For those unfortunates like myself, who do not own apple product, fear not – there are just as many apps available for android devices which support Blooms Taxonomy. Hallelujah!
I recently purchased Vol 1. of a TV animated series called Punky (for under €15) which has 10 episodes. This animated series is perfect for teaching about differences and I fully intend to use it in Junior Cert R.E. and C.S.P.E.
Punky tells the stories of the everyday life of a girl called Punky, who has Down Syndrome. As a child with Down syndrome, Punky lives in the moment. If something isn’t right, or if someone has a problem, Punky will set out to fix it. To Punky, the solution is always simple.
Activities for Punky
Other than Down Syndrome, how is Punky different from any other child?
What personality traits does Punky portray? Are they different from your personality traits?
Make a list of what you have in common with Punky?
What benefits does a programme like Punky have for society?
As educators we can not underestimate our role in building and maintaining student self-esteem. Students need praise, recognition and respect, but sometimes we tend to focus on the negatives rather than the positives in the classroom.
In terms of its impact on their self-esteem, self-worth and status, everything we do or say is evaluated by students. To help students develop, maintain and build on their self-esteem, we need to show them affection and encouragement throughout lessons.
Here are some strategies I use to help improve student self esteem.
Strategies for improving Student Self- Esteem
Know your students
When we take the time to get to know our students, they feel valued. Learning about their hobbies, pastimes, interests, achievements etc. helps to strengthen our relationship with our students and in-turn students feel respected and loved.
Achievable tasks
By setting work students are capable of doing, students avoid failure. Everyone wants to get it right, so lets not set work that has a failed outcome. Remember to set tasks so there is always something to praise.
42 – ways of saying well done (adapted from ‘Conflict and Confrontation in the Classroom by ‘Sean O’ Flynn and Harry Kennedy )
“I like that” “That’s Terrific” “Good Work” “Excellent” “That’s better”
“You’re doing fine” “One more try and you have it” “Keep up the good work” “Exactly your right”
“That’s a great idea” “Good for you” “Nice one” “Now that’s what I call good work” “Good on ya”
“That’s the best you have done to date” “I always knew you could do it” “You’re doing that much better today” “That’s right”
“That’s coming along nicely” “Keep working at it, it’s improving” “That’s much better” “Super” “Great”
“You really worked hard today” “That’s it” “You are really learning a lot” “That’s the way to do it”
“You’re doing nicely” “That’s good” “Congratulations” “That’s better than ever” “Wow, that is good”
“Wonderful” “Fine job you’ve done” “I do like that” “Good stuff” “Brilliant” “A1”
“You’re improving all the time” “Well done” “Well look at you now” “You must have been practisting”
GROUP WORK!! The two words that when put together can give a teacher nightmares! It can go good very well or as we all know it can go horribly wrong!! My solution to the chaos that is group work is my ‘3 R’s Group Work’ (which can also be adapted to 4 R’s Group Work)
3 R’s Group Work
Reader
This student must read the case study to the group.
This student must record the group’s answers.
This student must report the groups answers/findings to the class.
Recap
If a group ends up with an extra student, this student must revise the findings of the group, in a brief summary.
Why it works
One role per student – This works extremely well as each student has an equal role and equal contribution within the group.
Valued Participation – Students participation is valued as each role is needed to complete activity.
Student Responsibility – Each student must pay attention to the group assignment as each student has a responsibility within their group.
Simple and Clear – Its not a complicated methodology, students understand quickly what they have to do.
During this time students will be encouraged to think and reflect on the material covered throughout the lesson. At the end of each topic, I have always been instructed to assess students through summative means of assessment: Class Tests. However, I also used many other informal means of final assessment to help guide students toward better learning.
This is a fun and engaging form of assessment which challenges the student to recall what they have learnt in 60 seconds. The student challenges him/herself to remember as many concepts, words or definitions which they learned throughout the lesson.
This form of final assessment is suited for Religious Education, as students create their own understanding and opinions about controversial issues/ideas. It allows students to record and express their feelings as well as what they learned about a particular issue that was new to them.
Class Test with a Twist (Summative Assessment)
Chapman and Gregory (2007) inspired me to experiment with the construction of class tests, while at the same time following instructions from co-operating teachers.
I allowed each student to write two questions with they felt other students must and should know at the end of the topic.
I then compiled the questions together and formed a ‘student to student’ class test.
Ongoing assessment is essential for successful learning. As an educator, I need to make time for feedback during the learning process, as without feedback, my students cannot improve. As students work, it is my responsibility to provide an opportunity for this feedback to take place. To do this, I must use appropriate but at the same time engaging and effective formative assessment methods.
Scale of Understanding
Each student receives a scale of understanding (1= haven’t a clue, 10 = I can teach it). During a tough topic, explanation or definition, I would ask students where they are on the understanding scale.
Students are not afraid to express where they stand on the scale; “Ms. I’m a number 4/5”. Thus, this assessment tool allows me to gain sufficient knowledge of students’ level of understanding. It also provides an opportunity for peer-teaching, for example; if a student is brave enough to be a 10 on the scale, I would invite him/her to re-teach the concept to the class.
I would write a question on the outside of an envelope. This envelope is passed around from student to student, where each student must write a response to the question and put it in the envelope. This enables me to assess students understanding of the key concepts of the learning.
Talking Pairs
Students are paired off into A/B partners. Student A will tell student B something they learned. Student B will then tell Student A something they learned. This will continue until students have nothing left to say.
Pre-assessment is used to determine prior knowledge of students which can have a strong impact on present learning. It allows me to make informed decisions when planning lessons around students’ prior knowledge, experience or attitudes about a particular topic. Therefore, I can plan and prepare classes around the students, making learning and assessment student centered.
Each student will recall what they know and what they want to know.
During this exercise students are recalling prior knowledge, feeling or attitudes about a particular topic and relevant experiences with the topic and identifying what they want to know about a topic.
KWL is a graphic organizer which presents the learning material in a logical order. What I Know, What I Want to Know and What I Have Learned? At the beginning of a topic, students can complete the first two columns; What I Know and What I Want to Know. This enables students to recall their prior knowledge, experiences and attitudes of a topic. After the learning process, students can then self assess what they have learned.
Quizzes are a fun and interactive way of introducing a new topic to students, which allows students to recall their prior knowledge about a topic. As a form of pre-assessment, quizzes assess students for knowledge and understanding of factual information or concepts.
Over the weekend I saw ‘The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia’ movie advertised in my local cinema. Straight away I was hooked so I decided to look it up when I went home. ‘The Big Picture’ illustrates that while the condition is an obstacle, it also carries some unique advantages, and ultimately can be overcome.
Dyslexia is something which I pay a lot of attention to, as I myself suffer from Dyslexia. However, it was never picked up by teachers. I always knew I had it as I struggled with reading, writing and maths problems. I constantly got frustrated when learning and always mixed numbers and letters up.
‘The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia provides personal and uplifting accounts of the dyslexic experience from children, experts and iconic people, such as Sir Richard Branson. Directed by James Redford, the film not only clears up the misconceptions about the condition, but also paints a picture of hope for all who struggle with it.’
Make sure to check in your local cinema if they are showing special screenings, as I know I will definitely be going to see it
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