June, July and August???

The best 3 things about school?  June, July and August!  Really?

Only in the summer time do these climbing flowers enjoy their success!

The life of an educator borders on chaotic!  Every day, children enter a common room, battle a common adventure and the end of the year, a common thread binds teachers and students.  Teachers enjoy seeing students progress and grow as the school year winds down.  Markers of the year, like pictures, work samples and celebrations contradict the urge to call it quits!  Clearing decorations, signing out, saying good-byes and planning a last social event before the summer adventures commence become cyclic and welcome rituals!  Saying farewell to those leaving but knowing opportunities abound in every new hire looking to fill their shoes. Those Summer Adventures become learning opportunities for most teachers, whether taking an extra class, starting a new degree or traveling under the guise of "content" related.  "Of course that trip to Mexico connects to the classroom."

End of the year jitters and transitions also effect students!   The little scholars are excited to leave the responsibility of school behind, but in far too many homes, the uncertainty of summer brings meal issues, supervision issues, and way too much time on the latest video game!  Stress brings out behavior issues in many as their infractions are manifestations of mixed emotions.  Students with typically clean records end up in an office, not really sure themselves why their behavior was so out of character!

But we make it!  We persist.  We endure.  We strive to reach the end, subconsciously knowing it is the best thing for us.  This rejuvenation, rest and relaxation resets the teacher!  A return to center, a refocus on priorities and a renewed energy are a few of the results of these short few weeks off school.  Most teachers are just as busy in the summer as during the school year itself.

What is the best thing about teaching?  Connecting with children, making a difference in their lives and building a better tomorrow, one conversation at a time!

Pop Quiz: Rank these according to Hattie Research?

Below, the morning sun is trying to shine its light through the distractions of the trees and branches.  Sort of like our best practices try and rise to the surface to displace less effective teaching actions.  The light overcomes the darkness.

Sunrise, July 16th, 2013

For instance, lets take a look at this Pop Quiz:   Rank these following terms from greatest impact on student learning to least:

a.       Summer School

b.      Peer influences

c.       Classroom Behavior

d.      Socio-Economic Status

 

A. Here we have an instance where we can probably eliminate the lowest one.  Summer School is scored with 0.23.  This implies the effect is slight.  Those activities scoring below a 0.2 have little effect and too low (below 0.0) actually have negative effect.

 

The typical or regular classroom, if there is such a thing, scores at about a 0.4.  This implies activities above that score are better than average.  The other three choices in our Pop Quiz all fair better than the 0.4 cutoff.

 

B. Peer influence submits a score of 0.53, implying a pretty good positive effect on students achievement levels.

There were 138 parameters in this 15 year long study.  Over 200 million students were assessed in over 50,000 different studies regarding impact and effect of these various parameters.  Our Pop Quiz only address four.

 

D. Closely scored at 0.57 is Socio-economic status.  Yes poverty does have an impact on students success, but with proper PD, faculties are able to adjust and compensate for these challenges.

With all these variables addressed, we would be poor stewards indeed if we failed to examine the implications on teaching, classrooms and true "best-practices."

 

C.  Finally,  of these four characteristic and parameters, the one with the greatest impact on student learning is actually classroom behavior.  It seems a secure environment where there are boundaries, limits and a sense of connection actually encourages students to take educational risks and try.  This seems especially true when considering the converse:  In a chaotic environment, students may not want to risk failure.

 

The ranking according to Hattie, from most impact to least,   C, D, B and A.  Well done to those who figured it out!

What does this mean for us?  Maybe we should invest more time in working at effective practices and less time in easy or practices that have less impact!

Credit to:

 @visiblelearning
John Hattie:   http://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/
Summer School, Peer Influence, Classroom Behavior, Socio-Economic Status