Category: Teaching Strategies

What Really IS “Best Practice”

What Really IS “Best Practice”

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It’s Tuesday at 4:45pm and my brain cells begin to take a break. I’m struggling with my energy level, peeved at myself for not drinking a tea earlier so I had a mental boost for this meeting. Because I care. It’s about the counseling program at our school, and I want to be fully present. I think it’s important.

Now it’s 2:30am, and I am awake, a bit annoyed that I have the term “best practice” ruminating in my mind. Why is this the first thought this morning? And how can I make it stop troubling my thoughts?

You see the other day I had a colleague make a remark that for some reason has really gotten under my skin–“oh, it’s really just best practice, right?”. Here’s the thing, I’m really tired of hearing the term “best practice”. It implies some secret sauce, some cookbook, that if all teachers follow, will result in amazing student achievement. I think that’s an overused term to get teachers to comply with certain boundaries of your curriculum. Think about it, if you teach in a highly structured system (Think a national scheme like France’s, in which all French schools have to be on the same page, literally, on the same day), then they have an idea of “best practice”. However, in our PYP school, we are more unstructured, textbookless, with flexible timelines, and no literacy model or math program (ex: Everyday Math) that we all follow. Needless to say, our idea of “best practice” has less to do with teacher compliance and more to do with teacher creativity. Those are very different perspectives on education. And who is right? Which is better?  Who is the “best”?

Rumi-Quotes-10I’m not here to pick a fight but I want to call our attention to how we throw that term around. In fact, I’d like to toss that term on the ground and squash it. I want to bury it. It’s undefinable in our broad views of education. Because of that, I think it’s a “nothing” word like a cliche or overused term that has lost its precision and value.

John Hattie’s idea of “Know Thy Impact” is more meaningful because it really helps schools to define their context and go deeper into the Why with the How they implement their curriculum, no matter how rigid or adaptable the structure is. I feel that we should use a more active term to define the type of work we do with students:  Impactful Practice.

Yet, I think there is a space in which all of us can connect, an area of our schools that we can all agree upon. It’s the one thing we can all consent to- student relationships matter.  john hattie relationship.png

This is where our dichotomous learning approaches merge. No matter what curriculum we use, the pedagogy of the heart is the central feature of all the work we do in schools. It’s the reason why I made a strong commitment to fight off my tiredness and engage in a meeting about our counseling program because we are talking about the hearts of our students. Connecting with them?–Yeah, I want to do that- Every day, for at least 190 days this year!

It’s now 6am and I have transformed this agitation into a clarity of purpose. Perhaps you, dear reader, may feel the same way.  I hope that wherever we are in the world, despite how we teach, that we can all agree upon really digging in and cultivating an intention of “impactful” practice, connecting to and understanding the emotional landscape and perspectives of our students.  Doing this– that’s the only practice that matters. Don’t you agree?

#Inquiry: Transforming Learning Objectives and Intentions.

#Inquiry: Transforming Learning Objectives and Intentions.

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I had an Aha-Moment this week and I am bursting to share it! You see I grew up and was trained in the American school system so most of my pedagogical schema is steeped in a Standards-Based Approach to teaching and learning. Lessons must have learning objectives, which usually are framed around the State’s curriculum or nowadays there is the Common Core. When I write or state the objective on the board, there is a magnetic pull that drives the learning towards meeting that goal. I get tunnel vision and achieving this standard becomes a primary focus, if not for the day, then for the week. But can we still attain the skills and knowledge in the curriculum without letting the learning intention be the end-all/be-all in our lessons?

Let me just set the stage for my lightbulb moment:

One of my colleagues had said earlier this year that she feels like when you do inquiry it seems like you have to always make the students guess what they are learning about. It’s as if learning intention is a mystery. And so herein lies the challenge with inquiry-based learning when it meets the standards-based curriculum training. Is there a happy medium? And I think I found the answer and the answer is YES!

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Compliments of the wonderful teachers at VIS, Mr. David, and Mr. John!

Did you catch that? In the example above, they just open up the lesson  with a question and it naturally covered standards that would be typically on the board or stated as you tell your students what they would be learning about in that 4th-grade lesson:

  • Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems. (Common Core)
  • 4.1.2.1.f checking reasonableness of answers. ( Singapore Mathematics Syllabi)
  • Know multiplication and division facts for the 2× to 10× tables (Cambridge)

If you’re a PYP teacher then we are always packing our unit planners with “teacher questions”.  I already was well aware that questions are vital for inquiry teaching and learning. But it never occurred to me that I could or should turn the learning intention/objective into a question. It totally changes the dynamic of the lesson, in which a clear path of learning is set yet there is still enough space for curiosity and divergent thinking.

So I’m going to start transforming my WALT (W.hat we A.re L.earning T.oday) into questions so that students have a goal and purpose for learning. And then I’d like to end with a student reflection: Did we answer the question? Why or why not?

I think when we shift from Telling To Asking, we start moving away from didactic approaches and move into curiosity and student agency. I’m going to test out this tweak and I invite others to do the same so that more student interest and inquiry can be sparked.

Sing, Smile, and give "The Look"

Sing, Smile, and give "The Look"

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I was recently asked what behavioral management strategies I use in my classroom which would be helpful for a new classroom teacher. Of course there are the typical things that most teachers use like sticker charts, behavior management boards, and student of the week or some other way to acknowledge positive behavior in class.  But the things that I use which are the bread and butter of my classroom is song and consistently focusing on what I want.

I have a song for everything–for sitting on the carpet, for cleaning up, for writing, for lining up, for reading, for washing hands, for EVERYTHING! Really I do.  Most early childhood teachers wouldn’t survive without a few songs or finger plays in their bag of tricks because it is the easiest way to get the group focused.

Examples of Songs For Transitions and  Focusing Attention

And the second thing I do is to keep laser sharp focus on students doing the right thing. Even when it seems that the children are absolutely nutty, there is always one if not more that are doing what you want. Many teachers, especially new ones, are so keen to try to stop bad behavior that they can really miss out on the  students who are doing what you want them to do.  When you are “praizy” (praise-crazy), you have more kids who fall into line because EVERYONE–young and old– loves to be admired and appreciated. Here’s an example of what I sound like during whole group instruction:

“Wow, look at Basmala!  Do you see how she is sitting on her bottom with her legs criss-crossed?  She is looking at me, eyes focused and ready to learn. Look, she even has a smile on her face. Oh, my beautiful friend, Basmala, thank you so much for being ready to learn. Who else is ready to learn like Basmala?….Ah yes, Sema is ready now. Thank you, Sema!  Oh and look at Shayma. Thank you, Shayma. Oh great, Ahmed is ready now. Thank you Ahmed. ” This little round of genuine praise does wonders to get everyone on task, meanwhile my energy has remained positive and light. No frustration, no anger. I am smiling, the children are smiling. The group is focused now. You just have to practice on focusing on the good stuff that happens, remain calm, and be “praizy”. 

Easy, right?

Oh wait, I hear you say–what about that one kid who won’t fall into line, who is still talking or walking around the room?

You have options: ignore him/her if they are not are not being loud or disruptive; continue teaching but go over and quietly lead them to a chair or area that is outside the group but still giving a chance to participate; or give them “THE LOOK”. Every teacher must have this skill. Most teachers consider it a look of death, a stern ugly stare that puts the fear into a child, signaling that you mean serious business. However, for myself, this look has evolved into something more meaningful.

I believe that most students who are the “trouble makers” in class just really need attention, and negative attention is still attention. True?-yes! So, my look is no longer the kind in which fire shoots out of my eyes, but more of a piercing stare that I aim at their heart. It’s a stare which means “I SEE WHO YOU REALLY ARE!” –a genius, a poet, an athlete, an artist, a comedian, etc… In my mind, I repeat to myself “I love who you really are. I love who you really are. I love who you really are.” And within seconds, when my look penetrates them,  they begin to feel safe & accepted, and like magic they fall into line and I give them a silent smile. So much better than yelling or giving a lecture or putting them in time out or calling their parent, or what ever typical negative response they could get from you!! And the best part is that you don’t lose the focus of the group.

I recognize that as an early childhood teacher I help form a child’s first understanding of themselves as a learner, and I play a pivotal role in building their confidence and self-esteem. So I work hard to remain open and compassionate to all the silly and upsetting behavior that a child may engage in. Therefore,  the most important thing, I think, is to keep students aware and focused on how wonderful they are becoming, and to let them know that I accept them no matter what.

I hope this brief sharing has benefited you. May your classrooms be full of peace. -Judy

Sing, Smile, and give “The Look”

Sing, Smile, and give “The Look”

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I was recently asked what behavioral management strategies I use in my classroom which would be helpful for a new classroom teacher. Of course there are the typical things that most teachers use like sticker charts, behavior management boards, and student of the week or some other way to acknowledge positive behavior in class.  But the things that I use which are the bread and butter of my classroom is song and consistently focusing on what I want.

I have a song for everything–for sitting on the carpet, for cleaning up, for writing, for lining up, for reading, for washing hands, for EVERYTHING! Really I do.  Most early childhood teachers wouldn’t survive without a few songs or finger plays in their bag of tricks because it is the easiest way to get the group focused.

Examples of Songs For Transitions and  Focusing Attention

And the second thing I do is to keep laser sharp focus on students doing the right thing. Even when it seems that the children are absolutely nutty, there is always one if not more that are doing what you want. Many teachers, especially new ones, are so keen to try to stop bad behavior that they can really miss out on the  students who are doing what you want them to do.  When you are “praizy” (praise-crazy), you have more kids who fall into line because EVERYONE–young and old– loves to be admired and appreciated. Here’s an example of what I sound like during whole group instruction:

“Wow, look at Basmala!  Do you see how she is sitting on her bottom with her legs criss-crossed?  She is looking at me, eyes focused and ready to learn. Look, she even has a smile on her face. Oh, my beautiful friend, Basmala, thank you so much for being ready to learn. Who else is ready to learn like Basmala?….Ah yes, Sema is ready now. Thank you, Sema!  Oh and look at Shayma. Thank you, Shayma. Oh great, Ahmed is ready now. Thank you Ahmed. ” This little round of genuine praise does wonders to get everyone on task, meanwhile my energy has remained positive and light. No frustration, no anger. I am smiling, the children are smiling. The group is focused now. You just have to practice on focusing on the good stuff that happens, remain calm, and be “praizy”. 

Easy, right?

Oh wait, I hear you say–what about that one kid who won’t fall into line, who is still talking or walking around the room?

You have options: ignore him/her if they are not are not being loud or disruptive; continue teaching but go over and quietly lead them to a chair or area that is outside the group but still giving a chance to participate; or give them “THE LOOK”. Every teacher must have this skill. Most teachers consider it a look of death, a stern ugly stare that puts the fear into a child, signaling that you mean serious business. However, for myself, this look has evolved into something more meaningful.

I believe that most students who are the “trouble makers” in class just really need attention, and negative attention is still attention. True?-yes! So, my look is no longer the kind in which fire shoots out of my eyes, but more of a piercing stare that I aim at their heart. It’s a stare which means “I SEE WHO YOU REALLY ARE!” –a genius, a poet, an athlete, an artist, a comedian, etc… In my mind, I repeat to myself “I love who you really are. I love who you really are. I love who you really are.” And within seconds, when my look penetrates them,  they begin to feel safe & accepted, and like magic they fall into line and I give them a silent smile. So much better than yelling or giving a lecture or putting them in time out or calling their parent, or what ever typical negative response they could get from you!! And the best part is that you don’t lose the focus of the group.

I recognize that as an early childhood teacher I help form a child’s first understanding of themselves as a learner, and I play a pivotal role in building their confidence and self-esteem. So I work hard to remain open and compassionate to all the silly and upsetting behavior that a child may engage in. Therefore,  the most important thing, I think, is to keep students aware and focused on how wonderful they are becoming, and to let them know that I accept them no matter what.

I hope this brief sharing has benefited you. May your classrooms be full of peace. -Judy

Teaching Creativity

Teaching Creativity

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Since I have been teaching in the UAE, I have noticed a stark difference between American (ergo western children,in general) and my Arabic children when it comes to creativity. I might easily shrug it off to teaching ESL, but I co-teach so I get to observe their behaviors during Arabic and Islamic Studies.   Indeed, the children here spend more time running feral in play than plopped down in front of cartoons and computers, but that certainly wouldn’t account for the muted expression of curiosity or creativity, in fact, it would have made me think just the reverse since they have so much free play. Thus, it makes me beg the question: are we born naturally inquisitive and creative or are those attributes acquired through our culture?

Image
When given a box of legos (bricks), students rely on pictures of examples of things they can make before attempting to design something.

Many of us Western teachers have observed similar behavior in other grade levels. And, at home, when we might have been plagued with the endless amount of energy of questions and tangents of imagination our students would go on, we are absolutely desperate to get students to think for themselves, let a lone outside the box. I don’t mean for this observation to reflect poorly on our students, because they are bright and able, but perfection and high marks are what is really valued in this culture.  Whether a student writes a lovely poem or paints a beautiful painting is not as appreciated as an A on a paper. So I have to think that this is a cultural influence.

Since the Abu Dhabi Education Council is wanting to reform their schools to more western style approaches to learning, they are trying to shift from the more traditional methods into ones that will sponsor innovation and technology through critical thinking. Increasing inquisitiveness and creativity seem paramount to this task, so we have felt at a loss at how to systematically teach it.

Enter Harvard Project Zero! Through research done, they have created something called “Visible Thinking”, which they noticed that ” Often, we found, children (and adults) think in shallow ways not for lack of ability to think more deeply but because they simply do not notice the opportunity or do not care. To put it all together, we say that really good thinking involves abilities, attitudes, and alertness, all three at once. Technically this is called a dispositional view of thinking. Visible Thinking is designed to foster all three.”  (Visible Thinking)

I have been implementing many of their core routines and it has been interesting to actually gain insight into their perspectives and ideas.  Naturally, since I teach in a bilingual classroom, most of the responses are in their home language of Arabic, but my counterpart will translate their ideas to me.  It has been very helpful in cultivating a culture of deeper thinking, respect for different points of view, and looking closer at things. The easiest routine for my ELLs has been  I SEE, I THINK, I WONDER  .   I also really find Creativity Hunt to be another really interesting one that has a high level of engagement.

Overall, I really recommend teachers to take a look at their site because their are so many simple things that you can add to your lessons to increase creative thought and critical thinking–No matter the grade level.  I hope you take some time to check  out some of the material and implement some of the routines in your classroom.

Teacher 3.0

Teacher 3.0

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Teacher 3.0–keeping our practice current and relevant.

You know the difference between something alive and something dead?–Something alive is growing, while something dead is NOT!  With that in mind, it’s really important to continue to develop our understanding of how our student’s learn best and update our teaching practice. For many of us, we need to take a certain number of training courses or attend conferences in order to stay abreast of what is happening and maintain our credentials. But the good news is that nowadays we don’t have to go to bricks and mortar schools or centers in order to learn something new. There are a lot of great online professional development available right in the comfort of your home.

Here is a smattering of some high quality resources and many of them offer certificated courses. Some are for a fee, but most are completely FREE.

Teachers First

What a great resource this is!  Not only does it have frequent professional development that is FREE, if you attend a live online event, you can get a certificate for it. Lovely, isn’t it! Also, it has a ton of lesson plans and activities that are designed for 21st century learning.  Just can’t beat this one!

Intel Teach Elements

I have taken Intel’s professional development and it was easy to implement in my intermediate grade’s classroom. The topics are very much geared toward blending technology in the classroom and is a terrific resource that is absolutely FREE. (Gosh, I just love that word). The e-learning material generally take more than sitting to complete and you might want to have some of your fellow grade-level/subject team members join you–The content’s that fabulous!

Arizona State University’s Learning Forever!

I have taken very low cost courses through ASU for my teaching license, but they  constantly have FREE webinars on topics such as the Common Core and Gifted Education. It doesn’t cost you a thing to join, which makes this very economical.

Other Colleges and Universities with Free Online Courses

I can’t speak directly for these all of these courses but there is an amazing number of colleges and universities that are offering FREE e-learning courses. From MIT to Stanford, the list of reputable universities is substantial, and it covers many topics outside of just education. Many of them will even offer college credit for participating. Very cool, indeed!

SEETA

You have to register (free) in order to attend a web course, but it’s great because the guest presenters are experts and have a range of topics that are offered weekly. Even though this website is from the “South Eastern European Teachers”, the topics are relevant no matter where you teach. It’s great to get a global perspective on best practices, and you are sure to learn something.

Association for School Curriculum and Development 

If you don’t have a membership to this, then sign up today. I can’t recommend this enough. It is covers all sorts of topics about American policy and practice, and reports on the latest research. It’s an invaluable resource. As a member, you have numerous free webinars that you can enjoy, and they also offer more substantial online professional development.

Edublogger

Most educators are interested in blogging, so this link is simply for a very cool how to on using blogs for personal use and in your classroom.

Electronic Open Village

This is a yearly event offered through TESOL CALL-IS. They (TESOL) have in-person conferences in America, which focus on Teaching English as a Second Language, but the Electronic Open Village (EVO) has a “Computer-Assisted Language Learning Interest Section, which exists to define issues and standards in the field of computer-mediated language instruction, promote research and development in the area of computer-based language learning and disseminate information about CALL to ESL/EFL educators worldwide.” What does that mean for you?–some really cool and FREE e-learning that is focused on helping our English Language Learners. Who doesn’t need more help in this area?  And the best part is that it is geared toward obtaining more technology skills as educators. Yep, check another box. It’s pretty terrific!

Please let me know if you found any of these resources useful for you. Also, feel free to add some other quality lo professional development that you know of–we are all here to learn!

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