Monday, September 10, 2018

Linda Darling-Hammond Offers Us a Path to Better Teaching: Part Two

Educators have to continually read, research, and learn to teach well. Linda Darling-Hammond and Channa M. Cook-Harvey offer us a blueprint to developing top-notch learning communities in their recent report, "Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success." 

I addressed part one of their report in this post, and now I will address part two.

Implications for Schools: The Critical Importance of a Whole Child Framework and a Positive School Culture

It's difficult to take in and embed all the terrific information in a sensational report like this, however if you direct that information into pockets of practice that exist, you are more likely to embed the new learning well. Hence, I've pocketed the points into areas where I'll attend to it:

Overarching focus for team meetings, professional practice:
  • The primary goal of k-12 education should be to empower individual students to reach their full potential. 
  • We must create responsive, support, inclusive learning environment consistent with what we know from the science of learning and development. 
  • A capable and stable staff, supported by effective professional development and connected to parents and community health and welfare resources, who work together to support children's health developmental learning. 
  • Focus on making friends, managing conflict, caring for others.
  • Help students to learn to self regulate with repertoire of words and strategies to manage different situations.
  • Develop community practices that strengthen relationships. These may include classroom meetings, check-ins, student-teacher conferences.
Classroom and School Community
  • safety
  • supportive teacher-student relationships
  • respond to students' interests and needs, emphasizing personal connections
  • opportunities to know each other in many ways
  • create norms
  • classroom management done w/students not to them
  • Create a class constitution, class roles
Fifth Grade Team Meetings
  • These environments are caring, culturally responsive communities where students are well-known, appreciated, and can learn in physical and emotional safety.
Naturalist Study Grant with Drumlin Farm

  • Inquiry and discovery as major learning strategies, thoughtfully interwoven with explicit instruction and opportunities to practice and apply learning. 
  • Actively engaged in learning and connected to the school and broader community. 
  • Create norms together for environmental study and stewardship

Lesson Planning and Preparation

  • Meaningful and challenging work that engages them in active learning experiences that are both individualized and social.
  • Opportunities to exercise choice and develop intrinsic motivation for learning. 
  • Clear expectations.
  • A range of instructional strategies, tools, and technologies.
  • Opportunities to receive timely and helpful feedback; develop and exhibit competence, and revise work to improve. 
  • Ongoing diagnostic assessments that are developmentally guided and informed.
  • Challenged academically and prepared for success in college or further study and for employment and participation in a global environment. 
  • Well-supported learning environment.
  • Explicit instruction on managing stress and coping with inevitable conflicts and frustrations of school life. 
  • Develop norms, goals, values, strong interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices.
  • Cultural Competency and Identity Safety.

Student Service Meetings and Coordinated Efforts with Specialists
  • Educative and restorative practices that support students' development of personal and social responsibility.
  • Meaningful and challenging work that engages them in active learning experiences that are both individualized and social.
  • School-wide practices and instruction that systematically develop students' social, emotional, and academic skills, habits, and mindsets.
  • Opportunities to receive timely and helpful feedback; develop and exhibit competence, and revise work to improve. 
  • Ongoing diagnostic assessments that are developmentally guided and informed.
  • Embed learning about practices of a healthy lifestyle
  • Physically and emotionally safe environment.
  • Has access to personalized learning and is supported by qualified, caring adults. 
Social Emotional Learning

Family Trust and Relationships
  • Our team successfully does this with regular meetings and response, invitation to help out and be involved, weekly newsletters, and more.