Upgrade the New Normal: Five Telltale Tips for Providing Prodigious In-Person Learning
(C) 2007 Scott Freiberger
By Scott B. Freiberger
As we step outside and feel the proverbial autumn winds of change upon us, the lyrics to “Some Things Never Change” from Disney’s feel-good franchise hit “Frozen 2” reverberate: “Yes, the wind blows a little bit colder, and we’re all getting older, and the clouds are moving on with every autumn breeze...that’s why I rely on certain certainties.” In spite of the pandemic, some things really do never change, like the need for providing all children a warm, welcoming, world-class education. As the new school year commences like a novel, unscripted movie, it seems we could all use some stress-reduction. Take a deep breath as you prepare scholars for powerful new classroom experiences, and upgrade the new normal with substantial scholastic technology. Here are five telltale tips for providing prodigious in-person learning.
1. Soft-Serve a Superabundance of SEL
I had penned about the importance of infusing social-emotional learning (SEL) into curricula both here and there. Now nearly everywhere, children need to feel connected with authentic texts and have opportunities to reflect on feelings. Given the need to raise students’ academic readiness coupled with emotional regulation, professional development (PD) that emphasizes remaining authentic, consistent, and empathetic should prove superb for scaffolding students’ academic and social skills. Administrators and curriculum committee members could also consider infusing SEL across the curriculum to deepen student engagement, increase self-awareness, and learn about mental health, goal-setting, and respectful behaviors.
2. Socrative Me!
Leaving student progress monitoring to chance is like showing up to a happening Halloween party dressed as a bored panda. Determine which instructional strategies tap student talent and which need to be tweaked with user-friendly, formative assessment tools. Google Forms is gratis, facile, and a practical way to collect and organize pertinent student information. Make learning interactive by adding vivid video clips, imaginative images, and explicit explanations.
Educators may want to consider other tools, such as Socrative, an efficient way to monitor and evaluate learning that saves time for educators while offering enticing interactions. Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that boasts engagement and an inclusive, accessible learning experience. The platform could also be used to improve training, presentations, meetings, and events. You could always provide a poll in Google Classroom to gauge student interest, and of course, the popular Plickers is always practical as a formative assessment tool in a pinch.
3. Conversation Station
Bring all students back to standards-based baselines via “conversation stations.” Tophat.com suggests providing students ample opportunities to share ideas in a controlled way, prompting discussions that flow naturally. Consider constructing small cadres of triads or peer partners who rotate topics after providing a prompt, case study, or brief video. I had met with success utilizing station rotation as an English as a New Language (ENL) and Reading Teacher, and teachers could now try this technique by infusing Google Meet, Zoom meeting rooms, or Rally video conferencing.
4. Recognize with Rewards
Scholars generally appreciate praise, and this is an especially potent intrinsic motivator. One fun educational website provides a virtual rewards chart in which driven students carry a football across a virtual field. When they cross the goal line, they win a reward! If students are learning remotely, try digital stickers. Students can also receive rewards via Class Dojo, which may include a homework pass, extra time for arts and crafts, or allowing students to select the music for classroom activities. Turn it up, shake it out, and let them dance! Google also offers an array of digital choice boards to both engage and inspire.
5. Cultivate Cognition
Margaret Mead had posited, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” Create a school-wide culture of cognition by ensuring that while cheeky chants may be challenged, children themselves, for opining their authentic opinions, should not be. Modeling vulnerability, overcoming obstacles, and making mistakes to achieve mastery revitalizes resourcefulness and leads to augmented accomplishments.
Challenge students to think outside the Xbox, and above all else, value their thinking. A genuine interest in the success of all students increases character, confidence, dignity, and morale. Visual thinking routines summon students to delve deeper; they step inside themselves and brainstorm, explore, interpret, synthesize, and organize au courant conceptions. Providing PD to make thinking visible also enhances and sustains 21st-century skills: the wisdom, work habits, and character traits that scores of sprightly students and prescient people will need to succeed in today’s tech-savvy society.
Final Thoughts: Make Learning Cooperative, Inclusive, and Innovative
As the new school year commences faster than Turbo the super snail, bear in mind that you have ample opportunities to be an agent of change in children’s lives. Emphasize to parents, guardians, and family members that bilingual students should not lose their native languages while learning English, and that students’ mother tongues could be used as a scaffold to better decipher meaning, compare language nuances and structure, and ultimately augment and support learning English as a new language. Celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity and provide classroom equity and curricular access across grades. Make learning cooperative, inclusive, and innovative, and remember that remaining flexible, open-minded, and good-natured also transcends cultural borders. Best wishes for a sensational new school year!
BIO
Scott Freiberger, a passionate Instructional Coach/ENL Specialist with school building and district leader certification, is honored to be the 2018 TESOL International Teacher of the Year.
Twitter: @scottfreiberger
