Teachers Matter Magazine Issue 57

TeachersMatter

Choosing a Focus Word of the Year

Building Resilience & Confidence in Children

Learning as Metamorphosis

Using Picture Books as Theater for Literacy

Dear Readers,

When I began editing for Teachers Matter, my oldest son was 12 years old. Now, he is nearly 18, and is in his final year of school, all ready to go to university - big changes are definitely coming our way here in our house! I know that he is more than ready to go out and face the world, but I was also secretly relieved that he chose a university only an hour and eight minutes from our driveway. (Especially when his three younger siblings need help with their Geometry homework!)

It’s because of amazing educators like each one of you that kids like mine are confident, flexible thinkers who can take on a challenge and set their course. I know that my son’s teachers have absolutely helped mould him into the young man he is today. For that, we are eternally grateful. How humbling to know that as educators, even on our worst days, we may quite possibly be the best part of someone else’s day.

This issue is full of great resources to guide educators toward that exact type of lasting impact on their students. The first two go hand-in-hand with one another. If you have students struggling with math or reading, don’t miss reading Joanne Kaminski’s article, “Tech Tips for Readers with Dyslexia,” along with Susan du Plessis’ article, “Dyscalculia Treatment and Intervention.” Both of these give amazing tips on how to better level the playing field for students, making the content more accessible.

The next article to check out is, “There’s Only One Way to Study - Right? Wrong!” In it, Clare McIlwraith debunks three common misconceptions that teenagers face while trying to study, the main point being that studying doesn’t look the same for everyone - and it certainly doesn’t need to! Kids learn differently, so why shouldn’t studying look differently, too?

Lastly, one of the most impactful pieces of education to this day, in my humble opinion - reading aloud to your class. Check out Bernice Williams’ article, “Building Resilience & Confidence in Children.” I know that just one of the many reasons my son is ready to go and face the world is due to the opportunities to discuss life while listening to books read aloud from his teachers over the years. What a perfect chance to really meet students where they are in a safe, comfortable environment. Never ditch the read aloud!

This issue has it all, so don’t miss a word!

Yours in Education,

To

Teachers Matter Magazine Team

Publisher, Sales and Advertising

Karen Tui Boyes karen@spectrumeducation.com

Editor Jessica Youmans

Art Director

Andrea Aragon-Echano

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Jo-Ann Hall hello@spectrumeducation.com

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Email: info@spectrumeducation.com

Thanks to the educators, speakers and authors who contributed interviews, articles, photographs and letters.

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DAVID FRANKLIN

Growing Teachers to Grow Kids

5 Must-Haves for Your School’s PLCs

Many schools claim to have productive and comprehensive Professional Learning Communities. However, most of these schools are only scratching the surface when it comes to true collaboration and creating a student-centered approach. There are several elements that must be in place for any PLC to be successful and purposeful. If these elements are not in place, we cannot call them PLCs, but instead call them groups that hold glorified meetings.

1. Get Comfortable with Norms

Educators are usually comfortable creating rules and expectations for their classrooms. However, they get a bit reluctant to create norms for themselves and their colleagues. Every PLC must start with norms to ensure that all members are working toward common goals and to keep student learning at the forefront of every conversation. PLC members also should not be afraid to stop discussions and call out when a norm has been broken. This is the shift beyond collegiality that we will discuss later in this article.

2. PLC Time Is Sacred

Teacher time is often gobbled up by miscellaneous staff meetings, parent conferences and putting out fires. For

PLCs to be successful and meaningful, the allotted meeting time must be protected at all costs. Teachers should never be pulled from PLCs unless it is an emergency. If teachers are constantly pulled from their PLC time, their work will be in jeopardy, and ongoing work of a PLC will likely be seen as frivolous. Additionally, all educators must be held accountable for participating in collaboration.

3. The PLC Process Must be Defined

Educators should never be thrown into the PLC world without a clearly defined process. While educator teams need parameters to work within, they also need to be free to customize the process to meet their needs. A sample process for instruction and data analysis is as follows:

• Unpack Standards

• Identify POWER Standards for the Unit

• Create Scales and Rubrics to Define Progress

• Design Common Formative Assessments

• Design Instruction

• Gather Data / Analyse Results

• Remediate or Enrich Learning

• Teacher Reflection on Instructional Practices and Results

4. Team Roles

Team roles must be clearly defined to keep discussions focused on student learning as well as to ensure

It is advisable that team members disagree with ideas, not people. This helps to be clinical, not critical of situations.

accountability at every level of the team. Having roles also will keep team members engaged. Sample teams roles could be Facilitator, Recorder, Time Keeper or Reporter.

• Facilitator: Develops agenda, facilitates the meeting, keeps team focused and ensures equity of voice throughout the team.

• Recorder: Records meeting minutes, posts minutes in PLC binder or in shared online drive, maintains data binder or online database.

• Time Keeper: Monitors agenda items and keeps meeting flowing, keeps track of start and end times, monitors the need to table an item or to make a decision based on time.

• Reporter: Reviews norms at the beginning of the meeting, ensures that norms are followed, reviews previous minutes before the meeting begins, acts as a liaison between the PLC and school leadership. Team roles can change monthly, quarterly or yearly, depending on the desires of the school as a whole.

5. Move Beyond Collegiality

In order for PLCs to be highly functional teams, educators must move beyond collegiality and not be afraid to engage in discourse. It is advisable that team members disagree with ideas, not people. This helps to be clinical, not critical of situations. This is important when looking at data. If students are not performing well, PLC teams must address

the real issues and not sugar coat potential instructional concerns. We are not doing students any favours by looking the other way when we know something needs to be addressed. Always being “nice” can prevent the true changes needed to move a school forward.

Dr David Franklin, CEO of The Principal’s Desk, is an experienced school senior leader, education professor, curriculum designer and presenter. Dr Franklin has presented at national and international education conferences and is available for school or district professional development sessions. He can be reached at david@ theprincipalsdesk.org or at www.principalsdesk.org

David Franklin

Kaupapa Māori Principles of Leadership

Kia Manawa Tītī (One of Great Stamina)

The absence of bicultural hautūtanga/leadership practices in the Aotearoa New Zealand education system has impacted negatively on ākonga Māori and inhibited their educational success as Māori for over 100 years. Ākonga Māori face significant wero/challenges in state funded schools by virtue of their ethnicity. These wero, invisible to the western-centric mainstream, result in behaviours that are often interpreted by staff as negative, disengaged, resistant, or worse, dangerous. It is a flawed assumption that AotearoaNew Zealand is an egalitarian society, an inclusive and bicultural eutopia.

Inequity for ākonga Māori permeates our state funded schools which creates and perpetuates disparities that speak to injustice and ineptitude. Improving hautūtanga/ leadership practices is the catalyst for change needed to ensure equity for ākonga Māori within the education system. The beginning point lies in challenging manukura/ senior leader’s to change their hautūtanga/leadership professional practice. The adoption of kaupapa Māori principles of hautūtanga/leadership is the key to effecting positive and lasting change.

Manukura/senior leaders who understand this need for change employ kaupapa Māori principles for hautūtanga/ leadership. These leaders personalise their relationships with ākonga Māori and their whānau, they ensure contact is kanohi ki te kanohi/face-to-face, they acknowledge te reo Māori underpins communication and whenever possible, such leaders speak te reo Māori to the best of their ability and do not shy away from that wero because they feel whakamā. Such leaders recognise whakapapa as integral to the building of trusting and lasting relationships and acknowledge the importance of names. According to Bishop and others:

Students identified the importance to them of having their names correctly pronounced, or teachers at least attempting to do so. Students considered that when teachers did this, it meant that they were trying to foster a positive relationship with each student. When this was not seen to be happening, the students would often respond with what was seen as inappropriate behaviour and were punished.

Kaupapa Māori hautūtanga principles call for publicly articulated, culturally safe strategies that build lasting relationships. Successful manukura/senior leaders create culturally safe learning spaces for kaimahi/staff and

Students identified the importance to them of having their names correctly pronounced, or teachers at least attempting to do so.

DR PEGGY BURROWS

provide them with professional learning opportunities that assist them to build cultural awareness. Successfully led kura/schools liaise with their local rūnanga to develop local curriculum that reflects the needs and aspirations of the kura’s community.

Manukura/senior leaders who understand the importance of whakapapa, manaakitanga, whānaungatanga and rangatiratanga have already made incremental change in the lives of the ākonga and whānau they serve. Kaupapa Māori hautūtanga principles are underpinned by the concept of servant leadership and it is only when a manukura lives to serve that true change for ākonga Māori will occur. In the 21st century, Māori still bear the scars of colonisation and for many, Pākehā have not yet earned the privilege of trust. Our education system is broken when things as fundamental as the pronunciation of an ākonga Māori’s name is seen as problematic.

Mōriroriro/alienation occurs for ākonga Māori when they are denied equal access, equal opportunity and equally clear educational pathways in education as their Pākehā peers. In the past, unless ākonga Māori students were prepared to exhibit attributes and behaviours that mirrored Pākehā norms when they were at school, they were often placed on a behaviour spectrum that described them as strange, nonconformist, noncompliant, disruptive, defiant, deviant and dangerous. As long as our educational leaders continue to espouse the rhetoric of equality within the Aotearoa New Zealand education system the status quo will prevail.

Manukura/senior leaders who challenge descriptors that diminish ākonga Māori and refuse to view them through culturally biased lenses, and instead frame their view from a te ao Māori perspective will ultimately reduce the discrimination ākonga Māori face. In doing so, they reduce the dire consequences ākonga Māori face within the system, including stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions.

School Charters promise equal access for all to quality education in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, as long as our kura/school systems, structures and operations are underpinned by hegemonic assumptions, ākonga Māori will continue to suffer disadvantage. A Pākehā world view will always grant unfettered access for ākonga Pākehā to the kura/school’s resources to the detriment of ākonga Māori. Until a te ao Māori/Māori world view is the accepted lens through which to view ākonga Māori needs, aspirations and dreams within the AotearoaNew Zealand’s education system there will be no improvement for their educational outcomes.

The challenge for all educational leaders in the 21st Century is to reframe concepts of hautūtanga/leadership to include kaupapa Māori principles and to include a te ao Māori world view so that the educational outcomes of ākonga Māori mirror those of their Pākehā peers.

Dr. Peggy Burrows

Dr Peggy Burrows is an experienced educator and currently leads Haeata Community Campus, a large modern learning environment located in East Christchurch. Peggy was appointed as a Justice of the Peace at age 33 and served on the bench in the District Court as a member of the Deportation Review Tribunal for a decade. Peggy is an Associate with AMINZ, and has over three decades of mediation, governance and leadership experience at senior levels in Education, Law, Conservation and Animal Welfare. In addition to these roles Peggy has, for the past thirty years, been the Business Manager for Burrows Harness Racing Stables, a family business owned in partnership with her husband, public trainer Donald Burrows. Peggy brings a professional clarity to her work in business, education, disputes resolution, mediation, advocacy and adjudication. Most importantly Peggy puts people at the centre of everything she does.

She can be reached at:

peggyb@xtra.co.nz

Learning Autonomy Explained to Students

Use Your Brain!

Your dad got home one day with two tickets to watch the All Blacks play live. It has been your dream to see your team so close, especially when they have been on the path to being in the semi-finals this year. You have always wanted to become a professional rugby player and this game is a great chance to taste what it is.

You could barely sleep the night before the game day. You dressed in your team’s jersey and off you went. You had goosebumps when the players walked into the field, performed the Haka and the fireworks illuminated the whole stadium. You were so excited as you watched your favorite players win this defining game! You left the stadium inspired and ready to realise your dream: To make the fans roar in excitement for the balls you will steal in play and the goals you will score…but where to start from? What kind of training do you need? What food do you have to eat? What school do you have to go to?

Most children are caught in this daydream, thinking their aspirations will be realised by themselves when they grow up, that someone will pay attention to what they want and help them navigate in the right direction. It doesn’t often happen that way. As best-selling author, Jack Canfield, shared in his book, The Success Principles, “One of the most important principles for success is taking 100% responsibility for your life and your results.” In other words, if you want something, you must work for it yourself. Learning autonomy is what will help you achieve your aspirations. It gives you the skills to realise your dreams. You learn to plan, set goals, explore possibilities, research, practice, relate everything to your end goal and self-assess your progress. Whether you are learning a subject at school or rugby skills, learning autonomy helps you to get the job done. Learning autonomy is like when you learned to ride a bike: pedal, balance and move forward. Once you have learned it, you can go from point A to B without even thinking about the process of riding the bike. The same process applies to learning. Once you master the process, you can learn anything you want without thinking about where to start.

My nephew, Danny, used to watch his older brother play football with his friends when they were young. As he grew up, so did his passion for football. At 8 years old, I took him to a one-week Barcelona FC camp. He played so well that the coach upgraded him to play with the 10-year-olds by mid-morning of the first day. He eventually joined the

club he wanted and was winning youth championships one after the other. During the 2020 pandemic, Danny set the goal to become the best midfielder in the country and trained for it. Because of that, he debuted on Ireland’s U-16 National Football Team at the age of 15, and now, at 16, he is the captain of that team. There is no doubt that Danny will realise his dream of becoming a professional football player. He is a living example that learning autonomy works for the ones who embrace it.

The point is that every child can reach their highest potential; all they need is a process to get there. We call it learning autonomy: the ability to function with minimal external guidance. It is what one-year-olds do naturally by walking, eating, talking and putting their little finger in the

ERIKA TWANI

electrical outlet all by themselves, driven by pure, innate, intrinsic motivation for discovery. Learning autonomy doesn’t require you to be a genius, go to a specific school, use certain textbooks or have the coolest app because it starts from something you already have: A brain!

You may think you must have certain superpowers, levels of intelligence or physical capabilities to achieve your dream. Let me reaffirm that all you need is a laser-focused dream! Sir Richard Branson, who has dyslexia, founded the Virgin Group and became a multibillionaire. Thomas Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, was deaf. A college dropout, Lady Gaga has won over 200 music awards.

Now, you may think that learning autonomy develops only cognitive skills, but the continuous self-reflection and selfimprovement throughout the learning process also develop socio-emotional skills, such as self-esteem, perseverance and self-awareness. Research done by Columbia University concluded that, “The need for control is a biological imperative. When people believe they are in control, they work harder, are more resilient and push themselves more.” When students are in the driver’s seat, they learn to take control of the outcomes.

In summary, the reason why you must become an autonomous learner is that it is a biological imperative and because it is THE process to realise your dreams. You can do it because you already have what it takes: Your brain!

education.

She can be contacted at et@erikatwani.com

In other words, if you want something, you must work for it yourself.

Erika Twani

Erika Twani, author of Becoming Einstein’s Teacher and TEDspeaker, is the co-founder and CEO of Learning One to One. Along with experts, she explores ways to foster human achievement through Relational Learning. Twani advises governments and education leaders worldwide on learning autonomy and the use of technology in

ERIKA TWANI

Design Thinking: Create Great Thinkers in Your Classroom – Part 3

Student Led Learning

In my previous article, I shared what you need to consider when coming up with a Design Thinking question for your curriculum topic. I also started to walk you through an example of a Design Thinking project in the classroom. We looked at unpacking the project question and now it is time to plan the research to our question. How might we connect different generations within our community? Before we continue, I want to touch on an important point.

From Teacher to Facilitator of Learning

Using Design Thinking as a teaching framework requires a shift in mindset. We have all grown up on a particular image and perception of a “teacher.” Most of us view a teacher as someone who holds all the knowledge - a sage who stands at the front of the classroom and passes down knowledge. Moreover, this teacher is often looking for specific answers and guides their students on what they need to think. There are a few problems with this image.

Firstly, this is a lot of pressure to place on teachers. How can a teacher know everything? It is impossible! A teacher should be comfortable with saying, “This is a good question. I don’t know the answer to it, so let’s explore it together.” Secondly, the most powerful kind of learning does not come from being told what to think. Meaningful learning comes from a self-led exploration of a topic and forming your own thoughts.

Consequently, to provide a deep, meaningful and effective learning environment, teachers must become facilitators of learning. To do so, teachers must move away from the traditional concept of teaching and become facilitators of their students’ self-led learning. Teachers should help their students explore new ideas, question concepts, perform their own research, analyse information, come up with their own ideas and form their own thoughts based on their insights, new knowledge and understanding from their learning process.

There are two key things you can adopt to help you become a facilitator of learning:

1. Create a positive and supportive learning environment where students feel safe to be true to themselves, ask any questions, express any ideas, take risks, make mistakes and learn from them.

2. Use Design Thinking as a teaching framework.

Now we can continue exploring our Design Thinking project.

Planning the Research

As Design Thinkers, we want to create a preferable future with the people who will use our solutions. These are the people who are part of the question we explore. Also, since Design Thinking is a collaborative approach to problem-solving, any project is an opportunity to collaborate and connect with our communities. As a teacher, consider how you can connect your students with different generations within their communities. How can you bring your students closer to other generations?

Perhaps there is a nursing home nearby that will connect with your students when you contact them about the mutual benefits for both your students as well as their residents. This would be a great relationship to collaborate within your community.

Before beginning this relationship, however, your research should include gaining a deep understanding of elderly life, their challenges and their desires. You can watch videos on YouTube with your students on the life of older adults. There are even videos where children interact with nursing home residents and are then interviewed about their experiences.

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) has done projects where they connected kindergarten children and teenagers with nursing home residents. It is beautiful to see how quickly children form strong connections with older

How might we connect different generations within our community?

adults and how everyone benefits from it. These projects would be an excellent way to inform your students about the lives of elderly people at the nursing homes.

If you are watching videos, have a reflective conversation as a class on what you just saw.

You can ask your students:

• What assumptions did you hold about older adults before watching this video?

• What did you learn from this video that you didn’t know before?

• What did you notice regarding the nursing home residents and their interactions with the children?

• What surprised you?

• What are you curious about?

• Watching such videos and having open discussions will prepare you for the next step, which is thinking with your students about questions such as:

• Who do students need to interview to gain an understanding of their project’s question?

• What questions do your students need to ask to gain these understanding?

In part four of this series, we will continue with our research. I will show you how to decide who to interview and how to design your interview guides.

Ortal Green

Ortal is a passionate educator with a mission to empower teachers and parents to create tomorrow’s innovators. She started her career as a computer scientist. She co-founded “Glittering Minds” and created a programme for schools, “PBL and Beyond”. She is also a an author and speaker. She can be contacted at admin@glitteringminds.com.au

Thinking Kids

An Individualised, Dynamic and Integrated Social Skills Programme

The Thinking Kids Programme is an individualised, dynamic and integrated social skills programme. It encourages children to be aware of their feelings, be thoughtful of others and be able to think independently under pressure. The Thinking Kids Programme aims to enlist the support of teachers and parents to help the children manage social situations with thoughtfulness and kindness.

Why Do we Need the Thinking Kids Programme?

It is well established that social and emotional skills are essential for children’s capacity to learn and succeed at school. A joint study between researchers at Monash University and the Australian Scholarships Group found 69% of parents across the public and independent sector believed schools should be teaching more social skills. The line between what children learn at home and in the classroom is being blurred as Australian parents increasingly ask schools to help socialise their children. It has also found that children with better play ability at a young age consistently showed few signs of poor mental health years later.

Thinking Kids takes wide research into account, resulting in a quintessential programme - understanding that:

• Children leave the structured, supportive environment of the classroom to a freer space on the playground.

• They need to keep the ‘rules’ and support from their teacher and parents in mind, and ask for additional help when needed.

• At recess and lunchtime, children can play and enjoy each other’s company but they can also encounter painful pressures and problems that are inherent in ordinary day-to-day socialising.

What is the Thinking Kids Programme?

The Thinking Kids Programme aims at developing independent thinking – an emotionally mature and fundamental quality. The following four capacities of the programme are aimed at independent thinking.

1. An awareness of oneself and planned thinking;

2. An inner control of feelings that is insightful;

3. A thoughtful ability;

4. Independent thinking.

An Overview of Thinking Kids:

• Term 1 Overview

- Playground Focus

- Thinking Kids: Homework

• Term 2 Overview

- Classroom Social Stories (A main part of the programme)

- Thinking Kids: Homework

• Term 3 Overview

- Q & A Style Discussion, featuring a parent/teacher panel

• Term 4 Overview

- Application – noticing children exhibiting targeted skills

Typical Homework Sheet

The following is an excerpt from a homework sheet. Parents/Carers, today the children in Year 4 thought about how they can include other children in their play or conversation on the playground during recess time. Please fill in this worksheet yourself and then discuss your answers with your child.

1a. When you are having a conversation, how do you include other people?

1b. How do you include other people into your family life?

1c. Why is it sometimes hard for you to include other people?

Typical Social Story Sheet

The following is an excerpt from a story.

Social Story: The Handball Game

The Year 5 boys play handball nearly every day underneath the sun shelter in the playground. Peter lined up on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and had only played once. Somehow, he kept missing out. Today is Thursday and he is really hoping for a longer time on the court.

Lunchtime arrived and the boys walked to the court ready to play handball. Tom shood around with Jack and Ron. He noticed that Peter was standing in the line, again. He whispered to his friends to get Peter out quickly so that they could continue playing.

Benefits of the Thinking Kids Programme

Yearly evaluations with teachers, parents and students revealed significant improvement in responses from all participants in independent thinking. Comments included:

• Noticed that the real issues faced in the playground were represented;

• Provided a platform/opportunity for discussions at home and school around complex issues;

• Raised awareness of ‘others’ and own place in playground situations.

The Difference Between Other Programmes and Thinking Kids

Thinking Kids is based on issues pertaining to the individual school. Essentially, observations identify playground difficulties, which, together with parent and

teacher discussions, form the basis of the social skill stories. Combined with the overall structure of the program, this individualised program is always current, relevant and topical.

Helen Meyer is a special education consultant based in Sydney. Her experience spans more than 30 years across primary and secondary schools working with students, teachers and parents. She is inspired by her strong interest in a dynamic approach to thinking and learning. She is an accredited trainer of three programs: Therapeutic Storywriting, Cognitive Abilities Profile and the Bright Start program.

For more information, visit www.broadeningspecialeducation.com or email helen.specialeducation@gmail.com

Helen Meyer

Norms and Agreements

Foundational to Your Learning Culture

Focusing on how we treat each other provides a powerful doorway to developing shared norms grounded in social-ethical values and to the coconstruction of mutual agreements on which they are based. Such norms are now commonplace in most schools and educational workplaces that we know. However, constructing shared norms is one thing, but bringing them to life in your school is quite another. Norms work only when they are lived in action, rather than simply posted visually on school walls.

A new school year offers the perfect opportunity to revisit, reflect on and review your school’s current norms and values. This is particularly important when you have new team members since their thinking for common understandings and shared commitment must be unconvered. If your purpose is to bring norms back into people’s consciousness at the start of the year, the following excerpt offers a practical and meaningful way to involve all staff in this.

1. Structure for meaningful conversation

Structure partnerships or small teams of 3-4 for meaningful conversation.

You might select a topic or issue already on your meeting or professional learning agenda; alternatively, you might choose a relevant strategy from Increase relational trust: learn what is important to each other as the focus for conversation.

2. Explain the additional purpose

“As you work together, my intent is to observe and record what you appear to value - what seems important to you in terms of how you treat each other. We’ll use this as a scaffold to revisit our existing norms and values.”

3. Observe interactions during conversations

Unobtrusively record values you observe in action as conversations proceed, with examples of specific evidence or behaviours that reflect those values.

Values in action

• Respect - listening, waiting for a turn

• Equity - using people’s names, using quiet voices taking turns, sharing time fairly

• Responsibility - each person contributing, focused on task

4. Share observations: invite input

As you share key values observed, offer examples of evidence that supports them and invite input:

• How do my observations fit with what you saw and heard happening?

• What else can we add that you saw and I missed?

5. Make connections to existing values

Make visible on poster or slide your school or organisation’s existing documentation of value/norms. Use one or more of these questions to scaffold conversation:

• How do these compare with the observations on the chart here?

• What connections do you see between them?

• What might we want to add or alter in our existing values/norms to make them more effective?

6. Make desired changes

Organise a small group of volunteers to make any desired changes and present them back to your whole team.

Strategy One:

Observe and enhance existing norms, achieving the purpose of bringing whole team norms back to the front of mind in a personalised and relevant way. If your purpose is to have team members more intensively reflect on, analyse and review existing norms, then consider using the questions in Strategy Two to engage staff in dialogue and discussion.

Strategy Two:

Revisit, reflect and review norms. Use the following questions to guide the discussion:

• As you reflect on our current norms (on display), which of these do you believe worked well last year, and how do you know?

• As you reflect further on our norms, which ones did you find challenging or hard, and how do you know?

• Which of our norms (if any) no longer serve our needs? Say why.

• What norms aren’t on our list that might be important to include this year? In what ways might these assist us?

• What benefits do you see in having our norms: How do they help us?

Whilst there are many ways to uncover thinking and record ideas in partnerships or small teams, a Gallery Poster Walk is one that works particularly well in partnerships because it’s relatively self-paced, raises energy by requiring physical movement from large poster-to-poster and gathers quite a lot of data in a relatively short time.

A new school year offers the perfect opportunity to revisit, reflect on and review your school’s current norms and values.

How to Run a Gallery Poster Walk

• Prepare ahead of time.

• Have a large visual of school norms on display and have five large pre-prepared posters set out around the room, on walls or windows.

• Have coloured dots, post-its and coloured markers ready, either at a central collection point or near each poster.

• Be sure to include a list of school/workplace norms under the tasks on each poster.

Introduce the Purpose

How we treat each other and work together is at the core of our relationships and team effectiveness, so our intention now is to review our school norms to see what worked for us last year and what changes (if any) we might need to make as we undertake a whole new year together. Taking this time will bring our norms back to front of mind again and offer our new members of staff the chance to become familiar with them and contribute their valuable insights.

Explain the Process

- Take your group through each of the five questions and the related tasks on posters; Clarify as needed, and explain the Gallery Poster Walk:

- It is self-paced, partnerships can start at any poster and undertake them in any order they wish.

- Key to success is the dialogue between partners around each poster before they agree and record their partnership thinking.

- There is an overall time limit of ___ minutes. (It may take between 15 and 30 minutes. You know your team best regarding this.)

Form Partnerships: Undertake the Gallery Walk

To form partnerships, match any new team member with someone who is already familiar with school norms so they can help with any questions and clarifications a new member may have. Encourage partnerships to manage their time so they can complete each poster. Monitor group progress in case you need to alter or extend the time a little.

Debrief the Learning & Consider Next Steps

Time permitting, review the results on each poster, encouraging questions, comments and clarifications between and from partnerships. If time is short or the data seems complex, invite all team members to review these during the week and bring their thinking to the next meeting, indicating that this is when you will look at themes, any changes needed and next steps. Consider organising a small voluntary group to take away and analyse data on the posters, bringing back to the whole group what they have identified and present recommended next steps.

This article has been reprinted with permission.

Joan Dalton

Internationally respected Australian teacher and educator, Joan Dalton, is acknowledged for her expertise in learning and teaching, leadership, and facilitation. She has worked by invitation with schools and educational organisations in more than 10 different countries. Joan has authored several internationally successful books. Her current passion and writing are focused on the kinds of skilful language and powerful conversations that move learning forward.

For more, visit

www.leadingadultlearners.com

Thinking Flexibly

Strategies to Help Grow Your Perspective

Your incredible brain has the ability to ‘rewire,’ repair, change and grow smarter. Now commonly referred to as ‘neuroplasticity,’ your brain can adapt and sculpt in response to different stimuli and experiences. This is great news and one of the reasons humans keep advancing as a species.

The ability to think flexibly is essential when faced with problems or challenges when the answer isn’t immediately apparent. It means generating alternatives, looking at a solution from different perspectives and being open to changing your mind to facilitate better problem-solving.

According to Habits of Mind founders, Prof Art Costa and Dr Bena Kallick, people who have a flexible mind

can look at a situation from all angles without getting stuck on assumptions or past experiences. They can suspend judgment and what they think they know, to generate alternative ideas and solutions.

People who don’t demonstrate flexibility in their thinking are often set in their ways and can only see one solution to a problem. They insist that their way is the only way to move forward when stuck. You might hear someone say, “My mind is made up,” or, “We have always done it this way.”

Conversely, someone proficient at flexible thinking is comfortable leaving a problem unresolved, can tolerate confusion and ambiguity and have faith in their intuition and subconscious brain to come up

with ideas and solutions. Art Costa refers to this as putting your brain on ‘auto-ponder.’ These people think more broadly and globally, create, and seek novel approaches. They often have a well-developed sense of humour.

Edward de Bono described having a sense of humour as one of the highest forms of intelligence. He explained that being able to hold two ideas simultaneously in your mind and doing what he referred to as “pattern-switching,” (moving from the familiar patterns of what is known to new and unexpected patterns of the unknown) creates humour. He called this “lateral thinking,” and it is a great way of thinking flexibly!

One of my favourite quotes is, “If plan A doesn't work there are 25 other letters in the alphabet.” This points strongly to having a flexible mindset and being able to think flexibly. People with this disposition can deal with several sources of information simultaneously. Their minds are open to change based on new data, information and even reasoning that conflicts with their current understandings.

The benefits of promoting the ability to think flexibly include being open to more opportunities which help with learning and growing. Thinking of multiple ways to solve a dilemma means you could get to the solution faster. It also helps you stay positive instead of getting frustrated or upset.

Here are some ways to help students develop a flexible mindset:

• Encourage students to develop a repertoire of problem-solving strategies so when one approach doesn’t work, they have others to try.

• Ask students, “Who has another way to solve this?” or, “How else might we solve this?”

• Invite students to look at a situation or problem from another point of view.

• Promote the ability to pause and step back to look at a problem from the big-picture perspective rather than the macro view.

• Use Project Zero tools such as Circle of Viewpoints, Compass Points and Same-Different.

• Assist students in finding three ways to solve each problem.

• Show students pictures of mind-bending illusions so they can feel their brain looking a different way.

• Use wordplay, jokes and read Amelia Bedelia with younger students.

• Play ‘What if?’ scenarios and retell a fairy story from a different character's perspective.

• Change the rules of a game. For example, in the game Snakes and Ladders, go up the snakes and down the ladders.

• Encourage students to think aloud so they are more aware of their thoughts and strategies.

• Use an idea generator app to create seemingly random words into a story, product or game. The next time you are faced with a challenge, in what ways could you look at it in another viewpoint, generate alternative answers or consider different options?

Karen Tui Boyes is a champion for Lifelong Learning across nations, industries and organisations. Winner of the NZ Educator of the Year 2017 and 2014 and the NZ Speaker of the Year award in 2013 & 2019, Karen is a sought after speaker who continually gets rave reviews from audiences around the world. Her dynamic style and highly informative content—which turns the latest educational research into easy-to-implement strategies and techniques — sets her apart from others in her field.

Find out more at:

www.spectrumeducation.com

The benefits of promoting the ability to think flexibly include being open to more opportunities which help with learning and growing.

Karen Tui Boyes

What Could You Learn From A Room Full Of Leaders?

Are You In The Right Room?

Ionce heard John Maxwell say, “If you’re the most intelligent person in the room, you’re in the wrong room!” Sometimes I wonder why I am in the room and what I can learn by being there. But last week I KNEW that I was where I was supposed to be...

When I was growing up, I was told on a daily basis that I was an idiot. Worse still, it was my dad who kept on telling me that. Needless to say, it affected my belief and selfesteem. Sadly, I had no idea that my father called everyone an idiot. I wasn’t the special one, singled out for my gifting! There are times when we should be encouraged and we need to hear those words of affirmation. There are other times when we will be the delivery mechanism for others who need the encouragement.

As a teacher, where do you go to get your encouragement? Are you investing in yourself or simply investing in others?

As a teacher, where do you go to get your encouragement? Are you investing in yourself or simply investing in others?

If you are a senior leader, here are three things that you should consider:

1. Join a group of like-minded people. Where do people like yourself gather? Is there an inperson group or an online one that you can find and join? Sometimes you need to jump on LinkedIn and see what is available. Quite often, these tend to be closed groups, where you have to apply to join. I have found that jumping through some of these hoops is worthwhile as it helps to authenticate the members are the right ones for this group.

2. Join the conversation. Once you get into the group, make sure that you don’t become a wallflower. Don’t sit in the corner and spend all your time observing. Worse still, don’t ignore this group and avoid it. You have two choices. Like Groucho Marx, who said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member,” you can choose to ignore them. Or, as I like to say, “Join ‘em, and become part of the tribe, and if you’re not meant to be there, the tribe will vote you out at the next tribal council!” (You can tell that I’m a Survivor super-fan!) If you can, use this as a chance to ask great questions and see what the wisdom in the room says.

3. Join a mastermind. If you haven’t come across this concept, please let me explain…A mastermind group is a group of peers and partners united in their goals and committed to coordinating their knowledge for mutual benefit. People in a mastermind group tend to hold one another accountable for achieving their goals. Whilst they most often are made up by people who represent various backgrounds, some can be made up of people who work within the same field. You can ask members of your mastermind questions about things you are struggling with and they can help you find solutions. I have been blessed that I have worked with many mastermind groups over the years. They have challenged me, supported me and picked me up when I was down. I am forever grateful for the impact that they have made in my life. I can safely say that I can attribute some of my successes directly to the input that others have had in my life.

Someone recently asked me to explain what I did. I responded by saying that I help leaders lead. “We all do,” was her reply. “What do you really do?”

Here’s how I responded:

“Well, let me explain. Imagine running a company where the buck starts and stops with you. It’s lonely at the top and you can make decisions which can make or break you. You can lose your house, your marriage and your kids. I am there to help and guide you.

Now imagine being in a room, with 18 other like-minded CEOs where you can bring your issues and discuss them in a confidential environment. I put you in touch with other like-minded CEOs who can use their cumulative wisdom to help you resolve your issue and stop you from making the mistakes that can ruin your life.”

So, again, if you’re the smartest person in the room, it’s time for you to find another room…

Elias Kanaris is a professional speaker who talks about resilience and leadership. He’s the author of ‘Leading From The Stop’ where he shares leadership lessons learned from the people of Newfoundland, Canada in the aftermath of 9/11. It is about positive influence and heartfelt resilience in times of adversity.

You can contact Elias here: elias@EliasKanaris.com or visit: www.EliasKanaris.com

Elias Kanaris

Building Resilience & Confidence in Children

Why Reading Aloud Matters

Asa school librarian, I have received an increasing number of requests from teachers for books to help children deal with worry, stress and anxiety. Our collection has expanded to include a range of mostly picture books suitable to offer teachers as they support children to manage stress and anxiety - even children as young as five years old. These same teachers are also noting a decline of basic social and literacy skills, along with a lack of resilience in new entrants.

There are clearly a number of factors behind these shifts in behaviour and skill levels, including increased time spent on digital devices by adults and children. More time glued to screens equates to less time for human interaction and free-range play, less opportunity to explore the world and to learn to self manage. Natural language pathways in children’s early years are being interrupted and obstructed, meaning a deficiency in oral langauge skills and vocabulary when the children arrive at school.

A five-year-old should ideally be arriving at school with a working vocabulary of 5000 – 6000 words, but it is clear that many new entrants at school - especially those who are struggling to express themselves verbally - have a much reduced vocabulary stock. Lack of vocabulary and lack of resilience creates a state of disempowerment for an individual. Without the ability to express oneself, to articulate feelings, to solve simple problems, to persevere at a task, it is easy to see how a child might become stressed, worried or anxious.

Reading aloud is an obvious way to introduce children to the wonders of language and storytelling and to build up vocabulary, but a recent study from the University of South Australia has found that reading aloud to children provides so much more. Researchers have found that reading aloud can triple a child’s resilience at school, particularly for children deemed at-risk.

Lead researcher, Professor Leonie Segal, reports, “Reading out loud can create many positive outcomes for children. As a shared experience between parent and child, it encourages connection, while also directly contributing to child development through exposure to words and stories. Children in families that are struggling to create a nurturing environment will especially benefit from reading with a parent or carer, improving their resilience and keeping them developmentally more on track, despite their adversity exposure.”

A classroom or school library setting is the perfect place to build on and consolidate positive reading experiences for children. Reading aloud is a simple activity - one that generates comfort and enjoyment for both reader and audience.

Children are hungry for stories, not only for the stories themselves, but for the sense of comradeship and closeness created in a read-aloud session. For the duration of the storytelling, all participants – reader and audience – form a special alliance. They become privileged members of an exclusive club, sharing experiences unique to the group. There is a sense of being removed from the everyday and being cocooned in a warmth and intimacy generated by the story and the shared storytelling experience.

Author Mem Fox, considers nonreading elements of a readaloud session as valuable as the stoytelling itself. “Engaging in this kind of conspiracy with children is perhaps the greatest benefit of reading aloud to them. We share the words and pictures, the ideas and the viewpoints, the rhythms and rhymes, the pain and comfort, and the hopes and fears and big issues of life that we encounter together in the pages of a book.”

Be sure to choose a read-aloud that appeals to you, and one you know your students will relate to. All good stories have relatable characters who are faced with challenges, injustices or problems to resolve. Reading these types of stories allows children to see themselves in the book’s characters, to put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist and, via imagination, experience the success of defeating a villain or conquering a fear. It allows children to see that adversities can be overcome, and in this way, helps to build resilience in individuals.

Educator, Pennie Brownlee, encourages adults not to act as censor. “Tell the traditional stories so your children will learn that obstacles can be overcome, even very vile and tricky obstacles. If we take all the scary bits out of the story

BERNICE WILLIAMS

we inadvertently tell the depths of the child’s consciousness that life will be easy and without trials.”

Stories also shine a mirror on the positive, showing that conflicts will be resolved, characters will grow stronger or change for the better, and circumstances will improve. Author, Katherine Rundell, in her book Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise, reminds us of the hope embedded in children’s stories. “Children’s novels, to me, spoke, and still speak, of hope. They say: ‘Look, this is what bravery looks like. This is what generosity looks like.’ They tell me, through the medium of wizards and lions and talking spiders, that this world we live in is a world of people who tell jokes and work and endure.”

Adults reading aloud to strengthen a child’s resilience – could there be a more uncomplicated formula?

I hope you will make it a daily practice. Go ahead - reach for that book, get comfy in your chair and invite your reading audience in. Let the reading magic begin.

Bernice Williams

Bernice Williams works as a librarian at Ngaio School in Wellington. She has a long-standing interest in education with a particular enthusiasm for literacy, language, and literature. She delights in facilitating the perfect partnership between child and book, launching the reader on their reading journey, and cherishes the moments of reading ‘gold’ she is able to share with tamariki in read-aloud sessions in the library.

She can be reached at:

b.williams@ngaio.school.nz

Adults reading aloud to strengthen a child’s resilience – could there be a more uncomplicated formula?

Learning as Metamorphosis

Layering the Learning

Australia

has one of the weirdest insects on earth - the walking stick. Like other stick insects, the walking stick evolves through several stages. It starts off as an egg, which the adult drops from a tree. Through evolution, the egg has been engineered to look like a seed loved by ants. The seed has a tasty, nutritious section at the top called the eliasome. This tiny, white extrusion is mimicked at the top of the walking stick egg and is called the capitulum. Like a stowaway, the egg grows in perfect humidity, away from predators in the ant nest. In its own time, it hatches into a nymph with a red head and green body. Why the head red? This is another masquerade. It mimics a red-headed spider ant as it scuttles to safety. Both red-headed ants and the nymph taste like bad cheese, so most predators avoid them. Once the nymph finds a haven in a tree, it moults six times to reach its final form. The nymph moves like an ant, whereas the adult walking stick has a flowing side-toside motion like a gently fluttering leaf. It grazes all day on eucalyptus leaves and after mating, lo’ and behold, more seeds drop from the tree to start the process all over again. The walking stick doesn’t have to walk much because the ants it has surreptitiously made part of its cycle become the eggs’ transporters. Beside being a fun insect, the walking stick’s life cycle is similar to children’s learning. Deep learning never happens in one stage, but in several stages over time.

LILI-ANN KRIEGLER

Moving Beyond One Stop Activities

In some early years’ rooms, children may be offered an activity that lasts for a single session. Their effortful products are collected neatly in their portfolios or go home for display on the fridge.

I was one of the educators who offered children one stop activities until I visited the preschools and infant-toddler centres on a study tour to Reggio Emilia in northern Italy. A whole new vista opened to me about how children could be inspired to learn and to keep evolving through ever more complex iterations. Learning there is described as a spiral, moving upward and outward over time.

Since that trip, no matter what I design for children or how they are occupied, I always look for the next extension. It could be linear thinking, adding something on at the end, or it could be vertical thinking, going a little or a lot deeper.

Lending a Skill

One day, in the middle of an academic year, a new child joined my four-year-old group. When asked to draw alongside other children who just got on with it, she sat frozen. She stared at the page. When I enquired, she said, “I can’t draw.” I asked her what she would like to draw and she stated she didn’t know. I dug further and asked after

her favourite things. Her eyes brightened and she said, “Butterflies.” I continued the questioning line by asking what butterflies looked like and if she would like to try and draw one. As she drew, I scaffolded her success by “lending a skill.” We began with drawing a closed figure, a rough circle. Then we changed the shape of the figure. When she had confidence in making circles and ovals of different dimensions, we tackled the butterfly.

I had expected her to use a skinny oval in the middle and two fatter ones on either side, but she had a different idea. She drew two ovals one above the other and then drew a straight line down the middle. There emerged the first butterfly she had ever drawn. Filled with enthusiasm, she immediately added antennae and wanted to colour it. She never looked back.

Inspiring the Group

During the process, we gained some bystanders. They watched as she coloured the wings — and wings became a focus in their thinking. This encounter was a formative stage of an ongoing project into wings and flight that lasted months. Dragons, dragonflies, butterflies, birds and even planes entered the arena.

Drawing with Both Memory and the Senses

Children often draw from memory rather than from observation. I love them to move outward, use their external senses, observe closely and then move back into their minds to think again using the additional information they’ve assimilated. New thinking lays the groundwork for further creativity, including thoughtful statements and ideas, such as, “Birds, dragonflies, butterflies...all have wings. But the dragonfly’s wings are thinner than the butterfly’s.”

What occurs between each layer is that children’s conceptual understanding of the world becomes more complex.

When closely observing, the children understand something not as a simple entity, but as an entity with parts that are related. They learn the function, relevance, structure and interconnection within the whole.

Creating a Learning Spiral

The student who started the project continued her work. From the three enclosed shapes, she and the other children in the group moved on to careful observation of models of butterflies and ‘read’ about them in books. Over time, their work became very detailed. Then, the original child indicated she wanted to do a ‘close-up’ of just part of the wing. The children loved the idea. The drawings and paintings they produced are spectacular. The process went from the whole butterfly to close-up to painting.

The Arts Contribute to Conceptual Understanding

Besides being able to paint and draw, the group became knowledgeable about different kinds of animal flight. They learned about habitats, life cycles, ecosystems and the interdependence of creatures within the worlds of plants and geology. They could recount numerous stories and act out different kinds of locomotion.

At the end of the year, they wrote a beautiful story called Bringing Back the Water which was an interweaving of dance, music, biology, indigenous culture and modern science. Butterflies are featured along with other Australian fauna.

Conclusion

Like the walking stick, the first butterfly morphed through several iterations to become something truly amazing. I call this kind of learning “layering.” Each time the spiral turns, a new layer is added. What occurs between each layer is that children’s conceptual understanding of the world becomes more complex. They see the relationships between things and they spontaneously transfer the knowledge to new situations.

I wish you and your students joy as your journeys of metamorphosis unfold.

Lili-Ann Kriegler (B. A Hons, H. Dip. Ed, M.Ed.) is a Melbourne-based education consultant and award-winning author. Lili-Ann writes to share the wisdom she has acquired through her training and 30 years of experience in education. She is a child, parent and family advocate who believes that education is a transformative force for humanity.

For more information, visit www.kriegler-education.com.

Lili-Ann Kriegler

LILI-ANN KRIEGLER

How Students Learn to Love Writing

Using Feedback to Engage and Develop Effective Writing Skills

Astudy that tested students on their readiness to sit NCEA L1, due to be introduced in 2024, has found that if students sat the standard for writing today only 35% would pass, leaving the remaining 65% struggling to write well enough to function in society. The sample that was tested ranged from Decile 5 and up. The results for Decile 1 students were even more alarming, with just 2% passing! These results should disturb us. We are hurtling at great speed into the digital age. Just a simple communication tool like e-mail requires an ability to write in a way that others can understand. Effective communication skills are of paramount importance. In order to future-proof our students, we must make sure they can succeed in these areas.

Without strong literacy skills students will inevitably miss out on opportunities, career progression and life contentment.

Effective writing is one of the most sought after skills by employers, along with strong digital and problem-solving skills. Writing and problem-solving are closely linked, since when we write, we think in order to construct a strong argument. Yet current research is telling us that we are falling behind in the key skill we need to think…writing.

Without strong literacy skills students will inevitably miss out on opportunities, career progression and life contentment.

As such, I authored and founded a unique, interactive technology, Stylefit. It encourages students to analyse their writing and to decide if it is doing the task they want of it. Is it descriptive, informative, entertaining, emotive? If it is not, then they are guided, using instant feedback, to edit their work and change wording in a re-draft to better suit the audience for which it is intended.

Stylefit is the result of many years of research into the increasingly complex challenges faced by teachers and learners as they are catapulted through the digital age and learning takes place in a range of environments inside and outside the traditional classroom.

In my research, I found that the one thing students value most is getting relevant, constructive feedback within days, (Even better - in mere hours!) of submitting their written work. If it is delivered any later, students move on to the next demand on their time, usually another essay. It does not take a great deal of imagination to realise that providing feedback within even one day of receiving an essay is a herculean undertaking.

If technology can shoulder some of the burden and relieve some of the relentless pressure of marking numerous essays, and guide students in writing original, thoroughly considered essays, then that surely is a good thing, is it not?

EdTech is now an integral part of every classroom and we are well on the way to integrating face-to-face education with technology – hybrid learning. When technology teaches students how to research, to analyse and think independently, and this force is combined with lessons guided by a teacher, then we have surely uncovered one of the greatest tools and changemakers of all time.

Suraya Dewing

Suraya Dewing is a published author who holds a BA in English and History, and a Master’s in Creative Writing. Recently, Suraya set out on a research mission to identify the factors that make writing successful. This led her to create Stylefit, an innovative writing tool that provides immediate feedback.

She can be reached at: suraya@stylefit.org

Tech Tips for Readers with Dyslexia

How Online Tools may Help Ease the Strain

Most people think that dyslexia looks like kids reversing b’s and d’s, but there is more that is going on for these students. When you put the right tools in front of your students, you can see incredible growth in a short period of time. The best part is that these tools are free for teachers, parents and kids, helping to make reading more accessible for everyone.

Specialised Fonts

The first tool is called open dyslexic font. Have you ever noticed that the width of capital letter L and lowercase letter l look the same? With the open dyslexic font, each letter has its own shape and has a heavier weight at the bottom. This makes the letters easier to recognise and allows the dyslexic brain to translate the correct letter quickly. This relieves the stress of trying different combinations to figure out the word.

When you ask a person with dyslexia which font they prefer, the Open Dyslexic font or Comic Sans, they typically will tell

you the Open Dyslexic font. There has been a ton of debate on whether the dyslexic font makes kids a better reader but this article focuses on what people with dyslexia preferabout which one is easier on their eyes and less of a strain for them.

Here is an example:

preference.

You can download the font at https://opendyslexic.org/ or you can add it as an extension for your browser.

Coloured Backgrounds

Some students also have Irlen’s Syndrome. This is a processing disorder, not related to problems with vision, but

For some kids, you will see an immediate difference in reading speed, accuracy and confidence. For others, it is simply a

can look similar to the types of mistakes made by those with dyslexia. These kids are bothered by glare that occurs from reading with a white background. They are sensitive to certain colours - simply changing the background colour from white to one they prefer can make it easier for them to process the written word.

In classrooms, teachers have used coloured overlays for these students. Online, you can change the page colour if you are using programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

In Microsoft, type page colour in the search bar. Then, simply choose the colour that your student prefers. For Google Docs, click on File. Then select Page Setup. Toward the bottom you will see Page Colour. Select the colour that your student prefers.

Conclusion

More and more tools are being created and developed to offer equal access to print online. By giving kids choices in what settings they prefer when reading online, they can access the print in a way that will make them less tired, increase their focus and put less strain on their brain. Check out these tools today to support your readers!

Immersive Reader

Microsoft has gone above and beyond making text accessible to all readers. They have created a tool called “immersive reader” that allows you to change the text, the font and the page colour all in one place. With an immersive reader, you can quickly choose the size of the text, spacing between words and the colour of the background. You can also break words by syllables and have a picture dictionary when you move your cursor over a word. For a person with dyslexia, trying to decipher a word by the definition alone can be difficult. Using a visual dictionary allows the reader to continue reading more easily.

Within the immersive reader menus, there is also a line focus tool. In the classroom, students may utilise a ruler to follow the lines on the page. With immersive reader, students can choose to highlight lines to stay focused and not repeat what has already been read.

Joanne Kaminski is a highly experienced former teacher and Reading Specialist with over two decades of expertise. She now serves as an online reading tutor and founder of the Online Tutor Coach. Joanne helps other tutors grow their businesses by teaching them how to attract more students. With over 20,000 followers on her YouTube channel, Facebook Group, Instagram, and podcast, she is a respected authority in the industry. She can be reached at: jbkaminski@gmail.com

The best part is that these tools are free for teachers, parents and kids, helping to make reading more accessible for everyone.

Joanne Kaminski

Design Thinking

Take the time to step out of the classroom to experience being the learner

Iwas excited when I found out I was the recipient of the Edna Joyce Howe Scholarship for 2022 where I could step out of teaching for a short while and delve deep into design thinking.

Since then, I have been observing students from across Wintec centres who are studying a module at Design Factory as an elective within their undergraduate qualifications. I questioned them about what they loved to learn at high school and about any memorable experiences they encountered. Their answers included items like, “It was a project. It has a mentor. It has community involvement.

When you make and do things.” Rigour and the learning involving real-world, authentic experiences was something I took away from our conversations as being positive experiences. As an educator and facilitator, the way we set up ‘learning’ enables students every opportunity to make a difference in our world!

Design Factory New Zealand, based at Wintec Te Pūkenga, is a co-creation space where students and industry partners work together to solve complex problems. I have

been lucky enough to spend the last ten weeks participating in and observing students learn and apply a diverse range of problem-solving skills, with a committed focus on their groups’ industry partner’s problem. Seeking to deeply engage with the problem, students empathise with industry and stakeholders to gain their perspective on the issue, create a range of possible solutions and then test prototypes for best-fit solutions. As a result, I have observed a deep and wide understanding of complex problems, observed passionate coaches and facilitators who offer their expertise and guidance alongside students to be able to achieve their goals.

There are so many versions of the design process that can guide teaching and learning, but until you step into the process yourself as a learner you will never know how to deliver it in a way that students NEED.

Rototuna Junior High Schools’ learning process allows students to take a series of steps in the learning journey across all learning modules from years 7-10 in a modern learning environment. Implementing this design process when planning for teaching and learning especially in Technology Education at school is an effective way to interconnect all three strands of the curriculum. In 2015,

RJHS created a visual for students as a representation of an iterative learning process. I can clearly see a defined correlation between DFNZ design process and the Junior High’s Learning process, which allows taking a step backwards to learn, reframe and rethink. The biggest take-away from my time at the Design Factory is the art of

“The ability to empathise, think creatively, collaborate productively, experiment with solutions and communicate ideas are all key parts of design.”

problem solving: Running through all activities and the tools that are used at each stage of the process, which I will adopt and bring back to my teaching practice. The time has allowed me to suspend my assumptions, truly collaborate on ideas and live inside the world of another, all while solving messy problems which have no clear solutions but have a real impact on people and society.

The Design Factory uses a five-step model of Design Thinking. The heart of their approach is co-creation and that the best designs are human-centred. The five-step design thinking model as proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford includes empathy, define, ideate, prototype and test.

1. Empathy

Before designing a solution, students needed to create a deep understanding of how the problem currently impacts peoples’ lives. Empathy required students to suspend their own assumptions and live inside the world of another by using ethnographic research methods. Industry partners such as Ag Research approached students with a challenge, such as: “How might we re-imagine food systems in the Waikato to promote circular use of resources?” These are wicked problems that are not easily solved and currently have no solution.

2. Define

At this stage students analysed data sources from primary and secondary research. Through empathy interviews, they make sense by weighing up their findings. Students used tools like Affinity maps to cluster what things have affinity with each other and then turn them into sentences to create an insight. These tools enabled students to develop, “How might we…?” questions, which defined the voices of the users and stakeholders, getting closer to the heart of the problem and determining next steps.

3. Ideate

Students created a range of ideas of possible solutions for solving those, “How might we?” questions. Before delving into solutions that we can all too quickly jump to, students generate as many ideas as they could using various methods and approaches to heighten creativity. Ideas were then charted against a matrix for feasibility, viability and usability. Then, the most promising ideas were selected via a democracy process with students and stakeholders identifying a best fit.

5. Test

Students went back to their industry partner and put their prototypes in the hands of real users, observing them using the prototypes, asking questions about concepts, and offering thoughts on future refinements. As prototypes were tested, students assessed how well their solutions met the initial Creativity Brief. Students then determined changes that were needed to be made, in order to get ready for the DFNZ Gala. At this event, students present their research and concept in a public forum to an audience of industry partners, alumni and members of the community of interest.

Students were encouraged to return to each stage as they discover new solutions and rapidly test these with a range of stakeholders, all working towards the final output of a Proof-of-Concept Solution.

4. Prototype

Prototypes were created and students modelled these in different forms, ranging from wireframe apps, websites, interactive events and storyboards to 3-dimensional cardboard figures ready for testing with stakeholders and users. Each was given feedback on the possible solution(s).

Irma Cooke, a former Chef, now teacher and specialist curriculum leader of Technology, has a passion for teaching Food Technology at Rototuna Junior High School.

She may be contacted at irmacooke@rhs.school.nz

Irma Cooke

Design thinking is a human-centred approach which is driven by creative and analytical thinking, customer empathy and iterative learning.

7 Tips to Build Financial Confidence

Investing in Children and Teens to Help Them Invest Money

What is Financial Confidence?

If confidence is defined as, “A feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances, then financial confidence could be defined as a feeling or consciousness of one’s power and ability to earn well, build wealth and ultimately have financial freedom. There is a growing body of evidence showing a strong relationship between financial wellbeing and financial confidence, yet many children do not have the opportunity to learn the mindsets and skills necessary to build it, often because parents weren’t taught it themselves.

Use these seven tips to help you raise children to be financially confident adults. Give them the opportunity to write an abundant wealth building money story. A money story is a person’s relationship with money. It is what they subconsciously BELIEVE, THINK and FEEL about money, which drives what they DO with money, which forms their FINANCIAL REALITY. Children learn their money story from their environment, significant adults and the media. They may hear things like:

• “We can’t afford that.”

• “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

• “Do you think I’m made of money?”

• “Investing is for others, not us.”

Children and teens may experience fighting or anxiety around money. These words and experiences can lead to a relationship with money based on scarcity and fear, rather than abundance and wealth building. Choose your words about money carefully and decide to change your own money story if you must.

The more you talk about money with your friends, family and children, the more comfortable you and they will feel around money overall. Some questions to initiate conversations could be:

? If $100 blew in the window right now, what would you do with it?

? I feel like ice-cream. Do you think ice-cream is a need or a want?

? I wonder how much that influencer gets paid to say they love that product? I wonder if they really do love it?

? What are you grateful for today?

? What would happen if all our money was suddenly sucked into a chocolate river?

? Do you think it costs money to boil the kettle, turn on the stove or keep drinks cold in our fridge? Use a comprehensive holistic money system, like The Millionaire Mindset Money System to teach children how to be excellent money managers who budget and invest. For

Many adults were not taught this wealth building habit, so it can sound impossible, but children are blank canvasses when it comes to developing their money habits.

younger children, label six clear jars: GENIUS, GOALS, GET, GUARD, GROW and GIVE. Teach them money mindsets and habits they need to make educated and informed financial choices as adults. As children grow, transition from jars to bank accounts and investing portfolios. For children of all ages, teach them how to save up to buy their wants by using sinking funds, envelopes and bank accounts.

Use powerful mental strategies like gratitude and affirmations to teach children how to think abundant wealth building thoughts, rather than scarcity. Everything we do with money starts with a thought about money and ultimately forms our financial reality. For younger children, encourage them to write down affirmations and things they are grateful for on small pieces of paper, decorate them and keep them safe in their GENIUS jar. For older children, encourage them to keep a gratitude jar or journal, and create a ‘My Wealthy, Healthy Life’ vision board. Some affirmations could be:

à I AM abundant.

à I AM good with money.

à I can do hard things.

à I am a wise-owl or mindful spender.

à I make good choices with my money.

Use the WOOP goal setting technique to teach children how to set financial goals (short, medium and long term). This technique also shows them how to plan for obstacles, both external and internal that could prevent them from achieving their goals timeously. Some external obstacles could be advertising, mismanagement of credit cards and social media pressure. Some internal obstacles could be a scarcity mindset and lack of financial knowledge. Use a visual to track their progress that includes their goal amount, what they are saving for as well as a start and end date. As they save the amounts, colour in their tracker and celebrate their progress.

Teach them how to set up multiple streams of income, some generating active income and some passive income. Active income is money earned in exchange for hours worked. Passive income is money earned continuously even when we are not actively working. It’s about working smarter and being paid for our initial effort repeatedly, such as income from a rental property or dividends from shares. Encourage younger children to think of different ways to earn active income. For older children, brainstorm ways to earn using questions like:

à What are your strengths?

à What do other people compliment you for?

à How can you make money from that idea?

à What skills do you need in order to make money from that idea?

à How much time do you have to work on your idea or business?

à How much money can you earn from that?

à What is something that you would like to learn about but can’t find any good books or courses?

Normalise investing and the investing habit (investing half of all income earned) from an early age. Many adults were not taught this wealth building habit, so it can sound impossible, but children are blank canvasses when it comes to developing their money habits. You can build your child’s financial confidence using these seven tips - Start today!

Laurel Makowem is a Certified Financial Education Instructor and founder of Mothers Teaching Money, a business and movement helping parents raise financially confident, responsible and independent adults, regardless of their own financial knowledge or situation.

Her mission is to demystify financial literacy through the Millionaire Mindset Money System, a comprehensive holistic financial education system. She provides fun online courses, workshops and products for children from 4-18 years.

Laurel can be reached at mothersteachingmoney@gmail.com

Laurel Makowem

LAUREL MAKOWEM

CLARE MCILWRAITH

It’s 2023. I don’t know about you, but I feel like the public dialogue about studying hasn’t changed in…well…too long.

Being in the Internet age, there is, of course, an ocean of information about studying available but is it good information? Will it actually help teenagers learn effectively and get the grades they’re capable of earning?

I think some of the information swirling around out there needs a refresh, and some of it actually just needs to go in the bin. To that end, below are three myths about studying I believe are in need of a good debunking.

1. Study needs to be pretty and perfect.

It’s not just their bodies that the likes of Instagram are telling teenagers need to look ‘perfect.’

I fear that Instagram feeds full of complimenting pastel-coloured notebooks, personalised stickers and calligraphy-styled notes will lead some teens to think that unless their study notes look worthy of professional photography, they’re no good.

But this simply is not true. The aesthetics of studying, generally, do not matter.

Yes, sometimes it’s important to be neat —setting out maths problems for instance.

But generally, and certainly when it comes to exam study, who cares whether notes look good. The important thing is, do they work?!

How a student gets through the gauntlet of exam study should only depend on one thing — what works for them.

Maybe they are naturally a ‘neat’ person who does benefit from setting out their desk and notes beautifully. But maybe they have zero interest in glitter pens and thrive with just a plain old notebook and ball point pen, happy to study in a darkened room so messy you can’t see the floor.

Both extremes and everything in between is fine as long as the system is working.

One of my most academically-qualified mates from high school had (and has!) handwriting so horrendous he could barely read it himself. I shudder to think what his study desk would have looked like. But as my Masters in microbiology and zoology friend demonstrates, the

important part of studying lies far beneath the aesthetics. What matters is that students can take in, process and retain information in whatever way works for them - not whether their study notes would win any graphic design awards.

2. There’s only one way to study properly.

Some study information out there is like bad diet advice — just do this and the weight will fall off! — oversimplified and generic.

But actually, the absolute key to studying effectively is figuring out what works for you. Students study most effectively in their own unique way. The study techniques that I deploy for my exam study won’t work for all other students.

I call this process — each student’s unique method of studying (particularly for exams) — their Study System.

While the ‘lead actors’ of studying are likely to appear in most students’ Study Systems (study notes, past exams, practice essays, etc) there is plenty of room for different approaches.

Do they like handwriting study notes? Typing them? Maybe a mixture? Does watching educational videos help? Flash cards? Talking concepts over with a friend? Listening to music? Complete silence?

The take home is that we are all unique individuals and that individuality extends to how we study effectively.

3. Everyone should go to university.

We’re still really hung up on this one. Going to university after school is still the option most heavily marketed to high school students.

But there’s a problem. A lot of teenagers don’t want to go to university.

We need to move away from banging on the same university drum, and open teenagers’ worlds to see that there are myriad positive pathways to pursue after school that can offer up happy and fulfilled lives.

To my mind, keeping university as the measure of ‘success’ after school is completely counterproductive for many of our young people.

It’s up to us to acknowledge our students’ individuality and help them get to wherever it is they might want to go.

CLARE MCILWRAITH

If a teenager knows they don’t want to go to university, what other incentives are they being offered to try hard at school? What’s in it for them? Too often they’re not given a satisfactory answer.

This is a huge waste of potential, because for thousands of teenagers, going to university won’t be the appropriate option, and we should be encouraging them to pursue their other, perhaps less academic, interests.

I suppose the theme running through these points is individuality.

The school system has to cater to the needs of thousands of students all at once, but it can’t nurture and motivate every teenager equally, with every one having unique talents and interests.

It’s up to us to acknowledge our students’ individuality and help them get to wherever it is they might want to go.

Clare is the author of Cram Lab, a website and blog for parents with teens struggling with high school study. She is a lawyer and Mum of three from Auckland, New Zealand. For more study help visit www.cramlab.org

Clare McIlwraith

Winning Student Leadership Election Speeches

3 Tips to Guide Candidates to Success

Giving a great student leadership election speech can make a massive difference to a student’s chances of being elected. One may possess all the desired qualities to do a great job but fall at the most important election hurdle –giving a winning speech.

The following student-friendly strategies, developed over more than 20 years as a professional speaker, will help every student give a winning student leadership election speech.

1. Simplify Design

Speech design is the trickiest part for most students. The best student election speech follows a structure, which stops rambling and provides guideposts for listeners to follow. Listeners, like travellers, feel comfortable when they know where they are going, so structure is confidencebuilding for the audience as well as the speaker.

There are many structures or frameworks for presentations, but perhaps the simplest and best structure for students is to follow the Rule of 3. This rule is that the talk has an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Within each section, three points are made. Students should spend more time on the body of the talk than the introduction or conclusion since that is where the substance lies.

Introduction

The job of the introduction is to get the audience’s attention, let them know what they will hear and introduce the speaker. Students can grab attention with a very short story or anecdote; make a bold statement about being a leader or say something funny or humorous. They should also let people know who they are, briefly outlining any leadership experience they may have had. Then they can signal what they will cover in the remainder of the speech.

Body

The Rule of 3 applies in the body of the speech as well. Students should give three compelling reasons why they can do the leadership job the best. The reasons can relate to some or all of the following:

• Character - Mention honesty, kindness, reliability.

• Competency – One might mention being a good organiser, good teammate, or that they have great ideas.

• Contribution - What would one do if elected, what causes would be supported, what one would do well.

Conclusion

In the last part of the talk, students should remind people why they’d do a good job, how they will contribute and that they deserve to be voted for– a final call to action. Students

MICHAEL GROSE

can put their main points on cue cards and use them when they practise. Cue cards should fit into the palm of their hands, so they aren’t distracting to listeners.

2. Prioritise Practice

Practice may not make perfect, but it can ease nerves and make the talk the more memorable. The best way to practise is to speak using the cue cards in front of a mirror or a wall.

Students shouldn’t try to memorise the talk word for word, instead know what they want to say. Knowing the first sentence helps students start confidently, which does wonders for their nerves and builds self-confidence.

Parents and teachers should ask students to tell them about their talk. “So, Gemma, what are you going to tell these students tomorrow?”

quietly five minutes before a talk and focus fully on the task at hand. They can practise mindfulness and deep breathing techniques to clear the nerves and shut down the mental chatter.

When it’s time to give the presentation, your student should walk confidently to the centre of the stage or speaking space, stand still with two feet shoulders length apart, scan their eyes across the audience and begin speaking with a smile on their face.

Encourage students to pause and take a breath when they look at their notes. If possible, they should resume talking with a smile. Staying calm and confident when speaking without projecting arrogance is one of the most persuasive actions a student can make.

Speaking in public is a game of bluff. Students who can deal with nerves and put self-doubt aside have a head start when trying to persuade others to vote for them. Good presentation design, practising the right things and knowing how to calmly approach the speaking space in order to deliver the presentation are key to helping students put their best feet forward and deliver talks that win the day.

“I’m going to tell people that I have lots of leadership experience. I’ll talk about the time I was a Guide leader at camp

and what I did to help. I’m then going to cover…..”

Going over the main points prior to delivery aids recall and ensures students focus on the big picture rather than minor details when they speak.

Encourage students to practise confident body language prior to giving their presentation. Many potentially great student talks have been ruined by fidgeting fingers, fumbling feet and an inability to stand up straight. Encourage them to practise confident body language until it becomes automatic.

3. Deliver Presentation

Negative or cloudy thinking are huge obstacles for many students prior to giving a talk. I always advise students to sit

Michael Grose is one of Australia’s most respected experts on parenting and bringing schools and parents together. He’s also the founder of Parenting Ideas, one of Australia’s most trusted sources of parenting education and resources for schools. Michael is a former primary school teacher with 15 years of experience. Michael continues to help teachers, students and parents through a collection of resources designed specifically for school communities.

Find out more at parentingideas.com.au

The best student election speech follows a structure, which stops rambling and provides guideposts for listeners to follow.

Michael Grose

Goodbye 2022 – Hello 2023

Reflecting on Moving Forward

Reflections on the life and times of a pandemic: More of the same or will we try another tack?

Around the world for the last year, all we have heard is that we need to catch the children up academically. From the first time I heard this statement in 2020 after just the first six months of the pandemic, I was concerned. It immediately places everyone in a deficit mode of thinking. And yes, so much was lost for our children from the babies who are now delayed in their development and to those who missed milestones. But not all was lost. It leads me to ask the questions: What is education? What are we wanting kids to catch up to? What is the yard stick we are judging the kids from the pandemic by?

Very quickly I arrive at this answer: What is the point of catching up? To just make everyone feel bad and ‘behind,’

instead of celebrating their resilience and celebrating their new skills learned from home? For my daughter, that was learning to bake, sew, make videoes, to project-manage her day, to reach out to friends on zoom - even to be alone but not lonely. Kids learned to know how important a community around them is and to realise that no one thrives in isolation. We learnt a lot. I was at a conference in 2019 in London for the launch of a mental health curriculum for secondary schools and the CEO of the largest supermarket, Sainsbury’s, shared that they no longer hired for skills but rather for attitude. The shift came when realising that so many skills would be changing due to technology, and core skills would no longer be the key to success; they were simply looking for someone who was not only mentally intelligent, but also socially, emotionally intelligent!

What do our children need more of?

• Anything that builds their relationship with themselves and others, such as time to spend playing board games with each other. So many learn great skills whilst playing, including reading, maths, negotiation, loss, winning or joy.

• They need clear consistent ways to communicate how they are feeling and know how others are feeling. See the 1-5 Rating Scale that asks, “How are you feeling?” It is shown to reduce anxiety and improve feelings of confidence in themselves and learning.

• Walk and talk! Research shows that walking can have enormous positive effects on conversation, including stimulating cognitive process, creative thinking and fostering trust and cooperation as well as reducing cortisol. Hey, presto! Could one very simple thing that you could activate is a daily hikoi/walk? In Scotland, a Head Teacher of a secondary school decided that they had to walk a daily mile irrelevant of weather. The results were so impressive that a whole movement was founded. Everyone gets out and walks or jogs for 15mins (the average walking pace for a mile). The

benefits on behaviour, health and well being are tremendous. It isn’t rocket science. Everything the science tells us is everything a nurturing, loving, connected adult has been doing for eons. How we are on the inside emanates out of us and creates the environment, which others can either feel safe and secure to explore…or not. You actually can’t “fake it ‘till you make it” because the kids are like basset hounds-they sniff out fake in a millisecond. Which is one of the joys of working in schools - children being themselves, moving authentically, running, skipping…nothing is a straight, linear path. Yet we spend an awful lot of energy trying to get them to all fit into the square peg. If we can let go of our tension and stress to get them over these lines of accomplishment and focus on helping them feel secure within, they will learn and they will achieve.

Creating a school environment where everyone can thrive is not some utopia but rather science. If you follow the science it all leads to the truth that connected, calm, centred beings are able to explore, build, make and philosophise. We are naturally amazing - just ask any biologist. Offer regular 15-minute wellbeing sessions for teachers and all school employees. Using practical and simple tools in the classroom can support everyone to feel connected and regulated to their bodies so they can thrive.

Vanessa is a leading Integrative Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist with 18 years experience. Her speciality is bringing Life Skills for Mental Health and Wellbeing Programmes to school communities. She has returned to New Zealand after 30 years in the UK and has a wealth of experience delivering these services. In the height of the pandemic, wellbeing has come into focus, so Vanessa works globally delivering online to Europe, America, Hong Kong and Australasia.

Vanessa can be reached at: vanessamchardy@gmail.com

Using practical and simple tools in the classroom can support everyone to feel connected and regulated to their bodies so they can thrive.

Vanessa McHardy

Meditating with Mandalas

Increasing Productivity, Creativity, Energy & Vitality

Let’s begin by looking at what a mandala is. We are surrounded by electromagnetism that enters our universe as vibration. You cannot see this vibration with your eyes, just like you can’t see x-rays or microwaves, but if you could, you would see it as a mandala. Mandalas are the physical representation of the vibratory patterns that exist in the universe. Mandalas are otherwise known as sacred geometry. We often see mandalas crystalised in matter, for example, in crystals or snowflakes.

Sacred Geometry – an ancient science that explores and explains the energy patterns that create and unify all things.

We can see mandalas come to life when we look at Cymatics, which is the study of visible effects of sound and vibration. Cymatics shows us how different vibrations create different patterns (or mandalas). Just as changing frequencies create different shapes, different shapes emit different frequencies.

How Mandalas Heal

Continuing with sound as an example, if you put different musical notes together you create a melody that when listened to creates an emotional response. This is demonstrated and you can see how classical music affects the formation of liquid. Considering that you are 80% water, imagine what the sounds do to your mind and your body!

As you put certain shapes together to create a mandala, you create a different melody of frequencies that will emit a certain resonance, impacting the environment and potential around it. And just like sound, the shapes will have a vibratory effect on you, your mind and your body.

The resonance emitted from the melody of frequencies released from the mandala is received by your eyes. This incoming information stimulates your pineal gland in your brain which triggers the production of certain brain chemicals called neuropeptides. These chemicals then flood the mind and body which trigger rejuvenation and healing of all your cells, including your DNA.

The shapes literally help to change your energetic vibration.

Meditating with Mandalas

Many people state they find it hard to meditate. I always say it’s because there are many myths out there about what meditation is and how to go about it. But that’s a whole different article! For now, I will say that meditation is a state that we become as a result of withdrawing our minds from the distractions of the world

and observing the fluctuations and impact of the mind. The creative way in which you withdraw your senses from the distractions is up to you. Of course, I recommend using mandalas as these are fun, focused and easily accessible by anyone.

There are 3 main ways that I suggest people meditate with mandalas.

1. Colouring – Let your inner child play and apply the colours in any way you like. As you play, your eyes receive the resonance from the geometry and stimulate the brain chemicals.

2. Drawing – Trust the flow of creative energy and allow this energy to heal you by connecting you to the sacred geometry that you need in the moment. See what shapes emerge.

3. Gazing – Keep your eyes focused on the central spot for 5-10 seconds, without blinking. Then close your eyes, allow the geometry to stimulate your pineal gland and produce healing brain chemicals.

As you meditate with mandalas, the brain chemical production (such as serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin) causes changes in the hardwiring in your brain. Positive neural pathways are created that replace the negative ones.

These pathways are bigger and stay open longer than the previous. This helps to maximise all cognitive functions such as concentration, memory, visualisation, problem solving and complex analysis. Because of the improved function we can think more quickly and are more creative which means we welcome new ideas and broaden the number of possibilities that we can process. We literally become more creative and more productive.

This fun form of meditation relaxes our heart rate, raises the molecular vibrations, increases alpha brain waves for relaxation, balances para/sympathetic nervous systems and slows mind chatter. All of these help us to feel more energetic and have more vitality of life.

So, as you can see, meditating with mandalas is more than colouring a pretty picture. Work with the sacred geometry and you will be gain feeling of stress relief, relaxation, peace and calm as well as physical rejuvenation and mental revitilisation.

Carrie is helping the world feel happy, whole and inspired to create a life of their dreams. Using coaching, workshops, healing and mandala art, she magikally and shamanically helps you to reconnect back to yourself and align with your purpose. By making spirituality simple, she guides you on your journey of self discovery so you can dream bigger for yourself and become the creator of a life you love.

She can be reached at:

carrie@brightwellbeing.co.uk

As you meditate with mandalas, the brain chemical production (such as serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin) causes changes in the hardwiring in your brain.

Carrie Brightwell

Using Picture Books as Theater for Literacy

Simple Steps to Getting Started

Using picture books as theater in the classroom provides teachers with an exciting and interactive tool to encourage kids to read more fluently and get fully immersed with reading. When kids perform a picture book as a play, they use facial and vocal expression to reveal the characters and use vocal pitch and innuendo to reveal meaning. This helps children understand the nuance of words and sentences and improves their reading prosody.

Performing picture books provides kids with an exciting reason to WANT to read. They are happy to repeat their lines over and over, knowing the end result is a performance where they can shine. Kids don’t mind repeating because they are having fun, and the by-product is more improved reading fluency.

Using picture book as reader’s theater also provides an opportunity for teamwork where kids of different reading levels work together for a mutual goal. Slower readers can catch up with faster readers, through repetition and practice, then perform at the same level. This boosts confidence and inspires the desire in children to improve reading skills.

Picture books are also an excellent source material to learn about social emotional issues. Both the story and illustrations can be used to extract social emotional themes. The artwork provides insights that words alone do not reveal about the story. Performing a picture book as theater allows teachers the opportunity to explore SEL themes with kids and provide an opportunity for them to role play and

put themselves in the shoes of others.

I first discovered the power of using theater in K-6 classrooms in 2008 when I was producing Booksicals musical theater presentations at local schools. Kids loved meeting the actors asking them questions about the characters they portrayed, as well as asking questions about the actors themselves. Later in my career, I did solo author events at schools, bringing props and costumes for the kids to wear during the story time. The kids really enjoyed becoming the characters, speaking like the characters and answering questions as if they were the characters. This got me thinking how using theater in the classroom could be a great tool for teachers. After meeting with teachers and educators about this, I began researching how theater and performing arts can enhance literacy and learning. I discovered that performing books as scripts not only improved reading skills and fluency but also got kids excited about books, reading and wanting to improve their reading skills.

Why use picture books as opposed to any script in general? There are literacy benefits to performing any script in the classroom. However, using a picture book specifically as a performance tool provides many advantages over a plain script. Firstly, for slower readers picture books are a nonintimidating reading vehicle and levels the playing field for them. For more advanced readers, picture books often have multiple layers of meanings from which to extract and

discuss more complex social emotional issues. Performing picture books allows children of different reading levels to collaborate and work as a team towards a mutual goal of performance. Best of all, performing a picture book as a script connects kids to books, makes reading a fully immersive experience and encourages a love of reading.

Classroom TIP: Want to try this in your classroom? Here is an easy five-step exercise to try in your classroom, appropriate for grades K-6:

Step 1: Pick a favorite picture book, preferably one with many characters.

Step 2: Prepare ahead of time by copying and printing the book’s pages and collate into a “script.” Print enough copies for each child to hold or one for every two-to-three kids to share.

Step 3: Read the book aloud to the class from the actual printed book.

Step 4: Assign each child a role - either a character or narrator role. Then break into small rehearsal groups.

Step 5: Each group (of actors) rehearses their part of the story separately and performs their section of the book for whole the class.

This exercise invites collaboration and teamwork, encourages students of different reading levels to work together, increases reading fluency, and makes reading and repetition fun. This is just one of many “Literacy Through the Arts” activities you can bring to your classroom. If done as a regular part of the curriculum, using picture books as the basis of arts and theater activities helps improve reading skills and provides a vibrant tool for teaching SEL.

Susan Chodakiewitz

Susan Chodakiewitz is an author, composer, and producer. She is the founder of Booksicals children’s books and Picture Book Musicals. Her passion for igniting a love of reading in children has led her to create the Booksicals Literacy Through the Arts program, an interactive performing arts curriculum where theater and the arts become a teaching tool for literacy and social-emotional learning. Susan is the author of seven children’s picture books: The Alphabet Thief, Selah the Peach, Master Davey and the Magic Tea House, Wobegon and Mildred, Mr. Snoozle’s Exquisite Eggs, Too Many Visitors for One Little House and soon-to-be-released Mother Nature ABC verses.

To learn more about the interactive, easy to use Booksicals Literacy Through The Arts programs for school or homeschool, visit www.booksicals.com or contact Susan directly at susanchodak@gmail.com.

If done as a regular part of the curriculum, using picture books as the basis of arts and theater activities helps improve reading skills and provides a vibrant tool for teaching SEL.

AUDRIE MCKENZIE DALY

Home Yoga Practice

Simple Steps to Beginning your own Yoga Routine

Everwanted to get started with a home yoga practice?

You’ve probably heard of the benefits of doing yoga: better sleep, more energy, improved flexibility and a positive, emotional boost? Maybe you’ve wondered how to do it. Here are seven tips that’ll get you started!

Once you decidea to start, you’ll really benefit from both the physical and mental aspects of daily yoga, plus you’ll get the boost of making and keeping a promise to yourself!

Seven Tips to Start Yoga

1. Set Your Intention: why you’ll benefit. Take a few minutes to write down the three top reasons you want to do yoga. Setting your intention makes the decision stick in your mind and begins the change. Recent research says you’ll achieve your goal faster when you create a habit. Habits make the changes stick. Consider your habits when you’re setting your intention.

2. Designate somewhere to do yoga in your home. Keep your gear there. Often the practicalities of finding a space and gathering your gear hold you back. Get your yoga habit going by deciding on your yoga spot. It makes it easy for you to start, reduces the time it takes to get set up and everything you need is in one place. Remember there’s no need for special gear. Start with a towel on the floor and wear something comfy. Find your spot and get ready to go!

3. Set up and keep to a schedule. This tip is related to creating a habit. Decide on a time that’s good for you. One friend found time for yoga when her kids were in bed. Another likes to link it to bedtime or morning routines. Create your yoga routine alongside something you already do. Do yoga before your shower or after brushing your teeth. Do yoga when the veggies are cooking before tea. Use the power of your friends. Create a social media group and post when you’re done. Commit to yourself and your friends.

4. Choose a style or teacher that suits you. Snack on a few yoga teachers and classes online and find what you like. Do you like the teacher’s voice, intonation, speed or style? Can you follow their movements? Are you invited to go at your own pace? Do you feel good in your body? Take a moment and reflect on what you are looking for in a yoga teacher. Decide on two main things you want now… you can continue adding to your list later.

5. Start simple and make it fun. You often see those extreme yoga poses. The “big” ones that probably less than 2% of people do! For the rest of us 98%ers look out for tadasana (standing mountain pose), forward folds and lunges (crescent lunge, warrior 1 and warrior 2). Create a routine so you don’t have to think up moves or decide what to do . Do five minutes of practice. Keep going until they feel good in your body. Add on, find another move you like. You’ve got this!

Yoga is for everybody and every body. Committing to a new yoga habit will enliven your body and enrich your life.

6. Follow your body. Use the 3 S’s Rule: Strength, stretch and soften. You may come up against some discomfort as you challenge your body to move in new ways. Always work within your range of sensation. Too much going on? Reduce the strength you are exerting, or lower the extent of the stretch. Listen into your body. Soften and feel into yourself. You’re in charge!

7. Use the support of others. Take a studio class or workshop. Find your favourite local studio. Notice how they welcome you and others. Consider how they help new people or offer a range of options in a class. Many have bonuses when you first sign up so you can take a range of classes.

Yoga is for everybody and every body. Committing to a new yoga habit will enliven your body and enrich your life. Go on! Start today! You can do it!

Audrie McKenzie Daly is Director and Yoga Teacher at Yoga to Transform. It is based in Christchurch and online in all the social media channels. Series of classes range from 9 to 28-days of transformation. For more information, visit www.yogatotransform.com

Audrie Mckenzie Daly

The Rhythms of Friendships in the New School Year

Finding a ‘Happy Place’ in Changing Groups

Asclasses change, both new and old friendship groups merge and evolve, children learn how to cope with another set of personalities along with the positive and negative dynamics that accompany this new group.

On Sudden Hill is a wonderfully understated picture book that has a timeless quality as it introduces us to Birt, Etho and their new friend Shu. The lyrical text brilliantly portrays the challenges felt by Brit as he negotiates the feelings that arise when sharing his friendship with Etho and the newcomer Shu.

Many young readers (and older children too!) will identify with Brit as he feels pushed aside by the arrival of the new friend. The feelings of hurt, sadness and anger are presented

as understandable reactions and gently resolved with the learning that different dynamics can be good, too.

The illustrations by award winning Benji Davis create a very special feel. The theme of problems that occur with new situations and relationships being overcome is supported by illustrations that have a timeless quality. As in all of the very best picture books, so much of the story is conveyed in these wonderful illustrations.

While being deceptively simple, this poignant story will have a lasting impact and will speak to those sharing it, helping them understand their emotions as they find their happy place amongst new friendships.

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning and Gardner’s Learning Styles, there are plenty of ways to enhance the concepts presented in this wonderful children’s picture book.

Remembering :

• Mathematical / Logical: Use a web organiser to list all the things that the boys did with their cardboard boxes. Rank them according to what you would like to do.

• Musical / Rhythmical: Use clapping to find five words that have 1-syllable, 2-syllables and 3-syllables. Can you find any 4-syllable words? Sort the words.

• Interpersonal: In a small group, brainstorm reasons why Birt enjoys his friendship with Etho.

Understanding:

• Verbal / Linguistic: Draw a picture for each way Birt destroys his box. Place a mind bubble by each of the pictures and write what Birt might have been thinking. How does the author show that Birt is really upset?

• Naturalistic: Explain why the hill is such a great place to play.

• Body Kinesthetic: Role play the boys being dragon slayers. How might the boxes help?

Applying:

• Visual / Spatial: As a class, read this account of how Benji Davis creates his illustrations: http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.com/2014/08/onsudden-hill-interview-with-its.html

Create a flowchart to summarise his process. Flag which part of the process you personally would find the most difficult.

• Musical / Rhythmical: Explain what “two by two rhythm” in the story means. Brainstorm other things that have this rhythm…eg: marching. What examples of “three by three rhythms” do you know of?

• Naturalistic: Draw a home for the frog that Birt and Etho caught. Research frog habitats first to inspire your drawing.

Analyzing:

• Intrapersonal: List the five most important qualities of a friend. Rank them on a ranking ladder then score each of the characters and yourself on each of the qualities.

• Interpersonal: How would it have been different if Birt’s father had talked to him instead of yelling at him? If you were Birt’s father what would you have done?

• Musical / Rhythmical: Sing /Play a sample of songs about friendships. Summarise their messages. Do any have similar messages to On Sudden Hill?

Evaluating:

• Verbal /Linguistic: The author has said that her inspiration for writing is, “The idea of maybe making a sad, small someone giggle, or a lonesome young person feel more loveable and valued. That is a beautiful brilliant thing.” Discuss how you think the story does this.

• Interpersonal: Debate: “It is best to have one really close friend.” Is it better to have just the one close friend, or multiple semi-close friends? Make points for each side of the argument.

• Visual / Spacial: Benji Davies swapped some of the characters in the story. Look at the options he tried. Do you agree that he got the appearance to match their character? Explain why you agree or disagree.

The lyrical text brilliantly portrays the challenges felt by Brit as he negotiates the feelings that arise when sharing his friendship…

LESLEY JOHNSON

Creating:

• Mathematical / Logical: Design a Snakes and Ladders game about friendship.

• Verbal Linguistic: Create a recipe for friendship. What are the essential ingredients? Is there a special order that they need to be mixed? How long do you have to bake it before you can enjoy it?

• Naturalistic: Imagine that the tree on the hill is the only things that the kids have to play with. Draw a sketch of it showing all the things that they could do, or how they could play with it.

With all to be learned from this fabulous book, go out and find a copy today. Your students will thank you!

Title: On Sudden Hill

Author: Linda Sarah

Illustrator: Benji Davies

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

ISBN: 9781471119293

This book is also available as an e-book.

Lesley Johnson

Lesley Johnson has taught for 30 years. The facilitation of an ICTPD cluster nurtured her three passions: Literacy, ICT tools and Thinking Strategies. She now runs her online business, Read Think Learn, providing online literacy resources that promote higher order thinking.

For more information, please visit: www.readthinklearn.com

Dyscalculia Treatment and Intervention

5 Strategies that Work

The term dyscalculia — from the Greek ‘dys’ and Latin ‘calculia’ — means to count badly and describes people with severe difficulties with numbers.

Compared to other learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia has received little attention, and the general public’s familiarity with it as a problem is relatively low. Even so, early intervention and treatment are essential to minimise the impact this learning disability can have on a child.

Teaching students that mistakes are positive has an incredibly liberating effect on them.

We will look at the importance of early intervention and investigate five strategies that should be part of any dyscalculia treatment plan.

What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a learning disability in math. It is characterised by impairments in learning basic arithmetic facts, processing numerical quantities and performing accurate and fluent calculations. These difficulties are below what is expected for the individual’s chronological age and are not caused by poor education or intellectual deficits.

At the behavioural level, children with dyscalculia have difficulties retrieving arithmetic facts from memory. They commonly rely on immature strategies such as finger counting, while their age-matched peers easily retrieve arithmetic facts from memory.

Early Intervention for Dyscalculia is Best

Dyscalculia may have profound implications for children if no intervention or treatment is provided. Primarily, dyscalculia may impinge on the emotional well-being of students. For example, in a focus group carried out by Bevan and Butterworth with nine children with dyscalculia, many negative feelings were expressed related to the children’s constant failure in mathematics. The children reported feeling left out, blamed themselves for not knowing how to solve a task, cried and felt “horrible and stupid.”

In the long term, living with dyscalculia can be difficult. Difficulties vary from remembering important telephone numbers and dates to paying the right amount to the cashier when shopping and checking the change. Other tasks presenting problems could be cooking, planning appointments and being able to use the time available in a day appropriately. Adults with dyscalculia often feel embarrassed when faced with everyday tasks they cannot handle.

Math disabilities may negatively impact job opportunities and prospects in the workplace — even more than literacy difficulties. Students with poor numeracy skills tend to leave full-time education at their first chance. As a result, they are more likely to be unemployed, depressed, ill and arrested. All this illustrates that dyscalculia should be treated at a young age before it has irreversible effects.

Even a slight delay in math can translate into a significant gap between what a child is expected to do and know in math and what they can do. This phenomenon is referred to as the “Matthew Effect,” a term coined by Robert K. Meron in 1968 and referring to Matthew 25:29, which says the rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer.

Five Strategies for Dyscalculia Treatment

Like other learning disabilities, dyscalculia cannot be treated with medication. Instead, specialised learning strategies are required to treat the disorder. Below are the five most important strategies that need to be applied in any dyscalculia treatment plan:

1. Adhere to fundamental learning principles. Learning is a stratified process. Specific skills have to be mastered first, before it becomes possible to master subsequent skills.

To be a football player, a person must first master the foundational skills, such as passing, kicking and tackling. In the same way, to do the maths, a child first has to learn the foundational skills of math, like visual perception and visual memory. So, for example, a child who confuses the signs +, -, ÷, and × may have a problem with visual discrimination of forms or visual discrimination of position in space. Likewise, a child with a poor sense of direction (i.e., north, south, east, and west) may have a problem with visual discrimination of position in space, etc.

The second step would be to master mathematical skills, which must be done sequentially. One has to learn to count before it becomes possible to learn to add and subtract. Suppose one tried to teach a child, who had not yet learned to count, to add and subtract. This would be impossible, and no amount of effort would ever succeed in teaching the child these skills. The child must learn to count first, before it becomes possible for him to learn to add and subtract.

The third step would be to ensure that a student catches up on the knowledge aspect of math.

2. Minimise anxiety.

Math anxiety causes the release of cortisol into the bloodstream. Cortisol refocuses the frontal lobe to deal with anxiety. Meanwhile, any unrelated learning in working memory is disrupted and lost (Sousa, 2015).

It is crucial to minimise anxiety levels as much as possible, as anxiety may be a disability in its own right. For example, anxiety may fill up the working memory space of the brain without allowing the complete and effective processing of numerical tasks.

Anxiety of any type causes the body to release the hormone cortisol into the bloodstream. Cortisol’s primary function is to refocus the brain on the source of the anxiety and determine what action to take to relieve the stress. As a result, heart rate increases and other physical worry indicators appear.

Meanwhile, the frontal lobe is no longer interested in learning or processing mathematical operations because it has to deal with what may be a threat to the individual’s safety. As a result, the student cannot focus on the learning task at hand and has to cope with the frustration of inattention. Furthermore, anxious feelings disrupt working memory’s ability to manipulate and retain numbers and numerical expressions.

Letting the student sit up straight is a simple way to minimise anxiety. In a study by San Francisco State University researchers, 125 college students were tested to see how well they could perform a simple math task — subtracting 7 from 843 sequentially for 15 seconds — while either slumped over or sitting up straight with shoulders back and relaxed. 56% of the students reported finding it easier to perform the math task upright.

For people who are anxious about math, posture makes an enormous difference. The slumped-over position shuts them down and their brains do not work either. As a result, they cannot think as clearly.

mistakes are made and that there is no growth when the answers are correct. Even if a mistake is not rectified, there will be growth. It is the struggle to get the right answers that fosters growth.

One of the most powerful moves a teacher or parent can make is changing the messages they give about mistakes and wrong answers in mathematics. Teaching students that mistakes are positive has an incredibly liberating effect on them.

5. Repetition is not the enemy.

In the 1920s and 1930s, repetition and rote learning came to define bad teaching. Teachers were told that drill-andpractice dulls students’ creativity and that rote learning in math classes is anti-right brain and, therefore, potentially criminal, as it robs all students of the opportunity to develop their human potential.

The phrase “drill and kill” is still used in educational circles, meaning that by drilling the student, you will kill their motivation to learn.

When properly conducted, however, drill-and-practice is a consistently effective teaching method and should not be slighted as “low level,” and appears to be just as essential to complex and creative intellectual performance as they are to the performance of a virtuoso violinist.

A meta-analysis of 85 academic intervention studies with students with learning disabilities, carried out by Swanson and Sachse-Lee, found that regardless of the practical or theoretical orientation of the study, the largest effect sizes were obtained by interventions that included systematic drill, repetition, practice and review.

This article has been reprinted with permission.

3. Teach in a multisensory way.

Information is taken into the brain through three main channels: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. Many students with a learning disability are weak in one or more of these channels. Therefore, teaching in a multisensory way using all three channels simultaneously, will help them as their weaker channels are supported by their stronger ones.

4. Make the most of mistakes.

Everyone makes mistakes - they are vital to developing understanding. Unfortunately, constantly making mistakes in math can lead some children to give up. However, research by Jo Boaler and Carol Dweck at Stanford University has shown that synapses grow in the brain when

Susan du Plessis

Susan du Plessis, author and researcher of learning difficulties (including dyslexia), has worked for 25 years developing tools to help children and adults improve their cognitive abilities and overcome learning obstacles. After training thousands of teachers and tutors worldwide, Susan opened the Edublox clinic where classes are offered to develop cognitive abilities, language, reading and spelling skills. Susan’s passion are “Zero to Hero” stories she sees in her students every day as they grow.

KAREN TUI BOYES

Who you are is far more important than the goals you set and the stuff you own. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, suggests winners and losers have the same goals. He recommends ditching goals and choosing a focus.

Why Choose a Word?

It has become popular to choose a focus word each year and there is merit in it. It sets an intention for the year, serves as a gentle reminder to stay the course, helps guide decisions and determines priorities.

How to Choose a Word

Take time to reflect upon how you would like to feel each morning, at work during your day and how you want to feel as you go to bed. You may choose to meditate, sit quietly, go for a walk, dance, garden or chat with a close friend, to consider what you want to focus on. Your word may come to you quickly or over a few hours, days or weeks. When you find a word, 'try it on' for 24-hours to see how it feels. Once you have found your word, stick to it! Imagine yourself living your life through this word.

What do you do With Your Word?

Use it everywhere! The more reminders you have the better.

• Write it on your bathroom mirror, in your diary or on a card in your wallet.

• Use it as a screen saver on your phone and computer.

Create an art piece with your word and place it in a frame on your desk.

Then, LIVE it!! Have fun creating your best year ever!

Karen Tui Boyes

Karen Tui Boyes is a champion for Lifelong Learning across nations, industries and organisations. Winner of the NZ Educator of the Year 2017 and 2014 and the NZ Speaker of the Year award in 2013 & 2019, Karen is a sought after speaker who continually gets rave reviews from audiences around the world. Her dynamic style and highly informative content—which turns the latest educational research into easy-to-implement strategies and techniques — sets her apart from others in her field.

Find out more at:

www.spectrumeducation.com

Take time to reflect upon how you would like to feel each morning, at work during your day and how you want to feel as you go to bed.

KAREN TUI BOYES

KAREN TUI BOYES

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Remember to celebrate even the smallest victories because they are BIG to the students who achieve them