What is Reggio Emilia?

While I was hopping on one of my favorite YouTube channels, I came across a teacher giving a Ted Talk on Reggio Emilia. I had never heard of the term before and thought, "What was this style of teaching that helps children as young as preschool become active citizens?"

The Reggio Emilia approch to learning is focused on preschool and primary age students.  The pedagogy is described as student directed, experiential learning in relationship driven environments. Students learn through exploration and discover rather than having content drilled into them. It was stated that the approach was based on children at the early age are endowed with a hundred languages and have their own personalities and ways to express their ideas. I also found it quite interesting that allowing students to play in a hole dug in the ground would cover so many of the learning standards as presented in her graphics towards the end of the video.  This teacher is passionate about teaching young ones to be active citizens. I think sometimes we forget that the best way to learn is through experimentation.

I also found this video that easily explains the whole process of the Reggio Emilia philosophy that I though you may find interesting to check out. I believe every child learns differently and they need to be given the chance to explore and find their own voice. 

Tea for Teaching - Metaliteracy

Metaliteracy is teaching framework that promotes critical thinking snd collaboration in a digital world. I am planning to write a blog post that more clearly defines the concept, but for now I wanted to share a podcast that one of my professors did.

Professor Mackey has developed and written books on Metaliteracy and was a guest on the podcast Tea for Teaching lot too long ago. This concept is very interesting to me and while I research it more please enjoy this summary on the podcast at the link below.

Tea for Teaching - Metaliteracy

Tech in school, what's the parent's role?

So much technology is thrown at your kids in school. They have electronic devices issued by the school, their phone, tablet, laptop. Homework on the computer...games, research and more. It is all so overwhelming and you have no idea what to do. You did not grow up with all of this technology, you always lugged around textbooks and researched in the library. If you were lucky, your family invested in a set of encyclopedias so you would always have access to information to write your paper.

Gone are the days of flipping through pages of a textbook. Many schools have integrated technology into the classroom and students do research and homework directy online. How are you supposed to understand what they are doing when you weren't exposed to that type of technology?

As a parent, you are responsible for teaching your child to be safe online and to find a happy medium for screen time. Kristen Galloway of the Morning Consult website shared four tips for parents to focus on when teaching their children to gain control with technology in their life.

1. Serve as a role model. Be mindful of your time spent on your mobile devices and computers. If you unplug, it will set the example for your child to.

2. Everything is best in moderation. Technology use needs limits too, just like any other rule you set for your child. Talk with your child about the rules for technology use that will fit your family values.

3. Provide alternatives. Remind your child that it is still important to not be tied to a screen all the time. Read, spend time with family or just reading a good book.

4. Edcation. You may not be familiar with the latest apps being used by your child. Take the time to ask and have them show you. The surprise will be that your child will think it is great they are teaching you something!

The article closes talking about how in the past, the big concern was watching too much TV.  Now it is too much technology.

Read the full article here.

Source:
“Parents Can Play Important Role in Teaching Children About Technology.” Morning Consult, 6 Mar. 2018, morningconsult.com/opinions/parents-play-important-role-teaching-children-technology/.

What toys are educational but fun?

Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed, I wondered what techy educational toys are the hot pick this year. My daughter has aged out of buying toys so I wasn't sure what the latest recommendations were since I do not pay attention anymore. I stumbled across this article posted by Teach Thought that listed 50 of the best educational toys for 2018. Keep in mind I noticed a disclaimer on the page stating they receive a small portion of the proceeds if you purchase by clicking their link, so is the item chosen for that reason or because it is of real educational value? (I do not receive any financial gain from sharing the page!

Check out the article, Editor's Choice: 50 of the Best Educational Toys and Gifts for 2018. I was very pleased to see that the list did not contain a list of digital techy toys only. Toys that help children problem solve, think for themselves and bring out their creative side are listed. These are all skills children need to be successful when tg hey gro we up. You can imagine my excitement when I saw a few classic favorites from when I was a kid can still make the list! Spirogragh, bug catchers, books, art kits and a good old fashioned chalk board easel caught my attention. No child should be without educational toys that teach without them even realizing. They think they are just having fun!  What's your favorite classic educational toy or gift?

Personalized Learning at Central Valley

I talked about Personalized Learning in a previous post. We implemented this teaching style in the school district I work for, Central Valley Central School District in Ilion, New York. I wanted to share some videos that were created when the new teaching style was introduced at the school district. The videos explain what the concept is and how it has been implemented in the classroom. You will hear from elementary and middle school teachers' perspectives on how it is working as they have seen student improvement in a short time. The best part is hearing from the students in the second video!

Learning has become fun for students and they are learning important social skills working together and collaborating when necessary. They learn responsibility and prioritizing since they can work at their own pace and know what needs to get done each week. These are important life skills needed to be ready for college and future careers. Often I have heard my daughter say, "Why didn't we do that when I was in school?" She feels personalized learning would have definitely been an asset to her education in middle and high school.

It's parent-teacher conference time, what do I ask?

Parent-teacher conference season is here! You are excited to meet your child's teacher, yet disappointed once you arrive when you find out you only have a 15 minute time-slot to talk about everything. There is so much you want to know and so little time. You ask yourself, "How do I get all the information I need in so little time to help my child succeed?" That is a great question, not to mention the teacher has their own agenda of information to share.

The most important thing to know is how to reach your child's teacher. Find out if email is best or a phone call and get their contact information. Today there are many ways to stay on top of your child's studies with technology. Many schools have "parent portals" you can sign up for to watch over their grades and assignments. Be sure to find out if this is available and get the information to sign up. Find out what changes you can expect throughout the year, is there anything specific to prepare your child for? Of course, you want to know what areas your child is doing well and where they are struggling. Ask what you can do at home to help with studies, can the teacher send home extra practice sheets or is there a website to work from.

In addition to these topics I listed, I found a list of questions to ask at a parent-teacher conference compiled by VeryWellFamily.com. They have the questions broken down into categories making it easy to prioritize which ones pertain to your child and what you want to know. With such a short time to talk to the teacher, you will want to make the most out of it.

Bring a list of questions you want to ask so you don't forget. If you don't have enough time, ask the teacher if you can schedule a meeting at another time to go over specifics in more detail. Communication with the teacher and school is imperative to your child's education and will help them be successful in school.

Links:
https://www.verywellfamily.com/

https://www.verywellfamily.com/questions-ask-parent-teacher-conferences-2601462

Tips on organizing your brain

I posted earlier this week that I like to watch TED videos. If you have not gotten a chance to check them out yet, here is your first chance. 

The one I am sharing today is from their Ted-Ed Student Talks series. Students share information and experiences they have had so it is easy for students to relate to them. Trishna Bindu explains how she learned a memory technique called Method of Loci to help organize her scatterbrain. Hope it helps you and your children re-organize those scatterbrain moments!