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Research agenda on well-being and language education

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Research agenda on well-being and language education

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Research agenda on well-being and language education | Language Teaching | Cambridge Core

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Research agenda on well-being and language education

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Assessment of transversal competencies: policy and practice in the Asia-Pacific region

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Assessment of transversal competencies: policy and practice in the Asia-Pacific region

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TEACHING, REFLECTING, THRIVING: PRACTICUM WELL-BEING FOR FUTURE TESOL TEACHERS_REFERENCES

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TEACHING, REFLECTING, THRIVING: PRACTICUM WELL-BEING FOR FUTURE TESOL TEACHERS_REFERENCES

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https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/resources/guidance/schools-and-leaders/integrating-students-using-eal-into-mainstream-lessons/

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The zero conditional in action - English grammar

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The zero conditional in action - English grammar

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The zero conditional in action - English grammar

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The zero conditional in action - English grammar

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Practical Ideas for EFL Teachers To Correct Students’ Writing

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Practical Ideas for EFL Teachers To Correct Students’ Writing

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Practical Ideas for EFL Teachers To Correct Students' Writing

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Although writing is a very important skill. Many teachers hate teaching it because it takes a lot of time to correct. Correcting students' vocabulary and grammar mistakes is something that should be done on a regular basis. However, with writing, it is a little bit different story.

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Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning

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Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning

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Stiliana Milkova
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching

A lesson plan is the instructor's road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components:

Objectives for student learning

Teaching/learning activities

Strategies to check student understanding

Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you determine the kinds of teaching and learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how you will check whether the learning objectives have been accomplished (see Fig. 1).

Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan

Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson plans. Each step is accompanied by a set of questions meant to prompt reflection and aid you in designing your teaching and learning activities.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following questions:

What is the topic of the lesson?

What do I want students to learn?

What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?

What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time. Consider the following questions:

What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to grasp and apply?

Why are they important?

If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?

And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?

(2) Develop the introduction

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the specific activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned. Because you will have a diverse body of students with different academic and personal experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might start with a question or activity to gauge students' knowledge of the subject or possibly, their preconceived notions about it. For example, you can take a simple poll: "How many of you have heard of X? Raise your hand if you have." You can also gather background information from your students prior to class by sending students an electronic survey or asking them to write comments on index cards. This additional information can help shape your introduction, learning activities, etc. When you have an idea of the students' familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.

Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote, historical event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your introduction:

How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any preconceived notions about it?

What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic that students might be familiar with or might espouse?

What will I do to introduce the topic?

(3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)

Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. These questions would help you design the learning activities you will use:

What will I do to explain the topic?

What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?

How can I engage students in the topic?

What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help students understand the topic?

What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(4) Plan to check for understanding

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples, you need to check for student understanding - how will you know that students are learning? Think about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write them down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in different ways. Try to predict the answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether you want students to respond orally or in writing. You can look at Strategies to Extend Student Thinking, http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P4_4.php to help you generate some ideas and you can also ask yourself these questions:

What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?

What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following?

Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have students do to check whether each of those has been accomplished?

An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to anticipate students' questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about and decide on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring that students understand.

(5) Develop a conclusion and a preview

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself ("Today we talked about..."), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson. You can review the students' answers to gauge their understanding of the topic and then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson. How does the topic relate to the one that's coming? This preview will spur students' interest and help them connect the different ideas within a larger context.

(6) Create a realistic timeline

GSIs know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points they had planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors also agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what the students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative activities will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each

When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take

Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points

Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left

Be flexible - be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students' needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

Presenting the Lesson Plan

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will help keep them more engaged and on track. You can share your lesson plan by writing a brief agenda on the board or telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class. You can outline on the board or on a handout the learning objectives for the class. Providing a meaningful organization of the class time can help students not only remember better, but also follow your presentation and understand the rationale behind in-class activities. Having a clearly visible agenda (e.g., on the board) will also help you and students stay on track.

Reflecting on Your Lesson Plan

A lesson plan may not work as well as you had expected due to a number of extraneous circumstances. You should not get discouraged - it happens to even the most experienced teachers! Take a few minutes after each class to reflect on what worked well and why, and what you could have done differently. Identifying successful and less successful organization of class time and activities would make it easier to adjust to the contingencies of the classroom. For additional feedback on planning and managing class time, you can use the following resources: student feedback, peer observation, viewing a videotape of your teaching, and consultation with a staff member at CRLT (see also, Improving Your Teaching: Obtaining Feedback, http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P9_1.php and Early Feedback Form, http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/earlyfeedback.pdf).

Conclusion

To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive document that describes each and every possible classroom scenario. Nor does it have to anticipate each and every student's response or question. Instead, it should provide you with a general outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish them. It is a reminder of what you want to do and how you want to do it. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both students and instructors learn from each other.

Additional Resources

Online:

Video clips of GSIs at the University of Michigan actively engaging students in a practice teaching session: https://crlte.engin.umich.edu/engineering-gsi-videos/

Plan the First Day's Session: How to create to a lesson plan for the first day of class: http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/pre-semester-intro/first-day-plan/

References

Fink, D. L. (2005). Integrated course design. Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center.
Retrieved from https://www.ideaedu.org/idea_papers/integrated-course-design/

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Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning

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A lesson plan is the instructor's road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting.

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Your blog helps my teaching very much and I admired your interesting ideas in guiding the students to learn English in a fun way. I am also inspired by your interactive activities and quizzes.

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Top 3 Amazing Video Lesson Websites with Downloadable Worksheets

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Top 3 Amazing Video Lesson Websites with Downloadable Worksheets

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Top 3 Amazing Video Lesson Websites with Downloadable Worksheets

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Top 3 Amazing Video Lesson Websites with Downloadable Worksheets

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I don't know about you, but I don't always feel up to creating material from scratch for my classes. The reasons vary from feeling too tired to even open my laptop to an absolute lack of inspiration.

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As you consider various modes of instruction, keep in mind that student learning depends primarily on what the students do, both in and out of class, rather than what the teacher does. Your task is to select activities through which students can master course objectives. Lectures, discussions, written exercises, reading assignments, tests, group work, individualized instruction, field trips, observations, experiments, and many other kinds of experiences may be necessary for students to learn the things you want them to learn.

Your choice of strategies is affected by a number of considerations: the level of the objectives, the abilities of the students, your teaching skills and preferences, the size of the class. However, since college is supposed to help students sharpen their higher-order thinking skills, strategies that promote active involvement in learning should be the goal of every teacher.

Peer teaching

Research has shown that students who are required to teach something learn concepts better than if they are taught the material in conventional ways. In other words, teaching is a more effective learning strategy than being taught, and it makes sense to use this principle in the classroom to increase learning. Pairing students at learning tasks is more effective than having students work alone (a good reason for having lab partners in the natural sciences).

Peer teaching can easily be incorporated in most classes. For example, you could make an assignment in which students must prepare their own questions on the main points of a reading selection; in class, have students work in pairs or small groups, alternately asking and answering questions they have prepared. During the session, you can move from group to group, giving feedback and asking and answering questions yourself. Students are more willing to share their views in small groups and often develop deeper insights about the material than they would working alone.

In math-related courses, students could be required to make up original problems to solve (after completing a regular homework assignment). Instead of the dreary oral report so often used in social science classes, why not require students to prepare a lesson on the topic? Their grades could depend, in part, on how well the class answers test questions on that topic. Exercise caution in using this strategy, however, for undergraduates not only need instructions about how to teach a lesson, they also should know the criteria you will use for evaluating their performance.

Cooperative Learning Groups

Many teachers will occasionally break their classes into small groups for discussions, but only a few use the technique as a fundamental teaching tool. A class can be divided into learning teams that are periodically given instructional tasks to complete, either in or out of class. Research has shown that, with careful planning, this technique increases the efficiency and effectiveness of learning.

Groups of six or seven work best because this size is small enough for everyone to participate in problem solving or debate, yet large enough for a spectrum of views to be represented. To work successfully, groups require a wide variety of viewpoints and intellectual skills, so it is important to make them as heterogeneous as possible. The individual data cards you collect on the first day of class can yield important information about your students' backgrounds and preparation and make it easier to create heterogeneous groups. A professor of political science who uses long-term groups in his class tries to insure that each team has someone with a math background and at least one political science major. He creates groups with maximum diversity with respect to major, gender, race, and other characteristics.

The tasks you assign for group work should challenge students to analyze phenomena, solve problems, apply theories, exercise judgment, or perform some combination of these activities. Clearly written instructions are vital to the success of this kind of exercise, which means the teacher must analyze the task carefully and break it down into its component parts. During the exercise, the teacher moves from group to group, answering questions, clarifying instructions, giving advice, and observing the group process. Group exercises can be designed for 15- to 20-minute periods, and need not consume an entire class period.

In a well-designed group activity, there should be little need for direct intervention by the teacher. It is true that many teachers are uncomfortable with the loss of direct control that accompanies small-group work, but you still govern the process and outcome by the instructions you provide for the groups. Small groups can be used with a variety of other techniques, such as peer teaching, case studies, and simulations; imaginative teachers are discovering new ways to use the technique every day.

Case Studies

Case studies are appropriate for learning about information analysis, decision making, or problem solving. The method, made famous by the Harvard Business School, requires the development of a set of cases that reflect problems or issues in the course material. For example, in an anthropology course, a case might describe the artifacts discovered in a real or hypothetical excavation. The students, as a group, would be expected to infer information about the life and culture of the people who lived at the site, based on knowledge and techniques they had learned in other parts of the course.

Depending upon the nature of the material and the sophistication of the students, cases can be quite lengthy and complex. You can divide the class into small groups to work on the case and circulate among them to facilitate the process. Over the semester, cases can be made more complex and challenging as students become more knowledgeable.

The development of case studies for an entire course requires research into the method to master its subtleties. Cases must provide enough information to elicit analytical thought, but not so much that the solutions are obvious. This process can be very time-consuming, but once the cases are written, they may need only a few revisions to run successfully semester after semester. Remember that students need to master a common knowledge base before they will be ready to tackle a case study, and they need to understand clearly the steps in the analytical process they will use. Finally, managing the discussion of case studies requires techniques that differ from generalized discussion methods, and it would be helpful to observe a teacher experienced in the method before trying it yourself.

Simulations

Like case studies , simulations provide students with practice in decision making, but in a different, more engaging, format. Since simulations are based on real-life situations, they present students with choices and constraints that reflect real-world problems. For example, a class in political science might simulate a city council meeting to decide on the location of a halfway house for juvenile offenders. Students are given particular roles to play: members of the police department, representatives of neighborhood associations, social workers trying to reintegrate juvenile offenders into society, and others with conflicting concerns. The task facing the class is to come to agreement about the placement of the halfway house. The instructional objectives are to practice negotiation skills, engage in proble solving, and discover techniques for reaching compromise.

Simulations are more difficult and time-consuming to write than case studies, and they usually take more time in class, although the teacher's role is less directive than in the case study method. They also require more explanation before the exercise and, when completed, a careful exposition of what has been learned by relating students' experiences to the general principles involved. Nonetheless, simulations can be very effective in teaching problem solving and in developing students' self-confidence.

Games and simulations are closely related, and there are mixed varieties: simulation games, non-simulation games, and non-game simulations. Games are activities in which there are winners and losers, definite sets of rules for "moves," and frequent use of props or other paraphernalia. For example, in a game used in sociology classes, players are randomly assigned to several different groups and provided with colored markers that represent money. They are told to maximize their cash through negotiations and trade with other groups, but the rules for trading markers are actually stacked against certain groups - they literally cannot win. This game allows students to experience in a small way life in a rigid class society in which improvement of one's condition is made difficult or impossible by the society's economic rules.

Although it is possible to devise games yourself, hundreds of instructional games and simulations have been published by organizations involved in education and training.

Writing Assignments

Writing assignments can be more original and exciting than the usual term papers, book reports, and homework assignments. Students are capable of producing fairly sophisticated work if the assignment is clearly explained and carefully structured. For example, you might require students to observe and report on a city council meeting, fundamentalist revival, ballet, construction site, archeological excavation, bus station, or protest march. Of course, you would need to teach them how to take observational notes and suggest an organizational framework for the final report.

To help students sharpen writing skills, you may decide to assign shorter papers and allow rewrites until their work is acceptable. In general, many short writing assignments are preferable to a single long paper, depending upon the goals of the course and the level of student skills. Regardless of the length of the assignment, clearly written instructions are indispensable (giving such assignments orally is usually not effective).

Class time can be used for focused activities in which students can practice essential skills. For example, in math-related subjects, after fifteen to twenty minutes of instruction on a particular kind of problem, you could require students to work examples alone for fifteen minutes. This technique forces them to try to apply the concepts that have just been taught, and usually produces questions they didn't think to ask during the lecture (and also provides a powerful antidote to boredom). Since students typically defer their homework problems until the night before the next class, they often lose the thread of the explanation by that time - immediate practice in class helps reinforce the explanation.

Also in math-related courses, requiring students to work homework problems on the chalkboard provides an opportunity to correct their errors and misconceptions and to ask questions about other homework problems while they are at the board.

In the social sciences and humanities, requiring short in-class writing exercises is analogous to working math problems in class. These exercises can take many different forms - for example: a paragraph defending or attacking a particular point of view, a one-page analysis of a reading assignment, or a short essay summarizing the student's impression of a class discussion. The variety of these short writing assignments is endless, and they need not take huge amounts of class time - many can be accomplished in ten minutes or less.

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As you consider various modes of instruction, keep in mind that student learning depends primarily on what the students do, both in and out of class, rather than what the teacher does. Your task is to select activities through which students can master course objectives.

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11 Low-Prep ESL Games for Teaching Online

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11 Low-Prep ESL Games for Teaching Online

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BridgeUniverse - TEFL Blog, News, Tips & Resources

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By Krzl Light Nuñes
May 19, 2020

Who doesn't love playing games? Whether you use them to practice ESL vocabulary or simply break the ice with your students, games always make English classes more fun and engaging. Check out the following 11 great ESL games for teaching online that you can play with your young students and teenagers -or even adults - that require minimal to no teacher preparation. (And for even more game ideas, enroll in one of our new Bridge Micro-credentials in Teaching English Online, such as Games and Activities for the Online Classroom: Young Learners.)

1. Find Something...

2. Hidden Objects

3. Objects Pictionary

4. Odd One Out

5. Tell Me 5

6. Word Chain

7. The Bragging Game

8. Classmate Speculation

9. The Sentence Maker

10. Tic-Tac-Toe 2.0

11. ESL Jeopardy

ESL Games for Teaching English Online to Young Learners

1. Find Something...

This ESL game for teaching kids online is great for practicing students' listening and thinking skills, and for reviewing vocabulary.

How to play

Ask the online student to look around his or her room and find something of a certain color. For example, you can ask the student to find something that is pink. Give the student a minute or two to look around the room for an object that's pink such as a hair bow or a marker.

Alternatively, you can ask the student to look for something that begins with a specific letter. For instance, he or she can find an object that begins with the letter P, like a pillow or a pen.

Variation

You can ask the student to find something in your online classroom. This object, of course, will have to visible on your screen where your student can see it without you having to move the camera around. It can be an object, a word, or a picture in your background.

2. Hidden Objects

This online ESL game is an effective and fun way to practice vocabulary and listening or reading comprehension. You can use this free online ESL game for reviewing nouns, adjectives, and even prepositions of place.

How to play

Before the class, find or prepare a photo with many different objects (e.g. a messy room, a crowded beach). Share this image with the student along with a list of ten objects which they have to find.

You can also describe the items with more details, for instance, "look for the big, red balloon."

When the student finds an object, you can either enable the remote mouse control so he or she can circle the object or ask the student to describe the location of the item. For example, he can say, "The cat is between the bed and the nightstand."

Variation

You can do a person hunt and ask students to look for specific people instead. For example, "Look for the tall man in a white t-shirt," or "Where is the boy riding a blue bicycle?"

3. Objects Pictionary

This is a great online ESL game to practice vocabulary words.

How to play

Choose an object in the room that is not visible to the student. Then, draw this on the virtual whiteboard. As you draw, the student must guess what it is, just like the popular game.

To make the game more challenging, you can set a timer for one minute. The teacher and student can also switch roles to have the student draw the pictures and the teacher guess the object.

Variation

Another way to play this game is to act out the target word instead of drawing it. This variation offers a fun way to integrate the TPR method (Total Physical Response) into your lesson.
Learn about TPR and other teaching methods in the Specialized Bridge Teaching English Online TEFL/TESOL Courses.
4. Odd One Out

This catchy ESL game helps your young students recall vocabulary and practice their listening skills, and also keeps them concentrated!

How to play

Call out a list of five objects, with all but one of which having something in common. For example, call out banana, apple, orange, peach, carrot. Ask the student to identify which one doesn't belong to the group. Depending on the student's level, you can also ask him or her to explain why the object is different from the rest on the list. For example, in the list above, carrot is the odd one out because it's a vegetable and the rest are fruits.

Variation

For more advanced students, you can use similar-sounding words or various parts of speech (i.e. boot, food, room, moon, hot). You can also use pictures instead of reading the list out loud.

5. Tell Me 5

This game is good for practicing speaking skills and vocabulary.

How to play

List categories on the board such as colors, food, transportation, zoo animals, etc. Then, ask the student to choose a category. If the student chooses the food category, the teacher can ask, "tell me five vegetables" or "tell me five desserts". The student must think of five items in less than one minute.

Variation

You can also write five letters that the items in the category should start with. For example, "tell me five vegetables that start with T, L, C, E, and K."

6. Word Chain

This simple but fun online game for teaching English is excellent for building up vocabulary and checking pronunciation.

How to play

Provide a category. Then, the first student has to say any word in that category. The next player needs to say another word in the same category, but the word must begin with the last letter of the previous word. Let's say, for the food category, if Student A says "tomat o", Student B could say " o range."

If a student takes too long in thinking of a word, they must forfeit and take a challenge. For instance, they must sing a song or talk about a topic for two minutes.

Variation

For higher-level students, you can do sentence chains by using the last word of a previous sentence as the first word of the next sentence

ESL Games for Teaching English Online to Teenagers (or Adults)

7. The Bragging Game

This activity not only helps your students expand their vocabulary and practice using comparative and superlative adjective forms but also helps them to be more creative.

How to play

Start by saying a simple sentence. For example, you could say, "I live in a house." Then, the student has to "brag," by saying something greater or more exaggerated than your sentence but still within the same topic, such as, "Really? I live in a bigger house, with a pool."

Continue this bragging game by going back and forth trying to top each other's claim (for example, you could then counter with, "Well I live in a mansion with a pool and a jacuzzi!"). The circle ends when a person cannot think of anything to top the last example.

Variation

Instead of using the regular comparative forms, you can make it more challenging by using the "as ... adjective ... as" form. For example, if someone says, "My best friend is as clever as a fox," the next person could brag, "Really? Well, my best friend is as intelligent as Albert Einstein."

8. Classmate Speculation

An interactive activity for reinforcing grammar, speaking, and listening skills, this guessing game challenges how much you and your students know about each other!

How to play

Provide a verb that students can easily make sentences with. Then, think of information about your student using the given verb and start the sentence with the phrase "I think that you..."

Let's say the verb is "like." You could say, "I think that you like chocolate."

The student says if the information you said about him or her is true or not. If it's true, you get a point. The first person to get five points wins.

Variation

You can also prepare sentence starters for a variety of topics and target grammar or vocabulary. For example, if you wanted to practice the past tense with your student, the sentence starters could be, "I think that you traveled..." or, "I think that you ate..."

9. Sentence Maker

This game is best for reviewing vocabulary or grammar concepts that you've taught in previous classes.

How to play

Write a list composed of 15 words with mixed parts of speech (i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions). Then, ask the student to choose any word from the list and make a correct and logical sentence with it. You can encourage students to be creative and have fun with their sentences, to keep the game interesting. Provide a point if the sentence contains the word and is grammatically correct.

Circle or cross out the first word that the student previously chose so it can't be used anymore. Afterward, choose two new words from the list and let him or her to make a new sentence using them. Give the student two points for a grammatically correct sentence containing these two new words then circle or cross them out from the word list.

Then, the student must choose three new words from the list and create another sentence. Follow the criteria for the previous rounds.

The game ends when the last remaining five words are used in a sentence.

Variation

Alternatively, you can also show a picture and ask the learner to describe something in it using only three words. Then, raise the word count.

10. Tic-Tac-Toe 2.0

This classic game adds a twist to your regular vocabulary and grammar practice exercises.

How to play

On the virtual whiteboard, write nine verbs arranged in a 3×3 grid. Then, ask the student to choose a symbol (X or O) and put their mark on any verb on the grid. Then, the student must make a correct sentence using the word he or she chooses.

The next player has to choose a box to mark and similarly make a sentence. If you're playing the game one-on-one with your student, you can use the verb to make questions for him/her.

The first player to mark three boxes in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row wins.

Variations

You can personalize this game in many different ways! You can use question words, for instance, or challenge your students to various speaking tasks.

11. ESL Jeopardy

This ESL game for teaching online, which is inspired by the popular TV game show of the same name, is effective for reading comprehension, vocabulary, and even math skills.

How to play

Before class, get the game set up on your whiteboard.

Decide on about 4-6 categories for which you'll come up with questions for the student.

Make sure some of the categories are suitable for grammar/vocabulary questions, such as "verbs" or a flexible category like "name three."

Make other categories fun topics you know will interest your student, such as "movie characters."

Write these categories vertically along the left side of the virtual whiteboard.

Along the top of the whiteboard, make columns for increasing point categories (i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 points).

If you have 5 point categories (from 10 to 50), you'll now need to come up with 5 questions under each of your chosen categories.

As you write your questions, remember that the higher the number of points, the more difficult the question becomes.

When you're ready to play, explain the categories and points to the student. Then, ask the student to choose a category and a number of points. (You can have the student use the language from the TV show: "I'll take 'name three' for 50 points.") Ask the student the corresponding question. He or she earns the points if the answer is correct.

If you're playing with more than one student, another player can "steal" the question if the first student doesn't answer it correctly, by attempting to answer the same question.

Variation

Instead of questions, you can use photos to reinforce vocabulary, especially for beginner students.

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By Krzl Light Nuñes May 19, 2020 Who doesn't love playing games? Whether you use them to practice ESL vocabulary or simply break the ice with your students, games always make English classes more fun and engaging.

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Landing an interview is a race against the clock. With many job seekers competing for just one position, you need a resume that has no equal in terms of relevance and clarity.

To achieve your next career goal, make a comprehensive resume document that contains all the key information and addresses the job requirements accurately. Let's get started with our step-by-step advice on how to make a resume.
In this guide, you'll get:

Detailed instructions on how to make a successful resume for your desired job, with good and bad examples.

Expert quotes with a proven approach to resume writing.

10 complete resume examples for various jobs that adhere to the current resume writing standards.

Frequently Asked Question section to dispel your doubts about how to create a resume that hits your career goals.

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It's fast and easy to use. Plus, you'll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Create your resume now
Sample resume made with our builder-See more resume examples here.

How to Make a Resume in 9 Simple Steps:

1. Choose the Right Resume Format

2. Add Contact Information and Personal Details

3. Start With a Resume Summary or Resume Objective

4. List Relevant Work Experience & Key Achievements

5. Reference Your Education Correctly

6. Put Relevant Skills that Fit The Job Ad

7. Include Additional Resume Sections

8. Complement Your Resume With a Cover Letter

9. Proofread & Email Your Resume the Right Way

You can also start by watching our video to get the basics of resume writing:

Alright, let's dive right in!

1. Choose the Right Resume Format

Before you start writing your resume, you need to take care of the canvas prior to painting your application. It'll help you organize your document; recruiters will bid in interviews when they see your craftsmanship.

There are 3 main resume formats:

1. Chronological resume-has a classic resume layout, emphasizing your work experience and professional accomplishments. It lists your work history in reverse order, from the most current going backward. It's the most popular among all-level candidates and recruiters, and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) can read it, too.

2. Functional resume-emphasizes your skills and qualities, hence the secondary name, skills-based resume. The most important resume section is the skills summary, whereas your work history takes a back seat. Use it for your creative resume or when transitioning to civilian with a military resume.

3. Combination resume-a hybrid of the two above. It highlights your experience and skill set. It's best for professionals with a vast amount of relevant experience to show off. But, it's also a good choice for career change resumes and covering employment gaps if you wish to do so.

Is there any safe bet when writing your resume? Yes, there is-the chronological resume. See what it looks like:

Here's how to format a chronological resume:
Technicalities

Create even margins on your resume, 1-inch on all sides.

Set a legible resume font for the text, like Calibri, or Verdana, in 10-12 pts. For headings, use 13-14 pts in font size.

Use single or 1.15 line spacing. And add an extra line before and after a heading.

Exceed a resume's page limit only when unavoidable. Stick to one page for the best results.

Sectioning

Start with a resume header. Make it distinctive to highlight your name and contact information.

Organize your resume sections in the following order: summary/objective, work experience, education, skills, and extras.

Use bullet points for your entries under each section.

Find resume icons for each section or skip them altogether.

File format

See what the job ad says. Look for a preferred file formatting (PDF or .docx) in the job description.

If the company asks to send resumes in Microsoft Word .docx format, creating your resume in Word and sending it as required is a good idea.

Format your resume in PDF. PDFs preserve the structure and formatting on all devices.

Name your resume file by including the job title first, then the word resume, and lastly, your full name, separated by hyphens or underscores-for example, accountant-resume-jane-doe.pdf.

Pro Tip: Consistency on your resume draft is crucial, just like your consistency as their future employee. For example, format your dates any way you'd like (31 Dec, December 31, 12-2020, etc.), but follow the same throughout.

2. Add Contact Information and Personal Details

A career diplomat knows what information to disclose and which is better to hold back. Likewise, there are basic items that you must include in the contact information section, but you should also know what not to put on a resume.

Here's what to keep in mind when constructing your contact information section:

Include your first name and last name first. Then, provide your current or the most recent job title.

Add your phone number and an email address. Don't mention your second email address, though, as it may confuse the reader.

Include your LinkedIn profile if you have one. Alternatively, add a personal website; they're becoming increasingly popular for creatives or jobs in information technology.

Avoid adding information such as date of birth, as it could lead to ageism. Similarly, leave your home address off your resume unless it's required.

If you're applying for a job in the US, don't add a photo unless it's an acting or a modeling position.

Use a resume headline if you don't want to go for a resume summary or objective. They usually cover that part.

See how you could arrange your header and personal details:

Pro Tip: Before a recruiter or hiring manager can look you and your employment history up, you better sanitize your online presence! That means removing any offensive posts and making private things private. While at it, optimize your LinkedIn profile to make it up-to-date and complete.

3. Start With a Resume Summary or Resume Objective

A hiring manager will scan your resume in 7 seconds, our HR statistics report says. That means the top of the page will likely have the most eye time. And that's where the resume summary or objective statement is.

Here's how to write a resume profile that makes the recruiter stop and stare:

What Is a Resume Summary & When to Choose It

A resume summary is a 2-3 sentence paragraph that gives recruiters a gist of your relevant experience and boasts about your accomplishments in the field. The purpose of a resume and summary is to immediately draw attention to your candidacy and paint a picture of a fit applicant.

Choose the summary if you have enough relevant experience to condense your position-related skills and qualifications.

Let's take a look at how to write a professional summary with right and wrong examples for clarity:

Difference? WRONG focuses on everyday duties, whereas RIGHT shows graphic design skills, achievements, and experience. The RIGHT examples also mention the company by name. That is a great way to make sure your resume feels personalized rather than just sent to every company out there.

Pro Tip: If you have enough experience, consider writing a summary of qualifications instead.

What Is a Resume Objective & When to Choose It

A resume objective is a short statement providing insight into the qualities and skills you can transfer to the company. The goal of an objective is to show your potential employer what you can help them achieve, considering your skill set.

Choose the resume objective statement if you have no work experience or at least none related to the position you're applying for (entry-level applicants, career changers, students, etc.).

Let's look at another set of right and wrong examples for writing a career objective:

The RIGHT one uses some transferable skills from the previous company and proud achievements, with numbers as they speak louder than words. The WRONG one doesn't show enough to hold the hiring manager's attention. Plus, both WRONG examples above used the first person. Avoid this in your resume.

4. List Relevant Work Experience & Key Achievements

If you think of your resume as a fancy meal, the experience section is the main course. It includes the most important things to put on a resume, like your work history and achievements.

Let's go through the various job history components of the perfect resume experience section now.

How to Design a Work Experience Section on a Resume

1. Job title: This should go at the very top of each work history entry so that it's easy for potential employers to scan and find. Make it bold or increase the font size by 1pt or 2pts from the rest of the entry.

2. Company, city, state: In the second line, include the previous employer's company name and the city and state of your location.

3. Dates employed: Thirdly, put the timeframe of your employment there. You should add the month and the year, but there's no need to put exact days.

4. Key responsibilities: Focus on 5 to 6 essential job duties most relevant to the new job and list them in reverse chronological order. Use present tense to describe current job and past tense to discuss previous experience.

5. Key achievements: Often overlooked but super important. Employers know what you did. They need to know how well you did them. Say it using action verbs to reinforce your capabilities.

The recommended way to build your work experience section entries is this, in this exact order:

Think about accomplishments you've had, not necessarily meaning solid sales numbers or percentages. Were you involved in something that had great success? If so, include it! Showing what you've done beyond your daily duties is what will prompt employers to call you. Employers want to hire someone who exhibits motivation, participation, and ambition.

The work experience section of your resume, where you describe your past jobs, is the most crucial component of your whole job application. Dive deeper to make sure you get it right: Work Experience on a Resume: Job Description Bullets that *Kill* [100+]

How to Tailor Work History Entries to a Job Description

To tailor a resume means to make it as relevant to the job description as possible by including keywords taken out of a job ad and scattering them throughout the resume. The idea is to show the ATS software you have what it takes to take on the role.

You can include the keywords that an ATS will scan and assign you a score. The more relevant keywords, the higher the score you get. That leads to getting your application seen by a recruiter.

Duties (coordinate marketing campaigns, plan and implement promotional campaigns, etc.)

Skills (project management, marketing communications, B2B marketing, etc.)

Qualifications (5 years of experience, marketing or business-related degree, etc.)

Qualities (creative mindset, etc.)

To create an ATS-friendly resume, refer to the job description and look for resume keywords related to your responsibilities. They can touch upon the following:

Later, when writing your work history section, use (or refer to) as many of the above as possible in your duties and key achievements.

How Much Work Experience to Include on a Resume

A resume should go back at most 10-15 years. But the more experience you have, the less you should worry about the length of your resume. Don't try to cram everything into a one-page resume if you're a highly experienced candidate. And don't mention academic achievements unrelated to the role, only to land on a two-page resume.

First-time job hunters with no work experience can still include other gigs, such as a student organization role, internship, or volunteer experience, to fill out your experience section.

Entry-level candidates should list and describe all paid work, particularly calling out the most relevant responsibilities and achievements.

Mid-level job seekers should include detailed job descriptions of relevant positions and mention any other roles briefly.

Senior-level applicants, such as executives and managers, should list up to 15 years of relevant work experience with powerful action verbs to introduce each bullet point.

Let's go into greater detail:

Experienced a spell of unemployment? Don't worry! Check out our guide: How to Explain Gaps in Your Resume

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

When you're done, Zety's resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

5. Reference Your Education Correctly

Many people consider the education section an afterthought, but you shouldn't. It's an essential part of your resume structure. Simply because it's an excellent opportunity to prove your qualifications and gain some bonus points for relevancy.

1. Degree: Place your highest degree first. That means leaving out the high school info if you finished a university or college.

2. University: Add the name and location.

3. Dates attended: List your dates of attendance, mentioning the month and the year. There's no need to be as specific as including the days.

See how to list your credentials in the exact order:

Such an entry entails the essentials, which is the best solution for candidates with more than a year of experience. If you're writing an entry-level resume, consider adding the following:

Pro tip: As for mentioning your GPA on a resume, it's only a good idea if you graduated recently and your GPA was high enough to impress employers-at least 3.5. Otherwise, just leave it off your application. Also, don't round your GPA up.

For example:

What is the proper education section format? Check out our article: How to Put Education on a Resume

6. Put Relevant Skills That Fit the Job Ad

Hard skills are specific abilities and know-how (e.g., Photoshop, using a cash register).

Soft skills are self-developed, life-learned attributes (e.g., social skills, adaptability).

Your skills are crucial to making your resume relevant to the position (and attractive to employers). A good resume uses the job ad as a reference and includes relevant skills to show you're a good fit for the job. There are two types of skills you can include in your resume:

These comprise a skill set and a job seeker's range of skills and abilities.

What Skills to Put on a Resume

Remember that job description you had handy from earlier? Reread it, paying attention to any specific skills that it mentions. If you have any of them, great-those are the keywords to put on your resume.

Communication skills: These can consist of people skills, non-verbal communication, active listening skills, and interpersonal skills.

Leadership skills and management skills: An ability to be a good manager, leader, and supervisor.

Critical thinking skills: Making thought-based decisions and taking the initiative. Includes analytical skills, decision-making skills, and problem-solving skills.

Organizational skills: A knack for planning, organizing, and seeing initiatives through.

Transferable skills: For career changers, these are abilities you learned to carry to your new position.

Technical skills: Knowledge required to perform specific tasks, like computer skills or clerical skills.

Job-specific skills: Particular prowess the company specifically requires.

See what skills the job ad might include:

Pro Tip: Don't just google "skills for a [industry] resume" and throw in the results. Take time to tailor your resume skills list to the job posting.

How to List Skills on a Resume

There are several ways to include a list of skills. For most, a simple skills section that contains 5-6 key abilities and your proficiency level is enough:

For specific job titles and technical skills, you may want to list your particular knowledge per item to give them specific detail into the areas of the skill you excel at:

Looking for inspiration about what skills to put on a resume? There you go: Over 99 Skills for Your Resume

7. Include Additional Resume Sections

Here's the thing-everyone's job resumes include those sections above. But what should a resume have to make it personalized? Make your resume unique by including extra information.

Here's how to make your resume stand out with extra sections:

Hobbies & Interests

You might not think that your love of baseball and being the Little League assistant coach would interest a potential employer. However, listing your hobbies and interests subtly proves your ability to work well in a team, and the coaching can verify your leadership and management expertise.

Volunteer Work

Volunteering boosts employability, studies find. For most job seekers, listing any volunteer experience as one of your additional resume sections is a great way to show your commitment and values. It also lets them know that you don't only care about the money. For entry-level or first-time applicants needing experience, volunteer work is an excellent stand-in.

Internship Experience

Listing internships on your resume is only OK if you're fresh out of school, have had one or two other jobs, or haven't been on the market for longer than 4-5 years.

Certifications and Awards

Got any certificates or licenses to show off on your resume? If they are relevant to the job and industry, include them!

Placed first in a chili cook-off at the state fair? If you're looking to be a cook, it'll definitely help. Likewise, a food safety certification or food handler's license that you already have would surely be in your favor.

Languages

Speak another language? Impressive! Listing language skills on a resume only extends your usefulness as an employee, particularly in international corporations or localities where a large population speaks that second language. List the language, global variation (Latin American Spanish, for example), and your language fluency levels.

Projects

If you've done a bunch, you can include projects as a separate section or simply mention one or two below each job description.

Publications

Have articles written for a blog, newspaper, or scientific journal? Mention those publications on a resume. If your published material isn't online, create a short bibliography of the works you'd like them to acknowledge.

Also, if you've built graphic designs or other creative creations, or if your list of publications or projects needs to be shorter, consider making an online portfolio to document everything. Link to it from the contact section, in this case.

Would you like to read more about additional sections? Go for it: What to Put for Additional Information on a Resume?

8. Complement Your Resume With a Cover Letter

You must most definitely submit a cover letter. Your cover letter or job application letter lets you expand upon things you need to keep brief on your resume. Also, it allows you to speak easily in standard sentences!

Sound like an overkill? Think again. Most employers think more than a resume is needed to make a decision. Follow our guide on making a cover letter (or a cover letter with no experience or a cover letter for an internship), and you'll knock this out quickly and painlessly.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

9. Proofread and Email Your Resume the Right Way

You're almost there, but don't send it off just yet. Here are some resume best practices to keep in mind, so you can rest assured that you wrote the perfect resume:

Proofread & Double-Check

1. By double-checking your resume before sending it out. First, review your resume with this checklist to tick off all the check marks for formatting and style. See if you have all the right sections and whether they have all you need to succeed and go through your resume to check your resume content's relevance.

2. Then, scan your entire application with a tool like Grammarly to check for spelling or grammar mistakes.

3. To triple-check, ask a friend or family member for help. Better safe than sorry!

How to make a professional resume and be seen as a professional?

As for the question of how to spell resume? It's still a contention, but "resume" without the accents is the best choice.

Do you want more tips and know which common resume mistakes to avoid? See these for more: 50 Best Resume Tips and Resume Dos and Don'ts

Email Your Resume the Right Way

When you send a resume to a catch-all email address such as contact@company.org, your resume enters a sea of similar emails from other job seekers fighting for the same position as you.

Find the name of the person reading your resume and personalize your email with that information. Sending a resume is much more compelling when you use Dear Mike instead of To Whom It May Concern.

Now, you wish you had an email template for emailing a resume? Say no more: 10+ Email Examples for Emailing a Resume

10+ Resume Examples for Various Jobs

Now that you have the entire theory available at your disposal, see what you can achieve by following it. Have a look at the examples of resumes for different types of jobs:

1. Accounting Assistant Resume

2. Data Engineer Resume

3. IT Specialist Resume

4. Manager Resume

5. Office Administrator Resume

6. Paralegal Resume

7. Sales Associate Resume

8. Teacher Resume

9. Technical Writer Resume

10. User Experience (UX) Designer Resume

Our guide serves to write a resume for any job. However, making a resume for your specific situation is ideal for maximum efficiency. Check out a few of our guides; they may also apply to you:

If you're an international reader, you can also switch over to:

In case you wondered! What the US and Canada call a resume, most of the world calls a curriculum vitae (CV). South Africa, India, New Zealand, and Australia interchange the terms resume and CV. Read about the differences between a resume and a CV for more.

Key Takeaway

Stay relevant: Every item on your resume should prove you are the best candidate.

Tailor: Make one resume specifically for one specific job and company to apply to. Pick skills that relate to the open position.

Choose the right stuff: Use active voice, write a heading statement for your situation, and don't include unnecessary details.

Be consistent: Follow the same formatting, styles, colors, and conventions throughout your resume.

Double-check: Wait to send your resume before you are certain there are no typos or errors.

Build a resume online: Use Zety's easy resume helper to write your resume in no time. More than eighteen resume examples and templates are there to guide you, with tips and advice along the way.

Have any questions on how to do a resume? Not sure how to make the perfect resume work experience section or how to build a resume list of skills or achievements? Get at us in the comments below, and we'll answer your questions. Thanks for reading, and good luck with your resume preparation!
That was super-detailed, I know. But now you know how to make your own resume. Here are a few final resume tips:

About Zety's Editorial Process

This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines. We're committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.

Frequently Asked Questions about How to Make a Resume

What is a resume?

A resume, also referred to as a résumé or a CV, is a document summarizing a person's professional and academic background, relevant skills, and accomplishments. It's usually used to introduce yourself and present your qualifications to a prospective employer when applying for a job.

Do you need a specific type? Zety's prepared hundreds of resume examples, from an entry-level resume to a software engineer resume to a video resume. Visit our page to find your own.

How to make a resume for a job?

First, read the job ad carefully to pick up keywords for your resume that you'll target to pass the Applicant Tracking Software test. Next, create resume sections necessary to present yourself, your qualifications, and your strengths. The sections are:

Depending on the industry and experience, you'll have to think about which additional sections work best. But you definitely can't write a resume without the other five. You can spare yourself the worry by using our resume maker.

How to write a resume for the first time?

Write your first resume with transferable skills in the skills and resume objective sections. In the work history part, add accomplishments examples that prove your qualities of a valuable employee, such as curiosity, eagerness to learn and assist, and developed communication skills. Internships and volunteering placements fit there perfectly. And most importantly-put your academic achievements right below the objective to highlight your educational advancement.

How to make a good resume that will impress recruiters?

An impressive resume is a resume that reads well and looks so, too. So before you get down to writing the nitty-gritty details of your professional and academic achievements, take care of the resume formatting and layout.

Only then move on to adding the biggest successes under each section: resume profile, experience, education, and skills. But-additional parts make the strongest impression, so don't forget to include awards, certifications or licenses, or extracurricular activities to your resume. Say you're an achiever, not a doer.

What is the format of a resume?

The chronological format is the most popular resume format suitable for every job applicant-an entry-level position, a specialist, or an executive. By choosing it, you decide to show off your career progression.

Functional format, or skills-based resume, presents you in the best light when changing careers. It concentrates on your skillset and leaves work history in the back seat.

Combination format, aka a hybrid, is a well-blended mixture of the chronological and functional formats. It's the most complex one to write as it includes a skills summary and an extended experience section, which is apt for senior positions.

How to make a resume in Word?

You can spare yourself the trouble and use a pre-made Word resume template. But if you have quite some experience with text formatting (and plenty of time), start making your resume in Word. Create a clean layout, choose a font that reads well, and limit the number of graphic elements on the page not to overwhelm the ATS. Then, add the main and additional resume sections in an order suitable for the resume format. Save it in a Word or PDF file at the end, keeping in mind the instructions from the recruiter.

Or, if you need a top-notch resume that takes just minutes to make and looks better than any Word resume, pick one of Zety's resume templates, add your info, and land that job.

What does a good resume look like in 2023?

In 2023, you need to make even a stronger impression than in the previous years. Use a modern resume template and include the most important sections: personal information, summary or objective, employment history, education, and skills. Add your best achievements under each section and quantify them. Show your future employer that you've had an impact and will continue to bring results.

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How to Make a Resume in 2023: Writing Guide + Examples

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How to make a resume that will get you the job? See this guide for the best resume examples and resume-writing rules, and create yours in a few easy steps.

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101 Things You Can Do in the First Three Weeks of Class

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101 Things You Can Do in the First Three Weeks of Class

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101 Things You Can Do in the First Three Weeks of Class | Office of Graduate Studies | University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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The following list is offered in the spirit of starting off right. It is a catalog of suggestions for college teachers who are looking for fresh ways of creating the best possible environment for learning. Not just the first day, but the first three weeks of a course are especially important, studies say, in retaining capable students.

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English Vocabulary

The following feedback language is ideal for use in the classroom by teachers and can also be used by parents with their children.

Giving Positive Feedback

I like it!

I love it!

Good job!

Great stuff!

That's correct!

That's it!

That's nice!

That's right!

Very good!

Well done!

You did a great job!

Giving Very Positive Feedback

Awesome!

Brilliant!

Excellent!

Fantastic!

Magnificent!

Marvelous!

Outstanding!

Terrific!

After these words you can add the word Job or Work.

For example: Awesome work! or Excellent job!

Giving Negative Feedback

Here are some nicer ways of giving negative feedback instead of saying "That's wrong!"

Not exactly.

Good try but...

That is almost it.

Unfortunately not.

Let's try that again.

You were almost right.

That's not quite correct.

I'm afraid that's not quite right.

Giving Encouraging Feedback

The following words of encouragement can help build confidence in a student or child and it helps motivate them to keep trying.

I'm impressed!

That's more like it.

That's much better.

You are doing well.

You're getting there.

I'm very proud of you.

You've improved a lot.

You've just about got it.

Keep up the good work!

That's coming along nicely.

Nothing can stop you now.

You're on the right track now.

You're getting better every day.

One more time and you'll have it.

Keep Trying Feedback

Have another try.

Have another go.

Give it another shot.

Give it another go.

There's no hurry.

We have plenty of time.

Next Activity

See our lesson about classroom language (coming soon).

Try our interactive game (coming soon).

If you found this Vocabulary interesting or useful, let others know about it:

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The following feedback language is ideal for use in the classroom by teachers and can also be used by parents with their children. I like it! I love it! Good job! Great stuff! That's correct! That's it! That's nice! That's right! Very good! Well done! You did a great job!

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by TeachThought Staff
For in-person professional development from TeachThought on effective instructional strategies or any other topic your school or district might need, contact us today.
Student-centered teaching is teaching designed for the student.

This means that planning often begins with the student in mind as opposed to a school policy or curriculum artifact, for example. Done well, it can disarm some of the more intimidating parts of academia, while also shortening the distance between the student and understanding.

Put another way, student-centered teaching is teaching that is 'aware' of students and their needs above and beyond anything else. It places students at the center of the learning process.

This isn't as simple as it sounds, especially without shifting one's mindset towards that approach. We recently shared 32 Research-Based Instructional Strategies. The following infographic via Mia MacMeekin provides additional tools (in the form of strategies) that can help create a learning environment that can, depending on the context, more approachable, friendly, or familiar to students in your classroom.
See Also 28 Critical Thinking Question Stems & Response Cards
Let us know in the comments which are your favorites, or any good ones you think it might have missed.
28 Student-Centered Instructional Methods

28 Student-Centered Instructional Strategies

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Executed well, student-centered instructional methods can disarm some of the more intimidating parts of academia.

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Oxford 3000 and Oxford 5000: The Most Important Words to Learn in English

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Oxford 3000 and Oxford 5000: The Most Important Words to Learn in English

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All my favorite classroom management strategies gathered on one handy page! Get this resource now when you sign up for free resources and teaching tips from

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12 Fun Ways to Teach Grammar in Your Classroom

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12 Fun Ways to Teach Grammar in Your Classroom

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12 Fun Ways to Teach Grammar in Your Classroom

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We all have those times when we only have 5 minutes before going to lunch, specials, leaving for the day, etc. Here are some quick GRAMMAR WALL GAMES and activities you can use to fill that time and still be teaching!!

Shop this post: [shop_this_post id="9022″]

5 Minute Activities

Have each student grab a blank grammar card and add a word to the wall. After they add it, they have to state the word and part of speech, then use that word in a sentence.

During a break, move one card to an incorrect place on the wall and have students "spot the mistake".

Choose a small group of students to each take a card and create a sentence. When they are done, have the rest of the class check for accuracy and see if they can add another part of speech to enrich the sentence.

Put an "AWARD" ribbon on a word or two from the wall. Give your students a point every time they use one of those words correctly in a sentence.

When adding new words to the wall, post them on your board in the morning and have students think about where those words belong on the grammar wall. At the end of the day, have them guess the category and give them the correct answers.

Choose a part of speech and ask students to add to that list throughout the day. They can come up with their own words, or while reading text identify/add those words to the list.

When the students are out of the room, tape words to the bottom/back of students' chairs. When they line up, they have to read the word, state the part of speech, and use that word in a sentence.

Play "I Am Thinking of a Word..." by using a word from the grammar wall. See how quickly your students can guess the word.

Have an object to pass. The first students says a word and passes the object to the next student. Next, that student says which part of the speech the word is and then says a new word. Continue until the object gets to the end of the line.

Grammar Block Activities

Here are some more activity ideas that are a little meatier and can accompany your direct instruction for grammar.

Riddle Writing - Have students choose a word from the grammar wall and create a riddle with clues about it. (ex. My word has 9 letters. It describes a princess, flower, and my mom. What is my word? - beautiful)

Secret Category - Choose a part of speech on the grammar wall. Make sure that you define the category multiple times throughout the day. Students are asked to add at least 10 words to that category before the day is over.

Sentence Dissection - Have students take a story you've been reading in class. You will need to assign a sentence from the text to each student. After that, have them color coordinate the sentence using the colors for parts of speech from the grammar wall. As an extension, they cut apart the sentence and trade with a partner. Then both students try to recreate the sentence.

20 Questions - Think of a part of speech and have students ask questions as they try to guess the mystery word.

Grammar Wall BINGO - Use a blank BINGO card. Choose a part of speech and have students fill in their card using words from that chart. When they are done, randomly call out words and the first to have BINGO or "black out" is the winner.

Build a Better Sentence - Give students a simple sentence and ask them to add more parts of speech to make the sentence better.

Pass the Page - First, put students into small groups and have them write a simple sentence (article+noun+verb) on a piece of paper. When they are done, they "pass the page" clockwise to a team mate, who adds another part of speech (adjective), then pass again (adverb) and again (preposition). Can they use a conjunction to add their sentences together?

Grammar Wall Stories - First, put students into teams. Then, give them a large piece of paper and ask them to create a story using as many words from the grammar wall as possible. When complete, switch stories with another group and see if they can find/circle all of the grammar words.

Morning Mystery Message - Before school, write your morning message leaving blanks (grammar wall words) in the text. Have students see if they can identify the missing words by using the grammar wall. Comparable to Mad Libs for morning message. 😉

Words in a Flash - When you need a quiet activity, turn the lights off and use a flashlight to illuminate words you want to review on the grammar wall. Can students use these words in a sentence? If you have more time, you can have partners share sentences to check for understanding.

Cross-Curricular Grammar

You can also incorporate grammar into other subjects. Here are some activity ideas for that type of teaching.

Grammar Wall Hunt (literacy center) - Create "Go Seek" task cards for students to read and complete. (ex. list all color words, write down 3 common and proper noun pairs, list 5 of each physical and mental verbs) Create an accountability sheet to check student's accuracy.

Can You Find? (homework) - Have your students look through newspapers and magazines to find "interesting" words to add to the grammar wall. They will then bring them back to school after break and add them to the wall.

Adjective Artwork (art) - Give your students time to create a work of art. (Have fun with it, bring out colored paper, tissue paper, water colors, etc.) Once creation time is done, have students hang their artwork on the walls. Conduct a gallery walk and allow students to place post-its on/next to artwork with adjectives that describe it.

Specialty Verbs (specials) - First, hang a large poster on the wall to create a list of verbs. Every time the students return from a special, have them quickly give you a few actions they did in that class as you add them to the growing "Specialty Verbs" chart.

Build Better Student Work (writing) - After students have written a rough draft, have them go back and "count" certain parts of speech. (especially adjectives and adverbs) If they don't have enough of that part of speech, have them work to add more.

Find Someone Who (community building) - Create a 4 x 4 table on paper with directions... "Find Someone Who... Can name 3 verbs, Identify a person, place, and thing, Use an adjective in a sentence, etc." After that, the students walk around interviewing each other and trying to complete their grid.

Sentence Formulas (math) - Write sentence formulas on strips of paper. (ex. Article + Adjective + Noun + Verb + Adverb) Students will then create sentences based on the formulas.

We also have a set of grammar wall games that are laid out for you in our Grammar Wall Kit resource. You get all of the materials you need to create your grammar wall, as well as 3 bonus activities and 20 grammar wall games with easy to read instructions on how to complete them.

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Written by Janessa Fletcher
At Education to the Core, we provide done-for-you curriculum that is simple, fun, and effective! We want you to be the very best teacher you can be, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. In order to be an effective educator, you have to take care of you first!

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We all have those times when we only have 5 minutes before going to lunch, specials, leaving for the day, etc. Here are some quick GRAMMAR WALL GAMES and activities you can use to fill that time and still be teaching!!

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8 Brain-Friendly Practices for Middle School and High School Students

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8 Brain-Friendly Practices for Middle School and High School Students

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8 Brain-Friendly Practices for Middle School and High School Students

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It used to be thought that brain development was complete by age 5 or 6 and reached adult-size and volume by age 10. During the last few years, brain research has found that the adolescent brain is still developing and the experiences a child has during the ages of 11 to 18 wires the brain and become "fixed" into their adult life. Meaning, what a child does during these years, the routines they establish, skills, attitudes, and coping mechanisms have direct consequences for their adult lives.

"You are hard-wiring your brain in adolescence. Do you want to hard-wire it for sports, music, and math - or for lying on the couch in front of the television?"

Jay Giedd

Since a large percent of an adolescent's waking life is spent in school, educators can have a profound impact on the brain development of their students. While it is true that we as educators have no control over home-life, peer pressure, and other outside influences; most education institutions have practices that are "brain-hostile" rather than "brain-friendly". These would include such things as:

Zero-tolerance discipline policy

Emotionally flat classroom climate

Ban on social media apps in the classroom

More homework, tougher requirements, and a longer school day

Early start time for the school day

Public posting of grades, test scores, and behavior

Locking students into a set learning path

Elimination or shortening of study hall, physical education, and movement in class

Teacher-centered, lecture-based, textbook-driven curriculum

(Thomas Armstrong)

Instead, educators need awareness of brain-friendly practices in which to align their instruction, strategies, and lesson design after. These practices provide educators with current brain research to support positive brain development in adolescents.

8 Brain-Friendly Practices for Middle School and High School Students

1. Choice - The opportunity to choose what they learn, how they learn, and how they demonstrate understanding. This brain maturation and practices in student-choice helps promote making less risky decisions and more sensible ones. Examples: Choice in books, Choice in product creation, Involvement in discussions and debates, Passion projects or Genius Hour.

2. Self-Awareness Activities - During adolescents, students are beginning to establish and articulate who they are. Self-Awareness activities allow exploration and expression of self. Examples: SEL Activities, Interest and Emotional Quizzes, Connect learning to personal lives, Meditation, Journals.

3. Peer Learning - During adolescence, peers play an important role in development and self-esteem. It is important for students to have positive, meaningful interactions with peers through peer teaching, collaboration, and group work. Examples: Group projects, Peer teaching, Mentoring, Peer Feedback.

4. Affective Learning - With adolescents comes the full-range of emotions that are erupting and changing on a whim inside our student's body. Instead of ignoring or punishing these emotional young people, affective learning includes strategies to address these occurrences head on and bring joy back into the classroom. Examples: Build relationships with students! Know their names, celebrate successes as well as negative feelings. Encouragement and Goal-Setting. Teachable moments. SEL. Social Justice and Discussions over controversial topics.

5. Learning by Doing - Having students sit for a whole class period while the teacher lectures only increases disdain for school and boredom. Get kids up and moving to not only increase blood flow, but also to increase executive functioning. Examples: Exercise or brain breaks, Drama and Kinesthetic while learning concepts and topics. Hands-on activities, Stations.

6. Metacognitive Strategies - Around the age of 11 or 12 students move into "formal operations" (Piaget) and start thinking about their thinking. Introducing mindsets, strategies, and critical thinking skills help students move beyond concrete learning to more abstract and are better able to form own opinions and challenge others. Examples: Inquiry Learning. Design Thinking, Evaluation and Analyzation of sources or views. Think Alouds. Heuristics. Goal-Setting.

7. Expressive Arts - Robust creativity and artistic development occurs between the ages of 5-18, but during adolescence, students get fewer experiences in the arts, drama, music, etc. During this time, expressive arts allows middle school and high school students the opportunity to express thoughts and emotions in thoughtful and socially appropriate ways. Examples: Creative Writing, Visual Design and Art Classes, Choice to Demonstrate learning through drama and dance. Integrate video, gaming, and photography into learning. Include music to enhance learning.

8. Real-World Experiences - Provide students learning that not only connects to their life but also demands them to plan, think, organize, and make quick decisions mimicking the types of demands they will encounter throughout life. Real-world experiences also include civic life and their contribution to family, community and society. Examples: Volunteering. Apprenticeships. Service Learning. Community-Based Learning. Entrepreneur Learning.

While not everything is known about the brain, research continues to provide all of us valuable information in which to inform our practices. As late as the 1990's, many thought the brain stopped growing and full-capacity potential reached by age 10. While we now know this to be untrue, there are many things we currently do that goes against current research. It is time to align our instruction to what we know now and consider the 8 brain-friendly practices mentioned above.

Source:Thomas Armstrong. The Power of the Adolescent Brain. 2016.

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8 Brain-Friendly Practices for Middle School and High School Students

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It used to be thought that brain development was complete by age 5 or 6 and reached adult-size and volume by age 10. During the last few years, brain research has found that the adolescent brain is still developing and the experiences a child has during the ages of 11 to 18 wires the brain...

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Group and pair work provide students frequent opportunities to practice using English with a variety of people in a lower-stakes setting. These collaborative learning situations are an essential part of a communicative EFL classroom.

EFL teachers often pre-establish groups and pairs for either long-term or short-term purposes. Teachers usually consider several factors when assigning students to groups depending on whether they want groups to be homogenous (made up of people with similar characteristics) or heterogeneous (made up of people with different characteristics). Personality type (introverted or extroverted), language proficiency, maturity level, likes and dislikes, life experiences, cultural considerations, and learning styles are just a few of the characteristics teachers might consider when creating groups or pairs. For helpful tips on how to create assigned groups and establish group roles, see "Minimizing the Chaos through Cooperative Classroom Management" by Gena Rhodes ( English Teaching Forum, 2013) and "Reconceptualizing Interactional Groups: Grouping Schemes for Maximizing Language Learning" by Judith Rance-Roney ( English Teaching Forum, 2010).

In this week's Teacher's Corner, we look at ways to make the sometimes tedious task of getting students into groups and pairs fun and language-focused. The techniques shared below offer unique ways to create impromptu (spontaneously made), randomly allocated groups for communicative activities. These approaches may take time to prepare, but their advantages include allowing students to work with different classmates (those who are not their usual neighbors or members of long-term assigned groups), enabling students to enjoy a fun "brain break" that involves language or content learning, and presenting opportunities for students to get up and move around.

Be sure to consider your students' language level, age, and learning preferences when determining if the techniques below are a good match for your classroom.

1. Creating groups with "counting off" variations

Most teachers have used the "counting off" method to create impromptu groups (if you want 5 groups, students each say a number aloud in turn: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2....). You can easily modify this technique to include a language or content focus:

Sequenced vocabulary: To reinforce vocabulary at beginning levels, instead of having numbered groups, assign sequenced vocabulary items as group names. Write the sequenced words on the board for extra visual support, if needed. For example, if you want 5 groups, your sequence could be "weekdays," and students would count off Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday.... (or your locally defined interpretation of "weekdays"). To create 6 groups, you could use "Spring and Summer months" with students counting off March, April, May, June, July, August, March... (or the applicable months in the Southern Hemisphere). To create groups of any size, you can use "multiples of 10" or "multiples of 100" to practice number vocabulary: for 7 groups, students would count off ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, ten, twenty.... You can also use recently studied vocabulary words in alphabetical order for your sequence. For example, for "fruits and vegetables," students could count off with apple, banana, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, orange, apple, banana... If desired, post pictures or draw the items on the board and point at each as students count off.

Letters and vocabulary: Instead of having numbered groups, assign each group a letter. The letters don't always have to be sequential (e.g., A, B, C...). For instance, you could use B, C, M, S, and T to create 5 groups. Write the letters on the board and point to each one as students count off so they can stay on track. As students count off, they must say any English word that starts with the letter in the sequence on the board. For example, students could count off boy, car, map, street, time, baseball, cow..... Each student must use a different word, and the rest of the class should be on the lookout for repeated responses. Students who get stuck after a few seconds can ask a neighbor for help. This sorting technique is great for lower intermediate levels and above because these students have access to a wider range of vocabulary items. Also, teachers can make this vocabulary-focused approach more difficult by choosing both letters and a category, such as "proper names," "types of food," etc. For instance, if your letters are B, C, O, and P, and the category is "food," count off responses might include banana, coconut, onion, potato, bagel, cake, orange....

Themes: Instead of numbered groups, use themed group names, such as Animals, Sports, Jobs, and Things You Read. Write the themes on the board. As students count off, they must give an example that fits the category. For example, for the categories above, responses might be camel, football, policeman, magazine, monkey, basketball, doctor, newspaper.... The rest of the class can judge whether or not responses suit each category. You can choose themes related to content in your curriculum or, after you've used this technique a few times to create a routine, let students suggest the themes.

For all variations, your group names are limited only by your imagination and the students' language level. In all options, after the "count off" phase, you can then direct and instruct groups according to the sorting factor: Can everyone in the "Monday" group stand up, please? I need five volunteers from the "C" team to pass out these worksheets, please. I'd like all of my "Sports" group members to start working together at Station 1 now.

2. Creating pairs and groups with "Find your Match"
During pair and group work, teachers often ask students to turn and work with their neighbors. In classes with assigned seats or where students usually sit in the same places, this means working with the same partner or group mates on a regular basis. While working in a familiar pair or group can build trust and comfort, students also need opportunities to work with other classmates who may have different perspectives, language skills, and personalities.

The "find your match" technique for setting pairs or groups can be used with students of any level and can be adapted to review and recycle a variety of language and content topics in the curriculum. The premise for all of the variations described below is that students will all receive a card or small piece of paper with information in English on it, and they must move around the room and talk with others as they try to find the partner or group mates whose cards contain related information.
Language-focused "find your match" cards
Prepare the cards in advance based on the learning objectives, mix the cards up, and distribute them to students. Here are a just a few of many possible language- and content-focused ways to use this technique; examples with different difficulty levels are included for some items:

o Synonyms: big finds huge (pair); happy finds cheerful (pair); permanent finds everlasting, unchanging and immutable (group of 4)

o Antonyms: sad/happy; difficult/easy; danger/safety

o Comparatives and superlatives: expensive/more expensive; pretty/prettier; comfortable/more comfortable/most comfortable (group of 3)

o Irregular verb forms: go/went; swim/swam; sing/sang

o Associated vocabulary items: cat/kitten; baseball/bat; (theme: "things in a kitchen") pot/stove/refrigerator/sink (group of 4); (theme: "things that fly") duck/airplane/helicopter/pigeon/rocket (group of 5)
Content-focused "find your match" cards
o Picture - word (for lower levels): vocabulary item/picture of the item; digital time/a drawing of an analog clock with the time displayed on hour and minute hands (students must say the time aloud in English when they find their match); a number in numeric form/the number spelled out ( 71/seventy-one)

o Reading / literature: book title + character(s) - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn/Aunt Polly/Becky Thatcher (group of 4); The Gift of the Magi/Della (pair)

o Science: parts of a system or process - photosynthesis/sun/leaf/chlorophyll (group of 4); lifecycle of a butterfly/egg/caterpillar/pupa/butterfly (group of 5)

o Science: animal + habitat - bird/tree; shark/ocean; fox/moose/bear/ owl/forest (group of 5)

o Social studies: current event + country where it occurred or current event and person involved - 2014 Winter Olympics/Russia; international volunteers respond to recent floods/Bangladesh; promoting a nationwide campaign that encourages kids to exercise/U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama

o History: event + significance or date or person and significance - 1945/World War II ends; E mancipation Proclamation/freed slaves in the United States during the Civil War; Mahatma Gandhi/promoted non-violent approaches to social change

Tip - Managing the Volume: This type of mingling activity can generate noise. While it is great that students are actively speaking, you don't want the noise level to become disruptive. Here is a way to create a routine that uses visual signals to encourage students to speak at a classroom-appropriate level:

Traffic signal: The teacher holds up stoplight-colored signs or pieces of paper to indicate the noise level. Green = Good; Yellow = Becoming too noisy, lower the volume; Red = Stop - it is too noisy! Use your quiet voices or whisper. The teacher can hold up the sign at the front of the class or walk around with the sign raised while students are working. Train your students to pass along the signal to their partners or group mates when they see it and to remind others to adjust the noise level when yellow or red signs are shown.

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Group and pair work provide students frequent opportunities to practice using English with a variety of people in a lower-stakes setting. These collaborative learning situations are an essential part of a communicative EFL classroom. EFL teachers often pre-establish groups and pairs for either long-term or short-term purposes.

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Want more meaningful classroom management? Here are 8 questions teachers can ask themselves. - MindShift

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Want more meaningful classroom management? Here are 8 questions teachers can ask themselves. - MindShift

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Educator Carla Shalaby provides back-to-school strategies for teachers who want to manage their classrooms more effectively.

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Classroom English: 300+ Classroom Phrases For English Teachers • 7ESL

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Classroom English: 300+ Classroom Phrases For English Teachers

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Classroom English: 300+ Classroom Phrases For English Teachers

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Classroom English: 300+ Classroom Phrases For English Teachers • 7ESL

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Learn an extensive list of 300+ classroom English phrases for English teachers with ESL printable infographics.

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Page 2 of Lesson planning has various articles on TEFL: planning lessons for receptive skills, TESOL: planning to teach vocabulary, strategies to make the most of your lesson plan, and more learning material.

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Best Practices for Bringing Mindfulness into Schools

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Best Practices for Bringing Mindfulness into Schools

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Creating a safe place for our kids to learn might begin with creating some space for them to breathe.

By Caren Osten Gerszberg

On a cold March afternoon, the hallways were abuzz with chatter and giggles at Chatsworth Elementary School in Larchmont, New York. As the kindergarteners from Liz Slade's class ambled into their classroom from lunch and recess and put their jackets and lunch boxes into their cubbies, Slade asked, "Can today's mindful leader please come up front and begin?"

Isabella, a 6-year-old wearing a heart-clad gray shirt and polka-dot leggings, quietly took a cross-legged seat on the classroom rug facing her peers. With her palms facing up and resting on each knee, she began to tap her thumbs on each of her fingers, simultaneously repeating the words "I-am-calm-now" with each tap. Without hesitation, each of Isabella's classmates, along with their teacher, followed their mindful leader, tapping their thumbs and saying "I am calm now," gently lowering their voices after each repetition until the room grew quiet. Slade then asked her students to slowly make their way to their tables and take out their "feelings" journal.

"They are learning the experience of settling their body," said Slade. "What used to be a wild time now becomes a charming, sweet moment when we all take a pause and come back to being present."

Chatsworth is one of thousands of schools across the country that is bringing mindfulness into the classroom. Growing numbers of teachers, parents, and children are reaping the benefits that learning mindfulness-defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as "the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally"-can bring, including reduced levels of stress and anxiety, increased focus and self-regulation, and improved academic performance and sleep, among others.

Children today are faced with an unprecedented amount of stress and anxiety-25% of 13- to 18-year-olds will experience an anxiety disorder according to the National Institutes of Mental Health.

With heightened academic pressure trickling down to kids as early as kindergarten, resulting in less time for play and the arts, children today are faced with an unprecedented amount of stress and anxiety-25% of 13- to 18-year-olds will experience an anxiety disorder according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. Such early stress levels can negatively impact learning, memory, behavior, and both physical and mental health, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Escalating stress and pressure continue into middle and high school- a survey of 22,000 high school students conducted by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence found that, on average, students reported feeling negative emotions, such as stress, fatigue, and boredom, 75% of the time. An antidote to all this stress has never been needed more. Enter mindfulness.

Case Study: Mindfulness translates into improved academics

The Research on Mindfulness in Schools

While the implementation of school-based mindfulness programs for children in grades K through 12-such as Inner Resilience, Mindful Schools, Learning to Breathe, and MindUp to name just a few-is becoming more popular, empirical research proving the benefits of mindfulness is only beginning to emerge and more rigorous research will be needed over the coming decades. "We know very little about which programs work and what works for whom and under what conditions," said Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D., co-author with Robert Roeser of the recently published Handbook of Mindfulness in Education: Integrating Theory and Research into Practice, and a professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia. A 2015 study by Schonert-Reichl looked at the effectiveness of a 12-week social and emotional learning (SEL) program that included mindfulness training. Ninety-nine 4 th and 5 th graders were divided into two groups: one received MindUp's weekly SEL curriculum and the other a social responsibility program already used in Canadian public schools. After analyzing measures, which included behavioral assessments, cortisol levels, feedback from their peers regarding sociability, and academic scores of math grades, the results revealed dramatic differences. Compared to the students who learned the social responsibility program, those trained in mindfulness scored higher in math, had 24% more social behaviors, and were 20% less aggressive. The group trained in mindfulness excelled above the other group in the areas of attention, memory, emotional regulation, optimism, stress levels, mindfulness, and empathy.

Compared to the students who learned the social responsibility program, those trained in mindfulness scored higher in math, had 24% more social behaviors, and were 20% less aggressive.

Although in its early stages, research on the effects of school-based mindfulness programs is being fueled by three decades of studies on adults, which shows promise for its psychological and physiological benefits. Researchers are turning their focus to children and teens to figure out what, when, how much, and from whom the teaching of mindfulness works best. "We don't have conclusive evidence at this point about the benefits or impacts of mindfulness on youth," said Lisa Flook, Ph.D., associate scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "We do see the promise of interventions and trainings on outcomes related to grades, wellbeing, and emotional regulation." In other words, the research looking at the benefits of mindfulness in education is pointing toward the positive.

"Mindfulness is a powerful tool that supports children in calming themselves, focusing their attention, and interacting effectively with others, all critical skills for functioning well in school and in life," said Amy Saltzman, M.D., director of the Association for Mindfulness in Education, and director of Still Quiet Place. "Incorporating mindfulness into education has been linked to improving academic and social and emotional learning. Also, mindfulness strengthens some underlying development processes-such as focus, resilience, and self-soothing-that will help kids in the long run."

This is What a Mindful Classroom Looks Like

No one sees the value of a child's impulse control and focused awareness as clearly as a teacher. Liz Slade, who's been integrating mindfulness into her classroom for the last eight years, once observed a student walk up to a tall structure of blocks being built by a few of her classmates. "I watched this little girl raise her foot to kick the blocks, take a breath and then walk away," she said. "The kids can learn to notice distraction, self-regulate, and ask themselves, 'What do I need?'"

Photo Credit: The Crim Fitness Foundation

Slade came to mindfulness on her own about 10 years ago, and after seeing the benefits in her own life, she started experimenting in the classroom with practices that used breathing and mindful listening. "As I became more knowledgeable, experimenting and seeing what was working, I was really impressed," she said. "The kids verbalized to me that they felt they had tools to use to handle stressful situations, which was very moving to me."

Recognizing the impact of her own practice and the positive effects in her classroom-and with the support of her school's principal, a critical component-Slade went on to apply for a grant for her school to bring in a formal training program called Inner Resilience, created by Linda Lantieri, who is also a founding member of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). From there, the support and enthusiasm spread throughout the Mamaroneck School District among teachers, parents, and the administration, with the Inner Resilience training program now offered to teachers and support staff at all six of its schools, which serve 5,200 students. "The best way to implement mindfulness is in an integrated way with social and emotional learning," said Lantieri. "If we are going to be in schools we need to make sure we are helping kids learn better, and if mindfulness can help with that, great."

"The best way to implement mindfulness is in an integrated way with social and emotional learning," says Linda Lantieri, a founding member of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

Most experts feel that the best implementation of mindfulness involves a teacher having her own mindfulness practice or at least an understanding. "It is how they teach, not just what they teach, and if a teacher is mindful in a classroom, the kids learn to be mindful," said Tish Jennings, M.Ed., Ph.D., associate professor at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, who started a program called CARE (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) for Teachers. "Teachers are really under a lot of stress and we know their stress affects our kids, so supporting them is a win-win," said Jennings. Her recent research found that teachers trained in the CARE for Teachers program felt less time urgency and were more positive and more sensitive. In addition, children were more engaged and productive.

For Rosalie Choniuk, a teacher at P.S. 94 in the Bronx, New York, learning mindfulness through the CARE for Teachers program has been life-changing. "I am a completely different person since learning mindfulness-mentally, physically and emotionally," said Choniuk. As an ENL (English as a New Language) teacher, Choniuk wears several hats in her school, often providing coverage for teachers when they need to be out of the classroom. Before developing her mindfulness practice, Choniuk grew anxious every time she was to report to a particular fifth-grade classroom, where kids were unruly and fights often broke out. "Now when I go, instead of having anxiety, I set an intention to be calm and deal with them in a positive manner," said Choniuk. "I see the changes in the kids, who are less reactive, and the changes in myself, and now I look forward to being in their class."

Create a Culture of Mindfulness in Schools

If a classroom teacher is not able to provide mindfulness lessons to their class, schools often bring instructors in from outside the school. But long-term mindfulness programs can be difficult to maintain in the classroom with this model. "With an outside person, programs can work insofar as they can train teachers to keep it up," said Trish Broderick, Ph.D., founder of the Learning to Breathe program and a research associate at the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State University. "The advantage of bringing in a program to teach mindfulness is that it can be replicated and used effectively when taught by teachers or school staff who already have a relationship with the kids."

The Mindful Schools program prefers to call its approach an adoption-where mindfulness begins at the individual teacher level-versus a rollout, or top-down decision made by leadership to implement a new program. "We don't mandate this for all the teachers; we let it grow organically," said Camille Whitney, former head of research at Mindful Schools. "We encourage any number of people to take the course voluntarily, and encourage it as a group so they can practice and build a program together."

Photo Credit: The Crim Fitness Foundation

Integrating mindfulness into a health and wellness curriculum is another alternative for implementation. "Rather than adding on, a program can be supplemented into an existing program," said Broderick, whose Learning to Breathe program is often used as part of a middle or high school's health curriculum.

Last winter, Annie Ward, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Mamaroneck Union Free School District, wandered into a high school health class during a school visit. Ward was struck to see the students sitting quietly with their eyes closed and feet on the floor, as they listened to a guided meditation the teacher was playing on a CD. "It was great to see this meditation happen with no fanfare, watching the kids settle right into it and seeing that it was clearly a ritual," said Ward.

Transform School Culture

When teaching mindfulness is accepted and embraced, it can change the tone and tenor of an entire school, or district. In 2008, the South Burlington, Vermont, school district began an effort to train teachers and students, using the Inner Resilience program for younger grades, and the Learning to Breathe program for older ones. For two years, almost 130 teachers volunteered to take the mindfulness training, and the program continued to grow and expand more deliberately to include cafeteria staff and bus drivers, totaling 170 trainees.

On top of the school-wide effort, they also invited parents to participate by offering evening mindfulness classes and lectures by local experts and visiting instructors, and in some cases, regular updates from teachers on mindfulness activities in the classroom. Training the teachers before the children and parental involvement were two components integral to the success of the South Burlington district's efforts, according to Marilyn Neagley, former director of Talk About Wellness, an initiative dedicated to funding and developing programs for youth and family wellness.

Including parents when a program is introduced is a way to expose them to what mindfulness is and is not. And then there's the questionable connection to religion, which can, in some communities, be a hot topic. "One of the most important things we learned from public meetings with parents and the community was to be sure the training is completely secular with no religiosity at all," said Neagley. The teaching is based entirely on emerging neuroscience and keeping all references to Buddhism, and words commonly used during yoga, such as namaste, out of the school vernacular is critical. In some schools, the word yoga has been replaced with "mindful movement" so there is no confusion about the ways in which mindfulness is being taught. "What we are teaching is how to pay attention and be more aware, and how to implement that awareness in our lives," said Lantieri. "What we are teaching we teach in a secular context."

One of the most important things we learned from public meetings with parents and the community was to be sure the training is completely secular with no religiosity at all," says Marilyn Neagley, former director of Talk About Wellness.

For systemic change to take place in a district-as it did in South Burlington -administration and teachers need to figure out where mindfulness can fit, how it will work, and what is needed to bring it in. And there needs to be a point person who can move it forward. "Any district I'm working with has a superintendent or assistant superintendent who is thinking five years out, not just about one classroom," said Lantieri. "That's how SEL started, with one teacher who got excited."

After journaling time was over, Liz Slade's kindergarteners gathered again on the rug to do some imagination breaths. Going around the circle, each child paired a breath with a made-up hand movement and named it-a snowflake breath, a jellyfish breath, a clamshell breath-and the rest of the class mimicked the movement. After a while, when the kids got antsy, Slade asked them to get up and jump around. There were wiggles and tumbles and twists and then she said, "Now make a mindful statue." The children froze in place, and all you could hear was the sound of their breath.

Tips and Practices for Teachers and Parents

By Susan Kaiser Greenland

When children and teens practice appreciation painful thoughts and emotions sometimes show up. As parents we often want to ease our children's pain, but children can easily misinterpret guidance to be thankful as an indication that we're minimizing their challenges, even when that's not the case. So how should we help when painful emotions do come up? We should encourage kids to view how they feel through a wide lens, not to gloss over their feelings or push them aside. When kids acknowledge their hurt feelings and remember the good things in their lives, they embody an open mind. There's a practice I like to do called Three Good Things that gives children a chance to practice this holistic mind-set when they're upset and they need it the most.

Appreciation Practice: Three Good Things

When faced with a disappointment, we acknowledge our feelings, and then we think of three good things in our lives, too.

Leading the game:

1. Ask your child: "Do you ever feel disappointed by something or someone?"
Listen to children's stories.

2. Ask: "How did that make you feel? "
Acknowledge children's feelings and, if appropriate, talk about them.

3. Say something like: "I bet even when you're feeling disappointed there are good things happening in your life too. Let's name three good things together."

Tips for naming three good things:

1. Remind children that the point of this game isn't to pretend they're not upset when they feel upset. It's to remember that they can feel two things at once: they can feel grateful for good things while feeling sad, hurt, or disappointed by challenges.

2. If children or teens have trouble thinking of three good things on their own, brainstorm and help them discover some.

3. When kids understand that this game is not about sweeping their feelings under the rug, the phrase "three good things" can become a playful and humorous response to the minor gripes that show up in family life. For instance, if a young child spills a glass of apple juice and looks like he's going to cry, you can respond with something like, "Ahhh, that can be frustrating. Can you name Three Good Things while we wipe the counter?"

4. Parents can encourage kids to remind them to name Three Good Things when they're stuck on a trivial disappointment or minor annoyance, too.

5. To develop a habit of thankfulness, play Three Good Things around the dinner table, before bedtime, and at other times when the family is together (and no one is upset).

The more families carve out time to practice appreciation when life is good, the easier it is for parents and children to be thankful for the good things in life when times are hard.

At first, appreciation and thankfulness may feel like a mere intellectual exercise. Yet the more families carve out time to practice appreciation when life is good, the easier it is for parents and children to be thankful for the good things in life when times are hard. When that shift happens, appreciation becomes an integral part of a family's worldview and is no longer just an intellectual exercise.
This article was excerpted from Mindful Games © 2016 by Susan Kaiser Greenland. Illustrations © 2016 by Lindsay DuPont. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.

A Guide To Bringing Mindfulness into Your School

What can you do to bring mindfulness into your child's school? What are the best strategies, practices, and resources to implement a mindfulness program? Implementing a school-wide mindfulness program can take several years, so create a well-thought-out plan that includes presenting programming to parents and faculty. Be patient-making changes in schools can be a lengthy process. Here are a few things to consider:

Why teach mindfulness?
1) Kids are stressed.

1 in 8 children in the United States suffers from Anxiety Disorders. (National Institutes of Health)

1 in 5 children suffers from a mental health or learning disorder, and 80% of chronic mental disorders begin in childhood. (Child Mind Institute)

2) Teachers are stressed.

According to research, most teachers experience job stress at least two to four times a day, with more than 75% of teachers' health problems attributed to stress. (National Education Association)

The Benefits of mindfulness

Studies show that the benefits of mindfulness may include:

Increased focus, attention, self-control, classroom participation, compassion

Improved academic performance, ability to resolve conflict, overall well-being

Decreased levels of stress, depression, anxiety, disruptive behavior

How to bring mindfulness into schools

Start with teachers. Teachers are the vehicle for integrating change into a school's culture. Is there a teacher who already has a mindfulness practice, and is willing to champion the effort to bring mindfulness into your child's school? If not, are there teachers willing to learn more about the benefits of mindfulness for themselves, as well as their students?

Know the science. The research on teaching mindfulness to children is only in its beginning stages, yet there are studies that show its impact on both the body and the brain. Scientific evidence is an important component for bringing administrators and faculty to embrace your plan.
A few key studies:

A 2016 study in Frontiers in Psychology measured emotional well-being of 7- to 9-year-olds and found that a school-based mindfulness program improves higher-order thinking, and helps students become more engaged, positive learners.

A randomized controlled study in the Journal of School Psychology on more than 100 6th grade students found those who completed classroom-based, teacher-implemented mindfulness meditation were significantly less likely to develop suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm than the control groups.

A study of 4th and 5th graders published in Developmental Psychology found that students who received mindfulness training improved their cognitive ability and stress physiology, reported greater empathy, perspective-taking, emotional control, and optimism, showed greater decreases in self-reported symptoms of depression and peer-rated aggression, and were more popular.

Engage faculty, administrators, and parents. Including parents and school staff-and ideally support staff, such as aides, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers-will provide the basis for the most effective implementation of a school-based mindfulness program. If there is hesitation or resistance to mindfulness, take the time to offer the facts, benefits, and science, and emphasize the importance of teaching mindfulness in school in an entirely secular way.

Look for developmentally appropriate practices. Mindfulness in schools comes in different shapes and sizes-just like the kids-so research the programs that fit specifically with the ages in your school. There are some designed for the youngest ages, which differ in style and content from those designed for older grades.

Which mindfulness program is right for your teachers?

There are a variety of programs you can consider recommending to teachers and administrators, or for your own training. Some are online, some use recordings, and some may require in-person training. Here are a few to consider:

4. Cheryl Brause
Mindfulness Instructor
Daniel Warren School * Rye Neck, New York

On a recent visit to the Daniel Warren School, where she's a visiting mindfulness instructor, Cheryl Brause entered a second-grade classroom, sat down, and made eye contact with the children who settled on the floor in front of her. "Instead of feeling the need to tell them what to do, I could simply acknowledge them one by one, silently welcoming them into our time together, and this let them know that I am here to listen and to be present with them as we explore mindfulness together," said Brause. As her own practice and knowledge deepened through a yearlong mindful educator certification that she completed this summer, Brause recognizes the changes in her experience. "I'm much less distracted while teaching, thinking less about what I need to accomplish, and more present and focused on the kids, allowing the lesson to flow from there."

Brause came to mindfulness as a means to slow down and be more present in her own life. It began with a yoga practice, and after trying a variety of types of meditation, it was an MBSR class that exposed her to mindfulness. "I realized how quickly mindfulness resonated with me and made a real difference in my everyday life," said Brause. "It made me realize how distracted I had been and how little time I spent being fully present."

10 Mindful Books for Adults

1. Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom, by Patricia A. Jennings.

2. Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness In and Out of the Classroom, by Meena Srinivasan.

3. The Mindful Child: How to Help Your Kid Manage Stress and Become Happier, Kinder, and More Compassionate, Susan Kaiser Greenland.

4. Learning to Breathe: A Mindfulness Curriculum for Adolescents to Cultivate Emotion Regulation, Attention, and Performance, by Patricia C. Broderick.

5. A Still Quiet Place: A Mindfulness Program for Teaching Children and Adolescents to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions, by Amy Saltzman, MD

6. Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience, by Christopher Willard, Psy D

7. The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens: Mindfulness Skills to Help You Deal with Stress by Gina M. Biegel

8. Mindfulness for the Next Generation: Helping Emerging Adults Manage Stress and Lead Healthier Lives by Holly Rogers, MD, and Margaret Maytan, MD

9. Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens Hardcover by Christopher Willard PsyD and Amy Saltzman MD

10. Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain Hardcover , by Daniel J.Siegel, MD

8 Mindful Books for Children & Teens

1. Visiting Feelings, by Lauren Rubenstein

2. Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee Maclean

3. Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents), by Eline Snel.

4. Take the Time: Mindfulness for Kids, by Maud Roegiers

5. Have You Filled a Bucket Today? By Carol McCloud

6. Lemonade Hurricane, by Licia Morelli and Jennifer Morris

7. What does it mean to be Present? By Rana DiOrio and Eliza Wheeler

8. Anh's Anger, by Gail Silver

Read More

So much of communication is actually not about what we say. It's about how we come across, the tone of our voice, our body language, and all of that is an expression of our internal state. So this is one of the reasons why mindfulness is such an essential and... Read More

If you're trying to bring this into a school, or into an organization, you find the person most likely who's going to be open to it, and you start there. Maybe, you just start in that one classroom. Find a Mindfulness Ally I have a friend, she's a nutritionist and... Read More

Join the Mindful Educators Community: A free resource for teachers, students and communities

A free resource offering the best practices for bringing mindfulness into the classroom from 25 of today's leading mindfulness experts and educators. Read More

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Best Practices for Bringing Mindfulness into Schools Creating a safe place for our kids to learn might begin with creating some space for them to breathe.

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Digital Icebreakers That Shatter: Activities to Break the Ice

Ice breakers are a great way to encourage interaction, make introductions, boost involvement, and form communities. Whether you're leading a classroom on the first day of school or a new training session, this eBook will help you get things off on the right foot!

Contains nine unique activities including all of the instructions, templates, and resources you need to replicate them.

Showcases examples and suggestions for how to use each activity in your learning space.

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Digital Icebreakers That Shatter: Activities to Break the Ice Ice breakers are a great way to encourage interaction, make introductions, boost involvement, and form communities. Whether you're leading a classroom on the first day of school or a new training session, this eBook will help you get things off on the right foot!

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One of the most popular areas of research at the moment relates to wellbeing. With an increasing prevalence of stress in the workplace, higher levels of burnout, and higher instances of people suffering anxiety and depression, there are many experts sharing their thinking on wellbeing, and what people can do to help themselves to 'flourish'.

Positive psychologist Professor Martin Seligman has spent many years researching 'happiness'. Positive Psychology suggests that happiness is the natural result of building up our well-being and satisfaction with life. His studies have helped him identify 5 building blocks of well-being. Each of these elements is essential to our well-being and satisfaction with life. Together, they form the solid foundation upon which we can build a happy and flourishing life.

He calls his model the PERMA model :

P - positive emotion

E - engagement

R - relationships

M - meaning

A - achievement

Whilst PERMA has broad application to an individual's 'whole life', it is useful lens through which a leader can also assess the contribution they are having to the wellbeing of their teams. For example:

Positive emotion - What is the 'mood' like in your team? How are you providing positive feedback to your team members? What support are you providing people through an organisational change? Do your team members feel good about themselves and each other? Are you actively working to reduce stressors? Are workloads in the team fair and deadlines reasonable? Is there a sense of 'hope' or 'optimism' in your team? Do they have 'fun'? Is there transparency in decision making?

Engagement - Are people having the chance to do what they do best every day? Do they get the chance to use their 'strengths' - and work in their 'sweet spot'? Is anyone bored in their role - or stretched too much? Do people get to be focussed, have limited interruptions and have the chance to make progress in their work - every day?

Relationships - Do team members work collegially or as individuals? Do they seem to care for each other? Do they back each other up? Do you work on building trusting relationships with all of your team members? Do you explore opportunities for coaching or mentoring? Do actively work to improve cross functional / cross unit collaboration?

Meaning - Do team members appreciate the link between what they do and the value they provide? Do you actively work to eliminate non-value adding work? Do they get a chance to see how their contribution makes a difference? Do you know what their motivation 'hot buttons' are - and are they being pushed right now? Do you encourage people to build in reflective practice to their day?

Achievement - Do team members have the opportunity to be proud of what they are doing? Do you ensure people know what is expected of them? Do you tell them about what they are doing well and why? Do you provide appropriate information, resources, clarity and support? Do you help remove obstacles so people can make progress each day? Do team members get to develop and grow in their roles? Do you promote a culture of innovation? Do you empower others and delegate effectively? Do you make time to celebrate success?

Our info visual also includes an element called 'vitality' - not officially part of the PERMA model. It considers the importance of physical wellbeing. Do you ensure people have time to take breaks and recharge? Do you ensure people have a manageable workload so they don't miss opportunities to eat well, exercise and be with friends and family?

Allocate some time this week to reflect on the questions above, and identify some actions / behaviours / practices you should start doing, stop doing, continue doing...

** We have a program on Resilience that might be of interest to yourself - or your team. Click here for more information ...

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One of the most popular areas of research at the moment relates to wellbeing. With an increasing prevalence of stress in the workplace, higher levels of burnout, and higher instances of people suffering anxiety and depression, there are many experts sharing their thinking on wellbeing, and what people can do to help themselves to 'flourish'.

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How to Make Body Language Your Superpower

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How to Make Body Language Your Superpower

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How to Make Body Language Your Superpower

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Four Stanford students provide ways to enhance your nonverbal communication skills. This talk was a final project in Lecturer J.D. Schramm's Strategic Communication course in March 2014.

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Goal setting is a process in which the teacher works with the student on identifying academic, social and behavioral goals. Once the student has determined the goal, the teacher mentors the student in breaking down the goal, determining the steps necessary to achieve the goal and creating a time frame for learning the goal. As the student works on the goal, the student can use a self-monitoring checklist to track progress in the goal area and identify successes or steps the student has made toward reaching the goal.

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Goal setting is a process in which the teacher works with the student on identifying academic, social and behavioral goals. Once the student has determined the goal, the teacher mentors the student in breaking down the goal, determining the steps necessary to achieve the goal and creating a time frame for learning the goal.

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Oxford 3000 and Oxford 5000: The Most Important Words to Learn in English

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Oxford 3000 and Oxford 5000: The Most Important Words to Learn in English

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Growth Mindset Activities for Elementary Students: Stop Hearing “I Can’t!”

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Growth Mindset Activities for Elementary Students: Stop Hearing “I Can’t!”

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Teaching Growth Mindset in the Classroom with 9 Powerful Strategies

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Teaching Growth Mindset in the Classroom with 9 Powerful Strategies

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9 powerful ways of teaching growth mindset in the classroom, including the power of YET, learning from mistakes, and ways of facing challenges.
Children's belief systems fuel their performance and academic success within the classroom. They will accept what they've been taught about their own abilities and potential, and we as teachers have an opportunity within our classrooms to feed this by teaching a growth mindset.

The power of students' beliefs about themselves affects them profoundly. Growth mindset is very closely related to self-esteem. A child with very little self-esteem will not perform as well as a child who believes he/she CAN and WILL. Children can develop a growth mindset at an early age, and it is our job to promote a growth mindset in the classroom as much as possible. If we miss the opportunity, they may not adopt this valuable characteristic.

What is a "Growth Mindset"?

First of all, it's important to understand what the term "growth mindset" means. Growth mindset is the exact opposite of a fixed mindset. If a child has a fixed mindset, they believe they cannot change their character, creativity, or potential for success.

But, in contrast, a growth mindset has a more positive outlook, as a child believes he/she has control over their successes and failures.

If a child possesses a growth mindset, they can look at classroom tasks with a "go-getter" attitude and can bounce back from challenges with an optimistic point of view. When they fail at something, they understand that they can use that experience to learn new ways to achieve growth toward a goal.

Teaching Growth Mindset in the Classroom: 9 Powerful Methods

1. Provide attainable challenges.

Students need to be given clear and concise steps to take to achieve a goal. Whether it's how to solve a math problem, or how to write a paragraph, smaller goals attained over a period of time are easier to manage. By bravely attempting smaller steps leading up to a larger goal, in the end, the student will gain a feeling of success and achievement. In return, they will be more apt to put forth the necessary effort on more complex tasks. The confidence needed to achieve is built by a series of smaller achievements.

2. Give opportunities to face obstacles.

You don't want everything to come easily for your students. Providing them with only easy tasks and praising them or giving unwarranted rewards will be counter-intuitive to your goals. Learning a growth mindset requires facing challenges. Go ahead and give them the challenge words on their spelling list, or the complex writing assignment. These are obstacles that they must be able to face, and it gives them the practice they need to build a growth mindset of "This is going to be hard, but I will try and follow the steps I know to tackle it."

3. Teach and model good attitudes.

Find some good quality growth mindset books to read aloud that express or show examples of a growth mindset. One of my favorites is Flight School by Lita Judge, in which a determined little penguin achieves his dream of flying despite his many obstacles and apparent incapability. You can also model good attitudes by speaking aloud as you solve any problem, verbalizing your thought process. Use words that show you are persisting, confident, and capable, and teach the children why you are speaking to yourself in such ways. Encourage them to speak to themselves in that manner as well.

4. Teach how to accept constructive criticism.

It's important that children learn early on how to accept constructive criticism and use it as a stepping stone for growth. To do this, they must view moderate levels of criticism from appropriate sources as being a good and helpful thing. Teaching them this is no easy task. Some children can be highly sensitive and do not possess the needed perspective to receive constructive criticism. Be sure that when it is given, that constructive criticism is offered tactfully. And when you offer it, be sure to dole it out with grace and kindness, with an emphasis on the exact steps a child should take to meet the prospective goal. Take the time to teach a mini-lesson or two about what constructive criticism is, why it is given, and how it should be heard and received.

5. View failure as learning.

Children will pick up their cues from you - what you say, how you respond, and what you do about failure will determine their attitudes as well. Whenever possible, express failure in terms that are more positive. Instead of saying "You failed," say "Your efforts were not 100%," or "Your attitude towards this task was lacking," or at the very minimum, "You didn't take all of the necessary steps." Take the opportunity to review the actions or steps necessary to achieve, and encourage them to try again, practicing what they've now learned from the experience of not meeting expectations.

6. Provide group learning opportunities.

Children learn by cooperating in groups that their efforts and participation results in the success of a group. Their sense of responsibility for their group's performance will spur them on to try hard. As a result, they will feel a sense of success upon completion of the activity, building confidence that spreads into other activities.

7. Celebrate Successes and Minimize Failures.

If possible, reward children for their positive outlook and catch them in the act of showing a growth mindset. Listen attentively to conversations with them, and verbally praise them when you hear comments or see behaviors that show hard work, determination, following steps/procedures, or speaking affirmatively to themselves or to their peers. When mistakes occurs, show them ways they can learn from the experience and tell them verbally, instead of just providing them a grade. Give them opportunities to improve poor performance, by re-teaching and providing chances to re-do or edit their work after constructive criticism has been given.

8. Provide Opportunities to Celebrate the Success of Others.

Encourage students to share in the joy of another student's achievement in an area. Praise and reward things other than intelligence or good grades. When providing feedback or praise publicly, try to avoid saying "Elizabeth is so smart," and instead say "Look at how well Elizabeth took my instructions and followed them to a T," or "Congratulations to Elizabeth for putting forth such good effort into this task."

9. Teach perseverance and the power of YET

Students need to learn early on that learning new things does not come easy. It requires effort and perseverance. Teach them what this big and powerful word means through class discussions, sharing examples, and praising them for their efforts. Encourage students to not give up when things get hard and tell them that if they can't do something now, it doesn't mean they never will. Say "You can't do this YET, but keep going!" The word YET is a powerful one. Encourage students to use it themselves when they get stuck or feel frustrated. They will feel empowered to "keep on swimming" as Dory would say!

These 9 techniques for encouraging and teaching growth mindset in the classroom are generally accepted as best practices. What strategies do you use when teaching growth mindset in your classroom?

Resources for Teaching Growth Mindset

FREE Mantra Posters & Coloring Sheets

Here's a freebie for you to use in your classroom. Give students a growth mindset mantra poster to color and decorate. Hang in the classroom or take home to teach families about growth mindset.
Click the image to download.

Growth Mindset Resources

For the complete set of growth mantra posters, lessons, activities, and more, click HERE.

Teaching growth mindset is simple with this curriculum for K-2 which includes 5 detailed, research-based lessons filled with hands-on and mindful activities. Teach children about their elastic brain, a fixed and growth mindset, perseverance, learning from mistakes, failures, challenges, and the power of YET.

Watch the video to see the growth mindset unit for K-2 in action!

Teach grades 3-5? The complete growth mindset unit for 3-5 includes tons of helpful lessons and activities to help older kids build a growth mindset, learn about the parts of the brain, and how to set SMART goals. Click here to see everything included.

Watch the video to see the growth mindset unit for 3-5 in action!

mind+heart Social Emotional Learning Curriculum

Looking for more lessons and activities to help teach growth mindset and social-emotional skills? Check out the mind+heart SEL curriculum!

Learn More about Teaching Growth Mindset
15 Growth Mindset Books and Videos for the Classroom Growth Mindset Activities for Elementary Students Emotions for Kids
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9 Powerful Ways of Teaching Growth Mindset in the Classroom

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Simple strategies you can try today to teach growth mindset. Help students maintain a positive attitude, understand the power of YET, and show continued effort in school!

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How can I promote a growth mindset in ELT?

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How can I promote a growth mindset in ELT?

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The concept of the 'growth mindset' has been sweeping through mainstream education in the US and the UK since psychologist Carol Dweck first presented her research on this seventeen years ago. It's not without criticism, and you can read more about that here, but its basic principles have really taken hold. I'm going to use this post to look beyond the 'growth mindset' buzzword and explore how these ideas might be applicable in an ELT context. In particular, I want to consider how small changes could make a big impact to young learners.
Growth mindsets vs fixed mindsets
What's ability and where does it come from? This idea lies at the heart of the mindset question.

Dweck sees this as a spectrum. At one end we have the 'fixed mindset' people. These are the folk who believe that, whatever you do, successes are the result of innate ability. At the other end of the spectrum there are people who think success comes from actions, such as learning and hard work. These are the people with 'growth mindsets'.

Why is it important? How does it relate to students and learning?

The growth mindset concept has been seized upon as a way of thinking about student achievement, and ways that it might be improved.

In an environment where the 'fixed mindset' idea is dominant, students think of their intelligence and talents as permanent character traits. The perception is that innate ability, or lack of it, determines how well students do at school. Not very motivating! Fixed mindset people tend to dread failure, focussing on how bad it makes them look.

In an environment where the idea of the 'growth mindset' is cultivated, however, students believe that effort can develop their talents. Failure for these guys is seen as a learning opportunity.

In the language classroom, students' attitude to risk-taking makes a noticeable difference to their competence. As we all know, this is especially true when it comes to speaking skills. So, lessening the fear of failure in a broader sense could have a direct impact on student performance in this area. For a classroom atmosphere to really promote growth, students of any subject need to feel out of their comfort zone, but never vulnerable. I'd suggest that this is a difficult balancing act that language teachers are quite familiar with. You can read more about failure and risk-taking in my post here.

Not too surprisingly, there is research to suggest that students with a growth mindset are more motivated to learn and exert effort. Dweck's research with Year 7 maths students shows that learners with a growth mindset are far more likely to take on more challenging work and succeed at it than those with a fixed mindset, for example.

What changes can I make?

At this point, you're either thinking:

"Well yes, but I can't possibly make big changes." (Hello there, fixed mindsets! I'm one of you, much of the time, so no judging here! But it's probably good for us all to step back and realise that's what's going on.)

or

"Tell me more!"

Five changes for a new outlook

Let's think about some simple ways to foster growth mindsets among children.

Embracing failure needs to become part of daily life. The message we ought to be giving is that the most important thing is taking on the challenge, trying different strategies and working hard to see something through.

This runs counter to popular culture. When was the last time you saw a Facebook update where an adult admitted to a failure? Or even talked about what they'd learnt through a difficult process? In an age where our perception of reality is distorted by social media filled with carefully curated profiles giving only the positive spin on experience, it's more important than ever that children and teens grow up with the idea that failures should be celebrated for their learning potential. In the words of James Morehead, parents around the dinner table and teachers in the classroom should perhaps be asking, 'Who had a fabulous struggle today?!'

Embrace the power of the word 'yet'. If a child says they can't do something, correct them: they can't do it yet. It's a tiny change with an empowering message.

Praise is a tricky business. Despite our best intentions, Dweck claims that by praising a child for being clever, we may in fact be encouraging them to develop a fixed mindset, and, in the process, limiting their learning potential. You can read more on this here.

The G word is a particular hot potato. As parents and teachers, how often do we find ourselves saying 'Good job!' or 'Good girl! You ate all your vegetables!' or 'Father Christmas is coming. Have you been good?'. Any kind of labelling is problematic, and calling a child 'good' is apparently no exception. Because once a child believes they are good enough, on some subconscious level they may stop trying to be brilliant.

Avoiding these pitfalls is easier said than done, of course. The recommended alternative is to praise the PROCESS not the RESULT. By praising children for their effort, we send a clear message about valuing the way they engaged with the task.

I know that I tie myself in knots trying to avoid saying the wrong thing. With a bit of practice, however, you can train yourself to use substitute phrases:

I like the way you...

I like that you didn't give up!

You listened really carefully to the instructions!

The way you did blah blah blah was excellent!

(Though I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to say on the rare occasions when my pre-schooler eats his broccoli. Nothing, probably.)

Find ways to encourage intrinsic motivation. The idea goes: If a child is excited about reading a book they enjoy, then don't praise them for it - they'd read it anyway! Rather, model inquisitive behaviour, by showing an interest and a desire to understand, and by asking questions. Sounds reasonable to me.

You can read more tips on giving praise here.

Allowing time for meaningful reflection should be part of the shift to a growth mindset methodology. To be successful, reflection needs to be mindful, not formulaic.

Some ideas for questions to ask (in L1 if necessary):

Was I resourceful?

Did I collaborate well with my classmates?

Did I learn something new?

Did I accept failure and learn from it?

What can I do differently next time?

There are also some great ideas for exploring the growth mindset idea with older ELT students in this article by Michelle Shin.

To make a real change, parents need to buy into the process. Teachers can promote understanding among parents of how failure can be beneficial, and of how to react to their children's setbacks in a way that encourages motivation and learning.

We talk a lot about students' mindsets, but it's equally applicable to adults in all walks of life, including... yes you guessed it... teachers, teacher trainers, school managers and materials writers. Research suggests that teachers who have fixed mindsets are less likely to believe in the talents of their students, and less likely to provide students with strategies for improvement.

As educators, it's worth asking ourselves some uncomfortable questions about our own attitudes and what we model to students:

How often do I get out of my own comfort zone?

Do my students or colleagues see me challenging myself, too? For example, do they know if I'm learning a language, what I find difficult and what strategies I employ?

How effectively do I reflect on my own struggles and successes?

How often do I ask 'What have I learnt?' Do I record this anywhere (for example in a journal or blog)? Do I share it?

Can I better support my colleagues in their growth, too? How?

I'm pretty sure we'd all say there's always room for improvement, right?

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How can I promote a growth mindset in ELT?

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The concept of the 'growth mindset' has been sweeping through mainstream education in the US and the UK since psychologist Carol Dweck first presented her research on this seventeen years ago. It's not without criticism, and you can read more about that here, but its basic principles have really taken hold.

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Feedback Structures that Foster aGrowth Mindset

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Feedback Structures that Foster aGrowth Mindset

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Simplify it.https://t.co/eP1p7NTtgf via Teachers Thrive#teaching #teacherlife #education pic.twitter.com/bUu2LSCSib
— 𝗧𝗖𝗘𝗔 (@TCEA) June 30, 2023

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6 Ways To Use Google Jamboard In The Classroom - LittleYellowStar

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Google has been creating free useful apps for educators before I even started my teaching career. I am a huge fan of Google Classroom, Google Doc, Google Slides and Google Form. However, it wasn’t until I was tasked with the challenge of virtual learning did I discover Google Jamboard. And boy, what…

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Fun formative assessment: 12 easy, no-tech ideas you can use tomorrow

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Formative assessment means providing students with opportunities to show you what they are learning while you are teaching it. These assessments inform

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Understand how important classroom management is in a mixed-ability class! Head over to our blog. ->https://t.co/l0xXaKOelB

#ELT #ESL #ClassroomManagement

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Successful classroom management in a mixed-ability class

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Understand how important it is to believe in your students and manage your classroom effectively for a positive learning environment.

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Understand how important classroom management is in a mixed-ability class! Head over to our blog. ->https://t.co/l0xXaKOelB

#ELT #ESL #ClassroomManagement https://t.co/Ycos4FY3Lq

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Understand how important classroom management is in a mixed-ability class! Head over to our blog. ->https://t.co/l0xXaKOelB#ELT #ESL #ClassroomManagement pic.twitter.com/Ycos4FY3Lq
— Oxford ELT (@OUPELTGlobal) June 23, 2023

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Successful classroom management in a mixed-ability class

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Understand how important it is to believe in your students and manage your classroom effectively for a positive learning environment.

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Understand how important classroom management is in a mixed-ability class! Head over to our blog. ->https://t.co/l0xXaKOelB

#ELT #ESL #ClassroomManagement https://t.co/Ycos4FY3Lq

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Understand how important classroom management is in a mixed-ability class! Head over to our blog. ->https://t.co/l0xXaKOelB

#ELT #ESL #ClassroomManagement https://t.co/Ycos4FY3Lq

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Understand how important classroom management is in a mixed-ability class! Head over to our blog. ->https://t.co/l0xXaKOelB

#ELT #ESL #ClassroomManagement

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Successful classroom management in a mixed-ability class

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Understand how important it is to believe in your students and manage your classroom effectively for a positive learning environment.

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75 Questions Students Can Ask Themselves Before, During, And After Teaching - TeachThought PD

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75 Questions Students Can Ask Themselves Before, During, And After Teaching

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75 Questions Students Can Ask Themselves Before, During, And After Teaching

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Are there questions students can ask themselves while you're teaching? Questions that can guide and support their own thinking and awareness before, during, and after your teaching?

Of course, this assumes you're 'teaching' a traditional 'lesson' with a learning objective or target. If not, this may not be very helpful. This is also a list that, like many I've done, could get unnecessarily long fast. In some ways, this functions something like a KWL chart. The idea here, however, is less about brainstorming before or after a lesson, but rather having questions useful to guide the student so they can know what to expect.

A few tips to get started:

There are way, way too many questions here to be useful packaged as they are. Cherry-pick which of these are helpful and add others you think could be useful.

You'll likely need to reword them for the students you teach. I absolutely would not simply hand them to students and hope they 'figure it out.'

You might consider scaffolding or front-loading them early in the year for the pay-off later in the year

You could also consider differentiating them-assigning specific questions to specific students at specific times based on what you think might help

You could model answers or do think-alouds so students understand how and why to use them

Make the questions work for your students rather than the other way around

Have students that 'get it' more quickly than others share some of their responses so students can benefit from hearing thinking in 'student-friendly' language
75 Questions Students Can Ask Themselves Before Teaching & Learning 1. What's being learned? Before, During, And After Teaching
What's the topic? Now, what exactly is being learned within that topic?

What does it seem like the teacher wants us to focus on? What are they emphasizing?
2. What seems most important about what's being learned?
Is this is a concept, competency, or skill? Something else? Is it specific, like a skill, or vague like a concept or idea?

Is this review of something we've already learned, extending previous learning, or new learning?

At first glance, what's the 'big idea' of what's being learned?

What is the teacher explicitly stating is important? What are they implying is important?
3. What do I already know and not know about this?
What about this can help me grow as a person?

If I only learn one thing from this lesson, what should it be?

How does what's being learned fit into what I already know?

What other 'things' (content areas, real-world thinking and jobs, etc.) is this connected to?
4. Why is this important?
Where have I seen this or something like it before (inside and/or outside of the classroom)?

What do others seems to know about this or 'things' like it?

Why is learning this important?

What is the value of this to me as a person?
5. What is my role in learning this?
How do others use this 'in the real world' and how might that change how I approach the lesson or activity?

How do I think I might use this is in my daily life?

What do I need to be prepared (knowledge, vocab, materials, schedule, etc.)? What resources will be available to me?

What mindset will benefit me the most?
During Teaching & Learning? 1. What's going on?
How can I use my strengths to learn this?

What do I need to do in order to learn this? What happens if I don't?

What's going well?

What makes sense?
2. What seems most important?
What's interesting?

What's surprising?

What's being emphasized?

SNCC: What's simple? What's new? What's confusing? What's complex?
3. What am I doing to help me learn?
How can I separate what's 'new,' what's 'confusing,' and what's actually 'complex' and not confuse the three?

How could I concept what's being learned to indicate a hierarchy or priority?

What specific questions do I have?

How can I document questions and/or the most important ideas for future reference? Visual notes? Combination notes? Do I know how to take Cornell Notes? Record the audio? Simply 'pay attention' and 'do the work'?

When learning this, what are others doing (or what have others done in the past)?

What observable 'things' should I be 'doing' or not doing to help me learn?

4. What is my mind doing?

How is it helping me or could it be better helping me? Where is my attention?
5. What is this connected to?
Where do I need curiosity? Self-discipline? Enthusiasm? Patience? An open mind?

What's my mindset-has it changed since the beginning of the lesson?

What am I thinking or feeling and how it is affecting my learning?

What does this remind me of? Where do others use this in the real world?
After Teaching & Learning 1. How did that go?
What patterns am I seeing?

What have I learned previously that can help me learn this and what do I think can or should be 'taught' next?

What do others seem to be learning?

What was most interesting?
2. What seems most important about what was learned?
What did I learn? Did I seem to learn what lesson was designed for me to learn? If not, what did I learn?

How might what I 'missed' affect me (in the classroom and in life)?

What do I still 'need help' with? Who can I talk to about the lesson to review key ideas or clarify misunderstandings?

What seems less important and what seems more important about what was learned? Or is this something where what was learned doesn't have a clear hierarchy?
3. What should I do with what I've learned and how should I respond to what I didn't learn?
Is what I feel like seems most important any different than how things seemed before and during the lesson? How and why?

What's 'less important' about what was learned and how does it relate to what's 'most important'?

How does my life personally change the value of what was learned (and any hierarchy therein)?
4. Based on what we learned today, what might we learn tomorrow?
What should I do with what I learned and know?

Who should I 'tell' or share this with?

Who would care and/or benefit the most?

What will I be able to do with this?
5. How have I been changed by what I've learned?
Where does what we're learning seem to be 'heading'?

When we've learned things like this in the past, what happens next?

What could I learn about this tomorrow with help? By myself?

What might someone who knows this better than I do 'learn next'?
*previously published at TeachThought.com
How do I feel about this content? Interested? Enthusiastic? Curious? Bored? Indifferent?

What's different about me? Something new that I know? Something new that I can do? Is this a small change or a new way of seeing things? If the change seems useful to me or like 'a good thing,' what can I do to further, extend, or deepen that change?

How else could I learn this-maybe better?

How might I think of this learning in 40 days? 40 weeks? 40 months? 40 years?

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75 Questions Students Can Ask Themselves Before, During, And After Teaching - TeachThought PD

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Are there questions students can ask themselves while you're teaching? Questions that can guide and support their own thinking and awareness before, during, and after your teaching? Of course, this assumes you're 'teaching' a traditional 'lesson' with a learning objective or target. If not, this may not be very helpful.

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Meet ALDO: Amazing Lesson Design Outline

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MEET ALDO: AMAZING LESSON DESIGN OUTLINE

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MEET ALDO: AMAZING LESSON DESIGN OUTLINE

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Ever wish you had an easy-to-follow checklist when designing learning for students? I know I have...often. Some of my colleagues effortlessly design amazing lessons, but I have to plod through each point. But lesson design is something that is critical to ultimate success in the classroom for each student. That's why I'd like to take a moment to share my latest version of the outline I use. You can also explore this choice board organized with the outline in mind:

As you work through this list, ask yourself, "What schema or plan do I follow?" If you show me your district's mandated lesson plan format, well, that may not get the job done. At the end of this blog entry, I'll share a heuristic, a Google Doc, that you can use. I like it because it combines many resources in one place and works to help you more efficiently plan your lesson design.

For now, let's work through the major components of my Amazing Lesson Design Outline (ALDO). Ready? Let's get started.

Did You Know?

Robert M. Gagne's Theory of Instruction (1965) offers some suggestions worth revisiting. He divides instruction into nine events. Those events include 1) Gaining attention; 2) Informing learners of objectives; 3) Stimulating recall of prior learning; 4) Presenting the stimulus; 5) Providing learning guidance; 6) Eliciting performance; 7) Providing feedback; 8) Assessing performance; and, 9) Enhancing retention and transfer. You might also enjoy Mike Schmoker's Focus: Elevating the Essentials visual or Madeline Hunter's version. Some prefer the Gradual Release Model. When considering amazing lesson design, it's important to remember this is well-traveled ground. Find what inspires you.

1 - Relationships First: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Connections

"Teachers must place a strong emphasis on rigor, relevance, but most of all, on developing relationships with children," says Dr. Asa Hiliard, former Director of Urban Studies at Georgia State University. I've seen this firsthand. Let me share that with you.

Watching my wife, a masterful second grade teacher, you'd never guess she had an outline. Her lesson design first includes building powerful relationships with her students. It has her finding out what TV shows they like, what they like to eat, their life story, and building connections through an ongoing conversation with her class. She focuses in to connect academic content to specific students. Her approach leaves me in awe. When she asks her students to get to work, they do. When it's time to behave, they do.

The first part of my lesson design outline? It's build relationships. As Dr. James Comer (Yale University) says:

No significant learning can occur without a significant relationships of mutual respect, teacher to student.

"Brain-based learning can positively impact student motivation, attitudes and academic achievement," say researchers. Without relationships, students won't trust what you have to say. Absent powerful relationships between students, you have no community. And that would be a tragedy because of the next step.

2 - Assessment

As coaches and teachers, we have to, as Dr. John Hattie says, "Know our impact." If you don't know where students are, you will be unable to give them feedback on future growth. Worse, students won't be able to self-regulate their own learning when given feedback. Students have to be clear on what they are to know and do. They have to know where they stand in their own learning relevant to growth.

To gauge where students are in their learning, you need to assess them before, during, and after. And those assessments can be low-stakes. They can tie into a wide variety of strategies that are proven to work, including retrieval practice and spaced vs massed practice. They can also rely on a wide variety of digital tools designed for that purpose.

Tip: You may want to use the SOLO Taxonomy to chart student growth. Learn more about SOLO via this blog entry.

3 - Teaching and Learning

The first step for those savvy with brain-based learning research is to engage students. Once you have figured how to best engage students, give thought to another question.

"What high-impact approaches align to the learning intention?" That's a question that kept me up and reading. How can we align effective, evidence-based strategies to students' learning needs? You can find a variety of evidence-based, high-effect size strategies that you can use at the best time.

Remember, only rely on one strategy at a time. For example, don't try to put in place two teaching strategies like direct instruction and flipped classroom. Pick one. The same for students. Avoid trying to teach students to do concept mapping and outlining at the same time. Focus on one until you and your students can do it really well.

4 - Assess and Gauge Progress

As you did in Step Two, take a moment to re-assess students. Discover where they are in relation to the learning objective(s). You can rely on existing goals.

A Cry for Help: I Can't Form an Online Community

An email request for help came in the other day. My diagnosis? The teachers had not put in place (yet) what they needed to create a sense of community. As a result, it made everything they tried to do difficult. My prescription? Intensify relationship-building efforts with teachers and students. Also, put into place the following tips:

1- Model for teachers social and emotional learning opportunities for virtual classroom use appropriate for the middle school students.

2- Set up criteria, such as a rubric, not as a staff assessment but, for a self-assessment checklist teachers can use when planning lessons. That checklist is the Amazing Learning Design Outline (ALDO) that appears later in this blog entry.

3-Adapt evidence-based strategies to support instruction. For example, this includes direct instruction, jigsaw for introducing concepts and ideas, classroom discussion and/or reciprocal teaching for digging deeper, problem-based teaching, and self-reported grades. Remember, use only one strategy at a time depending on the learning intention.

4-Implement coaching for results. I like Diane Sweeney's model and suggest you explore the Coaching for Results series (Parts Three, Four, and Five are relevant here). Diane Sweeney has a handy one-pager that is designed to assist coaches with teacher work. It incorporates formative assessments, including entry/exit tickets.

5 - Reflect

Make sure to take some time to reflect on what worked and what did not for both you and your students. What role did technology play in enhancing teaching and learning? You might also ask yourself, What could I do differently next time? How can I assist students in becoming more metacognitive about their own learning experience?

Remember that reflection isn't only for you as the teacher. It is also for students to engage in.

Get ALDO, the Amazing Lesson Design Outline

Ready to get the ALDO? Keep it by your side as you are planning a lesson or preparing activities. The links to digital tools and resources will soon become gateways to new ideas.

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Meet ALDO: Amazing Lesson Design Outline

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Ever wish you had an easy-to-follow checklist when designing learning for students? I know I have...often. Some of my colleagues effortlessly design amazing lessons, but I have to plod through each point. But lesson design is something that is critical to ultimate success in the classroom for each student.

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6 Alternatives To Bloom's Taxonomy For Teachers

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6 Alternatives To Bloom’s Taxonomy For Teachers

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6 Alternatives To Bloom’s Taxonomy For Teachers

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by TeachThought Staff

At the end of the day, teaching is about learning and learning is about understanding.

And as technology evolves to empower more diverse and flexible assessments forms, constantly improving our sense of what understanding looks like-during mobile learning, during project-based learning, and in a flipped classroom-can not only improve learning outcomes but just might be the secret to providing personalized learning for every learner.

This content begs the question: why does one need alternatives to the established and entrenched Bloom's? Because Bloom's isn't meant to be the alpha and the omega of framing instruction, learning, and assessment. Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy does a brilliant job of offering 'verbs' in categories that impose a helpful cognitive framework for planning learning experiences, but it neglects important ideas, such as self-knowledge that UbD places at the pinnacle of understanding, or the idea of moving from incompetence to competence that the SOLO taxonomy offers.

So with apologies to Bloom (whose work we love), we have gathered six alternatives to his legendary, world-beating taxonomy, from the TeachThought Learning Taxonomy, to work from Marzano to Fink, to Understanding by Design.
6 Alternatives To Bloom's Taxonomy For Teachers 1. The TeachThought Learning Taxonomy

The TeachThought Learning Taxonomy orders isolated tasks that range from less to more complexity into six domains:

1. The Parts (i.e., explain or describe a concept in simple terms)

2. The Whole (i.e., explain a concept in micro-detail and macro-context)

3. The Interdependence (i.e., explain how a concept relates to similar and non-similar concepts)

4. The Function (i.e., apply a concept in unfamiliar situations)

5. The Abstraction (i.e., demonstrate a concept's nuance with artfulness or insight)

6. The Self (i.e., self-direct future learning about the concept)

2. UbD's Six Facets Of Understanding

Created by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe to work with and through their Understanding by Design model, the 6 Facets of Understanding is a non-hierarchical framework designed to help teachers evaluate and assess student understanding.
3. Marzano & Kendall/Taxonomy

image attribution: Matt Drewette-Card

Marzano's and Kendall's taxonomy arranges a score of processes into six categories, from lowest to highest level of difficulty. Accompanying each category are verbs and phrases that may prove useful for teachers in designing assessments and evaluating mastery:

1. Retrieval (i.e., executing, recalling, recognizing)

2. Comprehension (i.e., integrating and symbolizing)

3. Analysis (i.e., matching, classifying, analyzing, generalizing, specifying)

4. Knowledge Utilization (i.e., decision-making, problem-solving, experimenting, investigating)

5. Metacognition (i.e., monitoring accuracy, monitoring clarity, process monitoring, specifying goals, examining motivation)

6. Self System Thinking (i.e. examining emotions, examining efficiency, examining importance)

4. The Taxonomy Of Significant Learning

Dr. Dee Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning describes attributes of 'significant' learning as opposed to 'less significant' learning (the former having greater endurance, resonance, and potential to improve student learning, and the latter being more classroom-centered and less relevant or applicable outside of the classroom). The center of the taxonomy is the 'sweet spot' of learning design.
5. Webb's Depth Of Knowledge Framework

image attribution: Edmentum

Webb's Depth of Knowledge framework is designed to promote rigor, and organizes specific strategies and higher order thinking skills into four domains, moving from lower to higher complexity:

1. Recall

2. Skill/Concept

3. Strategic Thinking

4. Extended Thinking

6. The SOLO Taxonomy

image attribution: Structural Learning

SOLO stands for the "structure of observed learning outcomes." Created by John Biggs and Kevin Collis, the SOLO taxonomy is made up of five levels of understanding, as illustrated above. According to Biggs, "At first, we pick up only one or few aspects of the task (unistructural), then several aspects that are unrelated (multi-structural), then we learn how to integrate them into a whole (relational), and finally, we are able to generalize that whole to as yet untaught applications (extended abstract)."

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6 Alternatives To Bloom's Taxonomy For Teachers

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by TeachThought Staff At the end of the day, teaching is about learning and learning is about understanding. And as technology evolves to empower more diverse and flexible assessments forms, constantly improving our sense of what understanding looks like-during mobile learning, during project-based learning, and in a flipped classroom-can not only improve learning outcomes but just might be the secret to providing personalized learning for every learner.

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Youtube videos for course content development

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Youtube videos for course content development

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15 Most Inspiring TED Talks from Teachers and Educators

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15 Most Inspiring TED Talks from Teachers and Educators

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Here are 15 of the most inspiring TED talks from teachers and educators, ranked according to the number of total views they received from a combination of outlets, including Ted.com and YouTube.

1. The Key to Success? Grit - Angela Lee Duckworth

April 2013

Psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth left a demanding job in consulting to become a seventh grade public school math teacher. What she quickly learned is that IQ was not the only difference between her best and worst students. She believes what we need in education is a better understanding of students and learning from a motivational, psychological perspective. After teaching, she went back to grad school to complete her Ph.D. in psychology. In her research, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success - grit. "Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint," she says. In this talk, she explains her theory of grit as the key to success.

2. How to Escape Education's Death Valley - Sir Ken Robinson

April 2013

"Education is not a mechanical system, it's a human system," says author and educator Sir Ken Robinson. And he believes America's system needs work. The dropout crisis is just the tip of the iceberg; what about the kids who are staying in school but are disengaged? In this enlightening talk, Robinson shares three principles on which human life flourishes and how they are contradicted by today's culture of education. He believes kids prosper best with a broad curriculum, and real education must give equal weight to science, math, the arts, humanities, and physical education.

3. Every Kid Needs a Champion - Rita Pierson

April 2013

In her 40 years as a professional educator, Rita Pierson learned a lot. One of the most important things she learned is the extreme value and importance of human connection - building relationships with her students. Here she shares the amazing power of apology, positivity, and optimism. It's a tough job, but "teaching and learning should bring joy," she says. Listen up, teachers and educators: Be a champion to your kids and help them to be a better somebody.

4. Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education - Salman Khan

March 2011

Salman Khan is one smart guy. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an M.Eng and B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in mathematics from MIT. While working as a hedge fund analyst, he was tutoring his cousins and began posting videos to aid in their learning. He discovered just how helpful his videos were to his cousins and others, allowing people to study on their own time, at their own pace. What resulted is the Khan Academy, a non-profit organization with the mission of providing a free world-class education to anyone, anywhere. He believes teachers can use this technology to humanize the classroom.

5. The Danger of Silence - Clint Smith

July 2014

A PhD candidate at Harvard University and a 2014 National Poetry Slam champion, Clint Smith has four core principles posted in his classroom: read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, tell your truth. He tells his students his truth; he once gave up speaking for Lent, which led him to realize the danger of silence. In this poetic, riveting talk he asks, "Who needs a soapbox when all you've ever needed is your voice?"

6. A Girl Who Demanded School - Kakenya Ntaiya

October 2012

Many Americans take education for granted. It's not the same for girls in the small village of Enoosaen, Kenya, where girls are brought up to be wives and mothers. Kakenya Ntaiya wanted to become a teacher and had to make an extreme deal with her father and negotiate with village elders to be able to attend high school and college. Now an educator and activist, Ntaiya tells her incredible story and how she returned home to build The Kakenya Center for Excellence, a boarding school for girls in her community.

7. Math Class Needs a Makeover - Dan Meyer

March 2010

High school math teacher Dan Meyer believes there is a huge problem in math education today. He says, "I teach high school math. I sell a product to a market that doesn't want it but is forced by law to buy it." In this talk, Meyer gives 5 symptoms that we're doing math reasoning wrong, including the eagerness for formula. We live in a world of quick fixes, but that's not how we should be teaching math. He discusses the importance of formulating the problem and the need for more patient problem-solvers.

8. 3 Rules to Spark Learning - Ramsay Musallam

April 2013

After a life-threating heart condition, chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam translated advice from his surgeon into 3 simple rules for his classroom. In this "explosive" talk, Musallam shares these rules he uses in his lesson planning today. If teachers can leave behind their role as "disseminators of content" and instead become "cultivators of curiosity and inquiry," they might just spark imagination and bring more meaning to the school day.

9. Teach Teachers how to Create Magic - Christopher Emdin

October 2013

What can teachers learn from master story-tellers or even great rap artists? According to longtime educator Christopher Emdin, they can learn magic. Teacher education covers theory and standards but not much about the basic skills - the magic - teachers need to engage students. Emdin is confident that magic can be taught and discusses transforming teacher education in order to teach teachers how to create it.

10. My Daughter, Malala - Ziauddin Yousafzai

March 2014

"In many patriarchal and tribal societies fathers are usually known by their sons, but I'm one of the few fathers who is known by his daughter, and I'm proud of it," says education activist Ziauddin Yousafzai. His daughter, Malala, an education advocate in her own right, was shot in 2012 and later, at age 17, became the youngest-ever Nobel Prize recipient. In his talk, Yousafzai discusses his belief in education for emancipation and teaching his students - girls and boys - to unlearn lessons of obedience and honor, part of a "vicious cycle" that continues in many patriarchal and tribal societies.

11. Our Failing Schools. Enough is Enough! - Geoffrey Canada

May 2013

Times have changed but not in education. In an insightful and entertaining talk, education advocate Geoffrey Canada asks why we haven't we allowed innovation to happen in our schools. "Our business has refused to use science," he says. America is holding on to a one-size-fits-all business plan that doesn't make sense. Canada advocates the need for starting kids earlier (pre-kindergarten), proper testing and evaluation, and providing support to kids. Above all, keep innovating.

12. How to Learn? From Mistakes - Diana Laufenberg

November 2010

From the one-room schoolhouse to encyclopedias to the Internet, access to information has come a long way. Social studies teacher Diana Laufenberg says we need to change the way we look at education. Rather than looking at school as the place students come to get information, it should be a place for experiential learning, embracing failure, and empowering student voices. "The things that kids will say when you ask them and take the time to listen is extraordinary," says Laufenberg.

13. Kids, Take Charge - Kiran Bir Sethi

November 2009

Kiran Bir Sethi was infected with the "I can" bug when she was 17. When she founded the Riverside School in India, it became a lab to infect others and teach children to become aware, enabled, and empowered to change the world around them. "When children are empowered, not only do they do good, they do well."

14. Hey Science Teachers - Make it Fun - Tyler DeWitt

November 2012

Science, don't take yourself so seriously! In this engaging talk, high school science teacher Tyler DeWitt walks us through a horror story - about viruses and bacteria. He explains how he uses story-telling to help his students understand the "boring" textbook. He implores teachers to take science less seriously and to fight the "tyranny of precision." There are a growing number of online resources that can help, including DeWitt's own videos.

15. My Story, from Gangland Daughter to Star Teacher - Pearl Arredondo

April 2013

"Everyone has a story. Everyone has a struggle. And everyone needs help along the way." Hoping to connect with her students, Pearl Arredondo shares these words and her story with her students. Growing up the daughter of a high-ranking gang member, she understands the need for a support network so that kids don't become victims of their own circumstance.

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15 Inspiring TED Talks from Teachers and Educators

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Here are 15 of the most inspiring TED talks from teachers and educators, ranked according to the number of total views they received from a combination of outlets, including Ted.com and YouTube. Psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth left a demanding job in consulting to become a seventh grade public school math teacher.

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Simple Steps for Effective Lesson Planning

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SIMPLE STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE LESSON PLANNING

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SIMPLE STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE LESSON PLANNING

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Whether your lesson plans are detailed multi-page documents submitted to your administration each week, or they're mostly post-it notes with concise bullet points, effective lesson planning requires strategy and intent. Great lessons need clear direction, purpose, pacing, and solid pedagogy. (Side note: If you are looking for engaging step-by-step lesson plans for the ELA classroom - especially for sub plans - check out my ELA Lessons Bundle with over 60 individual plans).

While planning such successful, well-balanced, dynamic lessons takes time (think of all those observation lessons), if you get into a strong habit of working through a few key steps, it simplifies the whole process. And, as with all habits: the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Soon you internalise the steps and find yourself doing them without even realising it.

Below are the four simple steps - G.A.D.E - I go through in my mind every time I plan a lesson. Do I always write them out in detail? Nope, but I still always work through them as I plan.

What do you want students to be able to do, know, or understand by the end of the lesson?

The most effective way to plan a route for a journey, is to start with knowing where you are trying to get to, right? Instruction is most effective when you, and your students, have a firm idea of the goal. When they know what they are working towards, the lesson is far more purposeful. Your goal should be able to be expressed in a single sentence or two: the more focused it is, the easier it is for students to digest and understand. I even suggest writing this on the board at the start of the lesson, for students to be able to see and reference.
Examples of Goals:

- Students will understand the impact of varying sentence patterns, in term of creating tone.

Having read chapter 5 of -The Great Gatsby, students will be able to explain how an author develops a character in a narrative through the use of indirect characterization. - Students will be able to effectively back up their thoughts and ideas with appropriate textual evidence.

How are you going to break down the substance of the lesson, to help students reach the goal?

This is the nuts and bolts of the lesson: the lecture, activities, exercises, etc. Ask yourself: What are the most effective methods to help guide students to the goal: A lecture? A group discussion? A reading exercise? Worksheet practice? A video? A writing exercise? Station work? The key here is breaking the lesson down into varied, manageable chunks: rarely should you plan a 60 minute lesson with just one single activity. You want to think about dividing the class up into 10-20 minute segments with varied activities and modes of learning: all geared towards the overall goal.

Examples of Segments for a 60 minute lesson:

How will you, and your students, know if they have achieved the goal?

- Ask strategic questions: "How do you know that? Why did you write that?"
- Use exit slips
- Have students produce something which requires them to use what they have learned
- Anonymous class polls or quizzes (or Kahoots!)
- Self-reflections or evaluations
- Written work / Projects

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Simple Steps for Effective Lesson Planning

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Whether your lesson plans are detailed multi-page documents submitted to your administration each week, or they're mostly post-it notes with concise bullet points, effective lesson planning requires strategy and intent. Great lessons need clear direction, purpose, pacing, and solid pedagogy.

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Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’ (Opinion)

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Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’ (Opinion)

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Carol Dweck, who parsed the difference between a “fixed” and a “growth” mindset, clarifies her theories of intelligence.

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Beyond Collaboration: The Power of Joint Work - ASCD

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Beyond Collaboration: The Power of Joint Work

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Beyond Collaboration: The Power of Joint Work

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Beyond Collaboration: The Power of Joint Work - ASCD

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Teacher learning influences student learning and achievement. Students get better when teachers get better-and teachers get better when they come to know and understand their practice differently and thus shift their beliefs about what they and their students are able to accomplish. When the learnin

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10 Of Our Best Articles About Classroom Management For Teachers

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What Are The Best Articles About Classroom Management For Teachers?

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What Are The Best Articles About Classroom Management For Teachers?

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You can create the lesson plan to end all lesson plans - the most individualized, engaging, and differentiated activities with opportunities for collaboration and hands-on learning - but if you are unable to manage the classroom effectively, all the time and energy invested into creating those lesson plans may be for naught.

Classroom management sounds simple enough, but it involves deploying and sustaining a number of strategies, protocols, and boundaries in order to create an environment where students can learn. According to Robert Marzano, classroom management involves all of the following:

Setting clear expectations and consequences

Establishing clear learning goals

Exhibiting assertive behavior

Providing flexible learning goals

Taking a personal interest in students

Using equitable and positive class behaviors

Utilizing strategies to manage high-needs students

Teachers manage their classrooms with words, signals, symbols, cues, proximity, and nonverbal communication. They understand that every student behavior (positive or negative) represents a communication or need, be it attention, validation, structure, or help. A study by Brophy (1996) found that the most effective classroom managers did not treat all students the same; rather, they employed different strategies with different types of students.

Teachers with strong classroom management skills possess a 'with-it-ness' that develops through experience. Research shows that effective classroom management reduces undesirable behaviors from most of the students in a classroom and increases student participation in the lesson (Arin, et al., 2016).

Effective classroom management skills are foundational to student achievement. We've compiled our top 12 best articles on classroom management for novice and experienced teachers alike to refresh their skills, reframe their thinking, or try a new approach. Focus specifically on strategies for elementary or high school, dig into supporting 'difficult' students or learn how to 'gamify' classroom management.

There's something in this list for every teacher at every level. Let us know which classroom management strategies have been the most impactful for you and your learners!

Our Top 12 Best Articles On Classroom Management
The 4 Dos And Don'ts Of Effective Elementary School Classroom Management 8 High School Classroom Management Strategies That Empower Students The Building Blocks Of A Responsive Approach To Schoolwide Behavior 20 Ways To Quiet A Noisy Classroom Assuming The Best: The Power Of Teaching Through Positive Assumption When We Ask Black Teachers To Discipline Black Students 6 Strategies For Dealing With 'Difficult' Students A Process For Responding To Your Most Challenging Students When Students Break The Rules, Emphasize The Effect On Others Improving Discipline In High School By Gamifying Good Behavior 4 Timeless Elements Of Strong Student-Teacher Relationships Every Classroom Is A Team And Every Teacher Is A Coach 40 Of The Best Classroom Management Apps
References

Arın, E., Tunçer, B. K., & Demir, M. K. (2016). Primary school teachers' views on constructive classroom management. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 8(3), 363-378.

Brophy, J. E. (1996). Teaching problem students. New York: Guilford.

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12 Of Our Best Articles About Classroom Management For Teachers

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We've compiled our best articles on classroom management for novice & experienced teachers to refresh their skills & reframe their thinking.

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Active Listening Strategies For Charismatic Student Conversations

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What Are The Best Strategies For Teaching Students To Listen Actively?

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What Are The Best Strategies For Teaching Students To Listen Actively?

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Active listening involves employing different behaviors to enhance understanding among two or more people in a conversation.

An active listener is present in the conversation. They hear the speaker's words and pay attention to their body language in order to make connections. The brain is engaged, picking up on overarching themes or repeated phrases that indicate the essence of a speaker's message. The fewer people engaged in a conversation, the more difficult it is to feign active listening.

Such a skill is particularly important for 21st-century learners. In an age of information overload and distractions galore, some may find it more difficult to sustain attention during a conversation. Active listening conveys empathy and understanding. It builds trust and confidence. It signals that the listener cares about the speaker and/or their message.

Active listening is, perhaps, the foundation to a successful Socratic Seminar, Fishbowl conversation, or round of Philosophical Chairs. Beyond class discussions, active listening is essential for assignments and activities that require students to read, listen to podcasts, interview subjects, provide peer feedback, and participate in restorative justice sessions.

We can set up a dichotomy between active and passive listening-it's (mostly) obvious when someone is feigning interest, mildly distracted, or totally checked out of a conversation. Teachers and students alike can tell, when they are speaking, if someone is annoyed, preoccupied, or bored.

As teachers incorporate more elements of collaborative learning in their lesson plans, it is critical that they model active listening to their students. Modeling active listening is just as important at the high school level as it is at the elementary level-educators should never assume that their students are practiced in these seemingly simple skills. Below, we've listed ten strategies to model for students in order to improve their active listening skills. Students should have multiple opportunities to practice these skills, and we've included some ideas for how teachers can model each strategy. If any readers have used activities that we haven't listed, we'd love to hear them.

10 Active Listening Strategies To Propel Charismatic Conversations Among Students (And Teachers!)

(1) Use affirming facial cues, body language, gestures, and nonverbal signs

With active listening, the listener is physically oriented toward the person speaking. Whether sitting or standing, the listener faces their body toward the person speaking. Their eye contact is focused on the speaker, instead of on other distractions or priorities. An active listener's posture is upright and engaged, versus slouched or withdrawn. One way that we teach this most basic active listening skill is by pairing students up and posing a question, such as, "What was the most meaningful moment of your life?" "What do you look for in a friend?" "Describe your favorite vacation and explain what made it great." Depending on the bond between the students, you may want to ask more low-stakes questions for less-familiar students, who may be hesitant to show vulnerability with a new peer. After you've give the pairs some time to think about their response, you then share that the first person will have an entire minute to share their answer, while the second person can only listen and communicate using their body. After a minute, they switch roles. In this minute, the listener can nod, raise their eyebrows, lean forward, clasp their hands, smile...but they cannot speak. It is quite entertaining to watch the listeners, on the one hand, struggle with not being able to chime in with their own experience-but that's exactly the point. Forcing them to refrain from speaking helps them focus on the behaviors they can employ to show empathy and understanding. On the other hand, more reticent speakers may struggle with filling an entire minute with speech. This struggle brings us to our next strategy.

(2) Embrace silence

Ahh, silence...usually paired with the adjective 'awkward,' silence in a conversation is where the magic really happens. Just because someone is not speaking doesn't mean that they aren't thinking. Silence is often an indicator of thought processing, metacognition, and introspection. In an activity like the one we just described, there is bound to be silence in the first round or two of practicing active listening. It may be wise for teachers to-after the first round-ask them how they felt about the silence. Did it make them feel anxious? Did it make the speaker feel frozen? Did it make the listener want to fill the gap? What is it about silence that makes us feel awkward? These are questions worth pondering. In the second round of the activity we've described, the teacher can direct the students to pay attention to the moments of silence in the conversation. The listener might consider why it is difficult for the speaker to continue elaborating or sharing. What might be holding them back? Fear? Distrust? Lack of experience or opinion? These kinds of considerations are the (literal) unspoken factors in a dialogue that can communicate volumes. Challenge the listeners within the pairs to amplify their nonverbal skills, depending on why they think the speaker is silent. This could be a time to maintain eye contact, offer a knowing glance, or give an encouraging nod.

(3) Summarize or paraphrase the speaker's statements back to them using key words

Once students have gotten more comfortable with using their nonverbal communication skills, teachers can offer up a new prompt to discuss and a new challenge for the listeners. In this round, the listeners are able to speak. "Yippee!" they will surely scream...but not so fast! The focus is still on the speaker. This time, the only time the listener can speak is to paraphrase the speaker's statements back to them. Paraphrasing is different than simply repeating what the speaker said, word for word. It involves paying attention to certain words that the speaker touches on in order to discern a theme. Based on the speaker's language, what did an experience mean to them? How do they feel about a particular topic? What reasoning do they use to justify their actions? The paraphrasing does not have to occur at the end of the sixty-second round-the listener can paraphrase throughout the minute. The teacher may even double the speaker's talking time in order to allow for more meaningful dialogue. Paraphrasing can be an incredibly powerful tool. It is a way to show that we are paying attention, that we care, that what the speaker is saying is important and we value their experiences and emotions. Each student should get several rounds of practice with this critical skill, which is essential for any job or relationship in the so-called 'real world.'

(4) Ask probing or clarifying questions

Students who have had sufficient practice with paraphrasing the speaker's words back to them can build upon their active listening skills by asking questions meant to clarify or prompt the speaker to elaborate. Truly another form of paraphrasing, asking questions demonstrates that the listener has attempted to process the sensory data they've received and are now intent on filling in the gaps. Asking questions are a way to participate in a conversation without dominating. In the next round of active listening practice, the teacher might ask a new question of the speaker, then inform the listeners that they are now allowed to ask questions. Ideally, they will ask open-ended questions meant to elicit more than a simple yes/no answer; that being said, yes/no questions certainly aren't off limits! It is important that the teacher model this process. Depending on the nature of the prompt, it might be helpful for the instructor to offer sentence stems to the listeners. For example, let's say the question for this round is, "What role do you play in your family?" Examples of sentence stems to respond to the speaker might include: "What makes you feel that way?" "How do you know?" "What do you like about your role?" "How would you like to change your role?" These questions compel the speaker to think more deeply about their response while conveying that the listener is paying attention and genuinely curious about the response.

(5) Acknowledge (or better yet, synthesize) a previous point before sharing your thoughts

Now it's time to take the listening process a step further. In this next round of dialogue, the pairs can continue, or the teacher can combine two dyads to form a group of four. More participants means more information and emotion to absorb, which can be more challenging for students who are new to active listening. Regardless of student combinations, the next level of active listening challenges students to be both speakers and listeners at the same time. The one caveat is that-before sharing their own thoughts-each student must acknowledge a previous point first. Sentence stems are definitely useful in this round. Stems like "I understand how..." and "when you said..." and "I agree with" are a few helpful examples. By acknowledging the previous speaker's point, the new speaker demonstrates that they are not merely chomping at the bit to share their own input. It shows that they take the previous speaker's message into consideration and synthesize it with their own opinions, beliefs, or experiences, before speaking up.

(6) Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Readers may recognize this strategy, as it's one of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In fact, Dr. Covey considers this habit to be the most important principle he has learned in interpersonal communication. After practicing in a group of four, the instructor can then combine two groups into a large group of eight. Obviously, a minimum of five minutes is needed for a larger conversation. One strategy we've talked about before at TeachThought is the 3 Before Me strategy, where the student must seek input from three other students before asking for help from the teacher. We're going to adjust that strategy for active listening practice, and stipulate that any one participant in the group must wait until at least three different people have spoken until they make another contribution. This strategy can be especially helpful before engaging students in a larger group discussion, like a Socratic Seminar. Many times, those who are new to student-driven conversations are so concerned with getting a good grade on a discussion-based assignment that they just spout off whatever statements they prepared without acknowledging the previous point. This kind of behavior often leads to a confusing, disjointed conversation, in which there is little synthesis of ideas. By implementing the revised 3 Before Me strategy, the student is challenged to truly hear, absorb, and synthesize what the other group members are sharing before making their own statement.

(7) Emphasize and refer back to the goal of the conversation

Speaking of disjointed conversations, it's natural for students to veer off track in a larger group discussion. In these cases, the teacher (who is meant to serve as the facilitator) may feel compelled to pause or interrupt the conversation. Instead, we suggest using visual cues to remind students of the conversation purpose. One way of doing this is for the teacher to point to a verbal reminder displayed on the whiteboard. Ideally, the teacher can challenge the students to monitor themselves. Perhaps they can come up with an unobtrusive hand signal-since they will be facing each other in a student-led dialogue, it makes more sense for the students to remind each other without the teacher diverting attention away from the conversation. Of course, all of this is predicated on the notion that the instructor or group of students establish a purpose of conversation in the first place. The purpose can come in the form of a statement or an essential question, such as: "What can schools do to improve the learning experience for students?" We speak from experience when we say that many students may want to share personal anecdotes regarding teachers they dislike, subjects they despise, or times when they felt a sense of injustice. In these cases, students run the risk of veering off topic from the purpose of the conversation. It's not that their experiences aren't valid or relevant, but perhaps the students aren't taking their contributions a step further by offering a solution for avoiding the things about school that don't work for them.

(8) Resist 'sides' and insist on both critical thinking and empathy

One way to generate substantial student dialogue is to ask relevant-hough possibly controversial-questions. These could be questions that relate to social, cultural, political, or economic ideas, such as: "How should we interpret the 2nd Amendment of the United States Consitution in the 21st Century?" or "Why are vaccine/mask mandates a good or bad idea?" or "What is considered 'hate speech' and to what extent should it be censored or not?" These are popular topics in today's digital and physical society, and students may be eager to share their beliefs. On the flipside, students may also be more resistant to opposing ideas. That being said, if we are intent on producing actual solutions in the real world, we know that involves compromise and a merging of values. One idea to give students practice in resisting sides is to challenge them to take on the stance that opposes their personal beliefs. Teachers may be met with an onslaught of groans and protests, but they can then emphasize the purpose of the conversation (which, in this case, is to develop empathy and critical thinking skills). Naturally, students may need more time to prepare for these conversations-to research opposing viewpoints, gather data, and seek anecdotal evidence. How does this all help with active listening? By having to research the opposing viewpoint, the students are essentially priming themselves to receive information that counters their own experiences.

(9) Consider diverse perspectives and experiences

Considering different perspectives is different from resisting sides. While resisting involves preventing a type of behavior, considering involves welcoming a type of behavior. Resisting sides involves staying close to neutrality while considering diverse perspectives involves considering everything that exists outside of neutrality. In 50 Everyday Formative Assessment Strategies, we detail an activity called Ongoing Conversations, where students receive a piece of paper with a 2-column chart. In the left column are enough spaces for each student in the class; on the right side is an empty box large enough for a person to write 1-3 sentences. The teacher can ask a question or issue a prompt, and the students then have a given amount of time to discuss the question or prompt with a new partner. They summarize their partners' responses in the right column next to that partner's name. The challenge is for each student to talk to a brand new person in class before talking to one person twice. This is a great activity for classes where students tend to gravitate toward the same partners. It can also be useful as a means of 'breaking the ice' before a potentially intense conversation. Actively listening to (and summarizing) one response at a time can prime the student for what they might hear in a larger group discussion. Because all students have spoken to each other, and hopefully listened with intent, there is less pressure to insist on the validity of one's own beliefs and more focus on empathy and critical thinking.

(10) Keep an open mind

There are many similarities between our last two active listening strategies. Considering diverse perspectives is representative of open-mindedness. What we want to emphasize here is how the body can 'shut the mind off' from receiving information that isn't compatible with our well-established beliefs. With a young, impassioned group of students, it is likely that some may become upset, frustrated, sad, or even afraid in a more controversial conversation. When our sympathetic nervous systems are highly activated (aka, we are "triggered'), we may go into fight, flight, or freeze mode. This involves a biological reaction in which the body prepares to go on the offensive, shut down, or run away. When we are on high alert, we may not be receptive to listening with empathy. We may not prioritize the importance of critical thinking. Something that was said or communicated nonverbally signals to us that we are in danger or that we are being judged. It may be helpful for the instructor to lead a class in mindful breathing techniques if they know that a conversation has the potential to get intense. In How Can You Teach Mindfulness To Your Students? we offer ten tips for helping students to practice patience, transfer, and using their imagination to maintain equilibrium of the nervous system. Prior to engaging in a large group discussion, it may be useful to teach students how to recognize when their own nervous system energy is increasing, as well as when others are getting worked up. It's not that we necessarily want to prevent these spikes in energy-being able to recognize them and manage them can help us stay receptive. Not only are we learning how to actively listen to others, but we can actively listen to our own bodies.

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Active Listening Strategies For Charismatic Student Conversations

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Active listening involves employing different behaviors to enhance understanding among two or more people in a conversation. An active listener is present in the conversation. They hear the speaker's words and pay attention to their body language in order to make connections.

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Meet ALDO: Amazing Lesson Design Outline

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Ever wish you had an easy-to-follow checklist when designing learning for students? I know I have...often. Some of my colleagues effortlessly design amazing lessons, but I have to plod through each point. But lesson design is something that is critical to ultimate success in the classroom for each student. That's why I'd like to take a moment to share my latest version of the outline I use. You can also explore this choice board organized with the outline in mind:

As you work through this list, ask yourself, "What schema or plan do I follow?" If you show me your district's mandated lesson plan format, well, that may not get the job done. At the end of this blog entry, I'll share a heuristic, a Google Doc, that you can use. I like it because it combines many resources in one place and works to help you more efficiently plan your lesson design.

For now, let's work through the major components of my Amazing Lesson Design Outline (ALDO). Ready? Let's get started.

Did You Know?

Robert M. Gagne's Theory of Instruction (1965) offers some suggestions worth revisiting. He divides instruction into nine events. Those events include 1) Gaining attention; 2) Informing learners of objectives; 3) Stimulating recall of prior learning; 4) Presenting the stimulus; 5) Providing learning guidance; 6) Eliciting performance; 7) Providing feedback; 8) Assessing performance; and, 9) Enhancing retention and transfer. You might also enjoy Mike Schmoker's Focus: Elevating the Essentials visual or Madeline Hunter's version. Some prefer the Gradual Release Model. When considering amazing lesson design, it's important to remember this is well-traveled ground. Find what inspires you.

1 - Relationships First: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Connections

"Teachers must place a strong emphasis on rigor, relevance, but most of all, on developing relationships with children," says Dr. Asa Hiliard, former Director of Urban Studies at Georgia State University. I've seen this firsthand. Let me share that with you.

Watching my wife, a masterful second grade teacher, you'd never guess she had an outline. Her lesson design first includes building powerful relationships with her students. It has her finding out what TV shows they like, what they like to eat, their life story, and building connections through an ongoing conversation with her class. She focuses in to connect academic content to specific students. Her approach leaves me in awe. When she asks her students to get to work, they do. When it's time to behave, they do.

The first part of my lesson design outline? It's build relationships. As Dr. James Comer (Yale University) says:

No significant learning can occur without a significant relationships of mutual respect, teacher to student.

"Brain-based learning can positively impact student motivation, attitudes and academic achievement," say researchers. Without relationships, students won't trust what you have to say. Absent powerful relationships between students, you have no community. And that would be a tragedy because of the next step.

2 - Assessment

As coaches and teachers, we have to, as Dr. John Hattie says, "Know our impact." If you don't know where students are, you will be unable to give them feedback on future growth. Worse, students won't be able to self-regulate their own learning when given feedback. Students have to be clear on what they are to know and do. They have to know where they stand in their own learning relevant to growth.

To gauge where students are in their learning, you need to assess them before, during, and after. And those assessments can be low-stakes. They can tie into a wide variety of strategies that are proven to work, including retrieval practice and spaced vs massed practice. They can also rely on a wide variety of digital tools designed for that purpose.

Tip: You may want to use the SOLO Taxonomy to chart student growth. Learn more about SOLO via this blog entry.

3 - Teaching and Learning

The first step for those savvy with brain-based learning research is to engage students. Once you have figured how to best engage students, give thought to another question.

"What high-impact approaches align to the learning intention?" That's a question that kept me up and reading. How can we align effective, evidence-based strategies to students' learning needs? You can find a variety of evidence-based, high-effect size strategies that you can use at the best time.

Remember, only rely on one strategy at a time. For example, don't try to put in place two teaching strategies like direct instruction and flipped classroom. Pick one. The same for students. Avoid trying to teach students to do concept mapping and outlining at the same time. Focus on one until you and your students can do it really well.

4 - Assess and Gauge Progress

As you did in Step Two, take a moment to re-assess students. Discover where they are in relation to the learning objective(s). You can rely on existing goals.

A Cry for Help: I Can't Form an Online Community

An email request for help came in the other day. My diagnosis? The teachers had not put in place (yet) what they needed to create a sense of community. As a result, it made everything they tried to do difficult. My prescription? Intensify relationship-building efforts with teachers and students. Also, put into place the following tips:

1- Model for teachers social and emotional learning opportunities for virtual classroom use appropriate for the middle school students.

2- Set up criteria, such as a rubric, not as a staff assessment but, for a self-assessment checklist teachers can use when planning lessons. That checklist is the Amazing Learning Design Outline (ALDO) that appears later in this blog entry.

3-Adapt evidence-based strategies to support instruction. For example, this includes direct instruction, jigsaw for introducing concepts and ideas, classroom discussion and/or reciprocal teaching for digging deeper, problem-based teaching, and self-reported grades. Remember, use only one strategy at a time depending on the learning intention.

4-Implement coaching for results. I like Diane Sweeney's model and suggest you explore the Coaching for Results series (Parts Three, Four, and Five are relevant here). Diane Sweeney has a handy one-pager that is designed to assist coaches with teacher work. It incorporates formative assessments, including entry/exit tickets.

5 - Reflect

Make sure to take some time to reflect on what worked and what did not for both you and your students. What role did technology play in enhancing teaching and learning? You might also ask yourself, What could I do differently next time? How can I assist students in becoming more metacognitive about their own learning experience?

Remember that reflection isn't only for you as the teacher. It is also for students to engage in.

Get ALDO, the Amazing Lesson Design Outline

Ready to get the ALDO? Keep it by your side as you are planning a lesson or preparing activities. The links to digital tools and resources will soon become gateways to new ideas.

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Meet ALDO: Amazing Lesson Design Outline

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Ever wish you had an easy-to-follow checklist when designing learning for students? I know I have...often. Some of my colleagues effortlessly design amazing lessons, but I have to plod through each point. But lesson design is something that is critical to ultimate success in the classroom for each student.

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Practical Ideas for EFL Teachers To Correct Students’ Writing

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Practical Ideas for EFL Teachers To Correct Students’ Writing

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Practical Ideas for EFL Teachers To Correct Students' Writing

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Although writing is a very important skill. Many teachers hate teaching it because it takes a lot of time to correct. Correcting students' vocabulary and grammar mistakes is something that should be done on a regular basis. However, with writing, it is a little bit different story.

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Student-Made E-Books: A Beautiful Way to Demonstrate Learning

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Student-Made E-Books: A Beautiful Way to Demonstrate Learning

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Listen to this post as a podcast:
You've reached the end of a unit or year, and you want students to demonstrate their learning in a way that requires them to synthesize information, apply it in new ways, and reflect on how they have grown. To achieve any of these goals, an end-of-unit exam doesn't quite cut it. You could have students do presentations...that's always an option. But here's one more: Have students create their own PDF e-books, packaging up some aspect of their learning into a finished digital product they can enjoy and share for years.

What Kind of E-Book Are We Talking About?

When you hear the term "e-book," you might be thinking about the kind of thing you can read on a Kindle or Nook, and yes, those are e-books. But a broader definition includes PDF files, which don't require any kind of special device to read. They also don't require any high-tech software to create; I'll show you how that works in a minute.

To get these templates, see the link at the end of this post.

Because this kind of e-book is ridiculously easy to create, having students make them is an excellent option for all kinds of final projects. And because lots of businesses now use e-books like these in their own work, assigning them to students gives them an extra skill they can take into their adult lives.

The Power of Visual Packaging

For some students, having an opportunity to put their words together with images and arrange it all into one tidy package creates a different kind of work ethic than you'd find if you just assigned a paper. Because the finished looks and feels a lot more like a "real" product of some kind, and has the potential to be a visually appealing one at that, you may find that students put a bit more effort into it.

Paintings in these images were created by Gwenn Seemel. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

So Many Possibilities

Once your students have learned how to create e-books (and there's a video below that shows them how), you can use this medium to have them create a massive array of projects. E-books could be assigned to a whole class or as a way to offer additional challenge to advanced students. Here's just a beginning list of ideas for student-created e-books:

Mini-Textbooks that teach a single concept or group of ideas from your course material.

Book Reports or analyses that take the reader through the most significant moments of a book, compare several books to one another, introduce a selection of works from one author, or look at a central theme (e.g., "Images of Fatherhood") as it is depicted in a collection of books.

Portfolios of a student's art, photography, writing, or poetry.

To get these templates, see the link at the end of this post.

Year-in-Review Books that explore concepts from the school year like lessons learned, best moments, special people, turning points, or important challenges throughout the year.

Children's Books that explore a concept learned in class or simply tell a good story.

Guidebooks offering advice and instructions for next year's students.

How-To Books that teach the reader something about which a student has some level of expertise (think informational writing!)

Collections where students curate their favorite books, movies, quotes, video games, apps, memories, or even photos of meaningful places, objects, or people.

Reflective Journals students keep and build throughout the year to document their growth or thinking on a particular topic.

Memoir-Style Books that document a student's journey through a Genius Hour or 20% Time project.

Club or Activity Books that chronicle the accomplishments of members of a sports team or club.

Professional Portfolios that could eventually be used as part of a job search. Teachers could also build their own professional portfolios in this same way.

How to Make an E-Book

If you have PowerPoint, which many, many people do, you already have all the tools you need to create an e-book. This video shows you how it works:

Get the Templates

The designs used to create the e-books in this post are available as individual PowerPoint templates or all together in a bundle. Each template also includes a link to the same template set up in Google Slides!! Click the image below to learn more:

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Student-Made E-Books: A Beautiful Way to Demonstrate Learning

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Need a fresh idea for the end of a unit? Instead of writing a paper or doing presentations, have students create PDF e-books they can enjoy and share for years.

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Sample integrated language skills activites

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Sample integrated language skills activites

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A Trip to Cambridge

PEACHEYPUBLICATIONS.COM

A Trip to Cambridge

Reading Task

Read the text and find three things you would like to do in Cambridge.Use the notepad to make a note of the things you want to do.

A Trip to Cambridge

Research Task

Find the three places from the article on the map.Save a link to each of the places in your notes.

A Trip to Cambridge

Viewing Task

Watch the video.Are any of the places you want to visit shown in the video?

A Trip to Cambridge

Research Task

Find out about the weather in Cambridge for the next three days and add to your notes.

A Trip to Cambridge

Writing Task

Write a plan for your three day trip to Cambridge.

Find an image of each place you will visit to add to your text.

PeacheyPublications.com

Director - PeacheyPublications

Role 1

Online Course Designer

Role 2

Content Author

Role 3

Learning Technology Consultant & Trainer

Role 4

Nik Peachey

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A Trip to Cambridge PEACHEYPUBLICATIONS.COM A Trip to Cambridge Reading Task Read the text and find three things you would like to do in Cambridge.Use the notepad to make a note of the things you want to do.

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Based on the Behaviourist view that learning to speak a foreign language - like other skills - was simply a question of correct habit formation, it was thought that repeating phrases correctly lots of times would lead to mastery of the language.

Nowadays we know that language learning is not like this - it is a far more complex and creative process - and language is a lot more than just a list of structures to be memorised.

An approach based mainly or only on language drills is unlikely to find many adherents today. However, drilling remains a useful technique in the classroom if it is used appropriately.

What drills can be useful for

What drilling is
At its simplest, drilling means listening to a model, provided by the teacher, or a tape or another student, and repeating what is heard. This is a repetition drill, a technique that is still used by many teachers when introducing new language items to their students. The teacher says (models) the word or phrase and the students repeat it.

Other types of drill include substitution drills, or question and answer drills. Substitution drills can be used to practise different structures or vocabulary items (i.e. one or more words change during the drill).
Example:
Prompt: 'I go to work. He?'~
Response: 'He goes to work.'

In question and answer drills the prompt is a question and the response the answer. This is used for practising common adjacency pairs such as 'What's the matter?', 'I've got a (headache).' or 'Can I have a (pen) please?', 'Yes, here you are.' The words in brackets here can be substituted during the drill.

In all drills learners have no or very little choice over what is said so drills are a form of very controlled practice. There is one correct answer and the main focus is on 'getting it right' i.e. on accuracy. Drills are usually conducted chorally (i.e. the whole class repeats) then individually. There is also the possibility of groups or pairs of students doing language drills together.

What drills can be useful for
For the learners, drills can:

Provide for a focus on accuracy. Increased accuracy (along with increased fluency and complexity) is one of the ways in which a learner's language improves so there is a need to focus on accuracy at certain stages of
the lesson or during certain task types.

Provide learners with intensive practice in hearing and saying particular words or phrases. They can help learners get their tongues around difficult sounds or help them imitate intonation that may be rather different from that of their first language.

Provide a safe environment for learners to experiment with producing the language. This may help build confidence particularly among learners who are not risk-takers.

Help students notice the correct form or pronunciation of a word or phrase. Noticing or consciousness raising of language is an important stage in developing language competence.

Provide an opportunity for learners to get immediate feedback on their accuracy in terms of teacher or peer correction. Many learners want to be corrected.

Help memorisation and automisation of common language patterns and language chunks. This may be particularly true for aural learners.

Meet student expectations i.e. They may think drilling is an essential feature of language classrooms.

For the teacher, drills can:

Help in terms of classroom management, enabling us to vary the pace of the lesson or to get all learners involved.

Help us recognise if new language is causing problems in terms of form or pronunciation.

What we should drill
At all levels we should drill vocabulary or chunks of language that cause pronunciation problems.

At low levels students are still getting used to the sounds of English and need plenty of opportunity to get their tongues around them so it is likely that drilling will be used more.

Sounds that either do not exist in their L1 or occur differently.

Consonant clusters and weak forms may also cause difficulty - for example in words like vegetable, comfortable.

At the phrase level intonation, stress, and weak forms often cause learner difficulties and at higher levels there may still be problems with these aspects of pronunciation. Phrases such as, 'If I'd known you were coming I'd have stayed at home' are difficult to say.

Intonation patterns that are crucial to meaning may also be usefully practised through drilling, for example tag questions (which ask for confirmation or which are genuine questions) or expressions like 'You could have told me it was his birthday!' (as a rebuke).

If we believe that drilling helps our learners memorise language, we should also drill useful and common language chunks to help them internalise them. This would include many common phrases such as,

Drilling of structures per se seems much less likely to be useful because of the mental processing that is required to apply grammar rules accurately, particularly if it is a new piece of language for the learners.

When we should drill
For drills to be meaningful, learners need to understand what they are being asked to say. Monotonous chanting of decontextualised language is not useful to anyone.

This means that work on the meaning of the language must come before drilling.

Drilling can be comfortably and effectively incorporated into many types of lessons - whether you use a PPP model or a task-based approach, for example.

Drilling may follow a language focus stage particularly if you are dealing with spoken language. It may be too much, however, to expect learners to get it right immediately so you may want to introduce drilling later for remedial purposes. Or you may do it after a fluency task as a correction strategy.

It shouldn't be used too much however; if boredom sets in it is unlikely to be useful at all.

In Drilling 2 we'll look at some ways of making drilling more creative, productive and fun for students.

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Based on the Behaviourist view that learning to speak a foreign language - like other skills - was simply a question of correct habit formation, it was thought that repeating phrases correctly lots of times would lead to mastery of the language.