The Pastel Colors and Our Approach

Dear Readers

                  With spring soon approaching, and state and local assessments around the corner the work of reaping and reflecting upon our academic years will inform our future practices, lead us to self-seek professional learning opportunities and perfect the art of our teaching. A word of wisdom and experience, I would like to share, a child should not be judged by data of a standardized test which many times we stare at on our computer screens.  We must use professional observation of that student, their skills and the (ACES) that child brought with them to the classroom during our schools testing windows.  We must remember that data is meant to inform our planning, designing and implementation of instruction, strategies, and approaches.  We must not allow data, although very useful to help us grow year to year, it should never define a child or their inner abilities or be the way we define or identify to learning and process the many skills, and concepts they were introduced to the year they were in our classrooms.  Many children blossom and demonstrate their learning as they grow and need to activate prior learning experiences as they make their way through their public educational journey.  According to a recent qualitative study conducted by Valdez, 2023 found child-centered learning at the secondary level

                  For many educators who have been in the field for a while, the joy of seeing former students graduate from high school or higher education is the true testament to our life’s work.  When we run into former students and hear their amazing stories and the things, they have been able to overcome, it is truly when an educator reaps their reward (that can only be felt in the heart) because, in the end all the students that come through our classroom doors will always be our children out in the world making it a better place because they were in it and contributed kindness, knowledge, and maybe a few things we taught them.  Most of all, it's not the perfect lessons we teach that students remember later on in life, it’s the relationships and the value and respect we had for them as individuals that they will remember most (especially when they recognize you at Starbucks).  

Achievements and Challenges In the Classrooms around the Globe

                  Achievements in reading, written expression, and mathematics are strengths for many of our children, yet there are so many who due to the effects of COVID-19 and the school shutdowns are struggling to keep up with their same aged peers and find escapes through other measures or have found the coping skills to make it through the day at school where many teachers observe students failing and lacking in understanding of concepts.  Further from my observation of IReady Fall and Winter data there are many students who continue to need support in the areas of reading in math. 

                  With this being stated, the challenges in the classroom during this season are those student behaviors we cannot explain. We know what the ABC’s of applied behavior are, yet there seems to still be some students who we never expect to have issues with yet, now as spring has approached, we observe changes in the classroom.  What do we do, it seems like there is not enough time in the instructional day to address or try to get to the root cause of those behaviors.  Some tips may be to create entry tasks which include questions about how students are feeling about what they are learning.  Or create an exit slip,it can be a quick three question survey in which we ask students, what is something new you learned today? What is a question you still have? And how are you feeling about what we learned today? This quick out tool can provide valuable information, information and insight to how concepts or lesson were understood by students and is an effective tool we can collect responses that can help us effectively plan, manage, and reteach concepts or answer questions during the day.

Effective Strategies for Language Learning

Effective strategies to build language and support instruction and learning for all students is found in child-centered as this approach  continues to demonstrate students enjoy the process of learning a whole lot more when they can lead their learning.  Further, strategies using Glad strategies even today are working in many classrooms on the West Coast and beyond.  As a recent study conducted by (Valdez, 2024) revealed there has not been anything innovative or created which has replaced or supported students and teachers more than Project Glad and the use of Glad instructional strategies for the classroom. Many teachers on the U.S. West Coast continue to rely on and utilize Glad to support language, understanding and comprehension. Further, Valdez’s (2024) study yielded teachers at the secondary level find that general education and English speakers of other language students engaged at higher levels when teachers facilitated the instruction and students had the ability to learn through hands-on projects and student led discussion or child-centered learning for today’s classroom.

Child-Centered Learning

            What is our facilitation look like in the classroom when it comes to handing off the learning to students.  Afterall, learning must be internally processed by our students in order for it to be meaningful and applicable to their lives.  My research found that when teachers asked students what they wanted to learn or how they wanted to demonstrate their learning to the teacher and fellow classmate’s students, they took more initiative, placed high levels of effort and time to complete the task and reached out to teachers for clarification and additional support outside of class time. Additionally, when teachers asked students how they best learned the responses from students included translated material, video and audio recordings of the class instruction and students self-advocated for help from them to gain a deeper understanding of what they had to learn to master concepts being taught in class.

            The amazing things students are learning and discovering when we allow them to take charge of their learning with our support, guidance, and questioning they gain more confidence in their skills and are willing to share more about what they are learning and asking questions that are still lingering for them about the content presented.

                  As always, my amazing colleagues, friends, and fellow educator this spring is about allowing our students to shine on assessments with no stress, continue to build positive and lasting relationships with our students and their families as well as grow professionally in the field.   We must always remind ourselves this is a work of heart, and we are in it for the outcomes of seeing our children become amazing individuals who will thrive and contribute to the places they decide to plant their roots and contribute to those societies in ways only their talents and skills as individuals.

Your Friendly Blogger,

Ms. V