This reiterates the importance of freedom, use of spaces (within spaces) and providing a warm, comforting learning environment. I remember when I was at school sitting next to my best mate, he would constantly tape his leg with a ruler and fidget when the teacher was talking. Our teacher said, "This is his brain firing!"
I concur with teenage students being restless, some can multi-task very well by fidgeting and listening at the same time. I know a few visitors have commented on maintaining student posture when coming through on tours but I think as long as we keep the students moving and transitioning to different areas of the learning space this will cancel out the "sitting trap".
The idea of 'fidgeting' or playing with something while listening/learning supports a number of courses I have been on. I think if we look closely at ourselves we would find that many of us as adults fidget to a certain extent while learning. This does not mean that we are not listening/engaged. I think these readings highlight the importance of keeping our environment and programmes engaging and interesting.
This has reinforced the importance of allowing for different learning styles in what we are doing. When I was taking a maths group today one of the children I was working with was constantly copying down what I was doing in my modeling book. As much as I could have thought that he was off task / not concentrating, when I asked him what he was doing he said that he likes to take notes so he can understand what he is learning.
I've found that often when children are whispering to the person next to them they are not off task but repeating what is being learned or clarifying something. Asking children to be quiet or waiting for their turn to speak is not always helpful to their learning. When learning something new some people need to repeat the steps out loud first. Tracy
Another thing that has really made me think is the timeframe before children lose concentration - less than 10 minutes for primary children and less that 20 minutes for teens... what does this mean for us as teachers? How long is too long for children to be on the mat listening? How in touch are we with the cues that our children are giving us? How flexible are we with our lessons to allow for movement when it is necessary? How can we include movement in our day in meaningful ways?
This made me think about how so often society says that good learners are quiet, still and listening. I wish some of the commenters on our press article, who wrote about posture could read Breithecker's article. It reminds me that we need to keep things moving and mix it up - to cater to learning styles and student's individual needs.
This brought up a discussion for us - we talked about how sometimes the most meaningful learning is happening while the classroom is an absolute tip BUT the students need to have the respect for the environment to clean up after themselves as this results in a comforting environment for all children! Middle Team
I found the comment under 'Build a nest' interesting, "give them a soft, quiet and cosy area to play in by themselves or with a few friends." I use the quiet room for this and find it helps prevent meltdowns (the ones that you know are about to happen)! I think some children need a break from the busy school day.
This reiterates the importance of freedom, use of spaces (within spaces) and providing a warm, comforting learning environment. I remember when I was at school sitting next to my best mate, he would constantly tape his leg with a ruler and fidget when the teacher was talking. Our teacher said, "This is his brain firing!"
ReplyDeleteI concur with teenage students being restless, some can multi-task very well by fidgeting and listening at the same time. I know a few visitors have commented on maintaining student posture when coming through on tours but I think as long as we keep the students moving and transitioning to different areas of the learning space this will cancel out the "sitting trap".
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of 'fidgeting' or playing with something while listening/learning supports a number of courses I have been on. I think if we look closely at ourselves we would find that many of us as adults fidget to a certain extent while learning. This does not mean that we are not listening/engaged. I think these readings highlight the importance of keeping our environment and programmes engaging and interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis has reinforced the importance of allowing for different learning styles in what we are doing. When I was taking a maths group today one of the children I was working with was constantly copying down what I was doing in my modeling book. As much as I could have thought that he was off task / not concentrating, when I asked him what he was doing he said that he likes to take notes so he can understand what he is learning.
ReplyDeleteI've found that often when children are whispering to the person next to them they are not off task but repeating what is being learned or clarifying something. Asking children to be quiet or waiting for their turn to speak is not always helpful to their learning. When learning something new some people need to repeat the steps out loud first.
DeleteTracy
Another thing that has really made me think is the timeframe before children lose concentration - less than 10 minutes for primary children and less that 20 minutes for teens... what does this mean for us as teachers? How long is too long for children to be on the mat listening? How in touch are we with the cues that our children are giving us? How flexible are we with our lessons to allow for movement when it is necessary? How can we include movement in our day in meaningful ways?
ReplyDeleteThis made me think about how so often society says that good learners are quiet, still and listening. I wish some of the commenters on our press article, who wrote about posture could read Breithecker's article. It reminds me that we need to keep things moving and mix it up - to cater to learning styles and student's individual needs.
ReplyDeleteThis brought up a discussion for us - we talked about how sometimes the most meaningful learning is happening while the classroom is an absolute tip BUT the students need to have the respect for the environment to clean up after themselves as this results in a comforting environment for all children!
ReplyDeleteMiddle Team
I found the comment under 'Build a nest' interesting, "give them a soft, quiet and cosy area to play in by themselves or with a few friends." I use the quiet room for this and find it helps prevent meltdowns (the ones that you know are about to happen)! I think some children need a break from the busy school day.
ReplyDelete