Charlotte Verity Professional Learning (School Based)

Each person has their own sized panic and comfort zone:  Too much cortisol flooding the brain causes structural brain changes. Steps involved in the learning zone: 1. Develop interoceptive awareness 2. Develop awareness of emotions as they are developing, and develop and practice the skills to respond to developing emotions ( Co-regulation - teachers/caregivers can support this by prompting child e.g. 'let's have a drink' etc) 3. Self-manage and self-regulate to prevent entry into panic zone 4. Comfort zone is resting, regulated – parasympathetic dominant state – can be hard to identify when we are in that state. Managing Neuro-Diversity Can Be Challenging Many autistics of all ages seem to struggle with emotional regulation They do not always exhibit typical emotional signals, which can make it hard for other people to help co-regulate them Difficult behaviour is NOT an inherent part of autism, but where parents do not know this they can ap...

The Context & My Teaching Goals  This lesson took place with 12 Year 1-2 students, of varying mathematical ability and experience. Students also had varied levels of inter-personal communication skills. The students had worked in buddies for maths only for a week at the time this took place. My professional goal was to support  listening, wait time and rephrasing of the problem by students (Maths Talk Moves). A secondary goal I had was to scaffold the students conversations and work approach, so that each partnership was actively conversing and working on a solution (not one doing; one watching/listening/spectating). The Problem  Thomas took a basket of tools to the sandpit. Some were buckets and some were spades. How many of each? Feedback from Observer * Talk moves were clearly scaffolded and students used them confidently * Make the problem larger (on screen) or give a paper copy to each child so the numbers can be seen easily. * To increase engagement, h...

Goals  Lead a team to develop & promote wellbeing at school Develop student voice and leadership Ensure key themes are explored across the school  Promote regular, explicit teaching of social-emotional skills Co-ordinate the Wellbeing At School survey and data review Key Successes The Wellbeing Definition was developed and finalised, after consultation with teachers and School Based Mental Health Team (see below) Number of student leaders increased to provide more student voice New wellbeing section on school website Staff capacity for teaching wellbeing was supported: Professional Learning (PL) on restorative practice  PD on social stories with RTLB service (replaced Circle time) Student created movies related to key wellbeing topics Circle Time/social emotional time is evolving to meet student needs. It is…. Regular - weekly or fortnightly Collaborative (sharing of best practise) Student voice is at the centre (each year level has tailo...

We (my class of 23 Year 1-2 students and I) recently learnt about the state of our river (using our school inquiry model, local exploration to the ponds and ECAN's Waitaha Wai resource ). The learning involved: * Learning about the unique birds and fish in Canterbury rivers * Learning about our cultural narrative, and how the ponds and river were an important food source for local Maori * Learning about the storm water system * Creating pastel pictures of fish and animals, as well as fact charts and posters * Picking up rubbish locally * Visiting the local ponds to notice animal life and pollution * Understanding our role as Kaitiaki The group shared their learning by creating a collective art work, using rubbish we found in the local area and our own illustrations of marine life: After the learning a team of 5 students were keen to take more action to improve water quality in our rivers. The issue they focused on was rubbish, and the fact that rubbish on our street...

http://www.restorativeschools.org.nz Strategies for Building Connections (and keeping minor incidents minor) Supporting Positive Behaviour at Beckenham Te Kura O Pūroto (see 7 Languages of Respect) * Positive forecasting * Knowing what will help each child calm down/relax * Buddying / partnering students for modelling/supporting behaviours * Games / jokes * Physical contact (if appropriate) e.g. high 5, pat on back * Work at students' level * Play with children (e.g. during Discovery) * Focus on learning by making it engaging and relevant for the child * Gestures : eye contact, smiles, thumbs up, waves * Ask questions...e.g. what happened? Why do you/we need to...? How can I help you to...? * Ask rather than tell e.g. "Can you keep the chair on the floor" instead of "Stop rocking the chair" Six of the Best Connection Strategies * 2 by 10 - 2 minutes per day talking with a target child about their interests etc; for 10 days in a row * Be firm, ...

I was invited to work with local engineer and planner, Mike Fisher, on a local inquiry project. Together, we planned and supported Year 1-2 students to:  Undertake observations in their local community Think about and generate possible improvements Take action towards creating positive, local change Step 1: Empowering students to take ownership using question starters Students formed teams and reviewed photos of communities, observing and discussing features  and conditions such as rubbish bins, lighting, footpaths and playground equipment. The noticed and shared positive and negatives. PROMPTING QUESTIONS THAT GUIDED STUDENTS' DISCUSSION What happened here? How do I get there? Why is that like that? Is it fun? Why? Why not? Is it looked after? Can a pram/wheelchair/bike/scooter get there? What happens in the Summer?  What happens in the Winter? Who looks after it? Can I change it? Could I walk in bare feet or do I have to wear shoes? Do I feel sa...

My Reflections on DMIC Liana's Presentation - incl Strand Task Ideas Positives * Students are engaged, and most embrace the problems eagerly. * Norms: these have really helped the students to build social and communication skills. * Growing awareness that there are different ways of solving problems. * Modelling skills and phrases for pairs has helped them work together more, e.g. "I don't understand, show me..."     "I disagree because..." * Working in pairs rather than groups has helped the students build communication skills. Wonderings and Challenges * How do we encourage the quiet students to get involved? * How can I make it easier for students to say they don't understand. * How can I help students develop a shared   explanation (i.e. one "gets it" and the other doesn't....) * Having time for sharing back: this can be done the following day if you run out of time. Developing Communication & Participation (Next S...