Supporting At Risk Students- Some learning from Jenny Tebbutt's workshop

Today I attended a course created and presented by Jenny Tebbutt about supporting at risk students in a mainstream environment. There were many valuable tidbits for me as a teacher to consider and apply to my programme going forward which is always a good thing. If you get a chance to have time with Jenny I thoroughly recommend it. 

Different learners have different strengths... think about the strengths your students possess.
A visual summary of some of the learning from today. 

The theory behind what she shared was even more valuable, it made sense and helped me to clarify my thinking. The basic theory introduced and discussed was focused on different groups within our classrooms spoken about as waves- 

• Wave 1- our learners who are confident and competent learners 
• Wave 2- our learners who are a little behind in their learning but with remedial programmes focused on building skills within curriculum areas can make significant improvement
• Wave 3- our learners with specific learning differences such as dyslexia and autism 
• Wave 4- our learners who qualify for specifically funded support due to severe learning or behavioural needs

The focus of the session was on addressing the needs of the Wave 3 learners as Jenny suggested that remedial programmes often do not address the specific underlying cognitive processing needs for these learners. So one solution offered was to address classroom teaching practice, taking on effective teaching practices for dyslexics which it is suggested improves outcomes for all learners... it is about teaching for DIVERSITY. 

Some questions to reflect on when considering teaching for diversity: 

• Are we playing to the strengths of our learners? Do they get to pursue their passions? How do you support them with their weaknesses? 
• How do we address VAKPOINT (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, print oriented learning styles) in our teaching to provide a multi sensory learning environment? Glenn Capelli has some great resources around this. 
• How well do you know about the learning needs of your students? (Consider BEES- Behaviour, Educational, Emotional, Social)
• What other information can you gain from running records? Think about visual errors, substitutions, omissions etc. 
• What structures do we have to support our learners? Think about your routines and learning environment... it is suggested that for 3rd Wave learners structure is vital to security in learning. 
• Are you explicit in your teaching? Do you use WALTS or success criteria? Do they know why they are learning what they are learning? 
• Are you teaching your learners skills and strategies so they can be self managing? Do they know how to use a highlighter to support their learning? What about mind mapping, brainstorming, using thinking tools, memory strategies etc? (For more information about these strategies check out Karen Boyes' Study Skills resources and courses) 
• What supports are you providing for your learners? How are you accommodating for differences? 
• How are you engaging with whanau (family) and the community to support learners? 
• How do you ensure that learners have ample opportunities to practice and improve? 
• How much feedback do you give to your 3rd Wave learners? It is suggested that we give these learners more feedback and feed forward so they know what their next steps are. 
• How does the learning environment cater for different learning preferences? 

There is a lot to consider but as Jenny suggested what we are really aiming for is to make best practice common practice and that's what all our learners rightly deserve. 

Letting it go

An old friend of mine used to say that if it isn't useful or doesn't bring you joy then get rid of it... she was talking about keeping a house clean and tidy. As I was tidying up our home today I started reflecting on this in two ways, both of which were really good for me.

Firstly, about the tidying up of stuff. I am a bit of a hoarder, I hate to waste things and often think that perhaps something will be useful for me or someone else at some stage so hold on to it. Yesterday I went clothes shopping at a second hand store, I spent NZ$95 but walked away with the following items: for my son- three sweatshirts, one woolen jersey, one pair of pyjamas; for myself- two skirts, one pair of pants, one pair of jeans, three cardigans and one pair of pyjamas. They are all good quality and in good condition. With all of these new clothes drying on the rack after being washed this morning I realised that they had served their purpose for previous owners and were then let go, so I went into my own closet and cleaned out clothing that I no longer needed or wanted. How liberating! I don't have to keep something just in case I lose weight, or gain it, nor do I have to keep it because someone gifted it to me even though it doesn't feel comfortable or look right. Someone else may love these items of clothing and that is just great.
I have been doing a lot around recycling, reducing and reusing lately... reducing being the first step in making a positive impact on the planet. When buying second hand I am reducing by not buying newly produced items and purchasing based on when I need something rather than just because!

Secondly, is the deeper significance of the statement and this is what I mused on as I was tidying up. Looking at what we do with our time and getting rid of that (as much as practical) which is not useful or does not bring you joy can be just as liberating as cleaning out the closet! Some of this comes back to being aware of what your goals are, what your dreams are and what is important to you, then apportioning your time accordingly. Our lives can be hugely busy but some of it can be busyness for busyness' sake rather than useful or joyful time spent.
Today we stacked wood, had lunch, did some gardening work, and tidied up around the house before preparing a roast vegetable risotto for tea... and time seemed to go so slowly, I felt like I had time for all of this without feeling pressured or rushed. This is because it was useful and I enjoyed most of it too, strange as that may seem, as some of that time was spent with my own thoughts and the rest with my family. It was great being outside in the fresh air on a relatively warm winter's day, knowing that the cooler weather was coming again.

In my role as a teacher I am thinking that this is as true for the classroom as it is in my own home. When we are so busy we lose sight of what is useful or joyful the joy of learning can disappear almost entirely. I am looking at my planning and stripping it back, focusing first at what is useful and joyful (for us all in the class)... I figure if we start there and then move forward from that then we might just strike the better balance.

Perhaps taking on the philosophy of getting rid of that which isn't useful or joyful (where practical) has the capacity to simplify our lives and help us get more out of the time we have? I think it just might.