Enhancing Cultures of Competence and Excellence. Classrooms that develop and support talented students

Transcription

1 Enhancing Cultures of Competence and Excellence Classrooms that develop and support talented students Summer Institute 2016 Dr. Sharon Ritchie & Dr. Sam Oertwig Welcome! Opening remarks Review of our Norms 1

2 Project Norms Stay open to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Disagree with the idea, not the person. Everyone a participant; everyone a listener. Honor time commitments. Accept non-closure. Honor confidentiality. FirstSchool2015 Objectives for today To explore the Cultures of Competence & Excellence Knowledge Objectives: To increase understanding of self-regulation, executive function, and metacognition To understand how classroom practices either support or hinder healthy development of self regulation, executive function and metacognition. Practice Objective: To be able to apply new knowledge to the planning of the next school year. 2

3 FirstSchool Instructional Practices for Achieving Equity Culture of Caring Culture of Competence Culture of Excellence Nurture Positive Relationships Strengthen Self-Efficacy & Racial/Cultural Identity Develop the Whole Child Prioritize Communication Promote Peer Interactions Develop Self- - Regulation Encourage Independence Balance Teaching Approaches Integrate & Balance Curriculum Build Higher- Order Thinking FirstSchool 2015 A culture of competence ensures each child is a productive, successful, and contributing member of the classroom. FirstSchool

4 A culture of excellence enables each learner to excel beyond minimal competencies. FirstSchool 2014 Effective Schools Effective learning environments: Relationships Quality, meaningful instruction 4

5 Culture of Caring Culture of Competence Culture of Excellence Make Appointments 5

6 What are executive functions? Executive functions are a set of mental processes that support our abilities to manage ourselves and find and use resources in order to achieve a goal. These mental processes enable us to: plan focus attention remember instructions juggle multiple tasks successfully What is Self-Regulation? As children learn to regulate themselves, they can: ignore distractions focus and attend persist in challenging situations recognize that others have needs ask for help control emotions and express them appropriately move between their own perspective and the perspective of another. (McClelland, Acock, & Morrison, 2002). What strategies have you utilized in your classroom to support the development of self-regulation? 6

7 Children cannot learn to selfregulate when regulated by adults. Students need to practice self regulation just like they practice reading, counting and writing. Freeze Dance/Pose Cards can take pictures of kids to use for the different poses and have them develop the poses as well Transition Time with timer natural competitiveness Games Red Light/Green Light, Mother May I, Simon Says What is metacognition? Metacognition requires students to be able to think about their thinking with the aim of improving their learning and social development ability to cite evidence or justification of their thoughts and ideas awareness of their strengths and weaknesses ability to identify and correct errors or problems ability to pick the best plan to accomplish a specific goal or activity ability to apply information to other events (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, p. 67) 7

8 Connecting executive function, selfregulation and metacognition Executive functions are a set of processes that support children s abilities to manage themselves and find and use resources in order to achieve a goal. Metacognition monitors and evaluates the achievement of those goals. Executive Function and Metacognition Work Hand in Hand Executive Function: Plan & Organize Metacognition: Reflect & Evaluate What is my goal? What was my goal? What are some possibilities for how I could achieve my goal? What was my plan for achieving it? What is my best choice for how to achieve my goal? What evidence do I have that my plan did or did not work? What do I need to do to get started? What could I do to make it better? What should I do next? 8

9 Metacognition: Academic and Social Gains Improving metacognitive strategies related to students' schoolwork also provides young people with tools to reflect and grow in their emotional and social lives. When teachers cultivate students' abilities to reflect on, monitor, and evaluate their learning and development strategies, young people become more self-reliant, flexible, and productive, and improve their capacity to weigh choices and evaluate options. Stephen Fleming Quick Write Read the article: The Boss of My Brain Using the recording sheet, answer the following: What are three facts or ideas that square with your thinking? What are two things you found interesting? What is one question still rolling around in your head? 9

10 Sharing some thoughts.. What s your response? How is this relevant to your work? Evaluating progress and learning allows students to express confusion The act of being confused and identifying one's lack of understanding is an important part of developing self-awareness. This not only jumpstarts metacognitive processing, but also creates a classroom culture that acknowledges confusion as an integral part of learning. 10

11 Setting up a risk-free environment Podcast Susan Choplin What are characteristics of environments that: motivate children to speak and interact with each other and adults? challenge them to explore and to share their ideas and discoveries with others? Characteristics of a risk free environment Different thoughts and opinions are valued. The right answer is not as important as how you got there. Doing your best is what is important. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone can be a teacher as well as a learner. Validating partial success motivates children to keep trying 11

12 Creating a risk-free classroom With your table group, discuss: what you observed how you would use these ideas in your class other ideas you have for incorporating nonverbal encouragement how you begin the year with these ideas Encouraging a growth mindset Dr. Carol Dweck 12

13 A growth mindset Your intelligence is something that can and will develop, with effort, good strategies, and support from your teachers. You have a purpose. You are "doing school" so that you can contribute something to your family and to the world. You belong here, in this school; this school is for you. We, as your teachers, will set high standards for you, and we will give you what you need to succeed. Thinking about thinking Research shows that when students develop a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset, they are more likely to engage in reflective thinking about how they learn and grow. Donna Wilson How have you promoted a growth mindset in your classroom and your school during this past year? 13

14 Flexing Prefrontal Cortex Muscles Left Lobe Thinking Skills Right Lobe Emotional Skills Planning Organization Time Management Working Memory Self- Monitoring Impulse Control Regulate Emotions Flexibility Task Initiation Persistence Break Time! 14

15 Good News The good news for teachers and their students is that executive function and metacognition can be learned when they are explicitly taught and practiced across content and social contexts. Metacognition activates the neural networks of executive function each time students consider what they did that worked well and what they would do differently. Like a muscle, the brain responds to interaction and activity. Executive Function Metacognition 15

16 Executive Functioning What promotes it? What hinders it? Promoting Executive Function Voice Collaboration Choice Play 16

17 Student Voice: Let the Children Talk With You Student talk promotes learning and student success. Learning how to express one's thoughts and ideas is critically important for: identity cognitive development social development formative assessment motivation (McCaslin & Good, 1996). Turn to a table mate and talk about why and how these areas are optimized through opportunities for students to talk with you. Student Voice: Let the Children Talk With Each Other Research tells us collaborative learning gives children the opportunity to learn to work with a variety of individuals with different personality types, approaches to learning, and social skills. This exchange inevitably helps children value their own contributions and to better understand other points of view and cultural values. Turn to a table mate and talk about why and how these areas are optimized through opportunities for students to talk with each other. 17

18 Gradual Release Instructional Model Fisher & Frey, 2007 Choice Choice allows students to take ownership and responsibility for their learning. Studies indicate that motivation increases when students have opportunities to make choices about what they learn, and when they believe they have some autonomy over their own learning. (Gambrell, 2011) 18

19 Daily Opportunities for CHOICE People Materials Place Time Content Context Ways to represent learning Characteristics of play Dynamic, active and constructive Focused on process More engaging when done with others Imaginative Incorporates VOICE, COLLABORATION, CHOICE 19

20 Discussion With your school group, talk about: How do choice and play fit into your school philosophy? What are the opportunities for your students to communicate, collaborate, choose, and play? Where and how can you consistently integrate these important experiences in your school day? 20

21 What hinders development of executive function? Low Expectations Thinking that the kids aren t capable stops growth and development. Not having a growth mindset Excusing children from achieving high levels of work because they come from difficult circumstances Believing your kids come into a new school year with no skills. 21

22 How do children start a new school year as positively as they ended the last one? With your 12:00 appointment, talk about: the EF strengths you see in the children you just promoted. how you might convey those strengths to their next teachers. what you would like to know from the teachers whose children you are getting. how students can help convey their own skills and abilities. How do children start a new school year as positively as they ended the last one? With your school group, talk about: If you had this information about your students, what would you/could you do differently? What structures need to be put in place for teachers to share the strengths of their students with next year s teachers? What are the planning, timing, and the logistics needed to actually make this happen? Be prepared to share out your thinking. 22

23 Time for a Break! Strengthening EF: Start with modeling Learning how to think evolves over time with adequate exposure and practice. Prior to students becoming skilled at planning, organizing and reflecting upon their achievements, teachers must verbally model thinking skills for students by thinking aloud and making connections. (Elizabeth Garcia) 23

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25 Strengthening EF: Recognizing your own processes With your 3:00 appointment, you are going to collaborate to solve a problem and to verbalize your thought processes. Pay attention to and list the executive functions and metacognitive thinking you use. Find a partner group to share your problemsolving thinking with. Quick Write Do you believe that regular practice and exposure to opportunities to develop executive function and metacognition positively impact your student s outcomes? Justify your thinking. Meet with your 9:00 appointment to discuss what you wrote. 25

26 Closing Thank you for your time, effort, & fabulous thinking! Please help us in our journey of continuous improvement by filling out the daily formative assessment! 26