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Tuesday, November 29, 2022
eSchoolNews.com - Some Articles of Interest
DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (DPA) FOR EVERYONE
So we've all talked about the importance of DPA in children's lives. It's crazy to think that in today's modern society, there can be a number of barriers preventing children from getting the amount of exercise they need. In response to this issue, the Ontario government implemented a policy requiring elementary schools to incorporate a minimum of 20 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous daily physical activity into their classrooms.
BENEFITS OF DPA
The health benefits of DPA are undeniable. It enhances student development and well-being in all aspects including physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. But did you know that a little DPA in the lives of children can extend their lives by 5 years? Not only would it give them a significant amount of extra time but it would also improve their quality of life allowing them to enjoy those extra 5 years to their fullest capacity. See what some of these children would do with that time in this ever so powerful little video:
OUR ROLE AS TEACHERS
As we spend time focusing on the well being of our students, it is equally as important for teachers to take care of themselves. The stressors associated with the teaching profession can take a toll on the mind, body, and soul. DPA is a great way to alleviate some of that stress while also reaping the many health benefits that go along with it. As teachers, it is our responsibility to care for the physical and mental well being of our students so why not incorporate some activity that can benefit everyone into our instructional practices.
See how DPA helps everyone:
Health Benefits of Physical Activity for Adults | Adults | Physical Activity Basics | DNPAO | CDC
Joelle@NU
Bite Sized PD
I have found a resource on Pinterest called “Bite Sized PD”. It is a site that collects different ideas that can be used by teachers to improve different aspects of their professional life. I enjoy this site because it is just little sayings or small changes that can have a lot of impact on what you do in the classroom. Some of the ideas can be used with children and the return can be very significant.
One idea that I thought I would like to use is requiring the children to hand in their work/test to a bin. At the bin have 3 coloured highlighters for them to highlight their name. They will choose green if they feel confident about how they did, yellow if they are unsure of how well they did or pink if they feel they did poorly. Firstly, the benefit of the system is that the number of assignments without names will be reduced. Secondly, it will introduce the idea of self monitoring and self assessment.
I find this type of help beneficial because I don’t have a lot of time to read all sorts of articles and books on how to improve my class. I do want to pick up tips and tricks and this format is very helpful.
Brought to you by: Angela@NU
Edutopia: Improve Listening Skills
- COMMUNICATION SKILLS
5 Strategies to Improve Students’ Listening Skills
Middle and high school students not listening is a common complaint, but listening is a skill like any other—it can be improved with practice.
The “Miseducation of The Larry P” Case Is a Representation of How Standardized Testing Negates The “Whole Child”
The standardization of both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests were created to measure the skills and attributes of individuals in society. While these rankings reflect an individualistic society and the lack of family collaboration, it can easily misrepresent the individual as a whole, just as it did to Darryl Lester in the Larry P case.
Norm-referencing tests
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Strengths |
Weaknesses |
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·
based on children within a group
of similar age, language, culture, gender and income ·
The test aims to ensure that the
group is representative of the child
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Representative sample often fails
to accurately represent the child ·
Test
questions are fundamentally Eurocentric in viewpoints ·
Its
measures are designed to compare students |
Criterion-referenced tests:
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Strengths |
Weaknesses |
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·
How
well they are able to reflect and assess the corresponding skill ·
Places
expectation on both teacher and student – general outcome
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·
Universal
acceptable standards ·
Skill
and objective are based on program and subject that are fundamentally rooted
from westernized standpoint.
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These tests fail to represent a diverse community and are not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. It is important to recognize that although they are trying to represent the child, it fails primarily on a structural level. A standardized test that was created by a white individual will favour this one group and is not inherently culturally competent, which fails to assess accurately; if the assessment questions are fundamentally flawed, radical progress won’t happen. Overall, they undermine the human experience; whether it be a norm-referenced or criterion-referenced, the problem although these are standardized tests, as educators and professionals within our professional pedagogy, it is vital that they are not held to a high standard and instead, viewed with a critical eye.
So, How Can
Educations Assess Without Testing? View Photo Below:
Listen to
the Larry P Podcast by clicking >>>>> HERE
HERE are 9 Anxiety Busters to support children during standardized testing
Courtesy of BrittanyC@NU
Monday, November 28, 2022
Edutopia: Classroom Design
- LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
4 Ways Classroom Design Impacts Executive Functioning
Effective classroom design can help elementary students develop skills like organization and task initiation.
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
We’re All Wonders
I want to share a book that has helped me introduce topics of inclusion, kindness, and uniqueness. The book "We're All Wonders" focuses on a child named Auggie and his dog Daisy. Auggie is a brilliant boy who loves to do regular things that kids do, such as riding his bike, playing ball, and eating ice cream. However, Auggie does face difficulties in school by not feeling accepted and has trouble making friends because of his appearance. Throughout Auggie's journey, he comes to realize that he is unique. In the end, Auggie states that once people change their mindsets, they can finally see how everyone is a wonder in their own unique way.
Reading this story to a kindergarten class at my previous Montessori school helped start a classroom discussion on how we can be kind to others. During this discussion, the children listed different ways they could make their friends feel welcomed, like sharing their crayons, asking a friend who's by themselves if they want to play and providing compliments to one another. Ultimately, I feel that this book is an excellent read for children from kindergarten to grade 3.
Reference
Palacio R. J. (2017). We're All Wonders. Knopf Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition.
eSchoolNews: IT Transform - Tips to Get there
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Mental Health & Well-being in Schools
Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools
Having good mental health and wellbeing is so vital for all students. Our mental health has a direct impact on how we think, how we feel, and how we make our daily decisions. It`s important to have a positive outlook on life and participate in tasks and activities that foster good mental health and wellbeing. Schools need to promote a positive environment where students feel safe and valued as students spend the majority of their time in schools. Students who feel some sort of connection to their schools will do better academically, socially and mentally.
The Role of Schools
-Schools play a very important role in promoting and raising awareness on mental health. -Schools need to implement wellbeing strategies that teach students about positive thinking, self-confidence and helpful thinking.
-Schools should provide resources and information on coping with stress, anxiety and depression.
-Schools should provide training for educators in order for them to better be prepared to deal with mental health in their classrooms and the school.
-Schools should promote healthy lifestyle choices and personal wellbeing resources to increase student`s self-awareness, ability to focus, ability to be resilient during challenging situations and practice positive view of self and others.
The most important factors that lead to wellbeing in schools are school culture, teacher support, and student engagement. Overall, good mental health and well being leads to increased grades, better focus, better attitude, and better learning for the students.
All educators should be encouraged to look for ways to promote positive mental health and well being in their classrooms.
For more information, visit the article below:
https://www.worthit.org.uk/
Brought to you by: Raveend@NU