As I've worked to get this blog posted, I have had many challenges. Everyday I am reminded how important it is to be FLEXIBLE!
Each week tends to have it's own push to require FLEXIBILITY. This week...
- The weather system wreaked havoc on people with chronic pain and emotional/behavior challenges as the barometric pressure went up and down... up and down...
- The high winds caused our satellite TV to go on and off... on and off...
- My cell phone's reception faded in and out... in and out...
- The elevator wasn't working... so, with books and papers in hand it was time to go up and down... up and down...
- The copy machine refused to copy, so it shot the paper in and out... in and out...
- My time in the sound room to do voice-overs required do-overs and more do-overs...
- Multiple store visits found me in line hearing multiple cashiers say, "I'm sorry our machine has quit working!" "I'm sorry this machine has quit working!" "I'm sorry our machine has quit working!"
- The skunk in my front yard made his presence known and unknown... odor to aroma... irritant to irritant...
As we learn more and more about teaching/learning we find ourselves considering more ways to be FLEXIBLE:
- A myriad of heterogeneous Geno-grams!
- Multiple and diverse Personalities!
- An immeasureable diversity of Strengths!
- A multiplicity of assorted Strengths!
- Numerous and varied Weaknesses!
- Countless diversified Interests!
- An abundance of paradigms of Preferences for learning!
- A bounty of different Experiences!
FLEXIBILITY IS BOUNDARIES THAT STRETCH!
FLEXIBILITY IS...
- being told that I was going to teach math when I said, "No! I don't do math!"
- ________________________________________
- ________________________________________
- ________________________________________
Hi! My name is Joe and I work in a button
factory.
One day, my boss
came up to me and said, “Are you busy?
And I said, “No!” Then, he said, “Push this button, please.”
x5
Let's do it this time representing us:
Hi! My name is __________ and I work at an El-e-men-ta-ry.
One day, my
principal came up to me and said, “Are you busy?
And I said, "No!"
Then, he said, “Design an Instruction Station.”
·
Comprehension
Station
Tele-communication
Station
Fortification
Station
Fascination
Station
Repetition
Station
How does one FOCUS and still remain FLEXIBLE?
I recently read this article that has been around awhile and yet is quite relevant to where you are on this journey of teaching. One of the authors is Carol Ann Tomlinson. Here is the name of the article and an excerpt:
Becoming Architects of Communities of Learning:
Addressing Academic Diversity in Contemporary Classrooms
Journal article by Carol Ann Tomlinson, Carolyn M. Callahan, Ellen M. Tomchin, Nancy Eiss, Marcia Imbeau, Mary Landrum; Exceptional Children, Vol. 63, 1997
Much has been written about profiles of expert teachers, and researchers generally agree on some of their common traits.
Expert teachers:
- Excel in the content of their own domains
- See key patterns of meaning in the content of their domains
- Make quick (and accurate) inferences and decisions when performing the skills of their domains
- Have rich and full representations of problems in their domains, use a broad set of principle-driven heuristics to solve problems
- Spend a great deal of time analyzing problems
- Have a high degree of metacognitive and self-monitoring skills
- Change tracks quickly as they sense the need to do so
- Negotiate relationships with individual children
Let's focus on ways to be FLEXIBLE in this next month:
"When
learners encounter new ideas, information, or skills, they need time to run the
input through their own filters of meaning. As they try to analyze, apply,
question, or solve a problem using the material, they have to make sense of it
before it becomes 'theirs'". Tomlinson says that the Process is the
"sense-making essential component" of instruction. We'll call that Making Meaning!
Here are some of
the Multiple Means of teaching / learning that invite
FLEXIBILITY and responsive sense-making or opportunities for Making Meaning, especially when working in partners and/or small groups.
· Learning logs
· Journals
· Graphic organizers
· Creative problem solving
· Cubing
· Learning centers
· Learning stations
· Interest centers or interest groups
· Learning contracts
· Literature circles
· Role playing
· Cooperative controversy (in which
students argue both sides of an issue)
· Choice boards
· Jigsaw
· Think-Pair-Share
· Mind-mapping
· PMI (Listing pluses, minuses, and interesting
points about a topic under consideration)
· Model making
· Labs
· Tiered assignments
- RAFTS
- RAFTS
In observing a classroom through the perspectives of Sternberg, suppose that the teacher is an ANALYTICAL thinker, reasoner, and presenter. This teacher breaks everything apart and puts it back together to teach.
-
What
about those learners who need to see "Where the rubber meets the
road"?
- PRACTICAL learners!
-
What
about learners who need to ask "What if we tweaked it a
little"?
- CREATIVE learners!
What are your strategies for Making Meaning?
Making it practical? Keeping it
real?
While you are going about each lesson Making Meaning by Multiple Means,
it is imperative to keep Much Movement in mind.
What about Much Movement?
Don't most of us need some kind of
movement to stay focused? Aren't movement and stretch breaks good protocol for
all learners?
My personal
observations in 38+ years of teaching (at all grade levels) leads me to concur
with the following theory:
Student focus often correlates to a student's age in minutes until the age of 20. After that, all adults probably need to "change it up", "move", or "break" every 20 minutes.
I've observed that some classes have a "Focus Strategy of the Week". Strategies can include anything from yawning to wiggling toes to balancing on one foot. One of my Clinical Practice student's classroom had the week's focus strategy was SEQUENCE IT! In other words, to help students focus, they were each encouraged to analytically break the assignment down by making a 1-2-3 list of what it was that needed to be focused on during each subject or lesson. That STRATEGY for the week gave the students a pattern to follow. They counted 1-2-3 on their fingers. They counted 1-2-3 on their toes. They counted 1-2-3 as they wiggled their nose! The teacher kept revisiting it as she gave practical ways to use the 1-2-3 list idea in real life. They knew that at the end of the week they were to come up with their own creative idea to use 1-2-3. Wow! This one activity was a strategy that covered all of Sternberg's learning styles AND gave students a strategy for life. What a great strategy!
There are many strategies to help you "change up" how you teach things or allow students to learn. You don't want half of your class shutting down or zoning out after 13 minutes. Where might you find specific strategies for movement or for brain breaks? Is it possible to design ways to "change things up" within the context of the topic?
Student focus often correlates to a student's age in minutes until the age of 20. After that, all adults probably need to "change it up", "move", or "break" every 20 minutes.
I've observed that some classes have a "Focus Strategy of the Week". Strategies can include anything from yawning to wiggling toes to balancing on one foot. One of my Clinical Practice student's classroom had the week's focus strategy was SEQUENCE IT! In other words, to help students focus, they were each encouraged to analytically break the assignment down by making a 1-2-3 list of what it was that needed to be focused on during each subject or lesson. That STRATEGY for the week gave the students a pattern to follow. They counted 1-2-3 on their fingers. They counted 1-2-3 on their toes. They counted 1-2-3 as they wiggled their nose! The teacher kept revisiting it as she gave practical ways to use the 1-2-3 list idea in real life. They knew that at the end of the week they were to come up with their own creative idea to use 1-2-3. Wow! This one activity was a strategy that covered all of Sternberg's learning styles AND gave students a strategy for life. What a great strategy!
There are many strategies to help you "change up" how you teach things or allow students to learn. You don't want half of your class shutting down or zoning out after 13 minutes. Where might you find specific strategies for movement or for brain breaks? Is it possible to design ways to "change things up" within the context of the topic?
Spend the next
month focusing on your FLEXIBILITY:
-
Flexibility
requires a fluency of strategies for teaching called Multiple Means.
-
Flexibility
of thought about your learner’s GPS-SWIPE will help you Make Meaning for them.
-
Flexibility
of management allows for Much Movement, according to the ages of the
learners.
Don't give up your stations! The 5 station concept should continue to give much needed repetition and reinforcement for NJCCCS that your learners are struggling with.
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstructudl.html
http://www.lincolnparkboe.org/DI.htm
http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/R.A.F.T.+Assignments
http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/professional_development/strategies/
