What we learned this week

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We survived Week One!

If you are like me, Friday night was once again a reminder of how exhausting our work in education can be.

We all do everything we can to make certain that each and every child is in the very best place for them to be every single moment.

To achieve that goal, we have to be learners. We have to be open to questioning our practice, to looking for new ideas, for trying new things when what we are doing is no longer meeting the learning needs of our students.

It's only 16 months until 2020! The world is changing. We need to change with it to ensure our kids can thrive in a world much different from the one we grew up in.

So when can YOU learn? Whenever you choose. This newsletter is a curated selection of little BITS of learning for you to tap into as you go through your busy week.

Make a cup of tea, and sit for 10 minutes. Click a link and learn. Reflect and share back with your colleagues. Spread the learning.

Universal Design for Learning

When we design classroom instruction using UDL principles, we see entry and exit points for all learners. Every child is learning in this approach.

A multitude of resources on UDL can be found here including further information on the Toolbelt Theory, ensuring all kids have access to, and know how to find, the best tools to help them learn, and demonstrate learning.

This page from British Columbia includes a free online course for further understanding of how to implement UDL in your school or classroom.

Use the yellow button below to access an interactive chart that outlines the UDL Guidelines in a very specific and informative format for educators.

Check Out the Interactive UDL Guidelines Implementation Chart

New to UDL, or just looking for a really clear explanation? Check out this short video.

From June Abbott, Director of Schools, NLESD

Back-To-Basics Math: Weakest Form of Literacy

by Sunil Singh

What happens when children become math zombies, marching through memorized “steps” to do mathematics without an understanding of why? Sunil Singh explores this in his recent piece on Medium.

Math instruction has been a topic of much discussion this week. There was this response to the August 8 New York Times Opinion Piece

" Anyone who teaches children that they need to silently comply through painful experiences before they will be allowed to let their brilliance shine has no intention of ever allowing that brilliance to shine, and will not be able to see it when it does."

Soul Scrutiny

Melissa Peddie from Ontario wrote t his response to the polarization around how math needs to be taught in schools. Dan Meyer weighed in with a wonderfully practical look at procedural fluency in the absence of conceptual understanding. As math teachers, we've all encountered some of the ridiculous examples Dan shares, but what have we done about it?

Quick, what's 1/2 divided by 1/4?
No flipping or inverting allowed!

Listen to Do The Math: Provocative Conversations About Math Education

The Importance of Sleep for Adolescents
Delaying school start times is essential to the well-being of our teenagers. Here's a summary of the recent research at McGill University.

Shared by School Leader, Joe Caruso

What Is School For?

While this is not my favourite video on the question
"What Is School For?",
it went viral this week, so I thought I would share it with you.

The question, though, is very important.

Without a shared understanding of the purpose of school, we are not all pulling in the same direction.

What do you think?
What is school for?

Stop Stealing Dreams: What is School For?

Check out this provocative look at today's school system.

This image, from the World Economic Forum, is one of the most powerful reminders of how much we have to teach children about digital life. How are we contributing to Digital Intelligence? How will our kids thrive in the Digital Economy?

John Goldsworthy, NLESD Program Specialist for Technology Education, shared this resource for parents and families with lots of age-appropriate ideas.

Quick bites: Some further learning that might be interesting to you.

As you are working on your 10 minutes of professional learning, what are some of the barriers you need to overcome so that your learning changes thinking and practice? Traditional professional learning rarely does this.

See the list of learning barriers (that we can intentionally interrupt) below [from Katz and Dack 2013]

Have you ever believed you couldn't do something? The Dot is a fabulous children's book that encourages all of us to just get started, no matter what we believe about our abilities. Now, you can connect with other classrooms celebrating International Dot Day on September 15. Check it out here.

How do you get started with Self-Regulation? Join Aviva Dunsiger as she shares some of her thinking on the Mehrit Centre Blog.

And if you are on Twitter - even if you are not - this is worth your time. Get your Kleenex box handy!

Did you enjoy this format for personalized professional learning? Please forward this email to colleagues. Subscribe for weekly BITS (Best Information To Share) about learning delivered to you email inbox.

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Learning About Learning · RR1 · Pass Lake, On P0T2M0 · Canada