All Kinds of Minds - HW Facilitator 1 · 2010. 11. 15. · > Appreciate that there are all kinds of minds > Increase awareness of the eight building blocks of learning > Understand

L e a r n i n g a b o u t L e a r n i n g W o r k s h o p s :

HOMEWORKHELPING STUDENTS MASTER

THE CHALLENGE OF HOMEWORK

FA C I L I TAT O R N O T E S UNDERSTANDING ALL KINDS OF MINDS ™

All Kinds of Minds® and Understanding All Kinds of Minds™ are trademarks of All Kinds of Minds.www.allkindsofminds.org

All Rights ReservedNo part of these materials may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from All Kinds of Minds.

© 2006 ALL KINDS OF MINDS®

U N D E R S TA N D I N G A L L K I N D S O F M I N D S

LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING WORKSHOPS

THE CHALLENGE OF HOMEWORK

THE CHALLENGE OF HOMEWORK | FACIL ITATOR NOTES

© 2006 ALL KINDS OF MINDS

PARTICIPANT OBJECTIVES

> Appreciate that there are all kinds of minds

> Increase awareness of the eight building blocks of learning

> Understand that the challenge of homework is affected by one’s neurodevelopmental strengths and weaknesses

> Learn strategies to help children take on and master the challenge of homework

Activity Facilitator Materials Video Participant Materials Time

I.A. Introductory Activitities / Triangle Challenge

PowerPoint slide 2Chart paper

Journal Page 1Popsicle sticks

13 min.

I.B. Icebreaker Journal Page 2 7 min.

I.C. Presentation: Workshop Contextualization

PowerPoint slides 3-10 Journal Page 3 5 min.

II. Framework for Learning PowerPoint slide 11Journal Page 4Highlighters

24 min.

III.A. Management by Profi le: Demystifi cation

Clip 1 Journal Page 5 8 min.

BREAK 5 min.

III.B. Accommodations & Interventions Clip 2Journal Pages 6-11Chart paper & markers

35 min. (optional 5 min. debrief)

III.C. Strengthening Strengths Clip 3Journal Pages 4 & 8Group charts

11 min.

III.D. Protection From Humiliation Clip 4 Journal Page 12 6 min.

IV. Closing Refl ection & Video PowerPoint slide 12 Clip 5 Journal Page 13 6 min.

TOTAL TIME 120 min.

™


THE CHALLENGE OF HOMEWORK | FACIL ITATOR NOTES | 1


WORKSHOP SETUP

1. If you are considering dividing this workshop into two sessions, please consult the Facilitation Guide before making this decision. Should you elect to present the workshop during two sessions, a natural division would be between sections III.A Management by Profi le: Demystifi cation and III.B. Accommodations and Interventions.

Between sessions, ask participants to complete a “homework assignment.” Participants should choose a management strategy to try at home. At the beginning of Session 2, ask for volunteers to share their experiences.

The second session should be held no more than two weeks after the fi rst session; one month at the very most.

2. Ideally participants work at tables during this workshop. If you do not have tables, desks should be joined for participants to work together in several of the activities. Put several sets of Popsicle sticks (6 per set) at each table before the session. Each pair of participants should have one set of sticks.

3. If you have not done the Triangle Challenge before, or if it has been so long since you did it that you don’t remember it, look at the directions in the participant journal and do it yourself. You will need to share with participants a personal strength and a weakness in doing the challenge; your sharing should be authentic.

4. Create a chart to record participant responses during Triangle Challenge debrief. Chart should resemble chart on page 2 of participant journal.

5. Participants need two different color highlighters for the Framework for Learning activity Part II. You do not need to have uniform colors for the entire group, but each participant needs two different colors (one to highlight strengths and the other to highlight weaknesses). Put sets of highlighters at each table before

the session.

6. For the Accommodations and Interventions activity, set up grade-level tables for parents/guardians of similar-aged children to work together. If you are not doing advanced registration, see III.B. Accommodations

and Interventions, step 5, for guidance on how to set up groups during the workshop.

7. Before participants arrive, place a participant journal at each seat.

8. Project the “Welcome” PowerPoint slide 1.

ADVANCE PLANNING NOTES

™




ADVANCE PLANNING NOTES

Welcome to Learning about Learning:

The Challenge of Homework

Please sign in and fi ll out a nametag with your name, the names of your children, and the ages of

your children.

™




A. INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY – TRIANGLE CHALLENGE (13 MINUTES)

1. As participants enter, direct them to a seat and have them follow the instructions on the slide.

SET UP THE ACTIVITY • 2 MINUTES

2. Once everyone is settled, introduce yourself and welcome participants to the Learning about Learning workshop, “The Challenge of Homework,” from All Kinds of Minds. Tell them that by way of introduction to the topic, you’d like them to take on a challenge of their own.

FACILITATION POINT: If several participants are late, and you have some latitude about your start and stop time, consider a slight delay in the start of the workshop so that no one misses this video and accompanying reflection.

3. Ask participants to fi nd a partner.

FACILITATION POINT: If there is an uneven number of people, create one group of three.

4. Display PowerPoint slide 2. Ask participants to take one set of sticks per group and open their journals to page 1.

5. Read the directions for the Triangle Challenge aloud and clarify any questions.

FACILITATION POINT: See Advance Planning Note 2 for suggestions on distributing the Popsicle sticks prior to the session.

I . INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES (25 MINUTES TOTAL)

The Triangle Challenge

> With your partner, make an equilateral triangle with three of the sticks

> Add three more sticks and make four equilateral triangles

> The solution should only have four equilateral triangles – there can be no other shapes

> You must use the entire length of each stick

™




A. TRIANGLE CHALLENGE CONTINUED

CONDUCT THE ACTIVITY • 6 MINUTES

6. Let participants know they have three minutes and ask them to begin.

Circulate the room to observe points you can bring up in the discussion. Look for evidence of the different learning functions among the participants (concentrating, using space, getting along with others, etc.). You can use these later during discussion.

FACILITATION POINT: As you circulate, make sure that participants do not violate any of the rules—they can only have four triangles in their solution and the full length of each stick must be used (no overlap). Be good-natured as you point out the rules.

7. Give participants a one-minute warning.

FACILITATION POINT: If some teams are struggling, you may give a hint at this point, suggesting that they might think “up and out of the box.” Or you may come up with your own hint.

8. At the three-minute point, ask teams to stop and solicit the solution from one of them. If some of the teams have not fi gured out the solution, reassure them that it is OK.

FACILITATION POINT: The solution for Triangle Challenge requires taking a three-dimensional perspective of the problem. Form a triangle with three of the sticks on the table, and then prop up a stick in each of the corners of the triangle, leaning the sticks together in the middle (forming a pyramid).

9. Ask participants to turn to page 2. Assign each group 2 terms. It is okay if more than one group is assigned to a term as long as every term is covered. Explain:

> During the debrief, you will have an opportunity to hear evidence for each term.

> Concentrate on the chart. We’ll get to the questions below later.

> You have three minutes.

FACILITATION POINT: Emphasize that participants are describing what they did—i.e., their behavior—or their thinking during this activity, with no judgments attached.

10. Circulate to help anyone who might have a question or feel “stuck.”

DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY • 5 MINUTES

11. Lead a discussion in which participants offer their evidence for the different learning functions that were in use during the activity.

FACILITATION POINT: List evidence for each term on chart paper. See Advance Planning Note 4. Encourage participants to record responses in their journal.

I . INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

™





A. TRIANGLE CHALLENGE CONTINUED

At the beginning or end of the discussion of each function tell participants what its neurodevelopmental term is (e.g.,” ‘Concentration’ is also known as ‘Attention.’ ”). Emphasize:

> It is important to have a common language for discussing learning.

> By using common terms, messages to parents, teachers, and students are more consistent and everyone is on the same page.

FACILITATION POINT: If participants seem concerned about recording or remembering these terms, tell them not to worry because the information is in their journals.

Participants (or you) might point out:

> Concentration: Focusing on the task; not being distracted by conversation or other noises (Attention)

> Remembering: Remembering directions; remembering solutions that you had already tried but didn’t work (Memory)

> Language: Reading/listening to directions; talking with/listening to your partner (Language)

> Using space: Placing/balancing the Popsicle sticks just so; creating triangles in more than one dimension (Spatial Ordering)

> Keeping track of time/order: Working within time limits; following directions in the order they were given (Temporal-Sequential Ordering)

> Thinking skills: Problem-solving; thinking creatively (“up and out of the box”) (Higher Thinking)

> Motor skills: Using muscles in your hands to manipulate the Popsicle sticks (Neuromotor Function)

> Getting along with others: collaborating/cooperating with your partner; not dominating the activity; encouraging your partner (Social Cognition)

™




B. ICEBREAKER (7 MINUTES)

1. Now, ask participants to complete the questions at the bottom page 2. Say something like:

> You do not have to write complete sentences; descriptive words will suffi ce.

> You are not required to write your answers.

> You will not be asked to share your fi rst two responses.

> You will use your response to #3 to introduce your partner.

> You will have 3 minutes to complete the activity.

FACILITATION POINT: To protect participants who struggle with reading, you may choose to read the questions aloud before getting started.

2. At the two-minute mark, check in to see that everyone is at or is moving on to question 3 about their partner. If they are not on question 3, ask them to go there now. Give them one minute to fi nish.

3. Choose one participant to start and ask him/her to introduce her partner by stating his/her name and briefl y what he/she was really good at in the Triangle Challenge. Then have the partner do the same for

the fi rst participant.

4. Go around the room until all partners have introduced each other. This should take no more than four minutes.

5. When participants are fi nished introducing one another, share both a strength and weakness of yours when you did the Triangle Challenge.

FACILITATION POINT: See Advance Planning Note 3 for more information about sharing this information.

6. If time permits,spending no more than two minutes, wrap up the discussion by asking the following question:

> How did this activity prepare you to look at your child’s learning differently?

Participants (or you) might point out:

> It is important to understand your child’s learning strengths and weaknesses through what you see—through observable behaviors.


™




C. PRESENTATION: WORKSHOP CONTEXTUALIZATION (5 MINUTES)

1. Display slide 3. Say the following, in your own words if you wish:

> The activity you just experienced tapped into eight different functions of the mind that we use during learning.

2. Display slide 4.

> These eight functions of the mind—sometimes you might hear me call them called “Constructs”— form a framework for understanding “all kinds of minds.” > As we just saw when we introduced one another, each of us has unique and important strengths among

the different learning functions.


A Framework for Learning

™




C. PRESENTATION: WORKSHOP CONTEXTUALIZATION CONTINUED

> As you recorded on your worksheet, each of us has things we struggle with too.

> Different tasks require different strengths.

> Imagine a world where everyone had strengths in attention but no one had strengths in language. We would have a lot of focused people without much to say!

> This workshop is going to look at how our children’s learning strengths and weaknesses—something that we call a learning profile—might help or hinder when they

take on the challenge of homework.

> Before we begin, I want to take a few minutes to give you some background on the workshop and how we are going to proceed today.

3. Display slide 5 and read aloud the bullets, explaining that you will address each of these questions in the next few minutes, so that participants have a better understanding of how the workshop works.


Some Preliminary Questions

> What are the Learning about Learning Workshops?

> What is my role in the workshop?

> What is your role in the workshop?

> What is the Parking Lot?

™





4. Display slide 6 and go over the bullets, using your own words if you wish.

5. Display slide 7.

FACILITATION POINT: Explain the difference between a facilitator and an expert. It is very important for participants to understand that you are NOT an authority on neurodevelopmental variation and that they may have questions that you cannot answer. It is also important to validate participants’ own wisdom about their child. In your own words, let participants know that:

> I may say “I don’t know” to some of your questions.

> I may pose the question to the group and let you hear the wisdom of your peers.

> You are the ultimate expert on your child.


What are Learning about Learning Workshops?

> Developed by All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofi t organization co-founded by Dr. Mel Levine and Charles Schwab

> Facilitated by educators who have attended the Schools Attuned Program, a program that prepares educators to meet the learning needs of all students in their classroom

> Additional topics include paying attention, learning and self-esteem, getting organized for learning, and building learning alliances with your children and their teachers

What is my role in the workshop?

> Facilitator = encourage and guide conversation among you

> Facilitator ≠ provide expertise on neurodevelopmental variation

™





6. Display slide 8.

Explain the following points to participants, in your own words:

> One of the goals of these workshops is to promote conversation among parents and caregivers that allows them to learn from one another and share their wisdom.

> Your job today is to:

> Listen thoughtfully to the new information you will be learning.

> Have thoughtful conversations with fellow participants about the information to deepen your understanding.

> Work with fellow participants to come up with ideas and strategies to help your children become more successful learners.


What is your role in the workshop?

> Listen

> Discuss

> Collaborate

™





7. Display slide 9 and show participants where you have posted the Parking Lot list.

Explain in your own words the following points about the Parking Lot:

> These workshops are designed to explore learning differences in general.

> I expect that you will relate the information you are learning to your own children and, to the extent that you are comfortable, share your experiences your fellow participants.

> However, there is not enough time in the workshop to dwell on one child or one problem and I hope you will be mindful of this during discussions.

> I do understand that there will be questions that come up that need answers. We will “park” them in the Parking Lot and return to them before the end of the workshop.

> If we can answer these questions with our collective wisdom in the time allotted, we will attempt to do so. It’s possible, however, that these questions may require further discussion beyond the time we have for

the workshop.


What is the Parking Lot?

> A temporary place for unanswered questions

™





8. Display slide 10, ask participants to turn to page 3 of their journals and go over the workshop goals.

FACILITATION POINT: If you have prepared an agenda for the workshop, you may now distribute and discuss it as well as any procedures or logistics.

9. Now say something like:

> In this workshop we will spend approximately two hours learning about several challenges that homework presents to different kinds of minds.

> We’ll see video clips and do some activities that will help us better understand and help children who struggle with homework.


Workshop Goals

> Appreciate that there are all kinds of minds

> Become aware of the eight building blocks of learning

> Understand that the challenge of homework is affected by one’s

neurodevelopmental strengths and weaknesses

> Learn strategies to help children take on and master the

challenge of homework

™




SET UP THE ACTIVITY • 2 MINUTES

1. Ask participants to turn to page 4 in their journals. Take a moment to orient them to the chart, pointing out:

> The name of the learning function in column one

> A description—or defi nition—of the learning function in the second column

2. Now point out column 3—“How This Gets Used/What It Looks Like During Homework”—and tell participants that they are going to work with their partners to come up with descriptions of how that particular learning function might be used to do homework.

3. Read aloud the description/defi nition of Spatial Ordering as an example. Ask how “organizing information visually or spatially” would look when a child does homework. Participants (or you) might say:

> Neat workspace

> Has all the materials he/she needs on hand

> Organized notebook with the day’s assignments

4. Emphasize:

> While you will, of course, be thinking about your own children during this activity, the behaviors that you describe should be about children and homework in general.

> Consider different ages of children as you brainstorm different behaviors.

> You will fi ll in the last column about your own child in a moment.


5. Invite teams to begin. In your own words,

> Each person needs to record their team’s observations on his or her own worksheet.

> You do not have to write complete sentences. Just jot down words or pictures that represent your ideas.

> You have 10 minutes.

FACILITATION POINT: If you feel the reading challenge of this chart would be difficult for some of your participants, consider doing the activity as a hybrid, where you read aloud the description of the function to the group and then give teams a minute or two to come up with their evidence.

I I . A FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING (24 MINUTES TOTAL)

™




6. Circulate among teams, helping those who might have questions and observing for behaviors, comments and issues that you might bring up in the debrief.

DEBRIEF PART 1 OF THE ACTIVITY • 3 MINUTES

7. At the end of 10 minutes, ask participants to look over the descriptions that they generated. Ask for one example from each area.

CONTINUE THE ACTIVITY • 6 MINUTES

8. Using the highlighters you’ve provided, direct participants to:

> Take one color (e.g., blue) and on your worksheets, highlight those behaviors that you see in your own child that are strengths when they do homework.

> Then take the other color (e.g., orange) and highlight those behaviors where you see evidence of your child struggling during homework.

> You do not need to highlight behaviors for every construct.

> You are just focusing on homework time. You may have evidence of learning diffi culties in other situations, but for this activity and workshop, you are looking at your child’s learning behaviors through the lens of homework.

> You have two minutes to complete this activity.

FACILITATION POINT: See Advance Planning Note 5 for more information on selecting and distributing highlighters.

9. After 2 minutes, direct participants to:

> In the last column, briefl y provide evidence from your child’s behavior that makes you think that your child struggles with the behaviors you’ve highlighted as “weak.”

> For example, if you think staying focused on the task is one of your child’s weaknesses, you should describe what you have seen your child do that tells you this may be so (e.g., staring out the window).

> You might only use one or two words to capture the behavior.

> You do not need to list evidence for every construct.

> You have four minutes.

> Choose your evidence based on observations of your child’s behaviors, not on any preconceived notions you may have about your child’s learning diffi culties, or any assessment or diagnosis they

may have already been given by a teacher or a learning specialist. This exercise—and the workshop—are about seeing our children without prejudice and responding to what we see.

I I . A FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING CONTINUED

™




DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY • 3 MINUTES

10. Display PowerPoint slide 11 while you do a quick debrief of the activity by asking questions like the following:

> In the Triangle Challenge activity, you were asked to think about your own strengths and weaknesses in these areas. This activity asked you to think about your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Did you notice any similarities between you and your child?

> Did anyone “discover” a strength or a possible weakness in their child that they had not noticed before?

11. To conclude the activity, say the following in your own words:

> I want to emphasize that just because you have described your child’s behavior in connection with a particular learning function (for example, Attention) this does NOT mean that your child has, for instance, an “attention problem.”

> This is not a diagnostic activity. Only a physician, psychologist or educational specialist should provide diagnoses. This activity simply provides you with a framework for observing and thinking about your child’s learning behaviors.

> What we’re going to do in the rest of the workshop is come up with a learning plan that might help you and your child address some of the behaviors that you have noticed.

FACILITATION POINT: If any participants need to go back to their original seats, they may do so now.

I I . A FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING CONTINUED

There Are All Kinds of Minds

People who struggle with homework

do so because of

the way their minds work,

not because of flaws in their personalities.

™




A. INTRODUCTION AND DEMYSTIFICATION VIDEO (13 MINUTES, INCLUDING BREAK)

INTRODUCE THE VIDEO • 3 MINUTES

1. Say the following in your own words:

> I want to do a little previewing for you on what you are about to see.

> This is a video made by public television station WGBH, in cooperation with the All Kinds of Minds Institute. The video focuses on a concept called Management by Profi le.

> Management by Profi le is a term All Kinds of Minds uses for what we would call a “learning plan.”

> You might hear some other terms in the video that are new to you. Don’t worry— we have provided “scaffolding” (one of the terms in the video)—or support—to help you incorporate these new ideas.

2. Ask participants to turn to page 5 in their journals and make the following points, in your own words:

> This Video Viewing Guide is one of those scaffolding supports. You’ll notice that it provides the term from the video in the left-hand column and the defi nition of it in the right.

> Let’s look at the fi rst two terms, because they come up right away in the video.

> A learning profi le—which we talked about earlier—is simply a set of learning strengths and weaknesses, unique to each child.

> The other term you’ll hear Dr. Levine say is “neurodevelopmental,” which refers to learning capabilities that are a result of both the way a person’s mind works (neuro) and his or her stage in life (development). Children’s neurodevelopmental learning profi les change as they grow older.

3. Point out the note-taking space in column 2 and say the following, in your own words:

> Because we have all kinds of minds, there are all sorts of ways that we learn and remember information.

> If your kind of mind likes to take notes while you listen, you can use this Video Viewing Guide to do so.

> On the other hand, if your kind of mind works best by just listening, you can do that and then refer to the Video Viewing Guide later.

> Again, please DO NOT worry if you do not catch everything that Dr. Levine or the narrator says. The important points appear in your journal.

I I I . MANAGEMENT BY PROFILE (65 MINUTES TOTAL + OPTIONAL 5 MINUTE DEBRIEF)

™




A. INTRODUCTION AND DEMYSTIFICATION VIDEO CONTINUED

PLAY THE VIDEO • 5 MINUTES

4. Play video clip 1. Stop video at the PAUSE screen.

BREAK • 5 MINUTES

5. Announce a Mental Energy Break. They’ve all been sitting for an hour, which is a good point to get up, walk around, stretch, and get out their excess energy to be ready for the next learning activity. Ask them to be back in their seats in fi ve minutes.

FACILITATION POINT: Be transparent with participants when announcing the break: just like the children in the video, even adults need to recharge during the learning process. If you have some leeway with time, you can give participants a longer break.

I I I . MANAGEMENT BY PROFILE

™




B. ACCOMMODATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS VIDEO & ACTIVITY (35 MINUTES + OPTIONAL 5 MINUTE DEBRIEF)

SET UP & PLAY VIDEO • 13 MINUTES

1. Tell participants:

> You are now going to watch a video segment on the second and third parts of Management by Profi le: Accommodations and Interventions at the Breakdown Point.

> You are going to hear some parents on the video talk about strategies that they use to help their children study and do their homework.

> After the video, you’re going to generate some strategies of your own.

2. Direct participants to page 6 in their journals if they wish to take notes. Tell them there is extra space on page 7 for recording useful strategies.

3. Play video clip 2. Stop video at PAUSE screen.

SET UP PART 1 OF THE ACTIVITY • 3 MINUTES

4. Explain that you are now going to have small group discussions in which participants will share homework strategies that they’ve tried and found successful with their children.

5. Determine what children’s grade levels are represented among the participants, and then create small groups with no more than six participants each. Each group should have a sheet or two of chart paper and a marker.

FACILITATION POINT: See Advance Planning Note 6. The number and composition of groups will depend on the grade range at your school and the number of workshop participants. If you are a K-5 school, for example, and you have a fairly balanced representation of all the grades among participants, you may set up groups for grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-5. On the other hand, if there are no kindergarten parents/guardians attending, but there are four third-grade parents/guardians, you might consider groups for grades 1-2, 3, and 4-5.

If a participant has more than one child in the school, ask him/her to choose the grade-level table for the child whose homework behavior is the more puzzling (or, if it makes no difference to the participant, ask him/her to sit at the grade level table with the fewer participants).


6. Once participants are assembled, tell them they have 8 minutes to generate tried-and-true homework strategies. Ask them to appoint a recorder to write down their ideas on chart paper. Also, ask them to write their grade level at the top of the chart.

7. Circulate among the groups, listening and observing, putting groups back on track who might have strayed off task.


™




B. ACCOMMODATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS VIDEO & ACTIVITY CONTINUED

DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY • 5 MINUTES (OPTIONAL*)

8. Post each group’s strategies in a prominent, accessible place for everyone’s reference. Ask each group to quickly “report out” their strategies (no more than one minute per group). As they report out, note the similarities and differences among the strategies for the different grade levels.

Remind participants that they can record strategies on page 7 during the debrief or at the end of the workshop.

* FACILITATION POINT: If you are pressed for time, you may skip this reporting-out step and proceed to the next part of the activity, but be sure you post the charts in a prominent place where participants can have easy access for reference if they wish. Direct participants to page 7 where they can record strategies at the end of the workshop.

SET UP PART 2 OF ACTIVITY • 1 MINUTE

9. Now refer participants to their journals. Tell them you’re going to introduce them to their Resource Section, which contains additional tools and information for them to use at home.

10. Ask participants to turn to pages 9-11 to see the list of management strategies. Let them know that they can fi nd more information and strategies on this topic and other learning issues by going to the Families page of the All Kinds of Minds Web site (www.allkindsofminds.org).

11. Ask participants to turn to page 16 to Adult-Child reading. Explain that this essay, written by Dr. Levine, provides them with more information about today’s topic, which they can read at home and refl ect on with their child.

12. Ask participants to turn to page 19 to see the list of resources on the workshop topic. Let participants know that you are available to help them fi nd the right resources to address their concerns.

13. Now, ask participants to turn to page 8 in their journals. Read the directions for Part 1 aloud, slowly and clearly:

Part 1: In this activity, you will create a homework action plan for your child. Look at the behaviors that

you described on page 4 as possible weaknesses for your child during homework time. Decide which two

of these behaviors are most likely to interfere with your child’s ability to do homework productively, and

write them in the space provided below.

Then, consider the strategies mentioned in the video (see the Video Viewing Guide, page 6), the strategies

generated by your fellow participants (see the posted charts), and the list of more homework strategies on

pages 9-11.


continued

™




B. ACCOMMODATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS VIDEO & ACTIVITY CONTINUED

From among those options, choose those strategies that you think might best help your child be more

productive and successful when doing homework. Choose as many as you wish and write them in the

appropriate box. (If you think the strategy will work for both behaviors, put it in both boxes.)

CONDUCT PART 2 OF ACTIVITY • 10 MINUTES

14. Tell participants not to worry about the bottom of the page just yet. Check for understanding then invite participants to begin. Let them know they have 10 minutes.

FACILITATION POINT: If any participants came with their spouse/partner, they should do this action plan together.

15. Circulate around the room, answering questions and helping out where needed.

16. After 10 minutes, ask participants to stop.


™




C. STRENGTHENING STRENGTHS VIDEO & ACTIVITY (11 MINUTES)

SET UP AND PLAY VIDEO • 3 MINUTES

1. Tell participants they are going to watch a video segment about strengthening strengths, and then they will complete their homework action plans.


SET UP ACTIVITY • 3 MINUTES

3. Explain to participants the following points, in your own words:

> It is vitally important that our children understand and know about their strengths because we know that ALL children have strengths.

> This is particularly true for children who struggle; otherwise, for them, learning is just about failure.

> No action plan that is based on the principles of All Kinds of Minds would be complete without identifying a child’s strengths and then working toward strengthening them.

> As Dr. Levine says in the video, we have to provide our children with opportunities to practice their strengths.

4. Tell participants that for this activity they will go back to the chart on page 4 and look at the behaviors that they identifi ed as strengths for their child during homework time. They will choose two of their child’s greatest strengths, from that chart, or they may bring in learning strengths that may not have been identifi ed there.

5. In addition, they should think about and choose one of their child’s affi nities—something he or she is passionate about.

6. Ask participants to look at the Homework Action Plan (page 8). Tell them they will write the strengths and affi nities they choose in the space provided, and then think of opportunities during or around homework time that they can give their child to practice (or strengthen) those strengths.

> For example, if your child has strong oral language abilities, before she sits down to write a report you might have her tell you aloud what she is going to write about. This will not only strengthen her oral language skills, but will give you an opportunity to help her organize her thoughts before committing them to paper. If swimming is an affi nity for your child, you might have her write about it as a way to leverage that strong interest to strengthen writing skills.

7. Check for understanding. If some participants still seem unclear about how to proceed, ask other participants for examples on providing opportunities to strengthen a strength. Then let participants know they will have fi ve minutes to do part 2.

FACILITATION POINT: If any participants came with their spouse/partner, they should do this activity together.


™




C. STRENGTHENING STRENGTHS VIDEO & ACTIVITY CONTINUED

CONDUCT ACTIVITY • 5 MINUTES

8. Circulate and provide assistance to participants who need it.

FACILITATION POINT: Because the focus on learning in our culture is so deficit-oriented, there may be participants who don’t “get” the assignment. In those cases, help them choose one strength or affinity and come up with an opportunity for practicing or leveraging it. With this scaffolding they may be able to come up with the rest on

their own.


™




D. PROTECTION FROM HUMILIATION VIDEO (6 MINUTES)

SET UP AND PLAY VIDEO • 6 MINUTES

1. Tell participants they are now going to watch the video segment which focuses on protecting children from humiliation and the importance of collaborating with children in the learning plan process. Direct them to part 3 of the Video Viewing Guide on page 12 if they want to take notes.


3. Go right into the closing activity.


™




1. Direct participants to turn to page 13 in their journals, and answer the refl ection questions there. Tell them they will be able to choose whether to share their responses. Give them about a minute.

2. Ask if any participants would like to briefl y share any part of their refl ection, which might include a strategy they’ve chosen as part of their action plan.

3. After about 4 minutes of discussion, say to the group something like,

> Before we leave, let’s listen to a message of optimism from Dr. Levine.

4. Play the last video clip. Display PowerPoint slide 12 while the clip plays.

5. Circle back to the Parking Lot to see if there are any questions that remain open and decide with participants how you will address them (see Managing Participant Discussions in the Facilitation Guide).

6. Thank participants for their hard work. Hand out the feedback form. Ask them to fi ll it out before they leave.

IV. CLOSING REFLECTION AND VIDEO (6 MINUTES)

A Message of Optimism

Students who struggle with

homework have

every hope to succeed

in school and in life.

™

Documents

All Kinds of Minds - HW Facilitator 1 · 2010. 11. 15. · > Appreciate that there are all kinds of minds > Increase awareness of the eight building blocks of learning > Understand