# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Talented, caring staff can be found in every early childhood program. But how do you find such good teachers? How do they learn all they need to know to be nurturing and caring and employ developmentally appropriate practice?
MENTORING - AN IMPORTANT REFORM
Recent research suggests that even teachers who learn the most current methods revert to what they experienced from their own teachers. Since most of today's teachers did not have preschool experiences, they look back to the earliest classroom experiences they can recall. Most of these models include a teacher talking to a group of quiet students sitting at their desks.

Because this model doesn't work in a classroom of young children, mentoring offers a promising reform in education. The use of mentoring can counteract these "old memories" and help teachers teach in more relaxed, innovative, and developmentally appropriate ways. Research focused on the practice of mentoring suggests that such a program can benefit our profession by cutting the dropout rate as much as 35%. The same research documented that those teachers who receive the least mentoring leave the field much more quickly than others.

Mentoring helps a new teacher evaluate her own experiences and grapple with the emotional side of teaching. Teaching can be emotionally draining when teachers get caught up in the lives of the children and parents, mentoring can help them maintain a healthy objectivity, while continuing to be supportive and working toward established goals. Mentoring also supports teachers by providing clear, specific advice about how to do something better or differently the next time.
MENTORING THROUGHOUT YOUR PROGRAM
Mentoring can influence and impact your program in many arenas. Use mentoring in areas such as setting standards and best practices across the curriculum and during interactions with parents, and for implementing curriculum planning, room arrangement, positive guidance and discipline. Mentoring can also be an integral part of new-teacher orientation, and planning school events including fundraisers and parent/teacher conferences.
TRAINING MENTORS FOR SUCCESS
it's important to understand that the job of a mentor is to offer guidance and support in specific areas rather than completely altering a teacher's teaching style. Discuss this with each mentor before they start to be sure they take on the job with respect and caring for the teacher with whom they will work.

Respecting each person's abilities is the basis for success. The mentor must help the teacher recognize and be proud of her skills, using them as a foundation for growth and development. With this foundation, teachers can add new abilities, methods, and resources that will support their ability to become better teachers.
REFLECTIVE AND SENSITIVE PROCESS
Whether you are supervising mentors or coaching teachers yourself, the task requires a high degree of sensitivity and care. The following tips will help keep you on the right track for both of these roles:

Be sensitive to the teacher's pace of learning. Adults learn at different rates. Tailor your work to the ability of the individual to absorb and understand. Remember, you are trying to change behaviors that have been learned and developed over time. It will take time and practice to unlearn or relearn methods.

Expect high-quality work and response. Respond to even the smallest positive changes and discuss every effort. When it is right, you will both know it. Don't give in to the temptation to settle for less than the expected high standard. If the behavior or practice doesn't yet meet the expectation, keep working in a positive mode until you are there.

Ask open-ended questions. When you discuss their changes, ask questions that require more than a one-word answer. You will be modeling how teachers should interact with children as well as helping them reflect on their own progress.

Use reflection and repetition. The role of an early childhood teacher is to learn, reflect, and do. Help teachers watch each child; reflect on that child's knowledge, skills, and dispositions; and then act as a catalyst to stimulate growth in these areas.

When you see consistent changes, celebrate! Little accomplishments mean a lot to a teacher who is trying to grow and improve.
ESTABLISHING THE PROGRAM
Start by discussing a mentoring program with the staff. Describe why you feel it will benefit your program and how it will begin. Ask for volunteers to mentor and discuss those areas where they feel strong enough to support a colleague's growth.

Observe each teacher. You must start by observing each teacher in her classroom for at least an hour as a way of determining who might be effective mentors. Be careful not to assume that you know all about their teaching styles unless you have done this in the last month. Document their strong areas as well as those areas the volunteers haven't included that can be an important part of your mentoring program.

Use a simple self-assessment. This will help teachers identify their own strengths, interests and areas for growth. Ask questions such as:

In what curriculum areas do you specifically enjoy planning and working?

In what curriculum areas do you feel you need more resources and ideas?

What are the children's favorite learning centers in your room? Ask children why they like these areas.

Identify strengths and areas for growth. Involve each teacher in this process. Ask each to list strengths and growth areas separately and compare your lists.

Select one area to work on at a time. Your list can be any length but tackle only one item at a time. It is better to focus on a single area for growth and succeed quickly than to be frustrated or overwhelmed by too many expectations.

Pair teachers with a specific strength with others who want to improve in that area. Try to watch for personalities that support and complement each other. Expect an atmosphere of warm, responsive teamwork. If conflicts arise, handle them quickly and in a matter-of-fact manner without blame or repercussions.

We know that some skills are learned while other skills are instinctive. Good teachers are a result of a combination of their own caring, nurturing personalities and education in the area of child development and appropriate early childhood practice. Your coaching and mentoring can make a significant difference in the life of a teacher-and in the life of the children in her care.

This article originally appeared in the November, 2001 issue of Early Childhood Today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Policies & Practices: Mentoring and Coaching Teachers | Scholastic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Talented, caring staff can be found in every early childhood program. But how do you find such good teachers? How do they learn all they need to know to be nurturing and caring and employ developmentally appropriate practice?

# data[].attributes.body
Inquiry based learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inquiry-Based Learning: The Ultimate Guide

# data[].attributes.body
Classroom Decoration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What you put on your classroom walls can affect your students' ability to learn.

The walls in Kenita Sutherland's classroom are lively but not overwhelming.

Heavily decorated classrooms can bombard students with too much visual information, interfering with their memory and ability to focus, a new study finds.

This is just the latest study to examine the relationship between classroom environment and students' executive functions, which include skills like memory, attention, and self-regulation. While teachers have good intentions when decorating, many classrooms end up being "sensory-rich" in a way that "could hamper children's learning gains rather than help," according to psychologists Pedro Rodrigues and Josefa Pandeirada, who coauthored the study.

To understand how decorations affect learning, Rodrigues and Pandeirada recruited 64 children between 8 and 12 years old to perform attention and memory tasks in two groups. For the high-decoration group, the walls of the room were covered with numerous pictures of ordinary objects and scenes, such as cars, musical instruments, and trees. Walls in the control group's room, on the other hand, were bare.
© Kendra Caralis
The children performed a series of tasks designed to test their attention and memory. In one attention test, for example, they observed a laptop screen, pressing a button if an X appeared and doing nothing if a K appeared. In a memory test reminiscent of the electronic game Simon Says, the children observed nine blue squares that changed to yellow in varying sequences, which the children attempted to repeat. A total of four tests were given-two for memory and two for attention.

Compared to children in the bare-wall room, children in the high-decoration room performed worse on all tests, which suggests that too much visual stimulus can be a distraction.

"Overall, the results from these studies indicate that children could have difficulty in ignoring visual distractors when these are embedded in the surrounding environment," the study authors explain.

Classrooms Should Be Engaging, Not Distracting

That's not to say that every wall must be bare. In 2015, a team of researchers in the U.K. analyzed 153 classrooms and found that students benefited most when the walls had some decorations. "The displays on the walls should be designed to provide a lively sense to the classroom, but without becoming chaotic in feel. As a rule of thumb, 20 to 50 percent of the available wall space should be kept clear," the researchers wrote.

Display student work. Students not only feel a greater sense of responsibility for their learning but are also more likely to remember the material (Barrett et al., 2015).

Feature inspiring role models. Putting up images-and short stories or quotes-featuring heroes and leaders can help students gain a greater sense of belonging and aspiration, especially when their backgrounds and interests are represented. Strive for inclusion, but avoid token or stereotypical representations-they can be damaging to students' self-esteem (Cheryan et al., 2014).

Avoid clutter. Keep at least 20 percent of your wall space clear, and leave ample space between displays so they don't look disorganized. Resist the temptation to keep adding decorations-it's better to swap them out than to keep adding more (Barrett et al., 2015).

Visual aids-like anchor charts, maps, and diagrams-are OK. Posters that reinforce a lesson, rather than distract from it, can boost student learning. But don't forget to take down ones that are no longer helpful (Carney & Levin, 2002; Bui & McDaniel, 2015).

Avoid displays of student scores or grades. Many teachers use data walls to motivate students, and while they can work for high performers, they can backfire for struggling students, leading to feelings of shame and demoralization (Marsh et al., 2014).

Let in natural light. Don't cover up your windows with decorations unless you have a problem with glare or outside distractions. Students who are exposed to more natural light in their classrooms outperform peers who get less natural light in math and reading (Cheryan et al., 2014). If you don't have windows, making sure the room is well lit can boost achievement (Barrett et al., 2015).

Balance wall colors. You don't have to stick with four white walls-try having a single feature wall painted a bright color, with the rest being muted (Barrett et al., 2015).

So what do researchers say teachers should do?

Developing Brains

While decorating walls is a favorite pastime for many teachers, young children may not respond as teachers hope.
Courtesy of Amy Mileham
"Our findings could be related to the fact that children's cognitive capacities are still under development, including executive functions responsible for the filtering of irrelevant information for a given task," explain the study authors. A teacher may have little difficulty ignoring a wall full of decorations, but young students may find themselves unable to look away and focus on a lesson.

Children aren't born with fully developed executive functions-they have to develop these skills over time, according to Harvard's Center on the Developing Child. Children who have adverse experiences-such as neglect, abuse, or violence-or learning disabilities are at greater risk of impaired attention and self-regulation skills. So classroom distractions may be harming the students who need the most help.

The Third Teacher
© Nichole Murray
This study is the latest in an emerging field looking at classrooms as the third teacher-after parents and the teacher-which views the environment as essential to supporting learning. The idea is hardly new; approaches such as Reggio Emilia and Montessori put it at the forefront of pedagogy, giving classrooms a prominent role in shaping how students learn. Recent studies have shown evidence for the role that classrooms play in learning: A 2014 study, for example, found that young students spent more time off-task when classroom walls were highly decorated, while research on flexible classrooms shows that optimizing physical characteristics of classrooms such as light, color, and seating options can improve academic performance by as much as 16 percent.

The takeaway: Classroom walls should feel warm and lively but not overcrowded-keep 20 to 50 percent of the wall space clear, and fill the rest with student work, inspiring pictures, and learning aids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What you put on your classroom walls can affect your students' ability to learn.

# data[].attributes.body
Impartant Collaborative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SMK KAMPUNG JAWA MIDDLE LEADERS AND TEACHERS GROUP Version 2

# data[].attributes.body
Assessment For Learning Tools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Graphic Organizers are useful educational tools in any subject area. They help students organize their thoughts and ideas for answering questions, function as a pre-writing tool for essays, and provide a visual display of information. They can be an easy way to differentiate instruction for a variety of learning styles as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Graphic organizers help your students visualize and understand concepts more effectively. Print the free examples in this gallery of our Top 10 Most Popular Graphic Organizers, or browse our entire collection of Graphic Organizers to find ones that meet your class's needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 10 Most Popular Graphic Organizers (Free Examples)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Looking for free examples of graphic organizers? Check out our 10 most popular graphic organizers to help your students visualize and understand concepts more effectively.

# data[].attributes.headline
how to use graphic organizer for teaching & Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
how to use graphic organizer for teaching & Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is Action Research? A Visual Explanation.

# data[].attributes.body
I learnt to use this over the training on Cycle 3 TeachSmart. i will send the link to some other Middle leaders i know and please use this as a platform to share information. - Lim

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#3 Classroom Management - Attention Getters and Tidbits | A Classroom Diva

# data[].attributes.body
Self and Peer Assessments

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Heidi Andrade, Ed.D. Reflects on Self- and Peer Assessment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At this school, flexible classrooms empower student choice, increase student engagement, and improve student participation.

How it's done: http://edut.to/2ftH9i5

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A quick, low-key way to build community in your classroom on a daily basis.

# data[].attributes.headline
15 signs you have emotional intelligence - World Economic Forum

# data[].attributes.subject
15 signs you have emotional intelligence - World Economic Forum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dr Travis Bradberry looks at the qualities shared by people with emotional intelligence, based on data from more than a million people.