NUO Conference: Mindfulness and Learning

I went to a workshop by Theresa Meikle on Mindfulness and Learning: A Classroom community approach on the third day of the Teacher Education Conference. As a teacher, the training on fostering mindfulness and well-being had a significant influence on me. I was able to learn important insights into the significance of putting my own and my students' mental health and well-being first through engaging activities and thought-provoking conversations.

One important lesson was the idea that "if we name it, we can tame it," which highlights how important it is to recognize and name our emotions in order to properly manage them. This was something new to me, something I always tried to subconsciously do but was not made aware of it until the conference. Another thing I learned through the workshop was the PERMA theory of well-being. It provided me with a holistic framework for understanding and promoting well-being in both personal and professional contexts. We as educators must always tap into our professional knowledge and continuously grow and learn new ways to benefit us within the classroom. The focus of the session on building a compassionate community struck a deep chord with me, emphasizing the part that educators play in fostering a secure and encouraging learning environment. By emphasizing our personal health and practicing mindfulness ourselves, we can foster a supportive environment where kids feel appreciated, accepted, and equipped to succeed. This idea is consistent with the view that educators and leaders have a significant influence on the development of our kids. I intend to use the tactics and methods I acquired at the session into my teaching methods. Through the integration of mindfulness activities, encouraging candid conversations about emotions, and cultivating healthy relationships between students, my goal is to establish a community that values well-being.

Through this workshop, I was able to realize that we must continue to learn professionally and be committed to our learning to ensure the needs of our students are met. We have a duty for ongoing professional learning and staying up to date with research will allow me to find new and exciting ways to add to my learning environment. 

EDU491 - MarcoS@NUO

NUO Conference: Questioning Methods for Increased Student Engagement

Keeping students engaged in the classroom has always been a topic of discussion in the teaching community, as many educators struggle with meaningfully engaging students throughout the day. It's incredibly difficult to incorporate all students interests into every lesson being taught, so other methods of engagement need to be considered to fill the gaps.

One effective way to increase student engagement is to alter questioning methods in the classroom. Rather than asking boring, close-ended questions, we can incorporate more thought-provoking and open-ended questions. This would provide students with the opportunity to communicate with their classmates and share ideas. Not only does it stimulate and encourage conversation in the classroom, but it also allows educators to gain feedback on the effectivity of the lesson. It gives students the opportunity to reflect on their learning through higher-level thinking provoked through open-ended questions.

Try incorporating the following types of questions into lessons to increase student participation, collaboration, and engagement:

1. Open-ended questions
        - encourages a wide variety of thoughtful responses that provoke discussion

2. Probing questions
        - allows for insight into student knowledge and understanding

3. Reflective questions
        - encourages student self-reflection, self-analysis, and personal growth

4. Leading questions
        - guides student discussion and responses to elicit deeper and more thoughtful   thinking

EDU491- DianaP@NUO