Motivation

           For this blog I chose to focus on motivation. I believe motivation is essential with any kind of learning. Educators should find ways to motivate their students. Of course, motivation will vary for each student. Something that motivates one student might not work with another. Without motivation is sticky learning even possible? Yes, the student might "learn" the material, but how much of this will they really retain. We want our students to want to learn.

 

            A personal experience I have with motivation relates to my prior job as an educational assistant. I worked as an Educational Assistant and worked one-on-one with a grade 3 student. The student was diagnosed with ASD and anxiety disorder. School was definitely not her favourite. I had to motivate her just to be present in the classroom. As an educator it was my responsibility to find things that interested this student and essentially reward her with this motivational object. I set up a reward system. The student worked for 5 checkmarks. If the student had a good day she would receive her checkmark, if not she would receive an X. 

           After every 5^th checkmark, the student would receive her prize. This specific student liked soft and yellow objects. The first few weeks of school this object was what motivated her stay in the classroom. After this goal was achieved, we would move on to other goals. This went on throughout the school year. There was always something we could improve on and using motivation was a way to help this student want to get there.

 

            In retrospect, everyone needs to feel motivated. As adults we are motivated to work, so that we can get paid every other week, so that we can  buy and do things we enjoy. As future educators we must use motivation to help our students achieve the great things they want to and can achieve.

Here is a motivational link to brighten everyone’s day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtaPRX4Q7Tw

Brought to you by: Maria T@NU

Mindfulness Breathing for a Calmer Classroom

Mindfulness Breathing for a Calmer Classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Aol2CCsdo

 

            It is extremely important to welcome our students into a calm classroom. This three-minute video allows each student to start their day on a positive note. This video can be shown to all students in every grade level. Everyone should practice mindfulness breathing to clear their mind and start the day off fresh. Each weekday morning, I would put this short video on and educate the importance of mindfulness breathing for a calmer classroom. The benefits of mindfulness breathing include reduced stress and anxiety levels, better emotion regulation, improved attention, and overall better health. These benefits allow students to absorb the information they learn more efficiently and acts as a reminder to stay calm throughout the rest of the day.

When I start teaching, I would love to start a mindfulness breathing program where students could attend on their lunch hour or before and after school. This will allow students to simply reflect and breathe while clearing their minds. A student might have had a tough day or night at home and needs an outlet. That outlet could be mindfulness breathing. I personally rely on mindfulness breathing when I have had a stressful day and need to recharge. The breathing instructions keep your body grounded while affirming a stress-free zone. This video in only three-minutes long, three-minutes for a calmer classroom.

Here is an article I found that talks about the importance of mindfulness in the classroom. I found it very interesting, I hope you all do too!

https://www.mindful.org/why-mindfulness-belongs-in-the-classroom/ 

Brought to you by: Giulia@NU   

Apps

The use of apps in the classroom…

Apps can be a great learning tool for students.  There are many different types of apps an educator can download.  There are ones with activities and ways of learning math, science, language etc.  Many educational apps provide games that engage children in learning. From my experience with working with kindergarten students whenever I took out the iPad the children would get very excited.  I would have some apps that I would use to enhance what we were learning.  The children seem to believe that it was not necessarily learning because it was a game.  It made the learning fun!

Technology is fast growing, and iPad, Chromebook, and laptops are widely used in the classroom.  Apps can make learning more connected to the 21^st century learning and more enjoyable.  Some of the apps that can be used for the whole class are dance apps or movement apps.  The educator would just have to share it or project it to the class. It can be a wonderful way to get everybody moving and participating.  Most apps provide fun visuals and actions.  There are many apps to download as well for reading. One great reading app for children is Raz Kids.  Some of these apps are free and some must be bought. Apps are an essential tool for 21^st century learning in the school system.

Here is a list of useful apps for the classroom and an explanation about each one. 

https://www.teachervision.com/blog/morning-announcements/8-apps-you-need-to-be-using-in-your-classroom

Courtesy of Laila@NU

The Great Divide – Adjusting to Distance Learning

Whether you're for it or against it, remote learning has been forced upon us. COVID-19 caught us by surprise with very little time to react. Many post-secondary institutions quickly changed their format to distance learning, however elementary and high schools are struggling to adapt. As an adult in teacher's college, there have been some challenges in adjusting but I've been able to manage. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. We all have different strengths, preferences, and capabilities, and there are many students who live with special needs. Some of them are benefitting from online learning where others are experiencing further complications as a result. So how do we find a balance which benefits everyone?

Visit:  https://dailytrojan.com/2020/09/10/virtual-learning-brings-advantages-and-drawbacks-for-students-with-disabilities/

Of course a global pandemic complicates the issue, however once COVID-19 is no longer a factor, I firmly believe the education landscape will change permanently. I think hybrid models of online and in-class learning will become prevalent and students will have more agency to choose what works for them. School boards are currently struggling because the demand for online learning is so high and none were prepared for this in such a short time. I remain optimistic that we will all adjust over time and the process will feel smoother as we all adjust to this new paradigm. We've been forced out of our comfort zone so many of us will feel uneasy at first, but I believe over time we will start using the technology resources to our advantage.

Courtesy of Andrew@NU

Virus-free. www.avast.com

Too Positive?

https://empoweredme.ca/

As teachers, we have the major responsibility of teaching and nurturing young minds to becoming contributing members of society. We also play a major role in developing their self-esteem and belief into achieving their dreams and what they want to become in the future. When we talk about building self-esteem, we often discuss the process of developing it from low to a healthy level. There is however something important that is left out of the conversation; the danger of building too much self-esteem.

 The early development of high self-esteem can create problems in many aspects of the child's life moving towards adulthood. Such problems may include the inability to build and maintain healthy relationships. Such individuals may require constant validation and praise which may be daunting for friends or partners. They may also have difficulties socializing because they are often seen as "not fun" to be around due to their self-boasting nature. Some of the more dangerous and negative effects of very high self-esteem is the lack of improvement and the inability to deal with criticism. Lack of improvement involves the individual becoming blind to their abilities and faults which stands as a barrier to self-improvement and maturity. Not being able to take constructive criticism holds the individual back from growing, all in an effort to preserve their self-image.

 Implications on school and the outside world

 According to psychologist Carol Dweck, praising efforts and not achievements plays a major role in building what she calls the growth mindset – the belief that an individual can become smarter through their own efforts. There is much criticism today with how teachers and other educators praise youth with minimal effort/achievement and even reward them with "participation trophies." These rewards praise participation and not the content of their performance or effort. This may lead to a sense of entitlement or unearned confidence. This continues to adulthood with the individual believing that showing up is enough to succeed, making it harder for them to understand the difficulty of success and overcoming a challenging obstacle.

 This slippery slope of praising young students for their efforts and rewarding them for their achievements, all while trying to build healthy self-esteem is a difficult yet important responsibility for modern teachers. In an era of social media and a constant desire for validation, it is important now more than ever for young minds to be prepared for the real and internet world.

Brought to you by: Kevin@NU

Using Canva to Help Students Develop Visual Literacy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6onIIl6JAU&feature=emb_title

Canva is a tool for graphic design that is simple to use. Users can design just about anything like social media posts, slide show presentations, documents, business proposals and other digital content. With thousands of free templates to choose from and use, this program can be implemented in classrooms, helping visual learners succeed. It can be used by educators to help them design things like classroom newsletters, lessons and planning documents, and by students to help them articulate their work in a visually engaging way. 

The video attached demonstrates how Canva has been implemented in a high school business class. The unique and visually appealing templates provided by Canva helped the students complete their business plan assignment. In doing so, they were inspired to develop their own brands, and think with more of an entrepreneurial mindset to produce amazing work. One student mentioned "It gives me a voice in my creativity and in what I want to produce." Canva has endless features when it comes to designing content. Using this tool can inspire and spark curiosity, but it also gives students the flexibility to make changes to the templates given, developing creativity through making digital content their own. 

Using Canva can make group projects more appealing to a wider variety of students. Introverted students are often less eager to collaborate with others on assignments. Canva allows collaboration to happen virtually, so students who are more hesitant to contribute in group settings feel more comfortable in developing skills needed to work in groups. The templates provided are great for projects and presentations and allow groups to create unique, professional looking assignments.

Christina@NU

Jamboard in the Classroom

Jamboard is a collaborative online tool run by Google. Essentially, Jamboard is an online whiteboard.  Using this tool students can write and draw, post sticky notes, sketch pictures and more. All students are able to use the Jamboard at the same time, therefore it's an excellent interactive way to communicate. Everyone is able to post their ideas and brainstorm on any topic of the presenter/teachers choosing. Through Jamboard the students can create mind maps to help guide their learning and thinking. It is a great tool to have the class interact and work together on brainstorming. It is also a fun break from the usual raising your hand and answering a question. Since you can draw and sketch students are also able to get creative with their answers and ideas.

An example of using Jamboard in the class could be asking the students to brainstorm ideas on any given topic. Imagine the students are learning about mammals, the teacher can ask students to use the Jamboard to write down or draw whatever comes to mind about mammals. Some examples could include students drawing a picture of a cat or dog, they might write a sticky note saying "warm blooded". It gives the opportunity for students to be creative and have some fun!

https://jamboard.google.com/

Brought to you by: Vanessa@NU

 

Menitmeter in the Classroom

Mentimeter is an online tool that teachers and students can use in the online classroom. It is a great tool to use during presentations to create an interactive piece. For example, the presenter can ask a question, have the class go to menti.com and type in the unique code. Once they've done that the class is free to write answers to the question anonymously. These anonymous answers appear on the screen for everyone to see. It is an excellent tool of getting students to participate, especially those who are shy since no one knows who wrote what. It gets students involved and collaborating together on answering a question. With mentimeter students can also create polls and quizzes. Polls are a great toll to use as well to see where the students are at. Quizzes can be used at the end of a presentation to help gage how much learning was done. As mentioned before, the best part is, it is all anonymous which is awesome for our shy students! Overall, mentimeter is a fun, interactive way to ask questions and engage the class.

https://www.mentimeter.com/

 

Vanessa@NU

Kahoot in the Classroom

Anytime I have a group presentation or trying to gauge the understanding of any audience a Kahoot game is the perfect method. Classrooms across North AMerica have embraced technology and integrated it with how classrooms are run today. Kahoot has proven beneficial to the learning habits of students and helping teachers better plan lessons. A literature review of 93 cases found that classrooms that use Kahoot have positive effects on learning performance, classroom dynamics, attitudes, and anxieties (Kahoot, NA) (Link: https://kahoot.com/blog/2020/07/01/dozens-of-studies-show-learning-benefits-of-kahoot/). This was because the game-like nature fosters an exciting opportunity for students to exercise classroom engagement, participation, and motivation. What students don't like a game?

Students are able to check in with where their understanding lies after lessons and teachers can find out what students do and do not understand. It also increases students' participation by being able to keep their answers private. If they get a wrong answer there's no repercussions of a bad grade or the attention of their peers. This creates the opportunity for students to foster a growth mindset and see their "failures" as learning opportunities. It is well known that students who are actively learning by participating and getting specific feedback of where their understanding lies are more likely to understand the lesson or concepts being taught. From the fun colours and catchy theme song to the addition of smart phones or devices into the classroom, Kahoot motivates students and teachers to keep learning in a safe and fun environment. 

It will be interesting to see if Kahoot lends itself even more to an online format to encourage engagement and motivation in students. With the lack of personal interaction that is so important to a learning environment, Kahoot can at least bring in the fun to an otherwise boring format to learn.

Lauren@NU

Technology as a tool for Special Needs students: Read&Write

Read&Write is an application that can be either installed onto a computer, or downloaded as an extension on Google Chrome. What makes it a useful tool for any teacher is the fact that it can be used for both regular students, and students with special needs. It allows children to speak to a computer and types out their words (which is good for students who struggle with their fine motor skills--i.e., writing), it reads sentences, paragraphs, stories, etc. to the child (if they cannot read or have a hard time reading), and has a spell-check and grammar feature which is useful for all in the classroom.

Read&Write is an app that can help students in their daily struggles with language and literacy. It is a very useful tool for teachers as it allows them a creative opportunity to implement a students' IEP. For example, instead of the teacher scribing for a child, the computer does it for them, which allows the student to be independent in his/her learning while simultaneously learning how to use technology. Who's to say that it wouldn't be useful for us as teacher candidates as welll?

You can find the Google Chrome extension for Read&Write here. 

Brought to you by Giordano@NU

Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel

Ten years on youtube, Jack Hartmann has become an icon on youtube due to his upbeat, catchy and sometimes silly songs. His love for education and teaching children through music is demonstrated through the variety of videos on his channel. Jack Hartmann has created so many songs that target important skills and knowledge for children's development. What makes these videos special? For the most part, he works alongside teachers and values their input. He listens to them and creates music based on what they feel needs to be shared in classrooms or at home to successfully support every child. He uses a variety of styles of music in order to keep children engaged and wanting to learn more. Jack Hartmann's music is more than just learning about every subject in the curriculum. It influences every area of a child's development such as having a song called "Shake Break" for gross motor skills as well as exercising the importance of giving yourself and your mind a break to breathe and relax. Another example is "I'm Just Like You" which is a song for socio-emotional skills and sharing autism awareness for a more inclusive environment. He has even developed a few songs in relation to COVID and the importance of helping one another by maintaining distance and continuously washing our hands.

 

I have seen many teachers use his music before starting the day or their lesson plans as well as a break in case the class has had a busy day. Jack Hartmann has music for everybody! All his songs are incredible and meaningful, and deserve a chance to be shared with children. Music is an interest for many children so what better way to engage them in learning experiences through songs that are fun to dance and sing along to.  

https://youtu.be/klsc0GiqUyg

Paola@NU

Dealing With The Pandemic - Online Education

https://live.clickto.camp/user is an online software that is very similar to zoom but incorporates activities such as a drawing board, polls and sharing links.

Due to COVID19, students weren't able to attend school from March until recently and summer camps were cancelled. The curriculum had to be minimized and in some cases discontinued. Private schools resumed to online teaching for the higher grades, but public education systems did not, leaving students to complete the final assignments given to them in order to receive a grade for each course.

At the end of June I took part of a new youth program where I was a counsellor to 14 campers on a virtual camp. It was a week long camp that would start 9am and end at 2pm. The age groups ranged from grade 1-3, 4-5 and 6-7. As the counsellor, I was the host and therefore in control of ClickToCamp. There was an option to pin the videos of the campers, create polls or questions of truth or dare, share my screen or links to videos as well as a drawing board where my campers and I would normally play hangman. Everyday, my group would have a different schedule where there was an activity such as "sports" or "arts and crafts". I would move my entire group from one online room to another where a specialist (similar to a gym teacher) was ready to present a sports related game. For example, there was a wheel created where every camper in their turn got to spin it and the first one to complete the task (10 jumping jacks, 5 burpees or 15 second plank) won points.

An example of a game that I played online was that I would put everyones camera on the main screen and I would call out different household objects that the campers would have to go and find and then prove to the rest of the group that they found it. The ones who found the objects first won.

                                   

I also started off each day with a song that I played in the background for only a few seconds and the group had to guess the name of it. The ones to guess correctly received points!

The best part about this program was seeing how happy the campers were to wake up early and go on ClickToCamp just to see me and the other kids. They were lacking the social aspect of school and creating new friendships, so this program was a great benefit to their time in quarantine.

Danielle@NU

Streaming within the Education System

I started to see math as a challenge in grade 6. Up until then, I had always done fairly well and didn't have to work particularly hard to achieve a good grade. In grade 7 and 8 I still managed, but I had to work a lot harder. When I got to grade 9, I immediately found the content significantly more challenging. I struggled right away, and I failed the first unit test… badly. I was shocked, as I have never failed anything up until that point. Within a couple of days of receiving that result, my parents received a phone call informing them that there were only a few places left in grade 9 applied math and they were encouraging them to transfer me from academic to applied math. My parents are both educators and decided to go along with the school's suggestion to transfer me to applied, because they didn't want all my marks to drop because I was spending so much of my time working on math. 

Over the next few years, I achieved success in senior high school math credits and even university math credits. It wasn't easy, I didn't do fantastic, but I survived. I was able to use all learning skills to find success. In the last couple of years, the province and the TDSB seems to be moving away from the idea of grade 9 streamed subjects. My teacher labeled me right away as a weak math student. I think this idea of streamed subjects should be eliminated because categorizing students with labels such as applied can hinder one's success. 

If the child is in applied level classes and is subtly reminded that they are part of the lower stream, that is going to diminish their self-esteem and confidence. Additionally, there is an equity issue involved with streaming. When the school suggests that a child should go down to a lower level, some parents and communities are less able to push back and advocate for their child to help them be successful in the academic class. The parents may just listen to the school and then the kid moves to applied and shuts the door to university. Ultimately, I believe that moving away from streamed subjects will create a more inclusive school environment.

Here is an article that the Star posted in 2018, stating that the TDSB wants to move away from streaming.

 

https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2018/01/28/tdsb-head-wants-to-phase-out-streaming-expand-access-to-specialty-schools.html

 

Kyra@NU

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation with Students

Motivating students, both inside and out of the classroom can sometimes be overwhelming, as it can take many aspects for a student to be engaged and actively participating. Based on this week's learning key on fragile interest, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were discussed. Intrinsic, which are things that are within you that make you want to do things, while extrinsic, are things that are outside of you to artificially get you to do things. It is important as a teacher candidate, to have strategies on how to sustain student's interests, rewards and how to engage them throughout their learning.

 

I found an article, that discusses classroom ideas and is beneficial to both teachers and teacher candidates. It discusses an understanding of having intrinsic and extrinsic motivations inside the classroom, available to all students. If students are not engaged, they are not motivated and not learning anything. Growing up, if I found myself spaced out or daydreaming, it was because I wasn't intrigued or engaged in what was in front of me. Although not everything will be engaging for students in life, it is important to find ways to motivate them and inspire them to want to engage in their learning. I remember in grade 7, I had a teacher that would have different concepts every single for students to be engaged, which resulted in me loving to learn with her in the classroom, as it was a fun learning experience.

The article also discusses that it is important that there is a right balance, children might get overwhelmed with too many extrinsic motivations or vice versa, so it is important to know how students are motivated, in their own individual way. In order to do so, it is important to truly know your students and their individual needs. By doing so, you are not only able to motivate them, but make accommodations and modifications for them, based on what is being presented to them. Students are always curious, so it is engaging to use their interest and inquiries and adapt them to their learning and lesson plans. This can result in them making connections and wanting to be active participants in their learning in a very powerful way.

 

There are many tips and tricks that teachers can use in the classroom to motivate their students. This website shows great ideas and explains each in full detail!

 

https://www.weareteachers.com/understanding-intrinsic-vs-extrinsic-motivation-in-the-classroom/

 

Courtesy of Sofia@NU

Queer Kid Stuff (and so much more!)

Teaching students about big topics can feel difficult and uncomfortable for many educators. Lindz Armor, the creator of the web series, Queer Kid Stuff, aims to explain queer topics through vlog-focused conversations for young viewers. With a lens on love and family, each short video is a tool for parents, teachers and LGBTQ+ adults to explore these topics with compassion and understanding. 

Talking to kids about these topics is crucial. As educators, it is our responsibility to foster a safe space where these conversations can thrive and develop. It is crucial that our students feel safe to talk about gender identity in our classrooms, because the exposure to diversity and inclusion is vital to their emotional and social development. With the support of Queer Kid Stuff, teachers can leverage this webseries with an aim to simplify and hone in on the core concepts of gender identity. With the help from Lindz' co-host & stuffed teddy bear, they explore the LGBTQ+ community, activism, gender pronouns, and body positivity. Through songs, simple definitions, and metaphors, Queer Kid Stuff approaches these ideas to get down at "toddler height," by explaining the world through their tiny curious eyes. 

This is a fantastic tool for teachers to lean on when exploring these big topics in the classroom. Through their vast library of podcasts, sing-a-longs, popsicle puppet series, and read-a-louds, teachers are encouraged to bring Lindz's talks to the classroom through accessible, short, and meaningful media.  Educators can also participate in a remote learning workshop, access Queer Kid Stuff Classroom tips and/or purchase original LGBTQ+ lesson plans to help promote and create an inclusive classroom for students. 

This is more than just a webseries. Queer Kid Stuff is the sliding door toward a future generation of inclusivity, diversity, and equity. 

http://queerkidstuff.com/qkshome

Raquel@NU

Movement Dance Breaks for the Classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPLWyZMRNn0

This link is for a YouTube video for a song Pop See Ko. This video can be used to provide children with a movement break in the classroom, if they have not been able to have that or need one. At previous placements the children loved to dance to this song and they all knew the words. \

This video can be projected onto the board or SmartBoard to allow the children to follow along. The dancers/singers in the video provide the children with a variety of dance moves to copy that are also easy to do. This video allows children to have that movement break as well as have fun as a class while participating. This song is catchy and will possibly have the children singing it once the video is done. 

The YouTube channel that posted this video also has a variety of other children appropriate songs that can allow children to have those required movement breaks. 

Courtesy of Laura @ NU

Mental Health Exercise for the Classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O29e4rRMrV4

This is a link for a youtube video that involves an exercise called Rainbow Breathing. It is important to promote positive mental health in children, as well as, provide them with opportunities to focus on their mental health. This video was used by a teacher at one of my placements in a primary classroom. This video allowed the children to have four minutes for a moment of meditation or silence. They also seemed to enjoy the directions that the video gave them and they were easy for them to follow. The children liked moving their arms in the shape of a rainbow and for those children that kept their eyes open during the meditation they were able to see the rainbow moving on the screen, the way their hands should have been moving, which they also liked. Along with this video there are also a variety of others from this Youtube channel that provides a variety of meditation depending on what the teacher feels is necessary for the classroom environment. 

Courtesy of Laura@NU