The Todd Cast - Teaching Theory into Teaching Practice

Organization (Executive Functioning Skills) - there are many aspects to organization for a student at school. There is their schoolwork, their materials, their personal belongings, their time, and their thoughts. We explore several strategies for how a students might go about organizing these things so that they can effectively work on what it is there are supposed to be which is learning.

Task initiation (Executive Functioning Skills) - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. Similarly, you can give a student a task, but it doesn't mean they are going to get started on it. How do we teach kids to avoid procrastination and to get started on their work in a timely manner? These ten strategies are ways you might consider deliberately teaching this skill to your students.

Time Management (Executive Functioning Skills) - you can plan and organize yourself all you want, but if you are unable to manage the time you are allotted, nothing is going to get done. Teachers either micromanage a student's time so much that the students do not learn to do this for themselves, or we give them a big block of time with no guidance for how to manage it. What if instead we gave them some guidance for how to manage their time and then the space to do so?

Focus (Executive Functioning Skills) - none of the other executive functioning skills work effectively if a student is not able to focus. Developing this skill through setting the environment, having teacher clarity, and being aware of mindfulness are just some of the strategies shared in order to build the focus endurance of your students.

Self Control/Regulation (Executive Functioning Skills) - are you unable to keep your emotions in check? Can you not resist the urge to do something when it tempts you? Do you find yourself blurting out answers the second they pop into your head? If the answer is yes to any of these you might have a self-control/self-regulation issues. This is either not giving in when something distracts your focus or being able to deescalate yourself when you are getting emotionally worked up. Some think this has to do with maturity, but self-control/regulation are skills that can be taught if they are deliberate in the classroom. Shared are 10 strategies for doing just that.

Flexibility (Executive Functioning Skills) - all of the other executive functioning skills do not really work if you are not flexible with your thinking. Your plans change, the time management is wrecked by an assembly, and trying to keep your focus might be affected by circumstances beyond your control. You have to adapt and be flexible when things do not go how you intended them to. This is not just the classroom, this is life. How then do you purposefully teach children to have flexibility? Strategies, activities, and tips abound in this unfiltered and unedited Todd Talk tries to demonstrate how one must me flexible.

Overview of Executive Functioning Skills - Executive functioning skills are the things that successful people do on a daily basis which leads to their achievement. It includes skills such as task initiation, planning, attention, and time management. These are skills we expect many of our students to possess, but how deliberately do we teach them? This will give you a basic overview of 10 executive functioning skills and how they might be taught in the classroom. This introduces a series of Todd Talks which will dive into each one of these in more detail.

Overview of Executive Functioning Skills - Executive functioning skills are the things that successful people do on a daily basis which leads to their achievement. It includes skills such as task initiation, planning, attention, and time management. These are skills we expect many of our students to possess, but how deliberately do we teach them? This will give you a basic overview of 10 executive functioning skills and how they might be taught in the classroom. This introduces a series of Todd Talks which will dive into each one of these in more detail.

Trends (Depth and Complexity icon) - trends are patterns that take place over a period of time. This period of time could be a month, could be a year, could be several years. By observing the patterns in this trend, we can try and predict where the trend will go next. By doing this you can take advantage of fortunate trends while avoiding negative ones.

Multiple Perspectives (Depth and Complexity icon) - It is often said that there are two sides to every story. In reality, there are as many sides to the story as there were people present. Yet the story is usually only told from one of these perspectives. If we are going to truly understand something, we have to consider more than our own perspective. Understanding another perspective doesn't mean you agree with them. It simply gives you a better view of the big idea. Considering multiple perspectives gives you a more rounded version of something for your to make a more enlightened decision on your own perspective.

Unanswered Questions (Depth and Complexity icon) - Often in school, students are presented with questions that they are expected to find a correct answer to. This could be a math problem, how to spell a word, the name of a figure, event, or date in history, or how sounds waves work. In life however, sometimes there is no easy answer, and there are even times when there is no answer. How do we cope with these unanswered questions? And why do we ponder them when we know there is the likelihood that they will never be answered?

Ethics (Depth and Complexity icon) - ethics are the gray areas we encounter when looking at a situation. For example, it is wrong to shout in the classroom. In fact, it is a rule. But what if someone injured themselves and you needed to yell for help? Wouldn't that make you action justified? A great way to learn about ethics is for students to take part in debates where they are arguing for or against something that doesn't have a clear answer.

Rules (Depth and Complexity icon) - rules are fairly simple aren't they? You either can do something or you can't. And if you break a rule, there are consequences or punishments that might follow. But it is not that simple. There are different rules that apply to different situations differently. There is the severity of the rule that was broken as well as the consequence for doing so. And then there are the ever pesky unwritten rules. These are rules that most people know and yet they are not written down anywhere. The only consequence is that the people in the society will judge you or enforce it themselves. There is a famous saying to "learn the rules like a pro so that you can break them as an artist". It is important to understand the rules of sports, games, school, and even life because if you do, you also understand how to break these rules not for some devious purpose, but by doing so will allow you to be more creative or create something no one has thought of. Rules are a complex topic so helping your students to navigate these is going to help them become better learners.

Big Idea (Depth and Complexity icon) - what's the big idea? We often ask this question. The big idea is what you are supposed to get or be learning from something. These are sometimes called essential questions or learning objectives, but ultimately the big idea is what it all boils down to. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the book jacket of a novel. On this, the publisher has to include enough of the big idea to entice you to want to read it, but not so much that it ruins the story for you. We pick up a book and look at this big idea to determine whether we are going to commit our time to reading the entire thing. Students should always know the big idea when they are learning, and not just the what but the why. Why are they learning this big idea and how will it be beneficial to them?

Patterns (Depth and Complexity icons) - in this video we will discuss how students can look for patterns in academics, in sports, and in their own lives in order to try and predict the most probable outcome. Sometimes these patterns can be obvious and easy to figure out, sometimes you need to look a little deeper to see the multi-layers of patterns occurring. Although not an exact science, recognizing patterns in order to determine what may happen can be a very valuable skill to possess.

Details - the devil is in the details and this couldn't be more true. Details are what allow people to fully understand something and without them, something may get lost. This Depth and Complexity icon is all about getting students to explain themselves thoroughly so that whatever they are trying to communicate makes sense. These details are especially important when trying to teach someone something. If you leave details out that are needed, they will not know how to do it.

Over Time - 1 of the 11 icons in the Depth and Complexity thinking framework, this is a complexity icon that takes a look at how things change (and sometimes do not) change over a given period of time. This might be an hour, it could be years, it could be centuries. Because it is such a complex idea to grasp, using as many concrete and specific examples as possible can help students to see how over time works. This is especially important for those studying history in determining how and why things have changed (ideas, technology, beliefs) over time.

Language of the Discipline - 1 of the 11 icons in the Depth and Complexity thinking framework, Language of the Discipline means helping students to understand the context of the language being used. What might mean one thing in one discipline might change in another. For example, if I use the term add in math, students would then add numbers together. If I used add in ELA, it would mean students would need to give additional detail or examples. This icon is designed to have students push past the surface level of meaning of a word and try to determine its meaning within the context of the discipline you are using it in.

Introduction to Depth and Complexity Framework - this is a learning platform developed at the California Department of Education that centers around 11 icons designed to push the thinking of students to the next level. The icons are broken down into 8 focusing on depth; patterns, trends, details, big idea, rules, unanswered questions, ethics, and language of the discipline. There are also 3 complexity icons; across disciplines, over time, and multiple perspectives. This Todd Talk walks you through these icons and how they may be used in the classroom to increase the depth of thinking as well as its complexity.

Student Choice - One way you can certainly challenge students in the classroom is to provide them with choices. This could be a choice in topics learned, choice in how this is learned, choice with who you learn it with, and choice in how you are going to determine mastery. By providing students with this choice is allows them to A) challenge themselves because they know their potential better than anyone, B) teaches them independent learning and how to manage their time, and C) takes the ceiling off of the learning because students are no longer limited to your imagination but can bring their own to the learning process.

STEM Challenges - STEM is more than just putting science, technology, engineering, and math together, it is about using the engineering design process which is 1) Ask, 2) Imagine, 3) Plan, 4) Create, and 5) Improve. A good way to learn this process is to have students work on STEM design challenges. These can last 15 minutes, they can last a few days, they can take a month depending on how you set them up. This ToddCast walks you through three examples which are available for free at www.thegiftedguy.com/resources.

Projects vs. Project-Based Learning - sometimes we use these two terms interchangeably in education when there really is a large difference between them. This PD tutorial walks you through what the major difference are and what these look like in your classroom.

Pre-Assessment - this an excellent method for determining what a student does and does not know. Often times though, we use this information to close gaps and provide intervention, but how often do teachers use it to figure out ways to challenge students, especially our gifted ones? This Todd Talk takes you through formal, informal, and body of work pre-assessments and how they can be used to give the teacher information for how to challenge these students.

Mentors/Mentorships - Even though teachers are expected to be the experts in their subject area, often times there are things that we don't know. This is especially true with gifted students who might come with a lot of prior understanding and need to be challenged at a level the teacher cannot provide. One strategy for overcoming this is using mentors/mentorships to provide students with access to a unique learning experience that is going to grow their understanding. There are various things a mentor can provide 1) expertise, 2) experience, 3) exposure 4) educational, 5) emotional. Finding the right mentor to work with a student could be the learning experience of a lifetime.

Differentiated Centers - Learning centers are various stations set up around the classroom that gives students specific tasks or skills to work on independently. In a classroom with gifted students however, you must differentiate these centers so that there are different levels to the same station depending on what challenge the student needs. How do you set these up? What advantages is there to doing differentiated learning centers? These questions and more will be answers in this ToddCast.

Setting Up Independent Projects - when you have a student who already knows the material you are going to be covering, why make them sit through something they have already learned? Isn't there something they could be doing to go deeper into the learning and learn important skills as well? That is what allowing students to work on independent projects when they have pre-assessed out of a unit of study is a great option. This ToddCast walks you through how to set up the independent project with students using the structure of a contract, calendar, and rubric.

Enrichment Clubs - One way to enrich your students is simply by providing a place for them to enrich themselves. This can be accomplished with enrichment clubs. These can be held before or after school, or worked into the school day. It is important that you as the coordinator of this club do three things 1) pick something you yourself are passionate about 2) provide resources for students depending on the club 3) provide them space to work on their own.

Bonus Opportunities - these are just as the name implies; opportunities for students to stretch their thinking about something they are learning. This is not extra credit or bonus points, it is about expanding the learning of the student. It is important that these are opportunities where students choose to do them or not rather than assignments. It is also important that students are not extrinsically rewarded with better grades or bonus points but rather see them as opportunities to push their intrinsic learning. There are various ways you can present bonus opportunities to students in the classroom.

Choice Boards - When trying to enrich our students, one way to do this is to provide student choice. But how do you guide this choice into the lesson you are teaching? You can provide choice boards which are menus that students can choose various activities from. These choice boards can be subject-specific, they could be grade-level specific, they could be skill specific. Regardless, they need to be designed so that students are able to take their learning to the next level. You can do this by having scaffolding activities on your choice board. This ToddCast talks about 8 various choice boards that can be used with all levels of students. Some are specific to a subject area but most are general enough that you could use it in any classroom.

Board Games that Enrich - You don't always have to be directly enriching students. Having resources in your room that enrich them without them even knowing is one way to provide opportunities for learning. An example would be having board games students have access to either during indoor recess, free time, or as a reward. This ToddCast provides tons of examples of games to use with different grade levels and that enrich certain subject areas.

20time - this is a strategy that can be used with gifted students and high ability children where students are given time in school to work on projects that are generated by their own interests and passions. It is learning for learning sake. The basic idea is you come up with a wicked problem, something that is not easily solved if at all, and you try and create a project where you are helping others who are faced with this problem. This PD video provides the basic structure of doing 20time with your students as well as providing possible suggestions for products. This is a great strategy for students for learning how to learn as well as how pursuing one's passions can lead to wonderful outcomes.

Bulletin Board Enrichment - You can have simple in-class options on your bulletin boards for students to use in order to enrich themselves. Having a problem of the week on a bulletin board, providing brain teasers and trivia, having a book club to engage in once their complete their regular schoolwork is going to challenge students as well as enrich their learning. This Todd Talk seeks to answer the common question of "what do I do with a student who finished his/her work early"? These bulletin board enrichment provides students with options.

Grading the Process - We traditionally grade students at the end of learning, usually in a summative assessment designed to determine whether students have mastered what it is we wanted them to have learned. What if instead you could assess them when the actual learning takes place? Would that not be more meaningful? This ToddCast discusses how this can be done and some of the tools for doing so.

Students as Teachers - What can make an assessment meaningful? By having students involved in the process. The more you include them in the learning process, such as having them act as the teachers of what is to be learned, the better change students will reach an enduring understanding. There are other advantages as well which can be found in this ToddCast.

Capstones - Capstones are an excellent way to assess students meaningfully by reflecting on what they have learned. They can be set up various ways but are typically long-term projects that encapsulate what was learned which is usually presented to an authentic audience. It is a great way to teach 21st century skills and for assessing what students truly learned.

Advisory Groups - Sometimes the best way to discuss the social and emotional needs of students is to actually sit down and talk about their social and emotional needs. This requires carving out some time in the school day/week to do this. This can be something as simple as Morning Meeting where you take 15 minutes once a week to ponder open ended questions. It could be more formal such as advisory groups that meet every other week for 45 minutes with each week having a theme. This ToddCast will provide plenty of examples as well as a complete curriculum for leading your own advisory groups with students.

Teaching Public Speaking - A valuable 21st century skill for any student to possess. How do you teach public speaking though? 1) You provide exemplar speeches to learn from as well as poor ones. 2) You provide students with the space to practice and refine their public speaking ability. 3) You give them chances to present to authentic audiences.

Teaching Leadership - With many 21st century skills, we provide students with engaging lessons and hope for the best. We need to be more purposeful about the teaching of 21st century skills. Take leadership for example. How do we put students in situations where they are able to develop leadership skills? We try to find authentic situations where they have to show initiative to collaborate, adapt, and use grit. This is a skill that can definitely be practiced in the classroom.

Self/Peer Evaluations - How can you get a better idea of a student's contributions to his group when collaborating? Ask those who are working with him to tell you. The use of self and peer evaluations gives you many other sets of eyes looking at whether the students are living up to the norms they set and producing high quality work as a result of the group effort. It also helps to balance the grade and make things more fair for those working in groups.

Roles in Group Work - When students are tasked to work in groups and accomplish a task, we often worry more about equity rather than fairness. Equity would be that everyone in the group does the same type of work and the same amount of work. Wouldn't it make more sense to take student strengths and have them contribute that to the group to ensure the product that is created has the best people on the various parts? That is what this ToddCast proposes to tell you about you, how to allow students to identify strengths and then match those up with specific roles the student will play in the group. This also involves making students accountable for that aspect of the group's work rather than grading the group as a single entity.

Forming Group Norms - It is essential that everyone is one the same page and has the same expectations while working together in a group. One way to ensure this is to have the class or group form norms. Norms are the expected behavior of people in the groups. These are formed not by the leader/teacher, but rather by the participants by answering the essential question of what is needed to work effectively in a group. Then you cluster together similar answers to discover what is most important for the group as a whole.

Student Collaboration - When working in groups, students can create wonderful things, things they would not have been able to produce on their own. But working in groups can also be a pain. How do you get students to successfully collaborate while working in groups? The key is finding their strengths and what they bring to the group. This also creates an awareness of others and what they bring as well.

Creating Rubrics - Rubrics are a valuable way for teachers to assess students in non-traditional, performance-based assessments, many of which require students to employ 21st century skills. The argument some people make against them though is that rubrics are often subjective because they are based on the teacher’s opinion rather than an objective multiple-choice question where there is a single correct answer. What if you could create rubrics that are objective, evaluating students on a consistent basis?

Using Calendars to Maintain Focus - It can be difficult for students to maintain focus, especially on long-term projects. One of the tools you can use to help keep students on-task is the use of a calendar. This ToddCast will show you how you can use backwards building to create a calendar as well as how these can be used to teach students valuable time-management skills.

Student contracts - Student contracts can be useful for a few reasons. It keeps students organized, it makes them part of the learning process, and it helps them to maintain focus, especially on long-term projects. Contracts can break down a big picture project to make it more palatable to handle and easier to manage time. Used in conjunction with a calendar, rubric, and syllabus, it can keep students focused on what it is they are supposed to be learning.

Creating an Effective Syllabus - Often on long term projects it can be a challenge to keep students focused on what it is they are supposed to be learning. One tool to help with this is the use of a well written syllabus. This can be used with students when going over the project as well as being used throughout as a reference for students. It also communicates to parents what their child is going to be working on.

Case-Based Learning - Concluding the theme of inquiry learning, this ToddCast looks at case-based learning, a method used widely in the medical and law professions but not used very commonly in US primary schools. Learn about the benefits of case-based learning which are having a relevant subject matter to engage students and being able to apply what you learn to a real world situation.

Problem-Based Learning - One of the strategies under the inquiry-based learning umbrella, problem-based learning seeks to make the learning authentic for students and to help them see the context of what it is they are learning. The students are the ones driving the learning and the teacher acts as a facilitator, helping them find resources and asking questions meant to get them thinking.

Project-Based Learning - Projects put students in a real-world setting and ask them to complete a task meeting the requirements as laid out by the project. Projects teach students how to learn for themselves. It also has other advantages such as collaboration, public speaking, and organization, all 21st century skills that would benefit any student. By using projects in your classroom you will be building maximum capacity to the point that you will have 30 teachers in the classroom rather than 30 students.

Learning Styles - In this edition of ToddCast, I talk about Kolb's 7 different learning styles and how knowing which ones are your students' strengths is very important to teaching them effectively. For every learning style there are suggestions for how to practice this in the classroom.