Professional Learning

Federation Day
Date: September 13, 2017

Learning – Key Points:

 OTF is the voice of teachers; anybody hired to teach (part time, occasional, full time)
is part of the OTF
 OTF is an umbrella: 4 organizations underneath it
o AEFO: French language school board
o ETFO: public elementary teacher
o OECTA: catholic board
o OSSFT: English secondary school
 What does OTF do for associate members?
o Inform us of rights and responsibilities as future members of the teaching
profession
o Teacher’s gateway to special education
 50-60 special needs: hints and tips on how to set up classroom and
teach them, and assess their learning
o Survive + thrive 2.0: teaching + learning, assessment, classroom handling,
parent interviews
o Curriculum Forum: for resources and conferences. Different organizations
for history teachers only, history and geography only
o OFT connects: series of free webinars offered by teachers for teachers.
o Parent Engagement: hands-on info about how to work with parents
o Safe@School: bullying prevention; tips to interrupt bullying
 OCT: represent the public interest
 OTF: represent the voice of the teachers
 Responsibilities of associate members of the OTF
o Responsibility to strive at ALL times to achieve and maintain the highest
degree of professional competence and to uphold the honour, dignity and
ethical standards of the teaching profession
o Have duties/responsibilities to: pupils, public, educational authorities,
federation, fellow members
o Duties to students: professional competence, consistent justice/fairness,
student wellbeing, and confidentiality
o Duties to the Federation: member shall cooperate with the Federation to
promote the welfare of the profession
 Suspected Abuse
o MUST report to the children’s Aid society if suspect that a student under 16 is
at risk of harm
o Must inform admin that you called CAS
o The grounds include situations in which there is harm or risk of harm such
as: physical harm, emotional harm, sexual molestation or exploitation, failure
 to provide medical treatment
 Teaching is the fourth highest career causing burnout amongst its workers
 Ontario Teacher Insurance Plan: majority of Mental Health Issues faced by teachers
are depression and anxiety
 5 characteristics of GRIT:
o Be courageous: courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it
o Be conscientious:
o Be Persistent: the first years in teaching are the hardest
o Be Passionate
o Be Resilient
OCT Presentation
Date: November 2, 2017
Description: what the OCT is, and it’s function for teachers
Learning – Key Points
 OCT = Ontario College of Teachers
 OCT is self-governed, and is made up of a 37 member council, with 14 of its
members appointed from the government because the OCT serves the public
interest
 Ethical Standards: care, respect, integrity, trust
 Standards of practice: commitment to students and student learning, ongoing
professional learning, professional knowledge, professional practice, leadership in
learning communities
 The faculty recommends us for certification, and the OCT matches that
Recommendation with our application
 There is an application fee, and an annual membership fee
 If we don’t pay the annual membership fee, we will be listed as “suspended,
nonpayment of fees”
o To get back to good standing, have to pay reinstatement fee, and the annual
fee for which you are coming back for
 When our degree is conferred, letter from faculty is sent from OCT, and if all the
documents are there, 5-12 days later, you will get your OCT number
 Emergency supply list: means that you are not yet certified, so you don’t have
protection from union

Building Futures – Developing a Safe and Healthy School: Creating Positive

Conditions for Learning
Date: November 29, 2017
Presenter: TBC, Education Officer, Ministry of Education
Description: What the ministry is doing to promote safe, positive and healthy schools to
support students as a whole learner
Learning – Key Points:
 Keep the focus on the whole learner – their cognitive, social, emotional, physical,
and self-spirited development
  Help all students succeed and reach their full potential
 Address multiple health-related topics including healthy eating, physical activity,
injury prevention, and prevalent medical conditions
 Education Act requires all school boards to provide safe, inclusive and accepting
learning environments for all students regardless of gender, sexual orientation,
ethnic origin, exceptionality, etc.
 All members of the school community need to be involved in promoting respectful
and caring relationships and interactions.

Building Futures – Strategies to Engage the Reluctant Learner

Date: November 29, 2017
Presenter: Education Officer, Ministry of Education
Description: authentic strategies and approaches to improve the achievement of reluctant
or marginalized learners by ensuring their well-being is being met through active
engagement in their learning. Equitable student discipline and classroom management
through the creation of relationships, differentiated teaching, learning strategies, and
purposeful use of the classroom environment. How to build positive relationships with
reluctant learners, how to address student behaviour in a positive and productive manner,
and how to plan teaching/learning experiences and create learning spaces to promote
engagement
Learning – Key Points:
 What does student engagement look and sound like
o Conversations / Chitter chatter
o Students on task – collaborating – hands-on
o Few behaviour problems
o Participating, sharing
o Questions, interactions
o Ah-ha moments
o Interest
 Difference between discipline and student management
o Discipline: correcting, reinforcing behaviour. In the moment. Last resort
o Student management: supporting students, teaching self-regulation. Pro-
active. Best practice.
 The student who is not participating is the one who is most likely to drop out of
school
 To engage students, get to know the students
 The Reluctant Learner
o 68% graduated high school in 2008
o Now: 86%
 Indigenous, newcomer, ESL, special needs students are the ones not
graduating
o Not all basic needs are being met: sleep-deprived, hungry, dehydrated, not
having proper nutrition, stress at home
o Low Self-esteem: withdrawing or attention-seeking behaviour
 Student Discipline in Context
o What are our long-term goals as educators?
 Critical thinking – independent learner
 Growth mindset: fostering that making mistakes is okay
 Making global citizens
 Being able to self-educate
 Students will be: contributing citizens, love learning, respectful,
responsible, coping-skills
o As educators how can we work to achieve this?
 Emphasizing that everything is a process and a learning opportunity
 Valuing integrity
 Encouraging no wrong answers in an inclusive classroom
 Be a role model for character, provide authentic learning
opportunities
o Do my individual practices reflect this?
 Rehearse conversation: what happens when a student drops the F
bomb on you? Rehearse what you will do or say
 Don’t personalize the behaviour of a student: their behaviour might
not be due to you
 Positive learning culture: students need a ratio of 4:1 – 4 positive interactions for
every negative interaction
 Celebrate respect: give a student a clipboard who is not so respectful – task: write
down some respectful things that you see other students doing
 Call home when good things happen, not just when they do something wrong
 Behaviour issues happen during an unstructured time: first 5mins of school, last
5mins of school, and during transitions between classes
 Prompts and cues: have a red flag. If somebody is agitated, sometimes they do not
want to be questioned. If student is feeling angry or having a bad day, they can take
the red flag and put it on the desk: this means that they are not to be bothered and
they are not allowed to bother anybody else
 Shaping Behaviour
o What you think may be a consequence, might be reward – some students like
staying in for lunch – they feel safer or they don’t have lunch money – maybe
they don’t have a friend group
 Culturally Responsive Educators
o If you have low expectations for students, they will meet those low
expectations
o If you have high expectations, they will meet these high expectations too
o Constructivist: inquiry-based learning, where students are constructing the
knowledge
 Title: Ontario College of Teachers Presentation
Date: October 4th, 2018
Description: The Ontario College of Teachers is an organization responsible for licensing
teachers, investigating complaints against teachers, and establishing standards of practice
to be upheld by teachers
Learning – Key Points
 Professional Learning Framework
o Standards of Practice:
 Ongoing professional learning
 Commitment to students and student learning
 Professional knowledge
 Professional practice
 Leadership in learning communities
 Ethical Standards: care, respect, trust, and integrity
 Additional Qualifications Courses: schedules A, B, C, E, F
o A: additional basic qualification: to increase divisional qualification or get a
teachable
o B: additional basic qualification – technological education
o C: additional qualification – specialize in particular area or enhance practice
in a particular area. E.g. spec ed. – one session course
o E: honour specialist – general and technology
 Leadership role in a particular area
 Prerequisite: Have sufficient number of credits in that certain area,
and 2 years of teaching experience with one being in that area
o F: additional qualifications – technological education
o All are 1 session (semester or full year; do only 1 course to get qualification)
 Schedule D – most popular
o Comes in 3 parts
 Part 1: enhance professional practice and extend knowledge and skills
in the delivery of a program
 2: enhance professional practice, and extend and apply knowledge
and skills in the design and delivery of a program
 Prerequisites: 1 year teaching program, and part 1
 3: enhance professional practice, and extend and apply knowledge
and skills in the curriculum leadership of a program
 Prerequisites: do part 1, part 2, 2 years of experience and one
of those years has to be in the field
 1 year means: full time, LTO, occasional
o Just part 1 is sufficient to get a qualification
 Resources For Members
o App: “OCT app” gives you access to your certificate

OPHEA
Date: October 16, 2018
Presenter: Sarah
Description: Ontario Physical and Health Education Association is a registered provincial
charity that provides teachers with resources to teach health and physical education
Learning – Key Points:
 Although the government has decided to revert back to the 1998 HPE curriculum,
OPHEA is maintaining their 2015 lesson plans, but have created mapping plans for
us to see how the 2015 resources connect to the 1998 curriculum
 OPHEA has an external website for asthma http://www.asthmafriendly.ca/
 Sports: playsport.ophea.net
 OPHEA has Reconciliation at school: understanding the truth and reconciliation
commission health and physical education (Janice Forsyth)
 Schools can register for OPHEA’s Healthy School Certification (on their website)
o 6 steps necessary to become certified

Additional information on the following websites:

http://www.asthmafriendly.ca/
https://teachingtools.ophea.net/supplements/cannabis-education-resources
https://teachingtools.ophea.net/supplements/asthma-education-initiative
https://teachingtools.ophea.net/supplements/dpa-every-day/dpa-every-day-resources
https://teachingtools.ophea.net/activities/ideas-action
https://www.ophea.net/advocacy
http://safety.ophea.net/
https://www.ophea.net/healthy-schools-certification/who-involved
https://teachingtools.ophea.net/supplements

Mental Health & Well-being – Yoga & Mindfulness in the Classroom

Date: November 1, 2018
Presenter: McGill Teacher, and a Physiotherapist
Description: The benefits of yoga and mindfulness for students and teachers. Teachers are
influential and important role models for our youth, so having a teacher who can
incorporate yoga and mindfulness into the classroom / physical education class can really
help students focus, self-regulate, create positive mental health strategies, build confidence,
connect to their mind-body, and more. How to incorporate yoga into the curriculum

Learning – Key Points

 Yoga and mindfulness helps with self-regulation and mental health
 Program called Functional Yoga Training:
o Simple ideas that teachers can bring into the classroom
o 2 day training program where you get certified to teach yoga in school
 Learning how to bring the body, mind, and spirit together for a
holistic approach
 Support teachers, provide teachers with tools to bring yoga to
their students
 Will get a manual filled with lesson plans
 o Accessible to all body types
o Practice movements to function in everyday life
 Yoga
o Meditation through movement
o Breathing techniques, poses, being aware of senses, thoughts.
o Calms mind, brings peace
 Mindfulness
o 4Ps: Paying attention on Purpose in the Present moment in a Particular way
– with openness, curiosity and acceptance – in other words without
judgment
o e.g. Being able to feel the water on your hands, to be aware of the way your
breath feels in and out through your nose, and how your belly and chest rises
as you breathe
 Benefits of yoga & mindfulness
o Being able to cope with stress and anxiety
o A more balanced life
o Improved well-being
o More creativity, joy, abundance
 Why should teachers be the one to teach yoga and model mindfulness to students?
o Students copy you
o It is good to model for students
o It is okay to show students that you need 5 minutes of relaxing yoga
 Research and proven benefits of a yoga practice
o Social: human interactions
o Emotional: being able to express them in appropriate ways, being able to
understand emotions
o Intellectual: learning, education
o Physical: exercising, moving
o Spiritual: ability to connect with our essence
 End classes with a gratitude circle
o What are you thankful for?
o You can always pass

Mental Health & Well-being – Supporting Student Inclusion: Focus on Social

Emotional Learning (SEL)
Date: November 1, 2018
Presenters:
 Associate Professor, University of Ottawa
 Professor, PhD candidate, University of Ottawa
 Professor, PhD, University of Ottawa
Description:
A mental health promotion approach to increasing the inclusion of all students. How
students can develop a number of skills and competencies, namely those related to social-
emotional learning (SEL), which can reduce their chance of developing or worsening
mental health difficulties. Developing SEL skills represents a positive, proactive approach
that can be universally applied to all students, and can be offered by teachers with a range
of expertise and experience. SEL can be taught using children’s literature, and mindfulness
approaches. The implementation of SEL approaches in various settings and at varying ages,
with a focus on primary/junior. The practical implementation of SEL approaches by
educators, with emphasis on the sharing of experiences and strategies by participants.

Learning – Key Points

 SEL: (researchers: collaborative for academic, social and emotional learning)
o Self-awareness
 Ability to accurately recognize emotions and influence on behaviour
o Responsible decision-making
 Ability to make constructive respectful choices about behaviour and
social interactions
o Self-management
 Ability to regulate thoughts emotions and behaviours effectively in
diff situations
o Relationship skills
 Ability to maintain healthy rewarding relationships with others
o Social awareness
 Ability to empathize with others and understand social and ethical
norms for behaviour
 Learning environments
o Safe, well-managed, caring, participatory
 Provide social competency instruction:
o Self-awareness
o Social awareness
o Self management
o Relationship skills
 Approaches to SEL
o Classroom & school climate
 Class constitution
 Model respectful and supportive interactions
 Communicate caring and genuine interest
 Share personal bits of yourself
 Class meetings, sharing circle
 Democratic principles
 Choices
 Meaningful, relevant tasks
 Self-assessment & goal setting
 Restorative discipline
 Family & community involvement
o Classroom management
 Transition time support
 Set routines
  Safe spaces
 Varied work/play areas
 Working individually, in pairs, in groups
o SEL programs
o Infusion
 Packaged programs
o Universal, whole class
o Individual
o Roots of empathy program
o Inner kids program
o Friends for life program
o Mind up curriculum program. Cheap
o Seeds of empathy program
o Paths program
 SEL is incorporated into the 4 frames in kindergarten
 SEL in the other grades:
o Lang: teaching about emotions, relationships, empathy, perspective-taking
o Math/science: problem-solving taking risks
o Social studies
o Arts: self-expression, self-awareness
o Physical Education and Health: healthy relationships, self-awareness

Differentiation & Inclusive Practices – Individual Education Plans: Interpretation

and Application
Date: November 8, 2018
Presenter: Part-time Professor: PhD, University of Ottawa
Description: The basic elements of an IEP, how IEPs are used to support the learning of
identified and non-identified students. General accommodations, accommodated and
modified curriculum expectations, alternative programs and expectations, transition plans
Learning – Key Points
 IEP
o Working document that outlines the spec ed programs and services to be
provided to the student
o a plan for student’s progress through the Ontario curriculum and/or
alternative programs and courses
 Reasons for IEP
o Formally identified by IPRC
o EQAO accommodations that are consistent with classroom practice
 Are the same accommodations that students get in the regular
classroom
o For those that need special education programs, but the students are not
identified as having special education needs
 Not-identified IEP
 IEP team –who does what
 o Principal: creates them – must sign IEP
o VP: oversees and coordinate
o Spec Ed teacher: knows the software, the lingo
o Classroom teacher: since they know student, works with spec ed. teacher
o Support staff: e.g. EA, ECE
o Student: what they need; what helps
o Parents: what their child needs; what helps
 IEP process
o Gather info  set the direction  develop it  implement it  review and
update it  gather info AND REPEAT
o It’s a living document that should change over time
 Gather Info step
o Review students OSR, including IPRC’s statement or previous IEPs
o Consult with parents, students, staff, and other professionals
o Gather info through observation of student
o Conduct further assessments
o Consolidate and record info
 Exceptionality categories:
o Intellectual: giftedness, mild intellectual disability, developmental
Communication
o Behavior
o Physical
o Multiple
 Placement in environmental setting decided by IPRC
o e.g. in class, withdrawal, partial integration, full time spec ed. class
 Assessment data:
o Current
o Behavioural, psycho-educational, medical,
o Does not contain student’s name, IQ, or grades
 Accommodations: instructional, environmental, assessment
o E.g. reduction in number of questions
o Still doing the curriculum expectations
 Modification: changes to curriculum requirements
 In the Special Education Program of the IEP doc
o Current level of achievement box: from previous report card or previous IEP
o Current level of achievement for alternative programs box: describe what
student can do now
o Annual program goals box: often a percentage of or all of the curriculum
expectations for a specific grade level
o Learning Expectations box: 3-5 specific expectations per subject – not the
only things the student will learn but these are the focus of assessment – can
be revised as needed
o Teaching strategies box: must be specific to the expectations NOT the same
as the accommodations
  Transition Plans
o Used to be for students going into high school
o But now, it’s a requirement for all students with IEPs, not just for high school
 For transitioning from K to 1, from class to bus, from class to class
o Note: if students don’t need this, say Not Needed
 Manage IEPs via: Universal Design, Differentiated instruction
 SERT: special education resource teacher
 LRT: learning resource teacher
 SST: student support teacher

Differentiation & Inclusive Practices – Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum

Disorder
Date: November 8, 2018
Presenter: CDSBEO
Description: The key characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the strengths
and needs associated with ASD, and the potential impact that the characteristics may have
on a student’s daily educational experience. Strategies to promote inclusion of students
with ASD within the school and classroom settings.
Learning – Key Points
 We can get government funding for sensory tools for students with ASD
 ASD – Diagnostic levels
o Level 3: requiring very substantial support
o Level2: requiring substantial support
o Level1: requiring support
 E.g. those who were previously diagnosed as PDD (pervasive
development disorder) or Asperger’s
o Note in the OSR, there will be a list of strategies to help support students
with ASD
 IBI: intense behavioural intervention
o In order to get this support, student must be on either level 2 or 3
 Wait list is long
o Note: IBI is not the same as ABA (applied behavioural analysis)
 Neurocognitive Theories
o For level 1
o Executive dysfunction: difficulty in planning, keeping info in working
memory while executing tasks, difficulty in adapting circumstances
o Weak Central Coherence: difficulty integrating perceived info
o Theory of Mind: difficulty recognizing thoughts beliefs and expectations of
other people and themselves especially in new situations
 Using tools to help with communication
o Picture Exchange Communication (PEC)
 These are the little picture cards on rings
 Helps build social relations
o Technology, sign language
 o Screen where student can press picture and the technology speaks for you
 Play and Social Interaction
o Model we Kids (video series)
o The peers curriculum for school-based professionals (social skills training for
adolescents with autism spectrum disorder) – high school
o Tasks galore let’s play
 Manage the Environment:
o Provide consistency in the schedule and classroom routines
o Prepare the student for changes – “priming” social and behavioural
understanding
 Anxiety and Stress - common causes:
o Unstructured activities or environments
o Unpredictability
o Sensory over-stimulation
o Not understanding expectations
o Too much talking – complex verbal direction/multi-step instruction
o Changes in routine
 Provide Reassurance
o Provide info and reassurance frequently so that the student knows he is
moving in the right direction or completing the task correctly
o Use frequent check-ins to monitor student progress and stress
o What zone are you in?
 Simplify language
o Keep your language concise and simple – to the point – “clean up, then lunch”
o Allow for processing time – count to 10 before
o Keep language positive – say “hands to yourself” rather than “no hitting”
o Show as well as tell – use visual supports to provide additional information
 Fixated Interests & Repetitive Behaviors
o Response to unstructured environments and situations
o Flexibility – adapting to change
o May adhere to routines
o May have an intense interest in specific objects or topics – exclusion of other
topics
o Repetitive motor movements or stereotyped speech or patterns of speech
o May experience difficulty transitioning – including activity to activity, and
day to day
 Social Perception Research. Why this negative social perception?
o Children with ASD can display behaviors that are not easily understood by
peers
 Confusing
 Troublesome
 Frightening
o Typically developing children are often at a disadvantage because they may
not
  Have knowledge about ASD
 Understand capabilities of children with ASD
o When they acquire the knowledge, attitudes shift
o Ison et al., 2010; Rillota & Nettelbeck, 2007; Frederickson, 2010; Han,
Ostrosky & Diamond, 2006; Nowicki, 2006
 Awareness Comes from Within
o Building your own awareness, and actively trying to broaden your view, and
your understanding of ASD
o Overcome your personal misunderstandings or misconceptions about ASD
o Your view & interactions with students with ASD have a significant affect on
how your students see & interact with students with ASD
o Remember, students hear your words, they interpret your tone, and most
importantly, they model your behaviour
o Be a role model for all children in your care

Classroom Environments – Behaviour 1st Aid/ Promoting Positive Student

Behaviour
Date: November 15, 2018
Presenter: IYW, OCDSB Mental Health and Critical Services, Elementary Behaviour
Support
Description: Strategies on how to best deal with two different behaviour types: the non-
compliant student and the acting out student. Strategies to promote positive student
behaviour both in and out of the classroom, strategies for classroom management, and
classroom set-up to promote positive behaviour.
Learning – Key Points
 Managing behaviour = working from behind
 Promoting positive behaviour = working ahead
 Start the year with a talking circle, using a talking object that is very important to
the teacher
 Building relationships is 80% of teaching – you are their safe place and safe space
 Parent Contact
o In the beginning of the year, this is the most important
o Call the parents and tell them how good they did; makes the parent feel good
and makes the student feel good
 Expectations
o Setting CLEAR expectations at the beginning of the year
o Setting routines
o Encouraging positive behaviour vs. discouraging behaviour
 Transitions
o Should always be treated as a separate activity
o One: pre transition: warnings of upcoming transition
 What are the expectations?
 What should the transition look like?
 Be brief. Don’t leave the students waiting
  “this is where we are going. This is how it should look like”
o Two: Transition – proceed with quiet reminders. The goal is NON—VERBAL
o Three: post transition – give feedback. What went well? What can b e
worked on?
o USE THE WORD TRANSITION
o As a teacher, have one foot in the door and one in the classroom
o Good transition: have a bench, and the 2nd teacher who will be taking over
will sit on bench too, they will talk about what they learned so far, and what
they will be learning next
 Physical Environment
o Visual noise
o Over-stimulating classrooms affect mental health – hard for students to learn
in over-stimulating room
o Less is better
o Black background is good with a solid colour around. It makes things pop
 Avoid the audience. 3 reasons for not dealing with behaviour in front of the whole
class
o Put the student at center stage
o Embarrass the student in front of their peers
o The student can put you at center stage
 Opposition Defiant Disorder
o Goal is to resist being controlled
o Frequently argues with adults
o Loses temper often and easily
o Will become defiant with an audience – defies requests and rules
o Sees direction as controlling
o Blames and is unwilling to accept blame
o Angry, resentful
o Spiteful or vindictive
o Positive reinforcement perceived as manipulation
o Suborn, unwilling to compromise or give
 ODD cautions: avoid…
o Responding emotionally
o Trying to convince
o Threatening
o Increasing consequences
o Having interactions in the presence of others – avoid the audience
o Remaining in interaction too long
o Try to avoid consequences. Focus on ways to “fix-it” using Collaborative
Problem Solving (CPS)
 ODD Strategies
o Build relationships
o Simple directives, choices
o Listen to the student
o Be brief and direct
 o Give time for the student to join the other students. He is searching for
control
o Walk away
o Deflect blame
o Quiet reinforcement
o Use non-verbal cues – smile, thumbs up, hand held tools with pictures of
desired behaviors
o E.g. give students a choice, you can do bottom half or top half
 ODD responses
o “let me know when you have made your decision
o take some time to think about it
o I am not angry with you
o I know you will make a positive choice
o Break eye contact after each response.
o Don't be afraid to get a different voice
 Look for External Factors
o Mental health needs
o Peer influence
o Sleep/hunger/family
o Teaching styles
o Media
o Academic ability
o “Invisible antecedents”
o Focus more on the factor not the behaviour
 After every long break (e.g. Christmas break, March break), there should be
something new in the classroom, and review expectations, transitions, etc.
 Try to have circles every 2-3 weeks
 When it’s too cold outside
o Scavenger hunt
o Make a movie
o Gonoodle.com
 Consequences
o Restorative justice
 Police officer side: punitive
 Teacher side: we’re educators, so we have to teach good behaviour
 Restorative practices
o Class meetings
o Restorative conferencing
o Restorative circles
 It’s getting the bully to feel the impact of their behaviour, it’s not
consequence-based
 Goal is to come to resolution
 Restorative circles
o Talking object
 o Respect
o Group problem solving
o Reduce immature behaviour
o Awareness of what poor judgment is
o Helps identify bullying
o Give tools to combat bullying
 Moving into summer
o Education Foundation is a resource – can find camps for students
o Keep an eye out for sad students in June
 Fair isn’t everybody getting the same thing; it’s everybody getting what they need in
order to be successful
 Smiling is contagious

Classroom Environments – Managing Challenging Behaviours Through Supportive

and Effective Classroom Management
Date: November 16, 2018
Presenter: ETFO
Description: Ways to build teacher-student relationships that lead to mutual respect and
create an inclusive and positive learning environment. The importance of mindset,
effective interventions and responding to disruptions quickly and appropriately. Effective,
yet simple-to-implement strategies to motivate, manage, and empower all students,
especially your most challenging.
Learning – Key Points
 How you treat your weakest students how everybody will see you
 How you treat your strongest student is how everybody will see you
 Set the bar high for students, call them scholars
 Thumbs up if you finished reading
 Show with fingers how many minutes you need
 Thumbs down if you don't (most students aren’t brave enough to do this)
 Sideways thumb if you don't quite get this (note: this will mean the above because
students aren’t brave enough to do thumbs down)
 Zone
o Instill in the students that when you’re at a certain location (a zone), students
are to listen
o Count down while you’re walking. 3-2-1 I’m in the zone
 Use elbow partner to take the edge off students getting things wrong
o Then when you bring it back together, have students share their thoughts
with you using “what is something you liked, or something you heard”
o Or give a round of applause after students share
o Thanks for taking a risk
o Note: give time for thought, for introverts to answer as well as extroverts
 In a group, have them discuss something
o If some students always talk, it’s good to have them number them off by
 themselves
o Then say, okay only number 2s are responsible for answering the question
 If a student really likes to answer question, say that today, you are only allowed to
answer 3 questions, so make sure it’s your best
 Time partners
o Find a partner who will be your 9:00 appointment
o Find another partner who will be your 12:00 appointment
o Repeat with a new partner until all four appointments have a partner
o Try to meet someone new
 Note: you do this on a card. You write 12, 3, 6, 9 as in a clock, and you write your
partner under the number
 How do you make the first day about students and learning?
o Building relationships
o What will it look like, sound like,
o How do they know they will belong
o Set up routine, greet them at the door, have an assignment on the board
(make a nametag with something you’re proud of, somewhere you want to
go)
 What are some procedures, routines and ideas that you can do to make the first day
about students and learning?
o Lining up at the door, say good morning
o Get to know you activity
o Surveys: interests
o Having bins for students for them to put their things
o Bell work: have students do a small activity until the announcements come
on
o Have students make a class rules sheet together that you post up
o Bathroom rules: have a stick that students can leave on their desk for when
they need to go to the washroom, and put back
o BE CONSISTNT in your approach!
o Some sort of reward system
o Funky Friday: mini party
 Start off with a base 10mins, and students can add to that time if
they’re good
 The different “trumps” of teaching
o Different Trumps Same
o Shorter trumps longer
o Writing trumps reading
o Movement trumps sitting
o Talking trumps listening
o Images trumps words
 OVO – use this method to talk to parents about behaviour
o Observe
 E.g. each day he comes to class late. Parents will argue this until they
 finally validate it
o Validate
 So you understand that they’re late everyday. Yes
o Outcome
 We need him to be on time once a week
 Connecting with students and expecting the best
o Exit pass
 What is something that you are good at?
 How do you learn best?
 What is something that you learned today?
 Our most challenging students are our most fragile students
 What do you do?
o Remain calm
o Don’t show that it’s affecting you
o Contain the situation – it’s not acceptable
o Use an “I” or “us” statement – “I’d appreciated it if this didn’t happen” don’t
say “you.” E.g. “it is not acceptable for us to swear in school”
o Separate the behaviour from the child
o Always say thank you – repairs relationships
 Have a teddy bear that students can leave on their desk – it’s for when they’re not
having a good day. It’s to say to others that they are not to be disturbed
 Clear boundaries
o We shouldn’t surprise students. Setting clear boundaries for acceptable and
unacceptable behaviour gives students a feeling of control and predictability.
Students need to know what is expected – what the rewards and
consequences will be” – Barb James
o For every negative comment, we need 6 positives
 Developing Positive relationships
o “The quality of the teacher-student relationship is the single most important
factor to consider when rethinking classroom management” – Patricia
Sequeira Belvel and Maya Marcia Jordan rethinking classroom management
2003
 If student believes that you believe in them, they can go a long way

Smart Board
Date: November 22, 2018
Description: How to use a SMART board effectively in classrooms
Learning – Key Points
 HDMI cable or another cable (VGA) that gives your projection connection
 If you have a mac, you might have to get an adaptor (thunderbolt) because it doesn’t
have a HDMI port
 Software: SMART notebook
 Calibrate the smart board before using by pressing the two buttons on the tray on
 the smart board at the same time
 To erase, you can circle your mess using your eraser then tap the center of the circle
 If you pick up your pen, a pen icon will show up on the screen – if you click the pen
icon on the screen, you have a lot of different options – can hide parts of the screen,
add stuff to favourites,
 You have math tools on the smart notebook, you can call on a protractor, and it
become interactive, you can move the protractor to measure angles
o Compass: can make a circle, then can turn it into fractions, and you can
separate each individual pie piece
 Can take attendance – students press on their name, and it goes away
 Hellosmart.com – you can get your students to log in, then there are questions for
them to answer. Smart board
o Can pass around a tablet or have all students use their own device
o Can export the results onto your computer (called smart response)
 SMART board resources
o Smart lab / class lab: can create activities for students
o Online Theory and Training: “smartclassrooms” YouTube channel
o Lynda.com video tutorials…you have to log in through library website
o OERB (Ontario education resource bank)
o Smart Exchange
 All computer functions (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, internet browser) will work with the
smart board touch screen
 There is the SMART Driver and SMART notebook
o One of them is responsible for the communication between your computer
and the smart board (making the smart board touch screen interact with
your computer)
o Other is responsible for allowing you to have smart software and programs
on your computer
o I believe the driver is what allows you to have SMART technology so you can
practice without the smart board
 Note: you don’t have to download the gallery because it takes a lot of space
 If you download the SMART Notebook and add-ons, it will automatically download
the driver (smart product drivers and ink)
 You can just download the driver without the notebook