Using the Classroom Space to Promote Thinking and Learning - Karen Boyes

Using the Classroom Space to Promote Thinking and Learning

According to a Harvard study of communication, it only takes seven seconds to make a first impression. Your classroom environment communicates many things about your teaching style, and the learning going on in the classroom. Ron Ritchhart asserts your classroom environment sends messages to your students about what you value, how you think learning happens and what kinds of learning and thinking is to be celebrated. He continues to say, “Environments also send messages about how students are to move and interact in a space with others, either connecting us as community or making that connection more of a challenge.”
Of course, great teaching can happen in a garden shed and indeed any space, and the question to consider is does the environment fully support, embrace and bring out the best in your learners?
Is the furniture arranged to support the ‘sage on the stage’ notion or that you value interaction, team work and collaboration? Does your classroom environment show teacher directed or student led learning?
The classroom environment sends messages about the hidden curriculum, what you value, is important and what is expected and encouraged.
In his book, Creating Cultures of Thinking, Ron Ritchhart outlines 5 factors to consider when setting up a classroom which promotes thinking and learning.
1. Physical Environment: This sends messages of how learning will happen and of what is valued, important, expected and encouraged. Your physical space is part of the hidden curriculum – the what really goes on here. Reggio Emilia talks about the walls in your classroom being the third teacher. However, just having the posters of information on the walls is not enough. I once had a Principal tell me that a programme he had introduced into his school had not worked. He went on to say that they had displayed the information in every classroom for 2 years and it didn’t work! Posters alone do not teach, they often become invisible wallpaper. Displays show what we value, and it is then the teachers task to explicitly refer to and teach the ideas and concepts. Jenny Mosley suggests we have to get the information off the walls and into our students’ minds and hearts.
2. Visibility. If learning and thinking are at the core of your classroom it is imperative you show this in your environment. Walk into your classroom with fresh eyes to see what students or a visitor will see. Is the work on the walls perfect, showing that is what is expected? Is there evidence of learning or just the final result? Do your captions capture the process and learning or the completed task?
The photograph of the pompoms is a great example of who your students are becoming because of the teaching and learning happening in your classroom. The caption might have said “We made Pompoms.” This would show that the end task of the pompom was the goal. The caption “We have been persistent” clearly showcases what the teaching and learning was about as well as the disposition students are encouraged to develop.
Display your students work to show them what the learning process looks like so they can see growth over time, rather than a snap shot moment. Consider whether you display all students work or their best effort. When students know it is not their best effort and it is displayed for all to see (and possibly compare) what happens to their pride and self-esteem? Plus, if all the pictures on the wall look the same, what is the point of displaying them? Displays need to have a learning purpose; to invite reflection, inspire, inform or to show growth.
3. Flexibility. With many different modes and ways of learning in a modern classroom, the space needs to reflect this dynamic approach. A static physical space may be detrimental for learning according to researchers in the UK. Easily moveable furniture is an important factor in making the classroom space more dynamic. For example, rectangle and triangle tables are far easier to move into bigger groups that round tables. Provide flexible seating to reflect the time spent learning, for example, foam cubes and inflatable balls for short group work and chairs for a longer instructional time. Explore the concept of stand up desks for productivity.
Provide clear zones for different activities such as play, presentation, demonstration, collaboration, wet, creative, quiet, planning, group, individual, reading, lab, dramatic etc. David Thornburg identified archetypes which are needed for learning to thrive. These are zones of the campfire (for groups, discussions and processes), watering hole (for encounters and support), cave (for concentration and quiet time), sandpit (for practical making, designing and experimenting) and the mountain top (for presentations, reflection of progress and discovery).
4. Comfort. The opportunity to move and change your posture in a learning environment adds to the comfort of the learner. However, comfort goes beyond the furniture. Take time to reflect on how the lighting, temperature, colour and noise either enhances or distracts from learning.
* Lighting: Many schools have florescent lights as they are the cheapest to use. Fluorescents tubes flicker at a different rate to brain processing causing stress and discomfort. Studies clearly show extended time under florescent lights can cause stress, headaches, dehydration and fatigue. Test this out – turn the lights off in your classroom and ask the students how they feel. In my experience the majority of students comment how much calmer they feel. The best lighting for learning is natural light or lighting that mimics daylight such as full spectrum lighting. Ideally switchable banks of lights and dimmable lights are great.
* Temperature: This is often less able to be controlled, yet the room temperature and air quality does impact learning. If the room is too hot, students become sluggish. Conversely, if the room is too cold the body needs to use extra energy and effort to warm itself up which means less energy for concentration, thinking and learning. Rita and Kenneth Dunns’ research shows the ideal temperature range is between 18-22 degrees Celsius.
. *   Colour is a topic that is still up for debate and when surveyed students prefer more than less. It is agreed that certain colours give off particular vibes. For example, green is used as a calming colour in waiting rooms and prisons. Warm bright colours such as red, orange and deep yellow engender energy and a fast pace (think fast food restaurants) whilst blues, greens, brown and pastels colours (think nature) are more calming.
* Noise levels are a huge topic in schools with open spaces and teaching needs to be adapted to minimise the noise. Glass walls provide visibility and acoustic privacy. Headphones can screen out noise. Conversations about noise levels and expectations help as well. In many classrooms I have visited recently, I have seen how teachers are explicitly teaching and modelling noise levels with the battery operated push lights.
5. Invitational Qualities. Teachers and students can spend between six to ten hours within the walls of a classroom and school. Just as we want our homes to be practical and inviting, so can our classrooms be. Create an environment that is welcoming for students, parents, colleagues and visitors. Welcoming classrooms often have a sense of playfulness, surprise and fun. At Escola Concept in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the sense of wonder, fun and surprise is abundant in their environment. From the book nook, quotes on the wall, the staircase, the wallpaper up the stairs to the swing seats in the library, it makes the school feel very inviting and emits a feeling of powerful learning.

The learning environment is a key consideration for learning success and whether your school has budgets for change or not, there are many small changes you can make to promote thinking and learning.
Action points include:
• Get down on your knees and view your classroom from a students’ perspective
• Identify what your central classroom focus is. Is it the screen or board? What would you prefer to be at the centre of the learning and teaching in your classroom?
• Consider what you want your classroom environment to say about the teaching and learning going on
• Identify what is not working and modify
• Create some element of surprise, wonder or fun to provoke a smile or encourage learning.

let's talk about cellphone bans

https://katielmartin.com/2019/03/25/lets-talk-about-cell-phone-bans-should-we-limit-access-or-teach-responsibility/

Let’s Talk About Cell Phone Bans: Should We Limit Access Or Teach Responsibility?

Posted on March 25, 2019by Katie Martin

I have heard mounting frustrations and complaints about kids not being able to manage their digital habits. I just sat with a teacher this week who was on a mission to ban cell phones nationwide (in school) because it was “distracting her students from learning.” She is working so hard and struggling to get her kids to focus on or care about what she feels she is held accountable for teaching. It is frustrating when learners are distracted in school and policymakers are starting to take actions. This teacher’s (an many others) dream might become a reality according to a proposed ban on cell phones in California states that usage; “interferes with the educational mission of the schools, lowers pupil performance, particularly among low-achieving pupils, promotes cyberbullying, and contributes to an increase in teenage anxiety, depression, and suicide.”
I hear (and see) that students are connected to their devices far too often that is healthy and productive and social media can have very real social and emotional consequences.
I am not going to pretend that this isn’t a challenge and that these aren’t real issues that need to be dealt with.  My husband is a 10th-grade teacher and I know the struggle is real but I would argue that banning cell phones is short-sighted.
Does banning things ever work to curb the behaviors that we are want to get rid of?
Banning books, gum, food, hats, enforcing the dress code, and policing kids for things they can’t have can take up so much of the instructional time all in the name of learning.
What are we losing when we spend time policing kids instead of building powerful relationships and actually teaching kids the skills that they need.
My friend and author of the amazing book, Social LEADia- which highlights the power of social media for GOOD- Jennifer Casa Todd was just interviewed on the ban in Toronto and argues that a “ban” is a simplistic “solution” to a very complex and layered issue.
Instead of banning cell phones, could we provide more support for #digitalcitizenship?
https://twitter.com/spaikin/status/1108821364750893057
I read this article recently from an educator who describes when he focused on banning devices he spent hours taking away and tracking devices but cell phone use didn’t decrease.  So he decided to try something different:

I told my classes I wouldn’t take their phones as long as they were kept on top of their desks. No more texting in their lap or hiding what games they were playing.
Did students still text? Absolutely. Did they play games? Sometimes. But I was able to talk with them openly about what they were doing.
“Do you think this is the right time to text your friend?”
“What game is that? What math is going on in it?”
I was able to leverage these moments into conversations about individual learning skills. At the same time, I started to notice that sometimes their “off task” device use was really on task.

I have also heard about how students are using Google Docs and other chat features to communicate during class duh this is so much more efficient than the notes that I passed as a kid:). I know colleagues who use chat features in docs and other apps to communicate about work and about life and other things that are happening too.
Will we ban google docs and chat features for students and adults?  Where will the ban end? 
We are social creatures and people will find ways to communicate- they always have- cell phones make this way easier and far more distracting, but it is the reality in our world today.
What if we instead model and share our strategies and struggles to focus and prioritize with the many distractions we face? Many teachers are begging for support, resources, and strategies for how to engage, empower and connect with students? Can we try teaching responsible use and how to manage distractions (that will be a valuable life and work skill) instead of banning things in schools?
Are we going to limit access or teach responsibility?
This is the first generation of kids who don’t know what it’s like to not have to endure commercials or rush home for a call or wait to communicate and share events not to mention find answers to questions, connect with experts and share their ideas and creations with anyone who will listen. The benefits and opportunities that exist at our fingertips are amazing and addicting and have real consequences for students and adults alike.
Just look at this list of technology that didn’t exist in 2006.

These new technology has enabled access and connectivity like never before.  What scares me the most for my own children and all of our children is that if we (both parents and educators) aren’t teaching this generation how to navigate this world, who is? Where do they learn to manage their devices and on-demand access and balance them with key social skills including having conversations, being kind, collaboration, managing impulsivity, prioritizing people, interactions, the things that make us special and human? Many people blame technology but we, as adults, have to teach, model and talk about the behaviors we want to see. 

My family was recently interviewed by the Today show (it hasn’t aired yet) and the producer remarked how surprised she was to see that my 8 and 10-year-olds were respectful, they are able to look adults in the eye and hold a meaningful conversation. This was a huge compliment to me. She said she sees many kids who grab an ipad and retreat to their own world, failing to talk or interact with those around them. To be very clear, my kids are not perfect, nor am I but I feel very strongly about exposing my kids to the world both digitally and in person in ways that will equip them with experiences and skills that will empower them to be able to navigate the world on their own. And I wrestle every day with how to navigate this world for myself and what that means for me as a parent and as an educator. 

There are benefits to cell phones and our connectivity, but there are challenges and the world is changing and will continue to at much faster rates. We can’t continue to approach a new era with old behaviors, ignoring or banning the technology that is so integrated into our daily lives. I wrote this article, Is checking devices at the door really the solution, and I want to be clear that I am not advocating for kids to just be able to hang back and play on their phones whenever they want. 
There is no right way and this is, in fact, messy. I am advocating for more conversation not just banning access or equally as bad is just ignoring the issue. School ‘acceptable use’ policies and blanket online policies that aim to limit access and protect us have not helped our students figure out how to navigate this world. I can’t count how many conversations I have had with friends joking about how thankful we are the Facebook and Instagram didn’t exist when we were in high school or college (that just dated me… I know). But the reality is that our students now do have social media and ignoring it or blocking it from school is not going to help them learn how to represent themselves effectively, nor is it going to help them deal with the intricacies of their social lives.
Let’s talk about it, model it, and learn together rather than banning devices. And for any legislators, policymakers or people who have “the power” to ban things, if you really want to make an impact, let’s focus on things that will make a difference in schools like the over-emphasis on testing, more equitable funding, and supporting educators to do the enormous job of educating the diverse students that enter their schools and classroom every day! 

Great Leadership isn’t about control. It's about Empowering people.

• Published on March 20, 2019

Brigette Hyacinth

Brigette Hyacinth

Author: The Future of Leadership: Rise of Automation, Robotics and Artif... See more

135 articles

326

• 1,759

Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship, whether professionally or personally and when it’s broken, it is extremely hard to repair. I once had a supervisor if I was over one minute on my lunch time, she would send an email to remind me of my lunch hours, even though most of the time I never took my full lunch hour. I couldn't even send an email without her approving it first. She was so inflexible that it was overbearing. I couldn't trust her. When employees feel they can’t trust their boss, they feel unsafe, like no one has their back, and then spend more energy on survival than performing at their job.
The corporate world is littered with such micromanagers. Sadly many organizations prefer these managers because they seem to be on top of, and in control of everything. In the short term, they may produce results but in the long run they leave a trail of destruction in their path.

“It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to to. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” ― Steve Jobs

5 Damaging Effects of Micromanagement

1.Decreased Productivity - When a manager is constantly looking over their employees’ shoulders, it can lead to a lot of second-guessing and paranoia, and ultimately leads to dependent employees. Additionally, such managers spends a lot of time giving input and tweaking employee workflows, which can drastically slow down employee response time.
2. Reduced Innovation - When employees feel like their ideas are invalid or live in constant fear of criticism, it’s eventually going to take a toll on creativity. In cultures where risk-taking is punished, employees will not dare to take the initiative. Why think outside the box when your manager is only going to shoot down your ideas and tell you to do it their way?

3. Lower Morale - Employees want the feeling of autonomy. If employees cannot make decisions at all without their managers input, they will feel suffocated. Employees that are constantly made to feel they can’t do anything right may try harder for a while, but will eventually stop trying at all. The effects of this will be evident in falling employee engagement levels.
4. High Staff Turnover - Most people don’t take well to being micromanaged. When talented employees are micromanaged, they often do one thing; quit. No one likes to come to work every day and feel they are walking into a penitentiary with their every movement being monitored. "Please Micromanage Me" Said No Employee ever. I have never seen a happy staff under micromanagement.
5. Loss of Trust - Micromanagement will eventually lead to a massive breakdown of trust. It demotivates and demoralizes employees. Your staff will no longer see you as a manager, but a oppressor whose only job is to make their working experience miserable.

“Please Micromanage Me” Said No Employee, EVER.

Micromanagement is a complete waste of everybody’s time. It sucks the life out of employees, fosters anxiety and creates a high stress work environment. If you hired someone, it means you believe they are capable of doing the job, then trust them to get it done. A high level of trust between managers and employees defines the best workplaces and drives overall company performance. When you empower employees, you promote vested interest in the company. How can you empower others? Understand their strengths, support and utilize these strengths. An empowered workforce is more engaged. Engaged employees drive higher customer satisfaction and boost the bottom line. A Gallup study concluded that companies with higher-than-average employee engagement also had 27% higher profits, 50% higher sales and 50% higher customer loyalty.
Empowered employees are more confident, more willing to go the extra mile for employers, and more willing do whatever it takes to care for customers. In this volatile global marketplace, happy loyal employees are your biggest competitive advantage. If you want performance at scale: Select the right people, provide them with the proper training, tools and support, and then give them room to get the job done!

Check out my latest Bestselling Book
The Future of Leadership: Rise of Automation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Will Robots take my Job? Will Artificial Intelligence replace Leaders? This book offers a comprehensive view of what is taking place in the world of AI and emerging technologies, and gives valuable insights that will allow you to successfully navigate the tsunami of technology that is coming our way.

Cory Booker

Never Punish Loyal Employees for being Honest

• Published on July 18, 2018

Brigette Hyacinth

Brigette Hyacinth

Author: The Future of Leadership: Rise of Automation, Robotics and Artif... See more

134 articles

29,082

• 133,856

My new boss told me to never be afraid to give feedback. The next Monday morning in a meeting, I happily shared my viewpoint on a new policy. Thereafter, I noticed my boss's disposition towards me changed. He stopped talking to me. I was shunned. I even felt the effects of this in my monthly performance appraisal, where he noted, I was not supportive of the organization, and I needed to be a better team player. The picture was quite clear - truthful feedback was not appreciated.
Heather, a co-worker approached me and said, "You are new, honest feedback is just lip service, don't fall for it." I quickly learned loyalists and sycophants were appreciated, while realists were punished. They built a culture of "yes employees." I knew I had so much to offer, yet I couldn't. Six months later, my boss was fired. He made a mistake on a proposal that cost the company its biggest client. This could have been easily avoided if he had just asked for honest input.

Listening is the most powerful skill a leader can master but it requires humility.

"The Emperor's New Clothes" - Promoting honest feedback

Be Humble. Many people think humility is a weakness, but it actually takes strength. It makes you approachable. The more humble you are, the more team members would be motivated to share their suggestions and recommendations with you. One of the best employee engagement tools is transparency. To be transparent requires two-way communication, therefore, feedback from employees is important. Honesty creates a solid platform to building a relationship of trust and loyalty. Employees want to be heard and they want to be respected. Listening shows that you care. Additionally when you receive feedback, act upon it. This helps improve employee morale.
PRIDE - The ego must go. The ego blinds us with a false sense of indestructibility, clouds our judgement thus leading to poor decisions and a break down of relationships. It’s not about you. Build a strong team and surround yourself with smart, passionate and highly competent people. Researchers at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Illinois in one research stated, "flattery and opinion conformity" makes leaders overconfident, resulting in "biased strategic decision making" and an overall disconnect from the execution on the ground.
Developing leadership skills is a lifetime project. It’s too easy, as a leader, to feel like you have to be the one who knows everything. Great leaders recognize that they need to keep learning. Leaders need to be willing to learn and be open to seeking input from both inside and outside their organizations. Feedback allows us and the organization to grow. Additionally, treat everyone you meet with respect, from the janitor to the CEO. Great business tips may come from the most unlikely sources.

" Listening is crucial to gaining a complete understanding of situations. Without this full understanding, one can easily waste everyone’s time by solving the wrong problem or merely addressing a symptom, rather than the root cause."

Titans as Blackberry, Kodak and Nokia have paid the price for leaders who refused to listen. Their leaders operated in a bubble and engaged in group think. The greater your success, the more you need to stay in touch with fresh opinions and perspectives and welcome honest feedback. Raw truth is needed to make well-informed decisions and steer the organization in the right direction.
As a leader, your job is to encourage others around you to be open and honest without a negative consequence. When employees offer their ideas and differing opinions - be open-minded. Companies that remain strong in this competitive market, understand the need to embrace change and continuous improvement. More than ever, leaders will need to master the skill of “Lead with Listening.” The success of your business will depend on it!

Check out my latest Bestselling Book
The Future of Leadership: Rise of Automation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
This book offers the most comprehensive view of what is taking place in the world of AI and emerging technologies, and gives valuable insights that will allow you to successfully navigate the tsunami of technology that is coming our way.



To Your continued Success!

Visible Learning ‘Episode #10 Di Cavallo - Visible Learning’ by DisruptED

DisruptED - 6 Principals to share innovations. This is a good podcast that again talks about students deep learning. Need for learning to be cohesive.

how-to-develop-a-greater-sense-of-motivation-in-students

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/53256/how-to-develop-a-greater-sense-of-motivation-in-students

The Change Checklist