Patton @ AMLE 2017

I attended a short Speed Learning Session with Vicki Meigs-Kahlenberg and enjoyed it so much that I ended up purchasing her book The Author's Apprentice . Essentially, Vicki's session was on not letting narrative writing fall by the wayside in the world of high-stakes testing. She talked about teaching students to develop their writing voices by studying the works and process of popular young adult authors such as Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, and Lois Lowry. I have always been interested in using mentor texts to teach students writing strategies such as "Show, Don't Tell" and dialogue that develops characters, but I felt like Vicki's process takes this one step further because she has students research the actual authors and learn about their lives and writing processes. There is no one correct way to write. Every author plans, drafts, and revises differently, and I think sharing this with students makes the whole writing process seem m

One session I attended was titled, "Integrating Technology into a Dynamic and Brain-Friendly Classroom."  The presenters introduced an interesting tool called Spiral (https://spiral.ac/).  This is a free resource that allows for quick assessments, class discussions, brainstorming, and several other features.

The first session I attended was on Advisories.  The presenter acknowledged that not all schools have Advisory programs, others have beginning programs, and others have long-established programs, so the presentation would address the research-based facets of long-established programs that have shown student success and growth. Advisories are times for social and emotional development and growth.  In order to "work" Advisories should be at least 15-20 minutes each day.  There are three components of every  Advisory meeting: Belonging, Significance, and Fun.  Each student should feel like they belong  to that group (their Advisory), which, in turn, develops into a larger belonging  to the school family.  The activities done in Advisory should have obvious significance for the students - and not the type of significance where the teacher knows why it is significant, but the students shrug their shoulders when asked.  Students play main roles in developing content of Advisory

Brain Basics 101: Creating Socially and Emotionally Healthy Classrooms Key ideas/emphasis: Trauma and stress are big challenges to learning Emotional health is not an “appetizer” or a “dessert”- it is the plate Teaching students about the parts of the brain and what they control Helping students understand dysregulation  (acting out and acting in) Teaching students the proper way to breathe-the prefrontal cortex (which is used for complex thinking)  “goes offline” during times of stress, and correct/deep breathing helps bring it “back online” and also releases oxytocin Pyramid of trauma, stress and learning (below)- students who form ONE healthy, supportive adult relationship can offset this pyramid Big takeaway: CHASE THE WHY-The Posture of Curiosity Easy to begin using tomorrow When dealing with students who are either dysregulated or not exhibiting the desired behavior, use the following phrases: “I wonder…” or I noticed…”   Examples: “I wonder

Debbie Silver's wit, sense of humor, and passion for education was evident in every facet of her presentation at the National AMLE Conference. She presented herself as human (and all of the faults that are associated with that) and wasn't afraid to identify singular mistakes that she made during her career; mainly buying into the idea early on that we should praise every child, often, and often times for things that they ultimately couldn't control (i.e. naturally smart). This was the prevailing educational thinking (even now in some circles) at the time (I still recall an undergraduate professor lecturing me on the evils of red pen on self-esteem). She went on to detail that she felt it her duty to insulate her students from failure or struggle. She summed all of these ideas up with one word, wrong. That led us to the not so new, but seldom used pedagogy of growth mindset. Debbie identified a few people as being responsible for helping her to shift her thinking from e

"Middle School:  A Place to Belong and Become" was presented at AMLE by Dr. Laurie Barron, principal,  and Superintendent Patti Kinney.  I LOVED THIS PRESENTATION!! Some thoughts presented:  (Many things we already knew but some new thoughts) . Effective middle schools are where students feel they belong, are safe, respected and valued. . The foundations of middle school have to be strong. . We need to educate the whole child....physical, social and emotional. . The first biggest growth spurt in a child's life is birth to two years of age.  The second biggest spurt and most critical time of development is ages 11-14....our middle school kiddos! . We need to focus on the outcome, not the structure. . Remember students are stakeholders too.  Involve them and seek their input.  i.e., designing a playground. . The first day of school:  don't focus on rules and consequences.  Instead, make the first day AWESOME! Some ideas presented to make middle school a plac