Posts Tagged ‘autonomy’
The "I'm Done!" Conundrum
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . Has this ever happened to you? Your class is in the zone. Everyone is settled, engaged, and working in their literacy stations. You are making headway with a guided reading group, and you hear those two dreaded words that are like fingernails on the chalkboard –…
Read MoreQuick and Smooth Transitions Within the Classroom
Transitions in the classroom can be difficult for both students and teachers. Sometimes students don’t want to leave what they’re doing or don’t know they are supposed to stop and a mad dash results when they realize the time for the activity is over. For teachers transitions can be a time of chaos, shouting, and…
Read MoreInfluence
From the desk of Carol C. . . “We change lives. We affect people every single day with the words we say, the looks on our face, the actions we choose, and the decisions we make.” Joshua Becker Last week I read a blog by Joshua Becker. It talked about how we influence people even when…
Read MoreSpreading a Feast of Ideas
From the desk of Leigh Ann… “Our fault, our exceeding great fault, is that we keep our own minds and the minds of our children shamefully underfed.” – Charlotte Mason This summer I became inspired by the work of educator Charlotte Mason. Her life was dedicated to improving the quality of education for children at…
Read MoreChoice Can Make a Difference
From the desk of Carol C. . . A few weeks ago my friend, Jan, asked me to come into her classroom and videotape her students working on math projects they had designed. All of the projects centered around what her students had learned about geometry; however, each project was different. One group chose to…
Read MoreGlass Half Full Mentality
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “Resilient people immediately look at the problem and say, ‘What’s the solution to that? What is that trying to teach me?’ ” – unknown Simply saying the world optimism makes me smile. It sparks this positive, more resilient tone to my thinking. Research shows that optimist…
Read MoreIndulging in Reading
From the desk of Alice… I recently trimmed back my social media time in the evenings to make more room for reading for pleasure. I have a bookshelf full of books that have been on my list for a while and I decided it was time to read them or get rid of them. Last…
Read MoreIndependent Learners, Part II
From the desk of Carol C. . . Last week we looked at some of the characteristics of independent learners. This week let’s focus on how educators can help children become independent learners. If independent learners are risk takers, how do we help our students take more risks? Once we’re sure our students understand what…
Read MoreImportance of Choice
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “The 3 C’s of Life: Choices, Chances, Changes. You must make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change.” – Unknown The children in our classrooms make choices all day long. They choose to obey or ignore the rules, say kind or…
Read MoreIndependent Learners, Part I
From the desk of Carol C. . . During the month of March we’re looking at the idea of autonomy in education. This week I want to look at some of the characteristics of autonomous learners. First, simply put, autonomy is the ability to take charge of our own learning. Autonomous learners are capable of…
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