Active Listening

Listening has been shown to be essential to communicating respect for another person. To test this claim, reflect on your own feelings. Consider a time when you may have been talking with someone who interrupted you or continually focused on what they wanted to express in the conversation. Maybe it was clear that their mind was elsewhere and they weren’t at all “fully present” with you. When we want to build a strong relationship with another person, our ability and commitment to listening attentively and emphatically is essential. 

Mutual Respect Between Students and Teachers

The relationship between students and teachers should be one of mutual respect. Students should listen to the teacher and try their best in the class. Teachers, on the other hand need to do their best to give their students a quality education and respect them as individuals. There should be a set curriculum, but teachers need to be creative in how they teach what is required. Students need to have more respect for their teachers and take more responsibility for their education.

Positive teacher-student relationships promote a sense of school belonging and encourage students to participate cooperatively. Students develop confidence to experiment and succeed in an environment where they are not restricted by the fear of failure. Teachers are able to assist students with motivation and goal setting, and students can turn to them for advice and guidance. 

As a parent, it’s important to understand how to develop positive teacher-student relationships so you know what to look for at your child’s school.

Life as a Kindergarten Teacher

1. Morning: Kindergarten teachers will start the day early by preparing the days lesson and getting the classroom ready for students. She may greet students and parents when they get dropped off and instruct students to put their things away upon entering the classroom. Some schools will offer students breakfast or a snack in the morning and the teacher will be responsible for distributing that.




2. Mid-Morning: By mid-morning, the teacher may have students learning while sitting on a rug, or she might take a more hands-on approach to some lessons and have them work in groups at tables.


3. Lunch: A teacher assistant might take the children out for lunch and recess. This gives the teacher time to look at homework, clean the classroom, and prepare for the afternoon lessons.


4. Afternoon: The teacher may have additional time to plan lessons while the students take a nap after recess. After nap time, instruction resumes. The teacher may have the option to put the teacher assistant in charge of part of the class so that students can work in small groups or individually and still get the attention they need.

5. After Work: Kindergarten teachers, especially in the first few years, will likely have work to do after the students leave. This can include planning lessons, calling parents, meeting with school administrators, or checking homework.

What is your opinion about this daily program for kindergarten? 

AND

if it is not suitable, how can it be modified?  

Storytelling 101: How Media Making Impacts Cognitive Development

Webinar by: Dr Yalda Uhls 

   Internet nowadays is one of the most important things needed in any job. It is facilities work and connects you to anything that is going around the world by it's social media apps. However, it is used in schools by both teachers and students. So in this post we are going to see how media affects cognitive development. 

     First of all, a survey was done in 2015 on the time that teens spent with media and if their parents spent less or more time than them. The sock was that parents spent more time with media than teens, and the time the teens spent was 9 hours daily. 

Storytelling at ages and stages 

     At young ages (5-7 years) the children don't respond to negative consequences. For example in  Pinocchio story, Pinocchio was punished because he used to lie always. While in George Washington story, George was rewarded because he did the right thing. So at young ages children respond to positive consequences and not to the negative ones. 

Ages 2-5

     Folk tales, fable and animation are more difficult to this age from realistic stories. Adults co-viewing, mediation and focusing on one main narrative is more effective for them. ( adults help them to understand the story more) 

Ages 6-10

     It is difficult for them too, but the actions and consequences should be in sequence for them in order to make link between events. However, at this age children may not got the moral lesson of the story, but when the become older they might.

Age 11+

      At this age children can introduce the subplots and content that has nuanced. Also their ability to summarize a story develops at late ages, but not until age 14. 

     Teenagers reject moralistic messages in order to protect their sense of freedom and their independence. At this stage, the most effective educated media should come in narrative rather than didactic formats.  

Media and Cognitive Learning 

     A test was done on paper versus screen (internet) to check how each one of them affects the memory. As a result of that,  no differences were found between the two conditions in terms of performance, but participants with internet usage took longer time than those with paper usage. 

    Another test was done on paper, computer and computer with internet to check how they affect the critical thinking. As a result of that, on paper the participants focus more than computer and internet. 

Smartphones (Attention / Memory)

     Phones can affect cognitive performance. One research founded that the mere presence of a phone is sufficiently distracting to affect cognitive functioning, but only during demanding tasks. 

     Another research concerning memory showed that people could remember in what file they put their information, but they don't remember the information itself. 

     |Also using Gps don't allow you to use your brain and memory in order to remember places.

     As a summary, digital media, technology and access to internet impact cognitive performance in both positive and negative consequences.  

     

      

    

EDU 560

      This course is one from the courses that I liked. It thought us many new information that can facilitates our job as a teachers. It thought us how to make a quizzes  with different types of questions and sections. It also thought us how to attend webinars that will enrich our repertoire as a teachers.