10 Things I've Learned about Teaching

I think that "Reflective Teaching" is the single-most important tool that educators can use to improve student learning. If we don't take the time to truly think about what we do in the classroom - and how we do it - how can we transform our practice in meaningful and lasting ways? What we think worked 5 years ago, likely won't have the same impact on our students - so how can we continually evolve and re-define ourselves as facilitators for student growth and development?

Put simply, we need to question everything and focus on only those things that we can honestly say are "good for students."

Here's what I've come up with so far....(put together as my very first infographic:)

What's missing from this list? What have you learned about teaching? What would your list include? 

I would love to hear your thoughts.

The World is Your Window

The world is your window,

Let its colours arrive

To the doors of your senses,

Where curiosity lies. 

If the world is your window,

Find a way to provide,

The right conditions for learning

For your passions inside.

When the world is your window,

There is nothing you see,

That is too tough to tackle

Or too big to be.

Should the world be your window,

You will surely agree,

That your dreams are just stepping stones,

To the one you can be. 

Build your world as a window

For the hope you contain,

Your learning, your legacy,

Your ambition, your name.

Neil Finney

How Puzzles Teach Key Learning Skills

Puzzles are a great way to improve fine motor skills and enhance focus in our children. I've watched both my sons be motivated to complete puzzles - in an ever-increasingly independent capacity - with success and happiness. Whether at home with your own children or in a school-setting as an educator, try incorporating puzzles as a way of providing yet another authentic learning opportunity that will play on the kinesthetic/tactile learning skill sets.

Here's how to get started:

1. Choose a puzzle that you feel is just a little out of reach for your child. You should already have a good idea what they can handle - when it comes to an independent task and managing their level of attention - and aim just a little 'higher.'

2. Avoid the urge to jump in and help them with the puzzle when they're stuck. They will prevail and learn much more from the struggle and problem-solving skills, then the realization that you will step in whenever things become difficult.

3. Know when your support is genuinely needed. Now, in the previous tip, my intention is not to abandon the child in their greatest time of need. In fact, doing this will almost certainly lead to a complete 'shut down' and no chance of puzzles ever catching on as a 'fun' thing to do. Rather, gauge when the need for support and your collaborative efforts is required. By intervening at the right time, you are providing the scaffolding needed as an opportunity to develop their skills and comfort through the 'balanced model' of learning you are using (model=>shared=>guided=>independent).

4. Celebrate the finished product. Focus all your positive attention and energy on them when they triumphantly place that final piece and announce to the room that they did it! Take pictures, show other family members or classmates and showcase their incredible effort and success. This is their moment to shine!

5. Re-frame the puzzle challenge with a new twist. "Ok. Now that we know you can do this puzzle. How can you put it together this time, so it gets finished faster?" 

• What about starting with the outside border first? 
• What about starting by turning over all the pieces first, so they face up? 
• What if you chose the biggest objects in the puzzle and put them together first? 
• What if you chose a colour to begin with and only pieced together those pieces?

By having this guided conversation, you are modeling problem-solving strategies, goal setting, and possibly even, fostering meta-cognitive awareness.

At any rate, puzzles are a great way to reach children of all abilities in a way that supports independence and can help in the building of a positive self-concept. Your children, or even students, will love the opportunity to show their stuff and be successful.

Raising a Reader

Teaching the joy of reading and the magic of learning is, I feel, our greatest gift as educators. As a parent, I have been witness to incredible moments of disbelief and awe when it comes to my own 2 sons, Liam and Bryce. They are, indeed, sponges as the saying goes, and my wife and I have tried to instill in them a love of reading that will build a foundation of learning success.

On the weekend, we took a trip to the Barrie Public Library - one of their favourite things to do. My wife came across a storybook called "Bony Legs" and remembered it from her own childhood. She put it into the bag of goodies to be signed out and we were homeward bound. She read the story to our youngest son, Bryce, twice in the next few days.

Bryce has entered the "pre-reading" stage and is constantly asking to "read" to us - or his 5-year-old brother, Liam. He uses the pictures as evidence and describes what he sees to us. He offers reactions like, "this is the funny part," and "isn't that weird?" He has already learned to interact with the text, use its features to improve his understanding and to celebrate and share in his "reading" to truly enjoy the experience.

He proudly carries out this adventure and is so delighted with himself, when he has us as a captivated audience. What a terrific thing to be a part of.



So, how can we make sure that we are "raising readers" in a positive and supportive manner? Here's what I think...

1. Celebrate everything in the stages of reading as worthy of your attention and feedback. "Wow, that's such an interesting ending." "What do you think will happen next?" "How do you feel when you read to mommy and daddy?" "I really like how you used the pictures to figure out what's happening!"

2. Recognize the process of reading. It doesn't happen overnight, and therefore, should be constantly done and discussed in order to progress. Our future readers are "reading" their world far before they sound out words and vocalize sentence structures.

3. Reading is life. This is a skill and talent that will carry your son, daughter, or student throughout their lives. They will dramatically improve given attention, support, feedback and questions. Frame each response and comment you make as an opportunity for them to dazzle you. Don't be satisfied with one word answers, dig deeper and find out what they think just as much as you expect to hear what they know.  

In the end, this is one of the greatest journeys they will ever make...and you will hold their hand through it all and guide them into their potential for learning - and life.

How do you "raise" readers - whether your own children or students you teach? 

More Cowbell

Teachers become mentors to the education process. We do not simply exude knowledge when we walk the halls or leave traces of learning on the desks for students to find as they enter - we mold and wield it to our interests. Incredible things are made possible in the classroom when there is a teacher with new eyes and a fresh perspective on how to approach teaching. We bring the curriculum along for the ride, knowing that it has a place on this trip. But we do not expect those formal expectations and words to carry the conversation in our classroom; that is our place. Our students merely need to mention it now and again, thereby making sure that it doesn't feel excluded.

Our lessons are shaped by our ideas and those influenced by the world around us. Anything can be a teaching moment and those things that seem the most trivial are usually the ones most in need of teaching. The hidden curriculum is what builds better global citizens and responsible students; manners, social cues, character education and common sense. These are the building blocks of a better world and they have been left without a place in the conventional curriculum.

We know when something in our midst is on the verge of breaking through and taking over the learning environment. We can sense the excitement in the room when a student is about to grasp a new concept or one that has alluded them until now. Those are the times when a teacher feels like an expert. If you haven't felt that way in a while there could be any number of reasons for it. But, ultimately, it needs more cowbell. And when it gets that cowbell - incredible things will happen for you and the students in your room. Focus on what the problem is that is preventing you from feeling like the expert and professional that you are. Whatever is holding you back has to be reconciled before those gold records find their way to your walls again.