The 2x10 Strategy

It's a no brainer really.

Talking with a student for 2 minutes for 10 consecutive days will help grow a solid relationship with them, and it will reflect in so many areas of their learning, behavior and general person. 

I got the 2x10 strategy from reading this blog, and as any teacher talking with students is something you do on a daily basis, and I know that the more I get to know my learners, the better I will be able to teach them... but i'm not that often directly intentional with it. 

While doing kids camps, during our morning meeting each leader would name 1 or 2 kids in their small group who would be their 'focus' for the day. We would intentionally be building relationships, and while camp was only a week long, because we were thinking about it, we could build awesome relationships with the kids there. We also had to name times of the day that would be best for this relationship building... during whole group activities not so much, but maybe during a meal time or kids free time would be great :) 

As a teacher it's all that more important... while I have longer to build these relationships, the urgency isn't any less. The blog talks about having the 2x10 strategy for 'at risk' students, but I do strongly believe it's for ALL students. 

So this is going to link in the my last post about being more culturally responsive/learning about the cultures in the classroom. Maybe alter it a bit 2 students a day where I take the 2 minutes either in the morning or at the start of morning tea or lunch to just talk. Let them guide the conversation and see what excites them and what makes them, them. 

I'll have a reflect back on it when I have been doing this 'intentional' talking for a while! :) 

Bring on Term 4!

It's a New Term!

Term 4, 2014 begins... TOMORROW!!!!

Well for the kids at least, it probably begun about a month ago for me :) 

One of the things on my mind over the holidays was about being culturally responsive to ALL my students. 

I was very lucky at my last school to have a high proportion of the school being Māori, Tongan and Samoan, so I have had the chance to learn some of their culture... but even in that i've only scratched the surface. 

In my current class I have an absolutely wonderful group of students, and they are such a mix of cultures and backgrounds. Out of my 18 students I have 9 different cultures... how awesome is that!!

Last year some educators from around Canterbury had the chance to go to Samoa to experience school and Island life to better understand their students.

Here is a video about their visit...

Right at the end there is a challenge given, which I'm going to take as my challenge for this term.

Something I started at my last school (but misplaced in the move!) was a list of how to say some classroom directions and praise in the different languages represented in my room... written correctly and phonetically so I could try and learn it.

It was a great list to have, so I'm going to start it up again with the help of my parents... probably as a google doc this time so I can't misplace it!

Moments

Moments which made me smile today...

"It's ok if you don't know how to spell 'because', you can look at the board"

Said by a student while I was typing up his work and I had misspelt 'because'.

"Miss, why are you so dangerous, always holding dangerous things"

Said after I 'saved' a group from a spider and put it outside. 

Modern Learning Spaces - lets give it a try!

This morning was a wet and wooly morning. 

Wind

Rain

Hail

What better morning, to try something new!

After watching Anne's video about changing her environment into a MLE within her current room, and her students choosing where they best learn, we gave it a go this morning.

During writing the students could choose to sit where they thought they would do their best learning and work.

Here are some photos of what it looked like...

We talked at the start about where we think we learn best, and why.

We also talked about that we're just doing a trial, so we need to think about our learning and if it does help us learn better.

Here is what some students said about it...

"I chose to learn by the door because it's a bit peaceful, and no body will talk to me too much."

"I chose to do my learning on the mat, because it is very comfortable there."

"I chose to do my writing in the library corner because it's a quiet place."

"I chose to do my learning under the table, because I like it there. It's very cool writing under the table."

"I chose to do my learning in the cubby hole because it's comfy."

From the teachers side of things, their writing was no different... but I see that as a good thing. 
With the choices of who they sit with and where, there was no deterioration in their writing, and I could still see all the students showing me good writing habits (i.e. word cards, conferencing with others, etc).

It will be interesting if I see any noticeable change as we go on so...


I think we'll be trying it again tomorrow!

Modern Learning Spaces

Modern Learning is all the talk at the moment, I've visited schools in Auckland and Wanaka which have been purpose built as Modern Learning Environments (MLE), and i've seen classrooms adapted to make them into MLE without the infrastructure change... I'm visiting one in Christchurch this week too, to see how they work their MLE.

One thing I hadn't really thought about was the students initial input into the process, here are two videos by Core Education which feature Anne Kenneally talking about pre turning her single cell classroom into a single cell MLE, and then how it was going once it had been set up.

It got me thinking about what I can do with my class next term, and about helping my students to learn and understand what helps them to learn best.

Anne Kenneally: Student designed learning spaces from EDtalks on Vimeo.

Anne Kenneally: Creating learning spaces from EDtalks on Vimeo.

Fabulous Friday Free choice Followup... Fail!

But that's what reflections are for right?

Monday to Thursday once my students have finished their writing (or think they have!), they move onto a followup activity and stay there for the rest of writing time/until I call them over to conference, look at goals and do our 2 stars and wish... then any editing that we think could be done.

The followup tasks are displayed on the screen like this

So the Blue Dragons start with me (the apple), and when they've finished their writing today, the followup would be roll and write their spelling words.

The Green Dragons are doing all their work on iPads today, and once they're finished they get to do literacy activities in the iPad (sometimes hard to police).

The Orange Dragons get priority for goals (the green tick), and once finished they're in the library corner, and...

The Red Dragons use the plastic alphabet letters to make their spelling words.

This system works really well.

The students know exactly how to 'read' it, and the students sit in their groups, so once a child is finished they are the ones who set up anything that is needed for the follow up.

As I said, this is only Mon-Thurs. 

Friday's is free choice seating, I choose students who have shown they have worked really hard to go on the iPads, and they can choose their followup activities.

The last few Fridays this has worked well, but today the day was against us.

We had mufti, our 'fish' were growing, and we had a very exciting remote control car brought in by one of the students which we watched and then were doing our writing about, AND it was a rather warm day. 

So the free choice followup became some students doing their choice and some students being excited about the day and not being engaged on anything... and of course this wasn't noticed by me until a visitor came in... always when there's a visitor you become more alert.

After the visitor left, I pulled them all in, we talked about if we were doing learning, and they were given set tasks again... without the iPads.

Angels.

All were engaged, all were working together in their groups, and I finished my conferencing super quick compared to before!

(And we had 2 students finish their goals! Woohoo!)

So to reflect on this I have thought of a few options...

I do like the free choice seating on a Friday, so I could have different pictures other than the dragons at the tables, and those students become that group for the day, which would mean I could still have a 'set' follow up activity displayed... I would just have to think about how I made it work, because then some tables may be full because all the students want to do 1 followup activity... but is that necessarily a bad thing? As long as there are enough resources and they're engaged/learning i'm sure we can make it work. 

Another thought is projecting the choices up on the board, maybe still having 4 choices, so they have something to base their choosing on... once again it could mean a mass at one activity, but i'm sure we could make that work.

Or Friday could be one followup activity for all, maybe something a bit different, so that Friday can still be Fabulous and a bit different.

I'll keep thinking. 

As I said above, usually the free choice had been working, so maybe just with the mix of the day was a one off, but i'll keep it on my radar as possible options. 

Happy Writing!

Why I have a class blog...

With re-starting a blog at my new school, I decided to have a think about WHY I blog.

I teach students who are at an age where they need assistance to blog, either fully, or with their spelling when they email me some work... so since i've started classroom blogging it's been very teacher heavy with what does and doesn't go online.

My students will say 'can we put this on the blog', and the answer more often than not is 'yes'... but then on busy days when there are meetings, work to be marked and planning to be done, the blog can easily be  put to the back.

But WHY I blog is because of connection...

Blogging is an awesome way of connecting the classroom with the home (& the wider world!). Connection has been a main goal of mine this term, encouraging families to go on the blog at home and to comment... 

and it's going great!

We definitely have some star commenters, and some whānau I would still love to get onboard, but there is a connection going. I'm not just making blog posts which only I view (kinda like this blog :p), they are being viewed by many people outside the classroom, and there is connections happening!

YAY!!!

I'll finish with one comment on my classroom blog that made my day... this is what blogging having a home/school connection is all about :) 

In my opinion, blogging is achievable and very worth while... if there is an audience.  

Finding my Strengths - SO INTERESTING!

I have had many people who have done a 'Strengths Finder' course tell me how interesting and insightful it was... but only after doing it myself do I agree!

Also our coach said at the start to get a fuller understanding of our personal strengths, she suggested getting a personal coaching session... my first thought was it's just more money... but after a 3 hour session, i'm quite keen to fins out more!

So I did a 3 hour workshop with 19 other people... there are 34 different strengths, and out of the 20 of us, we only had 1 which wasn't covered!

Then she told us the stats which go along side the strength finder... all very interesting and most I didn't write down, but some which stuck out to me were...

1:278,000

People have the same 'top 5' as me

1:33 million

People will have the same 'top 5' order

1:4 trillion

People will have the whole 34 in the same order

Pretty cool!

So as in my previous blog post, my top 5, in order are:
- Belief
- Responsibility
- Communication
- Arranger
- Developer

During the workshop we  looked into our own 'top 5' and write out what part of the description I really relate to, and what it looks like in our lives... then we had a chance to go around for 5min intervals and talk with someone who had one of our strengths. This I found was super interesting an valuable. It was interesting to see that some us had the same ones, but took different bits from it... but I think it was even better when I was talking with someone and when they were describing some things they did in that strength, I could totally relate to, and sometimes didn't even realise it until they pointed it out in themselves!

The 'strengths finder' has been used an studied for over 50 years, and through it they have found that there is no gender inequality across the strengths, while there is a cultural one. 

An analogy I liked was about handling others baggage. 
With my set of strengths, I need to manage myself so that I don't take on too much and burn out, so I'm going to try and keep this analogy in mind. 

When you're at the Airport traveling overseas, you need to check your baggage in.
Now the person who is on the other side of the booth takes your baggage, you might discuss your trip and other details, but when the time has come, you leave them, and they let your baggage go.
There is a time and a place for the person to hold my baggage, but there is also a time to let it go (what a mess the airport would be if they held onto our bags!)

So I'm going to try and keep this in my mind, I can listen to what's going on in others lives, but I need to remember that it's theirs and not mine, I need to let go. 

One last point is about expectations.
We discussed that one of the biggest reasons people 'fail' is because of the lack of expectations or unknown ones. 
We thought about what expectations we have on ourselves, what expectations we thought others had on us... but also things like, what expectations we had for meetings and training events...
Are the expectations I have good or not? 

If expectation aren't clear from both sides it can lead to people being disappointed, hurt, upset and burning out. I need to be aware of expectations I give and the ones around me. I need to be aware of if they are appropriate and achievable or if they will impact negatively (i.e. giving people expectations which stretch them our of their skills/strengths into a place they struggle). 

So that was just some quick thoughts and ramblings. There was so much I learned, and lots more to think on and look into. Would be definitely be keen to look more into it, as well as do it as a team sometime to see how we can best work in together and explain why some things are as they are. 

Everyone has a part to play and individual strengths they can bring to any team! 

Finding my Strenghts

I'm excited!

I've heard people talk about doing courses of finding out their strengths, and have always been a bit interested in it, but never looked further into it, but this weekend i'm getting my chance.

My husband and I are off to Wellington for the Scripture Union AGM, and as a part of it there are 3 workshop slots... I have chosen to take the strengths finder track. 

So I have already done a 45min online questionaire through the 'Gallup Strengths Finder' which has come up with my top 5 strengths, my task before the weekend was to read through and highlight what hits home most... while reading through there were lots of points that jumped out at me... as well as some that I didn't think were me at all... these are what I got (without the highlighting)...

* Strength areas edited after going on the course and getting the more personalised/less generic descriptions. 

Belief
It’s very likely that you may point out issues, problems, or obstacles before others see them. Some people label you a pessimist. Perhaps you reply, “I’m just being realistic. I sometimes choose to fix things before they wear out, break down, or become obsolete.” Because of your strengths, you feel much better about yourself and life in general when you have a worthwhile cause or project to which you can dedicate your mind, body, and spirit. By nature, you can sometimes place the needs of others ahead of your own. Driven by your talents, you might be determined to push for specific kinds of changes that could benefit humankind or Earth itself. To some extent, your desire to have an impact motivates you to enter into conversations with intelligent people. Sometimes drawing on their knowledge and ideas as well as sharing your wisdom is exciting. Perhaps some of these discussions redirect your thinking or cause you to reexamine your purpose in life. Instinctively, you place more importance on the purpose and value of what you do than on the monetary rewards that accompany success.

Responsibility
By nature, you periodically derive satisfaction from pulling newcomers or outsiders into discussions or friendly chitchat. Over time, you may have become more aware of your abilities or more accountable for your words and deeds. Maybe you claim to be more grown up than some of your coworkers, teammates, family members, classmates, or friends. It’s very likely that you experience pangs of remorse when you realize you failed to do something you promised to do. You feel awful when you do not do something correctly. You probably regret having compromised your basic values about right and wrong. Instinctively, you may strive to be a dependable person. Maybe you please people by being reliable. You might enjoy assuming accountability for certain tasks, projects, assignments, or commitments. Perhaps you accept these additional duties without making a fuss. Driven by your talents, you may want people to regard you as trustworthy, dependable, or reliable. Perhaps this yearning motivates you to do whatever you said you would do. Chances are good that you may reject the idea that telling a falsehood about something unimportant is acceptable. Perhaps you refuse to make an innocent social excuse to protect someone’s feelings.

Communication
It’s very likely that you might express your ideas and feelings so others take notice. To some degree, you delight in leading conversations, telling stories, making presentations, debating, or discussing. Perhaps the verbal give-and-take between human beings is something you value or do well. Chances are good that you like to amuse people with your stories. Your stories probably provide people with pleasant distractions from their daily routines, worries, and obligations. By nature, you may derive pleasure from spending time with people, rather than being alone. Perhaps this partially explains why you are thrilled when someone makes an effort to befriend you. Because of your strengths, you openly admit that you participate in friendly rivalries for fun. Perhaps you are comfortable letting people know what you do and do not value. Driven by your talents, you may feel comfortable speaking to a variety of individuals or audiences.

Arranger
Chances are good that you may be willing to juggle multiple tasks at the same time when it helps a person or a group handle a complicated project. Perhaps individuals who do their best work when they can concentrate on one activity appreciate having you as a partner. It’s very likely that you may avoid associating with people who lack integrity or have proven themselves unworthy of your trust. Because of your strengths, you routinely engage in group activities and projects. Often these benefit youth and small children. Driven by your talents, you periodically find better ways for people to cooperate. You try to identify the strengths, limitations, ideas, goals, or experiences each person brings to the group. You might set up partnerships so individuals can acquire the knowledge or skills they lack. Instinctively, you sometimes coordinate the efforts of diverse individuals without denying them their uniqueness. You might emphasize their common goals. You might call attention to their talents, skills, knowledge, backgrounds, or other traits. Perhaps you help people peacefully coexist. This may enhance their overall productivity.

Developer
It’s very likely that you might assist individuals by offering them words of support. Perhaps you emphasize what they do well or what makes them special. Driven by your talents, you may hope individuals choose to spend some quality time with you. Perhaps they have seen you put aside something you were doing just to help them. Your unselfishness might win the favor or friendship of others. By nature, you may embolden some people so they begin believing in themselves. Perhaps you help them realize certain things they can accomplish in the future. Sometimes you remind them about certain things they already do well. Because of your strengths, you frequently express your appreciation of possibility thinkers. Why? They create verbal pictures of the future that allow you to envision what is possible. Chances are good that you typically do whatever it takes to know someone on a personal level. The insights you gain help you bestow appropriate recognition on the individual. You instinctively understand the level of attention and the amount of time the person needs from you to feel truly appreciated.

This is the blurb from the SU website for what i'll be doing this weekend

• 'Strengths Based Leadership' with Toni Houghton.  Discover your God-given talents and learn ways to develop those talents into strengths that will benefit your team. Find out more about yourself and the way you lead...  There will be on-going development suggestions. Toni is a StrengthsFinder Coach, professional external supervisor, SNSP Advisory Group member, public sector manager, librarian, youthworker, elder, wife and mother. 

I'm looking forward to what I learn from Toni, and how I can use my strengths in all areas of my life!

Observations

Observations...  I love them!

A few months ago I wouldn't have been able to say the same thing, but now I have realised...

I CAN TEACH

and

I CAN REFINE

I have had two formal observations in the last 6 weeks (Reading and Writing), and countless visits by the Principal just coming to see how we're going... all this used to be scary, but now it's great!

I've come to fully realise, as I put above, that observations aren't to knock down what i'm not doing quite right, but they are to build up and encourage what's going well, to bring up any questions and to have professional discussions about next steps and what WE can work on. 

With writing, a goal of mine was to display more students work, so I got some publishing done and put it up on the wall... not the best display I had done, but the writing was up and I could tick the box.

haha no.

It was at a staff meeting that another teachers writing display wall was shown, and I realised what my goal actually was... Displaying achievements and examples of work which shows students who have been working on writing goals. Another teacher also found some display ideas around having the 'Writers Eye', so I took what I saw from both and adapted it to make it work in with my writing program and what the students were already used to (their goals).

 

So we already had goals in their books, but now we also have...

Editing pencils which cover many goals

Photos of students who have finished a goal sheet

Books on the wall when they finish their goals

and

Examples of students work who have been working on their goals

The wall went from boring to engaging as well as interactive!

No more static boring displays!

Today was a reading observation, once again wasn't scary (would go as far as saying it was awesome), and one next step was to be more explicit in the teaching of strategies so that the students could talk about what they were using when reading new words.

I had already found animal strategies I liked (free from Teachers pay Teachers), so I liked that it was a goal which I was already aware of... so come next week there will be a new interactive reading display, and 'collector' cards for my students to bring home.

Watch this space for how being 'explicit' about reading strategies go!

Effective Literacy Practice - Part 5

Instructional Strategies

ELP pages 76-79

Instructional Strategies are a teachers tool belt. It is what we began to learn at teachers college, it's what we added to during practicums, and it's what we continue to add to and take away from as we refine our teaching practice and continue to learn from others new ideas to meet our students needs.

We use our Instructional Strategies as 'Deliberate Acts of Teaching' (DAT's), as we focus in on teaching a specific learning intention. 

One thing to note is the 's'. 

While teaching we always need to be aware of the different learners and what will best meet their needs. There will never be a lesson with just one Instructional Strategy, but always strategies. Building on the individual's or group's prior knowledge. 

It's interesting looking at the table on page 77 and thinking about what I do in the class, the purpose and what I expect the students to learn from it. There is so much to learn in the first few teaching years, that DAT's are so important. 

When using my DAT's, I need to remember to always do the following...

(p78-79 for full explanation)

• Provide direct instruction
• Provide goal directed instruction
• Be deliberate
• Provide a class culture and environment that facilitates learning
• Maintain students motivation and enjoyment
• Use the same instructional strategies for teaching across the curriculum
• Be flexible and culturally responsive

All of these points work on scaffolding and knowing my learners.

If I jumped a Magenta level student to straight to Green, it might look impressive, but they would have missed all the building blocks in the middle. The scaffolding wouldn't be there for the student to achieve, and it would do quite the opposite, with it always being too hard. 

Vygotsky talks about someones 'Zone of Proximal Development' (ZPD).

Everyone is capable of achieving, but you will work best within your ZPD to scaffold and foster that growth. This zone is between what they can do independently and what they can do with support.

I found some good pictorial examples on this blog

Effective Literacy Practice - Part 4

Independent Reading

ELP pages 100-101 or on the TKI website

We have a reading challenge at school, to encourage all our students to read more at home, and through this we hope that engagement in reading, the enjoyment and students confidence will grow. 

To foster a culture of independent reading in my classroom I have a reading corner which has our library books, but also has 'mileage' books. The mileage books are ones that students have previously read in a guided lesson either that week, or maybe a few weeks ago. These books are kept in different boxes and the students know what ones to choose from for their group.

Having these mileage books helps to foster the idea of 'Reading for pleasure'. They aren't new to the students and they are something they can achieve. Through successes students often want to read these books more and more.

My library corner is also somewhere which is fun and safe. I have it 'under' a tree, and have coloured cushions. I can see the area from where i'm doing my guided group, but the students feel as if they are on their own to explore and have some space to read. 

Independent reading is also started at the end of most guided reading sessions. Where the students either turn around on the spot and read aloud to themselves, or find a quiet place in the room. Both instances I use to watch and monitor the students and if someone or a few is struggling, i'll pull them back alongside my and we can read together again. 

Effective Literacy Practice - Part 3

Guided Reading

ELP pages 96-100 or on the TKI website

Guided Reading probably takes up most of my planning time, but the more thought I put into it, I definitely find the better the lessons go.

From the ELP it says...

Guided reading provides a framework in which teachers can use instructional strategies to:

• Help students to develop an understanding of what is involved in reading and an expectation of success;
• Help students to learn, practise, and integrate their reading strategies;
• Help students to read new text successfully;
• Monitor students closely while they engage with and process texts;
• Develop students’ comprehension of and critical responses to text;
• Build students’ confidence as independent readers;
• Show students how the processes of reading and writing are integral to each other.

After teaching for a while and knowing the students, all these points come quite naturally when planning and thinking during lessons, but each of them definitely hold as much importance on their own as they do together. 

Successful guided reading is pinned on students feeling confident to give things a try. These sessions are when the new teaching happens. I as the teacher need to ensure that the student feels safe and confident in the group before starting to integrate the new learning and challenging the students in what they already know. 

From the planning, to the session to the followup, the lesson needs to be student appropriate, engaging, challenging at the right level and fun. Students need to want to be there, and need to want to learn. 

Reading during these lessons is always done as a whole group approach. I'm so glad that they've done away with the, what I call 'creeping death' approach. 

During the session it's the chance when I give feedback to the students on their reading. I've been working on giving feedback on writing, and as a class we're getting pretty good at knowing our next steps and star points now, but reading is something I need to work on more with them, so that they can articulate and know more clearly where they are, what they're working on, an where they're going to next/what they need to do to get there. 

I definitely find writing down the WALT with my students helps me keep focussed as well as remember to reflect back on it during and in conclusion of the guided reading session. 

Finding meaningful activities for followup, I find to be hard sometimes. So it's a nice reminder to read the end of this section with a list of ideas, but also with it saying...

"often the reading is sufficient in itself, and the best follow-up activity is simply lots more reading."

ELP Page 100

Brain Day - with Nathan Mikaere-Wallis

Today I was privileged to go on an absolutely brilliant professional development day run by Learning Network - New Zealand, which was titled...

A day designed to challenge the gray matter!

And it did just that!

Nathan Mikaere-Wallis was the presenter for the day, and he really knows what he is talking about. More than that, he can transfer his knowledge in a way which is engaging and provides consistent high level thinking (I highly recommend going to one of his presentations if you get the chance to, I would go again in a second!). Throughout the day I was thinking about what it meant to me, and my teaching, and what came up over and over again, how it related to my relationship with my students. 

I managed to take 6 pages of notes, but here I will pull out the points and thoughts that stuck out to me the most, and what want to take away from today and keep reflecting on. 

(eek, now that i'm done, it was very hard to cull down the notes... there's still lots!)

Throughout the day we covered:

The Physiology of Learning: The Growth and Maturation of the Brain.

Brain Maturation and the skills that we help Children to develop from Babies to Adults.

The neuroscience of Adolescence: The changes of puberty are happening earlier; How this affects practice for primary teachers.

Main point...

The FIRST THREE YEARS are the MOST important in brain development

Some points from the first session were:

The Physiology of Learning: The Growth and Maturation of the Brain.

• A 4 year old is a 4 year old - not a little 7 year old who you need to train as a 7 year old. Let them be the age they are!
• The earlier you learn cognitive skills doesn’t change who will get degrees. If you learn to read at 3 ½ you will start above your peers, but will plateau between 7 and 8 to meet your peers… BUT you will miss out on social aspects and learning how to 'be you' and cope.
• Brain engagement happens most with interaction.
• Piaget based education system - Stages of cognitive development - at 7 you’re ready for literacy. Having students at 5, means they’re being pushed to standards before their time. When thinking about their ZPD - the worry is, is that students (particularly boys) are put outside their ZPD and this can be a critical to forming decisions on their enjoyment and engagement in learning.
• Brain development happens earlier in girls than boys - a whole lot more girls are ready for learning at 5 or 7 or boys.
• First born are more likely to hit milestones faster (Female first born children have a double advantage) - Many people are putting the first child into care, and then staying at home for the 2nd child, the 2nd child then gains the first child aspect. 
• The human brain is made to be moulded by the environment they are in.
• Dyadic relationship - A good 2 way relationship - most important relationship. “It takes a village to raise a child” - Still have a dyadic relationship, but its the village wrapping around and providing the support. 
• Full brain development averages at 25/26 years old (Females between 18-24, Males 22-32).
• Students need to be anchored in a relationship with a teacher they can learn with. Most students come to school with a good dyadic home relationship, which means they can come into a school with changes and cope. If they don’t have a good dyadic relationship, you will find these changes harder.
• Cortex takes up most of the brain, 76% in a human - the bigger percent there is, the more intelligent. 
• Back - Motor/fight, flight or freeze. Basic functions - Blinking, breathing, heart beat.
• Front - Intelligence/Empathy/Emotional Control.

Brain 1 - (brain stem) flight, flight or freeze - in charge - Survival is most important.

Brain 2 - Sports/movement. Gross and fine motor skill. Rhythmic patterning - programmed in. 

Brain 3 - Emotions

Brain 4 - Learning and knowledge - optional - don’t need it for survival  - Frontal cortex. Thinking and learning. Spend the first 3 years deciding what to bring online. 

Brain 1+2 = Reptile

Brain 1,2+3 = Mammals

Brain 1-4 = Us

• You just need to have a ‘good enough’ upbringing to be able to engaged your frontal cortex. 
• Babies need to learn that they are being protected, so they can leave the stress of the world behind and learn. If no, they have been learning they need to protect themselves, and don’t feel safe enough for the optional extra learning.

• Teacher - Student relationship should have the students be able to relax and be settled for learning where they are comfortable and safe. Higher the quality of the relationship, the more the cortex is and can be engaged.

Some points from the second session were:

Brain Maturation and the skills that we help Children to develop from Babies to Adults.

• A 2 year old has double the brain activity an adult has - a teen’s brain gets close.
• Teenage brain shuts down for ‘renovations’. Shutting down (not completely 90%, 10% stays open - flashes of ‘ability’) helps with rewiring happen faster.

• Reading emotion - on facial expressions. Teens don’t have the same reading ability.
• Can take big risks, frontal cortex closed down.
• Talking 1 on 1 with teens work better and can have their cortex more open than with their peers too. When teens are with teens, they take bigger risks and their cortex shuts down again.
• Cicadian Rhythm - Sleep control - on average 2h change on sleep patterns (Melatonin and Cortisol regulate)
• Change in biological rhythm. Melatonin comes out more in the dark, lights inhibit this - blue light is the worst - many backlights are blue - don’t use electrical devices before bed if you want to sleep. 
• Memory and Alcohol…Most of us, it takes 24h after alcohol for it to be gone from any traces in the brain. Average for teens is 2-4 weeks. 
• Learning is the only sacrificial part of the brain we have.

Some points from the third session were:

The neuroscience of Adolescence: The changes of puberty are happening earlier; How this affects practice for primary teachers.

• Neurons = Brain cell.
• Neural pathways - a branch from one neuron reaches out and connects to another. Synaptic connection.
• Myelination - Consolidation
• Knowledge is making the connection, and myelin goes on each time it is practices. Around 90-100 layers of myelin (practice) to fix it in your brain. That’s when it becomes automatic.
• Myelin can form on both positive and negative pathways.
• Poutama - learning pattern often seen in a marae, symbolises leaning.

3 most important things about building strong brain connections are

Relationships

Relationships

Relatiosnhips

• Endorphins (what makes you feel good) - have a chemical connection with myelin. When endorphins are running through your blood, myelin gets laid down faster - happy kids learn faster. (not much research compared to cortisol - harder to get ethics to measure)

Building connections...

3 - Physical exercise (jogging in the morning gives a more active brain) - Some

2 - Laughter  - genuine - (good for learning) - More <if there is restricted movement it’s canceling it out>

1 - Singing - Most releasing of endorphins. I need to do more singing!

• Cortisol (stress) - Making sure you don’t keep your stupid ideas.Eraser of the brain.
• Strip away the newest learning in the brain (i.e. taking away the idea that touching a heater is good).
• Yelling at the class after morning tea will take away the newest learning.
• Dispositions are the set of attitudes and beliefs you have towards something.

If you’re in an environment which is unpredictable, your brain will be on edge. If it is predictable you can engage. Keep a safe, consistent and predictable with the students - calms the brain stem.  Provides a base for engagement.

Haha, SO MUCH!

Nathan was recently on National Radio, talking about

What 3 to 7 year olds need to learn

Today was absolutely brilliant. What a way to start the week!

It definitely has sparked an interest in me to find out more about development, but also look into my current practice and what I can do to engage more with my students.