February 16, 2017

   

Educational Excellence

Growth Mindsets

Last time you learned a little about fixed mindsets.  Now let’s learn about growth mindsets.  Growth mindsets is a “belief system that suggests that one’s intelligence can be grown or developed with persistence, effort, and a focus on learning.”  Learners with a growth mindset believe that they can learn just about anything.  While they might have some struggle and some failure they understand that with “effort and perseverance they can succeed”.   “An educator with a growth mindset believes that with effort and hard work from the learner, all students can demonstrate significant growth and therefore all students deserve opportunities for challenge. An effective teacher armed with instructional tools that differentiate, respond to learner’s needs, and nurture critical thinking process, and you have the recipe for optimum student learning. “   (Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci) 

This aligns to our core values:  We believe all students can learn in a safe, nurturing and engaging environment despite their circumstances.  We believe the development of critical skills along with character values are crucial to learning.  

Intentional Instruction

Google Lesson Plans

Are you wondering what the difference is between guided and collaborative learning? 

Collaborative Community

NHA: What If Students Don’t Reset?

I get this question a lot. Put them in a sleeper hold until they pass out. When they wake up recognize them for resetting so quietly. :) Obviously, I’m kidding.

Visualize a flow chart: If students break a rule, tell them to reset. If they reset appropriately and you say, “Restart” for the littles, welcome them back. If they don’t reset and you can still teach, energize the other students for their greatness, ignore the disruption, and wait it out as long as the other students are still learning. The whole class will benefit from realizing they can’t get attention from the class through misbehavior and that they are missing out on the class. HOWEVER, if a student is so disruptive that others are joining in and the problem is getting bigger, it’s time for a consequence. If you set clear rules about what you expect from students in reset, and they refuse, let the consequence play out (without ANY energy.) So what are your rules? What are the consequences for breaking said rules? If you follow this hypothetical yes/no flowchart with clear limits and consequences, you will successfully be following the 3rd stand: Clearly But Un-energetically Enforce Limits. Why do this? “Because I care enough about you to give you limits and boundaries...if I didn’t care, I’d let you do whatever you want...but I love you, and I want you to know that what you’re doing is not OK.” These are actual words you would hear out of my mouth with my own kids on any given day. Feel free to use them yourself.  :)

*Staff Shout Outs* 
If you would like to recognize a colleague for something outstanding, please send the information in an email to Hailey for the next published blog.  

A HUGE shout out goes to Mrs. Brown, Mr. Austin, and our Kuehnle Choir! After much anticipation and countless hours of preparation, the Kuehnle Choir performed the National Anthem at the Houston Rockets game on Saturday, February 11th.  They not only performed, but they ROCKED! The children and teachers' hard work really paid off. They were awesome!! 

February 1, 2017

   

Educational Excellence

Intentional Instruction

Top Ten FAQs about the Balanced Guided Math

1.      Is Guided Math research based?  Yes!  Bloom’s taxonomy, divergent thinking techniques, and Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences are integrated.  Eric Jensen’s brain-based learning, Fountas & Pinnell’s guided reading group principles, and David Sousa’s brain-based research are theories that support the Guided Math Program.

2.      How do I group the students together?  A short assessment during Large Group mini-lesson time will give you the data to group the students together and decide which skills each group should work on.

3.      Will the guided math model help me challenge high achieving students?  Yes, this model allows the teacher to design lessons based on each student’s math level.  Teachers work with each group of leveled students 3 to 4 times a week on each math concept at that group’s developmental level.

4.      What accommodations does guided math incorporate for RTI students or students with IEPs?  Accommodations include: activities with manipulatives, pictorial representations for math understanding, small guided groups with direct instruction, appropriate pacing for each group, specific techniques to use with ELL students, constant preview of upcoming concepts for mastery of pre-skills, and consistent review of learned material for concept mastery.

5.      Does this model require more work than traditional large group math?   This model requires no extra work. It just requires that you retrain your thinking about how to teach math.

6.      Does this program for Guided Math require a lot of extra money?  No.  This model is framed to be used with the textbook series that your school purchases.  With a few manipulatives and some center ideas, you are equipped to begin tomorrow.

7.      How much time a day does Guided Math take each day?  On average, it takes 60 minutes each day.  The best advantage to this model is that the blocks of time can be broken apart; it does not need to be 60 consecutive minutes.  It can also vary between the days of the week. This flexibility makes this a more manageable program for teachers and schools. Angela shows districts that have 75-90 minutes of math time to maximize their Guided Math time.

8.      How loud do the students become during center time?   Simple. . . as loud as you allow.  Center time is a focused, short 15 minutes for students to practice a skill in a meaningful way.  It is a hands-on activity so students are engaged, not misbehaving.  It requires a short amount of time, which minimizes behavior issues.  Center time allows for movement to learn which engages all learners, even ADHD students.  Also, I alternate this application time between individual and collaborative activities the students complete, which can minimize the noise level.  Only 4-6 students are engaged at centers at one time, which also reduces the noise level.

9.      Do I have to be an experienced math teacher to implement the Guided Math ideas?  No. Any teacher, whether you are a first year teacher or a thirty year veteran, can implement these ideas to teach math.  This model is easy to understand and helps every teacher to understand the dynamics of mathematics, the fundamentals of teaching students to think mathematically, and strategies for maximum math mastery.  Every teacher that attends this workshop receives sample schedules, copies of recording sheets, and everything you need to get started.

10.   Does Guided Math require a lot of grading?  This program uses several ways to assess the students.  The preview skill pages have the answer keys provided for immediate feedback for students.  I assess students 3 days a week in guided groups through observations or simple quick assessments done on the spot and recorded.  The summative weekly skill assessment will need to be graded.  However, since smaller chunks of concepts are taught at a time, the assessments are short and quickly graded.

Collaborative Community

One of our core values is that “we believe in empowering 

students to recognize and celebrate greatness in themselves and their peers”.  Seeing our own greatness can be hard to learn or do.  This inability to really recognize our own greatness can come from having a fixed mindset.  According to Dr. Dweck, “a fixed mindset is a belief system that suggests that a person has a predetermined amount of intelligence, skills or talents”.  “For those students who struggle or do not perceive themselves as smart, it becomes a self-fulling prophecy.  Because they really don’t believe that the can be successful, they will often give up and not put forth the effort.  For advanced learners, they can become consumed with looking smart at all costs.” (Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci)

So what’s there to do?  It starts with us.  Think for a minute about your own mindset.  A mindset is a set of personal beliefs and is a way of thinking that influences our own behavior and attitude about our self and others.  “And educator’s mindset directly influences how a child feels about him or herself and how he or she views him or herself as a learner  A child’s mindset directly affects how he or she faces academic challenges  A child with a growth mindset perseveres even in the face of barriers.  A child with a fixed mindset gives up easily and does not engage in the learning process. “  (Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci) Another core value for Kuehnle is “we believe all children are special, unique, and capable of learning”.  How are we demonstrating that to our students?

Interested in learning more about fixed and growth mindsets?  Check out the book referenced above.  It’s a great read.  

*Staff Shout Outs* 
If you would like to recognize a colleague for something outstanding, please send the information in an email to Hailey for the next published blog.  

If you haven't seen what our PASS and Developmental staff do on a daily basis, you are missing out on some amazing work! These outstanding staff members work diligently to teach social skills, character, confidence, coping skills, life skills, and so much more to some of our most precious children! They deserve to be recognized for their daily efforts and all of the love they pour out into their students. Keep up the great work!