Purposeful Planning to Inspire & Instruct

 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 --- that it will turn out to be incidental to the larger happenings throughout the day. The teacher will feel like her students, having come to expect this from her, will remain focused on their own business without entering “the fray.” Here are some quotes that help me understand the mechanisms in play and visualize what my classroom would look and feel like when I masterfully employ withitness.

 

“Proactive Mindset:”  “The most effective teachers noticed subtle changes in their students’ emotions and behavior and responded proactively, letting the students know they were aware of them and responding matter-of-factly by reminding them of the task at hand. He called these teachers “with it” because they were particularly aware of what was going on in their classrooms.” (42)

“…withitness requires self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and relationship management, giving teachers the capacity to attentively monitor and act responsively in the classroom, prevent disruptive behavior, and support on-task behavior.” (42)

“Mental set refers to “a heightened sense of situational awareness and a conscious control over one’s thoughts and behavior relative to that situation” (p. 65). Mental set also refers to a teacher’s degree of emotional objectivity (related to the social and emotional learning dimension of self-management). Teachers who remain cool under pressure, addressing disciplinary issues matter-of-factly without taking behaviors personally, are the most effective classroom managers.’ (43)

 

2. Why do you believe authentic learning (Knight, p. 225) is so critical to student learning? In your classroom, what will authentic learning LOOK like? What will authentic learning FEEL like (for students)?

 

Authentic learning “(a) addresses a real-world issue, (b) produces a real-world product that addresses the issue, (c) is assessed using real-world criteria, and (d) really engages students because they find the project interesting, meaningful, and personally relevant (Knight, 227).  These aspects of authentic learning foster independent learning, inquiry and critical thinking, and collaboration --- all vital 21st century skillsets.  Authentic learning empowers students to express themselves, take risks for the sake of learning, and contribute to their community. The authentic learning experience builds the students’ capacity for understanding how freedom is only possible if one takes responsibility for one’s own actions. 

 

In my classroom, authentic learning will look like me, the teacher, students and mentors engrossed in dynamic conversations and making things. This might include (1) models of a machine, object or structure; (2) PowerPoint presentations or visually annotated reports published through Tableau to document the processes and results of scientific experiments; (3) handmade books containing essays, short stories, poems to be published with a particular audience in mind. Mixed in amongst this activity, some students will be intently conducting research with books, mentors, and online. The students will look purposeful, motivated, engaged, empowered and will be learning beyond their wildest dreams through partners and mentors from inside and outside the classroom.  Ultimately, the students will be presenting their project work to internal and external audiences.

Authentic learning in my classroom will feel like the natural state of affairs. From the instant students arrive in the morning until the moment they leave school for the day, they will be drawn to work on their projects in every spare moment. This teaching method eliminates the need for many of the classroom management techniques you might see in a more traditional classroom because the students are so deeply focused.  So the space feels safe for students to be themselves, to take calculated academic risks and to move their project forward using their learning from both mistakes and successes. The class as a whole will feel like each individual is on the same page in a way that makes space for everyone’s social & emotional as well as academic development. All of us will be joyful and happy to be with each other learning and interacting.

 

3. How does what you are reading about in the Mindfulness for Teachers book-- understanding the emotional life of a teacher, the impact of negative emotions in the classroom, and the power of positivity-- directly relate to creating authentic learning environments that educate the whole child?

Jennings’ primary message is “cultivate a mindfulness practice as a teacher.”  At its core, mindfulness taps one’s authenticity and reveals one’s positivity even in the most challenging of situations. Only if a teacher is coming from a place of authenticity themselves will the classroom culture be one of authenticity. One’s own positivity is essential if one is to be present to the whole child. Without positivity, it is easy to label certain parts of a student in negative ways, personalizing instruction against the student’s best interests. When a teacher places inappropriate judgments on the student or the class as a whole, instruction becomes fragmented and lifeless.

 

 

Blog Part 2: Field Experience Practicum Reflection

 

1. In your current learning setting (virtual, hybrid, or in-person), in what ways do you see evidence of teacher withitness? (Please provide a detailed 5-7 sentence response). What are you and/or your host teaching doing, saying, communicating, thinking...

Evidence includes…

• Indicators that Catalyst/EnVOY methodology is in play.  Seeing teachers use these non-verbal techniques skillfully proves their utility to me in a teacher’s expression of withitness.

• Generosity on the part of the teachers is an indicator of withitness.  Teachers who lack withitness tend to be preoccupied and seldom have energy to extend acts of generosity.

• As a collective, the predominance of a withitness mindset in staff and teachers makes the entire school day feel full of possibility and free of crises.  Ordinary tensions are managed with grace. Laughter and smiles are widespread.

 

2. What are some simple, yet intentional, routines that you see your host teacher (or you) engage that contribute to creating conditions of authentic learning and "unconditional positive regard (Links to an external site.)" (Benson, 2016) for students? 

 

Routines that I myself do, or could do or that I observe in other teachers include:

The “Little Things” Count: The video “Every Opportunity” brings home the importance of the little things we carelessly stop paying attention to as life’s distractions interfere with being present in the moment.  Suggestions from a student’s standpoint include:

• Talk with us, not at us.

• Teach us what we need to know and when you talk to us, teach us bigger and bigger words we can use to read and understand.

• Ask us questions and expect the best of us.

• Learn all that you can so you can challenge us to be our best.

• Share yourself with us and show us how to share ourselves with others.

• Give us courage.

• Give us compassion.

• Help us find our own voices so we can become who we are meant to be. (Why would you want to silence us?)

Intentionality: Before starting a pre-planned lesson or activity, the teacher goes over its purpose; how and why the activity  matters in the short- and long-term in relation to the world around them. Before moving on to the lesson, she asks for students’ thoughts and answers their questions to help them internalize this information to make each individual feel motivated to contribute to and complete the activity on terms of their own. This routine also helps the teacher gauge when, where, how and with whom she will interact the most during independent work; help through rough spots; validate efforts and monitor progress.

Contextualizing and designing lessons and activities in terms of the real world: I would use the mind map graphic organizer in Jim Knight’s book (2013) in order to plan contexts that would feel real to the students. For instance, after determining how most of the 2nd grade students in my classroom have experienced people working in banks or other financial trades, I would ask them to imagine being that person themselves as they were doing their math work. Once we were finished reviewing the problems, I would ask them how they might use the math they learned that day in their pretend work role --- in other words, how or why they might use the skills to make products, present to audiences, address community issues.

Unconditional positive regard:  Just as part of who I am, I commonly “let students know I have noticed and are affected by their special characteristics” (Benson, 2016).  Students treat me with greater interest afterwards and so our conversation continues and our trust and relationship grows. As a paraprofessional at an elementary school monitoring recess, negative incidents between the students are fairly common.  I always stay with and speak to the children who I ask to take a bench break. I make sure they understand why I called for a bench break and then, turn the conversation to things they enjoy talking about so I can reinforce my pride in them --- the message I am intent on giving is “you-can-do-unacceptable-things-and-still-be-a-good-person.”  

REFERENCES:

 

Benson, Jeffrey. (2016). The Power of Positive Regard. Educational Leadership, v73:9 pp22-26 

Knight, Jim. (2013). High-Impact Instruction: A Framework for Great Teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.