Promoting Self-efficacy

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Because of the major focus on “growth mindset” in today’s educational world, it only makes sense to discuss self-efficacy alongside it. The two go hand-in-hand. Students with a growth mindset, as opposed to a fixed mindset, believe that, through effort and tenacity, they can improve in their endeavors. Similarly, self-efficacy refers to one’s confidence in his/her ability to execute specific actions in order to attain a goal or arrive at a desired outcome. Essentially, self-efficacy promotes the idea that learning is all about setting your mind to something and going for it, no matter the obstacles. This level of grit and self-confidence is crucial to young learners, which is why it is imperative that teachers help students to develop self-efficacy. Below are suggested instructional strategies and practices can actually help to promote self-efficacy in the classroom.

 

  • Ask students to talk through and/or write down their method of arriving at an answer or conclusion. This deliberate level of analysis requires students to tap into their reasoning on a metacognitive level—they are asked to think about their own thinking. In being able to articulate why they arrived at a certain answer, students are subconsciously building confidence and developing self-efficacy.
  • Create lessons that promote Socratic dialogue and ask students to question what they are learning, reading, and exploring. This promotes a level of agency over the learning; they are no longer passively receiving the information, they are asked to engage in it and critique it.
  • Design activities and projects that allow for student choice. When students are invested in what they are researching, their exploration becomes more immersive—they more readily dive into the material and gain confidence while doing so. Choice also boosts motivation to succeed, reaffirming one’s self-efficacy once the goal is met.
  • Require students to “create the test” as a review or practice before an assessment. Then, if students’ sample questions are appropriate, include those student-created questions or concepts on the actual exam. Again, this practice helps to hand over the control; the teacher is not the only “keeper of the knowledge.” Instead, students are also given a hand in measuring their own learning.
  • Utilize reflection forms or surveys to practice error analysis and boost students’ self-confidence for the next task. Reflective questions after an exam, essay, or project that hone in on a student’s genuine level of effort and preparation help to show students how they hold the keys to their own success. Include questions on the survey such as, “How did you expect to do?” or, “Based on the time, effort, energy and focus that you put in, did you perform the way you anticipated?” These reflective questions encourage students to think about the way that their preparation or lack thereof has a direct impact on their success. Over time, they will recognize a sense of control over their education, which ultimately builds self-efficacy.
  • Consider creating student portfolios, in which students organize and track their work throughout the year. It is important that students have a clear view of how they have progressed over the course of the school year and how they can set goals for growth in the future. Students also develop self-efficacy by critiquing their own past assignments. Teachers might consider asking students to respond to teacher feedback to include in the portfolio as well. That is, after reflecting and seeing the feedback, how would the student modify the work or assignment?

 

Promoting Academic Integrity

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With the recent embarrassing mess that is the college admissions scandal, also known as “Operation Varsity Blues,”  today’s youth are getting a front row seat to watch the age-old adage come to life: cheaters never win. With high profile celebrities, executives, and elite colleges and universities involved, a spotlight has now landed on the intersection of where wealth and power meet educational opportunities. Common questions and considerations naturally arise when scandals surrounding the misuse of power and money are brought to light, especially in the realm of education—which some consider to be the “great equalizer.” All in all, most people simply wonder What happened to academic integrity and the value of achievements based on merit?

 

Of course, this current admissions scandal involves academic dishonesty on a grand scale, but anyone who tries to dupe the educational system likely has the same motive—that is, the need to avoid any potential failures. But what can we do to combat this urge to succeed and prove ourselves at any cost?

 

  • Parents and teachers should stress the importance of mastery learning, as opposed to performance learning. Mastery learning puts knowledge, growth, and personal improvement on a pedestal. Conversely, performance learning is driven by grades, points, levels, and rank. Essentially, we’re looking at intrinsic motivation (mastery) vs. extrinsic motivation (performance). While there is nothing wrong with the desire to prove oneself, the focus for performance learners becomes, “How can I make sure that I look the best, score the highest, and outrank my competitors/peers?” In this type of surface-level learning, knowledge isn’t the prize; the status acquainted with being “the best” becomes the end goal. Instead, parents and educators can take the following steps:
    • To encourage mastery learning, parents should talk with children and teens about how learning can have a profound and vital impact on their future. Talk about the opportunities and doors that education can open.
    • Explain how learning another language isn’t simply about AP credits or raising one’s GPA. Another language allows you to connect with others, verbally and culturally. As a skill, bilingualism is an asset in any workplace. Speaking another language also becomes a practical skill when travelling, either for work or pleasure.
    • Discuss how certain knowledge, skills, and abilities can translate into other areas of expertise. For instance, the dexterity and nimbleness that a surgeon’s job requires could be developed or improved by learning to play a string instrument or painting/drawing. Attorneys, researchers, and corporate executives will need to write proficiently for many different purposes. Seeing how this knowledge is applicable to a future career helps students to invest in what they are learning.

 

  • Present the “why” of learning to show that there is a greater purpose for these academic lessons and methods. Why do we learn about women’s suffrage, the Holocaust, and the civil rights movement? It’s not merely to ace the history exam at the end of the semester. We may not remember the exact dates or famous landmarks involved, but the more significant take-away comes from the fact that, to know better is to do better. Without knowledge of the past, we cannot grow from our mistakes.
    • Teachers and parents can hone in on this mindset by discussing the significance of the information that we learn in school. Where would we be without the people that stood up against injustice? What would we be missing out on if people hadn’t taken risks? What advancements have helped to improve our planet, our daily endeavors, life-expectancy, etc.? To cheat on an exam about the Constitution is to rob yourself of this important knowledge regarding your guaranteed rights.
    • Even for the younger learners, it is important that students know how they will rely on these skills later on. For instance, my multiplication flashcards were the bane of my existence in elementary school, but had I known how much I’d rely on that basic skill, for everything from cooking and grocery shopping, to choosing credit card options and monthly budgeting, I’d be much more inclined to study intently before peeking at a peer’s quiz sheet.

 

  • Discuss what plagiarism really means, specifically highlighting the fact that this is someone’s intellectual property.
    • Students are probably aware of their school’s or district’s policy on plagiarism. Depending on how certain schools wish to handle it, students who plagiarize could face disciplinary action ranging from a failing grade to expulsion. However, in college, plagiarism becomes a much bigger offense. Let them know that even inadvertent plagiarism can be a huge issue for universities.
    • Parents and educators should be sure to talk to high schoolers about the serious consequences that they may face if they plagiarize any part of a college assignment. Students who plagiarize at the college level will face several consequences. They may be forced to drop the course and take it again, which essentially means paying to take it twice. Colleges may also decide to review the student’s academic record, including previous work and essays. Previous papers might be scrutinized to see if this level of academic dishonesty is a pattern. Many colleges dismiss the student all together—no money back guarantee!
    • Talk with students about how, just like movies, music, and art are protected under copyright laws, published material is protected as well. If someone plagiarizes another’s material, then happens to benefit financially from that plagiarized work, legal issues may ensue. Copyright infringement can result in damages, penalties, and even jail time.

Scrabble as an Instructional Tool

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April 13th is the official day to celebrate every word-lover’s favorite board game—Scrabble! This beloved game-cabinet staple has been around since the 1930s, but its relevance in the classroom is eternally apparent. Not only Scrabble, but countless other board games and childhood favorites, can also be used to support learning and spur student engagement. Browse the ideas below to see how Scrabble could be incorporated into your own learning environment, whether it be in the classroom or at home.

 

Scrabble:

  • Use the letters as a form of equity sticks or calling sticks. Each student will be assigned a letter. When that letter is drawn, that student is selected to participate, read aloud, share their example, etc. Use the letters to correspond to students’ names. Similarly to calling sticks, if the teacher or another student draws the letter “D,” the next participant/classroom speaker’s name must start with or include the letter “D.”
  • Use the letter pieces to spell sight words for students. They can recreate the sight word from memory when the letters are scrambled up. Conversely, to challenge the strong spellers or provide enrichment, teachers may want to spell a sight word incorrectly and ask the student to remove or swap out the incorrect or misplaced letter.
  • Split students into groups and provide them with a pile of letters. Groups must race to sort the consonants and vowels into two different piles. The first group with everything sorted correctly wins!
  • Provide students with two vowels and three consonants. Then challenge them to see how many words they can spell with their letters by rearranging the squares.
  • For students just learning the alphabet, provide them with several letters and an alphabet reference strip if needed. Ask students to then put the letters in alphabetical order, skipping any letters that are not part of the sequence they were given.
  • Divvy up the letters to small groups of students. Put a photo up on the board to represent a spelling word, like “table,” for example. Then ask students to raise their hands if they think their letter is involved in the spelling of the word. If so, then as students with hands raised to arrange themselves in the correct order to spell that word.
  • Set up a “photo album” of images that contain consonant blends or digraphs that students have been learning about. For each photo, ask students to place the Scrabble squares of the letters that form that digraph or blend. For instance, if the photo depicts a flower, the student would place “f” and “l” on the picture; a stop sign would mean that “s” and “t” should be placed on the image.
  • As an extension activity, or to challenge students with strong phonics skills, provide them with a recorded sound, like “ew.” Then ask them to come up with all of the vowel/consonant combinations that could compose a word with that vowel sound: blue, too, crew, shoe, bruise, two, flu, etc. The key for this activity is that students begin to recognize the different combinations of letters that can make the same or similar sounds.

Twitter Chat! 5/9/19, 12-1pm ET: Continuum of Care & Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities & Health Conditions Through the Education Cycle

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Twitter Chat! 5/9/19, 12-1pm ET: Continuum of Care & Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities & Health Conditions Through the Education Cycle

Join Accessible College and Power Up by Learning Essentials for a Twitter Chat!

Thursday, May 9th, 12-1pm ET, #SelfAdvocacy4u

Continuum of Care & Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities & Health Conditions Through the Education Cycle

Families that have students with disabilities and health conditions have different needs, roles and responsibilities. As students transition through the education cycle there is a lot of considerations from identifying a disability, to creating an IEP/504 and advocating for accommodations.

Join in the conversation as we tackle the continuum of care and self-advocacy for students with disabilities and health conditions. Let’s support students taking on a larger role and learning to self-advocate as they transition through their K- post-secondary education. What are the questions that families should be asked to promote a smoother transition through this cycle? How can students begin to foster self-advocacy skills early on to promote independence? How can parents and teachers support students and encourage students to play the main role in self-advocacy?

Register on Eventbrite below to mark your calendar and receive a reminder email: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twitter-chat-continuum-of-care-self-advocacy-for-students-tickets-60337209217

How to Participate:

Follow @AcssCollege and @LEPPowerUp1. When it’s time for the chat, search #SelfAdvocacy4u tag on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.

If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @AcssCollege’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart.

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too quickly: http://www.tchat.io/

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/how-to-participate-in-a-twitter-chat/546805/

Introductory Tweets and Chat Questions:

Welcome to the #SelfAdvocacy4u chat hosted by: @AcssCollege and @LEPPowerUp1.

Remember to use the #SelfAdvocacy4u hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #SelfAdvocacy4u”

Q1: Please introduce yourself and what brought you to today’s #SelfAdvocacy4u chat. If you are willing, share anything about your life. Tell us if you are a student, a parent, a teacher, a counselor or a service provider. Feel free to include links about yourself.

Q2: What methods have you found effective or ineffective to engage elementary aged students, or looking back at your experience in elementary school how were you engaged in the IEP/504 process? #SelfAdvocacy4u

Q3: Are there ways to include elementary aged students in conversations about their health care? What has your experience been? #SelfAdvocacy4u

Q4: What are some ways to help students communicate their needs to teachers? #SelfAdvocacy4u

Q5: When problems arise regarding accommodations or changes in treatments, how can we support students and them to problem solve? #SelfAdvocacy4u

Q6: Are you aware of any condition specific/disability specific resources to share for students, outside of school, that can assist in supporting self-advocacy (camps, groups, communities, etc.)? #SelfAdvocacy4u

Q7: What are some tips for requesting accommodations in the school setting (K-Post Secondary)? #SelfAdvocacy4u

Q8: As students move toward post-secondary transition, where the parents role diminishes, what suggestions, resources, and thoughts do you have about ways to support greater independence as students move into college or the workforce? #SelfAdvocacy4u

This concludes our #SelfAdvocacy4u chat. Thank you to everyone for joining us today, especially guest hosts: @AcssCollege and @LEPPowerUp1! Keep the conversation going. We will be providing a recap of the conversation as well! #SelfAdvocacy4u

Questions?

Wendy Taylor 240-249-8492 or Wendy@LEPowerUP.com

Annie Tulkin 202-549-6593 or Annie@AccessibleCollege.com

A Beginner’s Guide to Essay Outlines, Pt. II

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For a five paragraph essay, which is what students will most commonly encounter in middle school, the three body paragraphs should adhere to the information/details in the thesis statement. In the previous example, the thesis statement includes three reasons for the increase in recycling efforts over time. These three reasons will make up the three separate body paragraphs.

 

Body Paragraph I: Population
  • Population growth over time
  • Increase in consumption/trash
  • A growing cause for concern; landfills overflowing
Body Paragraph II: New info about health
  • How pollution is impacting health
  • Recycling reduces these concerns
  • Concerns about longevity
Body Paragraph III: New info about environment
  • Data on plastic in oceans
  • Impact on marine life
  • Concern for species longevity

 

Again, the purpose of the outline is to organize the writers’ thoughts, pieces of evidence, direct quotes, and their own interpretations so that the essay is essentially mapped out and organized prior to writing. Just like in the introductory section of the outline, the organizer for the body paragraphs does not need to contain complete sentences either. The bullet points are there to succinctly indicate the support that the writer wishes to refer to in the argumentative essay.

 

Finally, the standard conclusion paragraph, much like the introductory paragraph, does not need to be particularly lengthy, especially for middle school writers. The key is that the conclusion reiterates the writer’s position without exhausting previous points or introducing new information. The details should be familiar and relative enough to tie the essay together. The concluding paragraph will essentially mirror the introduction, but with varying word choice and fresh sentence structures. Again, if the prompt asks students to explain why recycling efforts have seemed to increase over time, this could be a simple outline for a student’s conclusion paragraph.

 

Thesis Statement Reiterate main reasons for increase in recycling…recycling increase because of population growth, health concerns, environmental impact
Specific Statement While recycling efforts have been tried for centuries…
General Statement It is more important now to reduce and conserve

 

The concluding paragraph using the outline above might sound something like this:

 

As stated in the paragraphs above, recycling has increased over time because of the rise in population, the increased worry over health concerns, and the alarming evidence of the detriment to our environment. Although records trace the first evidence of recycling back to ancient Japanese scribes, the efforts are more important now than ever before. With so many ways in which people can reduce by reusing, the push for recycling has no wonder spiked.

 

A Beginner’s Guide to Essay Outlines

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Outlining as a prewriting practice is a technique that often gets a lot of pushback, specifically from students. It makes sense that students would look at an outline as a nuisance; it is just one more thing to write on top of the actual essay itself. Truthfully, drafting an outline in preparation for an essay is another step. However, in the very minimal amount of time that an outline will require, students will essentially be saving themselves a lot of time and frustration when it comes time to actually craft the essay.

 

For beginning writers—or what I would consider early middle school-aged writers—an introductory paragraph can be a daunting task. Not knowing where or how to begin is a very real concern for many writers as they sit down to start the intro paragraph. A standard rule of thumb, especially for younger students, is to keep the introductory paragraph fairly succinct and direct. It should include about three sentences that introduce the reader to the subject or topic of discussion.

 

The first sentence should be a general statement, which loosely explains the topic, novel, question, technique, etc. Whatever the prompt is about, the general statement should address that concept or comment on it. The second sentence will be more specific, but still pertain to the content introduced previously in the general statement. A specific statement goes further into how the essay will address this topic or concept. Finally, the last sentence in the introductory paragraph should be the thesis statement—this is the point or claim that the writer is trying to make regarding the prompt or essay question.

 

For example, the boxes below could represent a strong outline for an introductory paragraph where the prompt asks students to explain why recycling efforts have seemed to increase over time.

General Statement Define what it means to recycle
Specific Statement Talk about when recycling efforts first began; what were the first initiatives, what prompted them? (Use class research sites)
Thesis Statement …recycling increase because of population growth, which means more trash; research about pollution and health effects; research about environmental impacts, specifically marine life

 

The point of the outline above is to organize the initial information that the writer wishes to convey. Complete or full sentences are not necessary in the outline; it is merely meant to provide cues for starting the essay, like a roadmap of where the intro paragraph plans to go.

Using this sample outline, a completed introductory paragraph might look like this:

 

Recycling involves the conversion of used materials into new or alternative materials for reuse. Processes to reuse materials and objects have taken place over centuries; however, recycling efforts have now become more important than ever before. Recycling efforts have increased over the years because of population growth, health concerns relating to pollution, and environmental distress caused by plastic in the oceans.

By taking the time to plan out the introductory paragraph and compile the necessary information to support the thesis statement, students will be prepared to write without the confusion or last-minute frustrations.

Promote Intrigue in Reluctant Readers

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I am certain that everyone who has been through school has had to endure the hardship of “required reading.” For students, the complaints regarding assigned texts can range from boring and irrelevant to abstract or obscure. For some, the mandatory novels are considered beyond complex and actually cross over into arduous territory. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales was one such text for me—and truthfully, I haven’t touched it since sophomore year in high school English. At the time, I considered Chaucer’s collection of stories to be pointless. But what if I’d been given additional layers of questions to pique my interest while reading? Instead of simply assigning analysis and comprehension questions, encourage reluctant readers by making connections to the text that they did not know were there.

 

Questions for readers to consider

 

  • At any point in the novel, do you recognize aspects of your own personality in any of the characters? Explain.

 

      • This question prompts readers to consider the human component at play when characters develop throughout a work of literature. Good, bad, or otherwise, no matter the text, there is likely some way in which even the most unenthusiastic readers can relate to or see themselves in one of the characters.
      • The similarities or parallels that students uncover could involve personal interests, styles of speaking or behaving, familiar conflicts or insecurities, etc. The point is to challenge students to relate to the characters in some way by reflecting on themselves as “characters.”

 

  • Identify a main character’s tragic flaw. When have you seen someone, from history or pop culture, with a similar flaw? How does that person compare to or relate to the character in the novel?

 

      • Follow up with questions about how this flaw began for both people; was it caused by a similar conflict or catalyst?
      • These types of questions prompt students to consider how people from different time periods, backgrounds, and cultures can have similar flaws or difficulties.

 

  • How does the setting have a noticeable impact on one or more characters?

 

      • To recognize a setting’s impact, readers have to consider in what way the character either belongs or doesn’t belong in their society. This question encourages readers to examine social constructs, cultural norms, and belief systems and determine how our surroundings can impact one’s individuality.
      • This question also prompts students to consider the nature vs. nurture debate—in what ways are we all potentially imprinted by our environment?

 

  • If you were to pull one sentence from the text to represent the entire novel’s style, which quote would you choose? How does this resonate with what you have read or experienced before?

 

      • Essentially this question is like a summary on steroids—students are challenged with finding one specific line in the chapter or novel as a whole to represent the overall message of that section.
      • This question also prompts hesitant readers to consider the purpose of specific dialogue and narration by asking how the author’s intent is most explicitly or subtly conveyed while reading.

 

  • What type of person would enjoy this type of story or novel? If you were to create the novel’s prime reader profile, what would this look like?

 

    • This type of layered question requires students to look beyond their own like or dislike of the text and consider how it may appeal to other readers.
    • This question also prompts readers to consider how and why authors make deliberate stylistic choices when crafting a story. What impact does the author hope to achieve? In what way would a reader connect with this work?