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Jim Tiffin Jr

Good Morning! -- A.M. Announcements Build School Community | Education World - 0 views

  • morning announcements are a proven way to set the tone for the day and build morale and a sense of school "community."
  • there is something very comforting about having a routine format for the morning announcements of each school day.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Even if part of the routine, is the "routine surprise" #havefun
  • After Kostick's wake-up call, members of the school's student council take over the daily routine
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Love that students are involved in the announcements.
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  • "We use student council representatives to relay these messages because we think the student body might listen more closely and buy into messages more readily when they come from their peers,"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Wonder how this sort of student leadership could be gathered in an elementary setting?
  • a good-morning "America" sing-along
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Love the song idea! A tune that all student would know, and could bond with at school-wide events. Who could write one?
  • a special "Guest of the Day."
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      A tremendous idea! Students hearing from different people in the school community about important and timely messages.
  • "He adds many special twists to the school's daily P.A. announcements. In addition to fade-ins and fade-outs, he uses music that the students appreciate, special sound effects that he makes with his mouth or with studio equipment, and background cheers for the sports report"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      FX!! :-)
  • include a positive character-education message. "After I share the message, I always ask the children to 'Pass it on!'"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Great way to make Ethical Decision Maker more than just a monthly focus.
  • the students' bulletin
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Another neat idea... bulletins specifically for the students. HMW use this as part of the reading and writing work that students do already?
  • A small book with blank pages is always available next to the P.A. microphone. "Any staff member who would like an announcement made simply pens it in that book,"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      This is "High Touch" in my opinion.
  • "The quote relates to our character education trait of the month,"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      HMW tie our announcements to our mindsets?
  • 'Failure is the path of least persistence,'"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Stealing this :-)
  • Students who are members of our Student School Life Committee sign up to present a weekly announcement on Monday mornings,
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Maybe this answers the question of how to get elementary students more involved in leadership.
  • he always, always makes a special point of thanking the school's cafeteria workers, the custodial staff, the parents volunteers, and secretaries,
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Another good idea. Thank the people that we too often take for granted.
  • "This term, I've extended the theme by asking students to let me know if they've noticed their peers 'passing on something good.' I share those 'good news' stories the next morning. It is amazing how many stories have been generated Small steps lead to big journeys!"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Imagine students write these kinds of messages as part of their free writing, or as part of an end of the day through some kinds of all school reflection time! Stories from teachers and students would be accepted!
  • Larry Davis has been kind enough to share a year's worth of questions for use across the elementary grades. You'll find those questions in Education World's Morning Math feature
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Jackpot!! A link to lots of possible math questions for the announcements!!
  • A Riddle of the Week
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Not really riddles, but funny (and punny) things to make kids laugh, or groan. Either response is good when you are building a #havefun community!
  • "We usually do the National Anthem the first nine weeks of school," Roebuck told Education World. "Then we change songs for each of the other 9-week sessions. It's a good way for students to learn the words to a variety of patriotic songs."
  • Briarcrest also is proud of the school's Brag Board. "Each week, every teacher sends me one piece of student work to display on our big centrally located bulletin board,"
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      YES!!!
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    Ideas from various principals around morning announcement routines that help build school culture.
  •  
    Ideas from various principals around morning announcement routines that help build school culture.
Jim Tiffin Jr

Let 'Em Out! The Many Benefits of Outdoor Play In Kindergarten | MindShift | KQED News - 0 views

  • With no explicit math or literacy taught until first grade, the Swiss have no set goals for kindergartners beyond a few measurements, like using scissors and writing one’s own name. They instead have chosen to focus on the social interaction and emotional well-being found in free play.
  • With many parents and educators overwhelmed by the amount of academics required for kindergartners — and the testing requirements at that age  — it’s no surprise that the forest kindergarten, and the passion for bringing more free play to young children during the school day, is catching on stateside.
  • “So much of what is going on and the kind of play they do, symbolic play, is really pre-reading,” Molomot said. “It’s a very important foundation for reading.
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  • You’d be surprised at the importance of play.
  • Scenes of rosy-faced children building forts in the snow are presented in sharp contrast to the academic (and mostly indoor) kindergarten in New Haven, Connecticut, where a normal day is packed full of orderly activities: morning meeting, readers’ workshop, writers’ workshop, a special activity (like art, gym, and music), lunch and recess, storytime, “choice” (a fancy word for play), math centers, then closing meeting.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      I would like to see this movie.
  • Donnery notices that the gross motor skills of many of her kindergartners are underdeveloped, noting that usually means that fine motor skills are also lacking. “Developing those gross motor skills is just critical, can impact so much of later learning,” she said.
  • lacking in the attention needed to learn, with more than 10 percent of the school population diagnosed with some kind of attention disorder.
  • occupational therapist Angela Hanscom opined in the Washington Post that there’s good reason our kids are so fidgety: more and more students come to class without having enough core strength and balance to hold their bodies still long enough to learn.
  • “In order for children to learn, they need to be able to pay attention. In order to pay attention, we need to let them move.”
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      But this has to be more than just a wiggle stool or yoga ball... HMW get greater movement into Kindergarten? (and it need not just be in the Kindergarten classroom)
  • A recent study by psychologists at the University of Colorado shows an even stronger reason for free play: children who experienced more undirected free play showed signs of stronger executive function, a strong predictor of success in school. “The more time that children spent in less-structured activities,” wrote researchers, “the better their self-directed executive functioning.”
  • Reading and recess are important enough that we need to do both.
  • While this kind of adult-led movement is a far cry from the nearly unstructured free play of a forest kindergarten, it does serve the school’s purpose of high academic standards for their kindergartners, in hopes this prepares them for future academic success.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Note that it says "hope"...
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    Article contrasting two different approaches to Kindergarten - one outdoor-based and one indoor-based. Full of links to the research regarding the claims made in the article. Additionally, more language around executive function, and its importance for students, is used.
  •  
    Article contrasting two different approaches to Kindergarten - one outdoor-based and one indoor-based. Full of links to the research regarding the claims made in the article. Additionally, more language around executive function, and its importance for students, is used.
Jim Tiffin Jr

Go play! It's the key to developing executive function - Hanna Perkins Center for Child... - 0 views

  • “executive function,” the ability to self-regulate, the measurement of which turns out to be a better indicator of success in school than the results of an IQ test. Kids with good self-regulation skills are better able to control their emotions, resist impulsive behavior, and become self-disciplined and self-controlled.
  • how do we reconcile today’s anxious parents and the highly structured environment with our children’s need for unstructured, self-regulated play?
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Key part of this highlight: unstructured and self-regulated
  • The primary requirement for unsupervised play is uninterrupted stretches of time
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  • Even the youngest children are quite capable of entertaining, even educating, themselves.
  • encourage complex imaginative play by offering simple props and play ideas, but then withdraw so the children can plan their own scenarios and act them out.
  • your child is spending precious time at the activity that children need most and love best: playing independently and imaginatively
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    Though this post is written for parents, there are actions and ideas here that teachers can act upon.  The importance of play and its benefits are becoming more and more apparent - plus research is supporting it. Note to self: More research on executive function, and ways of building it in schools, needs to be done. HT: Jackie Gerstein
Jim Tiffin Jr

When Grading Harms Student Learning | Edutopia - 1 views

  • Is grading the focus, or is learning the focus?
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      A simple, straightforward reminder of what assessment is for.
  • Zeros do not reflect student learning. They reflect compliance.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Exactly.
  • a deduction in points. Not only didn't this correct the behavior, but it also meant that behavioral issues were clouding the overall grade report. Instead of reflecting that students had learned, the grade served as an inaccurate reflection of the learning goal.
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  • Students should learn the responsibility of turning in work on time, but not at the cost of a grade that doesn't actually represent learning.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      I completely agree with this point. But admittedly, I still am not sure how it would work in practice... I totally realize that the grades we give as teachers are completely under the school's control - we can go back and change grades even after the course has ended if we need to. But at the core of my question is, "What is the leverage (if that is the right word) that we can use to help students learn that responsibility?" Sports and pulling privileges come to mind, but what else is there. I wonder what other teachers have used for this situation? 
  • Many of our assignments are "practice," assigned for students to build fluency and practice a content or skill. Students are often "coming to know" rather than truly knowing.
  • Practice assignments and homework can be assessed, but they shouldn't be graded.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      An excellent distinction!
  • we should formatively assess our students and give everyone access to the "photo album" of learning rather than a single "snapshot."
  • We've all been in a situation where grading piles up, and so we put the class on a task to make time for grading.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      Guilty :-(
  • Teaching and learning should take precedence over grading and entering grades into grade books. If educators are spending an inordinate amount of time grading rather than teaching and assessing students, then something needs to change.
  • Our work as educators is providing hope to our students. If I use zeros, points off for late work, and the like as tools for compliance, I don't create hope. Instead, I create fear of failure and anxiety in learning. If we truly want our classrooms to be places for hope, then our grading practices must align with that mission.
    • Jim Tiffin Jr
       
      +1!
  •  
    A right-to-the-point article on how teacher grading practices can interfere with the learning philosophy of a classroom.
  •  
    A right-to-the-point article on how teacher grading practices can interfere with the learning philosophy of a classroom.
Nicole Martin

Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' as country reforms its ed... - 0 views

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    Garland shared this with me.
Jim Tiffin Jr

What's it like to change grading and reporting practices that have been around for over... - 0 views

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    The start of the journey that the faculty and administration took at Graded to rethink, and redo, grading practices at their high school. It includes an excellent list of reasons for the change, and the list of new expectations initiated by the change.
Jim Tiffin Jr

The Backwards Brain Bicycle - Smarter Every Day 133 - YouTube - 0 views

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    "Knowledge does not equal understanding." How difficult it is for adults to unlearn something, but not as difficult for children to do so. Emphasis is on how our brain works for storing ideas, but there are a multitude of lessons here for educators to consider.
Nicole Martin

Kauffman Founders School || What You Need to Know About Venture Capitalists - Entrepren... - 1 views

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    Since MV is a Venture Capitalists of Education and I like what the video says about the way we do/should allocate our time, the way we disrupt. What are we doing to really break out? Where do we spend the little bit our time? Where do we spend a lot of our time? (Im spending mine on the dance recital right now.. Ahhh!) How do we convince our "entrepreneurs" (K parents, partners, donors, teachers) that we are disruptive to a massive market and will make a big impact?
Nicole Martin

Articles, Research and Blogs - - 0 views

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    Habits of Mind link to articles- set of dispositions that describe an effective thinker, the dispositions of problem solver/creative thinker/problem solver
Jim Tiffin Jr

All You Need to Know About the 'Learning Styles' Myth, in Two Minutes | WIRED - 0 views

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    Article discussing the lack of evidence supporting this "urban legend" in education: learning styles. Suggest catering to learning styles of students may be doing more harm than good. Says the nature of the content being learned should dictate, along with the experience of the learner. Article includes many links to research, books, and other articles.
Jim Tiffin Jr

Experiential Learning | Granted, and... - 0 views

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    A post by Grant Wiggins, stressing the importance of of how to use hands-on projects and rich experiences to properly frame learning: "If you were going to learn carpentry to build a chair, then "The learning is not the chair; it is the learning about learning about chairs, chair-making and oneself."" The questions Grant would ask at the end of his Socratic Seminars are powerful ones to consider asking in other learning events.
Jim Tiffin Jr

Hands on ≠ Minds on - 0 views

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    Great example, and by that I mean "really awful" example, of how activities and experiences are not always powerful learning moments.
Jim Tiffin Jr

Canstruction - 1 views

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    Wonderful can drive idea for combining creativity, designing, making, and service to others.
Shelley Clifford

American Schools Are Training Kids for a World That Doesn't Exist | WIRED - 0 views

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    Learning by an original and personal process of discovery is a trend on many US university campuses, like Stanford University, MIT, and Arizona State University. It also shows up in middle school, high school and after school programs. Discovery, as intriguing process, has become a powerful theme in contemporary culture and entertainment. In art and design galleries, and many museums, artists and designers...
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