Walking middle school students through organizational issues and decision-making
may be among the most important tasks of a middle grades educator working
with 10-14 year olds.
Brenda Dyck began this conversation when she introduced findings from brain-based
research that support the notion of "hovering"-- that is, putting
into place structures and tools that will help adolescents develop their
evolving organizational abilities, their ability to problem solve, and their
beginning efforts to think critically.
Brenda then asked MiddleWeb list members to share how they help students
through this development process.
One of the speakers I heard at a recent conference was Dr.
Robert Sylwester, Professor of Education from the University of Oregon.
At the conference Sylwester did a session on brain-based learning. The research
that hit me between the eyes had to do with the brain development of the
10-14 year old student. Sylwester shared that it is at this point in time
that the student's frontal lobe (problem solving, critical thinking, organizational
abilities) develops. This was not news to me but what he said next was,
and has huge implications in the Middle School classroom.
Sylwester said that it is critical to have an adult to "closely walk"
the student through frontal lobe development. "Hovering" was the
word he used. What are the implications of this statement?
This means that students in the middle school years need to have adults
hovering around them, putting into place structures and tools that will
work on their evolving organizational abilities, their ability to problem
solve and their beginning efforts to think critically.
I often hear teachers say, "Well I told them to write that assignment
down in their agenda" or "I told the class that this report needed
to be 400 words". Just "telling them" appears to pass the
responsibility on to these 10-14 year olds who are only in the beginning
stages of problem solving, critical thinking etc. If the research is showing
that students between the Grades of 5-8 are just beginning to develop complex
thinking skills, I think strategies need to be intentionally put into place
that help them along in these areas. This may explain why lost books, assignments
that leave out important benchmarks and poor choices continue to plague
the students we work with in Middle School.
That's why we hover, providing clear assignment sheets, providing organizational
tools and establishing strategies so our kids will make progress in their
ability to become independent. Hovering may well be one of the most important
parts of our job description. I needed to be reminded of that.
My principal observed that frontal lobe weaknesses appear to continue even
into adulthood. She sited examples of how she needs to hover over our staff
to make sure we meet expectations too. That was kind of humbling... the
thought makes me a little more tolerant towards my Middle School students.
Maybe we all require hovering from time to time- could it be part of human
nature?
What are some ways you "hover" in your Middle School?
Sincerely hovering,
Brenda Dyck
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Ellen Berg observed that adults often begin to withdraw support and guidance
at the very time students need it the most.
Brenda -- what a great reminder you posted for us all! Isn't it ironic that
at the age our students MOST need the adults in their lives to be closely
involved that this seems to be the time that parents seem to pull away?
Teachers and parents begin to view them as able to handle more and more
responsibility without guidance from us, yet I have seen that to be so untrue.
Many of my students go to great lengths to hide the fact that they are drowning
academically, socially, etc. until they fail miserably.
I think setting, modeling, and teaching clear, consistent expectations and
routines is especially important at this age. If every class period (at
least; it SHOULD be school-wide...) is structured the same, and the rules
and expectations are the same, then they can begin to practice, understand,
and internalize these habits of mind.
Another thing I do is teach and use particular learning structures. For
example, I frequently use the jigsaw cooperative group structure in my classroom.
The rules and procedures are the same, so it doesn't get in the way of the
learning. They are learning a particular pattern of information. Likewise,
I use Venn diagrams, compare/contrast charts, story maps, and other graphic
organizers on a consistent basis.
I want them to see skills we've learned applied in different contexts, and
if they are going to be able to see the connections, they have to have tools
that they feel comfortable using like the graphic organizers. I don't think
it's enough to "cover" our curriculum and never return to those
important concepts. We began working on compare/contrast first quarter,
but we've hit it numerous times embedded in other tasks. I want the learning
to become a part of them, not just a skill we teach once, they learn for
the assessment, and then quickly forget as we move on to the next thing.
The more times our students experience a concept or skill, the broader and
deeper their understanding will be. I think it helps them own the learning
better.
Great topic, Brenda!
- Ellen
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Sharon shared how one school restructured its middle school schedule
in an effort to ease elementary students into the world of middle school.
Combining two topics...While we were discussing schedules for next year,
the staff voted that number one on their list of priorities was a common
prep, second was tight teams. They go hand in hand but since scheduling
is so difficult, we wanted our preferences to be considered. With the common
prep and tight teams, we are dismantling the 6 period departmentalization
and blocking 3 core subjects (either back to back or a 2/1 sequence) so
that incoming 6th grade students have the same teacher for those subjects.
The intent is to ease the elementary student into the world of middle school
and provide what you are terming "hovering."
We have been meeting to share ideas and standardize certain aspects of curriculum
to include specific graphic organizers, rubrics, 6 traits of writing, direct
writing assessment, a school wide planner book, and who knows what else
by next year. I believe that the common prep and teaming provides the fertile
ground for strategies that will encourage organization and a logical hierarchy
of thinking skills.
-Sharon
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Deb Bambino noted that the need for increased support for early adolescents
coincides with their need to separate from their parents-- a scary combination!
Another wrinkle in this area of development could be its intersection
with an Adolescents' need for differentiation from their parents. Since
our kids are pulling away from their families we are even more important
in their lives. Sometimes when teachers complain and wonder where the parents
are, I recall the early teenage years with our boys. It seemed like they
didn't want to share anything with us, and I was mighty glad that they had
solid relationships with teachers, who could hover gracefully when I wasn't
welcome.
This is the second time this week that I've heard Sylwester's name. I'll
have to read some of his work. Do you have titles or a site?
Thanks, Deb
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Brenda offered further resource material on Robert Sylwester.
Robert Sylwester, EdD - is a professor of education at the University of
Oregon, and the author of numerous articles on the brain and learning. He
is a cutting-edge translator of brain research and the author of A Celebration
of Neurons and A Biological Brain in a Cultural Classroom.
Here are a few sites that will give you further information about his work:
http://www.newhorizons.org/article_sylwest2.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871202433/102-6154401-9964135
http://www.newhorizons.org/blab_sylwester2.html
Robert Sylwester's Email address:
bobsyl@oregon.uoregon.edu.
- Brenda
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Mary Anne added to Brenda's resource list.
To piggyback on Brenda--
Sylwester's book, "A
Celebration of Neurons", is published through ASCD. He has also
written many articles for Educational Leadership magazine. I am not sure
how many are available online but you can check at www.ascd.org.
-Mary Anne
Editor's note: See, for example:
"What the Biology of the Brain Tells Us About Learning" (Educational
Leadership, Jan. 94)
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/9312/sylwester.html
"Understanding the Brain Educators Seek to Apply Brain Based Research"
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edupdate/1995/1sep.html
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Susan tells about a recent conference on brain-based learning that she
attended. The practical implications of the research in her classroom were
of great interest to her.
I read your post with interest since I too attended a local conference where
Dr. Cynthia Sandler, a researcher from the University of Maryland, spoke
on the same topic. She explained that the 9-17 year old group is doing their
thinking through the amygdalate- the seat of emotions. As she explained,
that is why, when a middle school student is addressed, the adult often
gets the "rolled eyes" response. The seat of rationality and executive
functioning, the frontal lobe, isn't ready to do the job without increased
structure.
As a guideline, she suggested that any structure that you might put into
place for a child who has been identified as LD would also be good for any
student in this age group. In other words, she stated that all students
deserved as much structure as possible, regardless of their natural abilities.
She made several suggestions that most of us have used with for students
with IEP's. One interesting comment was about using colors for organization.
She highly recommended the use of colors, particularly if you can get the
entire middle school team (actually she used the 4-8 grades reference) to
agree. Use the colors to color code everything. She included notebooks,
binders, folders, dividers, and book covers. She specifically pointed out
the need to carry the color theme to the textbook. The book cover does not
have to be the same for everyone, but the spine of the cover needs to be
colored with the appropriate color tape or colored with a marker so that
the student can pull the correct book from the locker by color. She even
said she has some patients use colored inks for note taking.
She emphasized that yellow should not be one of the chosen colors because
it does not offer sufficient contrast and the research has shown that the
color yellow creates more problems than the use of other shades -- so much
for those yellow pads.
Another specific suggestion was to have students use graph paper for all
of their work. The forced use of lines in two directions assists students
to "line up" the numbers in problems correctly. When used for
writing, it can help a student focus on the words rather than the placement.
Brain and learning research is moving at breakneck speed. It was fascinating
to hear it translated into practical ways to assist our students.
-Susan
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In Nancy's school, "hovering" takes the form of student/teacher
conferencing.
I LOVE this concept! It's nice to be validated in what we are already doing,
isn't it?
One way we hover in our team is to call students in for a team conference
as the need arises. Whenever we see that a student is struggling in one
or more areas (academics, conduct, tardiness, whatever) we call them during
out team conference time and touch base with them. We let them tell us what
is causing the problem and what they think the solution is. We may offer
suggestions; we always offer encouragement.
If the student is sullen or uncooperative we call the parent right that
minute, but that doesn't happen often. We help the student make a plan to
improve the situation. One teacher takes notes during the conference and
summarizes the discussion aloud at the end of the conference, asking the
student to sign the paper. We make a copy of the paper to give to the student.
We average about 3 conferences a week. Only once this year have we had to
see a student a second time for the same behavior, and his problem is extreme
hyperactivity. We strive to keep team conferences non-threatening and solution-oriented.
-Nancy
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Robert Sylwester believes that it is helpful for frontal lobe developers
(middle school students) to hang out with folks that already have one (the
adult in their lives)! Stuart examines the research behind this interesting
statement.
I also had the pleasure of hearing Robert Sylwester at ASCD, and have been
interested in where the "hovering" discussion has been going.
My understanding of Sylwester's work about the developing brain is that
the frontal lobe, which handles most of the thinking about ethical choices,
and planning actions for problem solving, is making most of its neural connections
at about the early to mid adolescent years (probably no accident that most
psycho-developmental theory talks about kids at this age "finding out
who they are and where they belong").
Sylwester says it is helpful for these frontal lobe developers to hang out
with folks that already have one. I guess they would do this both to get
help with planning, doing the right thing, and problem solving, but also
to start developing some patterns of thought and action that will set up
neural pathways in the brain (I'm just a novice at this stuff - I'm guessing
here).
I think this work has some important lessons for those of us doing conflict
resolution and character education with middle graders. If we book-teach,
lecture or discuss this stuff, expecting students to change their understanding
of fairness, civility, and other core values, we're expecting the newly
developing frontal lobe to outperform parts of the brain that have fully
developed other responses. It would be like trying to "teach"
a sexist construction worker not to whistle at women on the street, without
having him role-play and perform new behaviors.
Does this make sense, those of you with fully developed lobes out there?
- Stuart
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Resistance from colleagues can pose major roadblocks in how well the school
can help students meet learning goals. Juli wonders how one might persuade
skeptical teachers to see the need to provide additional support tools in
student learning.
How is it that we can help others at our schools see the importance
of "hovering" to assist students while they learn? We have common
teams and 90 minutes common planning times daily at our school. Yet we
have tried so many of the previous suggestions and many on our staff still
see this as the students' problem -- not as a developmental issue. "They
can't remember anything, they don't ever do their homework, they never finish
class assignments, and their backpacks are a mess...."
When we obtained student planners for all our students, it then became "you
must have all your assignments written in your planner, it must be checked
by every teacher, every day, and parents must sign every night." When
parents don't sign, they are considered not to care. When students loose
their planners and don't have the $5 to buy a new one, they are considered
irresponsible and then fall even more "out of the loop."
How can we help others at our schools see the positives about our students
and their families? So often I hear, "but they live so far away from
school, we can never get the parents involved." If hovering is something
we need to do, then we need to educate middle school personnel, from the
top down, about the characteristics of the middle school student and what
makes for success. Then, as we reach out to parents, part of our job is
to help them understand the importance of hovering. If we work together,
we are only stronger.
What do you think?
- Juli
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Jeanne believes that effective hovering is connected to class size.
Love the discussion on hovering. I recently changed middle schools and my
new school has a new policy of 20 students per class. We do have classes
everywhere and some of us have up to 25 but we are working on getting down
to 20. This really sets us up for good hovering. It is so much easierand
scary to think how much got by me when I had 32 and up in a class. Lower
class sizes!!!! I also loved the idea of total school color- coding.
- Jeanne
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Sharon agrees with Jeanne and suggests several alternative terms for
the word "hovering".
Wow! Twenty students to a classroom. Sounds fabulous. I have smaller classes
this year - 24. It gives me so much more time to really know my students.
Unfortunately, the room is so small I can barely get down an aisle without
turning sideways. That does not make for good teaching.
I, too, am enjoying the "brain" correlations and the "hovering"
discussion but I must admit that the word "hovering" has a very
negative connotation in my mind. I think I prefer careful nurturing or close
guidance.
- Sharon
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Joanne also connects class size to teacher effectiveness.
We have 32-34 students to a classroom here. As a substitute, all I see is
a sea of faces. At six classes of day that is 180+ students. Years ago,
I remember reading that class size doesn't affect learning. The key factor
was whether or not the teacher was effective - in other words, a "good"
teacher. If that is the case, all I can wonder is how much MORE effective
he/she would be with classes of 20 instead of 30, or in the "olden"
days, 50 children.
- Joanne
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John wrote:
Ah, the class size wars. The folks who appropriate money for schools really,
really don't want to believe that smaller classes make a difference. It's
SO expensive! But the research is turning in the direction of teacher common
sense. See for example:
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CERAI/documents/InterpretingSAGE.html
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Brenda directs readers to Bernie Dodge's informative writing on scaffolding
and an intriguing visual representation of the concept.
"Scaffolding essentially means doing some of the work for the student who isn't quite ready to accomplish a task independently. Like the supports that construction workers use on buildings, scaffolding is intended to be temporary. It is there to aid the completion of a task and it is eventually removed." -- Bernie Dodge
Draw boxes around sections of a worksheet or exam--this helps the student focus on the contents of the box and not become overwhelmed with the entire task
Use different colors for different parts of speech; never use more than three colors per sentence. For instance, if my type were in color, I could make the subject blue, the verb green, and the object red. This allows the student to focus and increases comprehension. Black is not counted as one of the colors.
Deployment: a. To position (troops) in readiness for combat, as along a front or line. b.To bring (forces or material) into action.
Page 1
My name is Todd and I need help. I need help because....
Page 2
I have been given some time to think about the character I have right now, and the kind of person I want to become. Here are some of my thoughts.
Page 3
I have been asked to think about who I should ask to help me in developing my character. Here are the people I am thinking of asking.
Page 4
I know I don't want to stay in a state of punishment and guilt every day. I have to start thinking how to live my life so that I actually make my life easier and more enjoyable. Here are some of the thoughts I have about moving away from punishment and guilt.
Page 5
I have been asked to think about the meaning behind some difficult words. I am expected to learn more about these words through talking with my parents, my teachers and the counselor (both past and present) at our school. The words are:
impulsive behavior
compulsive behavior
pre-meditated behavior
manipulative behavior
Page 6
I have been asked to think about some of the biggest challenges I think I will have to face during my teenage years.
Page 7
I have been asked to re-read what I have written about who I would like to help me. In conlusion I have some ideas to share.
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