Jan 2016 Deck Middle Grade Empowerment Teachers as Coaches of Student-Driven Success

ALL Management Corporation ©2014 1/21/2016 ALL Management Corporation ©2015

Middle Grade Empowerment: Teachers as Coaches of Student-Driven Success

“A key characteristic of successful middle level schools is that learning is active and purposeful and that students play a major role in their own education.”

(The Role of Responsive Teacher Practices, 2014)

1/21/2016 2 ALL Management Corporation ©2015

Introduction

Empowering Achievement

Student Agency

Need-Supportive Teaching

Coaching the Learning Process

Communications and Connections

“In wanting students not to be helpless, teachers need to help less.”


Every Kid Needs a Champion

(Rita Pierson: Every Kid Needs a Champion: TED Talks Education 2013 - http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion)

https://youtu.be/o2TY-TkiSlk


Student Agency

Middle Grade Mindset

• Increased capacity for analytical thought, reflection, introspection.

• Seek their own individuality and exploring various roles.

• Strive to maintain peer approval as they search for adult identity.

• More interested in real-life experiences, active and authentic learning opportunities.

• Keen powers of perception; form impressions of themselves through introspection.

• Transitioning from self-centered to group-sensitive perspective; rights and feelings of others.

• Developing many of the attitudes, beliefs, and values that they’ll carry with them for life.

(Developmental Characteristics of Young Adolescents, 2014)


Student Agency

Student-Driven Learning

• Students empowering each other through peer-to-peer learning.

• Establishing their own personalized learning environment.

• Teacher as “coach” or facilitator providing need-supportive teaching.

• Learning through real-world activities, life skills, career and college exploration.

• Including team-building, cooperative learning, reflective discussions, collaborative projects.

• Cognitive and noncognitive development: SEL, 21st century skills, developmental assets.

• Elevating peer-to-peer learning to peer-to-peer mentoring for greater schoolwide impact.

(Framework for 21st Century Learning, 2015) (CCC Middle Grades Research Series: Peer-to-Peer Learning Pedagogy, 2015)

The extent to which students feel connected and respected in school contributes to academic tenacity and predicts academic success.


• Beyond academics, middle grade students need to develop the behaviors, attitudes, skills, strategies to navigate new situations for ongoing success in life.

• All areas of adolescent development are intertwined factors (physical, intellectual, psychological, social-emotional), thus academic success is dependent on all those needs.

• Student performance and achievement are also affected by self-beliefs about their own intelligence, self-control, and quality of their relationships with peers and adults.

Influencing Achievement

A responsive learning environment supports these growing needs by including:

• Active and relevant instruction

• Opportunities for exploration

• High-quality relationships characterized by care and trust

Guiding Student Success

(This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, 2010) (Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners, 2012) (The Role of Responsive Teacher Practices in Supporting Academic Motivation at the Middle Level, 2014)



Self-Determination Theory

Based on the premise that all students have basic psychological needs:

• Competence – self efficacy

• Autonomy – personal control and direction

• Relatedness – connectedness to others

(Effects of Need Supportive Teaching on Early Adolescents’ Motivation and Engagement, 2013) (Teacher and Peer Support for Young Adolescents’ Motivation, Engagement, and School Belonging, 2015)

• Autonomy-Supportive

• Guided Structure

• Interpersonal Connectedness

Need-Supportive Teaching

Teachers need to be developmentally responsive, challenging, empowering, and equitable.


Safety in the Struggle


• Students in the middle grades are developmentally ready to tackle a variety of new dynamic skills. They need meaningful opportunities to take ownership of their learning.

• Teachers sometimes misdiagnose poor academic behaviors and perseverance as students who don’t care or are unmotivated. The cause may actually be students who are convinced they cannot do the work or don’t have the needed strategies to do so.

• Students who cannot see the relevance of what they’re learning may also have difficulty engaging in the work. Others may withdraw because of fear of public failure.

Students need to feel safe and supported in developing new skills.

(Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners, 2012)


Taking Inventory


(Motivational Teacher Strategies: The Role of Beliefs and Contextual Factors, 2015) (Teacher and Peer Support for Young Adolescents’ Motivation, Engagement, and School Belonging,2015) (Teachers as Facilitators: What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Do and Why Their Students Benefit, 2006)

Question 1:

What are some ways teachers can support student autonomy?


Taking Inventory


Teachers need to invest in developing the habits of learning so students can help themselves.

Question 1:

What are some ways teachers can support student autonomy?

Nurture inner motivational resources.

Provide choices aligned with student interests.

Meaningful and relevant learning activities.

Provide explanatory rationales.

Adopt the student perspective.

Rely on non-controlling informational language.

Display patience to allow for self-paced learning. Acknowledge and accept expressions of negative affect.


Taking Inventory


Self-Inventories about interests, motivations, and strengths can boost confidence and empower the learning process.

(Career & College Clubs: Self-Inventories, 2016)


Leading Question


(Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners, 2012) (Implementing Competency Education in K-12 Systems: Insights from Local Leaders, 2015) (Teachers as Facilitators: What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Do and Why Their Students Benefit, 2006)

Question 2:

How can teachers let go control of learning, handing over to students?


Leading Question


Question 2:

How can teachers let go control of learning, handing over to students?

Students in the middle grades still need support and structure to be able to use their autonomy wisely. Structure isn’t the same as control.

Autonomy-Supportive Learning Structures include: explicit instruction, clarity of expectations, modeling a new skill,

learning strategies, scaffolding of support, ongoing encouragement, timely informative feedback, guided reflections, emphasis on process skills,

empowering student voice, asking students what they need to help them achieve

Students can take ownership of their learning when they clearly know what is expected of them and the criteria for proficiency.



(A Study of the Impact of Professional Development on Middle Level Advisors, 2013) (The Role of Responsive Teacher Practices in Supporting Academic Motivation at the Middle Level, 2014)

When there is a mismatch between students’ school experiences and their developmental needs,

there is often a decline in motivation and achievement.


1. Knowledge of Group Development Process – pre-affiliation (trust-building), power and control (hierarchical relationship), intimacy (interested in similarities), differentiation (different roles for tackling tasks), conclusion (evaluating experience) 2. Supportive Physical and Emotional Environment – safety through guided structure instead of teacher control 3. Empowering Student Agency – understanding young adolescent social-emotional development and mindset; going from “hands-on” to “hands-joined” activities



(Career & College Clubs: program model, coach handbook, 2016)

• Setting the Tone for Success – purpose, rationale, goals, criteria, encouragement, respect

• Supporting from the Sidelines – informative language, role-modeling, learning strategies

• Keeping it Real for Students – inspiring personal stories, life skills, community connections

• Empowering Student Voice – communications, collaborations, problem-solving, leadership

• Providing a Safety Net for Innovation – building trust, student strengths, creative risk-taking



“Hidden” Curriculum

(This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, 2010)


Learning strategies employed in the middle grades should be as diverse, varied, and lively as the students themselves.

• A powerful influence on students’ education is the “hidden curriculum” — what students learn indirectly from people with whom they interact, structures in which they work, and issues that inevitably occur in a human enterprise. • Teachers as a supportive “coach” skillfully interweave the planned with the unplanned curriculum, facilitate understanding, and ensure that interactions with students are positive and each student is valued and treated equitably. • Curriculum is relevant and integrative when it helps students make sense of their lives and the world, when they are empowered to contribute significant decisions about their learning, and when learning is flexible to accommodate differentiated learning styles, approaches, strategies, and assessment tools.


Assessing Progress


• Should reflect the unique characteristics of young adolescents

• Emphasize individual growth and progress rather than comparison with others

• Help students understand their own strengths, weaknesses, interests, aptitudes

• Include self-reflections, self-assessment, and opportunities for peer feedback

• Address the many aspects of student development beyond content knowledge

• Include critical thinking, responsibility, independence, and other personal attributes

• Assess through journals, portfolios, demonstrations, descriptive feedback, projects

Students should be able to tell you what they are learning, why it is important, how they know if they have learned,

and how they will access more supports.

(This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, 2010) (Implementing Competency Education in K–12 Systems: Insights from Local Leaders, 2015)


Inquiring Minds


(The Role of Responsive Teacher Practices in Supporting Academic Motivation at the Middle Level, 2014)

Question 3:

What have you learned from students, their comments and feedback?


Inquiring Minds


Question 3:

What have you learned from students, their comments and feedback?

Middle grade students view teachers as “caring” if teachers:

model caring behaviors, connect with students by getting to know them personally,

value and model empathy in interactions with students, treat students with respect to foster a socially supportive environment,

provide opportunities for social interactions with peers, provide constructive and timely feedback

When teachers demonstrate that they are still learners, the conditions of a genuine learning community are present.


What Students Say

(Building Supportive Relationships as a Foundation for Learning, 2010)


“We might act like we hate you, but we care what you say and do.”

“If you push us too hard we might break, so give us room to figure things out.”

“Your opinions really matter to us, but we have to decide things for ourselves.”

“We already feel bad enough about our mistakes—don’t make us feel worse.”

“If you want us to do better, praise what we do well already.”

“Respect what’s important to us, and we’ll respect what’s important to you.”

“When you tell us your problems and mistakes, it’s easier to trust you with ours.”

“We’ll cooperate with you better, if you can relax a little.”

“If we don’t agree, let’s work out a compromise.”

“If we see that you respect us, we’ll accept your help.”

“We need to take risks, so help us find ones that won’t hurt us.”

“We want to learn your skills, and we could teach you ours.”

“If you treat us like we’re little kids, we’ll act that way—so don’t.”


Personal Relatedness

(This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, 2010) (Teacher and Peer Support for Young Adolescents’ Motivation, Engagement, and School Belonging, 2015)


• If students don’t think you care, they won’t care either. Students don’t learn from people they don’t like. • Mutual respect is positively associated with self-efficacy, self-regulated learning, and a sense of security, allowing students to focus on the learning task. • Teachers foster respect by using non-controlling language, constructive feedback, modeling respectful behavior, explicitly stating classroom norms, and encouraging students to interact respectfully. • The learning process needs to include ongoing opportunities for students to talk with their peers. Part of middle grade development is group identity and peer approval.

Effective educators develop structures that ensure students will be known as individuals and feel cared for and valued.


Building Supportive Relationships


Believe in Your Students. Know It Matters. Show You Care.

• smile to set the tone (non-verbal signals)

• stay calm (role-modeling for them)

• actively listen (focus on them, no multi-tasking)

• notice their strengths (growth mindset)

• use humor (uplifting humor, not sarcasm)

• share your own stories (recall your struggles)

• ask for their opinions (listen and adjust content)

• build in physical movement (teenagers need to squirm)

• allow for social interactions (they need to talk about it)

(Building Supportive Relationships as a Foundation for Learning, 2010)


Discussion


Conclusion

Karen Hall Education Coordinator Career & College Clubs

(310) 242-8809 [email protected]

www.careerandcollegeclubs.org

Next Webinar: Middle Grade Engagement: Experiential Learning for Real-Life College and Career Readiness Skills

Webinar On-Demand: http://careerandcollegeclubs.org/webinar-series/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.careerandcollegeclubs.org/

http://careerandcollegeclubs.org/webinar-series/





Documents

Jan 2016 Deck Middle Grade Empowerment Teachers as Coaches of Student-Driven Success