Kickstart Listening

Deeper Level Listening Strategies

·       Say It Once or Not At All – if T repeat instructions, students don’t bother to listen the first time. Train the class to listen the first time then wait for them to demonstrate their understanding.  Also use silent signal to get class attention.

·       Turn and Talk – Prepare them to listen then turn to their shoulder partner and explain what you just said. This allows you to know what they have grasped. Useful for ELL classes and special needs students but boosts learning overall.

·       Student Hand Signals – non-verbal signals succeed in higher student engagement.  “hold up one finger if you strongly agree, two if you agree, three if you’re unsure, four if you disagree and five if you strongly disagree.” Also, raise two fingers if you have something to add, three if you have something new to say.

·       Pay Attention, Pause, Paraphrase – when students talk in small groups, give them roles: speaker and listeners. Listeners are to JUST listen and try not to form a response. When the speaker finishes, the listener paraphrases what was said and then asks a follow up question. Video uses Science current events and key ideas.

·       Whole Body Listening – awareness of hearing, ways to focus on what is being said. “Where are your eyes, hands, mind, heart?”

Training the Brain to Listen HEAR Strategy

·      Halt: Stop whatever else you are doing, end your other thoughts, and free your mind to pay attention to the person speaking.

·      Engage: Focus on the speaker. Turn your head so that your ear is toward the speaker

·      Anticipate: Look forward to what the speaker has to say, “You may learn something new and interesting.”

·      Replay: Think about what the speaker is saying. Analyze it in your mind or discuss with a partner.

Wilson, Donna, PhD. "Training the Brain to Listen." Edutopia. George Lucas Foundation, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 July 2017.

“Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking.”
-Bernard Baruch

Speaking Kickstart Suggestions for Classrooms

Speaking: Discussion Strategies

·       Stations - set up the classroom to have stations with items to stimulate discussion around a prompt or a task for small groups

·       Gallery Walks – students create an informative poster then talk about it to others who circulate around the room or a team of students create materials that are posted and then viewed in a walk

·        Physical Barometer – a statement is read and students move to one corner of the room or the other to indicate their choice. Can add “strongly” to agree or disagree and have four corners. Students discuss their ideas.

·       Pinwheel Discussions – four students discuss an issue or text, with provocateur’s  challenging them to go farther, think deeply

·       Socratic Seminar – students sit in a circle as the leader asks an open ended questions to prompt answering with evidence from a source

·       Concentric Circles – Student form two circles (outside and inside) They pair with the person they face then rotate to face another. Useful for discuss content or give opinions on topics

·       Fish Bowl – two students sit face to face in the middle of the room with others circled around them. They can create a conversation around a topic or skill and the others observe, take notes and follow up.

Encourage them to speak by asking them to  

• Restate what their partner said

• Paraphrase what others have said

• Give evidence to back up ideas or arguments

• Listen intently then solve a mystery or problem 

• Think aloud to answer questions

• Choral read a passage

Oracy

“Elevate speaking to the same level as reading and writing.”    Peter Hyman, 

School 21, London, UK

Oracy – the ability to speak well

The Goal: every student speaks in every class, every day.

Discussion guidelines are taught and practiced. 

Common Core State Standards for Speaking

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

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THE FIRST THANKSGIVING

Adding Compassion and Empathy

Brightly's Recommended Books
A recent article by Penelope Dulaghan explains about teaching Empathy and Compassion

"Lately, it seems whenever I turn on the news or open social media I learn that another tragedy has occurred somewhere in the world. Each time, I am overcome with feelings of sadness, frustration, and downright hopelessness. I try to think of how I can help make a difference in some small way, but usually end up falling short.

At moments like these, it feels even more important to have conversations with the children in our lives about topics like empathy, compassion, kindness, and inclusion. The interesting thing about empathy, though, is that it’s not easy to teach. Yet there are some ways to instill and inspire it. One way is to read books that touch on the subject and can spark a conversation about what it means to be empathetic and compassionate. The following books can help you do just that."

CJ’s Nana helps him see beauty in his surroundings, whether it’s on the bus or at the soup kitchen they head to every Sunday afternoon. As Nana says, “Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, C.J., you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful.”

10 Disruptions that will Revolutionize Education

This is taken from Education Weekly 

Not sure that I agree.  Food for thought! 

10 Disruptions That Will Revolutionize Education

Artificial intelligence and technology will prove significant for education

By Peter W. Cookson Jr.

October 10, 2017

• 
  

The idea that machines are smarter than humans has inspired a library of science-fiction stories and movies. What often happens when intelligent machines and ordinary humans cross cognitive swords? Humans lose. We weaker and dumber creatures are no match for machines that are out-thinking us at every turn, taking away our jobs, and planning to establish a dictatorship of computers.

As much fun as these dire scenarios are to imagine, they are false. In fact, the development of advanced artificial intelligence, or superintelligence, opens up doors to discoveries never before imagined. While opinions vary about the speed with which superintelligence will develop, there is little doubt that within the next decade, the cognitive landscape will be very different than it is today.

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/10/11/10-disruptions-that-will-revolutionize-education.html?cmp=eml-enl-dd-news1-rm&M=58240740&U=1468715