Tips for Using Journaling in Your Classroom

Journaling is not an activity just for English teachers. The journal is one of the best ways to assess student learning after a lesson as well as a great way to provide one-on-one feedback for each student. It is important, however, for you to know exactly how you plan to use the journal in your classroom. What is the purpose of the journal and how does it help you meet curriculum goals?

Journals can have a variety of purposes:

1) To unload thoughts and feelings before starting class. Writing often helps people work through issues they are facing.

2) To focus thought on a particular topic. Get students in the right "mind-set" by having them journal on the topic or concept you are currently studying.

3) To review prior learning. Help students to make the connections between prior learning and new learning by reviewing the concept or topic taught the previous day through a journal witing activit.

4) To encourage creative writing. Offer students a fun or wacky thought, sentence, or word and have them journal thoughts and ideas from that starting point. Another great idea, especially for young students and ESL or ELL students is to use pictures and have students respond to the pictures. Calendar pictures make great journal starters.

No matter what purpose you set out for your journal, it is important that you provide structure for this type of learning experience. Simply telling students to write in their journal isn't enough. In the beginning students will often spend the entire journaling time flustered and looking around aimlessly. Give your students a topic of some sort to help them get started. If you are looking for free flowing thoughts, then give them a word or picture to start from and allow them to continue from that point. Always make it clear, when asking for open-ended journaling, that students are free to write about whatever they want, but that you are providing a starting point for anyone having trouble.

If you are using the journal to focus student thought or to review prior learning, it is important to use your objectives or key elements/strands to help you develop a journal prompt. Be sure that your topic is meeting your curriculum needs and is not just another busy work assignment without meaning.

Math teachers can encourage students to explain various equations or math concepts through words rather than always using symbols. You might even think about prompts that ask students to apply previous learning to a real world situation such as purchasing groceries or clothing, or designing a structure of some sort.

Just remember two important aspects of journaling - 1) Purpose, and 2) Structure - and you'll find the journal to be a meaningful way to integrate writing into your class!

Frustration with Research Projects

Are you conducting a research project in your class? Do you find yourself getting more and more frustrated with student research abilities and the end product? This is not surprising. Many content area teachers get frustrated when doing a research project in class. Here are a few reasons why students may be having trouble:

1. The students have not been taught (or have forgotten) how to take notes from different kinds of sources.
2. The students have not been taught (or have forgotten) how to properly cite a source.
3. The students only have experience finding direct answers to direct questions.
4. The students only know how to regurgitate information located in the text.

So what you find yourself with is a group of students who, for the most part, don't write down citation information from their sources, copy word for word the information read in the source, answer research questions only if they require location of facts from a source, and are unable to develop their own unique synthesis of the information learned about the topic.

What can you do to help your students navigate through this process and ease some of your frustration?

1. Don't assume students know how to research - even if you are teaching secondary students.

If you are working with elementary or middle school students, take the time to walk through the entire process from start to finish. Model each stage of the research project and practice as a class before asking students to do their own. Take it one step at a time and create specific due dates for each stage of the project.

If you are working with high school students make sure to go over your expectations in detail. Provide a checklist showing each stage and the requirements for each. You still want to have specific due dates for each stage of the process to keep track of student progress.

Providing students with specific guidelines and walking them through the process is not cheating - it's teaching. When students only complete one or two research projects in a year they do not get sufficient practice to build good habits and retain knowledge of the process from year to year. As with everything, when you don't practice frequently you forget.

2. Teach or remind students how to take notes before beginning the research project. Practice as a class how to take notes using a book, periodical, and website at the very minimum. This is a good time to teach or review citation rules as well. Basic note-taking skills include identifying the main idea of the paragraph, page, or passage and writing down supporting details under the main idea. I always stipulate to students that they may only write down three words maximum for each line of notes taken. This forces them to clearly identify the main idea and supporting details from the reading. It also reduces the amount of plagiarism that occurs from copying information word for word during the note-taking stage.

Also, it is a good idea to review how to locate the main idea (both stated and inferred) and supporting details in class - especially if you don't normally teach this in your subject area classes. Don't assume the English/Reading teacher has recently taught or reviewed this skill or even that students remember the lessons.

3. Practice answering questions from print sources where the answer is not expressly stated. In other words, practice inferring answers from text. Students have plenty of practice answering Knowledge and Comprehension level questions where the answer can be easily located within the text. However, they do not have a lot of practice answering questions where they must infer the answer or reason it out from the reading because it is not specifically addressed.

For example, you may ask students to discuss mankind's affect on nature in a particular region. The source you read may describe depleted resources and changes in the ecosystem without specifically stating that this is a result of human interference in nature. After reading the text, "think aloud" with students to model how you would think through the meaning and inferences within this passage. Do this kind of activity as frequently as possible with textbook readings throughout the school year. These modeling practices teach students how to actively think about their reading and identify information that is not explicitly stated but rather implied.

4. Practice making opinion statements about a topic and providing support from a source. This is another activity that can be practiced throughout the school year and not just during a research project. When students read a passage or section in the content area textbook, ask them to form an opinion. Then have students support that opinion from the text. You should first model this to the whole class then have students work in groups to practice, then in pairs, and finally each student should be able to make his or her own opinion statement from a single or even multiple sources.

This is also an activity that should be taught and practiced in ALL grade levels. Kindergarten students are just as capable of forming an opinion and supporting it as a high school senior. Their opinions and support may be less complex, but you are beginning to build the dendrites in the brain for this important skill.

Students are less likely to regurgitate facts in a research project when they have been taught and have frequently practiced how to make opinion statements. The most important aspect of this skill is that students are able to locate support for their opinion from the text. Frequent practice will help students hone this skill and will provide more entertaining and enlightening reports for you.

A Teaching Adventure in India

About a month ago I was contacted by The Achievers Programme based in Chandigarh, India to come and give a series of 2 day workshops across the country. Of course I was interested and we began a dialogue about how this might occur. After much planning, many shots and a few hassles later I was on my way. The flight over is about 15 hours, which is simply too long to be in a confined space. However, with my few travel comforts (ipod, computer, travel pillow, and travel blanket) I was able to make it without too much issue. We landed late in the evening and spent at least an hour going through customs. I ended up the last one through the line and found my luggage waiting for me beside the carousel. After a bit of struggling I managed my two bags (full of clothes and workshop supplies) through the airport and outside where a driver was waiting for me.

The first sight outside was of a crowd of people all waving cards and jumping up and down to get attention from the travelers leaving the airport. It was very chaotic and I almost went with the wrong person except that my driver heard me say my name and repeated it over and over until I found him. We wove our way through the throng of people, cars, and animals and walked over rocks and dirt to get to the car. The first thing I discovered in India is that no one uses the lanes, everyone honks, and if you don't like waiting in traffic, you just weave your car around until you make your own way – no matter whether there are people walking along or not. If there had been sidewalks, I have no doubt the drivers would be maneuvering up onto the sidewalks to get around the other cars. No one seemed angry or upset, they all just moved in and out as they were able.

The next thing I discovered in India is that you never know what is going to happen or when. The key to everything here is "Go with the Flow." I was booked on a train to Surat to visit my first school. The train was five hours late and took 17 hours to finally arrive. Luckily I was in a 1A Sleeper car and had very nice travelling companions. There is no such thing as absolute privacy or a private car unless you purchase four tickets. I ended up in a compartment with two older gentlemen. Both were very helpful in communicating to the porter my need for a somewhat spice-free dinner and breakfast. It didn't happen, but they did try. J

Two teachers met me in Surat and took me to my hotel. I was supposed to have arrived that morning and have the entire day to rest and sightsee. However, that didn't happen. J "Go with the Flow." I began my first workshop the following morning after a nice visit with the principal. She and her staff were both warm and welcoming to me and were very enthusiastic about the workshop. My first school was DPS Tapi – Delhi Public School, the Tapi branch. There are many Delhi Public schools across the country and although the name reads as "Public School" it is actually a group of private schools. There I found the teachers to be energetic and full of knowledge about effective teaching practices. I was not sure what I would encounter, but found that children are children and teachers are teachers no matter where you are. The teachers of DPS Tapi have so many wonderful ideas and strategies they are using with their students. They also were very interested in learning new strategies and not at all adverse to getting "reminders" of good strategies they were already familiar with. The attitudes of these teachers were so incredibly positive that I felt completely energized and excited about my teaching when I left them. Many of the ideas I presented for Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum were familiar to them, but they all very much enjoyed the idea of using poetry and pattern books to write about topics learned in the classroom. The Classrooms that Spark workshop went over very well with the teachers. They were unfamiliar with much of the brain research I presented and thoroughly enjoyed the games and other movement activities we did during the day. At the end they all crowded around me asking questions and telling stories about their children and classrooms. I felt so at home and so at one with the teachers of DPS Tapi that I could have stayed there quite happily. J Unfortunately I had to rush to board my train to Ambala on my way to Chandigarh.

This time the train left on time, but was slowed down by the immense amount of fog happening here right now. We were on the train for 29 hours. I don't think I ever imagined that I would be on a train for that amount of time. I was in the compartment with a family of three and we had a very nice time getting to know one another. They brought their laptop as well and we spent many hours watching Indian movies. I didn't understand any of the words, but the action and music more than made up for it! J

Chandigarh is a lovely city and is a planned city, which seems to be a huge deal here. It is also the cleanest city in India followed closely by Surat. From Chandigarh I took a taxi into the mountains to Dherdun and presented my workshops to an all-girls boarding school. The girls were on vacation and the teachers preparing for a new term. Again, I had a wonderful experience with the teachers. Everyone was so informed of current research and eager to learn more. Several of the teachers came to me afterwards and exclaimed that they truly enjoyed my workshop. That made me feel so good knowing that the information I was offering was helpful to them. As a presenter I know that I cannot make everyone happy all of the time, but these teachers have such great attitudes and are so open to new ideas. One teacher had to leave to work with a few girls who stayed over the break and when she returned she happily reported that she already implemented a few of the ideas learned that morning.

So far I have seen that the teachers of India work just as hard as we do in America to give their students engaging activities for learning. They are just as concerned about student behavior and see similar issues in terms of "over-entertained" children in the classroom. Many of their questions and concerns mirror exactly the questions and concerns we face in America as well. They worry they are doing the best for the children, they fret over parent interactions, and they struggle with behavior issues.

The travels have been quite eye-opening and very much an adventure, but working with the teachers has made me feel as if I were home. I can honestly say that I have been blessed by my interactions with each and every teacher I've met here. And if I have been of at least a little help to them in reassurance and in sharing ideas, then this adventure has been more than worth it and I very gladly will return again when asked.

More Bang for Your Buck: Movement and Learning

When shopping you probably look for the best possible deal getting the most you can for every dollar you spend. Learning should be like that too. For every moment we spend on a topic, concept, or skill we want our students to get as much knowledge out of it as possible. More importantly we want them to retain that information and be able to recall it and use it in the future. For some teachers this means cramming as many facts and figures into each child's head as possible in a forty-five or fifty minute class period. Lecture and skill-and-drill rule the day. However, current brain research tells us that our students are less likely to remember these facts and figures through lecture and skill-and-drill exercises. The Learning Pyramid, developed by the National Training Laboratories, shows that over time students only retain 5% of what they've learned through lecture. This is followed closely by 10% of an audio-visual presentation, 20% of what they read and 30% of a demonstration. These are all passive learning strategies.

What current brain research tells us is that students need to be active to get their brains working and growing. Scientists have discovered that our brains continue to grow even past childhood. For every new stimulation, situation, and challenge we face, brand new neurons grow. The more we use those new neurons, the more they flourish and expand to create synapses with other neurons. For the longest time scientists believed that this new growth only happened in the cortex, the thinking part of our brain, and that only new mental stimulation would increase that growth. However, scientists like Peter Strick, a professor of Neurobiology and Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburg, have traced pathways from the cerebellum to parts of the brain that are involved with memory, attention, language, emotion, and decision making. Whoa, what does that mean exactly? Well, the cerebellum has been thought to only deal with physical movement and not much else. The cortex, on the other hand, has been labeled as the thinking brain because it houses memory, language, attention, decision making, and other mental skills. What Dr. Strick discovered was a series of connections (neural pathways) between the "movement" brain and the "thinking" brain. What can you conclude from that bit of knowledge?

Interestingly enough, the cerebellum is only one tenth of the overall brain in size and yet it contains over half of all the brain's neurons and more than 40 million nerve fibers. That sounds to me like a lot of activity happening in the movement part of our brain. Additionally, the vestibular nuclei (has connections to the brainstem) within the cerebellum is an information-gathering and feedback source for movement. The cerebellum takes these movement messages and combines them with visual and auditory messages before sending the whole package to the cortex (the thinking brain). When movement and thinking are both in play, these "packages" of messages are then relayed back and forth between the cerebellum and cortex. Movement stimulates growth in both the moving brain and in the thinking brain. These links show us that movement is an important part of learning.

Not only does movement increase academic performance, but it also factors into long-term memory. The more multi-sensory interactions, the more synapses are created. Watching a video of how to make adobe bricks only engages the eyes and the ears through audio and visual inputs. However, getting students outside mixing sand, dirt, straw, and other materials by hand to make adobe bricks themselves offers a multitude of sensory inputs through the feel, smell (and for those more adventurous souls – taste) as well as a lively discussion with others about the process. Emotions are also brought into the process through the enjoyment of the activity and the interactions with friends. When we understand how memory is housed in our brain, we have a greater insight into why these interactions with our environment are so important for learning.

"Memory is not an entity, planted in one spot – but planted throughout the brain, an interplay of sensory perception and emotion." Susan Jones, author of Grow a Brain, tells us that memory is separated and stored in segments. One memory is a composite of the different senses as interpreted by the brain. For example, the memory of a slice of pizza is a composite of the smell of the cheese, the spicy taste of the pepperoni, the tangy taste of the sauce, the flat texture of the bottom crust, the crunchy texture of the side crust, the angle the pizza is cut, the pure enjoyment of eating it, and more. This one memory is taken apart into pieces, stored, and then reassembled when recalled. When one segment is recalled, brain is able to retrieve the entire memory or even a series of different memories. Therefore, the more parts of the brain that are involved – sights, sounds, feelings, textures – the easier it is for the brain to retrieve the memory. Think about the last time a particular smell brought forward a specific memory or even a general feeling of well-being, anger, or fear. (As a side note - our emotions are also a very important part of memory and learning, but I'll hit that subject in another blog.) When we help students make multi-sensory connections through movement and activity, we are helping them to plant long-term memories.

You might be thinking, those touchy-feeling activities may be well and good for elementary students, but my secondary students have major tests to pass! You're right. Your students do have tests to pass. And just think how much easier it would be for them to think of a single activity and be able to retrieve all the stored data connected to that activity through direct instruction and class discussion. This is made even easier when the activity was enjoyable, bringing positive emotions into the memory retrieval. Even pantomiming an activity with their hands (such as building bricks) can then help retrieve both the memory of the activity and the data (or learning) connected to it. To top it all off, physical movement releases acetylcholine, a brain-chemical involved in communication between neurons. According to Susan Jones this brain-chemical "aids in the planning and retrieval of long-term memory." As she says, "Movement helps cement memory!"

Resources:

"Movement and Learning: The cerebellar connection and the link between physical education and learning." http://www.bctnz.co.nz/resources/dore_learning.pdf

"Grow a Brain!" by Susan Jones. http://www.susanjjones.com/movement.pdf

The Learning Pyramid. http://com546.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/learning-pyramid.gif

I also highly recommend reading "Have You Heard of Brain Gym?" by Cecilia K. Freeman, M.Ed. http://www.specialchild.com/archives/ia-052.html

While her article focuses on the use of Brain Gym with special needs children, I found many ways to use these exercises for myself to increase focus, organization, and communication. I can see the benefits of learning small exercises that can be done in the classroom to help when students seem unable to focus or need a bit of physical stimulation to "wake-up" the brain.

Getting a Fresh Start

January, being the first month of the New Year, is a time of setting resolutions and goals. It is also a time for a fresh start. Everyone has just had a lovely, and hopefully refreshing, two week vacation in which most try very hard to forget everything that happened during the previous semester. If you feel that you had a rough start to the school year, this is the perfect time to implement those much needed changes. Even if you feel that your classroom has been doing very well, January is the perfect time to refresh everyone's memory of how your classroom works.

This first month in the year is unique because it offers us the opportunity to make large-scale changes without upsetting the delicate balance of our classroom. It allows us to make improvements in our classroom management and teaching style without causing student distress. Generally, during the rest of the school year, if you are constantly changing your attitude, style, expectations, and procedures, students never know what to expect of you. They stop trusting in how you behave with them and respect is lost. Little changes are always welcome and keep the classroom from becoming stifling, but constantly changing the "structure" causes confusion and leads to chaos. Below are a few tips to help you take advantage of this "fresh start."

Treat the first day and week back as though it were the first day of school. Take some time to go back over your expectations of student behavior and the procedures you want students to follow. If you did not do that great of a job setting expectations and procedures at the start of the year, this is the perfect time to implement new ones. Your students are in a frame of mind that lends itself to change. Later on in the semester, they will not be so open and willing to receive new expectations and procedures and will fight you every step of the way. So take some time now to implement those changes you have in mind.

Begin your training program again. Train students in your quiet signal and in the other various procedures of your classroom, including entering the classroom, leaving the classroom, turning in homework, working in labs, etc. If students do not follow your expectations during that first week or two after the break, stop what you are doing and have students follow the expectation or procedure correctly. This is vital to refreshing student memories of how you expect your class to behave. If you do not take the time to refresh their memory, you may find that your students steadily increase their misbehavior throughout the spring semester.

Take a look at your attitude towards students the previous semester. Did it encourage student learning and positive behaviors? If it did, then continue that positive and uplifting attitude. If it did not, then reflect on how your attitude has affected both student behavior and student learning. What can you do differently in this new semester? Again, this is the perfect time to make those much needed changes. You still have time to earn student respect. While you may have challenging students, remember that YOUR attitude determines the overall attitude of your class. When you face your class with a positive attitude, they will ultimately reflect that positive attitude back to you. The same goes for a negative attitude.

Remember, revamp your expectations and procedures to improve, or review your expectations and procedures to maintain the balance. Start a training program to get students used to what is expected of them on a daily basis, or continue your training program to maintain positive student behaviors. Put in place a positive attitude that will encourage positive student behavior and learning, or continue the positive attitude you've shown all year to maintain positive student behavior and learning. Take advantage of this one time in the middle of the school year when you can make those large-scale changes with a positive benefit and get a <b><i>fresh start</b></i>!

 

Article by Emma McDonald. Reprinted with permission from Education World. Original article can be found at http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald006.shtml

Reflections

As the semester winds to a close and we all prepare for our Winter Break, I am brought to mind of the importance of reflection. So often we rush ourselves through day by day without stopping to take the time to reflect on our classroom practices and the effects of those practices on ourselves and our students. It is so easy to forget this important part of teaching because there are so many other activities and demands on our time. The problem is that this kind of rushing around is not good for anyone. It is so important to slow down, take a breath, and think back over what we've done. This reflection helps us then move forward and plan for the future. Below are some different topics and questions to help you reflect over your teaching practices this semester.

1) The Classroom - Is your classroom arranged in a welcoming way that encourages student learning? Does the flow of the room help or hinder learning? Are the visual elements of your classroom distracting or do they encourage learning and motivate students? Do you and students feel comfortable in the classroom?

2) Classroom Routines - What routines did you use that you feel were effective this semester? Which ones need an overhaul? How can you change them so that they are more effective for you and for the students? What new routines would you like to put in place for the new semester? Think about the ideal flow of daily activities and events in the classroom.

3) Parent Communication - What level of parent communication did you encourage this semester? Were parents actively involved in the classroom? Do you feel you kept them adequately informed of what was happening in the classroom? What made you the most nervous about calling and talking with parents? What can you do to ease that nervousness? What can you do to encourage more parent involvement? Did you find yourself calling parents as it was needed, or putting off the phone calls? How has the parent response been to you in the classroom? What can you do to help parent response be positive?

4) End of Semester - What are your thoughts at the end of this grading period? What worked well in terms of lessons and units? What needs to be changed? How were your interactions with students, parents, and colleagues? What challenges are you currently facing? What are your thoughts on these challenges? How might you overcome/solve the issues facing you at this time? What new ideas do you plan to implement at the start of the new grading period?

These are just a few topics to consider at the end of the semester as you reflect and plan for the next semester. Our hope is that these questions will lead to further reflection over all areas of your teaching. Keep a journal over the holiday and jot down your thoughts and ideas to help you put them into a better frame of reference. You'll find that this type of reflection not only helps you put away past baggage, but also helps you re-energize for the upcoming semester.

Classroom Organization Tips

Organization is one of the keys to successful classroom management and to a less stressful year. When we are organized, we feel more confident and "together" each day. Below you'll find some tips to help you get yourself organized.

Tip 1: Daily Organization Folders

I just love Daily Folders! If you've heard this one before, please forgive me, but every year I am reminded of what a great organization tool this is! I take different colored file folders and label each one for a day of the week. As a secondary teacher, I do this for each class period and use stickers on the tab to differentiate between each period. I like to use cartoon figures like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy to represent each class period. Then I use an upright file box to hold all of my folders. Each class period has a gusseted hanging file to hold all five daily folders. Self-contained elementary is a bit easier with just 5 folders (one for each day).

Inside each folder I place my lesson plans, handouts/copies, notes to send home, administrative notices or memos, parent notices, and so on for that day. Each afternoon I:

• Take out the folder for the next day
  
• Check to be sure everything I need is inside
  
• Put my sub folder just inside (on top)
  
• Place the folder on top of my desk
  

Then I:

• Set up my whiteboard for the next day
  
• Get my bulky materials ready and out to be used (in an easily accessible place)
  

Now I feel that I am ready to begin the next day. What if something happens unexpectedly and I can't get to school? No problems – everything a substitute needs is right on my desk and near my podium or overhead. This looks great when the school administrator has to come in for a few minutes if no one else is available. The students know to get started on their board work (it is already up), my plans and materials are on my desk ready to go, and everyone has an easier transition!

Tip 2: Positive Notes

Another way to get organized is to create materials in bulk ahead of time. This can be done on weekends or during school holidays. One thing I like to create and have ready to hand out at any time are positive notes to students. I know that students love to get positive notes from me, but I just don't have the time to sit and write out a full note at the end of class! One solution is to brainstorm several different "positives", type them out, copy them on bright paper, and have them ready. I usually set up my page in four squares and type one positive message in a fun, yet easy-to-read font in each square. Then I copy these on colored card stock paper. I cut them out and place them into folders on my desk. (Other ideas include using a basket, hanging the folders on the wall instead of putting them in your filing cabinet (no dust collecting), or putting a stack on your overhead or podium).

Sample Positives:

• Thank you for participating in class today!
  
• Thank you for helping another student when they needed it!
  
• Thank you for being such a good helper to me today!
  
• Thanks for sharing your ideas with us!
  
• Thanks for being on time!
  
• Thanks for leading that group!
  
• Thank you for sharing your materials!
  
• Thanks for bringing in all your work on time!
  

What are some other specific "positives" you want to reinforce in your class? I also like to think of the life-skills – Cooperation, Teamwork, Honesty, Integrity, Friendship, Perseverance, Determination, Personal Best, and others.

Now choose and sign the note, put a smiley face on it, and hand it to the student as they leave the room!