweck has challenged the underlying beliefs and concepts about learning and intelligence being fixed. She popularised the idea of Growth Mindset, which maintains that when students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. As a result, they put in extra time and effort, leading to higher achievement. This requires using the power of ‘yet,’ knowing that if students are finding a task challenging, it does not mean they will never master it; it is just not ‘yet’ mastered and more teaching, learning, and perhaps focus and effort is required. As a teacher, giving specific and measureable feedback on which students can grow and expand upon is critical to encouraging growth mindset.

Mindset can vary between students, tasks and even days.

4. Encourage independence over dependence.

To truly prepare students for life beyond school, they require self directed skills and independence. The goal is for students to be internally motivated to be reflective of their learning and behaviour, resourceful when they are stuck or don’t know what to do and effective learners who can accept challenge.

This requires the teacher to slowly ‘let go’ of the control and empower students to be self managing, self monitoring and self modifying.

Reflect on these five areas and how you might address these in your classroom as high achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation. Ron Ritchhart concludes, “It is our expectations of our students, ourselves and the learning process itself that form the foundation of a great classroom culture.”

Karen is an expert in effective teaching and learning, study skills, motivation a n d p o s i t i v e t h i n k i n g. S h e wa s recognised with the NSANZ Educator of the Year award in 2014 and 2017, and works in schools throughout Australasia teaching students how to Study Smart and teachers how to raise achievement. www.karentuiboyes.com

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DAVID FRANKLIN

5 Pieces of Data Your Leadership Team Should Be Analysing

L

eadership teams spend hours and hours each school year looking at assessment data. Data will help teachers and administrators target individual students and standards for intervention. However, assessment data is only part of the picture. There is a wide variety of data out there that needs to be analysed in order to truly transform schools and to change student outcomes. Unfortunately, most leadership teams never move beyond assessment data.

Here are five pieces of data your leadership teams should be analysing:

1

Attendance Data

It doesn’t matter how great the teachers are, or how engaging the content is. You can spend thousands of dollars on handson activities, field trip, and educational technology. None of these things will make a difference if students are not at school. Students with poor attendance need an intervention. Parents meetings must be set up and attendance plans created. Home visits can be very powerful for students who are truant. I was once told that the most important job of a school principal is to put butts in seats. Field of Dreams taught us that if you build it, they will come. Principals should live by the phrase: if you get them there, they will learn.

2

Discipline Data

Most school data systems have a place for discipline tracking.

It is important that infractions are tracked in order to provide students with behavioral interventions. However, I have always found it interesting to see where the infractions were coming from. By analysing this data by teacher, or by grade level, you might be able to see an area of opportunity with classroom management training. Behavioral issues at your school might not be solely a student issue.

3

Instructional Minutes

By instructional minutes, I don’t mean how many minutes of the day students are at school. By instructional minutes, I do mean tracking how many minutes students are actually engaged in learning.

When I first became a principal, I conducted classroom observations and kept track of how long students were engaged in active learning. The average engagement time was 11 minutes per 52-minute period. We defined active learning as anytime students were speaking with each other, working on a hands-on project, participating in a discussion, or group work. It was eye opening to see how much time students were sitting in class, passively listening to the teacher, reading silently, or completing an independent worksheet.

4

5

English Language Learner Reclassification

The goal of all English Language Development Programmes is to ensure that students are proficient in English. Students can be reclassified and designated as fluent beginning in second grade. It is this data point that will enable a leadership team to gauge the impact of ELD programmes. We should not deem a programme successful at a school site if students are not being reclassified. Longterm ELD students should also be a data point to consider. It is troublesome to note that some schools have students on their rosters that have been receiving ELD support for over six years without being reclassified.

Special Education

We need to look at Special Education as an intervention, not forever program. Some students, depending on their disability, might require Special Education services for their entire academic lives. However, most students should be able to move in-between programs and eventually be exited. This should be the goal of every IEP. This is especially true for students receiving OT, Speech, and PT services. Keep track of the number of students who are entering and exiting these programs.

Dr. David Franklin, CEO of The Principal’s Desk, is an experienced school administrator, education professor, curriculum designer, and presenter. Dr. Franklin has presented at national and international education conferences and is available for school and district professional development sessions.

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ALAN COOPER

Effective Communication for Leaders How choosing your words and actions impact culture

Teachers Matter

The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."—John Wooden

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S

uccessful leaders spend time and effort developing team players. They do this by developing a culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity not just between themselves and their subordinates, but also amongst the subordinates themselves.

Words are metaphors, providing a filter, causing a profound effect on the meaning the vocabulary provides. Without thought or analysis, vocabulary a leader may choose can so easily be counterproductive to what

he or she is hoping to achieve. As is so often the case, it is the little things we say or do as a leader that matter. Even deciding which pronoun is used can create either an adversarial or a collaborative culture.

Examine the left-hand diagram. The leader here is being adversarial: “You have a problem,” contains the emotional baggage that it is not my issue but your problem instead. You, the subordinate, have a problem. Further it is your responsibility to fix it, not mine. Underlying this is the top down, command and control leadership style where the focus is on the needs of

whoever is superior in the hierarchy. In this instance, the hierarchy, (the boss) is reducing what they need to do by passing the buck as to whose problem it is. This is further compounded when it becomes “your staff.” In this mindset, a culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity is not just absent but completely outlawed.

Now examine the right-hand column.

The problem is the same. However, by choosing the pronoun, we, as in, “We have a problem,” responsibility is shared and the team member knows that help is on the way.

Blame is removed. Distributive leadership

CATHY YEULET

ALAN COOPER

surfaces, bringing with it a culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity that ensures that collaborative team effort takes over the situation. The Japanese proverb, “None of us is as smart as all of us,� becomes authentic and real.

Note also that the right-hand box specifically identifies the problem at hand in more detail. By being specific, focus is sharpened and possible misconceptions are avoided.

Words (in this case the right pronoun) are only part of the package. Of at least equal

ADVERSERIAL

COLLABORATIVE

1. "Bill, you have a problem with your section having far too much that has to be rejected by the quality and control system."

1. "Bill, we have a problem with far too much having to be rejected by our quality and control system."

2. "Bill, your staff need to spend more time on quality control."

2. "Bill, we have a problem with a lack of focus on quality control."

3. "We have a problem with some of your staff and their attitude to quality control."

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ALAN COOPER

The focus is on how to be better, rather than how good we are. Focus must be on continuous improvement. importance: what actions are associated.

The right pronoun is the key, but it will be hard for it to stand on its own: impossible if physical and other actions are not compatible with it.

Teachers Matter

When actions do not match the words that have been stated, there is a gap between what Argyris and Schoon call the ‘espoused theory’ and the ‘theory in action.’ In the example above, use of ‘we,’ promises the collegial culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity, which is the espoused theory. The theory in action, or what actions follow the promises, will either support or destroy the espoused theory.

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The theory in action of staying behind a desk makes the desk become a barrier, a ‘them and us’ action. It is the antithesis of a culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity promised by using the pronoun ‘we.’ Theory in action is then seen by all subordinates, and all others, as being the real belief of the leader. What is said may be only partially understood: what is actually done communicates loud and clear. Actions are noticed more than the words used! To quote John Ruskin, “What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.”

Robert Fulghum wrote this warning for teachers: “Worry that they are always watching you. It is not something that is grown out of as age increases. They, whoever they are, will be watching.”

A further crucial action for a leader is paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is a straight forward summary of the basic message that the incoming speaker believes the previous speaker intended to give. Such a summary ensures that the listener has understood what the speaker has said, and, if not, gives an immediate opportunity for the previous speaker to make any correction. Likewise, it gives the listener an option to request more detail if needed. Paraphrasing maintains a culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity by signalling clearly to the speaker that they have been listened to, understood and taken seriously. Paraphrasing requires active listening on all party’s parts: for instance, the next speaker must paraphrase what the person before them stated before beginning their own message. This forces them to stayed focused, and not zone out on their own thoughts.

Requesting more detail is best done following a positive indicator, such as, “I like your idea about… Can you please give me more detail about…” This allows focused feedback by indicating exactly where the specific extra detail is required. To smooth over the issue by being vague confuses people, and can lead to only getting part of the message, resulting in encounters that end with people talking past each other, as understanding goes out the door.

Communication, whether one-on-one or within in a group, is always either enhanced or inhibited by the process used.

If that process is interrupted, or distorted away from commonality, discord can so easily happen and cliques may develop.

Thus, the overall organisational climate or culture: the way we behave here, must be seamlessly extended so that all persons are aware of and able to avoid the gap between the espoused theory and the theory in practice in their daily communication.

The norm is to use these techniques, these processes, both vertically up and down the hierarchical chain, and horizontally with peers and workmates. When this is done, the desired culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity is continually reinforced.

This common approach must be made to happen: It won’t just happen naturally. If these actions are only practiced by some, such as those in leadership positions, or small groups, it will not be part of an overall culture, but rather a de facto them

and me, or them and us. It is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that this does not happen. Therefore, specific, ongoing individual and group coaching, aimed at developing and maintaining a common culture of rapport, camaraderie, and affinity as detailed above becomes a central role of leadership.

An opportunity is lost if this is merely feedback. In keeping with the organisational culture of developing rapport, camaraderie, and affinity, this coaching needs to include self-reflection by all participants, and even beyond individual to group reflection.

Such reflection starts by examining how successful the process is, before examining how it can be improved. Avoid being seduced by a good result. Jim Collins, a decade and a half ago, taught us that good was the enemy of great. The focus is on how to be better, rather than how good we are.

Focus must be on continuous improvement.

Eventually that will mean going beyond the basic strategies outlined here. However, there must be a starting point.

Alan Cooper is a New Zealand educationalist with degrees from two New Zealand Universities: a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University and a Bachelor of Education form Massey University in Palmerston North and a D i p l o m a i n Te a c h i n g. U n u s u a l for a teacher, he has also been an Associate of the New Zealand Institute of Management. He has held senior l e a d e r s h i p p o s i t i o n s i n p r i m a r y, secondary, and tertiary schools and colleges. Several hundred educational articles have been written by him as well as chapters in several teacher textbooks including Costa and Kallick’s Habits of Mind Across the Curriculum.

He has also been a speaker at many overseas conferences including the biannual International Conferences on Thinking, and the annual Learning Styles Conference in New York.

TARA BARTON

Meaningful Service Learning

Preparing our students for life beyond school starts with an authentic task: one that is real and connects with the real world.

Why our schools need to act now

A

s a service learning consultant, I am regularly asked: What is meaningful service learning?

Service Learning becomes meaningful when we start by asking the simple question, “Why?” Why do service learning? Why care? Why do all schools need to act? As we move toward a more conceptual, connected, and personalised curriculum we must answer these important questions.

I believe ever y school should have a service learning program for students; connecting conceptual understandings of community needs to empower students to take action. It is also our charge to prepare our students with essential transdisciplinary and dispositional skills (21st century skills) for a rapidly changing future. A vision and mission of a school must be actualised through an effective service learning program, one that gives students opportunities for learning through: collaboration, communication, research, reflection, critical thinking, problem solving, and opportunities to demonstrate that they are indeed caring.

Preparing our students for life beyond school starts with an authentic task: one that is real and connects with the real world.

Providing students with opportunities to have choice is what makes it meaningful.

Students graduating and continuing to be actively involved with service in university and beyond is evidence that service learning is intrinsic. Students become intrinsically motivated by doing what they are passionate about, whilst meeting community needs at the same time.

Students need choice so they can follow their passion. Choosing service that meets an authentic need in their community requires schools to have an action plan aligned with service learning. This plan should have: ownership from the school and community, shared understanding of the community needs, student leadership/mentorship, professional learning, budget, resources, partners and collaboratives, opportunities for service activities with the community, portfolios, meaningful curriculum integration and assessment.

Ask yourself, “Does my school have a meaningful service learning program?”

If not, perhaps you need to help start just that!

Tara Merks Barton is the Director of Serve Learn Educational Consultants and is a Coordinator for AISAAssociation of International Schools and AISJ- American International School in Johannesburg. She is an educational leader with over 20 years experience internationally: Australia, Middle East, Philippines, and Africa.

She has a Masters in Ed Leadership Lehigh University (USA), and her Principals Training Certificate (PTC).

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SVITLANA BEZUHLOVA

DR. REBECCA ALBER

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GLENN DR. REBECCA CAPPELI ALBER

6 Opening and Closing Routines for New Teachers

Routines that will check for understanding, manage students and build classroom community

R

outines and consistency matter greatly and are necessary for creating a smooth learning environment in your classroom. Routines help with creating community, checking for understanding, and managing the classroom. I'm going to share three opening routines and three closing routines that you can start using in your next class.

Opening Routines

Quote of the Day

If students come in and know that they will be required to write, read, or share at the launch of the lesson, then they enter the room already anticipating that there is an immediate expectation. Teachers won’t hear the usual litanies of, “What are we doing today?” Rather, students are often calmer knowing a task is at hand. Experiment with each opening routine below: Share One Word, Quote of the Day and the Reading Minute.

Students love to share their opinions.

(Who doesn’t?) As an opening routine, I used Quote of the Day the first few years I taught high school, and it proved a great success. I would find a quote from a singer, actor, politician, or a famous historical figure and have it displayed on the board when students walked in. They would enter the room, sit down, and begin writing a response. Under the quote, I would include the same question prompts: What does it mean? How can you relate to it, or make a connection to the world?

Share One Word Ask students to share one word about how they are feeling that day. It can be in general, about a new project, or about something that is happening in their lives or in the world. This is whole-child stuff that tends to the emotional aspect of the student, bringing balance to the academic and intellectual focuses that typically drive the school day. It also builds emotional intelligence. When I was first doing this opening routine, students would say things like good, okay, tired, and bad, and then as they became more comfortable with each other and gained a larger range of emotion words, they began to share such words as pensive, anxious, serene and frustrated. For low-stakes in the beginning, have students share with a neighbor or in a triad, then build to a whip around the room where everyone shares his or her word aloud.

The Reading Minute This one comes from English language arts teacher guru Kelly Gallagher. Find a passage online or in a book -- an excerpt of a poem, essay, article, or story. Then read it aloud. The passage might be humorous, interesting, angering or beautiful, exhibiting great writing. After reading aloud, students open their notebooks and write a single-sentence summary to remember what they just heard, or they can write a thesis statement. After a month of modeling different types of passages and sharing aloud sentences, student then sign up to bring in a passage to read aloud for the Reading Minute. At the end of each semester, you can have students look back at their collection of single sentences and reflect on what was their favorite Reading Minute passage and why

Closing Routines Cleaning up and discussing homework is an important routine for the end of the day, but it's also important to give your students a chance to further process their learning, and even to set a goal. Closing routines allow your students to check their understanding, and they also give your students an opportunity to reflect. It's a great way to wrap up your lessons. Closing routines also honor your time together that day, as well as give your students an opportunity to use their voice. The following are three examples of “exit slips” that can be completed on a small piece of scratch paper or a sticky note at the close of class.

Rate the Learning or Lesson This exit slip can be accomplished in a matter of mere minutes. Ask students, on a one to 10 scale, to rate how well they understood the learning that day. If they rate their understanding low, ask them to write down what they may need such as more time, more explanation or a graphic organizer to help with writing the essay.

Students can also rate the lesson or teaching on a one to 10 scale; ask them to write a sentence or two giving feedback on the materials or activity that day.

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DR. REBECCA ALBER

Advice I like to give to new teachers: Go out and collect opening and closing routines from fellow teachers.

Collect the slips, and after your students leave, make piles of similar ratings. If you have a lot of eight, nine, and 10 ratings, the lesson went well. If you have lower numbers, then it might be time to probe for further information from the whole class the next day, and then review or even reteach.

Writing their names on exit slips was optional for me. You decide -- perhaps sometimes yes, and other times no. Students will be more honest if it’s anonymous.

Ye t w i t h g o a l s e t t i n g , t h e r e ’s m o r e accountability if you have names, and you can check in with individuals and offer specific supports and encouragement.

Closing Statement or Question

Collaborating With Colleagues

Ask students to first turn and talk in pairs or in a triad. What did you learn? What surprised you? What is unclear? What do you want to know more about? Then ask them to come up with a closing statement or question about the content and write it down. Collect the slip, and use these for talking points the next day, answering questions and commenting on statements they wrote.

Advice I like to give to new teachers: Go out and collect opening and closing routines from fellow teachers. The internet is not always the best place to seek curricular materials, your colleagues are! Talk with colleagues during meetings and then stop by their rooms to take a look at their resources and student products.

Teachers Matter

Grab a Goal

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Ask your students to think about a goal they would like to set. It can have to do with the unit of study, or it can be a personal goal outside of the classroom. Use sentence starters to prompt the writing for this one.

Tomorrow, in class I will be ready to ______.

Tonight, I will ____. By the end of the semester, I will ____. Have them share with a neighbor or in small groups, and ask for a few volunteers to share with the whole class.

Collect the slips and sticky notes. This is a wonderful way to get to know your students.

You can do one, too!

A mistake new teachers often make is thinking they have to create everything from scratch. I explain to them that there are those who have been at this a long time and have honed strategies, collected data and student samples, and then adjusted that activity or project to make it even better. Those teachers are there, right next door, ready to share their expertise and resources with you.

Dr. Rebecca Alber is an instructor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education where she teaches teachers. She is a literacy specialist, blogger and consulting editor at Edutopia. She is also a compulsive reader. She dips into the Pacific Ocean as often as she possibly can!

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ANNA KUTUKOVA

MEGAN GALLAGHER

Celebrating our Brilliant Brains

Encouraging Students to Embrace a Growth Mindset

I

n education, “We can no longer [afford to] ignore the neuroscience.” This was a statement of Dr. Judith Howard, shared with us at a course I attended. As a neuro-nerd I couldn't agree more with this sentiment. We need to embrace the learning that science can share with us and let it inform what we do in our classrooms. It is also important that we share this knowledge with our learners.

Teachers Matter

With this in mind we have started our teaching year with a focus on our brilliant brains and how we learn. And so far it's been fun. There is a wealth of great material online and we have used video, movement, art, discussion and writing to support our learning.

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One of the clips we started with was Ned the Neuron. We actually watched it three days in a row and it is on our class website for further revisits if individuals want to view it again. The first time we watched it I paused at various spots. The class loved being able to say neuroplasticity! We talked about what sorts of things help our brains get stronger, we talked about challenges. In subsequent viewings we focused on different aspects to explore further.

When we discussed the brain growing and challenges, we used the example of learning how to walk to help us understand better. I asked one of our classmates to demonstrate what happens when a baby first tries to walk. Our actor did a brilliant job of showing the baby falling over and then trying again and again. We talked about what happened when the baby first fell over and I asked the following rhetorical questions: Did the baby just stop there and think, "Oh well. I tried walking but it didn't work for me so I guess I won't be a walker?" Did the baby think,

"Walking is dumb, crawling is better and I like it better?” Did the baby just stop there and scream out, “It's just not fair! I can't walk. I can't do this?" The class laughed as we went through these scenarios and each time we were able to say that no one would ever learn to walk if we did this. We related this to our own challenges.

After this we discussed how when we learn something we make new connections and the more we try things the stronger the connections get. We talked about how learning something new or different can feel really hard at first but that is OK. I reminded them that is what challenge can feel like, just like the baby learning to walk. We stood up and started off being like a neuron sitting there and trying something new and slowly, with a bit of effort, stretched one arm out and then kept going stretching our fingers out too. Then we stretched our other arm and fingers. After that we stretched out one leg and then another. Slowly and with effort until we were standing like strong stars.

We talked about things that we find challenging and that different people find different things more challenging than others... again that is OK. We are all unique!

After this we noticed when we were challenged and our mantra in class became, ‘We try and try again!’ Sometimes we added, 'Just like the baby learning to walk.' The students notice when we make mistakes now and they know that making mistakes is part of learning: it helps our neurons stretch and grow.

5505292

MEGAN GALLAGHER

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MEGAN GALLAGHER

Room 5's Learning Chant: Welcome to Room 5, the place to stretch and grow.

Working together we STRETCH and learning flows Self belief, self belief - we know we can improve Talking to learn, talking to learn - and listening to learn too Resilience, resilience - we try and try again Excellence, excellence - aim high - we do our best Talented, talented - there's so much that we can do Care and respect - showing kindness to me and you Honesty, honesty - every single day Together we stretch and grow in so many ways!

We need to embrace the learning that science can share with us and let it inform what we do in our classrooms.

We have also been watching the Class Dojo Growth Mindset series. There are 5 clips in total. These clips further expand on the notion that through accepting challenges and persisting when we find something tricky we can improve our learning. We can strengthen our brain.

To support our learning about the brain we have made images and written short descriptions about one of our amazing neurons. Just like us our brains, which are made up of billions of neurons, all our images are unique and interesting.

Our descriptions are just as unique. Here are a few examples: My neuron’s name is Bob. He gets stronger when I learn. Bob likes to run. Bob needs food and water. Bob loves hugs. Bob is awesome.

My neuron is Geoff. My neuron gets stronger by making mistakes. My neuron likes apples. My neuron needs lots of love. My neuron loves sleep. My neuron is strong.

My neuron’s name is Joe. My neuron gets stronger when I give myself a challenge.

My neuron likes it when I give it food. My neuron needs water to live. My neuron loves it when I take it to cool places. My neuron is clever and friendly.

Our classroom is known as Room 5: The Place to Stretch and Grow. We have developed a learning chant (an idea I have taken from a Teachers Matter Conference) and are practicing it regularly. We are developing actions to support this: .It is exciting to hear the language the children are using. They are encouraging each other to persist. They are celebrating attempts. They are noticing when they have learned something new and they are sharing this knowledge with each other.

This has been a great start to celebrating our brilliant brains. How might you celebrate students’ brilliant brains this year?

Megan is a committed learner. She is a teacher and has been an educational leader who has specialised in health education for a number of years. She is an avid promoter of building resilience in our students and selves.

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IAKOV FILIMONOV

KAREN BOYES

Setting PRO Goals A Guide to Goal Setting

T

he research is very clear: Setting goals is good for you! Having a strong set of goals improves academic performance, increases your motivation to achieve, improves self confidence, and increases your personal pride and satisfaction of the finished product.

There are three main types of goals you might set at the beginning of a school year.

These include long term goals, mid term goals and short term goals.

ANDREI KRAUCHUK

Long term goals are focused on the end game, the big picture or something you want to do or be in the future, whether 2-3 years from now or 10-15 years away. They are important for a successful career and life. A long term goal requires planning and time. Breaking your long term goals into smaller mid and short term timeframes will help you achieve the long term goal that you ultimately desire.

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Naturally, mid term goals and short term goals are shorter, time spans and are more quickly attainable. Usually, a mid term goal spans over a two month to 3 year timeframe. Examples might include term or half year goals, while a short term goal is something you want to achieve today, this week or within the next 2 months. Often short term goals are small steps towards a mid or long term goal. Both mid term and short term goals should align with the long term goal and what you are hoping to achieve.

Once you have set your goals and know what you would like to achieve there are some key factors to ensuring your goal setting is successful.

Going PRO: P= Positive: Ensure you state your goals using positive words. What you focus on is what you get. Are you focused on what you want or the opposite? Steer clear of negative words such as ‘don’t.’ A fascinating fact about the brain is that it is unable to initially process the word don't. For example; don't think of yellow. Don’t think of a pink dog and don’t think of a purple tree. You are likely to have thought or imagined those things and then as a secondary consideration, thought, “Oh, I’m not supposed to think of that.”

Knowing this, frame your goals in terms of what you DO want to achieve. Instead of, “I don't want to fail my test,” say, “I will pass my test with ease.”

R = Realistic: Richard Branson and Bill Gates say if you want to change the world, set a goal that is unrealistic and then work towards making it happen. However if you are not aiming that big just yet, setting goals that are realistic is recommended.

This means being specific about what you want to do and choosing something that is attainable within the time frame you have set. If you cannot swim, being chosen for the swim team this summer is not likely to be realistic, however it could be if you work towards it in the long term. Having a benchmark of where you are at now will help with this. Take stock of your current skills and abilities and be honest with yourself. Now set a goal in a timeframe that you are willing to work for. Persistence, focus and hard work will be required so your goal must be worth the effort.

KAREN BOYES

O= Objectives: Break your bigger goals into small achievable steps. This helps engender the feeling of achievement, which in turn gives you small wins and increases your motivation to keep achieving. You may have many steps towards a goal. The clearer the pathway the easier it is to take each step towards completing your goals. Having a mentor or a coach might also be useful. It might be a parent, teacher or a friend who is willing to hold you accountable.

An important note is just because you have set your goals, it will not always be clear sailing. You are likely to face challenges along the way. When you do, here are some hints to keep you on track: 1. Recognise the need for and be willing to ask for help. If you feel like you are stuck and not sure how to move forward, ask for guidance. This may be from a trusted friend, teacher or parent. It could be by accessing an online video tutorial, a webinar, or reading an online article.

2. Once a month stop and reassess. Are you moving towards or away from your goals?

Always knowing where you are at will help you take the next steps and keep you on track.

3. Identify potential obstacles at the start and plan for a way to combat them.

Knowing what might stop you moving forward and planning to be able to adapt to these factors will make the challenging times easier to handle.

Having a strong set of goals improves academic performance, increases your motivation to achieve, improves self confidence, and increases your personal pride and satisfaction of the finished product.

4. Aim for progress not perfection. Perfection is unattainable as there is always more you can do to improve, so focus on the progress you are making.

5. Display your goals in a place you see them every day. These may be written or displayed in picture format as a vision board.

6. Build in mini rewards at each step. This will help hold you accountable as well as create a bigger sense of achievement and progress.

Have a super successful year with your PRO goals.

Karen is an expert in effective teaching and learning, study skills, motivation a n d p o s i t i v e t h i n k i n g. S h e wa s recognised with the NSANZ Educator of the Year award in 2014 and 2017, and works in schools throughout Australasia teaching students how to Study Smart and teachers how to raise achievement. www.karentuiboyes.com

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KATHRYN BERKETT

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KATHRYN BERKETT

A Sandpapered Brain

Learning to Reset Our Over-stressed Brain

H

ave you ever reflected on something you did, that you now think, “Why on earth did I react like that?”

Maybe you lost your temper with one of your students or perhaps it was something in your personal world. Whatever it was, later, when you have time to reflect and consider your behaviour, you realise you totally over-reacted. By the way, I am totally there with you on this. Knowing the neuroscience behind why this happens, doesn’t mean you are immune to regretful moments in your life, believe me!

However, when you think back over the day or week preceding that moment, sometimes you can’t find a clear reason for your behaviour. There isn’t one big thing that has sent you into a negative space. You think and think, but can’t come up with why you reacted that way.

I propose it was a case of the sandpapered brain. This is a concept I have been introducing to my talks around the country.

My job is to train and support hundreds of people around Aotearoa who are working with children, youth and adults who have experienced trauma. I have worked for over fifteen years around how we can best identify and intervene when trauma has been part of someone’s life. It is therefore quite astounding to me, that it was only about 12 months ago that I developed a training around the concept of self-carer and looking after yourself!

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KATHRYN BERKETT

Obviously, a half or full day training is going to allow more scope to explain the concept.

This article will just introduce the idea, and hopefully get you thinking about yourself, and how to reset yourself more purposefully, and maybe a bit earlier. This will help you avoid several of those moments where you react inappropriately. It will also increase your health, energy levels and will allow you to be more future thinking and innovative in your work.

Firstly, we need to unpack a little bit of information around the stress response, which is effectively the fight or flight response.

The stress response is all-important and aimed at continuing our survival on this planet. It is present from birth such as when a baby cries, kicks their legs or their little heart races. It is one of the main reasons we still exist as a human race. However, what we need to understand is that it was formed to activate for very short periods of time.

The stress response would be activated, we would escape the threat, and then we would calm back down again. Short, sharp bursts of activation of the system that would keep us alive in reaction to that specific threat. What happens now, in our modern environment, is that we can be surrounded by ‘threats’ for hours, days, months or even years. The stress response has not yet adapted to cope with activation for longer periods of time. This is a large part of why we now face so many adverse effects from stress, due to the over-activation of the stress response. It is important to keep in mind that short, tolerable levels of activation of the stress response are not bad for us. It is the long-term activation that is having the negative effect.

Another important factor to understand is that the brain and body react to every stressor as if it is going to kill us. We activate the fight or flight response when we see a dangerous lion approaching, which is obvious and useful. However, this exact same stress response is activated when we observe (or even just imagine) a threat such as an angry boss, an overdue project, an upcoming exam or a bill we are unsure we can pay. The brain does not categorise threats into those that can kill us and those that can’t. Any threat activates the response in our body aimed at keeping us alive! So that bill sitting on the kitchen table can activate our survival, fight/flight response the same way as if we felt an earthquake approaching.

When we activate the stress response, the body is mobilizing those systems that will keep us alive. Some of the observable changes may include eyes dilating (in order to allow us to better see the predator coming from our peripheral areas); dry mouth and nausea (associated with the body recruiting the energy from these systems into the more essential ‘survival’ response); energy transfer to the major muscles in legs and arms (to facilitate the fight or flight behaviour); heart racing; bowel & bladder release and temperature changes amongst many other alterations in the body.

In the brain, the very generalised summary of what is happening, is that the energy is being utilised by the lower parts of the brain, the survival areas. These survival areas identify and react to threats, and they control heart rate, breathing, etc. So as these lower areas require more energy, the higher areas lose the energy to operate. As a reminder: This is a simplified overview. It is essentially correct, but there is a lot more to it than just simple energy transfer.

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KATHRYN BERKETT The higher, cognitive areas of our brain are the areas that allow us to be logical, abstract, empathetic, etc. They are the areas that mean we can consider, decide and override any inappropriate impulses, such as the ones we talked about at the beginning of the article. As these lose energy, they are unable to operate effectively. A good example of this is when you are a bit nervous (activating the stress response) and you can’t remember some simple piece of information like someone’s name, or the item you came to buy in the supermarket!

Are you starting to get the picture? The more our body utilises energy for survival, the less energy we have available for the non-survival tasks. Both the brain and the body alter. However, the most important aspect for this article, is to understand how incredibly negative this affect can have on the cortical areas of the brain. Small activations of stress can limit our ability to hold a list in our heads, remember a fact from the past, predict toward the future, or it may simply mean we can’t remember where we left our keys yesterday!

So, what is this sandpapered brain? Those threats I was talking about, they can be tiny and almost unnoticeable. Each one, however, is like a sandpaper. Imagine touching the back of your hand. It wouldn’t hurt currently. But if you sandpapered the back of your hand, each touch, even of the same pressure, would hurt more and more, the more sandpapering you administered.

This is what we need to understand happens for us as humans living in a complicated, busy world. Each small activation of the stress response works like a sandpaper, increasing the reactivity in the brain to the next event. Kids running late for school, people cutting you off on the drive to work, too many emails in your inbox, no coffee in the staffroom. All of these can accumulate to mean you are in quite a high state of stress without you really noticing. So then, when that smaller event happens (like that pressure on your hand that would not have hurt initially), you now lose the plot because you have a sandpapered brain. That is why, when you think back over to the reason you reacted so crazily, you often can’t think of why. The reason is because there were lots of smaller activations, some you might not have even considered threats. But your brain did, and so it reacted, just slightly, but the culmination resulted in the behaviour you displayed.

The important thing about learning about the sandpapered brain, is to be aware of these small sandpapers. Be kind to yourself.

Help yourself reset by something that makes you feel relaxed such as a cup of tea, a quick walk, listening to some music, talking to a colleague. Resetting yourself after a few sandpapers could protect you from continuing down that negative spiral towards that inappropriate response you identified at the beginning of the article.

As I said, this is such a brief summary of this topic. But hopefully it will help you consider yourself a bit: be kind to yourself and identify sandpapers for what they are.

On the flip side, with your new knowledge, is to increase forgiveness and understanding of those around you too!

Each small activation of the stress response works like a sandpaper, increasing the reactivity in the brain to the next event.

Kathryn is an expert in using neuroscience and physiology to assist us to better regulate ourselves. She is committed to helping teachers and parents to work better with children, youth, colleagues and clients. Kathryn runs sessions around this subject, supporting teachers to understand different ways to assist children to get better at staying calm. www.KBKonsulting.co.nz

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BETTE BEN ORLIN BLANCE

When Memorisation Gets in the Way of Learning A Teacher’s Quest to Discourage Mindlessly Reciting Information

I

once caught an 11th-year student who snuck a cheat sheet into the final exam. At first, he tried to shuffle it under some spare paper.

When I cornered him, he shifted tactics. "It's my page of equations," he told me. "Aren't we allowed a formula sheet? The physics teacher lets us." Nice try, but no dice. The principal and I rejected his alibi and hung a fat zero on his final exam. That dropped his precalculus grade down from a B+ to a D+. It lingered like a purple bruise on his college applications.

Looking back, I have to ask myself: Why didn't I allow a formula sheet? Cheat sheets aim to substitute for memorisation, and I hate it when my students memorise things.

"What's the sine of π/2?" I asked my firstever trigonometry class.

"One!" they replied in unison. "We learned that last year."

So I skipped ahead, later to realize that they didn't really know what "sine" even meant.

They'd simply memorised that fact. To them, math wasn't a process of logical discovery and thoughtful exploration. It was a calland-response game. Trigonometry was just a collection of non-rhyming lyrics to the lamest sing-along ever.

Some things are worth memorising-addresses, PIN numbers, your parents' birthdays. The sine of π/2 is not among them. It's a fact that matters only insofar as it connects to other ideas. To learn it in isolation is like learning the sentence "Hamlet kills Claudius" without the faintest idea of who either gentleman is.

Memorisation is a frontage road: It runs parallel to the best parts of learning, never

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intersecting. It's a detour around all the action, a way of knowing without learning, of answering without understanding.

Memorisation has enjoyed a surge of d e f e n d e r s r e c e n t l y. T h e y a r g u e t h a t memorisation exercises the brain and even fuels deep insights.

They say our haste to purge old-school, skills-driven teaching from our schools has stranded a generation of students upriver without a paddle. They recommend new apps aiming to make drills fun instead of tedious. Most of all, they complain that rote learning has become taboo, rather than accepted as a healthy part of a balanced scholastic diet.

Certainly, knowledge matters. A head full of facts, even memorised facts, is better than an empty one. But facts enter our heads through many paths: some well-paved, some treacherous.

Which ones count as “memorisation?”

I define memorisation as ‘learning an isolated fact through deliberate effort.’ The process can unfold two basic ways.

BEN ORLIN

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BEN ORLIN

How to Rebuild an Attention Span First, there's raw rehearsal: reciting a fact over and over. When I had to memorise a speech for ninth-grade English, I huddled in the school librar y for 90 minutes, whispering the words to myself again and again, until they settled into my memory.

The process was slow, dull and stilted. I forgot the speech within weeks.

Raw rehearsal is the worst way to learn something. It eats up time and requires no real thinking. Of course, it's popular among students ranging from 15-year-olds to Harvard undergraduates. During a unit on memory, I once heard a psychology student recite, "Raw rehearsal is ineffective," before proceeding to practice her vocabulary using the same technique she'd just denounced.

Teachers Matter

Second, there are mnemonics and other artificial tricks including songs, acronyms, silly rhymes. In sixth grade, for reasons only heaven knows, I memorized 48 prepositions (about, above, across, after...) to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." I can still recite them.

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And second, there's building on alreadyknown facts. Similar to mnemonics, this technique relies on connections and associations. But here, the connections emerge naturally from the material. The fact is no longer an isolated thread, held in place by a clever trick. It's part of a tapestry.

Such tactics certainly work better than raw rehearsal. But they don't solve the underlying problem: They still bypass real conceptual learning. Memorising a list of prepositions isn't half as useful as knowing what role a preposition plays in language.

So what are the alternatives? How can students learn facts, rather than memorise them?

First, there's repeated use. Like raw rehearsal, it relies on repetition to chisel a fact into memory, but unlike that method, it comes naturally or without "deliberate effort.” In 10th-grade English, I wrote a paper on Robert Frost's apocalyptic poem titled, "Once by the Pacific." I read it dozens of times, dissecting every phrase. Months later, standing on a rocky, storm-swept beach, I found that I could recite the poem by heart. I never set out to memorise it. I just...did.

For example, let’s suppose we're learning that Maryland fought with the Union during the Civil War. We could invent a mnemonic, like "Maryland starts with 'marry,' and a marriage is a union.” Cheesy, but it works. Or we could build on other facts. For example, Maryland borders D.C., so if it had seceded, the American capital would have been surrounded by foreign territory. For exactly that reason, Lincoln worked hard to keep Maryland on the side of the North.

What separates memorisation from learning is a sense of meaning. When you memorise a fact, it's arbitrary, interchangeable: it makes no difference to you whether sine of π/2 is one, zero, or a million. But when you learn a fact, it's bound to others by a web of logic. It could be no other way.

Memorisation's defenders are right: It's a mistake to downplay factual knowledge, as if students could learn to reason critically without any information to reason about.

But memorisation's opponents are right, too.

Memorised knowledge isn't half as useful as knowledge that's actually understood.

More than any other battleground, this conflict plays out in tests. Not the controversial behemoths forged in our state bureaucracies. The little ones we teachers write and give, every day and week.

BEN ORLIN

If you wanted to design a system of testing that catered to rote short-term memory, you'd struggle to improve on the classic model: the high-stakes, time-pressured, single-unit, in-class exam. Students know exactly where and when their tests will be, so it's easy to cram. They know the test will be time-pressured, so even if students could deduce a formula mid-test, they're better off memorising in advance. Students know the teacher has too much to cover, so the test will address only the most recent unit, making it easier to memorise the relevant bits. And they know the teacher has too many tests to grade, so he'll be asking quick-to-correct factual and computational questions: exactly the type where memorisation most pays off.

For efficient students, it's pretty clear what to do: Memorise the necessary facts in the ten minutes before class, and forget them in the ten minutes after class.

Teachers can try to change the game, but only at a cost. Want to ease the time pressure, so students have a chance to reason logically? Then you'll need to cut questions. Want to pose richer, more complex problems? Get ready for a late night of grading. Want to encourage deeper, longer-lasting learning by including questions about older material? Good luck finding time to assess the new stuff.

Memorisation is a frontage road: It runs parallel to the best parts of learning, never intersecting.

This is where cheat sheets come in. It has become common practice to allow students a page of notes during tests. In theory, this frees them from the bog of memorisation, so they can soar bird-like among the abstract concepts and big ideas. But unless the test questions demand that high level of thought, which is still a challenge, for all the reasons mentioned above, you’re left with the worst of both worlds: a test that requires neither deep understanding nor basic factual knowledge.

With a cheat sheet, a question like, "Why did the Confederacy use Richmond as its capital for most of the Civil War?" becomes equivalent to "Did you remember to jot this down on your page of notes?" Getting students to dive into the real issue such as what makes for a good capital city, especially in light of the specific pressures facing the seceded states might require a longer, more open-ended, slower-to-grade question such as, "If Montgomery and Richmond had the same population and industrial capacity, which would have made a more desirable capital for the Confederacy, and why?"

Over-reliance on memorisation is like most problems in education: systemic.

One teacher can't topple the tyrant's statue alone. But she can begin to chip away at the base.

Ben Orlin has taught math in both the US and UK. He has written about math and education for Slate, The Atlantic andThe Los Angeles Times. His blog is titled Math with Bad Drawings.

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MAGGIE DENT

The Teen Mask in the Classroom

Understanding Why Teens Wear a Mask and What it is Really Covering Up

T

hose who live with or work with teens may be familiar with the notion of ‘masks.’ They can appear physically and metaphorically.

Physical masks can appear via body piercings, tattoos, heavy makeup, interesting hair styles and choices of clothing, and masks may also be an absence of these!

The metaphorical masks tend to turn up via behaviour in the choices that teens make around others, especially their peers and friends.

To u n d e r s t a n d t h e m a s k d u r i n g t h i s uncertain time of massive change, from 1218 particularly, we first need to appreciate the biological drivers that are at play.

Three of these are particularly important.

The first is the increasing need for autonomy and independence: making their own choices! The second is the search for identity: the ‘who am I’ search? The third really important one is the need to belong somewhere in the adolescent world.

Adolescents do a lot of work around trying on identities, especially in classrooms.

When they are feeling confused, dumb or not good enough, they often create a mask to cover their vulnerability.

When they feel inadequate, disliked and that they don’t belong, they need their mask to hide behind.

For example, my protection as a teen at school was to assume the academically superior mask. It meant I was always trying to make my grades give me a sense of worth and value because I believed I didn’t have any. I occasionally diminished and belittled people with my comments on others’ low achievements or failures on tests and assignments. I did the ‘eye rolling’ thing if I heard someone received a low mark, purely to make them feel ‘less than’ so I could feel better. When I grew into a mature adult on reflection I definitely came to regret this mean, insensitive behaviour.

Some other masks that adolescents may try on in our classrooms include: 1. The invisible mouse: The teen who doesn’t want anyone to notice him or her and seldom speaks in class, often with a long fringe over their face, ear phones or looking towards the ground.

2. Princess Nasty: She wears makeup, jewellery, trendy clothes and acts as the fashion police, also very good at ‘tsk tsking,’ eye rolling and is even worse online.

3. The jock: This is the sports freak who just loves wearing tracksuits and playing sports. They can be male or female. They can use sports as an excuse for not being studious!

4. The Smart Alec or Smart Alice: These students usually try to disarm teachers and big-note themselves to be seen.

5. T h e D r a m a Q u e e n : O h m y G o s h !

Everything is always a negative drama or a potential moment to perform so everyone notices ME! 6. The Clown: Always trying to make people laugh, although usually at someone’s expense, slightly less painful than the Smart Alec.

7. The Bully: Deliberately shoves their power around either physically, verbally or psychologically.

8. The People Pleaser: Always appealing to adults to make people like them.

9. The Victim: Everyone else is to blame and they have a ‘poor me’ mask.

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TOMACCOJC

MAGGIE DENT

We all wear masks to a degree. It helps us belong in a wider social circle because we don’t want others to see our ‘shadow’ or our worst character traits. Teens need them to help them survive in their chaotic worlds, especially in high school. Many will adjust their mask to fit in somewhere.

The more uncertain and threatened a student may feel, the stronger the need for the mask. The more respected and safer they feel, the less they feel the need to armour themselves, and the closer they will be to their authentic selves.

Sometimes an adolescent may want to drop their mask, but others find it difficult to accept the change. For example, a student may want to stop being a bully but their reputation makes it hard for others to trust them.

I have worked with adolescent boys who wanted to stop fighting and bullying younger students and it was difficult for them to drop their mask and so they went back to using the mask for which they were known. Their peers often find it hard to accept they have changed and they could end up becoming socially excluded or friendless: That is a scary place to be.

Under that mask is a unique, emerging individual yearning to be independent, accepted, respected and valued by other people.

When teens feel connected and safe in their homes and their schools they can take their mask off. Therefore, as educators and administrators we must be careful not to believe that teens are defined by the mask they wear in the classroom , just the same as they are not defined by the grades they get, or the clothes they wear.

Our students are so much more than that and it is our responsibility to guide them to grow in independence, while supporting them to discover who they really are in the busy world of their friends and peers.

Sometimes teachers and other significant adults find it hard to believe someone can change. This is partly because we form concepts and beliefs that influence the way we think and behave. These concepts become unconscious and it takes time or a powerful new experience to change them.

Sometimes, it’s easier to just keep playing the game if an identity appears fixed.

So while masks can be frustrating for parents and teachers, they are important in helping our teens to navigate the uncertain journey they are treading until they develop the full capacity of the executive functioning of their brain. Know that under that mask is a unique, emerging individual yearning to be independent, accepted, respected and valued by other people, especially their family and friends.

M a g g i e i s a n a u t h o r, p a re n t i n g educator and resilience specialist with a particular interest in the early years and adolescence. A former teacher and counsellor, Maggie is now an indemand speaker and writer. She is the author of nine books and a prolific creator of resources for parents, adolescents, teachers and early childhood educators. www.maggiedent.com

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ZAREEN BYRNE

Selective Mutism Suffering in Silence

I

’ll never forget that day driving my seven-year old daughter to school.

Watching her face contort with sadness, her eyes fill with tears, her voice pleading for my help with what seemed like her whole being. “Please help me mummy, I want to talk. My words get stuck. What should I do?

Can you make me talk?”

· Most kids suffering from SM exhibit at schools. Low level SM children speak only when necessary. High level SM children do not speak at all to certain people. Shy children may be worried about speaking out loud; SM children are terrified. It can come as a shock to those parents if their child speaks everywhere else!

It had been two months since we moved and she started a new school. She had not spoken a word there for exactly that same length of time.

· Contrary to popular belief, the majority of children affected by SM have not experienced morbid trauma.

At first, when the teacher told me that she wasn’t talking, I wasn’t overly concerned.

She’s always been shy. I assumed this was part of the adjustment period. Otherwise, she was thriving. At home, she talked nonstop!

We tried pushing her to talk in school. Being cross, we explained it was silly and rude.

We tried being gentle and encouraging. We tried telling her she was adjusting and that when she was ready, she would talk. We tried to explain to her how much more fun school could be. Nothing worked.

As time went on, we realised it was more.

None of us knew what to do.

I had so many questions. Should I take her to a doctor? Had the school experienced this before with another student? Is it an actual thing? Does she need a child psychologist?

How can I fix this?

I started researching. It became evident she had Selective Mutism, or “SM” for short.

Here’s a snippet of what I learned and how schools can help: · SM is a recognised anxiety disorder, that presents in certain situations. It prevents a child from being able to talk in that moment, even if they want to, due to a psychobiological response. Their sympathetic nervous system activates the fear reflex: the fight or flight response. If there’s no escape, they freeze. Their heart pounds, body stiffens, face is fixed and expressionless. Their throat tightens and for a moment they cannot move or speak.

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· SM affects less that 1% of children worldwide, mostly girls.

Selective Mutism prevents a child from being able to talk in that moment, even if they want to, due to a psychobiological response. · Over 90% of SM children suffer from anxiety.

A handful of behaviours are similar to autistic behaviours, such as intolerance for loud noise.

SM children do not just grow out of it. To consistently be expected to talk without appropriate support leads to an increase in fear around talking and a decrease in self-esteem, due to feelings of disappointment and disapproval.

They need explanation, guidance and reassurance. Unresolved SM can lead to horrendous anxiety, self-harm and depression.

Work with the parents to implement a plan. SM is so scary for parents. Feeling helpless is commonplace. They need to

know you are part of the team. There are many techniques that can be tried. For instance, our school is implementing the sliding-in technique. · Consistency is vital. Anxiety reduces when the child feels safe. If you can’t dedicate a teacher’s aide to a child for at least a year, ask the parents if they can step in to help. · Where applicable, include any thirdparty professionals assigned to the child.

My daughter attends an anxiety clinic.

Both the school and anxiety clinic are aware of the plans being implemented in both settings. · Trying to force a child to speak can be traumatising. I’ve heard from parents whose children were told to ask out loud to go to the toilet, only to have them wet themselves in front of the whole class. · The majority want to be involved in activities. They need to be able to be involved without the expectation to talk.

Many can whisper to a friend, signal or write instead. Exclusion equals isolation. · Regression is part of SM. If you get the right technique, children can overcome SM in a year, with monitoring to continue for the next two to three years.

The truth is, this condition is so rare even the majority of professionals are at a loss as how to adequately help. Parents have to do their own research, hope for understanding and third-party support. Accessible educational information and a holistic approach are key. For a more comprehensive guide and a plethora of suggested techniques, I highly recommend, “The Selective Mutism Resource Manual – Second Edition,” by Maggie Johnson & Alison Wintgens.

Zareen is a life coach, women’s mentor and author. She runs workshops and groups to help increase emotional awareness. An advocate for promoting awareness of SM, she is running seminars in 2018.

ZAREEN BYRNE

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MADELEINE TAYLOR

Needing a Time Management Boost?

Making Every Day a “Do” Date, Not a “Due” Date

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he problem with time management is not time: It is what we do with the time we have.

We all know what to do but sometimes we slip. In order to help ourselves, we need to take the following actions:

Step One – Create a Time Management Habit First you need to decide to change your habit.

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Teachers Matter

decide

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practice

NEW HABIT

Once you have decided that you are going to make managing your time a habit again, you are ready for step two.

Step Two – Take action 1. List what you have to do.

2. Use a time table/calendar or a productivity app.

Here are a few to consider – Although I have recently gone back to using an old fashioned diary as it does not need to be charged, doesn’t get infected with viruses, and does not require me to use the screen which gets me hooked into other activities while I am using it. · Evernote · Focus Booster · 30/30 · Remember the Milk · And.do · Listastic · Finish · 2Do · Epic Win

MADELEINE TAYLOR

6. Use tools to help you think through when you get stuck: · Task/time: Think of doing things in relation to the task and keep going until it is done, not the amount of time you want it to take. · Think smarter: Find quicker, more efficient ways to do the things you are doing: use mind mapping, pictures, talking to others as a way of helping you to think. Put away your phone and give yourself some true focus time. · Urgent/Important: Ensure you give time to the important things before they become urgent. A table such as the one below may help with this.

3. Be flexible and realistic: things change and you need to be able to reflect that in your day to day expectations. Notice when you are not concentrating and take a break. a. Breathing

urgent

not urgent

Important

b. Dancing c. Singing d. Exercise e. Return to work/task Schedule times for fun, relaxation and laughter, as well as time to be with friends and family.

4. Allow time for planning: Take five mins right now and think about what is the best time for you to plan your year, month, week, day: include this planning time in your calendar.

5. Notice when you are putting things off: What gets in the way? · Listen to “Ted Talk” by Adam Alter about the amount of time we are giving over to screen time. · Lack of sleep: The light from devices suppresses the production of melatonin (the sleep hormone) by sending a message to the brain, via the retina, that it’s not night time.

The problem with time management is not time: It is what we do with the time we have.

not Important · Chunk: Separate out the pieces of work into smaller pieces and plan for when you will accomplish each one. Step by step you will complete the big task. · Reward: Ensure you give yourself some reward time for accomplishing the tasks. · Create a Leading Task: When a hard task is coming up, do something small that is easy to do and that will help you step into the harder task. For example, write in your calendar that you are going to ring someone. That way when it comes up in your diary you can take action. · Start by Saying Only Five Minutes: To help you get over procrastination, begin for just five minutes. Often this leads to us getting more of the task done and our emotional hurdle out of the way. · Make Decisions: Make daily decisions about every piece of paper, task, email that comes your way. Do not read and ignore: Instead, read and decide what the next action will be. · Listen to yourself if you don’t want to do something. That part of yourself needs to be addressed or you will end up sabotaging yourself.

· Take Care of Yourself: Ask yourself, What do you need to help you to keep going? What is getting in your way?

Notice the feelings you are having and bring them to your attention. Then ask yourself, Do I need to pay more attention to this or less attention? Trust yourself to know.

Of all the ideas and the ones you have had on the way though reading this article, What are you going to take action on now?

Nothing will change until you “do.”

Madeleine Taylor is a parent of three grown sons and works as a People Skills Consultant. Madeleine is an accomplished workshop facilitator and long-time trainer of negotiation, influencing skills and managing difficult conversations. Madeleine is a parent educator exploring how to grow resilient children in this complex world.

More information can be found at www.peopleskillsconsulting.co.nz

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LAUREL MAKOWEM

Mothers Teaching Money

Financial Capability, From a Mother’s Perspective

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s a mum, it is my job to teach my son the life skills he needs to be a happy, competent adult including, but not limited to, his IQ, EQ, SQ and FQ, or his financial quotient which is essentially his financial capability.

According to the Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC), financial capability ‘conveys the fact that sound management of one’s personal finances is not just about what you know, but about attitudes, confidence, motivation and behaviour.’

Most of us learn our money management skills from our parents or other significant adults and it will be no different for our children. It is the one skill used by everybody regardless of their career path.

I want to teach my son the following five important lessons:

It is never too late to learn a new skill or to teach our children about money. If our children see us being financially capable every day, chances are they will learn excellent money habits from us.

1. How to earn money and make it grow.

2. Money management skills including budgeting.

3. A w o r k i n g k n o w l e d g e o f f i n a n c i a l concepts such as time value of money and compound interest.

4. The difference between good and bad debt.

5. Giving and how it helps us and those we are giving to.

Teachers Matter

The reality is that our children will do what they see us doing. If I preach saving but my son only sees me spending, chances are he will have a similar spending/ saving pattern.

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As a child, I did not receive a formal financial education, so as an adult, I often felt overwhelmed, inadequate and powerless around money. I wished someone else could do it for me.

I made a conscious decision to change that.

I forced myself to get financially literate, change my behaviour and start those allimportant casual financial conversations at home. My ongoing quest encompasses not only financial theory, but also explores the emotional reasons behind my long-held money habits, and challenges my beliefs and scarcity mindset.

This has enabled me to pass financial knowledge onto my son. The following ten financial basics are practiced and discussed in our family as a normal part of growing up: 1. Save first, give second and spend last.

2. S t i c k t o a b u d g e t t h a t s u i t s y o u r personality.

3. Create an emergency fund that takes care of life’s curveballs, creating control and peace of mind.

4. Plan early for retirement as time is your secret weapon.

5. Automate your savings and expenses.

6. Understand cashflow and the difference between assets and liabilities.

7. Know the difference between earned and passive income.

8. Utilise KiwiSaver.

9. Understand fees and the drag they can have on investment performance.

10.Be smart about why and when insurance is necessary.

According to my son, a financial education was boring and uncool. My teaching, therefore, had to be relevant, fun, in bitesize attention-grabbing chunks and social media had to play a role. Our home-made videos for children and YouTube became our classroom. Each video introduces a financial concept or skill. Here are some of the lessons: · Learning to play soccer is no different to learning about money. They are “Both Skills and Take Time, Hard Work and Patience.” There is no quick-fix. · A visit from Einstein introduces the concept of “Compound Interest” as the most powerful force in the world. · A drive in the car initiates discussions around “Assets and Liabilities.” · Dollar Dan borrows money to pay for a luxury item, an extra-large ice-cream.

The ice-cream falls on the floor and gets eaten by his dog. He learns how easy it is to get into “Debt." · Dollar Dan is shocked when he calculates how much mum spends on coffee in a year. He learns how quickly the “Small Expenses Add Up.” Financial field trips are another great way to initiate those all-important money conversations and can be done as a school outing or with your own children.

Here are a couple of practical ideas:

LAUREL MAKOWEM

· When you are at a fast-food outlet, initiate discussions through questions such as “Who owns the building? Who owns the land under the building? What is a franchise? What is the difference between earned and passive income?” · Go on a bus ride and look at domestic and commercial properties. Talk about mortgages, interest rates and debt. Ask questions like, “Do you think the person who lives in this big house is rich? Do they have lots of money or lots of debt? What is debt?”

In the ideal world, both home and school would be raising financially competent, debt-free adults. However, in the real world it seems we are not quite there.

It is never too late to learn a new skill or to teach our children about money. If our children see us being financially capable every day, chances are they will learn excellent money habits from us. My aim is to act as a trigger for mums to think about and make changes to their own money habits, which in turn, will benefit not only themselves, but their children as well.

Laurel is a mum and small business owner, passionate about giving her son a financial education at home. Her business, Mothers Teaching Money, stems from this passion and is about helping mums feel confident in their own ability to teach their children about finances. For more information, visit: mothersteachingmoney.com

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KATE SOUTHCOMBE

Saying No: When is it OK?

Should We be Teaching Children How to Appropriately Tell Adults No?

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s parents and teachers struggle with many behavioural concerns today, a common theme is noncompliance: either aggressive displays of behaviour following a request; or verbal refusals followed by leaving the room or something similar when the child is asked to do something. Behavioural strategies that can help include: looking at how we can increase compliance by increasing levels of reinforcement, reducing response demand and gradually increasing it, maximizing motivation and altering antecedents, or removing demands for a short time while pairing teachers or parents with desired activities and items to promote compliance.

However, recently I had a wild and radical thought that popped into my head: it occurred to me that maybe saying no is okay now and again!

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Saying no has been spotlighted in the highly effective work carried out by Dr Greg Hanley in the USA, who is an internationally acknowledged Applied Behaviour Analyst working mainly with children with autism.

Dr Hanley recently visited New Zealand and I was fortunate enough to hear him speak about his research project. His work fascinated me because it was so applicable to many daily encounters in schools and homes for typically developing children. As part of the intervention, a child is taught functional communication skills. This intervention might begin with making a demand, teaching the child to say no by modelling it, then removing the demand and allowing them to continue with their preferred activity. Gradually the level of response is increased. For example, the child can say, ‘No thank you,’ and the teacher responds by saying, ‘Okay, you can continue but first you have to do xyz.’

Then, reinforcement is provided. What is important to remember in this case is that many of these children who are displaying aggressive and violent behaviours have limited, if any, functional verbal skills.

What can we take from this research?

Perhaps explicit teaching on how to scaffold children to communicate their needs under

specific conditions could help children with aggressive responses to demands. By providing reinforcement upon use of an appropriate verbal response rather than aggressive or noncompliant behaviour, we could begin to teach tolerance for delays to this reinforcement and increase compliance.

We have to start somewhere, and that might need to be where the child is at right now rather than where we want to start! I am constantly encouraging families and teachers to aim for a consensus about trying new ideas: you don’t have to agree or even compromise your beliefs. We just need to try something new to get a different result.

We know that control and the feeling associated with having a sense of control over your environment is essential for wellbeing. This directly relates to the ability to be able to say both yes and no and to know that the choice is available at least some of the time! I grew up a ‘people pleaser’ as a result of always saying yes to others: yes, I want to go to your party, or yes, I want to be with you even though you are not good for me, or yes, I’ll go out just because I don’t want to be alone or because I can’t bear the thought of what others will say or think of me. This certainly impacted on my

PRZEMYSLAW KLOS

KATE SOUTHCOMBE

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KATE SOUTHCOMBE

You don’t have to agree or even compromise your beliefs. We just need to try something new to get a different result. wellbeing for many years until I recognised the pattern and the effects it was having on my behaviour. Maybe saying no gives us bad press because it is associated with being selfish and only thinking of ourselves… but aren’t we also taught in airline safety to look after ourselves before we look after others? Why are we taught this only in survival situations? Maybe saying no is part of surviving life in general? I have noticed that many of the top motivational speakers and even some therapists are encouraging people to say no and not give excuses. Tim Ferris suggests radical ideas such as making suggestions about where and when to meet rather than leaving it up to the other person all the time! Why is it a radical idea to make an arrangement that suits us? I know that many of us are berating the selfish society and the ‘what’s in it for me attitude,’ however I firmly believe this is a direct result of people not being comfortable saying no politely. Just like the non-compliant child who knows that in order to get what they want they have to take radical action!

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I wonder if saying no and hearing the word no are linked in any way. Do we resist teaching the word no as we don’t like hearing it said to us? Appreciating the need to feel comfortable enough to say no and hear the word no said to me as well, was a real breakthrough moment for me in providing choices for my classes and accepting that sometimes they didn’t want to do an activity I had prepared.

Maybe we could contrive a situation to keep students engaged, reduce access to other reinforcement or even shorten our sessions so we leave them wanting more, but why not instead say, “OK, fine with me.

Let’s finish or do something else?” Why do I have to be in control of the session length and why can’t students decide when they wish to leave? Is this a wrong thing?

Asking these questions got me thinking about the wide implications of teaching children how to say NO and when it is acceptable for them to do this. The only time I have heard of direct teaching of using the word ‘no’ is in relation to staying safe from potential abuse where children are taught it’s OK to say no if someone wants to touch them inappropriately.

What if we taught them to say no appropriately in other areas of their life, too?

Perhaps we should consider teaching children how to say no appropriately!

Here are my suggestions, or you can simply say NO thank you! · Ask children to do various simple actions you know they will comply with and then throw in one task you know for certain they don’t want to do. When they say no, listen and say, “Ok. That’s fine,” and then move on. · Have group discussions about when it’s OK to say no. · Role play saying no in different situations such as peer games, invitations, adult requests and get the children to come up with ideas. · Balance the above with discussions about when you want to say no, but you know it will be good for you or in the best interests of someone else. Empathy teaching, morals and personal development are key: examples might include visiting your lonely grandma, giving away old toys, exercising or studying for an exam. · Define the word no: what does it mean to your children? · In contrast, what does saying yes mean?

This challenge will stretch your class, enrich your teaching and add to the wealth of opportunities for discussion and debate around when it is OK to say NO. I almost guarantee it!

Kate provides individually tailored professional development for Early Childhood Centres and schools on evidence-based behaviour management.

She also consults for parents of children with specific behaviour concerns. kate@eprtraining.co.nz

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FILIPP EFANOV

AMIRA HAFDA

Seeing Straight

Recognising Breakdowns in Visual Skills

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s clinicians, we are seeing an increasing number of patients presenting with visual skill problems, such as: teaming dysfunctions, focusing issues and tracking difficulties.

There is a clear and reproducible finding in the research that shows there is a significant link between learning difficulties and visual concerns

Understanding vision Vision is an umbrella term that stretches from simple sight to deeper visualisation skills. It incorporates the visual skills students use on a daily basis to look, track, focus and interpret work in the classroom. It also involves the deeper visual perception skills that form the comprehension process of learning.

What are visual skills: Visual skills describe: · The ability to change focus when shifting attention from near to far (such as copying from the board at school) · The ability to keep things clear at various distances, to track or move our eyes as we follow a moving target or read across the printed page

Did you know?

· Teaming, or using both eyes together (binocularity) (keeping both eyes on target when reading)

25% of students are affected by visual concerns.

· The ability to judge depth and distance (playing sport)

6 out of 10 students who are considered poor learners have an underlying visual concern.

Visual perception is:

· Visual-motor integration (the ability to guide our pencil or catch a ball)

What are visual perception skills: · Good visual-spatial skills (coordination, laterality and directionality, crossing the midline) · Perceptual skills, the brain’s interpretation of the images taken in by our eyes, such as figure ground, visual closure and form constancy · The ability to remember what we see (visual memory) · The ability to create mental images – learning how to ‘see’ visual concepts (visualise) from the words we read or hear.

What do breakdowns in these skills look like?

If a student has difficulty learning to read and write it is likely they didn’t develop the prerequisites necessary to learn efficiently. This often occurs in children below the age of 8 years.

When there is a breakdown in a child’s ability to read to learn, it is probable that there has been a breakdown of an existing visual skill, such as focus, eye teaming and eye tracking.

These problems can occur in isolation or can co-occur and impact on learning development and progression.

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AMIRA HAFDA

Things to look for in the classroom Visual skill breakdowns can cause: · Frontal headaches · Blur when looking from distance to near · Double vision when reading or looking from distance to near · Sensitivity to lights · Watery uncomfortable eyes · Red/Dry Eyes Visual Perception breakdowns can cause children to: · Lose their place frequently · Have messy handwriting/book work · Frequently reverse letters and numbers · Perform well in verbal tasks but struggle in written tasks · Frequently mistake words with similar beginnings.

These checklists can often help identify struggling students and assist teachers in encouraging parents to have their children assessed with an Optometrist or Orthoptist.

What can be done in the classroom 1. Where possible, have all students facing the board directly. Otherwise, try to rotate the students who sit at an angle to the board on a regular basis.

2. Observe students while reading and writing, make sure they maintain 30cm between their eyes and the paper. This is known as Harmon Distance.

3. Improve the contrast of written text. Some children are very glare sensitive and struggle when smart boards are used. Try to alter lighting in the class for best contrast. Additionally, black or blue markers are best on white boards to improve contrast.

4. In our current technological age, tablets and computers are readily used in the classroom.

It’s important when using these devices that brightness is adjusted to halfway, class lights remain on, and the Harmon distance is maintained. Additionally, limiting use of devices to 20 minutes helps with preventing over focus.

Amira is the co-owner and main Orthoptist at “See Straight” – a vision therapy based business in Sydney. Amira devotes her time to conducting Orthoptic assessments, diagnosing and treating problems with visual skills, visual perception and lazy eyes through personalised Orthoptic Vision Therapy sessions.

For more information about the different assessments and therapy programs visit www.seestraight.com.au or email info@seestraight.com.au

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MICHELLE KORENFELD

Going Full STEAM

Anchoring Creativity Within an Ocean of Change

H

ow can we anchor ourselves to the withered floor of the classroom with reforms blowing the wind and demands for scores waving constantly, a ll w h i l e p a re n t s , t h e p rinc ipal, the superintendent and our most demanding clients, the students, swamp our course?

Ironically, the solution to this is to embrace creativity, since it praises change, even invites it.

Creative people navigate their behaviour drawn to opposite shores. On the one hand they like their stability, on the other they seek novelty. One minute they examine a new idea subjectively, the other they step back to observe it objectively. Their adult conduct serves for balance when they ride the sparkling waves of childlike behaviour.

tan4ikk

You’d think that clinging to old habits provides stability. But it is creativity that stimulates us to exhibit superb living and teaching.

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MICHELLE KORENFELD

They are like children, aren’t they? And it makes life more interesting. You’d think that clinging to old habits provides stability. But it is creativity that stimulates us to exhibit superb living and teaching.

Add A for Arts turning STEM into STEAM. This means infusing the creative thinking p r o c e s s e s i n t o S c i e n c e , Te c h n o l o g y, Engineering and Math. In short, it’s practicing the 5 E’s. Explore: discovering the world.

Experience: playing with the information we drew in. Examine: checking the ideas we drew on. Elevate: taking those ideas to the next level. Express: conversing, presenting, writing and sharing. Drop your anchor at the creative sea to serve as a lighthouse for your family, friends and students, inspiring them to be more and do more.

Use the 5 E’s: 1) Explore: Creativity manifests itself in a new idea, thought, or lesson plan, but it needs nourishment. Seek to enrich yourself, becoming a life-long learner.

Knowledge nowadays is dynamic, and that is the beauty of things. Students may exhibit knowledge we don’t possess. At those times they need our reassurance based on our life-long experience. Send them back to exploring what they came up with, to tell you more about it. When you do that, you’ll be amazed to see how thirsty they have been for your guidance and confidence in them. Raise world explorers from the coziness of their web device. And raise yourself as their mental captain.

Explore your motives by reflecting on what’s driving you to educate bright young minds into the 21st centur y world. When that is clear, connecting with students to facilitate the delivery of meaningful learning in all subjects will be easier.

This article’s art coalesces with scientific facts to ignite connecting the mind and the heart. That is to inspire towards STEAM teaching, which leads us to the next step.

2) Experience: Try to use art to activate thinking while learning science. Find a painting, or poem to make students curious about the material.

STEM subjects have been the core of our curriculum for long. Yet there is dissatisfaction with students’ scores. What do we do?

Richard Feynman was a Nobel prize Laurette due to his breakthroughs in physics, yet he was also a talented painter.

A man of polarity, he displayed humor, curiosity and playfulness as his anchor.

He said: “…the physics teacher has the problem of always teaching techniques, rather than the spirit, of how to go about solving physical problems.”

3) E x a m i n e : C h e c k t h e l e s s o n s p l a n s you have been using. Try beginning a lesson presenting the information to be explored, then consider the different learning processes. Write down the following creativity skills on cards beforehand, and read them one at a time to drive experiential interaction.

Enjoying Challenges: Invite students to envision what educational product they are going to making based on what they just learned.

Emotional Intelligence: How do we feel about the product in mind? Or about the learning material?

Diversify: Jot down ideas on how to develop the product.

Tolerating Ambiguity: Help students make friends with the discomfort of not having ideas. Direct them to use the phrase: “I’m thinking." We’re in the process.

Open-Mindedness: Having accepted ambiguity, we’re back to open-minded thinking.

Curiosity: What would make our peers curious about our educational products?

Look At it Another Way: Is there another perspective we are missing?

Identifying the Essence: Sort the ideas according to relevance and applicability.

4) E l e v a t e : T h e s t u d e n t s h a v e a r a w educational product. Invite them to refine it.

And for yourself? Breath in the joy of elevated professionalism. You made learning relevant and meaningful.

5) E x p r e s s : I n v i t e s t u d e n t s t o p r e s e n t their products in class. Express your fascination.

Final Tips: 1) Be prepared that when we present the next card, the students gape at us for a moment. Then they dive back into the process.

2) The more we put effort into conversing whole heartedly with the students, the more they will give us feedback, feeding our drive to do our best work.

3) You don’t have to be a science teacher or an art teacher to teach STEAM. Interdisciplinary methods are beautiful.

No one expects you to master a subject.

Just prepare for a lesson, understanding the concept of the scientific matter you’re going to introduce. Then find a way to incorporate the arts within the content.

4) It may seem like you’re not the center of the lesson, but you are its pillar of stability as facilitator, and that is even more powerful.

5) Remember that thinking goes together with movement and sound. Tolerate the mess. It means you are on top of things, delivering 21st century teaching.

Michelle Korenfeld provides teachers with class materials for interdisciplinary teaching and creativity facilitation. Her new Raising Creative Thinkers Guidebook helps with the challenges of educating in the 21st century. Learn more about how to establish creative learning environments on her blog: Raising Creative Thinkers.

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ROBYN HARWOOD

Can Happy Teachers Really Change the World?

Making a Genuine Impact on the Next Generation

S

itting at my desk today I noticed three books sweetly stacked on top of each other with the spine out so I can clearly read the titles staring back at me. The book on the bottom is Thich Nhat Hanh’s newest, Happy Teachers Change the World wherein he states, “Our mission as teachers is not to transmit knowledge, but to form human beings, to construct a worthy, beautiful human race, in order to take care of this precious planet” (2017). Resting on top of it is The Book of Joy, Douglas Abrams’ beautifully crafted account of a week-long visit between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu whereby these two moral leaders who transcend any confines of their own religions to connect with each other over the desire to relieve suffering in all people. And last but not least, the course book for an eight week Action for Happiness course, Exploring What Matters.

This enlightening course successfully unveils the myth that happiness is a vague and abstract concept that cannot be understood, much less taught or attained.

For the record, I didn’t stack these books here on purpose to impress my visitors or make for an interesting talking point. They are there because my experience of working in schools as well as watching educational initiatives and trends rise and fall, has led me to seek some tangible wisdom in their content. My husband and I are on our fourteenth year in education. Over the years we’ve asked ourselves at different points along the way: How can I do the most good? How can little old me make a genuine impact on our next generation? The answers have been slightly different each time, leading us to where we are today, converging into a similar topic in these last few years. I believe that educators are asking themselves these questions all the time, whether they realize it or not. This is why we all got into education in the first place, to make an impact and make the world just a little bit better, one child at a time. The big question is how?

During our course, our ragtag group of educators from diverse cultural backgrounds, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds

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We know that we all desire to feel valued, listened to and connected to each other.

This is what our students crave as well. grappled with questions such as, “What actually makes us happy?” and "How can we maintain healthy relationships?” Each week, it was astounding how much we agreed upon; we all want to feel valued, listened to, and connected to each other. It made me realize that on the big questions in life, we all agree. It’s the minutia of the day to day that gets in our way of understanding the truth about each other. We ended our course with the big question of, “How can we create a happier world?” Silence fell among the group as this question was posed.

Well, don’t the same rules apply? We know that we all desire to feel valued, listened to and connected to each other. This is what our students crave as well: they long to be seen, heard and felt. I’ve tried to think of

another profession besides teaching that demands such a profound and sustained level of presence and connection with other humans for such a prolonged period of time.

I can’t think of one. If this is what people, including our students, are hungry for, then this is what they will demand from the adults in their life. However, as Thich Nhat Hanh wisely states, “We [teachers] may not have enough patience, understanding, freshness, or compassion” to live up to the demands of our students and our colleagues.

I would say I agree with him, if we are expected to do it alone. But as a collective group, with a common understanding and common values, I say we have a fighting chance.

ROBYN HARWOOD

So what does this have to do with teachers being happy? I think the word happy has unfairly turned into a bit of a cliche, a word that implies the opposite of the things that we’ve come to value as a society: busyness, rigor, success. As in, if you are happy, then you must be naively missing out on something more important. I reject that notion. I believe that the newest definition of the word happy will involve having a sense of self-worth as you connect and add value to your community, and in turn, the world. Research has proven that this quality connection with others is the biggest indicator of human happiness. It’s only that some of us have been shamed into thinking we won’t be taken seriously if we acknowledge this truth as our primary goal for life satisfaction. If we take our eye off the prize of striving for more and being better than others, then we’ll be left behind in the race for success.

As teachers, we are teaching students what they should value as we model for them what is valuable to us. They are watching to see how we connect with others, how we handle our strong emotions and deal with life’s challenges. Thich Nhat Hanh says, “I believe that happy teachers will change the world. If a teacher has a lot of happiness and a lot of love in her, she can surely make her students happy”.

It used to be that this concept of happiness was elusive and intangible. But there is a growing brand of science that is proving that notion wrong. One research study at a time, we are proving that happiness is not as random and subjective as we once thought, bestowed upon only the privileged and the lucky. Happiness can be broken down into key concepts, each one backed by multiple research studies. Sonja Lyubrominsky states, “People who are happier are more likely to make a positive contribution to society.”

In my rational mind, I now see no excuse for us to continue with the delusion that happiness is not something worthy of our attention as teachers. In fact it seems grossly irresponsible to have this knowledge on hand and not be modelling and teaching it explicitly to our next generation, does it not?

His immediate suggestion was that all the “mean kids” could be sent to a special boarding school for kids who like to be mean to others. Now, in his seven year old concrete operational brain, this was a perfectly logical and reasonable solution. However, his willingness to cast off all the “mean kids” to a distant land, never to be bothered with again, did alarm me and inspire me to look more deeply at the messages we are sending to our children regarding how we deal with mean behaviour. A wise colleague of mine reminded me of the saying, “hurt people hurt others” which I believe can also be stated as, “unhappy people make others unhappy.” So at the dinner table last night, I proposed to my six and nine year old son and daughter this question, “What if we approached someone who is being really mean as someone who is really suffering and needs our attention and care?” In other words, unhappy people are lacking connection and a sense of value and should be treated as such.

As teachers, we have the power to set the moral standard for how we approach problems such as these. If we value happiness, an authentic connection with others and the sense of being of value to our community and world, then doesn’t it make sense for us to model this value for our students? I pose the radical idea that teacher happiness be put first, above everything else. And it is far from easy. For instance, sometimes we’ll need to learn to forgo our desire to be the one who is “right” or “best" in order to be the one who is vulnerable and willing to be changed and made more whole by those around us. We’ll most definitely need to intentionally take care of and invest in our own needs for authentic connection as an individual and as a teaching community if we have any chance at instilling it in our students. And maybe, just maybe we can guide our students into truly believing that the other student who is being mean can be helped by being embraced by his community and made a bit happier by connecting with others in a positive way rather than a forceful or aggressive one. In this case, yes, I believe happy teachers can most definitely change the world.

Robyn Harwood lives and works in Accra, Ghana with her husband and two children.

She combines her fervent interest of mindfulness and positive psychology to create meaningful classroom and school engagements that foster a healthy, safe and inclusive environment for students and teachers. Robyn is a Clinical School Social Worker, certified Yoga teacher, and International School Counselor who tries her best to contribute to a happier world. For more information, visit actionforhappiness.org .

I was recently speaking to a year two student, who had been complaining about other kids being mean, about what could happen to make him feel happier and safer at school.

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A Story Study

BARBARA GRIFFITH & TRICIA KENYON

Zeb’s Search Author: Jill Batty Illustrator: Gordon Miller Publisher: Paper Airplane Publishing

– self published.

978-0-473-38925-3 ISBN: Zeb has a problem. Although he has plenty of friends in his zebra herd, which lives beside a tree-lined river in the African plains, he feels like something is missing. Eventually, he realizes what it is; he shares the same name as all the other boy zebras in the herd.

This prompts Zeb to begin searching for a name to call his own.

He talks to other animals who, unlike him, all have individual names, which conform to a different pattern for each animal group.

This delightfully illustrated book has a storyline that offers the opportunity to delve into deeper issues.

This book suits 5-10-year olds, but with the underlaying theme of individuality, it could be used to promote discussion at a higher level.

This book suits 5-10-year olds, but with the underlaying theme of individuality, it could be used to promote discussion at a higher level.

1. Animal's Names Complete the table.

Animal

Name pattern

Examples

Zebras

Males called Zeb, females called Zed

Zeb, Zed

All names start with "J"

Julie, Joanne, Jethro

Antelopes Giraffes Lions Elephants Snakes Monkeys

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S, V, P,

BARBARA GRIFFITH & TRICIA KENYON

2. The Animals Complete the table.

Animal

Looks like

Zebras

Black and white stripes, live in herds

Group name herd

Brownwith two horns, can leap high

Antelopes

Would Zeb be scared of this animal? Why?

No, similar size to him and would run away

Giraffes Lions

pride

Elephants Snakes Monkeys

3. I Am Unique

4. Our names

Complete the Venn Diagram.

Answer each question.

In what ways are you and your friend the same and different?

A The names of the animals in the book conformed to different patterns.

Can you find other names that fit into these specific patterns?

B Can you identify a pattern for your name? Can you think of some other examples that fit your pattern?

EG Sam Sam-Sally, Sam-Pam, Sam-Tom C Who chose your name? Is it a family or whanau name?

D What does your first name mean? Where does your name come from?

E Why do we have more than one name? Why do we have names?

ME blonde tall soccer

BOTH OF US school clothes 2 brothers

JOHN black heir plump rugby

Websites with information: hhtps://www.behindthename.com ww.heraldtimesonline.com/2010/06/05

5 How names are used? Do some research.

A Why are names used in identifying weather patterns? How do they choose names for tornados?

B Why are boats given names?

C What are the top 50 male or female names used in New Zealand?

6 A thought‌

Why is it important to have an individual name?

Does a name determine the character of a person?

7 Write a sequel

to this story using these characters and this setting. What would you title this book?

8 Write to the author and/or illustrator to ask a question, offer an

BARBARA has been a primary school teacher for 36 years. She has specialised in the teaching of literacy for more than 20 years and recently retired a position as a Resource Teacher: Literacy, which she held for the last 16 years.

TRICIA has been involved in the field of literacy for 17 years, firstly as a Resource Teacher: Reading, then as a Resource Teacher: Literacy. She is passionate about books and reading and feels privileged to be in a position where she can share that passion with students, their parents, and fellow teachers.

opinion or make constructive criticism.

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ROBYN PEARCE

10 Tips for Higher Quality of Life Making a Plan to Achieve Work Life Balance

D

oes it ever seem that every waking minute is being consumed by work?

How do we balance a growing list of home, personal and work commitments? Is it even possible?

1. A small amount of planning will help you avoid burnout and over-commitment.

Quality of life isn’t about how much you can fit into your already busy life, but how well you enjoy it.

A couple of weeks ago I discussed this topic on a panel at the Live Well Festival in Auckland with Art Green and Lauren Glucina. You probably didn’t get to the festival, so here are some thoughts, questions and ideas that might help you master this seemingly elusive state of work life balance.

2. Reflect for a moment: Are you feeling overloaded? If the answer is yes, perhaps you’ve taken on more than you have energy or capacity to do.

WAVEBREAK MEDIA LTD

Quality of life isn’t about how much you can fit into your already busy life, but how well you enjoy it.

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3. Block holidays and major events into your calendar. If you’ve done it on your computer, print it off; it’s easier to see gaps and patterns at a glance.

4. How many hours in your week are already committed? Include work, exercise and home activities as well as any of your family’s commitments that involve you in some way.

5. What else do you want to include?

Perhaps you have capacity and energy for something new. If so, that’s great.

However, often an existing commitment or activity has to give way, or be reduced.

It might be sleep, time to think, exercise or quality time with your loved ones. Does that fit with your big picture of how you want your life, health and relationships to be?

6. Have you left yourself gaps of ‘do nothing’ time? We can’t live at full pace 100% of the time. It’s unhealthy.

7. There’s no one ‘right’ formula. For one person, relaxing might be climbing mountains while for someone else it’s luxuriating in reading a book for hours with no interruptions.

8. Listen to your intuition before you commit to something new. What lights you up? If in doubt, sleep on it before deciding.

9. Be prepared to say ‘no,’ regardless how worthy or wonderful the opportunity sounds, if your intuition tells you ‘don’t do it.’

10.Lastly, and perhaps, most practical, turn off the alerts on your computer and phone, with the possible exception of texts. You don’t need to know someone has just posted about their latest holiday on Facebook, or that a colleague with poor life balance is working on the weekend. Take control of those timestealing interruptions.

You can have the quality of life you desire, if you plan for it. It takes thought, planning and commitment, but it is possible.

Robyn Pearce is known around the world as the Time Queen, helping people discover new angles on time.

Check the resources on her website www.gettingagrip.com, including a free report for you: How to Master Time in Only 90 Seconds. She is a CSP, a Certified Speaking Professional. This is the top speaking accreditation in the profession of speaking and held by only about 800 people around the world. www.gettingagrip.com

ROBYN PEARCE

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THERESE HOYLE

Help Your School Flourish This Academic Year Assemblies, Rules, Rewards and Sanctions Are you struggling with... · Bullying and bad behaviour at playtimes? · Losing valuable learning time sorting out playtime disputes when children come back into the classroom? · Children who don’t know how to play? · L u n c h t i m e s u p e r v i s o r s w h o a r e n ’t engaging with the children?

Positive Playtimes Positive playtimes programme is a whole school approach that supports children in being more tolerant, friendly and kind.

Getting your behaviour management systems sorted at the start of term is essential to providing children with a secure, bully free environment that fosters happy, calm and peaceful playtimes.

Assembly at the start of the school year At the start of the academic year, schools generally have an assembly welcoming everyone back and reinforcing the school rules which might have been forgotten over the 6-week summer break. It’s really important for every member of staff to be invited to this assembly so that the children see that all stakeholders know the rules and that everyone is working together.

Children will often think that MSA’s (Midday Supervisory Assistants) don’t know the school rules so will try and lead them in a little dance! This is also a way of building respectful relationships both inside and outside in the school playground.

Getting your behaviour management systems sorted at the start of term is essential to providing children with a secure, bully free environment that fosters happy, calm and peaceful playtimes.

Rules Review your School Rules and ensure that you have Rules displayed inside and outside.

The Great Play Award: This is a special certificate that is given out in assembly to a child who has kept the rules and values of the school. Alternatively, it can be a plaque or just a sticker. Teachers choose criteria for selection from week to week and ideally choose different children each week.

Sanctions Is it bad or bored behaviour?

If it is the latter then it is time to invest in your playground and play equipment.

If you are struggling with the former then I would suggest you tighten up your incentive and sanction systems.

Edventure’s Red Sanction slips prove a good deterrent and if used effectively can be a useful tool for MSA’s, teachers and Senco’s to track those children who are finding playtimes challenging.

As with all incentive and sanction systems, there needs to be a baseline and ceiling.

Otherwise you will find some teachers and MSA’s giving out rewards and sanctions like confetti!

Edventure’s Rules and Playground Manners cover the 4R’s of 1. Respect for self 2. Respect for others 3. Respect for property and the environment 4. Responsibility for all your actions

Rewards Rewards can take many formats and I have developed a range of attractive and easy to use rewards with Edventure, which schools regularly tell me are effective and easy to implement. These include: Reward Tokens: “Star Child,” “Caught Being Good,” and “Great little helper,” are all positive reinforcements for children.

Playground Star Award Certificates, Green

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Reward Slips: these are all linked to the Playground Rules and all available from Edventure.

Therese is the bestselling author of 101 Playground Games and 101 Wet Playtime Games and Activities. She runs Positive Playtime and whole school social, emotional and behavioural skills programmes nationally and internationally. If you wish to develop her ideas further please read her books, available from Edventure, or contact her directly for in depth advice on designing and developing your playground. info@theresehoyle.com

GENNADY KIREEV

THERESE HOYLE

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MARCOS CALVO MESA

Teachers Matter

THE LAST WORD: KAREN BOYES

KAREN BOYES

The Lessons I Want my Students to Learn

How to Combat the “It’s Not Fair” Mindset

I

was challenged to give a twelve minute talk at the African International Schools’ Conference in Nairobi, Kenya on the topic of ‘The lesson I want my students to learn.’

There were so many options I simply had to pluralise my offering. What follows is a summary of my talk: “It’s not fair!” “She always goes first.” “His is bigger than mine!” “Everyone else is allowed!” A common cry both teachers and parents hear regularly.

One of the lessons I want my students to learn is that life’s not fair.

My sister and I are 17 months apart in age and I am the eldest. We were always treated the same. We were often dressed the same, taught right from wrong and given strong values. We were encouraged to work for and value our possessions. I recall working hard to earn the money for a new bike. I researched the options and colours. Once I had the money, I made my purchase. I was a proud owner of a 10 speed bike. Three weeks later my sister purchased the same bike in a different colour! Life was not fair! I had done all the work and she had copied. It was the first time I recall feeling injustice in my life.

It was a shock and at the time it rocked my world. Life was not fair!

challenging times, where the best learning often happens.

Many teachers are facing students suffering from learned helplessness in their classrooms. They are paralysed with fear of failing and making mistakes. It is in the making of mistakes, the failing, and the bumpiness, where life feels unfair. I want students to know they have a working brain and a functioning body and always have choices when faced with challenges.

Dylan Wilian says, “The purpose of school is to prepare students for a world we cannot envisage, so when they are stuck with something they have never seen before, they choose to think instead of remember.”

When students find themselves at the bottom of the pit, I want them to know how to persist, try again and keep going.

If plan A doesn’t work, there are 25 more letters in the alphabet! I want students to know how to make a plan and then stick to it, using self-discipline and being able to delay gratification. I want students to know about thinking flexibly: if they only focus on the black and white, they will miss all the beautiful colours the world has to offer.

I want students to know that their brain keeps on growing if they keep feeding it, keep learning and keep challenging themselves. I want students to be able to ask for help, to be able to be vulnerable, to know there are always people willing to lend a hand.

One of the lessons I want my students to learn is that when life is not fair, there are always opportunities, that they need to look for those opportunities, to look for the silver lining, the lesson and the reward. It is always there.

In life, we often start on our journey with a goal in mind, a plan of perfection and in reality the journey is frequently very bumpy.

It is, however, in those bumps and those

One of the ideas I want teachers to know is that you make every other profession possible! That is what you do each day. The world’s future is in your hand, every day.

I want students to know about thinking flexibly: if they only focus on the black and white, they will miss all the beautiful colours the world has to offer.

And as American historian Henry Adams said, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” You make a difference!

The next time you hear a student say, “Life’s not fair,” remind them of the skills, dispositions and opportunities they have and how it is their choice how they view the situation.

What would you say if you were given this challenge?

Karen is an expert in effective teaching and learning, study skills, motivation a n d p o s i t i v e t h i n k i n g. S h e wa s recognised with the NSANZ Educator of the Year award in 2014 and 2017, and works in schools throughout Australasia teaching students how to Study Smart and teachers how to raise achievement. www.karentuiboyes.com

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