https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh Made with the best of intentions en-us 2018-01-30 21:43:53 UTC 2018-02-11 21:31:33 UTC hello@padlet.com teresa_heiss https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/226354232 This video brings up the point that people often forget but teachers encounter on a daily basis. Some things that we assume students should instinctively know, they don't. Students are coming to school unable to name their emotions, much less how to regulate them. They don't understand how they are feeling so they don't know how to react to their feelings. I really liked how this video showed how teachers can help their students get in touch with being more mindful. I really appreciated when it showed one student not behaving perfectly and how the teacher dealt with it. I so often find in these videos the teacher in under ideal conditions and dealing with anything outside of that is not addressed. When do teachers ever deal with a "normal day?"]]> 2018-01-30 21:47:16 UTC https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/226354232 teresa_heiss https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/227787537 This article provided visuals to describe what teachers see on a daily basis. We all know that each of our students learns in their own individual ways but, as the article says, it is often seen as a ladder in which some students spend longer on a particular rung but, once they move on, they are onto the next logical rung. This article describes learning in more of a web in which skills are learned in diverse ways making different connections along the way. ]]> 2018-02-03 20:11:17 UTC https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/227787537 teresa_heiss https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/227789191 This article highlights many reasons that grades are not functional for tracking student learning. One thing that I experienced in my life was reinforced by this article. I have always loved to read and when I was younger I read some books years earlier that were later a reading requirement for a class. One book sticks in mind "The Island of the Blue Dolphin" was a book that I read in 4th or 5th grade and loved it. I had read it a few times. It was then required reading in middle school. It had obviously been too long to rely on my memory of the book but I found that I could barely keep up with the reading schedule and dreaded picking up the book again. Is this because there were now grades attached to the reading of a book that I had happily read for pleasure? 25 years later, we will never know. As a teacher, you can watch student excitement when they get to plan a project on their own and carry in out. ]]> 2018-02-03 20:31:26 UTC https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/227789191 teresa_heiss https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/227790286 1. Grading in general is not brain-friendly, as the article "From Degrading to De-Grading" stated, it does not increase learning. Obviously there needs to be some sort of assessment of student progress to determine where to go next with student learning. My daughter is in 3rd grade and her school does not use grades at her level. They use a scale similar to the meeting expectations and approaching expectations that FCPS used however it is broken down by skill. As a parent, I love it because I can see that my daughter needs help telling time but her ability to count money is spot on. My daughter also feels successful because even though there are things that she needs to work on, there are things she is really great at too. 

2. Testing is not brain friendly. We have all had that student with severe text anxiety but we would be remiss to think that most students don't have some sort of anxiety about displaying everything they know on a piece of paper or computer in a prescribed period of time. Breaking tests up and not calling them tests would be a simple thing that each teacher could do in their own class. Also teaching students how to self-regulate their auto-immune system would help. Having moments of meditation before the test has been shown to help students remain calm for the duration of an assessment. 

3. Desk arrangement in the classroom can be not brain-friendly. Most teachers not longer have desks in separate rows and columns as that does not encourage collaboration among students. There are many ways to organize your seats to be more brain-friendly. This year I have adopted a flexible seating policy in my classroom that seems to be working very well. Students get to chose from a variety of seating to decide what would make them the most comfortable learner. 

4. Students who are comfortable in their classroom release dopamine and serotonin while students who dread school release adrenaline. Playing music throughout the day is one way to help students with their comfort level in the classroom. Music at the very beginning of the day sets students up for a successful day. 

5. Long periods of time without food is not conducive to a healthy diet nor a brain-friendly classroom. Adding a healthy snack to the afternoon would help feed the brain of our students. This can also be a life-lesson for students when they are hungry. Grab an apple or some grapes instead of some of the sugar-filled treats that often fill their bellies.  ]]> 2018-02-03 20:45:09 UTC https://padlet.com/teresa_heiss/1tu2i3g7ulwh/wish/227790286