Tag Archives: teachers

Student Engagement: Are They or Aren’t They Engaged?

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How do you know when students are truly engaged?  How do you know when a school community is truly engaged?  Partly you “just know” intuitively. When I walk into classrooms it’s pretty evident when students are truly engaged.  Leaning in, asking questions, participating, excited, lost in the dialogue and the give and take of the moments.  It’s always pretty clear.  There’s a sense of purposefulness to what is happening.  The art of teaching is truly evident when a teacher orchestrates those moments of full engagement.  It’s really special to see, and more importantly, to feel.  Engagement is felt.  To the contrary, boredom and non-engagement can also be felt.  And it’s deadly. I’m lucky.  I have many opportunities to visit classrooms.  Students at LCS are most often engaged. Sometimes the engagement is about compliance but many times it’s engagement with enthusiasm, with a sense of purpose and excitement.  This is high level and with strong meaning.  I was watching Grade 11 student presentations the other day in a Global Politics class.  They were so knowledgeable, articulate, and confident in their presentations.  I was impressed, and the audience of students were equally impressed.  It was purposeful and challenging.  

But what is the link between engagement and learning?  There is some ambiguity around engagement.  Students can look completely engaged but is the task really worthy of the intense engagement? Are students merely complying?  Continue reading →

Leading Adult Learning – 6 Reflections!

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There have been many days as an educator when I’ve lamented the culture of compliance we foster in schools.  Yes, we aspire towards a culture of curiosity and creativity but, in reality, we also perpetuate a culture of

imagescompliance with our learners.   Is it inevitable?  If there is an inevitability about such a culture with students, is the same to be said for teachers as learners?  Do we build a system in which the default for adult learners is compliance?  If we want kids to become enquirers and creative problem solvers, and independent learners, shouldn’t the same be true for teachers?  In reality if teachers aren’t learning, then students aren’t learning.

Ken Robinson says that “curiosity is the engine of achievement”.  Therefore, if we foster curiosity, motivation, and independent thinking, achievement will follow.  This is true for students and adults.

How do we get the best learning out of the adults in our schools?

A few ideas to remember as a leader and facilitator of adult learning in schools include:

  1. Serve as a role model for learning.  Demonstrating enthusiasm and role modeling as a learner is critical.  Sharing articles, insights, and generating excitement around learning is contagious.  Passionate and committed learners become learning leaders and role models for others!
  2. Accept that the continuum for adult learning is variable. Adults, as kids, are in various stages of development.  Adults early in their professional lives may bring different skills and approaches to learning as opposed to a highly experienced professional.  Differentiating opportunities and accepting the wide range of differences is important.  Avoiding judgments is vital.  We all learn at different rates and with different comfort levels.
  3. Recognize that some days (weeks, months) are better than others for learning.  Teaching is stressful and some parts of a school year are better than others.  The stress of responsibilities for grading, report writing, parent conference preparation, unit planning, holiday concerts, etc.  There are certain dead zones when focused adult learning just isn’t really possible! But, there are other Continue reading →

Maintain Focus on Instruction!

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I believe that focusing attention on  high leverage instructional practices impacts learning, adult

LCS Faculty dialogue - Instructional Principles for English Language Learners

LCS Faculty dialogue – Instructional Principles for English Language Learners

learning and student learning.  That is my intent and this is influencing recent topics at faculty professional learning meetings.

What are those instructional practices that we are exploring?

Earlier this year, I asked  faculty to set two professional goals related to the following areas. These areas were identified as potential high leverage practices related to research from John Hattie.

 

 

Identifying Learning GoalsSetting clear learning expectations

Appropriate level of challenge for students

Clear success criteria (exemplars, rubrics, etc)

 Feedback processes 

Clear exemplars

Clear and specific feedback

Use of formative assessment

 

 Questioning techniquesTeacher talk & Thinking time

High level questioning and discourse within classroom

Classroom positioning and classroom discourse

 

Simply put, if teachers do these things well, students learning will improve!

 

Great teaching is hard. It requires intense thought, planning, and instinct. We are trying to maintain a focus in the Secondary School on several specific areas that, if done well, are definite elements of great teaching!

  • Clear learning goals & targets.
  • Clear language goals & targets (“all teachers are teachers of language”)
  • Goals & targets for students that are appropriately challenging.
  • Scaffolded instruction to support students in meeting targets
  • Differentiated opportunities to support students (“differentiation is a mindset”)
  • Formative assessment that provides clear and specific feedback
  • Minimizing teacher talk and maximizing classroom discourse

If we work hard to become even better at our craft and expand our understanding, knowledge, and skills in these areas, we will be better teachers and student learning improves.  This is my belief.

I think finding and maintaining a focus around instructional strategies and best practices is incredibly challenging.  If teachers can really try to find those few areas to focus upon, latch onto, dig into their professional learning, and experiment with then adult learning will take place.  If adults learn and expand professionally, student learning expands.

With Kids Away, Do Teachers Play?

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Last Monday, students didn’t come to school, but teachers did!  What were we doing at school on Monday?  What happens on those “Professional Development” days?  What happens at those weekly meetings that teachers have every Wednesday afternoon?

The answer is alot of learning, planning, reflecting, dialogue and professional growth.    Check out the link below (in blue) to a short collection of images:

SS Faculty: An Inquiring Bunch!

 

We are a learning organization.  On days like Monday or on weekly Wednesday afternoons, faculty spend time preparing classes, lessons, unit plans, assessments, and engaging activities.

LCS faculty are professionals, interested in their own personal learning and professional growth and, most importantly, improving the experience for students. This is the mission we, as faculty, are on.  We strive to ensure that students have  high quality learning experiences at LCS.  I salute the LCS faculty for their commitment and effort.  Faculty are working hard on behalf of students and families.