Education Leadership

Description

The “save the last word for me” dialogue method requires all learners to participate as both active speakers and active listeners. Working in groups of three, learners follow a pattern of sharing and discussing their responses to a piece of content. By creating a clear format for the discussion, this method encourages reserved learners to share their ideas and ensures that frequent speakers practice being quiet. It can be a useful method for assisting learners in debriefing a reading or film.

Implementation

1. Select a Text: Identify a reading or excerpt that will catalyze this learning activity.
2. Learners Read and Respond to Text: Have learners read or view the selected text. Ask learners to highlight three sentences that especially stood out for them and write each sentence on the front of an index card. On the back, they must write a few sentences explaining why they chose that quote—what it meant to them, what it reminded them of, etc.
3. Learners Share in Groups: Divide the learners into groups of three, labeling one learner A, one B, and the other C in each group. Invite the learners to read one of their chosen quotations to their group. Then learners B and C discuss the quote. What do they think it means? Why do they think these words may be applicable? To whom? After several minutes, ask the A learners to read the back of their card (or to explain why they picked the quotation), thus having “the last word.” This process continues with the B learners sharing and then the C learners.

Modifications

1. Utilizing Images: This same process can be used with images instead of quotations. You could give learners a collection of posters, paintings, and photographs from the period you are studying and then ask learners to select three images that stand out to them. On the back of an index card, learners must explain why they chose this image and what they think it embodies or why it is essential.
2. Utilizing Questions: Ask learners to think about three probing questions the content raises for them. Learners answer the question on the back of their card. In small groups, learners select one of their questions for the other two learners to discuss.

Description

In a station learning activity, small groups of learners move from station to station to read, watch, and interpret a variety of resources that focus on an event, theme, or question from multiple perspectives. Groups of learners spend an allotted amount of time at each station interacting with the material and either answering questions or engaging in a reflective activity. The station’s learning activity works well to launch a new unit or to explore in more depth something learners have already studied. When the instructor selects from different kinds of content—informational texts, poetry, art, photography, maps, video or audio clips—learners can engage with the material utilizing multiple modalities thus allowing them to reach a deeper comprehension of the event, theme, or question than they might by reading or discussing just one or two pieces of contents.

Implementation

1. Select Texts and Develop Stations: Determine the number of stations you want to have, the amount of time each group will spend at each station, what activities learners will do at each station, and what texts you plan to utilize. Determine the kinds of media you want to use, so learners have multiple access points to engage with the topic. For instance, you may select informational texts, short videos, images, and poetry. Having some variety is ideal. When collecting resources, learners must complete each station learning activity in about the same amount of time, they are ready to move to the next station together. Copy any necessary materials for each station and place them in numbered or labeled folders. Make enough copies of each envelope so that there is one available for each group member to use while they visit each station. Create directions or discussion questions for each station. You may staple these instructions to the station’s folder. Alternatively, you may select a teaching method, such as a 3-2-1 or S-I-T response, that learners complete in their journals during each station. Decide what type of groups you will create for the stations, or whether learners will be able to select their groups. Prepare your classroom, so there are table groups for every station.
2. Prepare Learners: Tell learners that they will be working with a group to move through a series of stations where they will learn about a specific topic. Explain to learners the instructions for each station and how much time they have to complete the work at each station.
3. Learners Move through Stations: Assign each group to begin at a different station and ask the groups to move to their first stations. As learners work, circulate to listen in on their conversations or work with struggling groups if they need help comprehending the content or instructions. Tell groups to move to the next station after the allotted amount of time has passed until all of the groups have visited every station.
4. Debrief the Stations Learning activity: Debrief the learning activity as a class if you have time. Below you will find some sample questions that you can use during your debrief:
   • Did you draw any conclusions about the subject from the sources you inspected?
   • Where you able to substantiate any of the information?
   • What conflicts did you notice among resources?
   • At what station did you learn the most, and which was the most challenging? Which did you like the most, and which did you like the least?
   • Do you have any questions about any of the stations?

Are you looking for genius ways to motivate students to behave themselves in small groups? If so, keep reading.

1. Minimize distracting stimuli that could interfere with the learner’s success in a cooperative learning experience (e.g., give enough room to move without physical contact, keep noise level at a minimum, keep movement in their surroundings to a minimum, etc.).

2. Plan group learning activities as part of the learner’s daily routine (schedule) (i.e., group learning activities should happen on a regularly scheduled basis so the learner will be prepared and know what to expect).

3. Plan group learning activities so the teacher can spend uninterrupted time with the group.

4. Put the learner in group learning activities they prefer. As the learner shows success, slowly require the learner to take part in less desirable learning activities.

5. Give the learner alternative ways to perform a group task and let the learner select the most desirable (e.g., a written paragraph task may be accomplished by writing a note to a friend, writing about a recent experience, describing a favorite pastime, etc.).

6. Let the learner take part in one cooperative learning experience they prefer. Make the learner take part in more group learning activities as they experience success.

7. Plan group learning activities when the learner is most likely to be successful (e.g., before recess rather than immediately after recess, after the first individual task of the day has been finished to create productive behavior, etc.).

8. Plan alternative individual learning activities if the learner is unlikely to be successful (e.g., if the schedule has been changed, if holidays or special activities have stimulated the learner and make successful group interaction unlikely, etc.).

9. Let the learner join the group after the learning experience has begun if they are unable to participate properly at the beginning of the cooperative learning experience.

10. Place the learner’s desk or work area, so they work near other students but are not visually distracted by them (e.g., turn the learner’s desk away from other students, etc.).

11. Let the learner leave a cooperative learning experience and return to independent work when they can no longer be successful in the cooperative learning experience (e.g., as an alternative to disrupting the group, fighting, etc.).

12. Teach the learner to think before acting (e.g., they should ask themselves, “What is happening?” “What am I doing?” “What should I do?” “What will be best for me?”).

13. Connect with parents (e.g., notes home, phone calls, etc.) to disseminate information about the learner’s progress. The parents may reinforce the learner at home for participating in group situations at school.

14. Draft an agreement with the learner stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., making short, appropriate remarks and speaking at appropriate times) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.

15. Talk with the learner to explain(a) what the learner is doing wrong and (b) what the learner should be doing (e.g., talking, taking turns, playing, sharing, etc.).

16. Create classroom rules: • Complete every assignment. • Remain in your seat. • Finish tasks. • Meet task expectations. • Raise your hand. Examine rules often. Praise students for following the rules.

17. Praise the learner for working in a group situation: (a) give the learner a concrete reward (e.g., privileges such as leading the line, handing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the learner an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).

18. Praise other students in the classroom for working properly in a group situation.

19. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

20. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

21. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

22. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.

Are you looking for strategies to encourage students to be prepared for learning experiences? If so, keep reading.

1. Ascertain why the learner is not ready for learning activities at a specific time.

2. Ask the learner why they are not ready for learning activities at a specific time. The learner may have the most accurate perception as to why they are not ready for learning activities at a specific time.

3. Assist the learner in understanding that it is permissible to leave work unfinished and return to it at a later time.

4. Get the learner to document their attendance at the end of each learning experience.

5. Ascertain if there are aspects of learning activities that the learner dislikes. Remove, lessen, or modify the unpleasant aspects of learning activities to urge the learner to be ready for and take part in learning activities.

6. Make the learner responsible for time missed (e.g., if the learner misses five minutes of a learning experience, they must make up the time during recess, lunch, or other desired learning activities ).

7. Give the learner a schedule of daily activities so that they will know what learning activities to attend and their times.

8. Make sure that the learner is successful in school-related and social learning activities. The learner will be more likely to be ready for learning activities in which they experience success.

9. Provide the learner a schedule of classes that must be signed by every instructor to document their promptness.

10. Make sure that other students do not make it unpleasant for the learner to attend learning activities.

11. Make sure the learner has all the appropriate learning materials for learning activities.

12. Record promptness with the learner.

13. Begin learning activities with a task that is highly reinforcing to the learner.

14. Assess appropriateness of the level of difficulty of tasks in comparison with the learner’s capacity and ability.

15. Give the learner many chances for high interest learning activities as possible.

16. Give the learner academic learning activities in the most attractive manner possible.

17. Make the learner a leader of the learning experience or group.

18. Consider using an education app to help the student sharpen their organizational skills. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

Description

This activity provides a creative way for learners to engage with the content after they have worked with it as a class. In a lifted line poem, learners collaborate to explore more deeply the words and experiences of first-hand accounts or fictional characters. After reading a short piece of content, learners select a line that they find meaningful and, as a class, transform these lines into a poem. The class may then collaborate to rearrange their lines in a different order that reflects a shift of mood or tone or a hierarchy of emotions, for instance. This activity provides learners with the time and space for individual reflection about what the content means to them as they select their lines, as well as the opportunity to engage in a class discussion while debriefing the activity that focuses on the language of the content.

Implementation

1. Select a Text: Select a piece of short fiction or nonfiction content for this activity. Content with a powerful sense of voice, perhaps expressing the first-person point of view, or strong imagery tend to work well as source material.
2. Prepare Learners for the Activity: After reading and discussing the selected content, tell learners that they will be working together to create a lifted line poem in which they will each select a meaningful line from the reading and then work together to create a poem from those lines.
3. Create the Lifted Line Poem:
   • Instruct learners to review their whole reading, select one line that is most meaningful, important, or revealing to them and mark it with a star or underline it.
   • If you have time, you may ask learners to write an explanation in their journals for why they lifted the line they chose.
   • When everyone has selected a line, ask the learners to stand and form a circle. Next, pick one learner to begin and a direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise). Each learner must read their line in succession in the direction you’ve chosen. Tell learners that it doesn’t matter if more than one person shares the same path.
4. Discuss as a Class:
   • Discuss with learners any patterns they noticed in the lines they chose. Did multiple learners repeat any lines? Why did those repeated lines resonate with various learners?
   • What ideas seemed most meaningful and essential to the class? What thoughts were not embodied in the lifted line poem?
   • How does the class’s lifted line poem extend or challenging their thinking about the content?

Modifications

1. Lifted Line Revision: Time permitting, engage the class in the process of thoughtfully rearranging learners into a new order to deliver their lines that achieves maximum impact through repetition, dissonance, or theme.
2. Multiple Texts, Multiple Voices: Consider utilizing more than one piece of content for this activity. For instance, you may select two to three passages that reflect different characters’ interpretations of a scene or two to three different first-hand accounts of a historical event. Divide the content so that equal numbers of learners are responding to them and follow the instructions above to create the poem. Your class discussion may focus on what the poem reveals about the differing viewpoints, and you may utilize variation #1 to reorder the poem to emphasize the similarities and differences the multiple texts express.

Are you looking for ways to encourage students not to talk during quiet time? If so, keep reading.

1. Make the appropriate adjustments in their surroundings to prevent the learner from experiencing stress, frustration, and anger.

2. Talk regularly with the learner to lessen the need for them to talk to other students.

3. Provide visibility to and from the learner to keep their attention when oral questions/instructions are being delivered. The teacher and the learner should be able to see each other at all times. Make eye contact possible at all times.

4. Assess the appropriateness of the social situation concerning the learner’s capacity and ability to function successfully.

5. Attempt several groupings to ascertain the situation in which the learner is most comfortable.

6. Praise the learner for raising their hand to be recognized.

7. Ask the learner a question when they are most likely to be able to respond correctly (e.g., when discussing something in which the learner is interested, when the teacher is sure they know the answer, etc.).

8. Teach the learner to recognize when to speak, to know how much to say, and to make appropriate remarks (e.g., brief remarks, remarks within the context of the situation, remarks that are a follow-up to what has just been said, etc.).

9. Get the learner to work in small groups in which they would have frequent chances to speak. As the learner learns to wait longer for their turn to speak, slowly increase the size of the group.

10. Make sure that the learner’s feelings are considered when it is appropriate to deal with their talking to other students (i.e., handle remarks in such a way as to not diminish the learner’s enthusiasm for participation).

11. Urge the learner to model the behavior of peers who are successful at not talking to others during quiet activity periods.

12. Assist the learner in improving concentration skills (e.g., listening to the speaker, taking notes, preparing remarks in advance, making remarks in an appropriate context, etc.).

13. Get the learner to question any directions, explanations, or instructions they do not understand prior to asking other students for information.

14. Provide directions, explanations, and instructions in a clear, concise manner to lessen the learner’s need to ask other students for information.

15. Provide a predetermined signal (e.g., hand signal, oral signal, etc.) if the learner talks to others during quiet activity periods.

16. After telling the learner why they should not be talking, explain the reason.

17. Do not provide too much free time for the learner.

18. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

19. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

20. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

21. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.

Are you looking for ways to teach students to use learning materials appropriately ? If so, keep reading.

1. Restrict the learner’s use of school-related learning materials (e.g., give only appropriate school-related learning materials to the learner).

2. Embody organization and appropriate use of school-related learning materials (e.g., putting learning materials away before getting out other learning materials, having a space for all learning materials, keeping an organized desk area, following the daily schedule, etc.).

3. Give sufficient transition time between learning activities for the learner to organize themselves.

4. Create a routine (schedule) to be followed for organization and appropriate use of school-related learning materials.

5. Give sufficient time for the conclusion of learning activities.

6. Make the learner organize their work area at regular intervals. It is recommended that this be done at least three times per day or more often if appropriate.

7. Observe the learner while they are performing schoolwork to monitor quality.

8. Let logical consequences happen because of the learner’s failure to organize or use school-related learning materials properly (e.g., learning materials not maintained properly may be lost or not usable).

9. Assess the clarity and quality of directions, explanations, and instructions given to the learner.

10. Support the learner in beginning each task to lessen impulsive behavior.

11. Give the learner structure for all academic learning activities (e.g., specific instructions; routine (schedule) format for tasks, time units, etc.).

12. Provide the learner a checklist of school-related learning materials appropriate for each learning experience.

13. Limit the amount of school-related learning materials needed.

14. Give the learner an organizer to be used inside the learner’s desk for school-related learning materials.

15. Give the learner a checklist (e.g., routine/schedule of learning activities and steps to follow).

16. Teach the learner appropriate care of school-related learning materials (e.g., sharpening pencils, keeping books free of marks and tears, etc.).

17. Make sure that all the learner’s school-related learning materials are tagged with their name.

18. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

19. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

20. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

21. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.