The Joyful Learner

  Part 1: Content Reflection   Prompting Questions: What is intelligence? What do you think about your own intelligence?  How does someone demonstrate knowledge? What does it mean to you to create optimal conditions and contexts for student learning? Intelligence is innate and dynamic. Mental effort and solving challenges increases one’s intelligence (Kuszewski, 2011). Jennings (2015, p175) describes how discouraged children can form fixed mindsets around feelings of inadequacy. She explains, these children “ are in great need of the kind of encouragement that promotes a growth mindset. For example, we can say, “You worked very hard on that and finished one page,” rather than, “Look, you did it! You’re so smart!” To these children, such praise will ring hollow. They won’t believe it, and it won’t help you build trust. With regular encouragement, I have seen children like these change dramatically” (Jennings, 2015, p175).  Although I think of my own intelligence as constantly expanding

  Blog Part 1: Content Reflection 1. Describe how you believe teacher "WITHITNESS" (Jennings, p. 43) reduces teacher bias and improves the culture of a classroom. What does "wititness" look like in a classroom setting? What does it feel like? Withitness, for me, comes down to a teacher’s ability to come back to the present moment from minute to minute, especially when negative tension and emotions arise in the classroom.  From this point of view and frame of mind (that is, one’s emotional platform), it is possible to meet students where they are without bias and stay attuned to the culture of positivity so carefully cultivated within the classroom.  What does a classroom look and feel like when a teacher is projecting withitness into the classroom? The classroom feels safe to all the students, including those at the center of rising tensions. The students feel like they can trust the teacher to keep the tension from becoming the focus of classroom management --- t