HORIZON OF THE WORLD: March 2018

Friday, March 16, 2018

The art of reflection: how to become a more thoughtful educator

Jamie Thom

Reflecting on how you’re doing in the classroom can help you take ownership of your teaching and identify areas for improvement

https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2018/feb/10/the-art-of-reflection-how-to-become-a-more-thoughtful-educator

In an effort to improve my teaching practice, I’ve made some pretty unattainable teaching resolutions in the past. I’ve told myself I’ll conquer all behaviour management issues; work-life balance will be my new middle name; and the marking pile will be seamlessly controlled. But such resolutions are usually made during the holidays, and it doesn’t take long for them to dissipate once I’ve returned to the classroom.

Most teachers are passionate about what they do. But research suggests that after the first few years of teaching they can begin to stagnate in their practice. It’s easy for frustrations about making the same mistakes to creep in, and we often look for quick fixes. As Dylan William suggests: “Teachers are like magpies. They love picking up shiny little ideas from one classroom; taking it back to their classroom; trying it once, and then moving on to the next shiny idea.”

So how can teachers energise themselves and become more thoughtful educators? I’ve found that taking control of my development through regular reflection and follow-up actions has helped me take ownership of my teaching and better understand how I can improve. Here are four tips for doing the same.

Ask yourself how you want to improve
Teaching is a remarkably complex, multifaceted skill, and there is never a sense of having “mastered” it. While this could be an intimidating idea, it’s actually one of the most energising and exciting things about the profession.

Realising this begins to remove the stress and competitive element of the job. The goal becomes more simple: to be one step better than you were before. Ask yourself what aspect of teaching you want to improve on. How will you do this? Consider the impact of any changes you’re making in the classroom. Picking a pedagogical focus for each half term is a useful approach: last term I focused on the impact of refining different questioning styles.

Track your progress

Regularly recording your thoughts can help you track progress and make informed decisions about how to move forward. Writing a diary is one option, or you might prefer to join the huge number of teachers sharing their ideas more publicly with online blogs (anonymous or otherwise).
If you are dealing with stress, for example, recording your thoughts over time could help identify the source of the difficulty and what you might do to cope. Or in looking at your students’ understanding of your subject, you might reflect on your ability to give clear explanations, and then experiment with the pace and words you use.
I’ve found that taking 10 minutes to write at the end of the school day is useful for understanding interactions between myself and my students.

Read around your subject

Individual observations can only go so far. There are a range of educational books and a growing body of educational research that can help to fuel this more thoughtful approach to teaching.

Last year, I decided to read 12 books to guide my efforts towards self-improvement. I had to make time in a full timetable, but the process helped me think more clearly about what I wanted to change.One book a term can provide a roadmap to stimulating reflection; as you read you experiment in your classroom and consider the impact. It can be very motivating to see the small gains in your teaching as your repertoire of skills continues to develop.

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Find a coach

Coaching can help too. Primary assistant headteacher Aidan Severs has written about how his school’s coaching model is inspiring teachers to fine-tune their practice.
If your school doesn’t have a formal coaching structure, you could look at starting an informal coaching relationship with a colleague. Sometimes we need others to guide our thinking through questioning and probing, and a coaching relationship can motivate you to improve.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

8 Important Reasons For Teaching Kindness in Schools

https://edarticle.com/8-important-reasons-for-teaching-kindness-in-schools/

Most people have heard the phrase ‘random acts of kindness’, which refers to a selfless act of giving resulting in the happiness of another person. Terms like this are increasing in popularity around the world, as more people identify a deficiency in their lives that can only be fulfilled by altruism.
It seems we just can’t get enough of those addictive feel good emotions and with good reason.
Scientific studies have shown that kindness has a great number of physical and emotional benefits, and that children require a healthy dose of the warm and fuzzies in order to flourish as health, happy, well-rounded individuals.

Patty O’Grady, PhD, is an expert in the area of neuroscience, emotional learning, and positive psychology with special attention to the educational arena. She believes that “kindness changes the brain by the experience of kindness. Children and adolescents do not learn kindness by only thinking about it and talking about it. Kindness is best learned by feeling it so that they can reproduce it. Kindness is an emotion that students feel and empathy is a strength that they share.”
A great number of benefits have been reported to support the theory of teaching kindness in schools:

1. Happy Children

Science explains that the good feelings we experience when being kind are produced by endorphins that activate areas of the brain that are associated with pleasure, social connection and trust, and it’s proven that these feelings of joyfulness are contagious, encouraging more kind behaviour by the giver and recipient.

2. Increased Peer Acceptance

Research on the subject has determined that kindness increases our ability to form meaningful connections with others. Studies show that kind, happy children enjoy greater peer acceptance because they are well-liked and that better than average mental health is reported in classrooms that practice more inclusive behaviour due to an even distribution of popularity.

3. Improved Health and Less Stress

It’s widely documented that being kind can trigger a release of the hormone oxytocin which has a number of physical and mental health benefits as it can significantly increase a person’s level of happiness and reduce stress. More recently though, it’s been found it plays a significant role in the cardiovascular system, helping protect the heart by lowering blood pressure and reducing free radicals and inflammation, which incidentally speed up the aging process.

4. Greater Sense of Belonging and Improved Self Esteem

Studies show that people experience a ‘helpers high’ when they do a good deed, a rush of endorphins that creates a lasting sense of pride, wellbeing and an enriched sense of belonging. Even small acts of kindness are reported to heighten our sense of wellbeing, increase energy and give a wonderful feeling of optimism and self worth.

5. Increased Feelings of Gratitude

When children are part of projects that help others less fortunate than themselves, it provides them with a real sense of perspective and helps them appreciate the good things in their own lives.

6. Better Concentration and Improved Results

As it increases serotonin, which plays an important part in learning, memory, mood, sleep, health and digestion, kindness is a key ingredient that helps children feel good. Having a positive outlook allows them greater attentions spans and enables more creative thinking to produce better results at school.

7. Less Bullying

Two Penn State Harrisburg faculty researchers, Shanetia Clark and Barbara Marinak say, “unlike previous generations, today’s adolescents are victimizing each other at alarming rates.” They argue adolescent bullying and youth violence can be confronted through in-school programs that integrate “kindness — the antithesis of victimization.”
Many traditional anti-bullying programs focus on the negative actions that cause children anxiety and often with little impact. Teaching kindness and compassion in schools, not only fosters the positive behaviour that creates warm and inclusive school environments, but helps children feel that they belong. It’s documented that the effects of bullying can be significantly reduced by integrating kindness based programs in schools.

8. Reduced Depression

Dr. Wayne Dyer, internationally renowned author and speaker, says research has discovered that an act of kindness increases levels of serotonin (a natural chemical responsible for improving mood) in the brain. It’s also found that serotonin levels are increased in both the giver and receiver of an act of kindness, as well as anyone who witnesses that kindness, making it a wonderful natural antidepressant.
Maurice Elias, a professor at Rutgers University Psychology Department says that “as a citizen, grandparent, father, and professional, it is clear to me that the mission of schools must include teaching kindness. Without it, communities, families, schools, and classrooms become places of incivility where lasting learning is unlikely to take place.
We need to be prepared to teach kindness, because it can be delayed due to maltreatment early in life. It can be smothered under the weight of poverty, and it can be derailed by victimization later in life. Yet despite these and other travails, the receipt of kindness and the ability to show kindness through service are both growth enhancing and soul cleansing.
Kindness can be taught, and it is a defining aspect of civilized human life. It belongs in every home, school, neighborhood, and society.”
It’s become quite clear that modern education must encompass more than just academics, that in order for children to develop into happy, confident, well-rounded individuals, matters of the heart must be taken seriously and nurtured as a matter of priority.