My Pecha Kucha: Connections

We've probably all had "that student" that you just can't seem to connect with,  It make me think...how can I reach this student? What else can I do? I'll reach out, make extra effort through interest activities. I will work hard to make a connection with each and every student. As I sit and ponder about my why, I begin to question myself? What is happening when students aren't engaged? Why aren't they performing better" Is there a disconnect? This leads me to my next thought...."When does learning happen best?"
I believe learning happens best when there is a connection between teacher, student, and family. As a teacher of Multilingual Learners(MLLs), connecting with students is easier than connecting with parents. There could be many reasons for this: working multiple jobs, language barrier...I need to dig deeper for the answer. As I recall watching a Ted Talk from Mike Wesch, I'm reminded of the animation story he created about the hero. This leads me to think. "how can I model this ability to see "the hero" in all my students? I know just how to do this. Make connections, build relationships, and talk but listen too!
Making students feel good about themselves will build confidence. This will lead to success. If I can help students realize...there is a purpose in learning and that learning IS worth it, then I truly believe that they will move from the "I can't" to the "I can" mentality. They WILL climb those steps...all because it's worth it!
To build relationships there has to be trust. I believe in letting my students know...I'm still learning, just like them! One of my favorite phrases to teach my students is "Nobody's perfect, we ALL make mistakes...even Mrs. Connole!"
As long as we try to learn from our mistakes...that's what's important.
To establish trust with my students, I will try to be as honest as possible with them in Social Emotional Learning time. I will invite students to join me for lunch bunch. I'll listen and let them know "I believe in you!" This leads me to my platform that I'll be using this year...Classdojo!
Classdojo is a free app for your phone and digital tool four desktop. This will help keep families in the know...all year long! I will post important notices and events, along with homework assignments! Classdojo also has a "Big Ideas" series of video clips and accompanying activities. These videos teach the importance of having a "Growth mindset" as opposed to a fixed mindset.
These videos and activities help students learn how to manage their emotions. They learn the power of positive thinking, perseverance, and respect, to name a few. My plan is to show 1 video per week and complete the activity. I would also like to write...or maybe even blog about a time when they showed or saw these traits. I believe that the writing and/or blogging piece will also help students see they are not  alone in some of their worries or concerns. This will also help to build community within our classroom. A safe place where we can offer support to those may not be there "YET"! When classmates, teachers and families collaborate and support each other, by climbing that mountain...together...all the way to the top, students will realize real learning is actually fun, so let's keep doing it! This helps build on perseverance. I encourage my students to self talk, keep trying and say, "I think I can, I think I can..." and someday you WILL!
I'm always looking for more ways to excite/engage my students. I'm known as that teacher in the building who loves to try something new. Classdojo is not new to me, but the tool within it that I will begin using this year is! It is Digital Portfolio. I believe this will help not only parents and families see more work samples but students too! Students will be able to hold on to these pieces all year because they are digital. Together, with their family, they will be able to look back and see their academic growth over the year. With some autonomy, students may choose the work they want to showcase. I will ask for at least one work piece per content area each quarter! I, the teacher, must approve each piece before it is uploaded to their portfolio. Only students and their family are able to view their work. Students are given a choice of "how" to show what they know. They can video record, write, take a photo, or draw. Multimodal opportunities are excellent scaffolds for all learners. Although I've been using Classdojo for about three years now, I have only used it as a communication piece between parents, myself as a Facebook, if you will, for our classroom. I feel this helps build some classroom community both in and outside of school. So between all of these modes on dojo, there should be plenty of talking points to connect us  all to what we are learning. As I just mentioned, Classdojo can provide talking points for us all. Here are some examples of what I share. Throughout Distance Learning(DL), I recorded myself reading Wonder, chapter by chapter. During DL Spirit Week, I put up pictures of students participating on Hat Day! A bunny appeared in my garden so I took a picture and students wrote their own creative stories about it. I also post pictures of students that win awards or get recognized for doing something. These students came to school every day for a month,"Perfect Attendance". Here are a few more examples of collaboration happening in school. This is where the energy comes from. A classroom should be alive and full of voice, laughter, and excitement. To me, that means some real fun learning is happening. We are playing with toys during indoor recess (technology not allowed) I guess I am forcing face to face time, like Turkle recommends. We had a gumdrop challenge where students worked in small groups to construct the tallest gumdrop structure. The third collage is the whole fourth grade, in the cafeteria, constructing a model of the eye. So much excitement here!
Yes, I use Classdojo as a communication tool. I don't want to dismiss the importance of face-to-face communication, as Turkle reminds us of its' importance. I have been assigned busroom at dismissal for the last two years. I'm going to try to request walkers so I can work m ore on my connections with families. Fingers crossed. The big picture here is creating a child who believes in themselves. Building that bridge and walking across it at the onset of school will be time and effort well spent. Not only should you talk to your students BUT you should listen when they respond. In closing, I am what Prensky refers to as a Techno traditionalist. I'm hoping this change I'm creating within my classroom does two things. First, It pushes me to the next level of Techno constructivist and second, while also pushing my students to change their approach to learning thru the use of this Digital Portfolio.