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"The Department for Education asks all schools to promote British values, which are defined as:\n- the rule of law\n- individual liberty and mutual respect\n- tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.\nThe Citizenship modules which form part of our PSHE curriculum cover all the key concepts related to the areas listed above (see here) and these are also further highlighted through mentor time assemblies and discussions, and in subject teaching. These values are then also further demonstrated through the following:\nPupil voice is important at Sawston Village College, and there are many channels through which pupils can ensure their voices are heard. All pupils are encouraged to get involved in the various forums – Arts, Eco/Animal, Ethos, Equality/Diversity, International, Sports, and Wellbeing. These forums are dedicated to improving the school and wider community, locally and nationally, and they are run by senior pupils who, together, form the Pupil Senate and report back to the College’s Senior Leadership Team on changes they would like to see in school and also on wider initiatives. The Pupil Senate is only one of many leadership opportunities open to pupils at both key stage 3 and 4. At key stage 3, for example, we also have House Mates, who are Year 8 pupils supporting the Year 6-7 transition process. For more information on our leadership opportunities, see here. Pupils are also involved in staff appointments and are regularly consulted when change in school is being considered.\nWe also have a very well-attended Debating Club which meets weekly to discuss a range of topics, and where everyone is encouraged to participate and share their viewpoint. In addition to this, we have a number of other clubs where pupils can lead and determine focus.\nThe rule of law\nThrough insistence on our pupils both respecting and valuing our rules and code of conduct, pupils learn about the importance of rules for the school community and, from this, the significance of the laws that govern and protect us in our country and the consequences of breaking these. Visits to the College from authorities, such as the Police and Fire Service, further help us to reinforce this message.\nIndividual liberty and mutual respect\nWe are an inclusive school and support our pupils to know, understand and exercise their rights and freedoms in a responsible way, making informed choices and developing self-knowledge and confidence.\nRespect is one of our CARE values and so is actively and regularly promoted through assemblies and in the displays around school. We expect pupils to conduct themselves with kindness, generosity of spirit, politeness, humility, and compassion. ‘Respect’ is also part of our Sawston Pledge programme, which challenges pupils to complete tasks related to our core values. We further have a Pride Club and a BAME Group, both run by older pupils. We have Anti-bullying Ambassadors and take part in Anti-bullying week and other events focused on our consideration of others. For more information on our CARE values, see here.\nTolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs\nWe are a diverse school community representing rich cultural traditions and heritage, and we believe it is important for our pupils to value different experiences and perspectives. We mark Holocaust Memorial Day each year, usually with a lecture from former pupil Professor Tom Lawson, historian of the Holocaust and Deputy Vice Chancellor at Northumbria University. We engage with the Holocaust Memorial Trust and were commissioned by them to make an art work remembering the Rwandan genocide, for which our pupils worked with a professional artist to make a three-panel contemplative piece.\nWe want our pupils to appreciate cultural diversity and to understand the importance of their contribution as citizens in creating a cohesive and tolerant society."

"Communication is the integral component for every child and Westminster Education Support Centre places an emphasis on developing communication competency for students with complex communication needs. Our school uses Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Aided Language Stimulation (ALS) to ensure students are meaningfully and actively participating, contributing and engaging in both receptive and expressive language exchanges. AAC is used across all learning areas and a focus on communication is embedded in all learning.\nLiteracy is explicitly implemented into every lesson throughout the day based on Diana Rigg’s Promoting Literacy Development’s (PLD) innovative, evidence-based approach. This approach focuses on the areas of literacy, oral language and movement and motor.\nAll students undertake numeracy activities daily, learning skills consistent with their individual learning abilities. Activities include explicit lesson instruction as well as concept learning throughout all activities. Students develop understanding by accessing environmental print and using numbers in everyday situations with an emphasis on promoting functional skills for life such as exploring the concepts of time, measurement and money.\nSocial Skill development is taught as an explicit subject as well as embedded across all learning. Students are provided with ongoing opportunities to build upon their current skills through social story, role play and guided support during mock and real interactions. Opportunities to foster positive relationships with adults and peers is ongoing. Integration with students in the mainstream Primary School is scheduled throughout the week and less formal opportunities are maximised during school break times.\nAs with much of our content, Science, HASS and Technologies is embedded across much of our daily learning. Formal lessons follow the topic content and year level syllabus of the WA Curriculum.\nOur daily fitness program provides the opportunity for our students to engage in a variety of different sports. Our lessons focus on sportsmanship, sharing and helping others to have a go whilst developing physical skills associated with all aspects of fitness. All students are actively encouraged to participate and lessons are framed in a fun, engaging way.\nStudents engage in formal physical education lessons with mainstream peers where appropriate.\nProtective Behaviours - Protective Behaviours is a personal safety program which aims to promote resilience in children using a range of developmentally appropriate strategies. The aim is to encourage our students to become more assertive and resilient to risks or problems they may encounter in their lives.\nWhole class and individualised programmes are taught to the students including raising their awareness of their own feelings relating to safety and how to build safety networks. The promotion of personal safety and resilience is generalised at every opportunity.\nMusic - Students participate in a weekly music/dance lesson led by our Specialist staff. Student engage in a range of music appreciation and hands on learning to develop individual and group skills and enjoy the opportunity to perform what they have learned and created. Dance focuses on developing coordination, rhythm and movement. The students enjoy following simple steps to different pieces of music and work together to create dancing routines and performances.\nArt - Students use a range of mediums to express literacy texts, concepts and themes they are currently exploring. Art is an important way to express feelings and emotions as well as a means for communicating, demonstrating learning and sharing experiences with others.\nAuslan is taught weekly for our Year 3 -6 students and embedded cross-curricular for all students. This compliments and enhances communication competency for our students with complex communication needs.\nEach day students undertake a range of daily living tasks relevant to their individual needs. This may include Toilet Training, brushing teeth, washing hands or more advanced skills such as managing clothing and laundry. These skills are highly individualised and will be incorporated into a child’s learning in collaboration with families."

"Citizenship, SMSC & British Values\nThe promotion of Citizenship is a core element of life at Broadgreen International School. We believe that citizenship education is essential to help students to prepare for life as responsible citizens.\nCitizenship education is a cross-curricular theme across the school rather than a separately taught lesson. It is promoted through PSHE and Religious Education as well as forming an integral part of all curriculum areas. All Curriculum Areas are encouraged to raise the profile of citizenship through their teaching of the subject and within the general ethos of the school. Citizenship Education involves students developing an understanding of the role of individuals/groups and how they can influence and promote the development of laws and changes within society. We aim to enable all students at Broadgreen International School to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their own lives and of the wider community around them (local, national and global).\nStudents at Broadgreen International School are encouraged to play an active role in the wider life of the school. They take on extra responsibility in many ways including:\n- School Council\n- School Elections for head Boy/Girl\n- Fund raising for charities\n- Participation in extracurricular activities\nSMSC is an extremely important part of the curriculum at Broadgreen International School. It is thoroughly embedded into the teaching and learning of all curriculum areas at the school.\n- The purpose of spiritual development is to encourage students to develop personal values and beliefs, an ability to reflect, a mature ability to communicate their beliefs, an understanding of the positive role of faith and religion and tolerance of other people.\n- The purpose of moral development is to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of the concept of right and wrong within our society. Students should demonstrate a clear understanding of the difference between right and wrong, respect for people and property, an understanding of how their actions impact on others and positive behaviour in all areas of their lives.\n- The purpose of social development is to encourage students to develop the positive personal qualities essential for living in modern Britain. The school helps students to develop these skills by consistent adherence to the school behaviour policy, providing opportunities to participate in the school council, providing opportunities to take in part in extracurricular opportunities and school trips and a caring pastoral system.\n- The purpose of cultural development is to encourage students to develop an appreciation of the wide range of cultures that make up out hugely inclusive and diverse school. The school encourages students to develop and understanding of the shared and unique cultures within the school. This is thoroughly within the context of our multicultural city and country.\nBroadgreen International School are proud to promote the “British Values” of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance of other faiths and beliefs in all aspects of school life. The promotion of these values helps our students to play a full and active role in modern Britain.\n- Democracy is extremely important to us at Broadgreen International School. Annual elections are held for the positions of Head Boy and Girl. We have an active school council, which provides students with a clear and important voice.\n- The Rule of Law and the importance of laws and positive behaviour are frequently reinforced and students are taught to be responsible for their actions. Students are made aware of the rules of the school and the expectations on them by consistent use of the Broadgreen behaviour policy. Positive behaviour is rewarded by the use of the VIVO points system.\n- Individual Liberty is promoted at Broadgreen International School by encouraging students to be independent and think about their rights and responsibilities as well as the choices they make. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions. They are taught how to exercise these freedoms safely, for example through the provision of e-safety training. Students support others by helping out with out after school “happy hour” sessions for local primary school students. They also take an active role in supporting others through visits to local care homes and charitable events such as Children in Need.\n- Mutual Respect is an important element of the Broadgreen International School values. Students are encouraged to think about the impact of their actions on others. We are a hugely inclusive school with a diverse student population. Respect for each other underpins everything we do at the school both in and out of lessons. Mutual respect is also promoted through the use of sports days and working closely with local primary schools.\n- Tolerance of other faiths and beliefs is imperative to our diverse school community. All students are respected regardless of faith, race, heritage, gender, sexual orientation or ability. The teaching of other faiths and beliefs is primarily delivered through the teaching of Religious Education. However, it also underpins life at Broadgreen International School. The appreciation of other cultures is encouraged through our annual “International Evening”. The school has very close links with schools in India, China and Gambia and students are immersed in these cultures through annual visits to these schools."

"We are committed to ensuring a safe and happy environment for your child.\nFollowing the incident on 17 September at Southern Cross University – Lismore Campus, we would like to share Headspace’s mental health support resource (PDF 100.52KB) for students, teachers and school staff.\nWe support your child’s health and safety through a range of strategies including:\n- the behaviour code for students, which outlines the standards of behaviour expected in all NSW public schools\n- anti-racism education\n- anti-bullying programs\n- conflict resolution and mediation training\n- peer support\n- road safety education\n- the Healthy School Canteen Strategy.\nFor more information, visit the student wellbeing section of the department’s website.\nLike all NSW public schools, we promote the healthy development of students through:\n- school programs and practices that protect and promote health and safety\n- supporting individual students who need help with health issues\n- providing first aid and temporary care of students who become unwell or who have an accident at school.\nLike all NSW public schools, we provide safe learning and teaching environments to encourage healthy, happy, successful and productive students.\nThe department is committed to creating quality learning opportunities for children and young people. These opportunities support wellbeing through positive and respectful relationships and fostering a sense of belonging to the school and community.\nThe Wellbeing Framework for Schools helps schools support the cognitive, physical, social, emotional and spiritual development of students and allows them to connect, succeed and thrive throughout their education.\nLeadership programs pose a number of challenges at FSC.\n- The campus students only have three terms to get to know each other before electing student leaders.\n- There are over 300 students in any year group.\n- Students need to consider the benefits of leadership while at the same time, not losing sight of the academic goals they may have set for themselves.\nHow do we meet these challenges?\n- Students are encouraged to become involved in campus activities: STA, sporting events and other activities run for students.\n- Students are encouraged to be positive and active in mentoring- show other students that they have ideas, goals and offer support for other students. The recent initiative of the \"Your voice\" suggestion box is an example of how student leaders have facilitated their peers' ideas, such as extra outdoor seating and recycling in classrooms.\n- Students should take any opportunity offered to them - Women's Leadership Days, community leadership opportunities and school assemblies.\n- Students are given organisational skills such as time management, personal learning programs and self-directed learning skills.\nThese allow our senior leaders to be active in campus life in many areas: organising major campus ceremonies such as Prize Giving, carnivals, charity events and Year Assemblies.\nThe highly structured selection procedures allow any student to take part in the leadership group and develop their skills in public speaking, interview techniques, CV writing and project management.\nOnce elected, the small body of students are then entrusted with many leadership roles that they can successfully manage while maintaining academic standards. Although the demands of leadership can be quite high, the personal growth stemming from this role is outstanding.\nStudents don't have to be school captains to be considered leaders. We encourage our students to be leaders in the classroom and playground, through their support for other students, or their involvement in academic, sporting, cultural or community events and projects."

"Doing it together?\nModule 2 is part of the Socioeconomic Empowerment Toolkit (hereafter SET). It has been created in the framework of PAPYRUS (Professional Action and Practice for Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers) project, which has been implemented in 2015-2018 period, in 5 European countries. Project purpose was to enable greater availability of toolkits aiming at inclusion and integration of young migrants.\n- To upgrade participants knowledge and experience of teamwork through practical learning activities;\n- To upgrade participants knowledge and experience of conflict resolution in teams\nWho are end users – training participants?\nThe module is intended for (young) people who want to be better prepared for working effectively in a team.\nWhat kind of resources and how to use them?\nEvery module pertaining to the SET is composed of ready to use materials for preparation and delivery of a training. Some materials are intended only for educators and are created in the form of written instructions on how to prepare and implement different segments of training, while some materials are intended for participants, to be used during and after the training.\nWALKTHROUGH DOCUMENT is a document for educators, which describes the activity flow, from opening to completion of training, through the prism of the smallest segments of the training. In this document, educators are indicated when to introduce different segments in training sessions, and what materials they are supposed to use in that particular segment.\nINSTRUCTIONS is a written document for educators on how to organize a particular task, play a game or a lead discussion. The document contains instructions on the size of the group and the method of work (individual, in pairs or groups), the way of organizing activities, the purpose of activities and what additional materials should be used in the implementation of the activity.\nPRESENTATIONS are audiovisual materials used during the delivery of tutorials, for visual illustration of the content.\nHANDOUTS are printed materials to be used by participants during a task or a play/game. Handouts are distributed to participants by an assistant educator before the start of the task/ play.\nMODULE 2 CONTENT\n2. Tutorial 2: Belbin team roles\n3. Tutorial 3: On Conflicts, Resolutions and Teambuilding\n4. Instruction 1: Bingo\n5. Instruction 2: Tree of expectation\n6. Instruction 3: Our rules\n7. Instruction 4: Team architect\n8. Instruction 5: Story-telling\n9. Instruction 6: Individual reflection\n10. Instruction 7: I like about person next to me\n11. Instruction 8: Ball toss brainstorm\n12. Instruction 9: Group reflection\n13. Instruction 10: What I got from today?\n14. Instruction 11: Yes, Lets!\n15. Instruction 12: Name&action Symbol\n16. Instruction 13: Telephone\n17. Instruction 14: Boom\n18. Instruction 15/Handout-7: Moon Landing\n19. Instruction 16: Team debate\n20. Instruction 17: My good neighbour\n21. Instruction 18: Thunderstorm\n22. Instruction 19: Belbin test\n23. Handout 1: Bingo cards\n24. Handout 2: Group-team comparison\n25. Handout 3: Story-telling\n26. Handout 4: Belbin test\n27. Handout 5: Belbin team roles\n28. Handout 6: Belbin To Do (Not) List\n29. Handout 8: Evaluation questionnaire\n30. Presentation 1: Introduction to the module\n31. Presentation 2: On Teams & teamwork\n32. Presentation 3: Individual vs. teamwork\n33. Presentation 4: Belbin team roles\n34. Presentation 5: Conflicts & resolution\n35. Presentation 6: Teambuilding\n36. Presentation 7: Belbin test\n- G. Abudi (2010). The Five Stages of Project Team Development. [Online: retrieved from www.pmhut.com/the-five-stages-of-project-team-development]\n- B. W. Tuckman & MAC Jensen (1977), ‘Stages of small group development revisited’, Group and Organization Studies, vol.2, no.4, pp.419-27.\n- Icons: www.flaticon.com\n- Miller, B.C. (2004). Quick Team-building Activities for Busy Managers 50 exercises. American Management Association\n- Principles of Teambuilding, TEAM FME, 2013 derived from http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/dldebk-pdf/fme-team-building.pdf\n- Dispute Resolution: Working Together Toward Conflict Resolution on the Job and at Home. Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School 2008-2018, Report\n- Stojanović M., Socioeconomic Empowerment Toolkit; Module 6: Outstanding candidate, Western Balkans Institute, Belgrade, 2018"

"Update a personal vision statement.\nDefinitionUpdate should include\n- positive personality traits, characteristics, and values that should be maintained and strengthened\n- goals that lead to concepts of contentment and happiness\n- activities and ideas that should be explored in the future.\n- When should one update a personal vision statement?\n- How do goals support one’s personal vision and objectives?\nRelated Standards of Learning\nThe student will write in a variety of forms to include persuasive/argumentative reflective, interpretive, and analytic with an emphasis on persuasion/argumentation.\n- Apply components of a recursive writing process for multiple purposes to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing to address a specific audience and purpose.\n- Produce arguments in writing that develop a thesis to demonstrate knowledgeable judgments, address counterclaims, and provide effective conclusions.\n- Use a variety of rhetorical strategies to clarify and defend a position organizing claims, counterclaims, and evidence in a sustained and logical sequence.\n- Blend multiple forms of writing including embedding a narrative to produce effective essays.\n- Adapt evidence, vocabulary, voice, and tone to audience, purpose, and situation.\n- Use words, phrases, clauses, and varied syntax to connect all parts of the argument creating cohesion from the information presented.\n- Revise writing for clarity of content, depth of information, and technique of presentation.\n- Write and revise to a standard acceptable both in the workplace and in postsecondary education.\n- Write to clearly describe personal qualifications for potential occupational or educational opportunities.\nThe student will self- and peer-edit writing for Standard English.\n- Use complex sentence structure to infuse sentence variety in writing.\n- Edit, proofread, and prepare writing for intended audience and purpose.\n- Use a style manual, such as that of the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the American Psychological Association (APA), to apply rules for punctuation and formatting of direct quotations.\nHistory and Social Science\nThe student will apply social science skills to understand that in a democratic republic, thoughtful and effective participation in civic life is characterized by\n- exercising personal character traits such as trustworthiness, responsibility, and honesty;\n- obeying the law and paying taxes;\n- serving as a juror;\n- participating in the political process and voting in local, state, and national elections;\n- performing public service;\n- keeping informed about current issues;\n- respecting differing opinions and the rights of others;\n- practicing personal and fiscal responsibility;\n- demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that foster the responsible and respectful use of digital media; and\n- practicing patriotism."

"De-selection of library materials is the process of removing items from the collection and is essential for the maintenance of an active, academically useful library collection. Subject specialists are responsible for conducting an ongoing de-selection effort in their designated disciplines and for maintaining the quality of the collection.\nBenefits to be gained through de-selection include an increase in the availability of space for collections and services, and a higher proportion of relevant materials on the shelves for the use of the university community.\nDe-selection decisions are made using flexible guidelines in conjunction with perceptive judgment. The following factors should be considered on a discipline by discipline basis:\nApproved Nov. 18, 2010\n© 2017 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"

"The following sample essay on “Title Selection tools and resources: School library” are reviewed here due to the necessity to fully understand its importance. In this study they will be cross analyze to determine the differences and effects to the school library program.\nAccording to Agee, (2003) selection is the heart of good library collection building. Selection defines as “the process of deciding which materials should be added to a library collection. And selection decisions are usually made on the basis of reviews and standard collection development tools by librarians designated as selectors in specific subject areas, based on their interests and fields of specialization.\nTo help with the process, a number of sources are available. Involves looking for the strengths and weaknesses in an item and how it might or might not match the needs of the collection.\nThe librarians should ensure that the balancing act of selecting books and other literally material of different formats is judiciously made. In addition to matching the diversity of the institution and the society as a whole, librarians are charged with the responsibility of providing the patrons with resources that inform on the diversity of the nation specifically and the world in general despite limited budgets (Kiilu & Kiilum 2014).\nThe school library media program provides resources that reflect the linguistic pluralism of the community (ALA, 2019).\nSchool library selection of materials criteria are dependent on the goals and objectives of the educational institution (ALA, 2019). Thus, Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, & Academic Libraries for library professionals pointed out that to make informed choices, selection policies for all types of libraries public libraries, academic libraries, technical school libraries, and school libraries (public and private) should include criteria to guide in the resource selection process.\nIn addition, a patron-driven acquisition (PDA) approach focusing on the needs and interests of library users is can be used. Get users or faculty involved with selection also get teachers involved with seeking new materials at conferences as discussed by Anderson, R. (2011).\nSelecting materials is just one step in a process of collection development that includes many ingredients: a knowledge of the collection, the community, and the needs of the students and library users; selection of materials, acquisition, processing, and preservation of materials; circulation of materials; and the evaluation of the relevancy of materials. (Bishop, 2007, 16; Evans and Saponaro 2005, 8; Gregory 2011, 1).\nAccording to Gardner (1981) any collection is a dynamic organism, continually changing and growing. A well-selected item added to a collection enhances other items in that collection. The great library collections developed over the ages have achieved statures because they are more that collections of individual works. It is the bringing together of related materials, which reveals unsuspected relationships in thoughts and ideas, that makes a great collection. To the dedicated book selector and developer of collections, there is no greater thrill than seeing a collection emerge that has individual character and life.\nWolven (2013) studies found out that curriculum development resources were chosen based on the selection criteria included in the article, including: authority, accuracy, scope, appropriateness, and treatment. The function of curriculum development is to research, plan, and prepare the content and methods that will be taught during instruction to achieve the desired outcomes.\nSelection aid defined as “a publication used by librarians to develop a balanced collection of materials to meet the information needs of library users. The category includes bestseller lists, best books lists, core lists, national bibliographies, and review publications intended specifically for librarians (Booklist, CHOICE, Library Journal, School Library Journal, etc.) and also choosing vendors as a resources too.” Selection aids and tools vary depending on their purpose stated by Johnson, (2009) that these sources are relevant today and school librarians need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each and reflecting on these it helps school librarians choose the right tool for the selection process.\nElectronic sources are websites that can help the librarian search by subject and grade level, as well as assist with focusing on a specific need. Amazon ( amazon.com/), Folletts Title Wave ( and Baker and Taylor ( are all examples of electronic sources that allow the school librarian to select items by specific subject area. School librarians can also access reviews from different sources through one website. Drawing from recent research done by Doiron,(2011) on the influence and penetration of e-books and e-readers, examples from several school libraries and e-mail interviews, an informal analysis revealed several key ideas that should support other teacher librarians who want to address the issues and challenges of using e-resources.\nTeacher-librarians are encouraged to understand the motivational influence of these digital tools and to accept them as positive and useful in promoting reading and an important addition to the toolkits used to motivate positive reading habits. Castaldo, et.al., 2012 stresses that users want an easier way to search library resources; currently, there are many discovery tools available, that Librarians from different types of librariesan online library, a land-grant school, a law library, a private university, and a consortiumdescribe how they evaluated the available products and made decisions on which tools to implement.\nA variety of platforms are discussed, including: Ebscos Discovery Service, IIIs Encore Synergy Discovery, Serials Solutions Summon, and even a homegrown solution. Discover what libraries are looking for in these tools, strategies for determining which one best fits your needs, and lessons learned throughout the process from the investigation phase to implementation. Clyde L, (2004) researched, in 1996, a content analysis of 50 school library Web sites from nine countries, provided an overview of the then current state of the art.\nIn 1999 and 2002, the remaining sites were again subjected to content analysis. This article reports on trends and changes through the six-year period. While school library Web sites have remained very diverse, there has been considerable development, though that development has been uneven both across the Web sites and through the time period.\nA major change since 1996 has been the use of the school library Web site to provide access to electronic resources such as for-free online information services, the catalogues of other libraries, and the school libraries own OPAC. H. W. Wilson (EBSCO) has published a range of core collection tools to help librarians build a collection. Three hosted federated search tools, Follett One Search, Gale Power Search Plus, and Web Feat Express, were configured and implemented in a school library. The tools and technologies can be divided into a number of categories, including academic networking, audio and visual technologies, content hosting and tools for measurement.\nConsiderations L., et.al. (2010) studies shows that, there are several reasons for automating the library activities especially computerizing library activities. On account of Information & knowledge explosion it has become essential for librarians to provide a master key to this repository of knowledge in the service.\nThe main of library is to provide access to proper information explosion, due to growing demands of the user and shrinking of financial resources, library cannot able to maintain all the reading materials on demand the only way to overcome from these problem is sharing resources through consortia, and Internet. Benard & Dulle, (2014) conclude that for effective use of Schools Libraries by the secondary school students there is need for current and adequate school library information resources, provision of accommodation facilities, and provision of professional school librarians to manage libraries and conducive reading environment.\nReviewing the literatures lead back to the questions: how are those tools and resources affected the school library program? Analyzing the outcomes of e-resources to the users are essential to understand the school library collection. Selection in todays libraries involved not just the traditional factors and criteria, but a member of new technical and cost factors as well. The librarians role and judgment in the selection process remains important."

"Workbook for Selection Policy Writing\n| Top | WHY DO I NEED A POLICY? | BASIC COMPONENTS OF A SELECTION POLICY | Objectives | Responsibility for Selection | Criteria | Procedures | Special Areas | Policies on Controversial Materials | Reconsideration | SAMPLE LETTER TO COMPLAINANT | INSTRUCTIONS TO RECONSIDERATION COMMITTEE | SAMPLE REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY RESOURCES | SELECTION POLICY SCHOOL DISTRICT #1 | Part 1: Selection of Learning Resources | Statement of Policy | Objectives of Selection | Responsibility for Selection of Learning Resources | Criteria for Selection of Learning Resources | Procedures for Selection of Learning Resources | Part 2: Procedures for Dealing with Challenged Materials | Statement of Policy | Request for Informal Reconsideration | Request for Formal Reconsideration | Bottom |\nWhy Do I Need a Policy?\nEvery school system should have a comprehensive policy on the selection of instructional materials. It should relate to and include all materials; for example, textbooks, library books, periodicals, films, videocassettes, records, audiocassettes, and CDs. The reason should be obvious: haphazard patterns of acquisition will result in waste because some—perhaps many—materials will overlap in content, or will be unrelated to changing patterns of instruction.\nA comprehensive policy on the selection of instructional materials also will enable school professionals to rationally explain the school program to the community. And, most important in a crisis, when there are complaints about social studies texts, human development materials in the media center, or fiction in the English class, the use of the “objectionable” item can be explained more easily.\nA good policy on the selection of instructional materials will be relevant to your particular system and include basic sections on objectives, responsibility, criteria, procedures for selection, reconsideration of materials, and policies on controversial materials.\nBasic Components of a Selection Policy\nYour policy should state succinctly what your system is trying to accomplish in its educational program, and, in somewhat more detail, the objectives of selection.\nYour overarching goal may be very broad. For example:\nFor the School District:\n- Instructional materials are selected by the school district to implement, enrich, and support the educational program for the student. Materials must serve both the breadth of the curriculum and the needs and interests of individual students. The district is obligated to provide for a wide range of abilities and to respect the diversity of many differing points of view. To this end, principles must be placed above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality and appropriateness.\nFor the Library Media Center:\n- The main objective of our selection procedure is to provide students with a wide range of educational materials on all levels of difficulty and in a variety of formats, with diversity of appeal, allowing for the presentation of many different points of view.\n- The objective of the media center is to make available to faculty and students a collection of materials that will enrich and support the curriculum and meet the needs of the students and faculty served.\nMore specific goals should be established by professionals for each learning level.\nThe objectives for selection should reflect the specific goals of the instructional program. For textbooks, the goals may vary from subject to subject. For example, in the sciences, one principal goal might be accuracy (e.g., the latest scientific knowledge), and in history, balance in the presentation of conflicting points of view. For materials in the library media center, the goals may include meeting individual learning needs, abilities, and learning styles; providing background materials to supplement classroom instruction; providing a broad range of materials on controversial issues to help students develop critical analytical skills; etc.\nResponsibility for Selection\nYour policy should name by professional position those persons responsible for selecting textbooks and other instructional materials.\nIn most states, the locally elected or appointed school board, by law, has broad powers and responsibilities in the selection of instructional materials. This authority should be delegated by policy to appropriate professionals for day-to-day exercise.\nWhile selection of materials involves many people, including administrators, supervisors, teachers, library media specialists, students, and even community residents, the responsibility for coordinating and recommending the selection and purchase of library media materials should rest with the certificated library media personnel. Responsibility for coordinating the selection and purchase of textbooks and other classroom materials may rest with appropriate department chairpersons or with textbook or media evaluation committees.\nWrite into your policy under Responsibility for Selection (or similar title) exactly who is responsible for selection of materials; for example, department heads, curriculum specialists, directors of curriculum and instruction, librarians, or media specialists.\nSample statement of responsibility for the school district:\n- The elected Board of Education shall delegate to the Superintendent of Schools the authority and responsibility for selection of all print and non-print materials. Responsibilities for actual selection shall rest with appropriate professionally trained personnel who shall discharge this obligation consistent with the Board’s adopted selection criteria and procedures. Selection procedures shall involve representatives of the professional staff directly affected by the selections, and persons qualified by preparation to aid in wise selection.\nFor the subject matter covered, your policy will include criteria, and the application of criteria, relevant to your objectives: excellence (artistic, literary, etc.), appropriateness to level of user, superiority in treatment of controversial issues, and ability to stimulate further intellectual and social development. Consider authenticity, appropriateness, interest, content, and circumstances of use.\nYou probably will want to include technical criteria in your policy; for example, clarity of sound in audio materials and cinematography in videocassettes.\nSpecific criteria should be spelled out to guide all professionals involved in selection in deciding on specific items:\n- Staff members involved in selection of resource materials shall use the following criteria as a guide:\n- educational significance\n- contribution the subject matter makes to the curriculum and to the interests of the students\n- favorable reviews found in standard selection sources\n- favorable recommendations based on preview and examination of materials by professional personnel\n- reputation and significance of the author, producer, and publisher\n- validity, currency, and appropriates of material\n- contribution the material makes to breadth of representative viewpoints on controversial issues\n- high degree of potential user appeal\n- high artistic quality and/or literary style\n- quality and variety of format\n- value commensurate with cost and/or need\n- timeliness or permanence\nThe following recommended lists shall be consulted in the selection of materials, but selection is not limited to their listings:\nBibliographies (latest editions available, including supplements)\nThe following criteria will be used as they apply:\n- American Historical Fiction\n- Basic Book Collection for Elementary Grades\n- The Best in Children’s Books\n- Children and Books\n- Children’s Catalog\n- Elementary School Library Collection\n- European Historical Fiction and Biography\n- Guide to Sources in Educational Media\n- Junior High School Catalog\n- Reference Books for School Libraries\n- Subject Guide to Children’s Books in Print\n- Subject Index to Books for Intermediate Grades\n- Subject Index to Books for Primary Grades\n- Westinghouse Learning Directory\n- and as part of the vertical file index, other special bibliographies, many of which have been prepared by educational organizations for particular subject matter areas.\n- Current reviewing media:\n- AASA Science Books and Films\n- American Film & Video Association Evaluations\n- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books\n- Horn Book\n- Kirkus Reviews\n- School Library Journal\n- Learning resources shall support and be consistent with the general educational goals of the state and district and the aims and objectives of individual schools and specific courses.\n- Learning resources shall meet high standards of quality in factual content and presentation.\n- Learning resources shall be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning styles, and social development of the students for whom the materials are selected.\n- Physical format and appearance of learning resources shall be suitable for their intended use.\n- Learning resources shall be designed to help students gain an awareness of our pluralistic society.\n- Learning resources shall be designed to motivate students and staff to examine their own duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges as participating citizens in our society, and to make informed judgments in their daily lives.\n- Learning resources shall be selected for their strengths rather than rejected for their weaknesses.\n- The selection of learning resources on controversial issues will be directed toward maintaining a diverse collection representing various views.\n- Learning resources shall clarify historical and contemporary forces by presenting and analyzing intergroup tension and conflict objectively, placing emphasis on recognizing and understanding social and economic problems.\nThe following kinds of material should be selected for the media center:\n- Materials integral to the instructional program.\n- Materials appropriate for the reading level and understanding of students in the school.\n- Materials reflecting the interests and needs of the students and faculty served by the media center.\n- Materials warranting inclusion in the collection because of their literary and/or artistic value and merit.\n- Materials presenting information with the greatest degree of accuracy and clarity possible.\n- Materials representing a fair and unbiased presentation of information. In controversial areas, the media specialist, in cooperation with the faculty, should select materials representing as many shades of opinion as possible, in order that varying viewpoints are available to students.\nYour procedures should describe all steps from initial screening to final selection. They also should include provisions for coordinating among departments and professionals working at different learning levels, etc.; for handling recommendations from other faculty and students; and for reviewing existing materials (for possible replacement, etc.).\nInclude at least a partial list of selection aids (e.g., reviewing sources). You also may want to list sources that should not be used.\nThis will be a large part of your selection policy. It is important to list the type of materials you collect, why you need them, and how you obtain them. Include here your policies on reevaluation (weeding), replacing and repairing materials, etc.\nSample procedure statements:\n- In selecting learning resources, professional personnel will evaluate available resources and curriculum needs and will consult reputable, professionally prepared aids to selection, and other appropriate sources. The actual resource will be examined whenever possible.\n- Recommendations for purchase involve administrators, teachers, students, district personnel, and community persons, as appropriate.\n- Gift materials shall be judged by the selection criteria and shall be accepted or rejected by those criteria.\n- Selection is an ongoing process that should include how to remove materials no longer appropriate and how to replace lost and worn materials still of educational value.\n- Requests, suggestions, and reactions for the purchase of instructional materials shall be gathered from staff to the greatest extent possible and students when appropriate.\n- Reviews of proposed acquisitions will be sought in the literature of reputable professional organizations and other reviewing sources recognized for their objectivity and wide experience.\n- Materials will be examined by professional staff to the extent necessary or practicable to apply criteria. Preview copies are available for on-site examination by the public upon written request to the District Director of Instruction.\n- Textbooks will be selected after examination by a representative committee of teachers, principals, curriculum specialists, directors of instruction, and others who have professional expertise in objective evaluation of materials.\n- Materials for the District Film and Video Center will be selected by preview committees, curriculum specialists, and through use of professional review sources.\n- Building media center materials selection will be coordinated by the building media specialist, or the principal, where there is no professional staff, and involve teachers and curriculum specialists.\n- Area Advisory Councils may be used to review materials recommended by professional selection committees.\n- Materials for media centers are selected by the professional media staff with due regard to suggestions from the faculty, parents, and students. Final selection is made by the media specialists of the school in which the center is housed. Professionally recognized reviewing periodicals, standard catalogs, and other selection aids are used by the media specialists and the faculty to guide them in their selection.\nSome miscellaneous items to consider in your policy are gifts, sponsored materials, expensive materials, ephemeral materials, jobbers and salespersons, locked case, special requests, etc.; free and inexpensive materials; professional materials; and procedure for handling lost materials. Do you charge fines, maintain special collections not available to all patrons (e.g., a collection of materials for teachers only), handle special requests? These “special concerns” can be detailed in this section of your policy. Make sure to include your procedures for integrating gifts and sponsored materials. Usually, it is stated that criteria for inclusion of gifts and sponsored materials are the same as for purchased materials.\nPolicies on Controversial Materials\nHere, or in another place in your policy, you should include a statement on intellectual freedom and why it is important to maintain. You may wish to include the text of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution—“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceable to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” and the Library Bill of Rights.\nSample Statement on intellectual freedom:\n- The school board subscribes in principle to the statements of policy on library philosophy as expressed in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, a copy of which is appended to and made a part of this policy.\nOccasional objections to instructional materials will be made despite the quality of the selection process; therefore, the procedure for handling reconsideration of challenged materials in response to questions concerning their appropriateness should be stated. This procedure should establish the framework for registering a complaint that provides for a hearing with appropriate action while defending the principles of freedom of information, the students’ right to access of materials, and the professional responsibility and integrity of the school faculty. The principles of intellectual freedom are inherent in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and are expressed in the Library Bill of Rights, adopted by the Council of the American Library Association. If instructional materials are questioned, the principles of intellectual freedom should be defended rather than the materials.\nList here the specific steps that will be taken when you are asked to reconsider materials in your collection. These steps should include:\nThe procedure for handling complaints should describe every step, from the initial response to the complaint through the highest appeal.\nProcedure for handling complaints:\nNo duly selected materials whose appropriateness is challenged shall be removed from the school except upon the recommendation of a reconsideration committee, with the concurrence of the Superintendent or, upon the Superintendent’s recommendation, the concurrence of the Board of Education, or upon formal action of the Board of Education when a recommendation of a reconsideration committee is appealed to it.\nProcedures to be observed:\n- All complaints to staff members shall be reported to the building principal involved, whether received by telephone, letter, or in personal conversation.\n- The principal shall contact the complainant to discuss the complaint and attempt to resolve it informally by explaining the philosophy and goals of the school district and/or the library media center.\n- If the complaint is not resolved informally, the complainant shall be supplied with a packet of materials consisting of the District’s instructional goals and objectives, materials selection policy statement, and the procedure for handling objections. This packet also will include a standard printed form, which shall be completed and returned before consideration will be given to the complaint.\n- If the formal request for reconsideration has not been received by the principal within two weeks, it shall be considered closed. If the request is returned, the reasons for selection of the specific work shall be reestablished by the appropriate staff.\n- In accordance with statement of philosophy, no questioned materials shall be removed from the school pending a final decision. Pending the outcome of the request for reconsideration, however, access to questioned materials can be denied to the child (or children) of the parents making the complaint, if they so desire.\n- Upon receipt of a completed objection form, the principal in the building involved will convene a committee of five to consider the complaint. This committee shall consist of the curriculum director and these people from the school involved: the principal, the library media center director, a teacher, and a PTA representative.\n- The committee shall meet to discuss the materials, following the guidelines set forth in Instructions to Reconsideration Committee, and shall prepare a report on the material containing its recommendations on disposition of the matter.\n- The principal shall notify complainant of the decision and send a formal report and recommendation to the Superintendent. In answering the complainant, the principal shall explain the book selection system, give the guidelines used for selection, and cite authorities used in reaching decisions. If the committee decides to keep the work that caused the complaint, the complainant shall be given an explanation. If the complaint is valid, the principal will acknowledge it and make recommended changes.\n- If the complainant is still not satisfied, he or she may ask the Superintendent to present an appeal to the Board of Education, which shall make a final determination of the issue. The Board of Education may seek assistance from outside organizations such as the American Library Association, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, etc., in making its determination.\nSample Letter to Complainant\n- Dear :\nWe appreciate your concern over the use of ______________________ in our school district. The district has developed procedures for selecting materials, but realizes that not everyone will agree with every selection made.\nTo help you understand the selection process, we are sending copies of the district’s:\n- Instructional goals and objectives\n- Materials Selection Policy statement\n- Procedure for Handling Objections\nIf you are still concerned after you review this material, please complete the Request for Reconsideration of Material form and return it to me. You may be assured of prompt attention to your request. If I have not heard from you within two weeks, we will assume you no longer wish to file a formal complaint.\nInstructions to Reconsideration Committee\nBear in mind the principles of the freedom to learn and to read and base your decision on these broad principles rather than on defense of individual materials. Freedom of inquiry is vital to education in a democracy.\nStudy thoroughly all materials referred to you and read available reviews. The general acceptance of the materials should be checked by consulting standard evaluation aids and local holdings in other schools.\nPassages or parts should not be pulled out of context. The values and faults should be weighed against each other and the opinions based on the materials as a whole.\nYour report, presenting both majority and minority opinions, will be presented by the principal to the complainant at the conclusion of your discussion of the questioned material.\nSample Request for Reconsideration of Library Resources\n[This is where you identify who in your own structure, has authorized use of this form—Director, Board of Trustees, Board of Education, etc.—and to whom to return the form.]\nExample: The school board of Mainstream County, U.S.A., has delegated the responsibility for selection and evaluation of library/educational resources to the school library media specialist/curriculum committee, and has established reconsideration procedures to address concerns about those resources. Completion of this form is the first step in those procedures. If you wish to request reconsideration of school or library resources, please return the completed form to the Coordinator of Library Media Resources, Mainstream School Dist., 1 Mainstream Plaza, Anytown, U.S.A.\nDo you represent self? ____ Organization? ____\n- Resource on which you are commenting:\n____ Book ____ Textbook ____ Video ____ Display\n____ Magazine ____ Library Program ____ Audio Recording\n____ Newspaper ____ Electronic information/network (please specify)\n____ Other ___________________________\n- What brought this resource to your attention?\n- Have you examined the entire resource?\n- What concerns you about the resource? (use other side or additional pages if necessary)\n- Are there resource(s) you suggest to provide additional information and/or other viewpoints on this topic?\nRevised by the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee\nJune 27, 1995\nSelection Policy School District #1\nPart 1: Selection of Learning Resources\n- Statement of PolicyThe policy of the Board of Trustees of School District #1 is to provide a wide range of learning resources at varying levels of difficulty, with diversity of appeal and the presentation of different points of view to meet the needs of students and teachers.\n- Objectives of Selection\n- For the purposes of this statement of policy, the term “learning resources” will refer to any person(s) or any material (whether acquired or locally produced) with instructional content or function that is used for formal or informal teaching/learning purposes. Learning resources include textbooks, other books, supplementary reading and informational materials, charts, community resource people, agencies and organizations, dioramas, filmstrips, flash cards, games, globes, kits, machine-readable data files, maps, microfilms, models, motion pictures, periodicals, pictures, realia, slides, sound recordings, transparencies, and videocassettes.\n- The primary objective of learning resources is to support, enrich, and help implement the educational program of the school through the interaction of professional personnel and other members of the school community. It is the duty of professional staff to provide students with a wide range of materials at varying levels of difficulty, with diversity of appeal, and the presentation of different points of view.\n- To this end, the Board of Trustees of School District #1 affirms that it is the responsibility of its professional staff:\n- To provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, learning styles, and maturity levels of the students served;\n- To provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and societal standards;\n- To provide materials on various sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may have an opportunity to develop under guidance the practice of critical analysis and to make informed judgments in their daily lives;\n- To provide materials representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and that contribute to our national heritage and the world community;\n- To place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate to the school community.\n- Responsibility for Selection of Learning Resources\n- The Board of Trustees delegates the responsibility for the selection of learning resources to the professional staff employed by the school system, and declares that selections made shall be held to have been made by the Board of Trustees of School District #1.\n- While selection of learning resources involves many people (administrators, teachers, students, community persons, resource center personnel) the responsibility for coordinating the selection of school learning resources and making the recommendation for purchase rests with the principal and professional personnel.\n- Criteria for Selection of Learning Resources\n- The following criteria will be used as they apply:\n- Learning resources shall support and be consistent with the general educational goals of the state and the district and the aims and objectives of individual schools and specific courses.\n- Learning resources shall be chosen to enrich and support the curriculum and the personal needs of users.\n- Learning resources shall meet high standards of quality in:\n- artistic quality and/or literary style\n- Learning resources shall be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning styles, and social development of the students for whom the materials are selected.\n- Learning resources shall be designed to provide a background of information that will motivate students and staff to examine their own attitudes and behavior; to comprehend their duties, responsibilities, rights and privileges as participating citizens in our society; and to make informed judgments in their daily lives.\n- Learning resources shall provide information on opposing sides of controversial issues so that users may develop under guidance the practice of critical analysis.\n- The selection of learning resources on controversial issues will be directed toward maintaining a balanced collection representing various views.\nLearning resources shall clarify historical and contemporary forces by presenting and analyzing intergroup tension and conflict objectively, placing emphasis on recognizing and understanding social and economic problems.\n- Procedures for Selection of Learning Resources\n- In selecting learning resources, professional personnel will evaluate available resources and curriculum needs and will consult reputable, professionally prepared aids to selection and other appropriate sources. Among sources to be consulted are:\n- Bibliographies (latest edition available, including supplements):\n- American Film & Video Association Evaluations\nAmerican Historical Fiction\nBasic Book Collection for Elementary Grades\nBasic Book Collection for Junior High Schools\nThe Best in Children’s Books\nChildren and Books\nElementary School Library Collection\nEuropean Historical Fiction and Biography\nGuide to Sources in Educational Media\nJunior High School Catalog\nReference Books for School Libraries\nSubject Guide to Children’s Books in Print\nSubject Index to Books for Intermediate Grades\nSubject Index to Books for Primary Grades\nWestinghouse Learning Directory\nand as a part of the vertical file index, other special bibliographies, many of which have been prepared by educational organizations for particular subject matter areas.\n- Current reviewing media:\n- AASA Science Books and Films\nBulletin of the Center for Children’s Books\nSchool Library Journal\nOther sources will be consulted as appropriate. Whenever possible, the actual resource will be examined.\n- Recommendations for purchase involve administrators, teachers, students, district personnel and community persons, as appropriate.\n- Gift materials shall be judged by the criteria outlined and shall be accepted or rejected by those criteria.\n- Selection is an ongoing process that should include the removal of materials no longer appropriate and the replacement of lost and worn materials still of educational value.\nPart 2: Procedures for Dealing with Challenged Materials\n- Statement of Policy\nAny resident or employee of the school district may formally challenge learning resources used in the district’s educational program on the basis of appropriateness. This procedure is for the purpose of considering the opinions of those persons in the schools and the community who are not directly involved in the selection process.\n- Request for Informal Reconsideration\n- The school receiving a complaint regarding a learning resource shall try to resolve the issue informally.\n- The principal or other appropriate staff shall explain to the questioner the school’s selection procedure, criteria, and qualifications of those persons selecting the resource.\n- The principal or other appropriate staff shall explain the particular place the questioned resource occupies in the education program, its intended educational usefulness, and additional information regarding its use, or refer the party to someone who can identify and explain the use of the resource.\n- If the questioner wishes to file a formal challenge, a copy of the district Selection of Learning Resources policy and a Request for Reconsideration of Learning Resources form shall be handed or mailed to the party concerned by the principal.\n- Request for Formal Reconsideration\n- Preliminary Procedures\n- Each school will keep on hand and make available Request for Reconsideration of Learning Resources forms. All formal objections to learning resources must be made on these forms.\n- The Request for Reconsideration of Learning Resources form shall be signed by the questioner and filed with the principal or someone so designated by the principal.\n- The area assistant superintendent and the assistant superintendent of curriculum services shall be informed of the formal complaint received.\n- The request for reconsideration shall be referred to a reconsideration committee at the school level for reevaluation of the resource.\n- Requests for reconsideration of materials in district collections shall be referred to the school resource center consultative committee for reevaluation of the resource. This committee may involve additional personnel as appropriate.\n- The Reconsideration Committee\n- Upon receipt of a request for formal reconsideration of a learning resource, the principal shall:\n- Appoint a reconsideration committee including the following membership as appropriate:\nOne member of the district staff chosen by the area assistant superintendent;\nOne member of the school teaching staff chosen by the school staff;\nOne member of the resource center professional staff chosen by the resource center professional staff;\nOne member of the school consultative committee chosen by the school consultative committee;\nTwo students chosen by the student body.\n- Name a convener of the reconsideration committee.\n- Arrange for a reconsideration committee meeting within 10 working days after the complaint is received.\n- The reconsideration committee may choose to consult district support staff and/or community persons with related professional knowledge.\n- The reconsideration committee shall review the challenged resource and judge whether it conforms to the principles of selection outlined in the district’s Selection of Learning Resources policy.\n- The reconsideration committee shall:\n- Examine the challenged resource;\n- Determine professional acceptance by reading critical reviews of the resource;\n- Weigh values and faults and form opinions based on the material as a whole rather than on passages or sections taken out of context;\n- Discuss the challenged resource in the context of the educational program;\n- Discuss the challenged item with the individual questioner when appropriate;\n- Prepare a written report.\n- The written report shall be discussed with the individual questioner if requested.\n- The written report shall be retained by the school principal, with copies forwarded to the assistant superintendent of curriculum services and the area assistant superintendent. A minority report also may be filed.\n- Written reports, once filed, are confidential and available for examination by trustees and appropriate officials only.\n- The decision of the reconsideration committee is binding for the individual school.\n- Notwithstanding any procedure outlined in this policy, the questioner shall have the right to appeal any decision of the reconsideration committee to the Board of Trustees as the final review panel.\n- Guiding Principles\n- Any resident or employee of the school district may raise objection to learning resources used in a school’s educational program, despite the fact that the individuals selecting such resources were duly qualified to make the selection, followed the proper procedure, and observed the criteria for selecting learning resources.\n- The principal should review the selection and objection rules with the teaching staff at least annually. The staff should be reminded that the right to object to learning resources is one granted by policies enacted by the Board of Trustees.\n- No parent has the right to determine reading, viewing, or listening matter for students other than his or her own children.\n- School District #1 supports the Library Bill of Rights, adopted by the American Library Association. (A copy of the Library Bill of Rights is attached to this policy.) When learning resources are challenged, the principles of the freedom to read/listen/view must be defended as well.\n- Access to challenged material shall not be restricted during the reconsideration process.\n- The major criterion for the final decision is the appropriateness of the material for its intended educational use.\n- A decision to sustain a challenge shall not necessarily be interpreted as a judgment of irresponsibility by the professionals involved in the original selection and/or use of the material.\nRevised October 1998\nLinks to non-ALA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. Neither the American Library Association nor the Office for Intellectual Freedom necessarily endorses the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ALA and OIF do not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.\nWorkbook for Selection Policy Writing (PDF File)"

"Educational Equity; Article 11. The Bill Brady Human Relations Pilot Project\nThe Legislature finds and declares all of the following:\n(a) California's schoolage population is changing dramatically, becoming increasingly diverse both racially and ethnically. These changing patterns of our social fabric have presented society with serious opportunities and concerns in the area of human relations.\n(b) School districts are an effective vehicle for teaching children human relations and prejudice reduction.\n(c) Through the use of a pilot project, human relations materials that foster cooperation and group work can increase academic achievement and self-esteem, and promote positive interaction among pupils from different racial, religious, and ethnic groups.\n(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the development of human relations materials and staff training modules provide models for the implementation of California's most recent History/Social Studies Framework.\n(Renumbered from 52905 and amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 914, Sec. 44.)"

"Human resources refers to the people that make up the workforce of an organization, and the policies and strategies related to managing that workforce. Almost every organization or business has a human resources department, making effective human resources personnel essential for the management and sustainability of these businesses and organizations.\nMost Bachelor Human Resources degrees are business degrees, with a specialization in Human Resources. With a Bachelor Human Resources degree, students will learn about the foundations of business such as finance, marketing, economics, and management. Students pursuing a Bachelor Human Resources degree will focus on coursework such as recruitment and selection, occupational health and safety, labor relations, and strategic management. Graduates of Bachelor Human Resources go on to careers in recruiting, compensation, benefits, or other human resources fields.\nScroll through the many program options below and take the next step toward your Bachelor Human Resources degree!\nPrepare for a career in international business through studies in international relations, international human resource management and international marketing. [+]\nWhether you are seeking careers in private or public companies, the UIU School of Business major in Human Resources Management provides a curriculum recognized by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)... [+]\nCF offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business and Organizational Management as well five specializations. [+]\nHuman Resource Management (HRM) is a dynamic field that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of modern business. Human resource managers perform a range of valuable functions in the workplace such as attracting, retaining and motivating employees, skills development, managing diversity and developing labour policies. [+]\nThe realisation of the importance of proper human resource management has been reflected in the hiring of people with specialised skills in personnel management, compensation, labour relations, training and management development, and the use of organisational development consultants. [+]\nCorporate Human Factor Management must have sensitivity for diagnosing organizational culture and climate; ability to understand the institutional policy on its human capital, capacity levels, potential and needs change; ability to generate actions that strengthen the participation and commitment of its human factor to the growth of the organization. [+]\nIn this direction we educate specialists with broad-based management. You will gain knowledge of, among others, in the field of economics, management, law, finance and marketing. You will learn effective communication, negotiation techniques and teamwork. [+]\nValider un titre certifié par l’état niveau II Responsable de Gestion, option : Ressources Humaines, vous permet d’accéder à des fonctions de responsabilités très rapidement. Cette formation prépare les étudiants à l’exercice d’activités rattachées à la gestion des ressources humaines. [+]\nThe Human Resources Management (HRM) program provides an in-depth study of the major concepts and tools in the theory and application of modern human resources techniques. Students will acquire knowledge and skills covering a range of human resources management functions including hiring and staffing, training and development, performance [+]\nThe Human Resources Management (HRM) program provides an in-depth study of the major concepts and tools in the theory and application of modern human resources techniques. Students will acquire knowledge and skills covering a range of human resources management functions including hiring and staffing, training and development, performance appraisal, and reward management. An emphasis will be placed on issues unique to the Middle East. As well, the impact of globalization and information technology on the human resources field will be addressed. At the department of Human Resource Management faculty members endeavor to nurture a supportive environment for learning and select cognitive techniques that challenge students to take an active and interactive role in the educational process. Leading international undergraduate business programs share the goal of educating the whole person. This demands that the educational experience not only prepare students for their first job, but also for a full career and thoughtful contributions to their families and society.... [-]\nThis undergraduate major, offered in Kansas City and at our extended campuses, will help a student prepare for a career in business or government leadership and provide him/her with knowledge and skills desired by all types of employers. It can also give one the background to organize and manage his/her family business. [+]\nThe Organizational Leadership degree (Human Resources) provides expertise for a successful career in human resources. [+]\nOrganizational Leadership - Human Resource Administration\nThe Bachelor of Organizational Leadership with a Concentration in Human Resource Administration (BOLS/HRA) degree is designed to provide knowledge and skills in theory and applications associated with human resources. Courses include such topics as employment and placement, compensation, benefits, employee relations, job analysis, training and development, along with leadership skills based on Christian principles.\nWhy Human Resource Administration?\nThe BOLS/RHA program will prepare you for leadership roles in exciting positions in the Human Resource field. The BOLS/HRA degree also provides excellent preparation for students to enhance their leadership and management potential by pursuing a graduate degree in human resource management, human resource development, business administration, or other fields.... [-]\nThere is no better place to focus on an education in Human Resources Management than at The Business School at Humber. Our experienced faculty combined with an industry-focused curriculum and renowned industry partners put our program among the very best. [+]\nTraining is available to anyone holds a Bac + 2 (or as level 3) or any person with at least 3 years of professional experience. [+]\nThe Bachelor of Communication (human relations) is a formation that relies on social psychology developed at crossroads of several disciplines: social psychology, sociology, theories of organizational development, systems, communications and human relations, human and social ecology, etc. [+]\nRespond creatively, flexibly and innovatively to the new challenges created by the increasing mutation of the contemporary world | Master the new technologies of communication and information within the secretariat | esempenhar advisory, managing sectors and people | Managing the flow of information in the institution | To participate in the improvement of the management process | Mastering fluently standard oral and written Portuguese; Mastering foreign languages. [+]"

"The field of Human Resources refers to the people that make up the workforce of an organization or company. Human resources courses can provide additional skills, knowledge and training for working in this exciting and people-oriented field. There are varying options for human resources courses that include certificate, diploma, and degree programs and also have options for full-time, part-time, o… Read more\nThe field of Human Resources refers to the people that make up the workforce of an organization or company. Human resources courses can provide additional skills, knowledge and training for working in this exciting and people-oriented field. There are varying options for human resources courses that include certificate, diploma, and degree programs and also have options for full-time, part-time, online, and distance learning.\nHuman resources courses may examine such topics as organizational behavior, pay equality, employment law, management, and leadership, to name a few. There are excellent quality human resources courses located all over the world and can range from a few days of training, to two year programs, depending on what you are looking for. Human resources courses abroad can provide valuable international experience as well as cultural growth and professional development.\nBrowse the human resources courses below to learn more, or narrow your search using the search boxes above. Take the next step towards your goals today!\n81 Results in Human Resources\nExplore how emotional intelligence helps us to understand ourselves and others, resolve conflict and build better relationships.\nGain new skills and enhance your resume without the financial or time commitment of a full certificate or degree program. Short Courses offer a cost-effective, flexible path t ... +\nThe Higher Course in Talent Management and People Management + Marketing contributes to the efficiency of work teams, motivating and rewarding them, through an effective human ... +\nICI’s human resources management course is developed in conjunction with the human resources industry and the federal government. You are guaranteed to learn with ease and fin ... +\nEffective management of Human Resources is increasingly being seen as positively affecting performance and the competitive success in both large and small organizations. As hu ... +\nAt the end of this training, participants will be able to define a goal and concrete actions; to prepare and structure its meetings; to stand in front of a group and encourage ... +\nThis specialization presented by Universidad Panamericana through the High Level Business School provides knowledge and tools for tactical and operational aspects of managing ... +\nSexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. Experiencing sexual harassment can be one of the most difficult situations a worker can face, however, it should not ... +\nThis Learning and Development course will guide you through the knowledge and skills you need to develop and run an effective L&D unit in HR that is closely aligned to the ... +\nExplore the key methods, strategies and principles of human resource management and develop your own management style.\nGet an introduction to the practice of Human Resources, and develop the skills you need to become an HR professional.\nThe Higher Course in People Management in Organizations contributes to the efficiency of work teams, motivating and rewarding them, through an effective human resources depart ... +\nThis practical course will prepare you for an exciting career in Management and Leadership. Improve your prospects of career advancement by using this program as a foundation ... +\nThe course is designed as a workshop where participants first elaborate a 'SWOT' analysis for the HR function at their own organization and then identify the various necessary ... +\nThis course will enable you to transform yourself and your HR department intoa business partner capable of delivering results and adding value to your organization. This cours ... +"

"Social goals, health policy and the dynamics of development as bases for health education wang vl among the most powerful social forces in this century is self determination of nations and of people the relatively recent phenomenon of community participation in health decisions in some countries is but one aspect of. Suncor's first long-term social goal recognizes the value of relationships, and focuses on changing the way we think and act so we can strengthen our relationships and increase the participation of aboriginal peoples in energy development this isn't work we do 'to' or 'for' aboriginal peoples we must learn from, and with,. 1 figure1 social systems social goals education health economic political cultural education health consumption democratic participation knowledge responsiveness fair financing social goals and systems. An analysis of social goals for agriculture presupposes an account of systematic interactions among economic, political, and ecological forces that influence the performance of agriculture in a given. A lot of self-help guides, on whatever the topic, will explain that you can focus your efforts and improve more easily if you create a list of clear goals for yourself this article isn't so much going to talk about how to set goals, as give some thoughts on the idea of setting them, to work on your social skills. The present article investigates conceptualizations of social motivations and social goals these conceptualizations are brought together toward an integrated taxonomy of social goals, and concurrently an integrated measurement instrument goal statements were administered to 571 college students, and dimensionality.\nSocial goals and social organization: essays in memory of elisha pazner [ leonid hurwicz, david schmeidler, hugo sonnenschein] on amazoncom free shipping on qualifying offers published as a tribute to the memory of elisha pazner, this book contains a collection of essays providing a comprehensive view of the. Traditional theories of achievement motivation such as achievement goal theory mostly neglected its more social aspects this paper focuses on social goal as a key construct and argues for the need to include social goals in the research agenda this is especially important when conducting research among collectivist. Social goals 2 the interaction between social goals and self-construal on achievement motivation abstract the motivational effects of mastery goals and performance goals have been widely documented in previous research on achievement motivation however, recent studies have increasingly indicated a need to. Businesses exist within societies, and societal values expressed formally ( through laws and regulations) and informally (through values and culture) affect all aspects of a company's operations to date, most companies have spent more time understanding the environmental aspect of societal values, in part because these.\nYou're smart but, are your goals as smart as you way back in the early ' 80s, business guru peter drucker came up with a way to think about goal setting called smart (clearly, this man was a marketer at heart since he created such an alluring acronym) we believe it can transform your social. Then you need to set some smart social media marketing goals today it's no secret that goal setting increases your likelihood of social media success, yet it never ceases to amaze me how many businesses have given scant thought to creating their social media goals when working with clients to create.\nAs executive director of unicef from 1980 until his death in january 1995, james p grant was a driving force behind the process of setting goals and mobilizing the political, social, and financial resources to achieve them to catalyse this process he devised the 1990 world summit for children, which brought almost all. It is my honest belief that we should all have the social goals of social responsibility and helping those less fortunate than ourselves – and trust me, if you have the resources to be able to read this article on-line, then there are lots of people out there who are less fortunate whether this help is financial through appropriate. Iep goals for social skills: how to make them measurable, iep goal suggestions, plus how to determine if they are appropriate for your child.\nYouth unemployment is one of the biggest challenges in some eu countries like portugal for example sérgio oliveira manages an employment scheme which helps young people to find work the eu is supporting projects like this, as well as introducing a european pillar of social rights to integrate.\nSocial goals provides social media management, strategy and advice to sme's, start-ups & charities create engagement achieve your business goals. Are you winging it when it comes to your social activity the expression “social media roi” gets tossed around frequently and you know it's important but where do you start and how do you relate what to measure online with your overall business goals here are four business goals, how social media can. Offer daily activities in social play, such as creative arts, imaginary or dramatic play, and building or making something together emotional goals give children greeting at the beginning of the day to let them know they are an important part of the class.\nAs the conclusion of the third economic adjustment programme draws nearer, the government is getting ready for the post-memorandum era among the plans to ensure continuing growth, are the greek progamme, a plan on administrative reform and financial aid, which will last about 5 years, and the. Learn about the g'sot and why social media when used in marketing is nothing more than a tactic. Social report offers a way to set certain goals and objectives while tracking progress towards them for example, let's say your goal is to have 10,000 followers on your twitter account and build strong engagement all you need to do is to define the goal and social report does the rest we analyze trends."

"International human resources management (ihrm) may be defined as the total knowledge, skills, innovative abilities, and aptitudes of an organization's workforce, as well as the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the individuals involved in the affairs of the organization it is the heart and soul of. Concept of international human resource management broadly defined, international human resource management is the study and application of all human resource management activities as they impact the process of managing human resources in enterprises in the global environment. Objectives of hrm societal objectives to be ethically & socially responsible to the needs of the society while minimizing the negative impact of such demands upon the organization organizational objectives to recognize the role of hrm in bringing about organizational effectiveness functional objectives to maintain the department’s.\nThe primary objective of the research presented in this paper is to analyse both ihrm managers’ and scholars’ understanding of the pedagogy and practice of ihrm. The main objective of this paper was to explore the area of performance management in context of ihrm and relations between the existence of formal appraisal systems (fas) for performance management and organizational performances. The main objective of this paper was to explore the area of performance management in context of ihrm and relations between the existence of formal appraisal systems (fas) for performance.\nOn international human resource management strategy and knowledge transfer jungah lee 1 national culture on the international human resource management strategy and knowledge transfer to analyze this objective, this study reviews various ihrm, national culture, knowledge transfer 1 introduction the purpose of this study is to. The chapter then summarizes the findings of research studies on the nature and role of strategic ihrm learning objectives describe the development of sihrm and the process of international strategic management. Objectives of ihrm • to reduce the risk of international human resource • to aviod cultural risks • to aviod regional disparities • to manage diversifies human capital pmorgans model of ihrm.\nThe objective of the course is to develop students' ability to identify and to understand the key dimensions of innovation management and knowledge management skills to be acquired the ability to identify and to understand the key dimensions of innovation management and knowledge management. Objective of the research presented in this article is to analyse both ihrm managers’ and academicians’ understanding of the pedagogy and practice of ihrm in aiming to. Chapter 1 vocabulary objectives scope of book defining ihrm domestic vs international variables that moderate the differences the cultural environment. This project has been funded with support from the european union this documentand all its content reflects the views only of the author, and the commission cannot be held resposible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.\nBroadly defined, international human resource management (ihrm) is the process of procuring, allocating, and effectively utilising human resources in a multinational corporation if the mnc is simply exporting its products, with only a few small offices in foreign locations, then the task of the international hr manager is relatively simple. The emerging challenges in hrm mrs ekta srivastava, dr nisha agarwal abstract this paper analysis the various challenges which are emerging in the field of hrmthe managers today face a whole new array of changes objective of paper to study the details of emerging challenges. Hr objective type question with answers uploaded by shri ganesha tanuja test item file ch01 uploaded by brenda l snell-wells hr objective questions uploaded by objective type questions in labour law 2011-03-27 (1) uploaded by gajendra kumar objecitve question on labour laws and acts india, multiple choice question, human resources.\nInternational human resource management (ihrm) boxall, p (1992) defined international human resource management (ihrm) as ‘concerned with the human resource problems of multinational firms in foreign subsidiaries (such as expatriate management) or more broadly, with the unfolding hrm issues that are associated with the various stages of the. 14 strategic, comparative and organizational perspectives on ihrm learning objectives after reading this chapter you will be able to understand the process of strategic management and appreciate its imple- mentation from differing perspectives know and distinguish between the various modes of entry for international strategy identify ways that project management and organisational behaviour. 1 chapter objectives in this introductory chapter, we establish the scope of the book we: define key terms in international human resource management (ihrm) and consider several definitions of. An overview of international human resource management lachoo management journal, volume 2, number 2, july - december 2011 207 an overview of international human resource management dr ashish mathur, associate professor, objectives and practices in corporations worldwide this conversion of theory to."

"A Successful Future in Human Resources\nSince the 1960’s, when human resources became a widely recognized career field, the human resources sector at companies and organizations across the world has expanded greatly. Originally, human resources were brought into the work place to help manage the work force. Those employed in human resources departments were responsible for maintaining and stimulating work place productivity, as well as handling various situations such as hiring practices and ensuring that work environments adhered to the laws. Today, human resources as a career has grown into its own industry. People emerging in this field have specialization in creating retirement plans, implementing career safety programs, and introducing new technology to employees.\nWhile much of the job market continues to struggle in today’s unstable economy, the field of human resources has experienced expansion as companies and organizations are more heavily relying on this department to help create plans and strategies that can be used to create job growth, productivity, and even increase profits.\nEntering into this rewarding field can be challenging but certainly attainable for anyone willing to take the necessary steps to be considered a qualified and valuable candidate for a job in human resources. The degree and certification requirements can vary, as can the necessary skill sets, but one can easily begin to a map a future career in this field with enough planning and persistence.\nIs Human Resources Right For You?\nMost human resources jobs share a few key aspects in common and others vary greatly from the responsibilities expected of the position. In general, human resources positions are responsible for the overall management of the workforce. This usually doesn’t include specific job related tasks but is more closely concerned with an employee’s overall performance and relationship with the company or organization. An example would be keeping records of the productivity level of employees to determine if certain employees are falling below expectations or if some are exceeding those expectations.\nOther basic responsibilities may include documenting employee grievances, either against the company or a co-worker, and helping to provide training programs for new employees. Depending on the company or organization, other responsibilities associated with human resources may include:\n- Planning Retirement Packages\n- Enforcing A Drug-Free Workplace\n- Creating Programs and Incentives\n- Maintaining a Healthy Work Environment\n- Overseeing Hiring and Termination Practices\n- Integrating New Technology\n- Purchasing and Providing Employee Insurance\nBehind all of these responsibilities is a strong need for someone working in human resources to have strong communication and interpersonal skills. It is also necessary to meet high standards of professionalism as there is a lot of confidence placed in the human resources department. Additional skills, such as being bilingual or having a high degree of proficiency with technology, can also assist someone interested in this career.\nWhere are Human Resources Jobs Found?\nMost companies and organizations have some form of job that handles human resources, and larger companies and organizations have entire departments dedicated to the field. The range of locations where you can find a job in human resources is broad and still expanding. A few examples of where you might find a position or department dedicated to human resources include:\n- Colleges and Universities\n- Non-Profit Organizations\n- Law Firms\n- Large Retail Chains\n- Development Firms\n- Insurance Companies\n- Companies (usually with 20 or more employees)\nJust about any place that employees more than 20 people will usually have some sort of human resources position or department to oversee their workforce. Another benefit of a job in human resources is that you won’t be geographically challenged. You can work in just about every part of the world, meaning you will have more freedom to choose where you want to live instead of having to work where the jobs are- they’re everywhere!\nHow Much Does it Pay?\nIf human resources sound like the perfect career for you, then your next concern is probably whether or not it pays enough to sustain your livelihood. Since the field is varied and expands almost every industry, it can be difficult to pinpoint an exactly salary expectation. Many things have to be factored into this equation. Where you live, what sort of company you work for, what kind of degree you have- these will all be key elements in determining a salary expectation. Below is a very rough break-down of salary averages in different fields.\n- Government: $50,000/year\n- Corporate: $70,000/year\n- Education: $45,000/year\nAs you can see, the salary expectations vary. In general, you can expect to see a higher salary in correlation with the amount of education you have and the other skills sets you are able to bring to the table.\nWhat Kind of Education Will I Need?\nThe best salaries and jobs are going to be easier to obtain if you have a degree to back up your resume. With the expansion of this career field and the need for skilled workers, a degree can give you more room to negotiate higher salaries and top notch positions in human resources departments. Some jobs won’t have a degree or certification requirement, but even those can be easier to compete for if you do have a degree. Basically, the higher your degree the more valuable you will appear.\nThe degree range is as broad as the job, with degrees available at the Associate’s, Bachelor’s, MBA, and Doctorate levels. Many online schools over programs specifically tailored around a human resources curriculum. This can be ideal for anyone who wants to pick up the skill set but doesn’t have time to commit to attending a traditional on-campus school."

"by Richard Pierre Claude, Professor Emeritus, University of MarylandI - The Right to Know\nThis essay is concerned with methodologies for human rights education (HRE) which are tied to various educational goals and objectives. Professional literature on educational program development stresses that the first step in the planning of teaching and curricular activities requires the sorting out of ends, objectives and means. Some educational goals bearing on human rights can be derived directly from the international human rights instruments. Some goals are driven by a framework of social needs (such as empowerment) and long term projects (such as development and democracy programs). Methodologies here will be presented as they are linked to (1) understanding the international human rights instruments -- essentially based on the right to know our rights; (2) curriculum planning, (3) efforts to promote social empowerment; (4) responding to the goals of specific user groups; and (5) program and participant evaluation. Of course, these five goals are necessarily overlapping, but are distinguishable for purposes of presenting examples of discrete methods used to attain the goals. Within the framework of these four goals and the methods used to advance them, we should also recognize distinguishable teaching objectives.\nWhile goals reflect long-term programmatic purposes, educational objectives refer to short-term expected learning competencies designed for students and participants. Groups concerned with HRE may pursue many different pedagogical objectives. These include: (1) attitude changes (e.g., teaching tolerance among political influentials toward Ethiopian tribal groups not well represented in government structures or tolerance toward refugees among British and German \"skinheads\"); (2) value clarification, (e.g., critically exploring the negative implications of the common use of \"manmade\" language relating to gender references in formal writing as well as in everyday conversation); (3) cognitive skills in matters of law, government and society (e.g., learning and understanding the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments); (4) the development of solidarity attitudes (e.g., African American studies programs which engender concern and sympathy for the peoples of Africa and their problems related to food distribution, health and welfare); and, (5) participatory education for empowerment (e.g., enabling people to define and meet their own needs). No doubt, this list of HRE objectives is not exhaustive.\nIn addition to the diverse goals and objectives specified for HRE, the problem of describing and analyzing various methodologies is compounded by virtue of the fact that the objectives and the means used to attain them, such as those listed above, will differ in relation to the target group involved: grade school children in primary schools; adults in a literacy program; peasant farmers involved in subsistence agriculture; police and military units; government officials and bureaucrats; health professionals involved in a program of continuing education, etc.\nMethodology Implications of International Instruments. Technologically sophisticated arms build-ups, aggressive military plans and actions bringing on World War II reflected the schemes of educated people seeking world domination and power for its own sake. The Second World War was a global conflagration visiting unspeakable suffering everywhere. It was a murderous conflict in which highly trained engineers built gas chambers to exterminate innocent people and physicians poisoned children.1 World War II taught us that education must be directed to humane ends because it is certainly capable of great evil. It taught us that education should be directed to human rights.\nEndorsements for human rights education have been proclaimed in various global and regional legal instruments ever since 1945 when the Charter of the United Nations called for cooperation \"in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.\"2 Thus, the Charter's references to \"promoting and encouraging\" create state responsibilities for educating and teaching human rights. Moreover, various international and regional organizations have strongly endorsed this goal. In the late 1990's, as civil societies reemerge in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere, as voluntary associations proliferate in developing countries, vitality and initiative are evident among non-governmental groups concerned with human rights and human rights education. In emerging democracies such as Mongolia and Ethiopia where HRE is being implemented by the state and in other emerging and reemerging democracies such as the Philippines, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasing their educational work, viewed as a strategy to prevent human rights violations and as a technique to empower people to meet their needs based upon their knowing and using their rights.\nThe United Nations Charter's references to the promotion and encouragement of human rights were clarified in 1948 when the General Assembly, with no dissenting votes, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was proclaimed as \"a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations,\" who were directed to \"strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms....\"3 Thus education is identified as instrumentally connected to the Charter task of promoting human rights. Additionally, the preambular language of the Declaration announces that \"teaching and education\" are not simply new post-World War II state functions -- among the governmental duties attending membership in the U.N. Rather, as if to acknowledge popular action at the grass-roots level and the work of NGOs, \"teaching and education\" are announced as the obligation of \"every individual and every organ of society....\"\nEducation is not only a means to promote human rights. It is an end in itself. In positing a human right to education, the framers of the Universal Declaration relied on the notion that education is not value-neutral. Education always relates to and supports values. But we must be aware of what values we are promoting through education. In this spirit, Article 26 states that one of the goals of education should be \"the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms....\" (Section 2) The human rights covenants (later developed by the U.N. and coming into effect in 1976 to formalize the basis in international law of the rights declared in 1948) also elaborated on the right to education and the values such education should promote.. Thus, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights placed the educational objective of strengthening respect for human rights in a cluster of related learning objectives.4 For example, Article 13 of the Covenant says that \"education shall be directed to the \"full development of the human personality\" and to the person's own \"sense of dignity....\"(Section 1)\nThe Covenant also says the State Parties:\nfurther agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.\" (Article 13, Section 1)\nComplementing these positive formulations of the objectives of education are the negative proscriptions of the Civil and Political Rights Covenant.5 It tells us that once a state adopts the system of international human rights, it may not stand in the way of people learning about them. Everyone has \"the right to hold opinions without interference,\" the Covenant says in Article 19, Section 1. Insomuch as education is a process involving the sharing and dissemination of ideas, the enterprise is bolstered by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which sets forth the proposition that:\nEveryone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his (or her) choice (Article 19, Section 2).\nThe Right to Know Our Rights. The International Bill of Rights, consisting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two Covenants, gave prominence to the importance of education in today's world. Consistent with the tendency of international instruments to use repetitious language and to repeat cardinal principles, it is not surprising to find echoes elsewhere of the standards noted above. The cumulative effect of these repeated expressions helps to underline the importance of human rights but also an important closely related idea. That is the conviction that we all have a right to know our rights. Having human rights acknowledged and knowing our human rights are both needed in today's world. The reason is stated in The Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: to achieve \"a world in which human beings enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want\" people must come to \"a common understanding of these rights and freedoms.\"\nThe idea of human rights has wings. It has found its way around the globe. Human rights, including the right to education and the right of the people to know their rights, are implanted in international standards around the world. Thus, everyone's right to education and the goal of education in furthering respect for all human rights -- these ideas are all found in numerous international instruments.\nExamples of such treaties include the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989),6 as well as the American (1948),7 European (1953),8 and African (1986)9 regional agreements on human rights standards and institutions. Human rights education is now taking place everywhere in the world because people increasingly know they have human rights and they demand to know and exercise their human rights. This is happening in every quadrant of the globe. In recognition of and encouragement of these constructive developments, the UN General Assembly (Resolution 49/184) announced 1995-2005 as the \"United Nations Decade of Human Rights Education.\"\nThe most explicit directive on methodology for HRE is in The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. It presents not only the most straightforward statement in international norm-making regarding governmental responsibility for education, but as well, a significant and unique call for effective human rights education. That is, the Banjul Charter says that signatory African states:\nshall have the duty to promote and ensure through teaching, education and publication, the respect for the rights and freedoms contained in the present Charter and to see to it that these freedoms and rights as well as corresponding obligations and duties are understood. (Article 25, emphasis added.)\nIn Africa, there are a growing number of examples showing that governments and NGOs take this directive seriously. For example the OAU Charter is explained in comic book form produced by the Mazingira Institute in Nairobi, Kenya and internationally distributed by the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers.10 Another example of efforts to ensure that Africans understand their rights and duties comes from the Institute for Human Rights Education in South Africa. It has produced a \"Rights Radio© Tape Series.\" Because of high levels of functional illiteracy there, the series seeks to reach those who rely on radio for information presenting them with programs of educational entertainment designed \"to make people aware of their basic rights, the dignity of being human and the responsibilities we have to one another.\"11 The same South African Institute also offers a service called \"Rights Info,\" offering newsclipping services from various newspapers and magazines. Additionally, it makes publicly accessible Amnesty International's Human Rights Education Resource Notebooks, the UN Centre for Human Rights \"Fact Sheets,\" and a collection of training manuals from the Peoples' Decade for Human Rights Education.\nTo say that government responsibility to teach human rights should also ensure their understanding is an innovative standard and an important addition to international discourse. The effectiveness of human rights education should not only be the concern of the Banjul signatories, but of everyone who takes HRE seriously. The standard suggests that those obliged to teach human rights should also ensure that such programs are effective in that people accept and understand their rights and that they are thereby empowered to use them and can benefit by exercising them.\nEducational Fora and Formats. If we have a right to know our rights, then we must start by learning about applicable international norms. We do this in many ways, and people learn about human rights through many channels and in many places. Some distinctions are in order regarding the format and locus of education, whether formal, non-formal, or informal. Formal education refers to the normally three-tier structure of primary, secondary and tertiary education for which governments generally have the principal responsibility. Non-formal education is any organized, systematic educational activity carried on outside the formal system to offer selected types of learning to particular subgroups in the population, adults as well as children. Informal education may or may not be organized, and is usually unsystematic education, having its impact on the lifelong processes by which every person acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences and exposure such as through meetings at coffee ceremonies, and getting information from radio, television and the print media. Typically, government is responsible for formal education, NGOs for non-formal education, and the media for informal education. Of course, there are exceptions such as parochial formal education, NGO-sponsored informal education, etc. Through all of these sources and educational formats, we get some of our understanding of human rights.\nIn the re-democratized Chile of the 1990's, educators in state sponsored schools recognized that students who had grown up under the dictatorship needed to learn about human rights. The initial rather timid response was to post the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in all public schools. Of course, students and teachers quickly found that simply \"exhibiting\" the document was insufficient as a means to achieve any discernible pedagogical objectives. Thus, they faced a serious methodological problem: how to present this foundational instrument in such a way as to make it accessible to those unfamiliar with the language of the law and to elicit participatory learning so as to \"internalize\" the values inherent in the provisions of the UDHR.11\nCalled upon for advice, the PIIE (Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación [Program for Interdisciplinary Research on Education]) advised the Chilean Governmental Center for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research on the development of human rights education beyond \"exhibiting\" methods and beyond legalistic formalism. According to the PIIE director, Abraham K. Magendzo, Chilean educators with fresh memories of dictatorship were sometimes fearful of HRE, often considering it \"too political\" and \"too novel\" because of the historical formalism in the traditional school curriculum.12 PIIE's director observed: \"The lack of curricular momentum due to a mind-set in the service of the status quo and conventional thinking within the administrative bureaucracy forms an obstacle to human rights educators,\" making it difficult to bring human rights studies to life. PIIE argued that upon the return of democracy in 1990, teachers must learn new approaches to education, new ways of dealing with students, and new teaching methodologies. Even to introduce students to the UDHR viewed as a legal document requires new approaches in order to make it a part of the student's personal development and not simply a lifeless memorized item stored in the file cabinets of the brain.\nIllustrating Magendzo's suggestion that new methods are needed to teach human rights, we will present an exercise using participatory means to teach the UDHR, but before introducing it, some new perspectives and definitions are needed, many of them unfamiliar to teachers such as those in Chile accustomed to highly formal methodologies. To introduce more participatory techniques, we first set out some (1) guidelines and (2) definitions as well as an explanation of (3) a recommended standardized format.\nHereafter, we will often refer to teachers as facilitators (and those who teach them as trainers) and students as participants. This terminology helps to emphasize that HRE requires a participative and dialogic approach. For example, it is often a good idea for those leading an educational exercise to consult with participants at the beginning of the program as teachers seldom do in formal education. This can conveniently be done by starting the program and each exercise by introducing the subject matter and the scope of the session. Against this background, the facilitator asks what the expectations are of the participants, given the subject matter identified. The facilitator should ensure that people offering their views do not spend too much time making speeches, but the facilitator should act as if there can be no \"wrong answers\" to this question. To demonstrate that s/he has been listening, the facilitator should very briefly summarize the groups expectations in relation to the topic covered.\nIn the exercises presented hereafter, some general guidelines may be helpful and should be understood and followed by the teacher/facilitator:\nIn exercises and examples of methods presented in this essay, some terms are used which will be new to the facilitators, trainers and participants. Here are some definitions of terms often used in various educational and training programs when a vocabulary for participation is needed. .\nFormatting educational exercises is not a scientific endeavor. It is simply an orderly way of presenting the lesson plan for the facilitators' use. The format employed here has the advantage of being pretested, used and recommended by Betty A. Reardon, a professor of peace and global studies at Columbia Teachers College in New York.14\nOverview: Here the facilitator/trainer/teacher is alerted to the operative norms and issues linked to the exercise, as well as aspects of \"the big picture\" as to why the problem presented is significant and may be of interest.\nObjectives: The facilitator is told of the desired objectives of the exercise from the point of view of the participants/students and of the desired learning competencies expected for them.\nProcedures: The facilitator is given some brief advice on how most effectively to guide the participants so as to achieve the sought for objectives. In every case, whether the exercise is presented for role playing, simulation, debate, or discussion, the facilitator should benefit from techniques suggested here by those with past experience. Of course, the facilitator need not feel dogmatically bound by the suggested procedures.\nMaterials: The facilitator should know that the exercise will be most successful if used in combination with identified materials, e.g., graphics, documents, posters, a tape recorder or alternative use of a person designated to record discussion, etc. Again, facilitators should use their own creativity, recognizing that learning is enhanced by appealing to different senses: hearing, sight, talking, touching, etc.\nSequence: Step by step advice is given to the facilitator about what to do, first, second, third, etc.\nFacilitators should talk to their colleagues about the utility of various exercises and their experiences using them. Sharing suggestions with other facilitators is strongly recommended. Moreover, facilitators should take the initiative to devise various techniques for program evaluation as well as participants' evaluations.\nThe exercise set out below relies on the standardized format outline above. Like other exercises throughout this essay, it calls for use of the aforementioned guidelines and definitions. This exercise is obviously for beginning participants for whom the more precise legal language of international instruments such as the UDHR would be inappropriate.15 As should be evident, it is not designed to promote the memorizing of the UDHR, but rather to offer it as a tool to further critical thinking and action for non-college groups. The original document, of course, should be used at the level of higher education.\nOverview: It is important to link basic human needs with human rights in order for the concept of human rights to gain acceptance and understanding. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) should initially be introduced in accessible language. Raising elementary questions about the range of human needs and showing participants that there is a right matching every need generally gets quick acceptance for the notion that human rights are important and can be useful. It should be clear that the objective of effective human rights education is not to sow the seeds of social unrest. Any such suggestion misunderstands human rights and democracy. Human rights education in most countries is strictly in accordance with national and international law. Indeed, it is our duty to educate people about their rights before the law so that they will be able to act as responsible citizens.\nObjectives: The participant should gain an understanding that:\nProcedures: Introduce the subject of this exercise and use the expectation setting method . Use an icebreaker method, such as the wordwheel to get started (see Definitions in section (2) above). The first activity in this introductory session should take about ten minutes. The other steps twenty minutes or more. Two sessions may be needed if the group is ready to go beyond step 5.\nMaterials: The \"Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights\" (Appendix)\nSequence: Step 1. Ask the participants to help you make a list of all the basic needs that are inherent in being a human being. This step can build on a discussion of how human beings are distinguished by their characteristics from various animals and other living things.\nStep 2. Use the buzz group method or break up participants into groups, one for each need, reporting back whether they think the one need on which they focused is, in fact, met in our society. Characterize our society as to whether it allows individuals to meet their needs, use their potentialities and helps them develop their qualities as human beings?\nStep 3. Ask each group to envision and characterize the goals of a society which they think will allow them to use and meet their basic needs and to develop their potentialities as human beings.\nStep 4. Ask each group to report back its discussion through a few words. Listening to these presentations, the facilitator should construct a chart divided into three columns: (1) characteristic basic needs of a human being; (2) characteristics of the present society and whether the identified needs are met for most people; and, (3) characteristics of the desired goals for society.\n|1. NEEDS||2. FACTS||3. GOALS||4. RIGHTS|\nStep 5. Constructing a new column (4), the facilitator shows the different human rights needed to enjoy, to protect and to enhance one's dignity. Explain that for every basic need there is a corresponding human right, introduced in Step 1. Draw upon the relevant human right by using the Article number and simplified version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights identified in the appendix for this exercise.\nStep 6. Open a discussion about column 2, where human rights violations may be identified, and column 3, which gives a glimpse of what lies ahead if and when human rights are finally respected, protected and promoted. Ask members of each group previously formed to look at needs, and what could be done in our society to meet basic human needs and protect human rights?\nUnderstanding and Analyzing the Universal Declaration. Where the objectives of human rights education are concerned, several formulations exist. For example, a Council of Europe publication offers this list of goals which stresses the development of historical understanding and cognitive skills, but --typical of formal education-- is notably devoid of any but the most elliptical reference to empowerment as a goal:\nObjectives associated with these goals are largely cognitive and attitudinal, though \"action skills\" implies learning for behavioral change. Groups concerned with HRE may pursue many different objectives, as previously noted: (1) attitude changes; (2) value clarification; (3) cognitive skills; (4) the development of solidarity attitudes; and, (5) empowerment. For beginning students, particularly those in formal educational programs where the traditional pedagogy emphasizes understanding, memorizing, analyzing, and testing for applied knowledge, the chief objectives often entail the advancement of value clarification and facility in the use of cognitive skills.\nTo promote better understanding of the UDHR and to enhance analytical skills for beginning students, a reading selection is set out below that has been found useful in the Philippines and elsewhere. The selection focuses on the vision of one of the drafters of the UDHR, Ren Cassin. He wanted people to see the way the articles of the UDHR were organized as a coherent set of rules clustering around various organizing ideas which are simple to understand, even if the rules are somewhat complex. His vision was that of a temple. In the figure below, participants can creatively close the dotted lines to envision and represent a Greek (highly angular), African (thatched roof), or Asian (pagoda-style) temple with a pediment or roof resting on and tying together four pillars. Each pillar and the roof stand for a differentiated collection of norms, rules and UDHR articles. The reading selection below clarifies this view and is adapted from Richard Pierre Claude, Educating for Human Rights: The Philippines and Beyond (Manila: University of the Philippines Press, 1996), pp. 183-188.\nAfter the end of World War II, the countries of the world established the United Nations to create the \"conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations....\" To do this, they said in Article 55 of the UN Charter that all members must promise: (1) to fight poverty by promoting \"social progress and development,\" (2) to seek solutions to international problems based on international cooperation; and (3) to promote \"universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.\" As described by one of the Declaration's framers, the French scholar, Rene Cassin, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is founded on four pillars. First come the personal rights (the right of equality; right to life, liberty and security, etc. of Articles 1-ll). Then come the rights that belong to the individual in his and her relationships with the social groups in which they participate (the rights to privacy of family life and to marry; to freedom of movement within the national state, or outside it; to have a nationality; to asylum in case of persecution; rights to property and to practice a religion (Articles 12-17). The third group is that of civil liberties and political rights exercised in order to contribute to the formation of government institutions or to take part in the decision making process (freedom of conscience, thought and expression; freedom of association and assembly, the right to vote and to stand for election, the right of access to government (Articles 18-21).^ 28, 29, 30 <------------------------------> \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" ============================== ____(1-11) (12-17) (18-21) (22-27)___\nThe fourth category is that of rights exercised in the economic and social area (i.e., those rights which operate in the sphere of labor and production relationships and in that of education, rights to work and social security and to free choice of employment, to just conditions of work, to equal pay for equal work, the right to form and join trade unions, to rest and leisure, to health care, to education and the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community.\nA fifth section, Cassin called the \"pediment of the temple\" erected on the four pillars and found in Articles 28 to 30. The right to a social and international order in which human rights can be fully realized (Article 28). Charles Malik from Lebanon suggested this broad provision to overcome the otherwise biased view that rights are largely negative, that is --rights from state interference and things which governments must not do, such as interfering with freedom of the press. He wanted to include in the UDHR the view that governments, alone and in international combination and cooperation, have duties to implement a favorable national and international social structure within which human rights can take root, and that international duties also call on prosperous states to assist the economic development of poorer states.\nArticles 29 and 30 try to set out principles to harmonize rights, e.g., that they must not be exercised in ways conflicting with other UN objectives, e.g., free speech should not be misused to disseminate war propaganda, etc.\nThe Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the General Assembly on December 18, 1979. According to Dorata Gieycz, a UN official engaged in HRE for women's rights, it represents \"a legislative milestone that went beyond the established framework of discussion on the human rights of women at the time of its adoption.\"17 For example, Article 5 obliges States to alter entrenched customary patterns that promote violations of women's rights such as female genital mutilation, a life-threatening practice prevailing in Ethiopia and many other African countries.\nDespite its revolutionary nature, many governments have ratified this United Nations Convention, including Ethiopia which has made a commitment to promote education regarding women's rights. The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995) says that Ethiopian constitutional rights \"shall be interpreted in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights covenants,... and with the principles of other relevant international instruments which Ethiopia has accepted or ratified. Thus for Ethiopians, learning about CEDAW is tantamount to learning about women's human rights under Ethiopian law.\nAn Ethiopian NGO, the Action Professionals' Association for the People has devised a trainer's manual called The Bells of Freedom18. It features exercises that include one called \"Bringing CEDAW Home.\" The exercise follows the same format as the preceding example on UDHR. Note that the exercise moves beyond the objectives of promoting cognitive skills and toward empowerment objectives of forming plans of action among the participants. After presenting this exercise, we will turn to human rights education aimed at the goal of empowerment.\nOverview: There is no doubt that women's struggles for dignity and against injustice can bring about the desired long-term transformation. Every woman can become an agent for social change. The time has come to open daring new perspectives that not only dream of, but work for a world where all men and women are equally empowered and work together to break the old curse of domination by one gender over the other and to take action to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. Consistent with the proclamation of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, we need to recognize and act as if we understand that women's rights are human rights.\nObjectives: Participants will choose a project or course of action that:\nProcedures: The facilitator must take sufficient time in introducing specific provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, calling for comment to ensure understanding. Emphasize that the Convention calls for action, both in terms of the States that have ratified, and in terms of women on their own and in combination with others. The final step involving the development of a plan of action is most important and plenty of time should be allotted for its completion.\nMaterials: Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Selected Articles (Appendix)\nSequence: Step 1. Facilitator input: inform the participants that the CEDAW requires their government to report to the UN on what measures it has taken to implement women's' human rights, including programs for women's human rights education. Is this a good idea? Why?\nStep 2. Raise some questions about the government's duty to inform people of their rights. Why do you think women's human rights should be widely known and information about them disseminated?\nStep 3. Review several provisions from CEDAW, raising questions about: (a) whether each article is understood, and, (b) if any participant could speak from experience about the provision. The facilitator may be selective from among Articles given in the Appendix, but select at least five for discussion regarding the content and intent of each article.\nStep 4. Now that you have reviewed several specific provisions of the Convention, ask the participants: How important is it to have rights proclaimed by the Convention widely known to both women and men? Try to encourage the expression of as many opinions as possible.\nStep 5. Remind the participants that everyone needs to know their rights. Ask: Whose responsibility is it to make the rights widely known? Here, help participants mention as many potential agents as possible for the fulfillment of the women human rights. Ask: Is this something in which you can play a significant role?\nStep 6. In view of Article 5, what should a state do if its national customs support practices like arranged child marriage? bride burning? female genital mutilation?\nStep 7. Use the \"Problem-Solving\" method (see Sample Methods below) to draw up at least two or more plans of action in which participants will help others know about their human rights under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.\nELIMINATING DISCRIMINATION. Article 2. States Parties [meaning governments such as that of Ethiopia which has ratified CEDAW] condemn discrimination against women in all forms, agree to: (c) establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men.... (d) refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination.... (f) take all appropriate measures including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women...\nMODIFY CUSTOMS. Article 5. States... shall ...modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotype roles for men and women.\nSTOP TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN. Article 6. States... shall ... suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.\nPOLITICAL PARTICIPATION. Article 7. States.... shall... eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country...[ensuring their voting rights, rights to hold public office, and] ...to participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.\nEMPLOYMENT. Article 11. States... shall ... ensure... (c) the right to free choice of profession and employment, the right to promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service and the right to receive vocational training and retraining.... [and] (e) the right to social security particularly in cases o f retirement, employment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity to work as well as the right to paid leave; (f) the right to protection of health and to safety in working conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction.\nHEALTH CARE. Article 12. States ... shall eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on the basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning.\nLEGAL CAPACITY. Article 15. States... shall accord to women in civil matters a legal capacity identical to that of men ...[including] equal rights to conclude contracts and to administer property.\nMARRIAGE. Article 16. States ... shall ...eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations, and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, (a) the same right to enter into marriage, (b) the same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent, (c) the same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution., (d) the same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of the marital status in matters relating to their children,... (e) the same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights...\nOf course, human rights educational exercises need not be as formalized as that illustrated above. Many techniques are possible depending on the instructor's goals and objectives and the need to guide participants with a pre-tested template.19 Some creative examples of HRE methods follow which can be used in diverse educational formats:\nDesigning Formal Educational Curriculum. Since 1992 the Department of Education of the InterAmerican Institute for Human Rights (IIDH), located in San José, Costa Rica, has been developing a cooperative program with the General Director's Office of the Ministry of Justice and Work of Paraguay, a newly emerging democracy in the Southern Cone of Latin America.. Support for the human rights education program was given by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (Germany). As a model and \"pilot project,\" the IIDH sought a Teachers' Guide that would allow Paraguayan educators to have a procedure and the conceptual and theoretical instruments to reflect on in developing their own human rights education curriculum for Paraguay. The result is a 110-page Manual developed by Dr. Abraham Magendzo of the Interdisciplinary Program of Educational Research (Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación), PIIE, of Chile, external consultant to the IIDH.21 This attractive Spanish-language Manual is described by Gonzalo Elizondo Breedy, Director of the Education and Human Rights Department of the IIDH as, \" without a doubt, the singular most important such contribution to this field in Latin America.\" The English translation supplied here was done by Ms. Elisa Muñoz, of the Science and Human Rights Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC.\nHere is a sample of the procedures using the language of the Manual for participatory curriculum design by teachers at the secondary school level of the State formal education system.\nIn this part we will try to explore the concept of curriculum. For this, it is necessary to point out that there is not one sole definition of Curriculum. In specialized literature we find diverse notions, among which we can mention those that understand curriculum to mean the following:\nFrom our perspective, a curriculum is more than a written document, it is more than a study plan with objectives, courses and a sequence of activities. In our view a curriculum is an educational project through which one chooses the body of knowledge that should be conveyed in the school. This selection invokes the decision of what and how to teach within a specified time and space. It supposes also the understanding that the body of knowledge selected is principally composed of:\nThe curriculum determines the type of formation acquired by the students. It also determines how this formation will take place, where, for how long, and who will be involved. That is to say, the curriculum implies taking decisions in the following areas:\nThus a curriculum, while constituting a selection of knowledge that is transmitted in the school and while this knowledge represents a part of reality that one wishes to learn, it also represents a determined vision of that reality, of how to organize it, and how to accede to it. Part of the learning a student should achieve to survive in school, is the necessary adaptation to the rules it imposes. These rules form part of the hidden curriculum that takes place continuously in the classroom. For these rules, the teacher must be self-consciously responsible. She/he must provide a human rights atmosphere for the classroom.\nBy example we can refer to situations that are not explicitly referred to in the curriculum, but that nevertheless take place, giving a particular stamp to the way in which subjects are composed during the period of school. This refers to a series of contradictions that are lived in the classroom and that vacillate between two extremes of tension.\na) The attitude of the teacher towards the student\n|Discrimination||Acknowledgment of everyone's rights|\n|Lack of knowledge of students' opinions||Acknowledgment of the need for studentparticipation in learning|\n|Perception of students as being homogeneous||Recognition of individual differences|\nb) Relationship between students\n|Frustration over individual failures||Satisfaction over group success|\n|Feelings of rejection by one's peers||Feelings of acceptance by fellow students|\n|Student permanently judged||Student valued for talents and recognition of limitations|\n|Women are discriminated in the tasks and responsibilities that are assigned to them||Women and men assume responsibilities that correspond with their interests|\n|The student must always be the subject of decisions that are made for him/her||The student participates and makes decisions regarding himself/herself and his/her education|\nThe above mentioned dilemmas constitute only a sample of the contradictory situations found daily in the classroom. It is suggested that you come up with other problems that take place in your medium and that you analyze them drawing from situations that you have experienced. Lastly, think about the impact that these have on the personality of the students and establish a link between the dilemmas presented and human rights.\nThinking about the explicit and hidden curriculum gives rise to a series of issues that should be debated in the study of the problematic curriculum. These issues revolve around the fact that one of the fundamental tasks of a teacher is to reflect, analyze and debate with his/her teaching colleagues about the points mentioned bellow. To carry out the debate it is suggested that you:\nTeam No. 1 Goals of Education\nTeam No. 2 Knowledge\nTeam No. 3 Culture and Values\nTo continue, we will look at an example that will allow us to study further a problematic human rights situation and to know specific propositions for learning conditions in the classroom. We have chosen an example proposed by Paraguayan teachers.\n3.1 The problem of boys and girls who work in homes in exchange for lodging, food, and primary education.\n[Problematic situations are found in daily life and can be identified through testimonies about their own home situations or through observations by the students.]\na) Description of the problematic situation\nIn Paraguay, as in other Latin American countries it is common for poor families living in the country to send their young children to live with relatives in the city to enable them to study. In the home of relatives these children have different jobs. They help domestic workers take care of children, run errands, etc. In addition, they must go to school and get good grades although they may have little time to devote to their lessons due to their domestic responsibilities. These children are tired, they rarely have vacations or rest, but they also do not possess the rights of workers, because they are considered relatives, not employees.\nb) Values and rights involved in the problem\nDeclaration of the Rights of the Child:\n\"Children will enjoy special protection and opportunities and services will be provided, these are made available through laws and other means, to allow them to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of liberty and dignity.\"\n[Do these rights lead to a contradiction, because the exercise of one right leads to renouncing others?]\n\"Children have a right to free and compulsory primary education. They shall be given an education that is compatible with their general culture and will permit, in conditions of equal opportunity to develop their capabilities and individual judgment, their sense of moral and social responsibility, to become productive members of society.\"\n\"Children should be protected against all forms of abandonment, cruelty, and exploitation. They shall not be objects of slave trade. Children shall not be permitted to work before reaching adequate age, in no case shall children be permitted to work in any occupation or task that will harm their health or education, or that would impede their physical, mental, or moral development.\"\n[We identify here a conflict of human rights within a contradictory situation.]\nc) Identification of the central cause of the problem\nIn attempting to realize their right to education, children are sent to the city, in contradiction, the exercise of their right to education means renouncing other rights and exposing themselves to maltreatment.\nd) Learning conditions in the classroom\n[This exercise deepens motivation and leads to analysis. By putting oneself in the place of others it allows one to better understand the situation.]\nFirst Activity (collective). The teacher tells a group of students a story in which this situation arises. \"Ana came from the country to live with her uncle in Asunciòn. Ana helps her uncle by doing housework and they send her to school, but sometimes her uncle treats her badly and in addition she is not paid. They only give her a room, food, old clothes that belonged to her cousin, and sometimes they even treat her worse than the person they have hired, who Ana helps. She really doesn't know who she is, a hired worker or a relative...perhaps even her uncle does not know.\"\n[In analysis of the problematic situation the intention is to capture the perceptions and opinions of the students, as we are facing a problem that occurs in everyday life.]\nSecond Activity (group). Form groups to act out the narrated situation, the objective being for the students to put themselves in the other's position. For this it is necessary to describe in detail each of the characters, as each group is to attribute certain behavior and reasons for that behavior to each character. The characters are: Ana, the aunt, uncle, and the household employee, a cousin (child of the aunt and uncle), and Ana's mother and father in the country. Each group is made of seven participants (if there are too many students you can add cousins).\n[The teacher collaborates with each group so that they clearly express their opinions about the situation in relation to other opinions they hold.]\nThird Activity (group). After the presentations new groups are formed to match the characters that were represented. That way you make a group with all those who represented Ana, another of the uncles, another of the aunts, the cousins, and the parents. Each group should consider the following questions:\n[Solutions are proposed by the groups after having thought about the questions.]\nFourth Activity (collective). The groups present their thoughts and the teacher tries to categorize the elements that are brought up to show the relationship between the characters.\n[The objective is to reach a certain level of understanding so that each student will not discriminate against others who find themselves in this situation.]\nFifth Activity (group). After reflection, return to the original groups and discuss, using the analysis they made of each character, a possible solution to the problem. Present it to the class. The teacher should orient the students' thinking around alternative responses and solutions that are presented and raise questions about what each solution requires on everyone's part.\nThe example of curriculum planning set out above to guide Latin American teachers in planning formal educational programs for public schools seeks to be practical in enhancing cognitive and critical skills. But non-formal education designed by NGOs often seeks to go further to achieve empowerment goals. Effective education should teach lessons students can use, and education for empowerment must always result in action plans that people see themselves as capable of undertaking.\nNon-formal education is used outside the school system by NGOs around the world to assist people to develop knowledge and skills and to help them meet their basic needs. Such programs often have empowerment as their primary goal, but it may be blended with other objectives. Among these ancillary purposes are those whereby NGOs attempt to:\nA Definition and Example. Empowerment is a process through which people and/or communities increase their control or mastery of their own lives and the decisions that affect their lives. Empowering education differs from most formal education traditionally designed to promote knowledge and skills. The scholarly literature on education for empowerment is not extensive, partly because empowerment is seldom central to the concerns of professional educators in the industrially developed democracies of the \"First World.\" It is best known and used with some exemplary results in various \"Third World\" countries where the literature is philosophically rich and politically grounded.\nPedagogy directed toward the goal of empowerment and seeking the objective of reinforcing political efficacy on the part of participants has been successfully used in various less developed and developing countries relying on the methods of the late Brazilian scholar, Paulo Freire: conscientization; dialogic teaching --discarding the role of teacher as \"know it all\"; emphasis on student participation in the defining of community needs; and reliance on the design of plans for collective action to promote social transformation and to demonstrate solidarity with those most in need.22 Perhaps paradoxically, Freire himself avoided claims about the utility of his methods outside the cultural framework of Latin American peasant populations in which he showed that significant advances in literacy skills were possible in the context of continual political-educational dialogue. In any event, Freire's techniques have been adapted for use as empowerment pedagogies in other Third World settings, most prominently in Asia where Clark,23 Dias,24 and Timm25 have linked human rights education for empowerment to allied economic, political and legal development objectives.\nFor example, empowerment is the stated objective of the non-formal human rights educational work of PROCESS, a Philippine non-governmental organization set up to help people learn and act upon their economic and social rights, particularly in rural settings. The group's planning usually takes place \"on site\" where they conduct community organizing activities. They may typically target a small fishing village where people are encouraged by PROCESS organizers to meet and define their local needs and problems.26 At some point when maximum possible consensus is achieved, the group introduces what they call their barefoot lawyers who help to reinterpret needs in terms of rights, relating for instance, to the unfair use of fishing licenses by absentee licensees. Having conceptualized needs in terms of rights, the group then begins to talk about, devise and select remedial strategies that include the systematic collection of information, and action plans, e.g., the formulation of petitions, the drafting of new legislation as well as litigation and presentations by lawyers to administrative boards, etc. The open-ended planning process involved in this example yields a bonus which formal education too seldom does: it reaches the grass roots and involves people in a community context in acquiring control over their own fates and meeting their own needs on their terms.27\nNon-formal human rights education for empowerment does not treat students simply as receptacles to be filled with useful ideas and information, as if knowledge is an object to be received rather than a continuous process of inquiry and critical reflection.\nFrom the Participants' Point of View. Education for empowerment must go beyond the acquisition of knowledge and operate from the premise that humans not only have the ability to know reality, but they also have the capacity for critical reflection and action. Therefore, education aimed at developing this capacity must enable students to analyze the underlying structures of an issue, action or experience, to unveil and apprehend its causal relationships, and to discover the hidden motives or interests which it conceals. To understand how any given policy benefits some and harms others is an important step toward action. People need such perspectives to deal with many issues, such as children exploited though prostitution; farmers hurt by the diversion of water supplies; workers toiling for 16 hours per day, not knowing the law that is designed to protect them with maximum hours rules.\nFrom the Facilitator's Point of View. Empowering education supplies the means by which people deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world. To take this goal seriously, HRE facilitators must use problem-posing techniques whereby facilitators and participants are involved in a partnership of mutual cooperation and in which the role of teacher as \"know it all\" is abandoned. The challenge for the facilitator is to accept an idea that is new to many. That is the idea that the teacher/student dichotomy is dissolved in a learning group in which all participate. Indeed, the teacher should not even be referred to as such, but should adopt the role of a facilitator who helps participants to do several things. For example, the group members go through a process of consciousness-raising about their needs as human beings and the circumstances in which they live. They develop critical skills to assess their human rights and that of others. They improve their abilities to analyze the obstacles and structures of repression that stand in the way of enjoying rights and freedoms. They develop the ability to analyze the causes of human rights violations and to connect their learning with action. They become empowered to undertake remedial actions. They become ready to learn more and acquire new skills using law and human rights as instruments of change, development and justice. They become empowered to share their learning with others and \"to pass on the word,\" echoing HRE for empowerment to ever wider circles of participants.\nBelow is an exercise taken from The Bells of Freedom, an Ethiopian trainers' guide for non-formal education. It is called: \"Making a Defensive Plan of Action,\" and it is consistent with the empowerment goals and subsidiary objectives related to developing cognitive skills.\nOverview: There is no such thing as a value-neutral educational process. Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation and adult learners into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world. People so empowered should be able to envision \" defensive strategies\" designed to undertake plans of action in defense of human rights. Such activism aims in two directions toward: (1) working to implement our own human rights; and (2) educating each other and all the people about their rights before the law so that they will be able to be responsible citizens in a real democracy and not a \"make believe democracy.\"\nObjectives: Participants should be able to:\nProcedures: The facilitator should find creative ways to help prioritize the human rights problems that particularly concern the specific target group involved. Try to take plenty of time facilitating the \"defensive plan of action.\" On the last step, focusing on defense mechanisms, the facilitator must be prepared to supply considerable information about legal remedies, bringing along paralegals to act as \"floaters\" for purposes of giving technical advice to the planning groups set up in Step 3.\nMaterials and Resources: Selected provisions of the UDHR (on the right to remedies), the CCPR (on penal remedies), CEDAW (on state reporting duties where the state is accountable to the UN for problems not solved), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (on HRE as an obligation). Also, the facilitator should have at hand information about legal aid groups and sources of legal advice, as well as the assistance of visiting paralegals or legal aid professionals to give technical advice on developing remedies to right wrongs.\nSequence: Step 1. Use the brainstorming technique to elicit from the participants the several human rights problems with which they are immediately concerned in their daily lives. Try to follow this listing of rights problems with a constructive effort to come to consensus on a few priority problems, for example from three to six priority human rights problems.\nStep 2. After priorities have been set and a few issues of common concern have been identified, ask (for each issue) at least one person speaking from experience.\nStep 3. Ask for volunteers to select the issue of their choice and divide up into an action planning group for each issue: \"The Defense Action Team.\" Explain that the action planning group will develop defensive strategies to remedy human rights violations in the community\nStep 4. Facilitator input: Before convening separate planning groups, explain various defense mechanisms that are available to respond to specific human rights violations. These include the following:\nBe sure to encourage participants to raise questions about this new information. When all questions have been answered proceed to the next step. Explain that in their groups, they can ask for advice from paralegal \"floaters.\"\nStep 5. Convene the groups identified in Step 3. The groups should plan to develop a defensive plan of action focusing on the issue for which the group is responsible. Explain that the facilitator and visiting paralegals will \"float\" from group to group to provide technical information on human rights remedies using self-help, mediation, documentation techniques and other available justice devices at the provincial, federal and international levels.\nStep 6. Someone (or several) in each group should take responsibility to \"report back\" on defense planning components coming out of the group's deliberations. After reporting back on these items, the Human Rights Defense Plan of Action will be open to general discussion and constructive criticism by all.\nStep 7. Ask participants for individuals to volunteer in implementing the action plan, indicating specifically what they can do and would like to do to achieve the defensive goals of the plan.\nStep 8. Award each participant who has finished the exercise an \"HRE Certificate of Program Completion.\" The Certificate should carry the statement by the anthropologist, Margaret Mead:\n\"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.\"\nStep 9. Conduct an evaluation of the program.\nUniversal Declaration of Human Rights\nArticle 8: Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.\nInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights\nArticle 9, Section 4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court in order that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release of the detention is not lawful. Section 5. Anyone who has been victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.\nConvention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women\nArticle 2. Section (c). States Parties agree ... to establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination.\nArticle 18. States Parties [shall submit to the UN periodic reports every four years] on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures they have adopted to give effect to the provisions [of CEDAW], [including in the report]...factors and difficulties affecting he degree of fulfillment of obligations under the ... Convention.\nConvention on the Rights of the Child\nArticle 42. States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of the convention widely known, by appropriate and active means to adults and children alike.\nPlanners of curricula for human rights education should be sensitive to the need to establish the legitimacy (acceptability and credibility) of their programs. To face this issue constructively, among other things, it is necessary to ask precise questions about the identity of the groups targeted for HRE and those acting in teaching roles. Consider the issue of who is teaching. According to research findings in social psychology, change agents encounter more difficulties in introducing innovation into groups through reliance on outsiders to the exclusion of in-group participation.28\nLet us look at two examples of \"in-group planning,\" i.e., two programs which illustrate interactive planning involving teacher-planners who return to their own communities to implement the program they design for the targeted groups from which they originate. Their respective programs enjoy greater legitimacy by virtue of the fact that teachers as social change agents are indigenous to the target groups they serve.\nIn-group Planning. An instructive example of educational planning involves a project in Israel designed for Arab and Jewish students. \"The Rules of the Game\" is called by its designers a \"bottom-up\" curriculum. This term draws attention to the fact that, from its inception, the project was developed with the full participation of an equal number of Arab and Jewish teachers. The objective of the group of 20 educators was to cooperate in developing a curriculum to foster the understanding of democratic principles including both majority rule and minority rights. The planning phase encompassed a year of debate and discussion with intensive workshops drawing materials from Al-Haq and B'Tselem, respectively Arab and Jewish human rights NGOs. \"Rules of the Game\" is supposed to build and reinforce attitudes of tolerance, mutual respect and individual freedom, but it is primarily a curriculum emphasizing a cognitive approach aimed at helping students distinguish empirical findings from value judgments, eye-witness evidence from hearsay, and a logical argument from an emotional one. The teacher-planners of the project expressed the hope that:\na 'grass roots' curriculum, introduced by the very same teachers by whom it was developed, might secure good will and cooperation that are so direly needed in order to overcome negative attitudes and resistance to change. 29\nIn the Israeli example, teachers from both sides of divisive conflict came together cooperatively to plan a program promoting the values inherent in their collaborative process: conflict resolution, tolerance of diverse perspectives, mutual respect and human rights. In an Asian case profiled below, teacher recruitment also was keyed to the values inherent in the educational program, namely the search for justice in an historical setting beset by injustice.\nIn the Philippines, an NGO was the 1991 recipient of a UNESCO Award for effective human rights education. The program of the Task Force Detaineess-Philippines (TFDP) involves education and training targeting such needy groups as the urban poor, landless peasants, and hacienda workers. In the process of reaching these groups with educational programs, TFDP seeks to add to the ranks of its trained fact-gatherers engaged in monitoring and documenting human rights violations. TFDP follows a recruitment policy designed to ensure its acceptability among groups targeted for human rights education. They rely on trainers whose commitment to human rights is experientially based. They avoid academics in favor of human rights victims, including former political detainees. Using trainers whose commitment to human rights grows out of a \"transforming personal experience\" and a positive response to victimization partly explains the widespread scope of the popular community-based programs which are highly decentralized and scattered among the 7000 islands of the Southeast Asian country.30 Thus the program illustrates a popularly based example of the empowerment methodologies of Paulo Friere: identifying problems, defining needs, clarifying norms, formulating and undertaking plans of action.\nIdentifying the Target Groups. Professor J.Paul Martin of the Columbia University Center for the Study of Human Rights has written a very useful and short Handbook on Self-Help Human Rights Education (1996). He argues for careful and systematic planning of HRE programs and notes that the methods used for human rights education will and should vary considerably depending upon the target groups identified for training and education. He distinguishes different kinds of target groups: (1) those suffering violations; (2) those to some degree causing violations, (3) third parties; and (4) educators in teacher training. Below we will profile examples of HRE programs for such groups.\nThe Rural Poor in Thailand. The Thongbai Thongpao Foundation (TTF) brings legal assistance to Thailand's rural people, conducting training on basic human rights and the law for daily life. In the weekend \"Law to the Villages\" program, rural residents learn about constitutional law, human rights, marriage, loans and mortgages, labor law and other legal issues that concern them. Because participants complain of exploitation by those who assume peasants have no access to law, the program concludes by setting up a local para-legal committee. They provide participants with a photo identification card including their personal lawyer's name and a listing of the rights of suspects: the right to silence, to legal assistance, to know the charges against them, and the right to bail. Based on the theory that the people have the right to know their rights, the practice of the TTF program has been emulated elsewhere. Its founder was given the Magsaysay Award (Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize) in recognition of \"use of his legal skills and pen to defend those who have 'less in life and thus need more in law.'\"\nWomen in Malaysia. Human rights education undertaken by advocacy and activist NGOs can be dangerous, according to Irene Fernandez, the Malaysian founder of \"Tenaganita\" (meaning \"women's force\"). For her group, the approach must be \"holistic\": activism, humanitarian service and non-formal teaching are tied together, affecting the full array of political, economic and social rights. They have educational programs on women and AIDS, a halfway house for health recovery, a drop-in counseling center, and a human rights education and leadership training program. It introduces feminist ideas and human rights principles into a largely Muslim culture. Because the NGO monitors the welfare of female migrant workers, it traced major health problems to government camps where undocumented laborers are detained. For publishing a report on conditions in these centers, Ms. Fernandez has been criminally charged for maligning the good name of the country in the eyes of the world. Tenaganita argues that freedom of expression in the Malaysian Constitution should protect their report which is truthful and calls for a humane policy for the recruitment and employment of foreign labor. The case shows that human rights educators like Fernandez may become victims by virtue of their work. According to Irene Fernandez, her trial in 1997 shows that human rights education can be risky, but also serves as a consciousness-raising lesson for their educational program: namely that workers are not just human resources and economic units. They are human beings and must be treated with the dignity and the human rights everyone deserves.\nReal Estate Agents in Japan. In 1994, an Osaka real estate agent tried to trace the boundaries of a ghettoized neighborhood occupied by the Burakumin minority. They are Japanese who suffer prejudice because their disfavored status links them to an earlier period of caste-like social stratification. A complaint that the agent's queries reflected discriminatory business practices resulted in an administrative order \"to study the Buraku issue\" under guidance of the Buraku Liberation League (BLL). League educators eventually concluded that both the agent and company officials completed the course and demonstrated changed attitudes and modified behavior. This incident shows how Japanese laws against discrimination, carrying no penalties against offenders, nevertheless informally remedy transgressions through privately conducted \"enlightenment education\" when administratively ordered. This non-confrontational approach bridges the inconsistencies between any vestigial negative social attitudes of intolerance and the positive rhetoric of legal safeguards against bigotry. Also, the BLL has devised a systematic and wide-ranging program for children in primary schools, including NINGEN (Human). The book includes poems, songs, short stories and articles to introduce children to the topic of human rights and discrimination against the Burakumin, Koreans in Japan, women, disabled persons, etc. It teaches that human rights are in accord with Asian values.\nThe Police in North America. In 1992, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (New York) organized a training program called \"Human Dignity and the Police.\" The syllabus for the course has been duplicated and used in many countries in the Western Hemisphere. The team designing the course was inter-disciplinary including a sociologist specializing in family therapy, experts in ethics and interpersonal communications as well as human rights and criminal justice specialists. A primary objective of the course is to instill in law enforcement officers a belief that human dignity is the foundation for human rights, and that police are entrusted to protect human rights. Among other techniques, the course employs a \"nontraditional method\" of drawing on trainees' experiences with their own past sense of loss of dignity. According to Marc duBois, \"Teaching police to understand how it feels to have their dignity taken away\" increases their awareness of the vulnerability of marginalized groups in society.31 The course culminates with participants formulating codes of conduct drawing from ethical and human rights standards. In 1990, a Canadian group produced a manual even more broadly conceived than the program described by DuBois. The Canadians designed a range of syllabi useful for human rights training for police, various categories of military personnel, officials at prisons and correctional institutions. The Human Rights Training for Commonwealth Public Officials Manual also supplies syllabi suitable for defense ministry officials.32\nHealth Professionals in Cambodia. In 1993, the Human Rights Component of United Nations National Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), recruited a team of Cambodians and expatriates with health care and human rights backgrounds and other international personnel to develop a 20-hour curriculum on human rights for health professionals. Devastated by civil war and policies of the earlier Khmer Rouge regime, the UN-sponsored system had to deal with the aftermath of genocidal killings of one million people, the world's highest mortality rate, and the highest percentage anywhere of victims of landmines (one in every 236 surviving Cambodians are amputees). Thus health professionals needed to learn how to undertake a medical evaluation of landmine survivors, how to assess and treat torture survivors, and the importance, under standards of human rights and medical ethics, of providing health care regardless of age, sex, political, social, ethnic or economic background. The team planning the program included Cambodian doctors, medical assistants, nurses and midwives, and a Cambodian law student. Two of them were torture survivors who suffered abuses during the Khmer Rouge rule. Additional advisors included a Buddhist monk and a Cambodian with extensive background in mental health. The program of 10 two-hour lessons follows an 80-page syllabus entitled \"Human Rights for Health Professionals\" (in Khmer and English). Two thousand people have completed the courses taught in nursing schools, open fields, and temples. It has survived the vagaries of recent political change because the Cambodian Health and Human Rights Alliance was formed as an NGO in 1994 to continue the work begun under UN auspices and because the medical and nursing faculty of Phnom Penh have approved the program as a permanent part of their training.\nGovernment Officials in Nepal. In 1992, the International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development (INHURED International) in Kathmandu, along with UNICEF, Redd Barna/Norway, and many Nepali NGOs participated in a workshop on the Children's Convention to which Nepal had become a State party. The workshop supplied educational opportunities to inform policy makers, to prompt questions from members of the media, and to raise the consciousness of the general public regarding children's issues. Moreover, it was replicated in similar workshops in five administrative regions of the country, leading to such meetings in all 75 districts. Indeed, children also participated in the National Seminar of NGOs, after which, they went back to their communities to share their learning and return to the Capitol with friends. The resulting Children's Seminar discussed the status of children and their responsibilities as well as the duties of parents, the community, local government bodies, and political parties. As an outcome of this process, the government's National Planning Commission --with responsibility to prepare Nepal's treaty report, did so by forming a joint committee with NGO representation from Child Watch and the children-representatives of the Child Awareness Group. Thus the National NGO Workshop and the Children's Seminar, as well as various declarations and plans of action developed in their wake, became the basis for NGO input in the national report to the United Nations. Certainly as important as the resulting report has been the NGO-led process of education on the subject of the rights of the child and the educational radio coverage of the topic in Nepal. 33\nIn 1992, a Philippine Congressional Commission on Education concluded that the half million teachers in public schools of the country are \"grossly underpaid and too often ill-qualified.\"34 While working circumstances for teachers in the Philippines are arduous and challenging, there are, of course, myriad examples of teachers rising above their meager conditions, teaching effectively, and initiating human rights education for the benefit of their students and themselves. Two programs of teacher training in the island nation attest to this conclusion and give hope for future progress within the framework of formal education.\nFirst, the program for teaching human rights to future teachers organized at the Philippine Normal University (PNU) in the 1990's is an outstanding illustration of serious efforts to prepare teachers with creative approaches to the subject. With support from the PNU Research Center for Human Rights, faculty of the Peace and World Order Studies Unit require those in training to come to a full understanding of their human rights as persons and as educators. According to Felice I. Yeban, Director of the Studies Unit, PNU has organized a fully planned program of human rights education studies for future Filipino educators, even allowing student teachers to concentrate in human rights education. They use the United Nations Human Rights Trainers Guide as an important resource.35 In the PNU program, the emphasis is on developing participatory pedagogies and critical skills among teachers and students. As national development plans promoted by the Ramos Administration claim to rely on well trained teachers, PNU teacher training should help to put human beings at the center of planning and the human rights of teachers and students prominently in the lead.\nSecond, since 1993, The José W. Diokno Foundation in the Philippines has been directly involved in teacher training for human rights education. With approval of the government department responsible for public schools, Diokno teacher trainers have conducted workshops for school teachers in all fifteen regions of the country, supplying participating teachers with human rights education kits: modules, international human rights documents, and pedagogical resource materials. Reflecting on the teacher training workshops, Ms. María Serena I. Diokno, Director of the Foundation, describes its participatory nature and emphasis on encouraging critical skills:\nTo illustrate our participatory methods, we will simply ask participants to identify a problem in the area. Let's say it's 'brownouts' [electrical failures]. We chart the consequences of this problem: who is affected and how? We ask a lot of questions about what explains power failures. They may say, 'planning breakdowns,' and 'corruption' --money for energy supplies is going to the wrong people, or insufficient government funding. We keep asking: 'why, why, why?' This way we develop our 'web chart' of reasons given, each answer requiring new deeper explanations. Then we might add to the sophistication of the results by grouping answers: cultural, social, political, and economic causes. Thus we show how to build and use simple analytical tools. This approach is then applied to a problem the group identifies as an economic or social human rights problem --say the lack of health care. We show how the problem can be tied to a human rights sources: say the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Having linked the problem to normative sources, we pursue discussions about possible causes, in parallel to our \"brownout\" exercise, and then canvass their views on what can be done to remedy the problem?36\nSerena Diokno is Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of The Philippines. She has personally monitored and conducted teacher training sessions throughout the provinces. In her view, the subject is almost always new to the teachers, and its introduction proceeds most smoothly when it begins with socio-economic rights and development issues about which teachers themselves are concerned \"because they know local conditions and are directly affected by the consequences of poverty.\"\nBoth the teacher training program at Philippines Normal University and the in-service training supplied by the Diokno Foundation to school teachers around the country help to ensure that the Philippines will live up to its constitutional promise to educate students to respect human rights. Such work is a necessary component of the national program of education to promote human and economic development. It should be so recognized by government development planners.\nTeacher Training Is Fundamental. While teacher training programs for nationwide programs of human rights education were first mandated in the Philippines, the priority need for such training is ever more widely recognized. The argument favoring putting teacher-training first was strongly advanced by Peter Leuprecht, Director of Human Rights of the Council of Europe. In language deserving extended quotation, he said:\nHuman rights education is not just an addition to the school curriculum; it should underlay the teaching of all school subjects and permeate every aspect of school life. If such education is to be successful at all levels, it will be necessary to train teachers and provide them with proper facilities. Much remains to be done in this regard, and improving the situation should be the aim of the efforts not only of the Council of Europe but also of the national authorities, non-governmental organizations and institutions, groups and individuals participating in this noble task. The challenge is a considerable one: it involves laying the foundations of tomorrow's society, a society which we hope will be democratic and imbued with respect for the dignity and inalienable rights of all people. 37\nLessons from The Philippines. The Philippine Constitution of 1987 was the first worldwide to proclaim the promotion of human rights as a national goal, obliging \"all educational institutions...to foster...respect for human rights.\" [Article 14, Section 3(1)(2).] Since the peaceful revolution of 1986 ridding the country of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, Philippine NGOs have been very active in sponsoring non-formal human rights education for targeted social sectors and communities. After over a decade of government-backed human rights education and NGO initiatives in the field, educational activities in this island state have taken on some important and sophisticated features, including program evaluation. The evaluation of human rights education, especially NGO-sponsored non-formal education, is too often neglected. In this respect, NGOs in the Republic of the Philippines have a lesson to teach the world.\nImprovements in training and education programs can be greatly augmented by evaluation. An evaluation is a rigorous examination designed to assess the effectiveness of: (a) an individual, such as a participant, student, or teacher; (b) a project, such as human rights education for the military; or (c) an organization and its program.38\nAn example of a successful evaluation of an organizational program of non-formal education from Southeast Asia involves SALAG, a group devoted to education for economic rights and community development. SALAG was founded in The Philippines in 1985 to use legal remedies to serve specific sectors of grassroots communities based on the concept of alternative law. SALAG's name stands for \"Structural Alternative Legal Assistance for Grassroots.\" It supplies paralegal training (alternative law) with strong human rights content to develop legal skills for community-based non-lawyers enabling them to identify violations of human rights and to seek appropriate remedies, especially related to economic development needs.\nOriginally, SALAG tried to provide such training for a wide array of groups: the urban poor, tribal groups in remote areas, small farmers and fisherfolk. In the Proceedings of its \"Development Law Workshop\" in 1991, SALAG members and others interested in paralegal training at the grassroots level agreed that they would benefit by external evaluation. The workshop members noted:\nAt present there is no systematic monitoring mechanism which can critically and objectively evaluate the effectiveness of various activities of the Alternative Law Groups. Such a monitoring mechanism would be especially helpful in the evaluation of the effectiveness of legal education and training seminars.39\nThe human rights paralegal training program of SALAG draws substantial professional support from the Law School of The Ateneo University of Manila. With Ateneo's encouragement, SALAG was evaluated by a Philippine group: The Management Advancement System Association, Inc. (MASAI). After a three-month evaluation using qualitative techniques (focus groups, interviews, etc.) and quantitative measures (data-based indicators tied to the NGO's mandate), MASAI told SALAG that they were trying to do too much; that they should center on fewer projects; focus only on those consistent with their empowerment objectives; and invest more effort in groups with prospects for strong community participation. As a consequence, SALAG concentrated on its pilot project with sugar cane and tuber farmers in the rural Batangas island area.\nIn the model project, paralegals among the sugar workers of Batangas learned petitioning procedures for inclusion in the Philippine government's land reform program. Anxious for success, the SALAG-trained paralegals from several towns in Batangas convened to assess their initial activities. Conducting their own self-evaluation, they came up with a proposal to improve their access to government by an unprecedented effort seeking accreditation with the Philippines Agrarian Reform Department. This innovative idea has resulted in clearly identified local land reform improvements. According to a SALAG spokesperson: \"All this is the result of community-based evaluation by the paralegals we trained and by the sharply focused external evaluation conducted by MASAI.\"40\nNo serious program of educational innovation is well designed without careful attention to undertaking evaluation. The Philippine example points up the need and benefits possible for any program of education when it is open to comment and criticism. The process of fostering feedback so as to improve a program is called \"developmental evaluation\" by professional educators, and such feedback may be both internally organized or independently conducted by external evaluators.\nEducational programs which include evaluation activities of various kinds are more likely to succeed in gaining support and in meeting their objectives than unevaluated programs. At the most pragmatic level of concern to NGOs who are often dependent on private funding sources, their prospects for externally secured grants are enhanced by building evaluation procedures into their projects. In the absence of such careful data-based evaluation, HRE will continue --as is too frequently the case-- to be dismissed by funding agencies as the human rights \"soft option,\" compared to the \"hard option\" of monitoring human rights violations, a task which received the lion's share of private funding during the 1970's and 1980's.\nHuman rights education in the late 1990's bears the burden, as yet unmet, of demonstrating that it has practical value and is capable of achieving its goals and objectives. Because by its very nature, human rights education is designed, broadly speaking, to promote change, we can say that evaluation of HRE involves the inspection and assessment of available information concerning the student, the teachers and the program, often with special attention to ascertaining the degree of change in students. It is also used to form valid judgments about effective teaching methods and to come to a critical understanding of the effectiveness of the program. In short, evaluation is essential for developing a program with high standards.\nEvaluation of human rights education, like educational evaluation in general, is not an end in itself. It should be used as a means for identifying alternative options and thereby reaching decisions aimed at improving the program and its methods. In fact, evaluation of human rights education may have many proposes:\nBecause the evaluation of human rights education includes a varied array of goals, as suggested by the listing above, it requires diverse methodological approaches. They may be both quantitative and qualitative. They may include measurements based on student test results, scored judgments by a panel of teachers, administrators or observers and experts, as well as an amalgam of subjective impressions, critical observations and other kinds of evidence.41 In any event, human rights education programs should always have built-in plans for evaluation. Viewed as an imperative, this injunction is a challenge, especially for NGO personnel involved in HRE because they seldom have the professional training found among teachers in formal education that would alert them to the need for and advantages of educational evaluation.\nFrom Southern Africa to Eastern Europe, from Southeast Asia to the Southern Cone of Latin America, a global sea change has left political autocracies discarded and isolated like seafarers at low tide. During the 1990's, a large array of states in every hemisphere have undertaken reform, moved into the categories of emerging and re-emerging democracies, and proclaimed support for international human rights, sometimes with evident sincerity.\nFor example, in 1989, the Helsinki Committee in Poland announced a politically significant point of departure, saying that \"issues of ideology, removed from the school curricula, must now be replaced by the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.42 The premise for this conclusion was that the nation faced a \"values-gap.\" This condition is a mark of our time. Like Poland, many regimes newly engaged in institution-building and the construction of democracies have gone on record calling for human rights education as an antidote to national recidivism and as a preventive measure against the recurrence of human rights abuses. We are at an important historical juncture. We must recognize this development as a rare \"window of opportunity\" to build a global human rights culture and to turn away from the sterile debates and values associated with the Cold War.\nOn the terrain of post-Cold War international politics, small countries have sometimes had a big influence. Poland led the way in replacing The Communist Manifesto with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its public programs of education. The Philippines demonstrated the feasibility of human rights education conducted on a national scale as constitutionally mandated. Likewise, Costa Rica drew a world commitment from the United Nations to globalize human rights education. Its Resolution 49/184 was adopted by the General Assembly on December 10, 1994 proclaiming 1995-2005 as the United Nations Decade of Human Rights Education.\nEffective human rights education, if it is to build a \"universal culture of human rights,\" as envisioned in the General Assembly's proclamation of the Decade for Human Rights Education, must be a participatory learning process that includes cultural mediation so that human rights are given meaning and made effective within each local context.\nThe prospect is no longer utopian and the challenge is no longer beyond the horizon. We are faced with the obligation to implement effective programs of human rights education and to employ methodologies that will ensure that the task is well done, consistent with the goals of world peace, democracy, development, and respect for human rights everywhere.\nReturn to top\nReturn to PDHRE Home\nReturn to PDHRE Home"

"Adolescents, learning mechanisms, role of the teacher in learning and interacting with adolescents.\nEsta asignatura permitirá al futuro profesorado de secundaria conocer las procesos de desarrollo de la personalidad del alumno en la etapa adolescente así como los procesos de aprendizaje involucrados. Se prestará atención a las actividades de interacción social en el aula y se desarrollarán diferentes metodologías docentes que permitan mejorar la práctica docente.\nCompetencies and learning outcomes\n- Know the curriculum content of the matters relating to the appropriate teaching specialization, and the body of didactic knowledge about the teaching and learning. The knowledge of the respective professions will be included for the professional training.\n- Plan, develop, and evaluate the teaching and learning process, enhancing educational processes that facilitate attaining the skills of the respective education, based on the students' previous levels and training, and guiding them both individually and collectively with other center teachers and school professionals.\n- Design and develop learning spaces with special reference to equity, emotional education and values, equal rights and opportunities for men and women, civic education and respect for human rights that facilitate life in society, decision making and building a sustainable future.\n- Acquire strategies to encourage student effort and promote their ability to learn by themselves and with others, and develop thinking and decision-making skills to facilitate autonomy and instill confidence and personal initiative.\n- Understand the processes of interaction and communication in the classroom, master social skills and abilities necessary for stimulating learning and coexistence in the classroom, and address discipline problems and conflict resolution.\n- Understand the characteristics of students, their social contexts, and motivations.\n- Understand the personality development of students and possible dysfunctions that affect learning.\n- Develop proposals based on the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and intellectual and emotional abilities.\n- Identify and plan the resolution of educational situations involving students with different abilities and who learn at different rates.\n- Understand the processes of interaction and communication in the classroom and in the center, and address and resolve potential problems.\nObjectives (Learning outcomes)\n- Conocer las características básicas del adolescente.\n- Conocer las características básicas del aprendizaje en adolescentes.\n- Conocer el papel del docente y proponer modos adecuados de relación con alumnos\n- Conocer y aplicar técnicas para trabajar habilidades sociales en enseñanza obligatoria\n- Conocer y aplicar técnicas de motivación\n- César Coll Salvador, Álvaro Marchese Ullastres, Jesús Palacios. \"Desarrollo psicológica y educación\". Alianza Editorial.\n- Papalia, D. y Feldman, S. \"Desarrollo humano\". México: Mc Graw Hill.\n- KATHLEEN BERGER STASSEN. \"PSICOLOGÍA DEL DESARROLLO: INFANCIA Y ADOLESCENCIA\". PANAMERICANA.\nMethodology and grading\n- Case studies: Learning through the analysis of actual or simulated cases in order to interpret and resolve them by employing various alternative solution procedures.\n- Cooperative learning: Develop active learning through cooperative working strategies among students and promote shared responsibility to reach group goals.\n- Lecture: Pass on knowledge and activate cognitive processes in students, encouraging their participation.\n- The evaluation systems associated with the teaching methodologies followed in this master's degree for this subject are the following:\nContinuous evaluation of this subject by performing work or test type tests. The final note of the performed tasks (NT) will be expressed on the scale from 0 to 10 with a decimal. The final weight of this part (WT = 0.3) will be 30%.\nTransversal sessions. During the first semester we carried out a series of seminars and online courses of transversal character and multidisciplinary orientation on generic subjects related to the teaching in secondary. The final note in this section (NS) will be expressed on the scale from 0 to 10 with a decimal. The final weight of this part (WS = 0.1) will be 10% and will be the same for all subjects in the first semester.\nFinal Exam type test with 30 questions and 4 possible answers of which only one can be true. The final Test note (NE) will be expressed on the scale from 0 to 10 with a decimal. A penalty of 0.3 points is established for each erroneous response. Therefore the qualification of the exam will be given by:\nRating test = (number hits-0.3 * Number of failures)/3\nThe final weight of this part (WE = 0.6) will be 60% in the ordinary call the final note of this subject will be obtained by the following expression:\nQualification subject = NT * WT NS * WS NE * WE\nin the extraordinary calls the final note of this subject will be obtained by the following expression :\nQualification Subject = NE\nFor more information consult the website of the Master (http://masterprofumh.es)"

"The material that appears below is from the American Psychological Association (APA). It has been reconfigured to appear here, for the original refer to http://www.apa.org/ed/lcp.html .\nLearner-centered psychological principles\nThe following 14 psychological principles pertain to the learner and the learning process 1. They focus on psychological factors that are primarily internal to and under the control of the learner rather than conditioned habits or physiological factors. However, the principles also attempt to acknowledge external environment or contextual factors that interact with these internal factors.\nThe principles are intended to deal holistically with learners in the context of real-world learning situations. Thus, they are best understood as an organized set of principles; no principle should be viewed in isolation. The 14 principles are divided into those referring to cognitive and metacognitive, motivational and affective, developmental and social, and individual difference factors influencing learners and learning. Finally, the principles are intended to apply to all learners — from children, to teachers, to administrators, to parents, and to community members involved in our educational system.\nCognitive and Metacognitive Factors\n- Nature of the learning process. The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an intentional process of constructing meaning from information and experience.\nThere are different types of learning processes, for example, habit formation in motor learning; and learning that involves the generation of knowledge, or cognitive skills and learning strategies. Learning in schools emphasizes the use of intentional processes that students can use to construct meaning from information, experiences, and their own thoughts and beliefs. Successful learners are active, goal-directed, self-regulating, and assume personal responsibility for contributing to their own learning. The principles set forth in this document focus on this type of learning.\n- Goals of the learning process. The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional guidance, can create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge.\nThe strategic nature of learning requires students to be goal directed. To construct useful representations of knowledge and to acquire the thinking and learning strategies necessary for continued learning success across the life span, students must generate and pursue personally relevant goals. Initially, students’ short-term goals and learning may be sketchy in an area, but over time their understanding can be refined by filling gaps, resolving inconsistencies, and deepening their understanding of the subject matter so that they can reach longer-term goals. Educators can assist learners in creating meaningful learning goals that are consistent with both personal and educational aspirations and interests.\n- Construction of knowledge. The successful learner can link new information with existing knowledge in meaningful ways.\nKnowledge widens and deepens as students continue to build links between new information and experiences and their existing knowledge base. The nature of these links can take a variety of forms, such as adding to, modifying, or reorganizing existing knowledge or skills. How these links are made or develop may vary in different subject areas, and among students with varying talents, interests, and abilities. However, unless new knowledge becomes integrated with the learner’s prior knowledge and understanding, this new knowledge remains isolated, cannot be used most effectively in new tasks, and does not transfer readily to new situations. Educators can assist learners in acquiring and integrating knowledge by a number of strategies that have been shown to be effective with learners of varying abilities, such as concept mapping and thematic organization or categorizing.\n- Strategic thinking. The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and reasoning strategies to achieve complex learning goals.\nSuccessful learners use strategic thinking in their approach to learning, reasoning, problem solving, and concept learning. They understand and can use a variety of strategies to help them reach learning and performance goals, and to apply their knowledge in novel situations. They also continue to expand their repertoire of strategies by reflecting on the methods they use to see which work well for them, by receiving guided instruction and feedback, and by observing or interacting with appropriate models. Learning outcomes can be enhanced if educators assist learners in developing, applying, and assessing their strategic learning skills.\n- Thinking about thinking. Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations facilitate creative and critical thinking.\nSuccessful learners can reflect on how they think and learn, set reasonable learning or performance goals, select potentially appropriate learning strategies or methods, and monitor their progress toward these goals. In addition, successful learners know what to do if a problem occurs or if they are not making sufficient or timely progress toward a goal. They can generate alternative methods to reach their goal (or reassess the appropriateness and utility of the goal). Instructional methods that focus on helping learners develop these higher order (metacognitive) strategies can enhance student learning and personal responsibility for learning.\n- Context of learning. Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology, and instructional practices.\nLearning does not occur in a vacuum. Teachers play a major interactive role with both the learner and the learning environment. Cultural or group influences on students can impact many educationally relevant variables, such as motivation, orientation toward learning, and ways of thinking. Technologies and instructional practices must be appropriate for learners’ level of prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and their learning and thinking strategies. The classroom environment, particularly the degree to which it is nurturing or not, can also have significant impacts on student learning.\nMotivational and Affective Factors\n- Motivational and emotional influences on learning. What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner’s motivation. Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced by the individual’s emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking.\nThe rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals, and expectations for success or failure can enhance or interfere with the learner’s quality of thinking and information processing. Students’ beliefs about themselves as learners and the nature of learning have a marked influence on motivation. Motivational and emotional factors also influence both the quality of thinking and information processing as well as an individual’s motivation to learn. Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation and facilitate learning and performance. Mild anxiety can also enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner’s attention on a particular task. However, intense negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts (e.g., worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing labels) generally detract from motivation, interfere with learning, and contribute to low performance.\n- Intrinsic motivation to learn. The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to motivation to learn. Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant to personal interests, and providing for personal choice and control.\nCuriosity, flexible and insightful thinking, and creativity are major indicators of the learners’ intrinsic motivation to learn, which is in large part a function of meeting basic needs to be competent and to exercise personal control. Intrinsic motivation is facilitated on tasks that learners perceive as interesting and personally relevant and meaningful, appropriate in complexity and difficulty to the learners’ abilities, and on which they believe they can succeed. Intrinsic motivation is also facilitated on tasks that are comparable to real-world situations and meet needs for choice and control. Educators can encourage and support learners’ natural curiosity and motivation to learn by attending to individual differences in learners’ perceptions of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevance, and personal choice and control.\n- Effects of motivation on effort. Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and guided practice. Without learners’ motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this effort is unlikely without coercion.\nEffort is another major indicator of motivation to learn. The acquisition of complex knowledge and skills demands the investment of considerable learner energy and strategic effort, along with persistence over time. Educators need to be concerned with facilitating motivation by strategies that enhance learner effort and commitment to learning and to achieving high standards of comprehension and understanding. Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided by practices that enhance positive emotions and intrinsic motivation to learn, and methods that increase learners’ perceptions that a task is interesting and personally relevant.\nDevelopmental and Social\n- Developmental influences on learning. As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning. Learning is most effective when differential development within and across physical, intellectual, emotional, and social domains is taken into account.\nIndividuals learn best when material is appropriate to their developmental level and is presented in an enjoyable and interesting way. Because individual development varies across intellectual, social, emotional, and physical domains, achievement in different instructional domains may also vary. Overemphasis on one type of developmental readiness–such as reading readiness, for example–may preclude learners from demonstrating that they are more capable in other areas of performance. The cognitive, emotional, and social development of individual learners and how they interpret life experiences are affected by prior schooling, home, culture, and community factors. Early and continuing parental involvement in schooling, and the quality of language interactions and two-way communications between adults and children can influence these developmental areas. Awareness and understanding of developmental differences among children with and without emotional, physical, or intellectual disabilities, can facilitate the creation of optimal learning contexts.\n- Social influences on learning. Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and communication with others.\nLearning can be enhanced when the learner has an opportunity to interact and to collaborate with others on instructional tasks. Learning settings that allow for social interactions, and that respect diversity, encourage flexible thinking and social competence. In interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals have an opportunity for perspective taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher levels of cognitive, social, and moral development, as well as self-esteem. Quality personal relationships that provide stability, trust, and caring can increase learners’ sense of belonging, self-respect and self-acceptance, and provide a positive climate for learning. Family influences, positive interpersonal support and instruction in self-motivation strategies can offset factors that interfere with optimal learning such as negative beliefs about competence in a particular subject, high levels of test anxiety, negative sex role expectations, and undue pressure to perform well. Positive learning climates can also help to establish the context for healthier levels of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Such contexts help learners feel safe to share ideas, actively participate in the learning process, and create a learning community.\n- Individual differences in learning. Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for learning that are a function of prior experience and heredity.\nIndividuals are born with and develop their own capabilities and talents. In addition, through learning and social acculturation, they have acquired their own preferences for how they like to learn and the pace at which they learn. However, these preferences are not always useful in helping learners reach their learning goals. Educators need to help students examine their learning preferences and expand or modify them, if necessary. The interaction between learner differences and curricular and environmental conditions is another key factor affecting learning outcomes. Educators need to be sensitive to individual differences, in general. They also need to attend to learner perceptions of the degree to which these differences are accepted and adapted to by varying instructional methods and materials.\n- Learning and diversity. Learning is most effective when differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural, and social backgrounds are taken into account.\nThe same basic principles of learning, motivation, and effective instruction apply to all learners. However, language, ethnicity, race, beliefs, and socioeconomic status all can influence learning. Careful attention to these factors in the instructional setting enhances the possibilities for designing and implementing appropriate learning environments. When learners perceive that their individual differences in abilities, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences are valued, respected, and accommodated in learning tasks and contexts, levels of motivation and achievement are enhanced.\n- Standards and assessment. Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the learner as well as learning progress — including diagnostic, process, and outcome assessment — are integral parts of the learning process.\nAssessment provides important information to both the learner and teacher at all stages of the learning process. Effective learning takes place when learners feel challenged to work towards appropriately high goals; therefore, appraisal of the learner’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, as well as current knowledge and skills, is important for the selection of instructional materials of an optimal degree of difficulty. Ongoing assessment of the learner’s understanding of the curricular material can provide valuable feedback to both learners and teachers about progress toward the learning goals. Standardized assessment of learner progress and outcomes assessment provides one type of information about achievement levels both within and across individuals that can inform various types of programmatic decisions. Performance assessments can provide other sources of information about the attainment of learning outcomes. Self-assessments of learning progress can also improve students self appraisal skills and enhance motivation and self-directed learning.\nThe initial draft of the Principles was circulated in March 1991 to a wide range of psychologists, educators, and professionals in various scientific disciplines. Although favorable comments were received from almost everyone who responded with suggestions for revision, a number of reviewers noted that the language was too technical and suggested that the document could be improved by simplifying the presentation to make it more readily accessible for use by teachers and other professionals.\nThe suggestions for revision were incorporated in the Principles by Dr. Barbara L. McCombs, assisted by the Task Force Co-chairs and members, to create a more ‘user friendly’ version, with less technical language for non-psychologists. The current revision of the Principles was developed by the Learner-Centered Principles Work Group which was commissioned by the APA Boards of Educational Affairs (BEA) and Scientific Affairs (BSA). Led by Dr. Spielberger, its members included Drs. Lee Ann Clark, Norma D. Feshbach, Walter Kintsch, Nadine M. Lambert, Barbara L. McCombs, Sylvia A. Rosenfield, Mary Tenopyr, and Clair Ellen Weinstein. Colleagues who contributed to this and the earlier revisions are listed in the Appendix.\nAlthough the Principles have received extensive review, further comments concerning possible omissions or areas requiring consideration in future revisions of this evolving document are most welcome. In addition, the APA Education Directorate and Science Directorates welcome information about specific applications of the Principles, and ways in which they are found to be useful.\nIn addition to the contributions of the psychologists and educators just noted, we have received comments from individuals and representatives of a wide range of professional groups.\nWe are grateful for their feedback:\nRonald S. Brandt, Executive Editor, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD);\nBonnie J. Brunkhorst, Retired President, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA);\nRodger W. Bybee, Acting Director, Innovative Science Education, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS);\nJoan Walsh Cassedy, Executive Secretary, Society of Toxicology;\nPat Cox, Project Director, Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement (REI) of the Northeast Islands;\nRobert E. Fathman, Chairman, National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools (NCACPS);\nShirley M. Frye, Past President, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM);\nGary D. Fullerton, President,American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM);\nJohn A. Gans, Executive Vice President, American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA);\nChristopher G.A. Harrison, Chairman, American Geophysical Union, (AGU);\nWillis D. Hawley, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE);\nJames D. Hennes, Curriculum and Evaluation, Colorado Department of Education;\nRosalie S. Humphrey, President-Elect, American School Counselor Association);\nLarry Hutchins, Executive Director, Midcontinent Regional Education Laboratory (McRel), Colorado;\nLouis A. Iozzi, Dean, Academic and Student Affairs, Rutgers University;\nMichael J. Jackson, Executive Director, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biologies (FASEB);\nMichelle R. LaWarre, President, APhA Academy of Students of Pharmacy, American Pharmaceutical Association (AphA);\nLeon M. Lederman, Chairman of Board of Directors, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and director Emeritus, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab);\nJames F. Marran, Co-Chair of the Teaching and Learning Task Force of the National Council of Social Studies (NCSS);\nMargrit A. McGuire, President, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS);\nPatricia J. McWethy, Executive Director, National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT);\nGerald Meyer, President, American Institute of Chemists (AIC);\nAvern Moore, President, National Head Start Association (NHSA);\nRichard Nicholson, Executive Director, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS);\nNancy S. Perry, President, American School Counselor Association (ASCA);\nTerrence K. Quinn, Principal and Member of the Board of Education of the City of New York;\nSamuel G. Sava, Executive Director, National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP);\nGeorge W. Sledge, Associate Dean and Director, Academic Affairs, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison;\nCarol E. Smith, Senior Director, Professional Issues, American Association of Colleges for Teach Education (AACTE);\nMarilyn M. Smith, Executive Director, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC);\nPhilip M. Smith, Executive Officer, National Staff Development Center (NSDC);\nRichard W. Traxler, Chair, Education Committee, Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM);\nCarl E. Trinca, Executive Director, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP);\nSylvia Ware, Director, Education Division, American Chemical Society (ACS);\nGary D. Watts, Senior Director, National Education Association (NEA), and\nEllen C. Weaver, Chair, education Committee, American Society of Plant Physiologists (ASPP).\nAdditional comments were received from the following and, after lengthy discussion and consideration by the Work Group members, appropriate changes were made to the LCP document at the group’s December 1995 Meeting: David Berliner, PhD, Allen E. Black, PhD, John Bransford, PhD, Ann L. Brown, PhD, Sandra Christenson, PhD, Lee Anna Clark, PhD, Carolyn Cobb, PhD, Mark L. Davison, PhD, Henry C. Ellis, PhD, James John Gallagher, PhD, Jeffrey Gorrell, PhD, Wayne Holzman, PhD, College Ingraham, PhD, Neal F. Johnson, PhD, Walter Kintsch, PhD, Tom Kratochwill, PhD, Alan M. Lesgold, PhD, Hermine Marshall, PhD, Barbara McCombs, PhD, Harold O’Neil, Jr., PhD, Scott Paris, PhD, Vera Paster, PhD, Lynn Rehm, PhD, Pam Reid, PhD, Sylvia Rosenfield, PhD, Richard Ryan, PhD, Karen Stoiber, PhD, Mary Tenopyr, PhD, Herbert Walber, PhD, Merlin Wittrock, PhD, and Barry Zimmerman, PhD.\nWe are grateful to the following colleagues, who have contributed significantly to the Principles by their comments and suggestions for revisions of earlier drafts: Larry A. Alferink, Harry P. Bahrick, David C. Berliner, Emmanuel M. Berstein, Fran C. Blumber, Barbara L. Bonner, James P. Connell, Eric L. Dlugokinski, Darwin P Hunt, Beau F. Jones, Lewis P. Lipsitt, Hermine H. Marshall, Adah B. Maurer, Diane McGuinness, Roger C. Mills, Clark E. Moustaka, David N. Perkins, Louisa H. Pierson, Donald K. Pumroy, D. Scott Ridley, Jerome D. Stiller, C.E. Walker, Claire E. Weinstein, Joe Sue Whisler, Merlin C. Wittrock, and Philip G. Zimbardo. The task force extends its special thanks to Martin E. Ford, Chair of the Psychological Studies in Education Program at Stanford University, for his significant contribution to the editing of the January 1993 draft and to Scott G. Paris, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Michigan, for developing some of the learner-centered principles of assessment that are included as a part of the final section of this document.\nThe Learner-Centered Psychological Principles were developed in a collaborative partnership between the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McRel). The initial work on the Principles was carried out by the APA Presidential Task Force on Psychology in Education (PsyEd), established in 1990 by the APA Board of Directors and then APA President-elect, Charles D. Spielberger. Drs. Frank Farley, Nadine M. Lambert, and Barbara L. McCombs served with Dr. Spielberger as PsyEd Task Force Co-chairs. The Task Force also included Drs. Henry C. Ellis, James J. Gallagher, Wayne H. Holtzman, Howard M. Knoff, Harold F. O’Neil, Jr., Sylvia A. Rosenfield, and Thomas J. Shuell. Dr. C. Larry Hutchins, Executive Director of McRel, served as principal educational consultant for the Task Force. Dr. Cynthia G. Baum served as the APA staff consultant."

"Guidelines for Effective Instructional Design\nProfessional literature abounds in the area of knowledge about how we learn and learn to learn, yet no single theory explains the entire range of human learning. This document is an attempt to distill some useful guidelines for developing online resources without getting overly technical in the process.Much of what follows would attain in any learning environment, but one of the advantages of the web is is ability to facilitate so much of what we understand to be pedagogically sound instructional methodologies. This vital relationship, and not the technology in and of itself, forms the basis for determining best practices.\nThis list is based on such an attempt at guidelines produced by M. and K.L. Kumar in Educational Technology, May-June 1995 issue.\n1. Declare clear objectives.\nOvertly communicating the objectives for the implementation of the learning resoure is paramount. Keep these objectives in focus every step of the way from planning to implementation to evaluation. Employ mastery learning techniques. Prescribing the content and objectives in advancefacilitates mastery of subject matter.\n2. Establish a learner profile.\nGet to know your students- their abilities, expectations and needs. Prior knowledge of the learners' level of mental processing provides a foundation for building up of higher level cognitive activities.\n3. Organize the subject matter.\nThis organization is in terms of concepts and principles and serves to enable the instructor to match the level of instruction to the leearner's level of reception.\n4. Communicate the rationale.\nLearners find motivation in knowing just WHY it is important that they learn the subject matter. Their immediuate felt needs may tell thenm that they HAVE no need. It is therefore important to apprise them of the reasons the material is relevant to them, their professional growth, or learning objectives. This personalizes the learning and gives it context. Consideration for this issue can aid in making the instruction motivating, challenging and interesting.\n5. Provide context.\nProviding \"advance organizers\" serves to explain, integrate, and interrelate the material being learned with previously learned material. This aids in giving the hook they need to hang new learning on (a schema is provided which in turn provides structure). This is also known as \"ideational scaffolding\" in which support and prompts are provided and gradually taken away as students integrate the material. Here is another link on this idea.\n6. Chunk information.\nDivide a complex task into smaller, achievable learning units and subunits in terms of a hierarchy of events. While this enables learner satisfaction, it does not lower the bar to allow the learner to determine the content.\n7. Organize your content into a meaningful whole\nCue words, mnemonics devices, relational metaphors, graphics and schematics can help organize complex information into easy to remember structures while consistency in their use provides a means of perceptual organization to the learner.\n8. Use positive reinforcement.\nAssociating positive and pleasant events with learning tasks facilitates learning. Associating a new stimulus with a natural response facilitates FASTER learning.By providing reinforcement in a variable ratio schedule, the learner's interest is sustained.the provision of immediate feedback to learner responses allows the learner to know the difference in correctness and error and contributes to motivation for learning. Tasks such as online projects and student publication or work, practical tutorial exercises with appropriate feedback, group discussion and online quizzes are readily facilitated by Blackboard.\n9. Provide variety.\nVarying your activities during teaching sustains the learner's attention. Variations in teaching methods, audiovisuals, styles of work, levels of interaction, use of humor, and interactive assignments promote instruction. Presenting information in multiple ways also has been seen to address different learning styles. Practice provided through different senses and through a variety of meaningful activities.\n10. Dynamically assess learner comprehension.\nThis can be accomplished through simple question and answers, as well as online quizzes andsurveys with approriate feedback. Tracking student usage of resources is now possible as well. This can help diagnose holes in the learners' knowledge.\n11. Allow time for cognitive priocessing.\nOne advantage of presenting resources online is that they may be accessed in a self paced manner. This allows time for insights to occur. It may be necessary to withhold access to subsequent levels of instruction until mastery of prerequisite skill sets is accomplished and measured. Blackboard allows this to be done with quizzes and access tooggles.\n12. Create a learning environment.\nProviding an environment that is conducive to learning is important. External stimulation controls the arousal level. The learning environment should reduce the time and effort required to complete the same task one would complete in the real world. Use concrete metaphors and make them plain so the users have a set of expectations to apply. Whenever appropriate, use audio or visual effects that support the metaphor. Visually confusing or unattractive screens detract from the effectiveness of the site. The appearance of objects on the screen must communicate their function. This goes beyond \"prettiness\". The web is now a visual communications medium. As you design your site, it is important to ensure that the user can transfer knowledge between sections of the site. The basic idea is to make the user comfortable- do not change the look and feel of the site from one part to another. For instance, keep the menu bar in a consistent location. Providing familiar landmarks provides a feeling of stability!\n13.Require the learner to respond.\nActivity oriented formats require the learner to respond, organize, hypothesize, abstract and process information. Thw web is a great tool to facilitate this. Used in tandem with group collaborative assignments and discussion board interactions, one may engage the learner in a way that goes beyond surface interactions.\n14. Model your own thought processes.\nA teacher may demonstrate their own way of thinking about the subject matter by thinking aloud in descriptive terms about the processes by which conclusions are arrived at. These processes can be mimiced in the web format, giving prompt questions and providing resources to explore.\n15. Prepare appropriate tasks.\nSelf learning exercises and assignements, online research, and information harvesting allows students to make new co0nnections in a non linear fashion. Based on your content, this may be very appropriate. Online resources also accommodate learning in a self paced fashion.\n16. Summarize and recapitulate.\nThese methods are effective tools if they are complete enough to serve as repetition and reiteration of salient points. Preparedness for future learning is assured by laying the groundwork in this fashion. Expectations are created, and this may be facilitated both by summarrization of threaded discussions, Critique of online projects with ties back to primary content, or requiring student summariesto be posted online.\nBlackboard allows for the creation of any number of levels of resources that are presented online. These can range from a simple clearinghouse for course information to a virtual learning environment. Feel free to wade in shallow wates until you get your bearing. As time passes, we will see more and more innovative uses for the Blackboard environment.Some basic but key questions to inform how you use it follows.\nA. Does the site focus on content?\nBlackboard facilitates this by making the technological environment as transparent as possible.This goes beyond how the course looks- it is more about accessibility and ease of use. Blackboard utilizes cross platform tools and accommodates lower end computers (contingent on how far you go with multimedia). Student orientation to the tools is easier than it ever was in any other online environment, but the some kind of orientation is required. Student tools includes resources and a manual for students. the comfort level of the instructor is facilitated by the ease of use of the tools along with appropriate training experiences.\nB. Does the site teach to objectives?\nAsk yourself: What value is added by online delivery of resources? Blackboard facilitates the access to online materials that are avaialble from anywhere a student has an internet connection and the time to use it. As the instructore, you must determine if the online content has goals, objectives and competencies that are in keeping with traditional offerings of your course. Blackboard makes the incorporsation of interactivity and hyperlinks relatively painless, though creating a site can be tedious and time consuming on your first foray into the possibilities. A great pluis is the ability to provide just in time information and the ability to update information with the click of a submit button. This could actually be done \"on the fly\" in the classroom itself, if it were reasonable or expedient to do so.\nC. Does the site create a community?\nThis may vary based on your implementation of Blackboard. Virtual chat is a feature of Blackboard as well as email and threaded discussion and group capabilities. When used as an added feature to a traditional offering, student group submissions are facilitated as well as tracking of submissions to discussions. Sine the students can see each others submissions in this area, it can also serve as a motivating factor! Since students can have a webpage and place to publish information inside the site, they can readily share information. The instructor retains autonomy over all areas of the site and can extend control as far as is needful. Feedback should be particular and fast. Active and cooperative learning is facilitated in the environment. the instructor can encourage students to take responsibility for their learning as well by contributing to group activities and discussions, or by pooling their individual and group resources and finding additional resources to enhance class learning.\nD. Does the site measure success?\nEvaluation is facilitated boith in the capability to track student access, participation and portfolio submission as well and the online quiz and survey capabilities built into Blackboard. User assessmants can be conducted by survey as well as student evaluation of the course and instructor. Qiizzes are self grading with the exception of essay style questions. Evaluation levels to consider: Student reaction and responses, achievement of objectives, improved learning. Activities can be geared to several different learning architectures:"

"Curriculum planning refers to the creation of a curriculum.\nThere is no clear definition of what a curriculum is. Some definitions are rather centered around student activities, e.g. curriculum is the planned engagement of learners. Some are more subject centered, e.g. \"curriculum is the subject matter taught to students or an arrangement of instructional materials. Furthermore, curriculum can refer to what a school or educational system prescribes for a specific group of learners or at what the teacher does in class. But generally speaking curriculum refers to a macro level as opposed to meso level (e.g. a course) or a micro level (e.g. a lesson).\n“The curriculum of a school is the formal and informal content and process by which learners gain knowledge and understanding, develop skills, and alter attitudes, appreciations, and values under he auspices of that school (Doll, 1996:15)”\n2 Taxonomies of curriculum elements\n2.1 Knowledge Types\nCarson (2004) distinguishes:\n- Empirical knowledge\n- Rational Knowledge\n- Conventional Knowledge\n- Conceptual Knowledge\n- Cognitive Process Skills\n- Psychomotor Knowledge\n- Affective Knowledge\n- Narrative Knowledge\n- Received Knowledge\nA curriculum planner is a tool to help organizing various elements of a curriculum, such as the core objectives (e.g. a competences to achieve), subject, unit definitions, activities, assessments, and resources.\n- CCMap (Oliver et al. 2010) is a simple excel workbook that can aggregate course information from \"Unit worksheets\" and display six course analysis.\n- TODCM is (quote): “the very first open source software application for curriculum mapping. No software license fees. [....] It helps schools and organizations to implement a curriculum mapping tool according to their own specific requirements. TODCM is based on the user interface concept of the Zurich Mapping System (ZMS) developed by Greg Curtis, Zurich International School” (added 4/2013).\n- Curriculum Topics by Russel Yates, retrieved 17:52, 24 July 2007 (MEST).\n- Gross Davis, Barbara, Tools for Teaching, Preparing or Revising a Course HTML, retrieved 17:52, 24 July 2007 (MEST). (book excerpt).\n- Bloom, B. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. New York: David McKay Co.\n- Carson, Robert N. (2004). A Taxonomy of Knowledge Types for Use in Curriculum Design, Interchange, Vol. 35/1, 59-79, 2004. PDF (Access restricted)\n- Doll, R. C. (1996). Curriculum Improvement: Decision making and process. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.\n- March, J. K., Peters, K. H. (2002). Curriculum Development and Instructional Design in the Effective Schools Process.\n- Oliver, Beverly et al. (2010). Mapping the Curriculum for Quality Enhancement: Refining a Tool and Processes for the Purpose of Curriculum Renewal, Proceedings of AuQF2010 PDF\n- Posner, G and Rudnitsky, A (1982) Course Design, A Guide to Curriculum Development for Teachers. New York: Longman, Inc.\n- T. Valiga and C. Magel (2001) Curriculum Definitions and Influencing Factors, Faculty Development Institute, NLN"

"Supervision of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment\nUniversity of _______________________\n| Integrated curriculum is an educational approach that prepares children for lifelong learning. There is a strong | |belief among those who support curriculum integration that schools must look at education as a process for developing | |abilities required by life in the twenty-first century, rather than discrete, departmentalized subject matter. Thus, | |bringing together various aspects of the curriculum into meaningful association to focus upon broad areas of study. It | |views learning and teaching in a holistic way and reflects the real world, which is interactive. In general, integrated | |curriculum includes: combining subjects, emphasizing projects, linking concepts, creating flexible schedules/ groups, and | |using sources other than textbooks. Why is curriculum integration important for students in many school districts? It | |provides students with theme-based tasks as they relate concepts and ideas, and assessment is continuous, based on learning| |tasks. Additionally, it allows students to relate school activities to those outside of school, providing them with | |expanded ideas and the ability to listen to others. In turn, these positives attributes will, hopefully, result in more | |respect, responsibility, and cooperation among students. | |The three major components of integration are: instruction, hands-on curriculum, and parent involvement. Instruction is | |planned to accommodate individual interests, abilities, and rates of learning while fostering a climate of teamwork and | |mutual support. Students are grouped into heterogeneous, mixed-age classes that are taught by a two-teacher team. Students | |stay with..."

"School of Integration Curriculum and\nSchool Prospectus, Curriculum, and Planning documents\n- Comparison of integrated and subject context curriculums\n- Mission statement\n- Summary of goals\n- Contextual area and ideas for an integrated curriculum\n- Planning table with sample questions for contextual areas\n- Focus question for Big Ideas to use as themes of study\n- Planning matrix for the theme - water and questions relating to context areas and school goals\n- Blank planning matrix for a theme and questions related to contextual areas and school goals\nIntroduction: This article explores a truly integrated studies school experience and curriculum. The information is presented as a: school prospectus, which includes curriculum and planning documents for our integrated studies school based philosophy.\nAn overview of the topics and categories is included in a box to the right.\nWe begin with a short comparison of an integrated curriculum and subject oriented curriculum.\nSchool of Integrated studies\n- Based on student interests guided by the mission of the school with goals and content categorized in ways other than subjects\n- Conceptual based on concepts, relationships, and generalizations constructed by students creative and imaginative questioning through an investigative process to develop critical thinking practices and processes for all literacies of a quality and productive education.\nSubject oriented Curriculum contexts\n- Factual knowledge based\n- Retelling of information in a rational logical procedure related to the develop of different subjects (mathematics, science, literature, history, geography, art, music, ...)\n- Content focused to maximize quantity of learning as a product of production evaluated by grading.\n- There is a connectedness of all things.\n- Students achieve more with a learner centered environment.\n- Schools are mission driven.\n- Learning is contextual.\n- Powerful learning focuses on relevant questions and contextual relationships between facts, concepts, relationships, and generalizations associated with those questions.\n- Learning is framed by observations, facts, concepts, relationships, and universal principles that are bridges to big ideas and generalizations.\n- Shared purposes energize a learning community.\n- Common purposes are arrived at through communication of: clarifying assumptions, visioning a common mission, goal setting, deriving outcomes, and principled procedures which are developed and shared by a community of educators and learners.\nOur school provides a vigorous dynamic educational system characterized by:\n- caring, dedicate and highly competent staff,\n- innovative instruction,\n- emerging technology,\n- comprehensive programs,\n- partnerships with an involved and supportive community.\nThat will educate students who:\n- are literate,\n- think critically,\n- communicate effectively,\n- value and demonstrate high ethical conduct,\n- possess positive self-efficacy.\n- contribute to their community, and\n- excel among people throughout the world\nOur School of Integration will be\n- a place where students, faculty, and staff believe what they think and do matters.\n- a place where people observe, examine, ponder, discuss, and analyze,\n- where people speak and listen with an open-mind and respect for others,\n- where people develop the desire to ask good questions,\n- a place where each and all work for the common good, and\n- think beyond oneself and their time.\nStudents will be more inclined to:\n- take a stand on emerging and enduring issues,\n- be reflective and proactive in thought,\n- demonstrate a sense of connection to a larger group,\n- have a feel for the post-graduation contributions to be made,\n- have a shared ethical ethic,\n- readily deploy their intellectual arsenal, and\n- reveal a sense of efficacy and belief that a difference will be made.\nOutcomes are expressed as observations and artifacts that can be seen by participants and visitors to our school. They will witness:\n- An integrated curriculum as \"Life in all of its manifestations.\" A community with a diversity of objects, people, other living and nonliving things and ideas which are used as the primary sources and resources for students to wonder, question, experience, and participate in learning to achieve our seven goals.\n- A learning community that is a supportive, sensitive, responsive, and accepting learning environments that strives to enhance self-worth, creative intellectual endeavors, responsible behavior, and self-efficacy. A community where ownership, responsibility, and accountability are assumed to be synonymous with membership in the community.\n- A learning community that reflects the interests and capabilities of all students where each has much power over her learning environment as she is capable of handling.\n- A learning community with cooperation and synergy where everyone is both a learner and a resource for everyone else. With goals set and outcomes achieved that challenge the intuition, creativity, imagination, knowledge, and skills of the members, including the instructors.\n- A learning community which extends beyond the walls of the classroom.\n- A community with participants who are involved intellectually and emotionally in learning experiences with little or no fear and anxiety.\n- A community where decisions are consistent, ethical, and responsive to the needs of all members and the community itself.\n- Assessment as learning experiences which is regular, unbiased, consistent, appropriate, and communicated through a variety of feedback loops.\n- Achievement of the school's seven goals through its four contextual areas.\n- Diverse groups of heterogeneous individual students, who are randomly assigned to a classroom resulting in a genuine dependable learning community.\n- Develop literacy to find and use information effectively.\n- Exhibit creativity.\n- Think critically to understand the world and establishing meaning in their lives by defining ethical goals and demonstrating skill in using them in their decision making and actions.\n- Communicate effectively.\n- Display interpersonal skills, self-understanding, and ethical conduct.\n- Demonstrate global responsibility and cross-cultural understanding.\n- Develop and maintain personal wellness practices.\n|1. Literacy||Develop literacy to find and use information effectively.|\n|2. Creativity||Exhibit creativity.|\n|3. Think critically||Think critically to understand the world and establishing meaning in their lives by defining ethical goals and demonstrating skill in using them in their decision making and actions.|\n|4. Communicate effectively||Communicate effectively.|\n|5. Interpersonal skills||Display interpersonal skills, self-understanding, and ethical conduct.|\n|6. Global responsibility||Demonstrate global responsibility and cross-cultural understanding.|\n|7. Personal wellness||Develop and maintain personal wellness practices.|\nAn integrated curriculum needs a context for ideas or content information to teach. In a traditional curriculum these ideas come from the subject areas. Ours come from the follow four context categories:\nFour contextual areas with concepts and relationships:\n1. Global: Our experiences and relationships with the world: physical reality, the biosphere, and the global ecological systems. This context emphasizes a global perspective with: interdependence, sustainability and recognition of limits, diversity, partnership, competition, cooperation, change, cycles, and energy flow. Emphasis is on the organic nature of planet Earth and all its physical, cultural, and knowledge systems.\n- Interdependence: a relationship in which the success of the whole depends upon the success of each individual member, just as the success of each member depends upon the success of the whole.\n- Sustainability and recognitions of limits: every organism is part of a system and requires a resource base to provide the raw materials upon which the system and it's members depend for survival. This resource base is limited with respects to Earth. The long-term sustainability (survival) of any system depends on its ability to live within the limits of its system.\n- Diversity: in general greater diversity results in greater stability. An oak forest with its rich diversity of life is far more stable than a mono-culture like a cornfield. The diversity of ethnic cultural backgrounds is one of the strengths of our nation. In all human organizations, diversity is necessary to maintain stability. Especially important in an age of narrow specialization.\n- Partnership: too much competition leads to burnout, self-destruction, monopolies, controlling cultures of winners and losers. Too much cooperation leads to passivity, inertia, apathy, and cultures of over reliance on governmental agencies. There is a powerful bias in our country toward unrestrained competition in human economies (social Darwinism). There is no such thing as unrestrained competition in nature, and no one believes in unrestrained economic, banking, and political competition. In natural systems, competition within species is always constrained by cooperative strategies such as territoriality and dominance hierarchy. Competition between species is controlled by factors such as adaptive modifications, which often result in two similar species utilizing entirely different food sources. In cultural systems, the most vocal defenders of unrestrained economic competition are often the first to exploit political means to protect them self from the very competition that they defend. It is through ethical and productive partnerships that a sort of balance can be sustained to reduce oppression and increase the well-being of many for their pursuit of happiness.\n- Change: occurs as matter, organisms, systems, and groups evolve through an interplay of creation, entropy, homeostasis, and mutual adaptation.\n- Cycles: fluctuate as feedback loops provide various levels of tolerance in the dynamic interplay between stability and instability. Seasons, life cycles, economic cycles, atoms, molecules, matter, planetary ecological systems, living organisms, flow of money... Just as urinalysis provides information/feedback about the health of the human body, the quality of our planetary water supply provides information/feedback about the health of our ecological system. Other cycles: the relationship between public purposes and private interests. Supply and demand, Human rest cycles to growth cycles. ...\n- Energy Flow When physical objects and systems with different energy states interact there is a transfer of energy flowing from a source to a receiver. Living systems are dependent upon an external energy source for survival. Cultural systems depend on resources and information as external forms of energy. Money, knowledge, and data are forms of energy transferred into information by the human mind. Just as the health of natural systems depends on a free flow of solar energy throughout the system, the health of a cultural system requires a free flow of information. System imbalance occurs whenever there is a glut of energy/information in one part of a system at the expense of the rest of the system. When the imbalance becomes too great a systemic catastrophe results.\n2. Relationships: People have relationships with others and themselves. Relationships are subjective and participatory with respect to the nature of human knowledge and experience. We must constantly be aware of our responsibilities to make principled and ethical decisions as individuals which affect ourselves and our community as well as decision made collectively within different communities.\n3. Time: Our place in time relative to the past, present, and future. How our relationship to time has changed, is changing, and will change. Seeing time as a continuous and constant process that progressively changes as it incorporates a historical perspective with a present perspective, and expands into a future perspective; which impacts our understanding, critical thinking, and decision making processes.\n4. Symbolic: Our relationship to the world of information and knowledge. We recognize ideas, symbols, relationships, and metaphors as human creations and as such the significance that different perspectives can have in shaping our thoughts and actions. Constantly reminding ourselves that the same information can mean different things to different people. In the symbolic context we emphasize: observations, facts, concepts, relationships, generalizations, and connectedness as resources in a systematic approach to selecting, organizing, and processing information with critical thinking and higher-order skills to answer questions and solve problems with a focus on the quality of information rather than the quantity.\nThe four contextual areas: 1. global, 2. relationships, 3. time, and 4. symbolic become the contexts in which learning is organized, planned, implemented, and assessed relative to our educational goals and outcomes.\nSummary of contextual areas in a table format\nIn curriculums organized around subjects (mathematics, science, literature, art, music ...) it is the subjects that are used as contextual areas for study. In our integrated curriculum these four contextual areas will be used to organize learning and teaching. To illustrate this difference the following table has sample questions for each of the four contextual areas that may be asked when seeking and using information to achieve the seven goals of the school.\nLater, examples will be shown how the four context areas are merged with the seven goals to plan units or sequences of study. First, a table is presented with examples of questions whose answers will provide information and understanding related to the contextual areas.\nPlanning table with sample questions related to the four Contextual Areas of our Integrated Curriculum\n|Contextual Areas sub categories||\n|Possible sample focus questions for the four contextual areas:||\nTo merge the context areas with our goals a focus question for a big idea is helpful to plan units of study for students. Possible focus questions for big ideas to explore:\n- What are the benefits of water on earth?\n- What are the values of numbers and number systems?\n- How does the human body work?\n- What is an average 12 year old?\n- What value does science have in today’s world?\n- How will genetic engineering affect human life in the future?\n- How has the natural landscape shaped American history?\n- What makes a culture civilized?\n- What makes a culture modern?\n- What do the various disciplines tell us about war?\n- What is energy?\n- What is matter?\n- What is motion?\n- What is in the sky?\n- What is earth?\n- What is our relationship to the Earth?\n- How do cities deal with waste?\nFinally bringing it all together in a big idea planning matrix for the theme water and questions related to contextual areas and school goals\nTo illustrate this the following table has sample questions for each of the four contextual areas that may be asked when seeking information and understanding related to achieving the goals of the school. While topics are best chosen by students and questions generated by them it would be the responsibility of the teaching staff to chart and modify the information as students present their questions for their topic.\nThe following table present ideas related to the topic of water and possible questions and information as it relates to the context areas and school goals.\nTo continue with our planning, activities would need to be created and assessment guides for scoring student progress in each of the different areas. It is highly probable after students are involved in the selection of the topic and creation of questions, which are inserted in an appropriate cell in the planning matrix above along with some teacher suggestions (if needed), they would be ready and eager to set off to find and explore resources to find information to answer their questions and probably suggest activities to do and ways to share their findings and implement actions related to their findings.\nStudents can also be involved in making suggestions on how their work and artifacts can be assessed. Generic scoring guides can be made for each of the areas to guide students in this process.\n| Theme and Focus questions\n|Develop literacy to find and use information effectively.|\n|Think critically to understand the world and establishing meaning in their lives by defining ethical goals and demonstrating skill in using them in their decision making and actions.|\n|Display interpersonal skills, self-understanding, and ethical conduct.|\n|Demonstrate global responsibility and cross-cultural understanding.|\n|Develop and maintain personal wellness practices.|"

"IMBORIVUNGU, T. EMMANUEL BSU/VTE/M.SC/12/3728\nPost date: Mar 30, 2014 5:20:39 PM\n- What principles best define curriculum evaluation in TVET?\nThe principles that best define curriculum evaluation in TVET is the principle which states that curriculum evaluation is assessment of the merit and worth of a program of studies, a field of study, or a course of study\n- What curriculum evaluation models are most effective for TVET?\nThe curriculum evaluation models that are effective for TVET are; Tyler’s objectives-centered model; Stufflebeam’s context, input, process, product model, Bradley’s effectiveness model.\n- What criteria should be used to develop a curriculum evaluation model in TVET?\nThe following are the criteria to be used for an effective curriculum evaluation model inTVET:\n1. Can be implemented without making inordinate demands upon district resources\n2. Can be applied to all levels of curriculum—programs of study, fields of study, courses of study\n3. Makes provisions for assessing all significant aspects of curriculum—the written, the taught, the supported, the tested, and the learned curricula\n4. makes useful distinctions between merit (intrinsic value) and worth (value for a given context)\n5. Is responsive to the special concerns of district stakeholders and is able to provide them with the data they need for decision making\n6. Is goal oriented, emphasizing objectives and outcomes?\n7. Is sensitive to and makes appropriate provisions for assessing unintended effects\n8. Pays due attention to and makes provisions for assessing formative aspects of evaluation\n9. Is sensitive to and makes provisions for assessing the special context for the curriculum?\n10. Is sensitive to and makes provisions for assessing the aesthetic or qualitative aspects of the curriculum?\n11. Makes provisions for assessing opportunity cost—the opportunities lost by those studying this curriculum\n12. Uses both quantitative and qualitative methods for gathering and analyzing data\n13. Presents findings in reports responsive to the special needs of several audiences\n- How can learning experiences be organized for effective instruction in TVET?\nLearning experiences can be organized for effective instruction in TVET by setting the project parameters, selecting the project director and the evaluation task force, and preparing the evaluation documents.\n- How can the effectiveness of learning experiences in TVET be evaluated?\nThe effectiveness of learning experiences in TVET can be evaluated by;\nA statement of the curriculum goals for that field\nA comprehensive description of the community and the student body\nA list of all required courses in that field, with time allocations and brief descriptions of each course\nA list of all elective courses in the field, including time allocations, course descriptions, and most recent enrollment figures\nA random selection of student schedules\nSyllabi or course guides for all courses offered\nFaculty schedules, showing class enrollments\nOther materials, of course, will be required as the review gets under way, but the above-listed materials are important at the outset.\n- How can a field of study be evaluated?\nA field of study can be evaluated by; preparing for the evaluation, assessing the context, identifying the evaluation issues, developing the evaluation design, and implementing the evaluation design.\n- How can effective teaching in TVET be identified?\nThe effective teaching in TVET can be identified through instructional planning, instructional techniques, provides feedback, communicates expectations, manages behavior, and maximizes instructional time."

"IORSULA, TERHILE BSU/VTE/M.SC/12/3734\nPost date: Mar 31, 2014 8:49:42 AM\nRESPONSES TO GROUP C PRESENTATION\nWhat principles best define curriculum evaluation in TVET?\nThe principle that best define curriculum evaluation is the principle of merit and worth. The proponent of this principle is Guba and LInkoln (1981). The merit signifies that the evaluation must have value that is implicit and independent of any implications. The principle of worth is the value with reference to a particular context or specific application.\nWhat curriculum evaluation models are most effectives for TVET?\nThe curriculum models that are best effective for TVET are:\n1. Behavioural objectives model by Bobbit and Charters.\n2. Decision-making model by Lewis (1981).\n3. The electric approach model.\n4. The context, input, process, product (IPP) model by Phi-Delta Kappa Committee (1971) chaired by Daniel Shuffle bean.\n5. The responsive model which is about reporting the success and the failure of the programme.\n6. The Goal-free model which encourages the evaluator not to be influence or biased by the rhetoric of the programme developers goal statement.\nWhat criteria should be used to develop a curriculum evaluation model in TVET?\nThe following are criteria to be used for an effective curriculum evaluation model in TVET:\n1. A model that cover the scope of the programme in terms of meeting the needs of all the individuals who need and desire occupational training.\n2. A model that makes useful distinctions between merit (intrinsic value) and worth (value for a given context).\n3. Makes provision for the validity of the curriculum content and the teaching procedures in terms of their ability to meeting vocational objectives of the programme.\n4. School be sensitive to and makes appropriate provision for assessing unintended effects.\n5. Should be sensitive to and make provision for assessing the aesthetic or qualitative aspects of the curriculum.\n6. Should makes provision for obtaining follow-up information in order to establish the degree of effectiveness of the programme.\n7. It should be applied to all levels of curriculum programs of study, fields of study and course of study.\n8. Presents findings in reports responsive to the special needs of several audiences.\nHow can learning experiences be organised for effective instruction in TVET?\nLearning experiences can be organised for effective instruction in TVET by setting the project parameter, selecting the project direction and evaluation task force, and preparing the evaluation documents. Maximise time on purposeful instructional tasks and establish routines rules known by all students.\nHow can the effectiveness of learning experiences in TVET be evaluated?\nThe effectiveness of learning experiences in TVET can be evaluated thus:\n1. With comprehensive description of the community and the students body.\n2. With a random selection of students schedules course guide for all courses offered.\n3. With a comprehensive learning goals.\n4. With appropriate methods that employ attitude scales and simulated situations requiring an attitudinal response.\nHow can a field of study be evaluated?\nThe field of study can be evaluated in the following phases:\n1. Preparing for the evaluation\n2. Assessing the context\n3. Identifying the evaluation issues.\n4. Developing the evaluation design\n5. Implementing the evaluation design.\nHow can effective teaching in TVET be identified?\nThe effective teaching in TVET can be identified through instructional planning, instructional techniques, provides feedback to learners, community expectations to learners, manages behaviour, and maximizing instructional time."

"Unit Plan: Circumference, Area and Volume\nMath / Grade 7\nThe constant ratio between the circumference and diameter of circles can be used to describe, measure and compare spatial relationships.\n- Space (spatial awareness)\n- Cause and effect\nStudents will keep considering…\nTeachers should consider how summative assessments should be based on clear criteria and include a variety of ways for students to show demonstrate their learning.\nTeacher will monitor progress:\nTeachers can monitor progress through ongoing formative assessment including but not limited to:\nHow will teachers and their students reflect on and evaluate the completed project?\n- What aspects of the unit went well\n- What did students struggle with\n- What did you struggle with?\n- What would you add/revise the next time you taught this unit?\n- Were there any unintended outcomes?\n- Were students engaged?\nStage 3 – Learning Plan\nEXECUTE THE LEARNING PLAN\n- These learning events/activities are suggested activities only.\n- In some cases the plans are not fully completed lesson plans.\n- The teacher may choose some lessons/activities to span over several lessons.\n- Teachers may add, revise and adapt these lessons based on the needs of their students, their personal preferences for resources, and the use of a variety of instructional techniques.\nLearning events are enriched for students when teachers consider the “WHERE TO” acronym and guiding organizer by Wiggins and McTighe.\nThe Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:\nThe Big Ideas consist of generalizations and principles and the key concepts important in an area of learning. The Big Ideas represent what students will understand at the completion of the curriculum for their grade. They are intended to endure beyond a single grade and contribute to future understanding.\nThe set of abilities that students use to impart and exchange information, experiences and ideas, to explore the world around them, and to understand and effectively engage in the use of digital media\nThe knowledge, skills and processes we associate with intellectual development\nThe set of abilities that relate to students’ identity in the world, both as individuals and as members of their community and society\nCurricular Competencies & Content\nCurricular Competencies are the skills, strategies, and processes that students develop over time. They reflect the “Do” in the Know-Do-Understand model of curriculum. The Curricular Competencies are built on the thinking, communicating, and personal and social competencies relevant to disciplines that make up an area of learning."

"ADE605Theory & Approaches in Art Education Curricular Content Prepared By : Mr. Syamsul Nor Azlan Mohamad\nCurricular Content Introduction to Curricular The formal and informal content and process by which learners gain knowledge and understanding, develop skills, and alter attitudes, appreciations, and values under the auspices of school. The planned and guided learning experiences and intended learning outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences, under the auspices of the school, for the learners’ continuous and willful growth in personal social competence. (Daniel Tanner, 1980)\nCurricular Content Good Curricular Content Implementing good curricular alignment in your instructional program is important for several reasons. Programs with good curricular alignment are more efficient. Each aspect of the content being taught is directly related to each other and to the instructional goals. This ensures that superfluous content is not included in the curriculum. We (educators) teach certain concepts because we enjoy them the most, not because they are related to our instructional goals.\nCurricular Content Good Curricular Content Curricular alignment weeds out any content that does not relate to our goals and could save us much valuable instructional time. Instructional time becomes even more valuable as more states implement testing programs for accountability. Instructional units and whole classes with good curricular alignment are easier for students to follow. Students can figure out how each aspect of the content relates to other aspects and to real world ideas and tasks.\nCurricular Content Curriculum Development (Click here) The most frequent quoted theoretical formulation in the field of curriculum has been that published by Ralph Tyler in 1949. Four questions that need to be answered in developing any curriculum and plan of instruction: 1. What are worthwhile educational objectives? 2. What activities will allow us to accomplish these objectives? 3. How should we organize the activities? 4. How will we know if weve accomplished the activities? These questions may be reformulated into four-step process: stating objectives, selecting learning experiences, organizing learning experiences, and evaluating the curriculum.\nCurricular Content Curriculum Development The educational objectives originate from three sources: studies of society, studies of learning, and subject-matter specialists. These data systematically collected and analyzed form the basis of initial objectives to be tested for their attainability and their efforts in real curriculum situations. On steps of selection and organization of learning experiences as the means for achieving outcomes, and, finally, evaluating in terms of those learning outcomes. Tyler recognizes a problem in connection with the selection of learning experiences by a teacher or curriculum designer. The problem is that by definition a learning experience is the interaction between a student and her environment.\nCurricular Content Curriculum Development The learning experience is based on its function of the perceptions, interests, and previous experiences of the student. Teacher can control the learning experience through the manipulation of the environment, which results in stimulating situations sufficient to evoke the kind of learning outcomes desired. Evaluation is the process of determining to what extent the educational objectives are being realized by the curriculum. Curriculum evaluation is the process of matching initial expectations in the form of behavioral objectives with outcomes achieved by the learner."

"The nature of the elements and the manner in which they are organized may comprise which we call a curriculum design.\nComponent 1: Curriculum Aims, Goals and Objectives\nAims: Elementary, Secondary, and Tertiary\nGoals: School Vision and Mission\nObjectives: educational objectives\n1. Cognitive – knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation\n2. Affective – receiving, responding, valuing, organization, characterization\n3. psychomotor – perception, set, guided response, mechanism, complex overt response, adaptation, origination\nComponent 2: Curriculum Content or Subject Matter\nInformation to be learned in school, another term for knowledge ( a compendium of facts, concepts, generalization, principles, theories.\n1. Subject-centered view of curriculum: The Fund of human knowledge represents the repository of accumulated discoveries and inventions of man down the centuries, due to man’s exploration of his world\n2. Learner-centered view of curriculum: Relates knowledge to the individual’s personal and social world and how he or she defines reality.\nGerome Bruner: “Knowledge is a model we construct to give meaning and structure to regularities in experience”\nCriteria used in selection of subject matter for the curriculum:\n1. self-sufficiency – “less teaching effort and educational resources, less learner’s effort but more results and effective learning outcomes – most economical manner (Scheffler, 1970)\n2. significance – contribute to basic ideas to achieve overall aim of curriculum, develop learning skills\n3. validity – meaningful to the learner based on maturity, prior experience, educational and social value\n4. utility – usefulness of the content either for the present or the future\n5. learnability – within the range of the experience of the learners\n6. feasibility – can be learned within the tile allowed, resources available, expertise of the teacher, nature of learner\nPrinciples to follow in organizing the learning contents (Palma, 1992)\n1. BALANCE . Content curriculum should be fairly distributed in depth and breath of the particular learning are or discipline. This will ensure that the level or area will not be overcrowded or less crowded.\n2. ARTICULATION. Each level of subject matter should be smoothly connected to the next, glaring gaps or wasteful overlaps in the subject matter will be avoided.\n3. SEQUENCE. This is the logical arrangement of the subject matter. It refers to the deepening and broadening of content as it is taken up in the higher levels.\nThe horizontal connections are needed in subject areas that are similar so that learning will be elated to one another. This is INTEGRATION.\nLearning requires a continuing application of the new knowledge, skills, attitudes or values so that these will be used in daily living. The constant repetition, review and reinforcement of learning is what is referred to as CONTINUITY.\nComponent 3 – Curriculum Experience\nInstructional strategies and methods will link to curriculum experiences, the core and heart of the curriculum. The instructional strategies and methods will put into action the goals and use of the content in order to produce an outcome.\nTeaching strategies convert the written curriculum to instruction. Among these are time-tested methods, inquiry approaches, constructivist and other emerging strategies that complement new theories in teaching and learning. Educational activities like field trips, conducting experiments, interacting with computer programs and other experiential learning will also form par of the repertoire of teaching.\nWhatever methods the teacher utilizes to implement the curriculum, there will be some guide for the selection and use, Here are some of them:\n1. teaching methods are means to achieve the end\n2. there is no single best teaching method\n3. teaching methods should stimulate the learner’s desire to develop the cognitive, affective, psychomotor, social and spiritual domain of the individual\n4. in the choice of teaching methods, learning styles of the students should be considered\n5. every method should lead to the development of the learning outcome in three domains\n6. flexibility should be a consideration in the use of teaching methods\nComponent 4 – Curriculum Evaluation\nTo be effective, all curricula must have an element of evaluation. Curriculum evaluation refer to the formal determination of the quality, effectiveness or value of the program, process, and product of the curriculum. Several methods of evaluation came up. The most widely used is Stufflebeam's CIPP Model. The process in CIPP model is continuous and very important to curriculum managers.\nCIPP Model – Context (environment of curriculum), Input (ingredients of curriculum), Process (ways and means of implementing), Product accomplishment of goals)- process is continuous.\nRegardless of the methods and materials evaluation will utilize, a suggested plan of action for the process of curriculum evaluation is introduced. These are the steps:\n1. Focus on one particular component of the curriculum. Will it be subject area, the grade level, the course, or the degree program? Specify objectives of evaluation.\n2. Collect or gather the information. Information is made up of data needed regarding the object of evaluation.\n3. Organize the information. This step will require coding, organizing, storing and retrieving data for interpretation.\n4. Analyze information. An appropriate way of analyzing will be utilized.\n5. Report the information. The report of evaluation should be reported to specific audiences. It can be done formally in conferences with stakeholders, or informally through round table discussion and conversations.\n6. Recycle the information for continuous feedback, modifications and adjustments to be made.\n(Activity: \"Is Philippine education really deteriorating?\" This is a big question raised by many sectors of our society. Reflect and research (gather enough data/proof in your particular school/district/division) on this issue. Choose a particular level and a specific subject area as a point o reference).\nSource: Curriculum Development by Purita Bilbao, et. al. LoreMar Pub., 2008)"

"On this page\nOn this page\nCompetence-oriented teaching (Bildungsstandards und Kompetenzen)\nIn Austria, educational standards describe central learning outcomes and competencesin the teaching subjects German, mathematics and English in a systematic selection defined by ordinance. Since 2009, they have formed a central point of reference for those competences that are to be developed sustainably in lessons and that are of central importance for further school and vocational education - also in the sense of lifelong learning - for pupils. Competence acquisition is recognised as an individual, active process in a constructivist sense. Educational standards are used for orientation, promotion and evaluation.\nAccording to §2 of the Ordinance on Educational standards in schools (Verordnung der Bundesministerin für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur über Bildungsstandards im Schulwesen), competences are longer-term cognitive abilities and skills developed by learners that enable them to perform tasks successfully and responsibly in variable situations as well as to demonstrate the associated motivational and social readiness. Competency models are process-oriented model conceptions of the acquisition of subject-related or cross-curricular competencies.\nGeneral ordinance governing the principles of project-centred teaching (Grundsatzerlass zum Projektunterricht)\nIn the curricula of all types of schools, expectations of teaching in the sense of a common educational effect of all subjects can be found in different places (guiding principles, general didactic principles, teaching principles). This corresponds to the networking of the individual disciplines through interdisciplinary, project-oriented and integrative cooperation in order to create meaningful connections that transcend subject boundaries and to enable a lesson organisation that is oriented towards an overall concept.\nThe 7 prime goals of project-centred education are:\n- Autonomous learning and acting\n- Realising one’s own skills and needs and developing them further\n- Developing the willingness to act and assuming responsibility\n- Developing a mind that is open for the world and aware of social-historical problems\n- Recognising and structuring challenges and problematic situations and developing creative approaches to solutions\n- Developing communicative and cooperative competences and the ability to deal with conflicts\n- Understanding and shaping organisational contexts\nProject teaching is understood as the interaction of as many of the following characteristics as possible:\n- Orientation towards the interests of the participants\n- Self-organisation and self-responsibility\n- Goal-oriented planning\n- Acquisition of social skills\n- External impact\n- As project-centred teaching is a teaching principle, it is part of the regular teacher education. Teachers can also find teaching material online provided by the Federal Institute of Educational Research, Innovation and Development (Bundesinstitut für Bildungsforschung, Innovation und Entwicklung (BIFIE). The website www.schule.at provides teaching tools and learning platforms for teachers.\nYoung Science (Junge Wissenschaft)\nWith its Young Science initiatives, the Austrian National Agency for Education and Internationalisation (Agentur für Bildung und Internationalisierung, OeAD) offers opportunities for schools as well as out-of-school initiatives to get in touch and cooperate with research institutions. It provides events and networking opportunities and promotes cooperation between science, school and society. Its initiatives for formal education include:\n- School visits by researchers: As part of the Young Science Ambassadors initiative, researchers from all over Austria visit school classes virtually and in real life to tell pupils about their everyday research life.\n- Seal of quality for research partner schools: Schools that work regularly and closely with scientific institutions can apply every two years for the Young Science seal of quality for research partner schools.\n- Collaboration in research projects: Schools (and interested individuals) who want to collaborate on research projects and support science can participate in research on selected projects and win prizes every year from 1 April to the end of the school year as part of the Citizen Science Awards.\n- Topics for the mandatory school diploma theses: on the Young Science topic platform, young people can find numerous suggestions, including literature tips from researchers.\n- Award for inspiring school diploma theses: All high school graduates who have used the Young Science theme platform are invited to submit their finished work for the Young Science Inspiration Award each year. Inspiring ideas for science are awarded with cash prizes.\nNational Innovation Strategies\nThe Strategy for Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI-Strategy) of the Federal Government defines the strategic and operative goals on innovation over the next decade.The foundation of this strategy was prepared by an inter-ministerial working group on the basis of existing studies and involving input from the social partners and crucial stakeholders. Austria has a separate Open Innovation Strategy (Strategie), which was presented to the council of ministers in July 2016 as a vision for 2025.\nObjectives for the education system (Strategy for Research, Technology and Innovation)\n- Promotion of the talents of people in all levels of education, awakening their passion for research, and facilitation of the best possible training for business dealings and scientific research. This should guarantee universities, research institutions and firms a sufficient pool of highly qualified researchers.\n- The entire education system must be optimised, from the early childhood phase to models of lifelong learning.\n- These reforms attempt to mitigate social selectivity, to improve permeability between education courses and tracks, to implement thorough quality improvements in school and university instruction, to better integrate immigrants, and to balance out gender discrepancies in research.\n- The portion of drop-outs should be reduced\n- The portion of pupils graduating with a school-leaving certificate for an age cohort should be raised\n- Among the pupils whose first language is not German the share of those who do complete upper secondary school should increase\n- The conditions of study at universities should be fundamentally improved and the proportion of 30- to 34-year-olds who have completed a university degree or have an equivalent educational certificate should be increased\nStructural reform of the education system in support of the Strategy\n- Increase the number of full-day schools and expand need-based full-day child care\n- Expand the vocational diploma programme for apprentices and the vocational school leaving examination for adults as a course of study\n- Introduce Austria-wide educational standards and partially standardised final examinations\n- Further develop the school system in terms of better individual support and an increase in permeability, especially in lower secondary school\n- Strengthen human potential in the areas of mathematics, information technology, life sciences, and technology through targeted funding in (pre-)school education and at university institutions\n- Improve educational transitions: expand career orientation and study advising in schools\n- Improve integration programmes: increase hiring of teachers whose first language is not German, and intercultural employees and offer more language teaching\n- Increase mobility: targeted increase of mobility among students and graduates in selected countries, expand exchange programmes for pupils, students and teachers at all levels\nAreas and measures of the Open Innovation Strategy\nThree action areas ‘Culture & Competences’, ‘Networks & Cooperation’, and ‘Resources and Framework Conditions’ have been defined. Measures relevant for education:\n- Create open innovation and experimental spaces\n- Embed open innovation elements at kindergartens and schools as well as in teacher training\n- Build up research competence for the application of open innovation in science\n- Develop and implement co-creation and open innovation training programmes\n- Embed principles of open data and open access in research\nYoung Science (Junge Wissenschaft)\nWith its Young Science initiatives, the Austrian National Agency for Education and Internationalisation (Agentur für Bildung und Internationalisierung, OeAD) offers opportunities for schools as well as out-of-school initiatives to get in touch and cooperate with research institutions. It provides events and networking opportunities and promotes cooperation between science, school and society. Its initiatives include:\n- ‘Pupils at Universities’ offers particularly motivated or gifted pupils the opportunity to attend courses at Austrian universities and take exams while still at school and shortens their later time of study\n- Children's and young people's universities offer a way explore the world of science and research in lectures, workshops, field trips, etc. Under the title ‘Science Holidays - Take a holiday in the world of science (“Mach' Ferien in der Welt der Wissenschaft”), additional holiday care programmes have been funded since 2020.\nTry studying (Studieren Probieren)\nWithin this project, visits of lectures at universities, universities of applied science, and teacher training colleges are organised for pupils. This helps them to get to know university offers and to decide upon their future study courses.\nYour projects (EureProjekte)\nYoung people with a project idea can apply for a grant of up to €500 (€750 in 2019, for projects with the focus on climate protection and sustainability). In addition to this initial funding, they also receive an individual project consultation with employees of the youth information centres in the Federal States. The aim of Eure Projekte is for young people to experience their own effectiveness and to put themselves to the test – and failure is allowed! At the same time, young people’s innovation and commitment are made visible.\nNew skills conference (New skills Konferenz)\nWithin the framework of Erasmus+, the new skills conference takes place every year since 2012. In 2017, this conference is conducted in co-operation with the Austrian Chamber of commerce. The conference is aimed at entrepreneurs, project promoters, political decision-makers as well as experts and stakeholders from the fields of education, the labour market and business. The event sees itself as a networking platform, enables a thematic exchange and serves as inspiration for new initiatives and projects. The event has a changing focus on different key qualifications and current new skills topics.\nAustria Youth Award (Österreichischer Jugendpreis)\nThe Department for Families and Youth at the Federal Chancellery awards outstanding youth projects in three categories. Besides projects of the EU-programme Erasmus+ and projects supported by EureProjekte, initiatives of national youth work are awarded. An important goal of Austrian youth policy is to make these achievements of youth work visible and to strengthen the charitable involvement of young people. See Chapter 10.7 for more information.\n‘The Austrian Science Center-Network focuses on hands-on engagement with sciences and technology. More than 160 partners nationwide form an alliance of organizations and individuals with an active interest in science centre activities. The Association ScienceCenter-Network serves as the hub for the network, enabling exchange and training as well as performing projects and research. Within ScienceCenter-Network, a wide range of projects for various target groups has been initiated.’ Its aim is to encourage all people, particularly young people, to discover science and technology for themselves. Its aims are to promote a culture of innovation, to contribute to educational equity and to stimulate dialogue between science and society. Through its work, the network aims to inspire and empower individuals as visitors and participants in science centre activities, training and networking events. It also accompanies museums and extracurricular educational institutions in developing, implementing and exchanging high-quality formats of hands-on education.\naufZAQ is a certification of training courses for people active in youth work, provided by the Department for Families and Youth at the Federal Chancellery, the Youth Departments of the Federal States of Austria and the Youth Work Department of the Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano – South Tyrol. aufZAQ has been certifying the quality of training since 2003 and has thus been contributing actively to the recognition of non-formal education in the field of youth work. So far, 34 different training courses have been certified, some of the offered courses include innovation fostering.\nInformation on funding\nAs several public bodies and various funding lines are involved in the funding of measures, initiatives and/or projects dedicated to fostering creativity and innovation of young people a concrete budget cannot be specified."

"Wellbeing for Children: Identity and Values.\nText extracted from: Programación y Unidades Didácticas. Método de elaboración y presentación oral.\nWe have already seen how RD 126/14 defines this curricular element stressing its referential character in relation to the students expected outcomes. This simple definition does not solve the controversial issue you may come across when setting the objectives for your programming.\nThe aforementioned RD establishes the objectives to be achieved for the whole stage of primary education (stage general objectives, SGO); as a logical consequence, they are formulated to gather the practical knowledge in all subject areas. Moreover, they cover other aspects with a more “transversal” treatment which must be approached from all the areas, like valuing and respecting coexistence norms, development of self-confidence, prevention of conflicts, appreciation and respect for different cultures and environmental awareness, amongst others.\nThe essence of these objectives can easily be identified with one or two words; a useful strategy to quickly relate them naturally to our educative tasks, finding logical relations and showing mastery of curricular connections in our oral defence. We shall return to the oral presentation further on; now we should meet the SGO, remarking objective “f”, which directly refers to the final outcome that children should attain after their primary schooling. Yet, at this point it may be more than familiar: the development of practical communicative abilities, getting them to use the FL in everyday living. A careful reading is likely to be more advisable than explaining the obvious.\na)To know and appreciate the values and rules of coexistence, learning to behave accordingly, prepare them for active citizenship, respecting human rights and the natural pluralism of a democratic society.\nb)To develop individual and team work habits, showing effort and responsibility for their work as well as self-confidence attitudes, critical awareness, personal initiative, curiosity, interest and creativity in learning, and enterprising spirit.\nc)To acquire abilities for the prevention and pacific conflicts solving, which allow getting by autonomously in familiar and domestic ambience, as well as in the social groups to whom they establish relations with.\nd)To know, understand and respect different cultures and differences amongst people, equal rights and opportunities of men and women and non-discrimination towards the disabled.\ne)To know and use appropriately the Castilian language, and, if so, the co-official language of the autonomous community and develop reading habits.\nf)To acquire, in at least a FL, the basic communicative competence that allows them understand and produce simple messages, getting by in everyday situations.\ng)To develop basic mathematical competence and begin to solve problems which require elemental arithmetical operations, geometry and calculations, and be capable of applying them to situations from their daily lives.\nh)To know the fundamental aspects of Natural Science, Social Science, Geography, History and culture.\ni)To begin to use information and communication technologies, developing critical awareness of the messages sent and received.\nj)To use different representations and artistic expressions and initiate in the construction of visual and audiovisual proposals.\nk)To value hygiene and health, accept the own human body and others, respect differences and use physical education and sport as a means for personal and social development.\nl)To know and value the animals closed to human being and adopt a behaviour favouring its care.\nm)To develop their affective capacities in all respects of personality and in their relationships with others, as well as an attitude against violence, prejudices of any kind and sexist stereotypes.\nn)To foster road safety and attitudes of respect for norms to prevent road accidents.\nA crucial step in our programming learning process consists of a simple investigation. We need to find out if the regional curriculum includes any other specification regarding objectives. It is very probable that there are no other inclusions (i.e. area objectives) in the curricular concretion that the autonomous communities make out of RD 126/14. Notwithstanding, there are some regional administrations like the Andalusian one, whose curriculum adds several common stage objectives dealing with the knowledge of the Andalusian culture; and also a series of foreign language objectives (FLO), related to the contents, evaluation criteria and learning indicators (following the Andalusian nomenclature). This fact in itself is not relevant as long as we understand how to accurately reflect the regional distinguishing marks in our FL syllabus. We must be aware that coping with the curriculum layout in the region is the cornerstone to professional syllabus design.\nLet us imagine that the Curriculum Act for the region includes FL objectives (FLO). This means that we must include these objectives in our programming; however, there is a certain autonomy regarding how to do it. For example, if the curriculum organisation relates the FLO one by one with the contents and rest of curricular elements, we may feel free to group them in our document to gain space. This should be done respecting the skills they contribute to; that is, we may group in a chart all the FLO related to the first content block, adding the evaluation criteria and learning standards for the block of listening comprehension.\nNotwithstanding, as we have already pointed out, it is very likely that the regional curriculum does not specify any other objectives and assumes the ones in RD 126/14 for the stage of primary. In this event, there are two clear options:\n-Do not formulate any objectives for the FL, include the SGO in RD 126 in your programming and let it clear (i.e. in a chart) the contribution of our FL syllabus to these objectives. More concretely, a reference to how the products devised in each unit have an impact on the SGO can be remarked, so as to give evidence of curricular coherence by connecting contextualised educative proposals with the objectives that children must attain at the end of their primary schooling.\n-Another option is to conclude that the inclusion of FLO for the grade and also for the different units (two levels of specification, from general to more operative) may be beneficial for the result. In that case, we can perfectly justify the presence of teacher-designed FLO with two irrefutable arguments: first and foremost, as already outlined, the legal educative framework in force defines the objectives as weighty curricular elements, concerned with…\nOur didactic blog: http://blog.oposicionesingles.com\nMore about Road to your Post: oposicionesingles.com"

"Sure parents send their children to summer camp to have fun. And letters home detailing exciting moments during the summer usually more than assure them that they’re getting their money’s worth. But did you know that summer camp also may improve a child’s performance in school?\nFor one, there is routine. Yes, it’s summer camp. Yes, your children are letting loose and having some serious fun. But they’re also maintaining a routine. Studies have shown that children who maintain regular routines get better grades than those who don’t. Many camp programs follow a schedule. Although the individual activities vary from day to day, campers know when they will eat meals, have day and evening activities, shower, and go to bed from day-to-day. Child-experts have noted that maintaining a routine helps children stay focused because it keeps their lives calm and predictable. When children feel calm and safe, they accept change more easily. By maintaining a schedule at camp, children are able to transition more easily from the previous school year into the new one. “Children handle change best if it’s expected and it’s handled in the context of a regular routine,” says Dr. Laura Markham, behavioral specialist. Dr. Markham also notes that routine helps children understand expectations. The faster children are able to transition into their new school year, get settled and understand expectations, the more likely they are to be successful.\nCamp also provides social structure. Social structure helps children learn how to interact with other people. Ultimately, they become better communicators. The benefit of being able to learn this process at camp is the camp social structure has a ready made support system. Summer camp promotes a strong sense of family and tradition. Emphasis is placed on the idea of each person being a valuable member of the camp family and the importance of individual contributions to the continuance of camp traditions. Camps tend to place emphasis on fun rather than appearance. Children are also encouraged to be curious. The atmosphere is very fun, playful, and nonjudgmental. In his 2006 article Why play, Toys, and Games are Important, author Dr. Toy (yes, that’s his real name) says that children feel free to be themselves when they are relaxed and having fun, which makes them better listeners and communicators. Students who are good communicators are less likely to feel frustrated in school.\nAs children mature at camp, they’re taught and given more responsibility. From the first day they arrive at camp, campers obeserve that there are certain rites reserved for specific age groups. They see that even they, as early campers, are not without their own special traditions. But they also learn that there are things to look forward to in getting older and becoming more experienced campers. Older campers take longer trips outside of camp and sometimes journey further away. They stay up later. They have more freedom of choice in their daily activities. There are also have rituals exclusive to mature campers, something that younger campers learn to look forward to when they were young campers and of which they anticipate being a part.\nFinally, there is the element of family in summer camp. Not only do children learn to collaborate and be flexible by co-existing with others and participating regularly in team sports and challenges, they are given additional tools by Camp Directors and Staff who care very much about them and their development. Many camps utilize the services of professionals, such as MA Jeff Leiken, to implement special programs that help older campers prepare for high school and beyond by understanding how to maximize their potential for success.\nSure children have fun at summer camp! But they also learn and maintain healthy habits that help them transition into the role of good student between summers.\n*For more information or to contact Jeff Leiken, please visit his website http://leiken.com."

"Sure parents send their children to summer camp to have fun. And letters home detailing exciting moments during the summer usually more than assure them that they’re getting their money’s worth. But did you know that summer camp also may improve a child’s performance in school?\nFor one, there is routine. Yes, it’s summer camp. Yes, your children are letting loose and having some serious fun. But they’re also maintaining a routine. Studies have shown that children who maintain regular routines get better grades than those who don’t. Many camp programs follow a schedule. Although the individual activities vary from day to day, campers know when they will eat meals, have day and evening activities, shower, and go to bed from day-to-day. Child-experts have noted that maintaining a routine helps children stay focused because it keeps their lives calm and predictable. When children feel calm and safe, they accept change more easily. By maintaining a schedule at camp, children are able to transition more easily from the previous school year into the new one. “Children handle change best if it’s expected and it’s handled in the context of a regular routine,” says Dr. Laura Markham, behavioral specialist. Dr. Markham also notes that routine helps children understand expectations. The faster children are able to transition into their new school year, get settled and understand expectations, the more likely they are to be successful.\nCamp also provides social structure. Social structure helps children learn how to interact with other people. Ultimately, they become better communicators. The benefit of being able to learn this process at camp is the camp social structure has a ready made support system. Summer camp promotes a strong sense of family and tradition. Emphasis is placed on the idea of each person being a valuable member of the camp family and the importance of individual contributions to the continuance of camp traditions. Camps tend to place emphasis on fun rather than appearance. Children are also encouraged to be curious. The atmosphere is very fun, playful, and nonjudgmental. In his 2006 article Why play, Toys, and Games are Important, author Dr. Toy (yes, that’s his real name) says that children feel free to be themselves when they are relaxed and having fun, which makes them better listeners and communicators. Students who are good communicators are less likely to feel frustrated in school.\nAs children mature at camp, they’re taught and given more responsibility. From the first day they arrive at camp, campers obeserve that there are certain rites reserved for specific age groups. They see that even they, as early campers, are not without their own special traditions. But they also learn that there are things to look forward to in getting older and becoming more experienced campers. Older campers take longer trips outside of camp and sometimes journey further away. They stay up later. They have more freedom of choice in their daily activities. There are also have rituals exclusive to mature campers, something that younger campers learn to look forward to when they were young campers and of which they anticipate being a part.\nFinally, there is the element of family in summer camp. Not only do children learn to collaborate and be flexible by co-existing with others and participating regularly in team sports and challenges, they are given additional tools by Camp Directors and Staff who care very much about them and their development. Many camps utilize the services of professionals, such as MA Jeff Leiken, to implement special programs that help older campers prepare for high school and beyond by understanding how to maximize their potential for success.\nSure children have fun at summer camp! But they also learn and maintain healthy habits that help them transition into the role of good student between summers.\n*For more information or to contact Jeff Leiken, please visit his website http://leiken.com."

"DURING the early childhood years, children become more active participants in the daily course of family life. Whether asking to help bake holiday cookies or demanding that a mismatched set of clothes must be worn to preschool every Friday, young children are keenly aware of the daily, weekly, and annual rhythms of family life and eager to be involved as central players. Naturally occurring family routines and meaningful rituals provide both a predictable structure that guides behavior and an emotional climate that supports early development. In this article, we highlight recent evidence that suggests that variations in the practice of family routines and the meaning connected to family rituals are associated with variations in socioemotional, language, academic, and social skill development. While it is unlikely that the presence or absence of routines directly cause such an array of developmental outcomes, we speculate on the organizational features of routines and symbolic nature of rituals that may be closely linked with other mechanisms of developmental processes such as parental efficacy, behavior monitoring, and working models of family relationships. We conclude with methods for assessing family routines and rituals and guidelines for practitioners working with families of young children.\nWe draw conclusions from research conducted with normative populations as well as those experiencing specific challenges that pose risk for the practice of family routines and rituals. In doing so, we take a perspective aligned with ecocultural theory (Weisner, 2002), which posits that families actively construct activity settings that are compatible with their children's characteristics, consistent with family goals and values, and sustainable over time (Lucyshyn et al., 2004). Furthermore, we consider the enactment of family routines as part of a transactional process whereby the relative ease with which they are carried out is affected by characteristics of the child as well as capabilities and characteristics of the parent (Sameroff & Fiese, 2000). We also recognize that cultural values and mores play an important role in regulating these practices (Goodnow, 2002).\nDEFINITIONS OF FAMILY ROUTINES AND RITUALS\nFamily routines and rituals both refer to specific, repeated practices that involve 2 or more family members. Yet they are distinct and can be contrasted along the dimensions of communication, commitment, and continuity (Fiese et al., 2002). Family routines are characterized by communication that is instrumental, involve a momentary time commitment, and are repeated regularly, holding no special meaning. Family rituals involve communication with symbolic meaning, establishing and perpetuating the understanding of what it means to be a member of the group. The time commitment and continuity involved in the performance of rituals often transcends the “here and now” and can include repetition across generations. Family rituals may include celebrations (such as a graduation), traditions (such as annual birthday parties), and patterned interactions (such as a family meal) (Wolin & Bennett, 1984). One way to understand the difference between routines and rituals is by considering the effect that the disruption of these 2 practices has on the family. When routines are disrupted, it may be a hassle; when rituals are disrupted, family cohesion is threatened. Thus, both routines and rituals have the potential to serve important roles in maintaining the structure and emotional climate of daily family life.\nAlthough rituals and routines are distinct, they are interwoven in daily interactions. For example, dinnertime is not purely a routine or a ritual, but rather, contains features of both. During a meal, there are practices that may not have special meaning; distributing food, clearing the table, and washing the dishes. Meaningful symbolic aspects may also be embedded within the meal, such as saying grace, relaying a commonly told story, and having special foods on certain days of the week, such as Shabbat dinner. In this way, dinnertime reflects both routines and rituals. The practical tasks involved with completing the meal may be similar between families and families may practice similar rituals. However, rituals are distinct and unique to particular families, reflecting family identity, culture, and shared values. Embedded in the complexities of day-to-day family life, family routines and rituals provide a context for the development of children.\nRITUALS, ROUTINES, AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT\nMost of the research on family routines and rituals is correlational in nature; thus, we cannot offer strong statements about their causative influences. In this section, we review some of the literature that links variations in routine practices with language development, academic skills, and social skills. Next, we consider how the emotional connections established in these ritualized settings are related to variations in relationship satisfaction and child socioemotional functioning. Much of the research to date has relied on direct observations conducted during family gatherings such as dinnertime or on parent report on the regularity or meaning associated with their practices. While the literature base is somewhat limited, we aim to highlight findings relevant to early development.\nFamily routines and skill development\nThe dinnertime routine is rich with language, exposing children to a broad range of its use including narratives, explanations, clarifications, and cultural rules about speech (Aukrust, 2002; Ely, Gleason, MacGibbon, & Zaretsky, 2001). Within the structure of the meal, families discuss events of the day, share stories about the past, and make plans for the future, all while ensuring that members are well fed (and well-mannered!). Mealtimes provide opportunities to reconnect, organize, and structured dialogue (Blum-Kulka & Snow, 2002).\nOne type of dialogue evident at the dinner table is “meta-language” (Ely et al., 2001). Consider how a conversation about one's day refers to what was said by others, how others responded, and how problems were solved. This type of speech functions to draw the listener's attention to language by using terms such as “say, ask, talk, and read.” Child-directed speech about proper discourse such as “How do you ask nicely?” also constitutes meta-language. Ely and colleagues (2001) suggest that meta-language may be more frequent at the dinner table than pragmatic language such as clarification and elicitation used in other conversations. Thus, dinnertime conversations present family members with specific opportunities to reflect upon and comment on language itself. Not only are young family members provided with an arena rich with conversation, they are engaged in such a way that turn-taking, reading cues, and other language-related practices are emphasized.\nBy virtue of having multiple people present at the meal, language becomes rich and more complex than in dyadic situations (Blum-Kulka & Snow, 2002). Mealtime conversations are noted as opportunities to reinforce vocabulary development. For example, children of parents who incorporate “rare” words at the dinner table such as “stegosaurus” score higher on standardized vocabulary tests (Beals & Snow, 1994). In a longitudinal study of young children, families who engaged in more narrative (eg, talking about an event in the past) or elaborative talk at the table when their children were 3 and 4 years of age were found to have children with larger vocabularies and stronger story comprehension skills at age 5 (Beals, 2001). From this perspective, dinnertime conversations that involve multiple contributors are more likely to be a rich source of language learning including a high quantity of input, opportunities for perspective talking, reasoning, and elaboration. Certainly, these mealtime conversations do not operate in isolation as it is reasonable to expect that more highly educated verbal parents may also engage in more complex and elaborative conversations with their children at the dinner table. While mealtime conversations provide an opportunity to develop important language skills during the early childhood years, other common family routines such as joint book reading may also be associated with important developmental outcomes. We now consider how variations in some family-based routines such as joint book reading and organizational features of the home may be associated with developing academic skills and ease the transition to school environments.\nAcademic skill development\nReading routines may support the development of early literacy skills (Fiese, Eckert, & Spagnola, 2005), setting the stage for continued enjoyment of reading into the school years. Routines embedded in joint book reading, such as finding natural opportunities to identify letters and words, modeling the importance of reading to young children, and collaborating to make meaning of a shared story, have been described as “bridges to literacy” (Rosenkoetter & Barton, 2002). Shared book reading socializes children into the world of reading but more specific to particular skill development, talking with children during book-reading routines provides a rich, descriptive narrative, which, in turn, promotes children's vocabulary skills (Hart & Risley, 1995).\nRosenkoetter and Barton (2002) describe features of book-reading routines that promote later academic success. These include regular engagement with a family member through printed material, responsiveness, repetition, and experiences with sounds. When parents and children read together, the routine includes more than simply conveying the information in the book. It may involve cuddling up in a rocking chair before bed with a favorite story, pointing to pictures, taking turns in sounding out familiar phrases, and adding personal touches to the end of a story. In this way, story time is couched in an emotionally positive event and book reading is viewed by the child as an enjoyable, rewarding experience that extends to beliefs about reading in the school environment.\nBeyond the practice of joint book reading, the regularity of family routines may indicate an overall level of family organization that is more conducive to linking children with schools. In a longitudinal study beginning when children were aged 4, families who showed a stable, high level of commitment in their rituals over a 5-year period had children who showed higher scores on standard tests of academic achievement than did children of families who showed a consistently low level, or a decline from a high level of routinization (Fiese, 2002). While it can be reasonably argued that parental investments in academic success and family routines overlap in nontrivial ways, it is important to note that these effects are not limited to well-educated, middle-class families. For example, investment in dinnertime and reading aloud routines are not distinguishable by family income in low-income and middle-income families (Serpell, Sonnenschein, Baker, & Ganapathy, 2002). Furthermore, regularity of family routines has been found to be associated with academic success in low-income, African American families in urban (Seaton & Taylor, 2003) and rural communities (Brody & Flor, 1997). Family routines may ease the transition to school as they provide children with a model for structure and culturally based expectations for behavior including following directions, turn-taking, and general orderliness (Norton, 1993).\nIn sum, the practice of book-reading routines as well as family organization in general may foster the development of literacy and other related academic skills. As was the case with language development and mealtime conversations, we cannot say with any certainty that family routines cause greater academic success. Rather, the research suggests that families who are adept at folding joint book-reading routines into their busy lives and investing time and energy into maintaining organized activities (such as dinnertime and reading aloud) likewise have children who perform better in school. A third area that has received empirical attention is the relation between predictability and organization of routines and the development of social skills.\nSocial skill development\nFamily routines and rituals provide a structure for the socialization of culturally acceptable behavior in young children. “I want to do it myself” is an assertion that is frequently heard in the homes of toddlers and preschoolers. During the preschool years, children begin to negotiate with parents about routines. Parents are more likely to compromise with their preschool children about food choice and with their early-school-aged children about activities (Nucci & Smetana, 1996). In this way, routines and rituals provide a context for children to practice emerging skills. Routines are an opportunity for “scaffolding” to occur between family members who can structure the child's behavior to achieve a goal and then provide praise and encouragement for its accomplishment (Martini, 2002).\nAlthough there are many aspects of routines that are similar across cultures, these practices are not necessarily standard in meaning and function. Age expectations and beliefs about children's autonomy, relationships with others, and gender roles may differ substantially between different cultural groups. For example, Puerto Rican and Anglo mothers have been found to differ in the ways that they view routines as socialization agents. When engaged in feeding, sleeping, and toilet-training routines, Puerto Rican mothers focus on fostering instrumental independence in their children, whereas Anglo mothers are more likely to emphasize emotional autonomy (Miller & Harwood, 2001; Schulze, Harwood, Schoelmerich, & Leyendecker, 2002). These values express themselves in how the parents taught their children to feed themselves with the Puerto Rican mothers more likely to guide their children's hands to their mouths.\nRoutines of daily living offer parents and children opportunities to foster skill development that encourages autonomy as well as connection with others. Engagement and independence are tempered by cultural mores and their expression in routines may be different across ethnic groups. For this reason, a single behavior may hold different meanings, depending on the cultural context in which it is practiced. While there is some evidence to suggest that there are variations across cultures, we have little data to suggest variations in routine practices associated with variations in achieving milestones in social skill development. However, it is important to note that families may hold different beliefs about what is considered a normative timetable for achieving social skills based on how daily routines are conducted in a particular culture. For example, Puerto Rican parents, caregivers, teachers, and therapists expect children with disabilities to be dependent on their parents for many daily skills until much later than would be expected on tests normed for US mainland Caucasians (Gannotti & Handwerker, 2002). Thus, the simple routine tasks of feeding are not only part of family practices but are also embedded in cultural values.\nDuring the early childhood years, family routines afford the opportunity for engaging children in dyadic and group activities that have been shown to contribute to vocabulary enrichment, social skill building, and later academic achievement. Whether the existence of routines causes these important outcomes has not been tested in the literature, nor is it likely that a single aspect of family organization would culminate in such broad sweeping effects. Rather, family routines under relatively normative conditions appear to be part of the organizational and predictable parts of family life that support child development. We will return to what mechanisms may account for these relations in a later section. Before doing so, we turn our attention to the role that variations in family rituals, or the emotional connections made during family gatherings, may play in child development.\nFamily routines, rituals, and relationships\nThus far, we have considered the predictable elements of family routines and the structure of activities such as mealtimes and joint book reading. Yet, as most would agree when family members are gathered together, over time, emotional connections are made and there are opportunities for positive as well as negative exchanges. Over the course of family life, routine gatherings serve as the foundation for the development of rituals. There are 2 ways in which the emotional connections, or ritual aspects, have been most clearly studied in the literature. First, is the relation between family rituals and relationship satisfaction during the transition to parenthood. Second, are variations in family interaction patterns (most notably affect regulation) at ritual gatherings (most notably mealtime) in relation to child socioemotional functioning.\nMarital satisfaction and family stability\nDuring the early stages of parenthood, feeding, bathing, and naptime routines must be integrated into existing patterns of daily life. The ease with which these routines are established may be related to the well-being of the marital relationship, which, in turn, provides a context for the socioemotional adjustment of the toddler. With the birth of a child, parents must negotiate new roles to meet the needs of the infant. Attempting to recalibrate family routines to fit with the changing needs of the child can be challenging, even for the happiest of couples (Cowan & Cowan, 2000).\nIt is important to recognize that change in routines and rituals is part of the family life cycle (Fiese, 2006). Routines and rituals evolve and do not just appear in full form-–they take work. For example, the phase of moving from “couplehood” to parenthood is a particularly vulnerable, yet important time, for the development of consistent routines and meaningful rituals. Fiese and colleagues compared the establishment of routines and affective investment in family rituals in a group of parents of infants with parents of preschoolers (Fiese, Hooker, Kotary, & Schwagler, 1993). Parents of infants reported fewer predictable routines and less emotional investment in family rituals than did parents of preschoolers. The lives of families with infants are likely focused on intense caregiving demands of establishing feeding and sleeping schedules, which may diminish emotional resources available for the practice of family rituals. However, by the time children reach their preschool years, routines are more predictable and children's behavior is better regulated such that parents feel better equipped to provide emotional investment in sustaining family activities. Indeed, a common remark made in interviews by the parents of infants was the intent to create routines and rituals once life settled down (Fiese, 2006).\nWhat does this mean for the marital relationship and subsequently for the socioemotional development of the child? Marital stability has long been associated with healthy child socioemotional adjustment (Davies & Cummings, 1998), and there is evidence that family routines and rituals are associated with the quality of the marital relationship. For example, Fiese et al. (1993) found that mothers of preschoolers reported being significantly less satisfied with their marriage than did mothers of infants when there was little meaning associated with their family rituals. Yet when high levels of ritual meaning were reported, mothers of preschoolers did not differ in their level of marital satisfaction from mothers of infants. One possibility is that during a time when much energy is being placed on the the establishment of consistent caregiving routines there are few expectations for meaningful family rituals and thus the marital relationship is not affected. However, once family life is expected to be more stable, lack of emotional meaning in rituals may be a marker that other aspects of family life are threatened. The research conducted on the protective function of family rituals following divorce addresses this issue, in part.\nDivorce has the potential to disrupt family life in grand form. For some children, this means living in 2 households during the course of the week. Not infrequently, the households have different sets of rules about regular routines such as bedtime and mealtime behavior. In a study of 341 children whose parents were divorced, the regularity of bedtime routines predicted academic performance 2 years after the initial assessment (Guidubaldi, Cleminshaw, Perry, Nastasi, & Lightel, 1986). Regularity of bedtime routines was also associated with fewer school absences and better overall health (Guidubaldi, Perry, & Nastasi, 1987). Children and adolescents raised in divorced households also reported fewer internalizing and externalizing symptoms when their custodial parent reported regular assignment of family roles and routines (Portes et al., 1992). Again, we caution against drawing conclusions about the causative role of routines in predicting positive child outcomes in these conditions. We suspect that parents who are able to resolve their differences to the extent that they can agree on a common set of rules for such routines as bedtime and mealtime are also able to conduct themselves in other ways that are in the best of the interest of the child. Let us look more closely at the emotional connections made during these ritual gatherings and how they may foster, or derail, relationships.\nRepeated family gatherings offer the opportunity to create strong emotional bonds and an investment in maintaining connections into the future. Kubicek (2002) has suggested that for families with young children, the emotional investment in routines starts with an awareness that these settings are opportunities for learning as well for building relationships. In a study of 80 low-income mothers of preschoolers, all of the mothers could identify regular routines and most indicated that these were times they eagerly anticipated and included positive emotions. These emotional connections and their consequences for children's mental health have also been identified in direct observations of family interactions during mealtimes.\nMealtime conversations can be particularly indicative of a family's emotional climate. Dinnertime conversations are replete with verbal and nonverbal affective expressions, offering parents opportunities for conversations about feelings, affect modeling, and empathy-inducing statements (Herot, 2002). In a study of 339 families with school-aged children, over half of the mealtime was spent in general positive exchanges, approximately 20% of the time directed toward family management issues, and approximately 10% of the time directed toward meal-related behavior (Ramey & Juliusson, 1998). The researchers examined differences between single-parent and 2-parent families and found that across family types, dinnertimes were marked by high rates of social engagement among family members. In single-parent families, children were more likely to initiate engagement with their parent and single parents engaged in more social interaction with their children than their married counterparts. This may be due, in part, to not having another adult to interact with as married couples spent about 25% of the mealtime interacting with each other.\nSeveral studies have reported on the relation between family interaction patterns observed during routine family mealtimes and children's mental health outcomes. For example, in a study of 79 school-aged children, in mealtime interactions characterized by a genuine concern about others' activities and where emotions were well regulated, the children were less likely to experience internalizing symptoms as gauged by parent report (Fiese, Foley, & Spagnola, 2006). In this same group of families, the parents' report of how much meaning they ascribed to their family rituals was also related to the concern and emotional investment observed during the mealtime. In previous studies, this emotional commitment to rituals has been found to be associated with adolescent sense of identity (Fiese, 1992) and lower rates of anxiety symptoms under high-risk conditions (Markson & Fiese, 2000). Family mealtimes may be altered in significant ways, depending on characteristics of either the parent or the child. For example, Dickstein and colleagues have found that in families where the mother is currently experiencing depressive symptoms, overall family functioning during the meal is compromised in comparison to families where the mother is not experiencing such symptoms (Dickstein et al., 1998). In cases where a child has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, mealtime interactions have been characterized as more rigid with more opportunities for conflict in comparison to healthy controls (Janicke, Mitchell, & Stark, 2005).\nThe point to be made here is that over time routine gatherings, such as mealtime, form the foundation for rituals that are built upon emotional connections. When these gatherings are opportunities to share the news of the day and to be emotionally supported, then there are more opportunities to feel like a valued member of the group. In contrast, if these gatherings are opportunities for derision or conflict then emotional bonds are tenuous, at best, and harmful in the worst-case scenario. In the case of marital transitions or divorce, meaningful rituals may protect children from the disruptions often associated with these events. In the case of repeated mealtime gatherings, the meaning of family rituals may become associated with a family identity that centers on either group belongingness or emotional disconnectedness, which in turn is associated with children's mental health. Again, we do not mean to indicate that the emotional climate created during ritual gatherings cause children's well-being. The empirical data are correlational as we have pointed out. The process is likely one of a transactional nature and one that can be depicted with evidence from studies conducted with children raised in high-risk conditions. Let us first consider the key elements of the transactional model as they pertain to family routines and rituals.\nFAMILY TRANSACTIONS AND ROUTINES\nThe transactional model as proposed by Sameroff and colleagues (Sameroff & Chandler, 1975; Sameroff & Fiese, 2000) emphasizes the mutual effects between parent and child, embedded and regulated by cultural codes. In this model, child outcome is neither predictable by the state of the child alone nor the environment in which he or she is being raised. Rather, it is a result of a series of transactions that evolve over time with the child responding to and altering the environment. We have already noted that it takes some time for new parents to establish routines when caring for a young infant. This reflects, in part, the child's contribution to the process of regulating family life. In some cases, the establishment of regular routines such as bedtime will happen relatively effortlessly. In other cases, it will be a struggle. Even in the same family, a pattern that works for one child will not work for another, suggesting that children's temperament and the changing nature of the family ecology work together in the establishment of daily routines. We contrast 2 scenarios whereby routines appear to evolve relatively effortlessly or command an inordinate amount of the family's energy.\nIn the first scenario, the parent is faced with the normative task of getting an infant to establish a regular sleep cycle. The infant has been born with a congenital heart disease that raises parental concern about the child's waking in the middle of the night. In the first few months of life, the child is very irritable and difficult to calm. The parent discovers if the child is laid to rest with a soft touch on his back then he will go to sleep. This is in stark contrast to his elder brother who required rocking and wind-up music boxes at bedtime. After a few weeks of the back rub routine, the child is easily settled to sleep and the parent is able to spend less time putting the child to bed and feels confident that he will soothe himself to sleep. After several exchanges, a regular sleep cycle is established. This scenario could have ended very differently if the parent had carried out the routine created for the elder brother or if the young infant had a different temperamental style. Indeed, research has documented that it is the match between infant biological rhythms (temperament) and parenting style that is associated with more regular routines and parent's sense of efficacy (Sprunger, Boyce, & Gaines, 1985). The transactional process is outlined in Figure 1.\nThere are other instances, however, where the transactional process results in less optimal outcomes for the child and efforts to establish routines may disrupt rather than support family cohesion. Upon learning that their child has a developmental disability, families are often faced with the challenge of altering their time, energy, and resources to best meet the needs of their child (Guralnick, 2004). In cases such as this, families may change their routines to meet their child's more immediate needs while sacrificing other family needs. Consider the following scenario. Children with developmental disabilities frequently develop feeding difficulties at an early age, making mealtimes a challenging family event. Parents may persist in their attempts to get the child to eat using a combination of coaxing and intrusive interactions to force the child to eat. Oftentimes, this form of interaction leads to a temper tantrum that, in turn, reduces the likelihood parents will want to engage in sustained mealtimes. Once the mealtime routines are given up, the child misses out on opportunities for socialization and language development previously discussed (Fig 2).\nWe provide these examples to illustrate that it is neither a single characteristic of the child, the parent, or the singular formation of a routine that leads to children's health and well-being. Rather, it is the dynamic interplay of the individual characteristics of children and parents that come to form the collective routines of family life. These examples should resonate with practitioners who work with families of young children with special needs.\nLucyshyn et al. (2004) noted that in families with a child with a developmental disability that common routines such as washing the dishes and preparing supper were interrupted by the child's demand for attention. These interruptions can result in a pattern of coercion whereby parents give into the child's demand, the child stops the problematic behavior, and the routines are momentarily disrupted. Woods and Goldstein (2003) present a similar scenario in the case of a young girl with communication difficulties who exhibited challenging behaviors at mealtimes. Over time, the girl's family altered its mealtime routine to prevent tantrums and the desire to eat dinner as a family in the dining room was set aside. The whole family ate on the kitchen floor as preferred by the young girl. In these examples, routines became reorganized in the service of the needs of one child and reduced tension and conflict in the family as whole, at least momentarily. This reorganization may come at a cost to some family members, however, as needs for socialization and emotional investment may play second fiddle to temporary family harmony.\nMechanisms of effect\nThus far, we have considered how variations in family routines and rituals are associated with variations in young children's development in the areas of language development, social skills, and, to some extent, mental health. We propose that this occurs as part of a transactional process whereby the creation of family routines and rituals evolves through a series of interactions between the parent and the child embedded in a particular culture. It is unlikely that the mere presence of routines and rituals would result in such complex variations. Rather, we suspect, and the literature supports to a certain extent, that there are at least 3 mechanisms of effect associated with the creation of predictable routines and meaningful rituals: parental efficacy, behavior monitoring, and coherence of family relationships.\nThere is some evidence to suggest that predictable and regular routines mediate the effects of parental efficacy on positive child outcomes. For example, Brody and Flor (1997) found that the relation between parental self-esteem and child adjustment in rural African American families was mediated by family routines. A similar pattern was found between maternal optimism and child adjustment in urban African American youth (Seaton & Taylor, 2003). Parental efficacy may be particularly important for families with young children as the ease with which caregiving routines are established and sense of parental competence has been found to be related to previous experience with childcare routines prior to the birth of the first child (Porter & Hsu, 2003). Sprunger, Boyce, and Gaines (1985) found that mothers of infants felt more competent and satisfied with their parenting role if they also reported regular household routines. As part of a transactional process, parents who engage in more daily caregiving routines are likely to become more comfortable with the tasks, providing a sense of accomplishment, which then leads to greater ease in carrying out activities and a greater likelihood that they will be sustained over time.\nA second mechanism may be behavior monitoring. Whether it is keeping track of homework assignments, scheduling an after-school appointment, or knowing that Friday is “show and tell day” monitoring is part of family routines. There is considerable evidence to suggest that parents who more actively monitor their children's whereabouts and are involved in their routines at home are less likely to engage in risky behaviors (Furstenberg, Cook, Eccles, Elder, & Sameroff, 1999). Thus, parents who feel competent in carrying out routines may also be better equipped to keep track of their children's activities and have children who are engaged in healthy activities.\nA third mechanism concerns the symbolic nature of family rituals and the emotional connections that are made over time. When these gatherings allow for the creation of representations that depict relationships as trustworthy and reliable, interactions are more positive and family functioning is more adaptive (Dickstein, St. Andre, Sameroff, Seifer, & Schiller, 1999; Fiese & Marjinsky, 1999). While the empirical evidence supporting this mechanism is somewhat scant, recent research linking burden of routine care with the physical and emotional health of children with a chronic illness is consistent with this proposition. Parents who report their family life is bereft of ritual meaning and feel overwhelmed by attention to the daily routine care of their children (irrespective of disease severity) also report a poorer quality of life for themselves as do their children (Fiese, Wamboldt, & Anbar, 2005). Thus, the meaning ascribed to rituals may affect family interactions in a transactional way that, in turn, affects child and adult well-being. Clearly, more research is needed on the mechanisms that identify family routines and rituals as mediators of parent characteristics and child outcomes. With these limitations in mind, let us consider the assessment of routines and as a form of intervention.\nASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN\nFamily routines and rituals may be assessed through questionnaires, interviews, or direct observation. There are advantages and disadvantages to the use of these methods. The decision of which to use depends upon the goal of the study or intervention.\nTwo questionnaires administered to parents are commonly used to assess family routines: Family Routines Inventory (FRI; Jensen, James, Boyce, & Hartnett, 1983) and the Family Ritual Questionnaire (FRQ; Fiese & Kline, 1993). The FRI is a 28-item measure that focuses on the importance and frequency of routines such as “Children go to bed at the same time every night.” This measure has demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Brody & Flor, 1997) and 1-month test-retest reliability estimates ranging from 0.74 to 0.79 (Jensen et al., 1983). The FRQ is a 56-item forced-choice measure that assesses routines in 7 settings (dinner time, weekends, vacations, annual celebrations, special celebrations, religious celebrations, and cultural traditions). A sample item from the dinnertime scale is “In some families, people feel strongly about eating together” but “In other families, it is not that important if families eat together.” The FRQ shows adequate internal consistency ranging from 0.52 to 0.90 and test-retest reliability of 0.88 over a 4-week period (Fiese & Kline, 1993). The FRI is shorter and simpler to use than the FRQ. However, the FRQ provides an indication of ritual meaning that the FRI does not.\nQuestionnaires have the advantage of time and cost-efficiency. They may not be as suited for learning about the uniquely descriptive aspects of individual families' practices, but they offer the advantage of generally stronger psychometric properties and allow for comparisons across groups of families. For this reason, they are well suited to research purposes that involve larger samples of participants. Using these questionnaires with the goal of personalizing individual interventions for families might benefit most from a combination of a questionnaire, observation, and interview.\nObservational methods can involve direct or videotaped observations of families carrying on with activities such as getting ready for bed, playtime, or mealtime (Moes & Frea, 2000; Woods, Kashinath, & Goldstein, 2004). The mealtime interaction coding system (MICS; Dickstein, Hayden, Schiller, & San Antonio, 1994) is a global coding scheme that allows for reliable coding of such features of the meal as task accomplishment, affect management, and behavior control. Scores on the MICS have been found to distinguish between families with a psychiatrically ill parent and healthy controls (Dickstein et al., 1998) and has been applied to the study of preschool children with chronic health conditions (Speith et al., 2001). Parent-child dyadic interaction coding systems originally designed for use in other settings have been adapted for use in the study of home-based routines (Lucyshyn et al., 2004).\nInterview formats allow for the flexibility of a conversational style of administration and specific follow-up questions to elucidate the importance of particular routines and rituals to family members. They may be especially helpful when used in conjunction with observation or questionnaires, as they give families the opportunity to clarify and expand upon the meaning and importance of practices (Fiese & Wamboldt, 2003). Interviews may be used to track the development of rituals across generations as well as how they may have been disrupted because of illness or stress in the family (Wolin, Bennett, & Jacobs, 2003). The Ecocultural Family Interview (EFI) has been developed specifically with the needs of families with young children (Weisner, Bernheimer, & Coots, 1997). The interview invites parents to “walk through a day in the life of their family” so that they can discuss topics of greatest concern to them. In contrast to interviews such as the Vineland, which asks parents to report on the extent to which children have mastered certain already-defined developmental competencies (Sparrow & Cicchetti, 1989), the EFI asks parents to report on routines and competencies that they believe are important for their children to master.\nROUTINES, RITUALS, AND HOME-BASED INTERVENTIONS\nWithin the family psychology literature, family routines are generally conceptualized as positive experiences, allowing the family to accomplish tasks efficiently in a way that meets the needs of members (Fiese et al., 2002). However, as research in the early intervention literature informs us, all routines are not created equal (Buschbacher, Fox, & Clarke, 2004). For families with a child with a developmental disability, changes in family routines are often required once there is the realization that the child will require additional resources (Guralnick, 2004). For some families, an alteration in routines will be smoother, given strong sources of support and confidence that they have received adequate information about their child's condition. For other families, establishing and maintaining daily routines may be challenged by competing demands on family time and personal strains associated with parenting a child with special needs. Let us consider the multiple ways in which family routines may be implemented as part of systematic interventions.\nConsistent with the transactional model of development, Sameroff and colleagues have identified 3 forms of intervention that can be applied to home-based interventions (Sameroff, 1991; Sameroff & Fiese, 2000); remediation, redefinition, and reeducation. Remediation efforts are aimed at changing the way that the child behaves toward the parent. For example, providing a child with a prosthetic device that allows for smoother feeding routines is an example of remediation. Redefinition changes the way the parent interprets the child's behavior. For example, interventions aimed at helping a parent redefine attention-seeking behaviors as disruptive rather than normative can be implemented to allow family members to more fully participate in mealtime routines (Lucyshyn et al., 2002). The third form of intervention identified by Sameroff is reeducation, and these efforts are aimed at changing the way the parent acts with the child through increased knowledge. In these instances, families may have had little experience with routines. While reeducation may be the most straightforward form of intervention, in many regards it may be the most difficult type of routine intervention to implement. Impoverishment of routines can arise for a host of reasons including history of abuse, neglect, and psychiatric disturbances (Fiese et al., 2002). Thus, when planning to educate families about the importance of routines, one also has to question why there has been a lack of organization in the first place. To the three “R's” of intervention originally proposed by Sameroff (1991), Fiese and Wamboldt (2001) added a fourth realignment. This form of routine intervention is warranted when there is conflict in the family over the relative importance of a routine. This is not an uncommon scenario in households that have experienced divorce. Even married couples must agree that a routine should be followed. In the case of children with a developmental disability, there are situations in which members of the family will disagree about treatment parameters that can lead to disagreements about how to carry out daily routines (eg, which services to seek out, diets to follow). Helping families realign their routines is an important aspect of early intervention, as they are often disrupted by the high demands of raising a child with a disability. Furthermore, working with a family within the context of already-existing routines is an approach consistent with federally mandated guidelines for intervention services aimed at this population.\nPart C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2004) requires that early intervention services be provided to children in their natural environments, including the home. Embedding early interventions within family routines is congruent with family-centered models of professional help giving (Dunst, Boyd, Trivette, & Hamby, 2002). In these intervention models, professionals actively partner with families who are considered agents capable of making informed choices. Similarly, Buschbacher et al. (2004) described a case in which positive behavioral support was embedded within naturally occurring family routines, finding that family members were invested in the planning process and in meeting the goals of therapy. Likewise, routine-based intervention (RBI) described by Woods and Goldstein (2003) are consistent with these goals whereby the family selects which daily routines need attention. Consequently, families feel more invested in the treatment and are less likely to view interventions as “one more thing to add onto their day” because it is embedded in an already-occurring routine (Marshall & Mirenda, 2002).\nWe have found several benefits from the study of family routines and rituals. First, families understand what we mean when we interview them about their daily lives and those gatherings that hold special significance in their lives. Because we combine questionnaires with more open-ended interview techniques, we allow families to identify for us those routines and rituals that are important to them. With few exceptions, we find that families can identify activities that they regularly engage in, look forward to, and would miss if not regularly practiced as a group. Second, there appears to be a developmental course to routines and rituals such that they may ease transitions (Fiese et al., 1993) and foster a sense of autonomy while still maintaining connections to the family as a whole. As family researchers, we are challenged to find ways to take into account the developing characteristics of the individual in the context of the larger group. We have found that the symbolic meaning ascribed to family rituals provides a window into how individuals form representations of the connections that keeps the group together. Third, we believe that family routines hold promise for systematic interventions for children at risk for developmental and socioemotional problems. Daily routines may serve as a vehicle for embedded interventions. By capitalizing on preexisting routines or assisting families in creating new routines, burden of change may be reduced (Fiese & Wamboldt, 2001). Although we are optimistic that such ventures may be successful, the empirical evidence with families experiencing extreme levels of risk is sparse and deserves greater attention.\nFamily routines and rituals have become an increasingly important consideration as the focus of special education during the early childhood years has shifted from the individual child to the family (Bernheimer & Keogh, 2004). Early intervention practices that are contextually relevant and can be easily implemented within the child's natural environment not only are consistent with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act but also hold the potential to include parents in treatment decisions. Although routines and rituals are common to families, individual families differ in the specific ways that they are practiced and the relative importance that they have in their daily lives. For this reason, assessment of routines and rituals using a number of methods outlined in this article can help personalize interventions.\nWe have presented several examples from the early intervention literature that support the integration of routines and rituals into early intervention services. All have in common the collaboration between professionals and parents to design plans that are sensitive to the child's developmental ecology. 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(1994). Providence family study mealtime interaction coding system\n. [Unpublished Manual. Providence, RI.]\nDickstein, S., Seifer, R., Hayden, L. C., Schiller, M., Sameroff, A. J., Keitner, G. I., et al. (1998). Levels of family assessment: II. Impact of maternal psychopathology on family functioning. Journal of Family Psychology\nDunst, C. J., Boyd, K., Trivette, C. M., & Hamby, D. W. (2002). Family-oriented program models and professional helping practices. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies\nEly, R., Gleason, J. B., MacGibbon, A., & Zaretsky, E. (2001). Attention to language: Lessons learned at the dinner table. Social Development\nFiese, B. H. (1992). Dimensions of family rituals across two generations: Relation to adolescent identity. Family Process\nFiese, B. H. (2002). Routines of daily living and rituals in family life: A glimpse of stability and change during the early child-raising years. Zero to Three\nFiese, B. H. (2006). Family routines and rituals\n. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.\nFiese, B. H., Eckert, T., & Spagnola, M. (2005). Family context in early childhood: A look at practices and beliefs that promote early learning. In B. Spodek & L. Saracho (Eds.), Handbook of research on the education of young children\n(2nd ed., pp. 393–409). Fairfax, VA: TechBooks.\nFiese, B. H., Foley, K. P., & Spagnola, M. (2006). Routine and ritual elements in family mealtimes: Contexts for child wellbeing and family identity. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development\nFiese, B. H., Hooker, K. A., Kotary, L., & Schwagler, J. (1993). Family rituals in the early stages of parenthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family\nFiese, B. H., & Kline, C. A. (1993). Development of the family ritual questionnaire: Initial reliability and validation studies. Journal of Family Psychology\nFiese, B. H., & Marjinsky, K. A. T. (1999). Dinnertime stories: Connecting relationship beliefs and child behavior. In B. H. Fiese, A. J. Sameroff, H. D. Grotevant, F. S. Wamboldt, S. Dickstein, & D. Fravel (Eds.), The stories that families tell: Narrative coherence, narrative interaction, and relationship beliefs. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development\n(Vol. 64 (2), Serial no. 257, pp. 52–68). Malden, MA: Blackwell.\nFiese, B. H., Tomcho, T., Douglas, M., Josephs, K., Poltrock, S., & Baker, T. (2002). Fifty years of research on naturally occurring rituals: Cause for celebration? Journal of Family Psychology\nFiese, B. H., & Wamboldt, F. S. (2001). Family routines\n, rituals, and asthma management: A proposal for family based strategies to increase treatment adherence. Families, Systems, and Health\nFiese, B. H., & Wamboldt, F. S. (2003). Tales of pediatric asthma management: Family based strategies related to medical adherence and health care utilization. Journal of Pediatrics\nFiese, B. H., Wamboldt, F. S., & Anbar, R. D. (2005). Family asthma management routines: Connections to medical adherence and quality of life. Journal of Pediatrics\nFurstenberg, F. F., Cook, T. D., Eccles, J., Elder, G. H., & Sameroff, A. J. (1999). Managing to make it: Urban families and adolescent success.\nChicago: University of Chicago Press.\nGannotti, M. E., & Handwerker, W. P. (2002). Puerto Rican understanding of child disability: Methods for the cultural validation of standardized measures of child health. Social Science and Medicine\nGoodnow, J. (2002). Adding culture to studies of development: Toward changes in procedure and theory. Human Development\nGuidubaldi, J., Cleminshaw, H. K., Perry, J. D., Nastasi, B. K., & Lightel, J. (1986). The role of selected family environment factors in children's post-divorce adjustment. Family Relations\nGuidubaldi, J., Perry, J. D., & Nastasi, B. K. (1987). Growing up in a divorced family: Initial and long-term perspectives on children's adjustment. In S. Oskamp (Ed.), Family processes and problems: Social psychological aspects\n(pp. 202–237). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.\nGuralnick, M. J. (2004). Family investments in response to the developmental challenges of young children with disabilities. In A. Kalil & T. Deleire (Eds.), Family investments in children's potential: Resources and parenting behaviors that promote success\n(pp. 119–137). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.\nHart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children.\nBaltimore: Brookes Publishing.\nHerot, C. (2002). Socialization of affect during mealtime interactions. In S. Blum-Kulka & C. E. Snow (Eds.), Talking to adults: The contribution of multiparty discourse to language acquisition\n(pp. 155–179). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.\nJanicke, D. M., Mitchell, M. J., & Stark, L. J. (2005). Family functioning in school-age children with cystic fibrosis: An observational assessment of family interactions in the mealtime environment. Journal of Pediatric Psychology\nJensen, E. W., James, S. A., Boyce, W. T., & Hartnett, S. A. (1983). The Family Routines\nInventory: Development and validation. Social Science and Medicine\nKubicek, L. F. (2002). Fresh perspectives on young children and family routines\n. Zero to Three\nLucyshyn, J. M., Irvin, L. K., Blumberg, E. R., Laverty, R., Horner, R. H., & Sprague, J. R. (2004). Validating the construct of coercion in family routines\n: Expanding the unit of analysis in behavioral assessment in families of children with developmental disabilities. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities\nLucyshyn, J. M., Kayser, A. T., Irvin, L. K., & Blumberg, E. R. (2002). Functional assessment and positive behavior support at home with families: Defining effective and contextually appropriate behavior support plans. In J. M. Lucyshyn & G. Dunlap (Eds.), Families and positive behavior support: Addressing problem behavior in family contexts.\nBaltimore: Paul H. Brookes.\nMarkson, S., & Fiese, B. H. (2000). Family rituals as a protective factor against anxiety for children with asthma. Journal of Pediatric Psychology\nMarshall, J. K., & Mirenda, P. (2002). Parent-professional collaboration for positive behavior support in the home. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities\nMartini, M. (2002). How mothers in four American cultural groups shape infant learning during mealtimes. Zero to Three\nMiller, A. M., & Harwood, R. L. (2001). Long-term socialization goals and the construction of infants' social networks among middle class Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers. International Journal of Behavioral Development\nMoes, D. R., & Frea, W. D. (2000). Using family context to inform intervention planning for the treatment of a child with autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions\nNorton, D. G. (1993). Diversity, early socialization, and temporal development: The dual perspective revisited. Social Work\nNucci, L., & Smetana, J. G. (1996). Mothers' concepts of young children's areas of personal freedom. Child Development\nPorter, C. L., & Hsu, H. (2003). First-time mothers' perceptions of efficacy during the transition to motherhood: Links to infant temperament. Journal of Family Psychology\nPortes, P. R., Howell, S. C., Brown, J. H., Eichenberger, S., & Mas, C. A. (1992). Family functions and children's postdivorce adjustment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry\nRamey, S. L., & Juliusson, H. K. (1998). Family dynamics at dinner: A natural context for revealing basic family processes. In M. Lewis & C. Feiring (Eds.), Families, risk, and competence\n(pp. 31–52). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.\nRosenkoetter, S., & Barton, L. R. (2002). Bridges to literacy: Early routines that promote later school success. Zero to Three\nSameroff, A. J. (1991). The social context of development. In M. Woodhead, R. Carr, & P. Light (Eds.), Becoming a person\n(pp. 167–189). Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.\nSameroff, A. J., & Chandler, M. J. (1975). Reproductive risk and the continuum of caretaking causality. In F. D. Horowitz, M. Hetherington, S. Scarr-Salapetek, & G. Siegel (Eds.), Review of child development research\n(Vol. 4, pp. 187–244). Chicago: Chicago University Press.\nSameroff, A. J., & Fiese, B. H. (2000). Transactional regulation: The developmental ecology of early intervention. In J. P. Schonkoff & S. J. Meisels (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention\n(Vol. 2, pp. 135–159). New York: Cambridge University Press.\nSchulze, P. A., Harwood, R. L., Schoelmerich, A., & Leyendecker, B. (2002). The cultural structuring of parenting\nand universal developmental tasks. Parenting: Science and Practice\nSeaton, E. K., & Taylor, R. D. (2003). Exploring familial processes in urban, low-income African American families. Journal of Family Issues\nSerpell, R., Sonnenschein, S., Baker, S., & Ganapathy, H. (2002). Intimate cultures of families in the early socialization of literacy. Journal of Family Psychology\nSparrow, S. S., & Cicchetti, D. V. (1989). The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. In C. S. Newmark (Ed.), Major psychological instruments\n(Vol. 2, pp. 199–231). Needham Heights, MA: American Guidance Service.\nSpeith, L. E., Stark, L. J., Mitchell, M. J., Schiller, M., Cohen, L. L., Mulvihill, M., et al. (2001). Observational assessment of family functioning at mealtime in preschool\nchildren with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Family Psychology\nSprunger, L.W., Boyce, W. T., & Gaines, J. A. (1985). Family-infant congruence: Routines and rhythmicity in family adaptations to a young infant. Child Development\nRetrieved January 4, 2006, from U.S. Department of Education Web site: U.S. Department of Education (2004). Part C amendments in IDEA 2004\nWeisner, T. S. (2002). Ecocultural understanding of children's developmental pathways. Human Development\nWeisner, T. S., Bernheimer, L., & Coots, J. (1997). The ecocultural family interview manual\n. Los Angeles: UCLA Center for Culture and Health.\nWolin, S. J., & Bennett, L. A. (1984). Family rituals. Family Process\nWolin, S. J., Bennett, L. A., & Jacobs, J. S. (2003). Assessing family rituals in alcoholic families. In E. Imber-Black, J. Roberts & R. A. Whiting (Eds.), Rituals in families and family therapy\n(Rev. ed., pp. 253–279). New York: Norton.\nWoods, J. & Goldstein, H. (2003). When the toddler takes over: Changing challenging routines into conduits for communication. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities\nWoods, J., Kashinath, S., & Goldstein, H. (2004). Effects of embedding caregiver-implemented teaching strategies in daily routines on children's communication outcomes. Journal of Early Intervention"

"Have you considered yet that the days ahead might represent one of the most spectacular opportunities of our lives?\nI am not making light of the difficult situation facing families, especially families who have vulnerable people. I am noting that each day represents a gift that we have been given, and the days ahead look different.\nOne of the things that parents and teachers know about young people is that routines are important. It turns out, routines are important for all people. They provide a rhythm to the day, make life predictable and ensure that we are getting the attention, nutrition and rest that we need.\nIn this time of uncertainty, it is most important to maintain the structures and habits that work, but it is also an amazing opportunity to build new routines that help you design the experience that your family needs. Humans feel safe when they know what to expect and feel secure within their environment. This safety and security fosters healthy brain development and social-emotional growth in our young people.\nI am told by our old people that in the time when we managed our own lives – there was a predictable rhythm and flow to the day. This rhythm and flow was coupled with consistent expectations and clearly defined roles which were modeled for our young people. Our lives in those times required a great deal more work to maintain and yet it worked seamlessly. So how do we bring these teachings into today?\n- Sit down with your family and discuss your values. Decide which learnings, customs and activities should be prioritized and habitualized in daily routines. Curate the life you will be excited to wake-up to everyday.\n- Create a loose schedule with choices that reflect your prioritized family values. Choice provides a sense of control along with reminding people that they are valued.\n- Build in time when you work together, as a family unit on common projects and other relevant tasks that make up part of the realities of living in today’s world. Meals, cleaning and regular home maintenance are things that have to be modeled to be learned, what a great time to talk through new innovative approaches.\nEvery act that we engage in now will mature as lived experience later. This is the most powerful opportunity that we have been given in our lifetimes. Do you. Mindfully. With care and love."

"Our aims in Mathematics are for every child in Chatsworth to:\nThe teaching of Mathematics at Chatsworth:\nMathematics is taught using the ‘carousel’ method – where the class is divided into 3 separate ability groups - with each ability group receiving targeted teaching based on their specific needs. These groups are fluid and will change depending on children's understanding of that particular mathematical skill or concept.\nChildren from Year 2 to Year 6 have a weekly problem solving session where they learn to use and apply different mathematical skills to different problem solving concepts.\nChildren from Year 1 to Year 6 have a daily 'Big Maths' session where the children are taught specific calculation skills to ensure that all children receive a good grounding in basic computational skills.\nChildren are given their own personal target cards which they can use to self-assess. The targets relate to the age-related expectations for that year group. Once they meet a target they get a star stamp for their target cards to show this. Each child works towards getting as many stamps for their target sheet over the course of the year.\nHomework is set for Years 2-6 weekly via Mathletics. Homework is set on a Friday and needs to be completed by the following Friday. The tasks set should reflect the learning that has been covered in class during the week.\nOnce the tasks set have been completed the children may then complete any extra tasks that are open to them on their account. It is great to see so many children engage with the interactive resource and complete many Mathletics tasks each week."

"Royal Learners goes one step further than introducing a philosophy of education to its teachers and children, we also supply them with an age appropriate curriculum based on these philosophies. Children can excel at every level with this curriculum and enjoy achieving these goals. We understand and value the importance of reading to children at an early and the value of good quality books.\nThe daily activities are based a new storybook each week thus making our curriculum literacy focused. We try to choose a Newberry or Caldecott award-winning book when possible. The children are also introduced to a new letter each week, giving the children a primary focus for each week of the year. Each teacher is given a detailed lesson plan that incorporates art, math, language, fine motor, science, discovery, sensory, dramatic play, blocks, music and movement, and large group activities based on a specific age/developmental level.\nOur weekly letter is based on the phonetic alphabet. The phonetic letters are taught first through exposure to the actual written letter, sounds activities, and vocabulary-building activities. Many non-traditional alphabet activities are incorporated into the weekly lesson plans. For instance, if the letter of the week is “h,” the children may paint with “h”ay, count and sort paper “h”earts, try on different “h”ats, and/or practice “h”ugging their friends. The lesson plans are developed in coordination with the teachers in order to determine the best approach in each individual classroom. Each teacher is encouraged to add her own challenging series of activities that successfully balance creativity and academics, while still allowing a child to be a child!\nThe majority of the classrooms operate on a “center system,” meaning the class is split into small centers where individual attention can be given to each child. Four children may be participating in a math activity with one teacher, four children may be participating in a language/writing center with another teacher, four children may be participating in water play in the discovery center, while another group of four children may be learning cause and effect in the block center. Young children tend to learn best in small groups where the teachers can gauge where each child is developmentally in order to tailor that child’s learning plan to meet his/her needs. Repetition, routine, and learning new things are important, so we strive to individualize each lesson for the children in each class, keeping in mind that each child is unique and learns at his or her own pace.\nBecause teachers are extremely important in the development of each child, all of our teachers have been carefully screened and selected. Our early childhood specialists provide ongoing training and work in the classrooms with each teacher to guide them in implementing the most optimal learning environment and conditions"

"Learning in Reception\nThe practice in the Reception classroom is based around “In The Moment Planning.” The indoor and outdoor area are organised in order that the children can select any resources they choose to play with. All resources and learning areas are carefully thought out so that they offer the maximum learning opportunities for the children. The adults in the setting are always observing the children’s play to see which areas are engaging them and offering great learning potential and which need to be reconsidered.\nAs the children play the adults are constantly observing to find the teachable moments, where they can intervene and extend the learning opportunities for the children; offering comments, suggestions, modelling language, introducing new ideas, demonstrating skills and scribing children’s ideas. The adult may choose not to intervene as the play often develops, engages and supports learning without an adult. In this case the role of the adult is to observe and assess where the children are and how they can continue to move learning on.\nEach week two children are chosen to be the focus children for that week. The adults record more of the interactions and learning that happens for that child during the week in order to know exactly where their learning is and how to move learning forwards. A letter is sent home to parents the week before, setting out any particular areas we will be focusing on and asking for the valuable input parents can offer. Once the Learning Journey is completed for the week a parent consultation is offered in order to discuss exactly where the child is in their learning and what we will focus on next to move learning forwards. This continues on a rolling programme throughout the year, ensuring children are a focus four times a year and offering four parents consultations each year. All children benefit from teachable moments every week but more is recorded about the focus children for the week.\nTeaching of Phonic and Writing Skills\nTo support the development of writing we teach a regular phonics session four days a week. On top of this we use story telling as a valuable teaching tool. The children are encouraged to tell stories about something they have created, played with or simply something which is in their head at the time! Initially the adult scribes their ideas and as the year progresses the children are encouraged to begin contributing to the story by writing the initial sounds, sounding out simple words and eventually writing their own stories independently. This approach follows the ideas in the book “Princesses, Dragons and Helicopter Stories” by Trisha Lee.\nThe timetable in the Reception classroom is designed in order that children have long periods of play to develop their ideas, extend their learning, use imagination, language and creativity. Much research had been done around the effectiveness of learning through play and how essential it is to children’s early development.\nWe aim to make the children’s experiences in the Early Years as exciting as possible ensuring they leave with the tools to be lifelong learners and with a real enthusiasm for learning alongside the concepts and skills to access the National Curriculum as they move through the school.\nParents feel positively about how their children are learning in our Reception class.\n“I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the observation notes that were made over the course of the week that my child was the focus child. Meeting face to face to discuss with Miss Malone was a nice personal touch. Still being new to the school, I was pleased to hear that my child had settled in so well and that she has already engaged in a variety of learning experiences. Having an insight into my child’s life at school and the goals that Miss Malone is working towards with her has enabled me to encourage conversations that will enrich her learning at home. I look forward to seeing how my child is progressing at the next meeting.”\nParent of a Reception child"

"The National Curriculum for Mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:\nbecome fluentin the fundamentals of mathematics\nunderstand how and whymathematical processes are carried out in certain ways (e.g. understand how to add using the column method but also why we add using columns)\nreason mathematicallyby following a line of enquiry to prove or disprove it\ncansolve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems\nAt Chase Side, we strive to create mathematicians who are confident to challenge and conquer the mathematics that surrounds us in everyday life. We achieve this by teaching engaging and creative lessons wherever possible, adapting our approaches according to the children’s needs. We encourage all children to become independent problem solvers who challenge their own thinking by providing opportunities within the curriculum to lead their own learning. The children are encouraged to determine the resources that are needed and apply learnt strategies to solve mathematical problems. We follow a CPA approach to our teaching (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) and all teachers are well trained in using bar model method to support problem solving and visualisation.\nWe teach the national curriculum objectives and areas are revisited and built on to deepen the children’s knowledge and understanding. There is a strong focus on providing opportunities to allow the children to achieve ‘mastery’ within mathematics. The basic skills and knowledge are the building bricks that children use to extend and deepen their understanding and investigate mathematics through other subjects and in a variety of ways.\nOur recent Maths Week focussed on ‘Becoming a literate Mathematician’. Children had the opportunity to explore mathematical concepts related to Year group texts such as 365 Penguins or Dogger in fun and engaging ways. This ranged from exploring maths in the outdoor environment in the Early Years, recreating Supermarkets, cooking and measuring in KS1, making 3D structures and triangular numbers in Year 3 and 4, investigating codes and budgeting for a film in Years 5 a\nQuotes from the children, “This was the best maths week ever!”\n“I wish all weeks were as awesome as this one.”\n“I can’t believe that is 10000 coins, I thought it would be bigger.”\nMathematics can and should be about practising skills and making exciting and interesting discoveries!"

"- Inspiring Learning Projects\n- Physical Education\n- Art and Design\n- Design and Technology\n- Religious Education\n- Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL)\n- Awards, Rewards and Praise\n- Themed Weeks\n- Inclusions Week\n- Enterprise Week\n- One World Arts Week\n- Healthy Living and Keeping Safe Week\n- Book Week\n- The Sea of Dreams\nFor the school year 2016 – 2017, all year groups are following the new National Curriculum in Mathematics. You can find out exactly what the children will be learning in each year group by clicking on the Curriculum Map from the drop down menu.\nThe official documentation, which sets out what children are expected to know in each year group is available in the Programmes of Study.\nThe aims of this curriculum are to ensure that pupils:\n- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.\n- reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language\n- can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.\nAt Fairfield we use a range of strategies to teach Maths. However, we try to ensure that what we are teaching in Maths is right for the children and ensures that children make good progress and are effectively challenged. We use a range of resources to deliver our Maths curriculum. We are very well resourced and children get consistently good teaching in Maths.\nWe have introduced the use of KIRFS (Key Instant Recall Facts) to help improve children’s confidence and fluency with number facts. These are designed to support the development of mental skills that underpin much of the Mathematics work in schools. These number facts are closely aligned with the new Mathematics Curriculum, with specific half termly targets for each year group.\nOur children in Year 1 and 2 are enjoying learning mathematics using the Singapore Maths methodology. The system that our teachers use ensure that our children understand and can apply their learning to problem solving. Our children are loving their learning.\nExcellent learning and problem solving in Year 1"

"How we organise learning time\nThere are never quite enough hours to cover all the things we would like the children to learn and experience. Year 1 children study 12 different subjects; children from Year 2 upwards study 13. We are very keen to ensure that children receive a broad, balanced, connected and dynamic curriculum. In the first place, we want them to reach the highest possible standards in reading, writing and mathematics. But it is equally important to us that they have a full entitlement to enjoy learning in other subject areas. To that end, teachers have been provided with clear guidance regarding how much time should be allocated to different subjects. This information appears below.\nA quality primary experience is not based upon coverage though. Doing more does not necessarily mean more will be learnt, or indeed that learning will be a more satisfying experience. Teachers at Barnes are expected to create rich, extended learning experiences so that the children have the chance to engage in deep, meaningful learning, by studying a subject in depth. It is far more likely that lasting and more purposeful learning will transpire in these circumstances. Teachers plan learning theme work throughout the year, and also earmark one week every term when the exclusive focus is the learning theme so there are no discrete English or mathematics lessons that week. Skills learnt in reading, writing and mathematics can be applied during the week within the learning theme focus. In addition to this, one week in the Autumn and Spring Term is devoted to one of our special theme weeks: On Camera (film making) and our annual Arts Week.\nTeachers have been guided to apply the adage ‘less is more’ if they find that there is insufficient time to get through everything. That means that rather than hurriedly trying to cover everything, they focus on ensuring that what the children do is done well, with the maximum amount of learning being extracted from the topic under study.\nOur learning themes\nMindful of the points raised above about the importance of children enjoying rich, extended, connected, dynamic and extensive learning experiences, we have developed, over time, our own skills-based learning themes. We combine together four curriculum subjects: art, design and technology, geography and history in a captivating way around a focus. Some themes continue throughout the duration of a term; others last for half a term. As part of this work, visits to places of interest are organised to intrigue and excite the children. We are fully committed to using the rich cultural capital that the city of London has to offer.\nSubject specialists teach sport, French and music. All classes have a weekly music lesson with Karen Warner, a dedicated music teacher with a wealth of teaching experience as a music specialist. Helen Leissle leads French. Zoubida Bahlouli teaches French to Y3–Y6. Assemblies in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are regularly conducted entirely in French. Tom Pashley, another subject specialist, teaches sport to all pupils in the main school. Jon Kaufman, a table tennis specialist, teaches all Key Stage 2 children how to play this game. Olivia Berners-Price, an art specialist, works at the school for six hours a week teaching art skills (the focus is on the creative process) to small groups of children. Olivia only works with six pupils at a time. In this way she can focus on developing the children’s understanding of the creative process. During the 2015-16 academic year Jeanefer Jean-Charles, a dance teacher and mass movement choreographer, worked at the school for one day a week enabling and empowering all teachers to be able to teach dance. In 2018-19 Jeanefer returned to lead several year group training sessions with staff and children."

"We aim to make learning exciting and in a meaningful context for children. Subjects are linked cohesively, giving meaning and purpose to pupils’ learning through a cross-curricular approach. Where this is not achievable subjects are taught discretely. Numeracy and Literacy are the key elements of our curriculum. These subjects are both taught discretely with links to the class’ current Learning Challenge where this is appropriate.\nThis is taught every day for about an hour. Most days the children will work on solving problems involving mental arithmetic, calculations and reasoning. From September 2014 we have adopted Abacus as a support resource for the school. It is introduced in Reception (Foundation 2) and is used regularly from Year 1 to Year 6 to secure basic skills and is enhanced by other resources and practical activities.\nThe children take part in reading and writing activities every day. The Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 teach 'Phonics' on a daily basis following the Letters and Sounds scheme of work. This provides taught skills, but these skills are drip fed continually during other lessons. Children write best when they are writing about real experiences. The children have the opportunity to write at least one extended piece each week. They also do grammar and spelling activities throughout the week. Children are encouraged to read four times a week to an adult and guided reading and individual reading takes place in school. We use Rising Stars and Big Cat reading schemes of work to teach and support all children in school, making reading real and purposeful. Children are exposed to print in its many forms, such as leaflets, recipes, posters, holiday brochures etc Classes also share a book together and are encouraged to share book talk and use book language in their writing.\nScience is taught each term as part of topic work following the National Curriculum. Children are encouraged to think about their own understanding of the world around them, to ask questions and to explore finding the answers to these questions through investigations. Investigative science is the core element of the science curriculum and at least fifty percent of science taught is practical investigation. Children are taught how to ask a question and then test this through a planned investigation which involves making a prediction, keeping it fair by changing the one variable they are testing for, using a range of equipment safely, to measure and record their results, draw conclusions from these and then present their results.\nAll classes follow the Nottinghamshire recommended syllabus for computing. They have at least one lesson a week to teach computing skills. Computers, iPads and tablets are also used to support maths and reading with the Abacus programs the children can use at school and also at home.\nWe teach RE each week with an amalgamation of the Notts RE Syllabus and the Learning Challenge Scheme. Children learn about Christianity along with other religions.\nAll classes follow the Learning Challenge Curriculum for Geography, History, Design Technology and Art. In designing the curriculum, teachers and learners use a prime learning challenge, expressed as a question, as the starting point. Using the information gained from pre-learning tasks and the school’s context a series of subsidiary weekly challenges are then planned. Each weekly challenge is also expressed as a question. Importantly the learning challenges need to make sense to the learners and it is something that is within their immediate understanding. Opportunities to extend pupils’ reading, writing and mathematical skills through other subjects are utilised regularly and effectively.\nTwo examples of challenges are;\nWhat did the Romans ever do for us?\nWho will be Willy Wonka’s next apprentice?\nThe Early Years also work with themes from the Learning Challenge Curriculum. Some of the learning is child-initiated through structured activities which are play based. Structured teaching time takes place each day for literacy and numeracy. Where possible these activities are practical and continue outdoors.\nWe have a full time sports coach and we buy in services from another. All class have two hours of PE a week. Pupils swim from F1 to Year 2 then catch-up in Years 3, 5 and 6 if they are not confident swimmers.\nModern Foreign Languages (French)\nFrom Year 3 all classes learn French once a week. They learn simple phrases, songs and how to write and understand short passages. We bring this to life by our friendship with a school in France. For the teaching of French, we use an online resource provided by ‘Education City’\nShould you require any further information regarding our curriculum, please speak to your child's class teacher."

"Mathematics Mastery is our next step in our commitment to teach an effective progressive programme which allows all children to succeed and become confident Mathematicians.\nWhat is new about the Mathematics Mastery Approach?\nNone of the individual elements of the programme are ‘new’. They are tried and tested successful approaches that the best teachers and schools have been using for many years. However, what is special about Maths Mastery it is that it brings these approaches and techniques together in a rigorous and systematic structure.\nThe Mathematics Mastery curriculum has been designed to ensure that every child can achieve excellence in mathematics.\nUsing the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach gives pupils the opportunity to understand what they are doing rather than just learning and applying routines.\nKey Features of the Curriculum are:\nStructure of a Lesson\nTo ensure pupil confidence and skills remain high there is a daily Maths meeting which lasts about 10 mins. Here any misconceptions can be addressed and skills and knowledge kept sharp by quick paced questioning.\nOn this page there are also links to useful web sites that will help you support your child’s learning at home."

"As you may know, we are very excited to be pioneering the Maths Mastery approach at Alphington School, along with the Foundation classes. This involves a six part lesson which is very interactive and full of practical, exciting activities. These lessons focus on number sense, place value and problem solving. Maths Mastery also includes a daily 15 minutes maths meeting, which rehearses areas of maths such as time and shape.\nNone of the individual aspects of the Mathematics Mastery programme is ‘new’. They are tried and tested successful approaches that the best teachers, departments and schools have been using for years. However, what is special about Mathematics Mastery is that it brings these approaches and techniques together in a rigorous and systematic structure.\nThe Mathematics Mastery curriculum has been developed to ensure every child can achieve excellence in mathematics. It provides pupils with a deep understanding of the subject through a concrete, pictorial and abstract approach. This ensures pupils fully understand what they are learning.\nKey features of our Maths Mastery curriculum:\n- High expectations for every child\n- Fewer topics, greater depth\n- Number sense and place value come first\n- Research -based curriculum\n- Objects and pictures always before numbers and letters\n- Problem solving is central\n- Calculate with confidence– understand why it works\nFor the first week of the Autumn term in Year One, we have established good learning behaviours in Maths. The children have been learning maths songs which help us to transition quickly from the carpet to the tables and back again. We have revised our 2D shapes and enjoyed exploring patterns. We have also been practising telling the time to the hour in our daily maths meetings as well as working out the date and day of the week. Can your child sing you the days of the week song?\nFor more information please come to the parent information meeting on 20th September!"

"Medium Term and Weekly planning From these frameworks, which are set out in Key Stages and year groups, we produce our Medium Term Planning for each subject area which set out large objectives which need to be met by each child. Each teacher then prepares their weekly plans and breaks these down into more detailed objectives. From here we need to devise learning activities to ensure they cover the objectives set as well as being engaging and fun for the children.\nIt Is vital that these actively are carefully thought through as they need to Include the correct use of resources (including support staff) adequate planning and differentiation to provide the vital learning provision or development in all areas of literacy. The teacher is then able to check the progression of skills from week to week to ensure the children are on track to achieve the overall objective and aims in literacy development which are reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation and speaking and listening.\nPersonal Reflection and Evaluation The performance of support staff Is Just as Important as teacher assessment as this can have an impact on the learning activities and the progress made by the children. Although we may have pre-conceived ideas or different opinions or values about a certain subject, we need to ensure that we can put these to one side to support the earning of the children effectively and without steering them to a particular point of view.\nConstantly reflecting and evaluating our own practices ensures that we are able to offer effective opportunities for the children we work with to develop their own ideas and points of view, Literacy Based Interventions I Deliver: Writing support The writing support intervention is an informal programmer that we have started to focus on several Year 2 children who have very poor writing skills. The Intervention is highly adaptable and Its delivery vanes widely depending on each chills Individual needs.\nThis Intervention Is directly driven by the class teacher’s ongoing assessments, evidence from the child’s work books and observations by both the class teacher and myself. Each week I have detailed discussions with the class teacher to discuss the child’s progress and to define the direction Page 1 of 2 structured and precisely targeted, which helps to focus the child’s attention on the expected aims. There is a big emphasis on positive marking, so even if a child has not quite met a target, all elements that are correct are identified and discussed with the child.\nThe children are expected to constantly evaluate their work and to identify areas they are achieving in and also to recognize areas where they are weak. While this is initially difficult for the children to grasp, with daily modeling, discussion and direct feedback to the teacher with the child present (and often invited to share in the feedback) this skill is often picked up quickly. The strategies I use within this intervention help to overcome self esteem issues which can often be a barrier to learning in itself.\nWhen we have two or more children attending a session, we encourage them to evaluate each others work, giving compliments where they have achieved targets or to supply constructive advice or guidance based on their own achievements. This sharing of learning and objectives amongst peers helps them to accurately communicate their needs and to recognize and set personal goals. Catch Up Reading Programmer This programmer follows a strict routine where the child reads a leveled book for five minutes, which is then followed by a focused activity on reading miscues, phonics or spelling targets.\nWe use the Vernon Graded Spelling Test and the Sailors Sentence Reading Test to give a starting benchmark of the child’s abilities as well as a mid term assessment followed by a final end of programmer summarize assessment. We use the Catch Up assessments included in the programmer to provide an ongoing formative assessment to help evaluate learning objectives to ensure we are maximizing the opportunities for the child’s development and progress.\nTalk Time/Social Use of Language Programmer (GULP) While these are social skills interventions, they also offer opportunities to encourage children to interact more effectively in discussions and in speaking and listening situations. Children attending these group sessions are taught skills such as turn aging and cooperative play as well as taking part in confidence and self esteem building activities."

"Medium Term and Weekly planning From these frameworks, which are set out in Key Stages and year groups, we produce our Medium Term Planning for each subject area which set out large objectives which need to be met by each child. Each teacher then prepares their weekly plans and breaks these down into more detailed objectives. From here we need to devise learning activities to ensure they cover the objectives set as well as being engaging and fun for the children.\nIt Is vital that these actively are carefully thought through as they need to Include the correct use of resources (including support staff) adequate planning and differentiation to provide the vital learning provision or development in all areas of literacy. The teacher is then able to check the progression of skills from week to week to ensure the children are on track to achieve the overall objective and aims in literacy development which are reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation and speaking and listening.\nPersonal Reflection and Evaluation The performance of support staff Is Just as Important as teacher assessment as this can have an impact on the learning activities and the progress made by the children. Although we may have pre-conceived ideas or different opinions or values about a certain subject, we need to ensure that we can put these to one side to support the earning of the children effectively and without steering them to a particular point of view.\nConstantly reflecting and evaluating our own practices ensures that we are able to offer effective opportunities for the children we work with to develop their own ideas and points of view, Literacy Based Interventions I Deliver: Writing support The writing support intervention is an informal programmer that we have started to focus on several Year 2 children who have very poor writing skills. The Intervention is highly adaptable and Its delivery vanes widely depending on each chills Individual needs.\nThis Intervention Is directly driven by the class teacher’s ongoing assessments, evidence from the child’s work books and observations by both the class teacher and myself. Each week I have detailed discussions with the class teacher to discuss the child’s progress and to define the direction Page 1 of 2 structured and precisely targeted, which helps to focus the child’s attention on the expected aims. There is a big emphasis on positive marking, so even if a child has not quite met a target, all elements that are correct are identified and discussed with the child.\nThe children are expected to constantly evaluate their work and to identify areas they are achieving in and also to recognize areas where they are weak. While this is initially difficult for the children to grasp, with daily modeling, discussion and direct feedback to the teacher with the child present (and often invited to share in the feedback) this skill is often picked up quickly. The strategies I use within this intervention help to overcome self esteem issues which can often be a barrier to learning in itself.\nWhen we have two or more children attending a session, we encourage them to evaluate each others work, giving compliments where they have achieved targets or to supply constructive advice or guidance based on their own achievements. This sharing of learning and objectives amongst peers helps them to accurately communicate their needs and to recognize and set personal goals. Catch Up Reading Programmer This programmer follows a strict routine where the child reads a leveled book for five minutes, which is then followed by a focused activity on reading miscues, phonics or spelling targets.\nWe use the Vernon Graded Spelling Test and the Sailors Sentence Reading Test to give a starting benchmark of the child’s abilities as well as a mid term assessment followed by a final end of programmer summarize assessment. We use the Catch Up assessments included in the programmer to provide an ongoing formative assessment to help evaluate learning objectives to ensure we are maximizing the opportunities for the child’s development and progress.\nTalk Time/Social Use of Language Programmer (GULP) While these are social skills interventions, they also offer opportunities to encourage children to interact more effectively in discussions and in speaking and listening situations. Children attending these group sessions are taught skills such as turn aging and cooperative play as well as taking part in confidence and self esteem building activities."

"A Negotiated Curriculum\nAt Kells Lane Primary School, we teach Year 1 according to the ethos of the EYFS, through a play-based ‘Negotiated Curriculum’. The curriculum offers children a mix of adult led and child led learning opportunities. This is in response to a number of aims:\n- A desire to build on the quality of independent learning children acquire through their time in the foundation stage;\n- A desire to create life-long learners with the intrinsic motivation to engage in learning opportunities;\n- A desire to create systems that accurately assess the acquired knowledge, skills and concepts of our children so that planning can reflect the individualised learning needs and styles of the children;\n- Inclusive practice that helps every individual child to meet their learning potential regardless of gender, belief system, culture or language;\nOur ultimate aim is outstanding progress and outcomes for all of our children.\nIn Year 1, Read Write Inc., Maths and some elements of English skills are taught discretely. Every other subject is taught through a play-based, negotiated curriculum, which is linked to a carefully chosen topic. Play provides opportunities for children to experience learning in a meaningful and purposeful way, allowing them to develop the skills needed to become effective learners whilst developing their own time management.\nEach day, children learn through either a small group adult led activity, child-led investigation, or by choosing from a planned ‘Rainbow Challenge.’ The learning environment consists of different areas both inside and outside the classroom, including the outdoors.\nThe ‘Rainbow Challenge’ consists of independent activities initiated by the teacher (linked to curriculum coverage and progression) and the children (through ongoing discussion and during the planning stage.) They are linked to skills taught the previous week in order to give children the opportunity to deepen their understanding and consolidate their thinking. Children manage their own time, to ensure they have completed all activities on the ‘menu’ by the end of the weekly cycle. ‘Review time’ plays an important role in allowing children to become reflective learners, talking through their work and planning their own next steps. Once a child has completed their rainbow challenge, they are able to work on a personal project of their choice, planning their own challenges and reviewing how well their project is going.\nA continuous provision has many benefits. Our children enjoy learning and are active and engaged throughout the whole day. They are involved within their learning as they have the choice about the activity they want to focus on and the peers they can work with at that point in the day. As there are no restrictions on the areas they can use, the free movement gives children of different learning styles a more enabling environment.\nTeachers retain a very tight control over the curriculum and outcomes for the children, through ongoing formative assessment of the children. This is done through both teacher led activities and by observing children in their play. Teachers are then able to set challenging targets, which are differentiated to the individual needs of the children. The inclusion of reading, writing and maths skills are an integral part of the negotiated curriculum as this gives children the opportunity to develop and use these skills on a daily basis, in addition to planned, focussed literacy and maths teaching. This helps the children to make links within their learning and view these skills as relevant to their own lives, with meaning and purpose.\nDeveloping Effective Lifelong Learners\nThe skills that children develop are significant. Every day, children are given the opportunity to manage information, solve problems and make decisions, make connections, be creative, self-manage, work with others and value others ideas, resulting in independent and resilient children."

"There is the equivalent of five daily Maths lessons each week. As with English, this can be flexible to suit the learning occurring in class that week.\nA Retrieval Practice→Clarify→Practice→Extend→Review model over several lessons works well, giving opportunities to provide further clarification through whole class teaching followed by specific practice. The aim is to move children towards independence, so careful scaffolding of support is in place, with the responsibility slowly shifting over to the children for their learning.\nWe use the Big Maths programme to deliver starts of lessons and develop arithmetic skills based on CLIC – Counting, Learn its, It’s nothing new, Calculation, plus SAFE challenges – Shape, Amounts, Fractions, Explaining data. There are ‘Beat That’ tests at the end of each week to develop rapid arithmetic skills.\nWe follow the The White Rose Hub long term and medium term plans to deliver the Maths curriculum.\nChildren are expected to develop ‘Total Recall’ of basic number facts (see Appendix 5). Through tests children earn badges to show how they are acquiring knowledge and to celebrate how they are challenging themselves to be successful. Children can attempt tests as often as they want to and are encouraged to persevere.\nWe use Mathletics as an online tool to support homework. Classes set individual homework at an appropriate level each week.\nNumbots (Reception and Year 1) and Times Tables Rockstars (Year 2 – Year 6) are also available for home learning."

"Mrs E Watson (Director of Mathematics), Miss L Devaney (2nd in department ), Mr Y Adjei, Mr M Allen, Miss D Marsh, Miss H Jessop and Mrs L Whalley.\nMathematics is the means of looking at the patterns that make up our world and the intricate and beautiful ways in which they are constructed and realised. Numeracy is the means of making that knowledge useful.\nOur aims are to encourage and enable students to:\n- Recognise that mathematics permeates the world around us.\n- Appreciate the usefulness power and beauty of mathematics\n- Enjoy mathematics and develop patience and persistence when solving problems\n- Understand and be able to use the language symbols and notation of mathematics\n- Become confident in using mathematics to analyse and solve problems both in school and in real life situations\n- Develop the knowledge skills and attitudes necessary to pursue further studies in mathematics\n- Appreciate the international dimension of mathematics and its multicultural and historical perspectives.\nKey Stage 3\nIn Year 7 students receive 3.5 hours of Mathematics teaching per week.\nIn Year 8 students receive 3.5 hours of Mathematics teaching per week.\nIn Year 9 students receive 4 hours of Mathematics teaching per week.\nWe follow the National Numeracy Strategy adapted to suit the needs and abilities of our students and our main text resource is “KS3 Maths Progress” for years 7 -9. , a set of text books suited to the needs of students of all abilities. We use Pearson textbooks for Edexcel in years 10 and 11. These are new resources brought out following recent curriculum review.\nKey Stage 4\nIn Years 10 & 11 students receive 4 hours of Mathematics teaching per week.\nAt GCSE we offer the Edexcel Linear A GCSE route. Students are set according to ability based on their results at the end of year 9. We continue to make use of all those resources available at Key Stage 3 and maintain a variety of teaching and learning styles.\nOur objectives as a department are to promote knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts and processes. These are fundamental to studying mathematics and form the base from which to explore complex concepts and develop problem-solving skills. Through knowledge and understanding students develop mathematical reasoning to make deductions and solve problems.\nAt the end of the course, students should be able to:\n- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the five branches of mathematics (number, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, statistics and probability.\n- use appropriate mathematical concepts and skills to solve problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations, including those in real-life contexts.\n- select and apply general rules correctly to solve problems, including those in real-life contexts.\nWhen solving problems students should be able to:\n- select and apply appropriate inquiry and mathematical problem-solving techniques\n- recognize patterns\n- describe patterns as relationships or general rules\n- draw conclusions consistent with findings\n- justify or prove mathematical relationships and general rules.\nMathematics provides a powerful and universal language. Students are expected to use mathematical language appropriately when communicating mathematical ideas, reasoning and findings—both orally and in writing.\nAt the end of the course, students should be able to communicate mathematical ideas, reasoning and findings by being able to:\n- use appropriate mathematical language (notation, symbols, terminology) in both oral and written explanations\n- use different forms of mathematical representation (formulae, diagrams, tables, charts, graphs and models)\n- move between different forms of representation.\nWe build upon these skills in all 5 years.\nGCSE results were 73% A*-C in 2015. This is above the national average.\nSupport in Mathematics\nAs a department we offer students the opportunity to attend the Maths ARC (Academic Review Centre) any lunchtime they wish. This is a facility staffed by a teacher and the Mathematics Learning Assistant. It can be used for catch up/homework help/ ICT based support.\nMathematics Learning Buddies : A scheme where Year 10 students with good mathematical ability are twinned with Year 8 students to provide mentoring in maths and deliver focussed material during a 20 minute slot each week.\nTime may be booked with the Learning Assistant for additional help.\nWe also provide access to ActiveLearn, which is a commercial site operated by Pearson, (www.pearsonactivelearn.com), to provide support to all pupils for their studies.\nExtra Curricular Activities\n- Problem of the week\n- Bury Maths Challenge\n- Other National challenges – as opportunities arise"

"Using our scope and sequence, teachers work in teams to plan each term in a sequential order so that students can build on their knowledge throughout the year. Content is also integrated into other curriculum areas to enhance learning opportunities and experiences. Every week, teachers are provided with time to analyse data, including pre and post assessments, student opinions, work samples and anecdotal notes and then to plan the next week’s learning sequence. Once a week, students are provided with an extra opportunity to consolidate their learning, by working on activities in teams, in addition to extra focus groups who work with teachers for enrichment and extension. All of our teaching is based on the content and developmental sequences outlined in the curriculum and more specifically in our book of knowledge ‘Teaching Primary Mathematics’ by George Booker."

"Our nurturing vision helps to prepare children for the modern world by making them highly successful life-long learners.\nThe Academy has developed a curriculum that incorporates all the subjects, wherever possible, into learning projects. The learning projects are organised into a series of open ended questions based around the themes of people, places, change and food. They utilise the many opportunities available in the King’s Cross area to enrich the learning.\nThe projects enable us to offer a broad and balanced curriculum that values the learning skills and disciplines across the spectrum of subjects and enables all children to progress and succeed. They also give the learning a clear, real life purpose, which allow the children to both connect emotionally with what they are learning and internalise what they have learned.\nNot all subjects can always be easily taught within the learning projects, for example, some aspects of Mathematics, Literacy Science and PE. There are times when these subjects are taught discretely and, like the learning projects, have a clear focus on the real life purpose of the learning.\nFor more information about our curriculum please click on the ‘curriculum’ tab from the ‘Learning’ menu\nOrganisation of the Learning\nAt the heart of our broad and balanced curriculum, which gives children the opportunity to work across all areas of learning, the teachers plan daily mathematics and literacy lessons using the National Curriculum. This ensures our children are learning the basic skills they need to succeed in other areas of learning and in life. Wherever possible we make sure that the content of these lessons links to the learning projects children are engaged in that term.\nEach week, teachers also plan for:\n- daily guided reading session of half an hour\n- hour long sessions of PE (twice a week)\n- two science lessons\n- daily mental maths sessions (as part of the mathematics planning)\n- handwriting lessons, twice a week\n- 3 sessions of spelling a week in KS 1 and 2 and a daily phonics session in the early years\n- weekly swimming lessons for half a term for each year group\n- home learning every week (see home learning policy for further details)\n- British Sign Language, level 1 session in the deaf awareness room, once a week with incidental opportunities throughout the day\n- foreign language lessons, once a week with incidental opportunities throughout the school day\n- promotion of fundamental British values throughout the curriculum (democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs)\nEach half term we identify a quality text for the focus of our English lessons and a non-fiction writing focus within the learning projects.\nThe combination of the learning projects and discrete subject teaching help us make sure that our children are developing the “essential skills” they need to be successful lifelong learners. An indicative timetable is included with this policy to give an idea of what the learning could look like across the week. All timetables are flexible and are tailored to the needs of the children’s learning depending on age and the topic etc.\nPlanning the Learning\nEach year group has a curriculum map for each half term which shows how we develop learning in all the elements of the national curriculum and how those elements can be incorporated into the learning project. The maps give a framework for the teachers to plan learning and are adapted after the children have had the opportunity to give their input at the start of each project – a unique feature of the Academy’s learning philosophy.\nEach teacher knows the strengths and interests of the children and the outcomes of assessments based on national performance descriptors for their class and plan learning accordingly. They also make sure that the objectives and activities are age-appropriate and suitably challenging to motivate and sustain engagement. Teachers use their assessments to ensure that we are always building on and extending the children’s learning.\nUsing the curriculum maps, children’s ideas and assessment outcomes, teachers produce detailed weekly/fortnightly plans that include the learning objectives (in the form of learning questions), activities, support and intended outcomes for the children. The senior management team, phase leaders and curriculum team leaders monitor this planning on a weekly basis to ensure high quality learning and progression is planned within year groups and throughout the school.\nAt the end of each term we review our curriculum maps to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our children and continuing to offer a broad and balanced curriculum. The curriculum maps will be available on ‘KCA online’, the Academy’s virtual learning platform, which will be launched in 2016.\nThe Academy Learning Toolbox and KCA Online\nTo support children to think about, articulate, plan and assess what they learn, we use the ‘Academy Learning Toolbox’. The toolbox helps children to understand and use key learning skills and approaches suitable for high quality learning across the curriculum. The teachers and children use the toolbox to make links between the different areas of learning. The learning skills within the toolbox have been organised into 6 different ‘learning tool sets’ – communication, thinking, physical, creative, social and emotional and learning about learning.\n‘KCA Online’ is the Academy’s virtual learning platform and will be launched in 2016. This is an online system that allows teachers and children to share educational materials with the whole school community via the web. It forms an integral part of learning at the Academy. Children share their learning, get involved in online discussion and are able to access resources in a safe web space that can be accessed both in school and at home.\nThe extended school service (Breakfast Club and the after school service) adopts the same ethos as the Academy. We make sure that our children have plenty of opportunities to develop and practice other skills by offering a variety of physical and creative activities which build on the interests of our children and skills of our staff and volunteers.\n|9.05 – 9.35||Group Reading / Phonics||Group Reading / Phonics||British Sign Language||Group Reading / Phonics||GroupReading / Phonics|\n|9.35 – 10.35||Literacy||Literacy||Group Reading / PhonicsLiteracy||Literacy||PE|\n|10.35 – 11.00||Assembly /Playtime||Assembly /Playtime||Assembly /Playtime||Assembly /Playtime||Assembly /Playtime|\n|11.00 – 12.00||Mathematics||Mathematics||Mathematics||Science||Mathematics|\n|12.00 – 1.00||Lunchtime||Lunchtime||Lunchtime||Lunchtime||Lunchtime|\n|1.00 – 2.00||Project / Foundation Subject*||IT(project based)||PE||Mathematics||Literacy|\n|2.00 – 2.15(KS 1 only)||Playtime||Playtime||Playtime||Playtime||Playtime|\n|2.15 – 3.15||RE / Music||Science||Project / Foundation Subject*||Project / Foundation Subject*||Project / Foundation Subject*|\n|3.15 – 3.30||PSE||French||Citizenship||Class Meeting|\nFoundation Subjects = History, Geography, Art, Design Technology, RE, Music, Citizenship, PSHE, Foreign Language.\nIf you would like further information about the learning at the Academy please don’t hesitate to get in touch."

"We provide a balanced curriculum which is geared to the needs of individual children growing up in a changing society where the skills of living together in harmony and understanding are of increasing importance. All areas of the curriculum are available to both girls and boys and every effort is made to promote equality of educational provision.\nThe core subjects are Mathematics, English, Science and Information Communication Technology.\nThe foundation subjects are History, Geography, Design Technology, Music, Art, Physical Education.\nAll pupils are taught in mixed-ability classes using a variety of teaching methods including whole class teaching, group and individual work. For part of Year 6, pupils are organised into groups for Mathematics and English three times a week.\nPupils are taught PSHE ( personal, social, health and economic education) within their classes. We see PSHE as a valuable subject in giving children the opportunities to understand and appreciate the differences people in our society have and to help prepare our children for life in the wider world.\nParents/carers have the right to withdraw their child from collective worship and sex education. Any parent/carer wishing to do so should make an appointment to meet with the headteacher.\nWe ask that at home children are encouraged to read, with parents or carers, and to learn spellings, and their times tables, and prepare for writing tasks. Occasionally they may be asked to undertake other small projects outside school time, and parental support in this is greatly valued by the school. We communicate to parents/carers on a weekly basis about how they can support their child at home through home support task sheets.\nAt Nether Green Junior School, your child will be taught:"

"The Early Reading Together®: Workshop Leader's Handbook contains all the information which school/ECE leaders, teachers and librarians need to implement the programme effectively and as intended. The sets of Early Reading Together® resources for whānau contain the information parents/whānau need to support their children at home.\nEarly Reading Together® is designed so that it can be implemented in a school or ECE service by interested teachers, ideally with the support of their colleagues and community librarians (wherever possible). The Workshop Leader's Handbook is a carefully scripted, stand-alone professional development resource which enables educators and librarians to implement Early Reading Together® effectively. For example, the Handbook includes:\nThe contents of the Workshop Leader's Handbook are firmly grounded in decades of research and best practice, which include implementing and supporting Early Reading Together® in a range of schools and early childhood services, with diverse groups of parents and children. The Handbook is a user-friendly, sound and practical resource.\nExperience has shown that teachers, school/ECE leaders and librarians who (a) read and understand each section of the Handbook and (b) follow the step-by-step processes carefully, are likely to maintain the integrity of the programme and therefore implement it effectively. The result is that the workshop programme is enjoyable and worthwhile for the families, teachers and librarians who participate. Early Reading Together® then becomes a sustainable component of the programmes which schools, early childhood services and libraries provide for their communities."

"Children who are multilingual learners (MLL) are speakers or learners of two or more languages. Previously known as children with EAL (English as an Additional Language), MLL children and their families have been shown to benefit greatly from the Early Words Together programme.\nResources for supporting MLL families through Early Words Together are available to download here.\nIn 2018/19, we are delivering Early Words Together for MLL families in nine schools in Peterborough and Leeds, supported by the Dulverton Trust, and in ten schools in Bedford and two schools in Luton, supported by Harpur Trust, The Panacea Charitable Trust and The Wixamtree Trust.\nIf you are not a part of this project, go to the Early Words Together page to learn more about running the programme in your setting.\nPlease note that these resources will continue to be developed, adapted and added to, so it is important that you check this webpage regularly.\nRead a brief description of each resource available:\n- Staff training presentation - The PowerPoint used in the staff training\n- Supplementary materials - Extra materials exploring working with MLL families used in the staff training\n- Staff action planning template - Template used in the staff training to plan the way forward for Early Words Together in your school\nVolunteer management and training\n- Volunteer management FAQs - This resource for staff has information about manage, recruit, and support volunteers\n- Volunteer recruitment poster - These posters can be displayed around the setting to recruit volunteers\n- Volunteer training presentation - A presentation to train volunteers, complete with notes and guidance\n- Volunteer training resources - These resources support the volunteer training and include a training evaluation form for volunteers\n- Sample session plans - We will add sample session plans as examples of how you and the volunteers can plan sessions with families. If you would like to submit an example of your own practice that you feel would benefit other settings, please contact email@example.com.\nVolunteers and families\n- Early Words Together book list - This list includes some of the books we have found work best with children in the programme, and some pointers for choosing books to use with MLL families\n- Why sharing rhymes, stories and books matters! - This book was created by families who attend St. Edmund’s Nursery school. It offers information about the importance of sharing books and stories in a readable, user-friendly format, and features activities for volunteers and parents\n- Early Words Together for children with SEND - This resource explains how Early Words Together has been delivered with children and families with special educational needs and disabilities\n- Volunteer and family certificate templates - These certificates are for volunteers and families who complete the programme\n- Family attendance log\nEvaluation and monitoring\n- Parent and volunteer surveys - Parents and volunteers must complete surveys as part of the programme. The volunteer survey is to be completed after every cycle of six sessions, and parents should complete their survey when they leave the programme. Parent surveys are also available in different languages as downloadable resources.\n- Practitioner surveys - Practitioners supporting Early Words Together must complete a pre-programme survey before they run their first session. The survey can be found below\n- MLL early years assessment grid - an adaptation of the ECAT monitoring tool in line with the EAL proficiency stages\nPractitioner/family case study templates\nAs part of the project, practitioners complete a template that captures:\n- Your learning as a practitioner\n- Your observations of a family's journey during the project\nYou need to complete one case study as part of the course, but please feel free to share more.\nPlease ask parents to complete the National Literacy Trust permission form if you would like to include photos of volunteers, parents and children in your case study.\nProgress report (due termly)\nSettings are asked to complete a very simple online progress report each term outlining how many families they’ve worked with, challenges encountered and successes achieved. Please find the link below.\nPlease contact firstname.lastname@example.org with any questions you have about the programme and resources.\nBilingual quick tips\nThe quick tips provide parents with ideas for helping their child develop good listening and talking skills. Here you can access the quick tips in 17 different languages."

"What is Early Words Together at Two Outdoors?\nEarly Words Together at Two Outdoors is an adaptation of our Early Words Together at Two programme, designed to be delivered in your outside space. It allows children’s centres and other early years settings in disadvantaged communities to utilise their outdoor space to give children the opportunities they may have missed out on during lockdown. Groups of parents and children can safely come together outside whilst COVID guidelines stipulate they are not allowed inside settings.\nBeing outdoors is beneficial to children’s language development as communication is prompted by new and sensory experiences. Spending time in nature also leads to improvements in mental health and well-being for both children and parents.\nIt's easy to adapt the Early Words Together at Two Outdoors sessions, depending on how much space is available to you.\nThe downloadable resources on this page are only available to settings taking part in our Early Words Together at Two Outdoors programme. If you are not participating in the programme but are interested in finding out more, contact us.\nEarly Words Together Outdoors session plans\nThe outdoor session plans are based on Forest School principles, and have been created in consultation with an experienced level 3 Forest School leader. You may not have an appropriate space with trees and/or other natural resources, but could take some ideas from the plans for certain sessions.\nEarly Words Together at Two Outdoors toolkit\nAll practitioners in the project should have received a printed version of this at training. Please contact us if you need another copy.\nParent take-away sheets\nAt the end of each session, practitioners will provide parents with take-away sheets with key messages for promoting their child’s learning and simple activities to try at home. These have been adapted for Early Words Together Outdoors.\nParent sign-in sheet\nPlease fill in this log at each parent session so we can record how often parents are attending sessions. You can submit the log to us via email or post at the end of the cycle of sessions.\nCase study templates\nAs part of the project, practitioners are asked to complete a case study that captures one of two things:\n- Your learning as a practitioner\n- Your observations of a family's journey during the project\nYou only need to complete one case study template but if you want to do more, please do.\nPlease ask parents to complete the National Literacy Trust permission form if you would include photos of volunteers, parents and children in your case study.\nPractitioners are asked to help parents complete a survey at the end of the last session. This will help to see if there have been any changes for the parent or child since taking part in Early Words Together at Two Outdoors.\nThe quick tips provide parents with ideas for helping their child develop good listening and speaking skills. You can access these quick tips in 17 different languages!"

"Do you waste money without realising it?\nEarly years settings require lots of paperwork and paper based resources for a variety of reasons. Some are necessary for management, safety, learning and development, room layout, behaviour management etc. These can be purchased through a variety of early years resource shops such as Piggledots, however many early years settings feel they will save money by creating these resources themselves. However, does this really save money? Or does it end up costing the setting a lot more than they realise?\nThe true cost of creating your own products and resources\nYour setting may be fortunate enough to have some incredibly artistic, creative and technology savvy people who are able to create any early years resources the setting needs which is wonderful however it does not always work out to be the most cost effective method. Creating these products yourself involves costs from all areas including:\n- Ensuring all staff are in ratio and paying a member of staff to be out of ratio to create products\n- Paying a practitioner by their hourly rate to create a product. If this product/resource takes an hour or two to create, paying the national living wage for this time, can work out to be costly.\n- If once the product is being used, changes need to be made this means previous money spent paying a practitioner by the hour to create the product has been a waste and further money needs to be spent paying the practitioner the time to make any necessary changes.\n- Printing costs – costs for paper and ink can quickly add up. Especially if resources are accidentally printed the wrong way and have to be done again\n- Laminating Costs – Lots of settings like to laminate products to make them more durable and longer lasting however again this involves additional costs including the laminating sheets and paying a practitioner to cut and laminate the resources. Laminators can be very temperamental and often create work which then increases the cost by the resource having to be reprinted, cut and laminated again.\nHow to reduce early years resource costs\nCosts can easily be reduced by limiting the number of time practitioners spend creating resources. Firstly consider if the resources are essential and then if they can source them from a specialist early years company who will do all the hard work for you.\nPiggledots are an early years resource shop which has been created by Early Years Careers, although it may seem when looking through some of the products that you could save money and create them yourself it may actually work out more financially beneficial to purchase the products. Many of the products come pre-printed, cut and laminated saving you costs in these areas. They have also been tried, tested and any mistakes erased meaning you know the products you buy are going to be beneficial and useful.\nNext time you consider giving practitioners time to create resources ask yourself is it the most cost-effective method and best use of practitioners time?."

"As the Mad March teacher hares towards financial ‘year end’, the race often involves a task that under different circumstances would be a real pleasure: spending money.\nHowever, that last minute rush to spend left over budget (yes, even in these straitened times, most schools and settings have a little bit of underspend) is rarely fun – because lurking in the back of your mind is the fear that by immersing yourself in catalogue and website panic buying, you’re unlikely to be purchasing the resources that will really make a difference to outcomes for your children. In my experience, it’s often outdoors that feels the ‘benefit’ (I use the word advisedly) of the underspend, with Headteachers and Managers gazing critically at the playground or garden and wondering whether a huge piece of installed play equipment could answer their outdoor play and last minute budget dilemmas in one fell swoop.\nI don’t have a solution to the ‘Mad March Hare’ to spend as quickly as possible, but I can offer a few tips to help you focus your ordering for outdoor resources, having helped schools and settings do just this over many ‘year ends’.\nThis is by no means a substitute for a proper, well thought out and carefully paced development programme – which ideally would involve talking to children, exploring the way your site is used in some detail and over several weeks and undertaking consultations and investigations to identify needs outdoors. But it could help you concertina some of this work into an intense period of research followed by a sensible, purposeful campaign of last minute spending that will result in the delivery of resources and materials that will make the most of the potential of outdoors.\nPut a temporary halt on the buying\nTake time out to think about what is really needed in your school or setting. You’ll still make the end of March spend deadline even if you spend some time talking to colleagues and children and exploring how you currently use the space.\nInventory what you already have outdoors\nIf you can get hold of a plan of your site (a Google Earth aerial view would do) print it at A3 and mark on the resources and features you already have – such as storage units, planted areas, play equipment, sandpits, etc.\nMake a list of the resources available for outdoor play, noting down whether they ‘live’ outdoors (for example in a shed or in the grounds) or are brought outdoors from indoors.\nIdentify what children are doing outdoors\nUse an observation tool you are comfortable with to observe and record how children are using the space and the resources available to them. Think about affordances – how children use places, spaces and equipment in ways other than those they were ‘designed’ to be used for.\nAnalyse your observation notes and photographs: what did children appear to be enjoying the most? Where did conflict arise – and why? Which areas are over-popular and which are barely used? Why? What sort of condition are the resources and spaces outdoors in? What does this tell children about how your school or setting values their play spaces?\nAsk yourself, ‘what do I want children to be able to DO outdoors?’\nAnd don’t ask, “what do I want them to HAVE?” – at least, not yet. Examine the objectives you have for this cohort of children. What are you trying to achieve with them? What are their and your goals? Where are there gaps in provision? What could outdoors provide that indoors simply can’t?\nList the types of activity or play or learning you’d like children to be able to experience outdoors – for example you might identify that mark making is weak and that outdoors could contribute to improvements. Or opportunities to be agile might be few, so places and spaces to balance, climb, jump, build strength and co-ordination might be needed. Could your children benefit from places to play in small groups, or to act out stories, or reconnect with the natural world? Do they need somewhere to make noise or exercise their whole bodies? Are there elements of your curriculum that could be enriched by being taken outdoors?\nIf you can, encapsulate this in a sentence that describes your aspirations for outdoors – what you write shouldn’t be too dissimilar to your school or setting’s overall aspirations. After all, the outdoor space should be contributing to children’s development, learning and wellbeing in the same way you would expect activity taking place indoors to do.\nEstablish how you could meet these needs with new resources and make a ‘long list’\nExamine each item in your list of activities / learning you’d like children to be able to experience outdoors. What kind of resources would lend themselves to supporting this learning or play? Think about the development of key skills and where there might be opportunities for resources to meet more than one set of needs. Open ended resources such as loose parts items are more likely to do this than items with fixed or specific uses.\nBrainstorm two or three different ways you could fulfil EACH of the needs you identified above. As an example, if the priority is to develop children’s communication and language skills, or their creativity, resources to enable role-play outdoors could meet this need. So a timber playhouse would help, but so would a really excellent den building kit, or a CD player and basket full of clothes, fabric, storybooks and props. Each of these comes with a very different price tag!\nResearch costs and logistics for your ‘long list’ of resources\nOkay, you can return to the catalogues and websites now! But this time you’re armed with a clear vision for what you need to buy – and importantly, WHY you need to buy it. Knowing the rationale behind your spending spree means you are far more likely to end up with resources you’re still using in six months’ time, a year’s time, five years’ time.\nThink about open-ended resources; think about sharing resources with colleagues; think about storage (Where will all this ‘stuff’ go? How will children access it?); think about sustainability (Will it need to be replenished? How often, and how much will it cost?); think about maintenance of the resources (How do we care for it? Who will do this? How much will it cost?); think about their management (Should I risk benefit assess this resource? Does its use need supervision?)\nCheck with colleagues that you aren’t doubling up on resources you could possibly share (or that they already have). If you’re ordering several of something or lots of things from one supplier, be cheeky and email or call the them first and ask for a bulk discount – as we say up north, ‘shy bairns get nowt’. The worst the supplier can say is ‘no’.\nNow order your goodies and enjoy!\nThat’s something of a whistle stop tour of tragedy-free catalogue ordering, but it should be possible to do all of this over the course of a week. The inventory and observation bits will take longest and it is important to get them right, as they provide the foundations for your decision-making and subsequent spending.\nIf you are in the enviable position of not having to spend a budget in the next two weeks, and would like to explore outdoor learning and play at a more measured pace, please give us a call at Play Learning Life. We would be delighted to talk to you about how we can help you, your colleagues and, vitally, your children make the most of the potential of outdoors to contribute to better learning and play outcomes."

"The individual care and development of each and every child is very important at ESK. We ensure, through excellent teaching, a kind and nurturing environment, and the encouragement of individual talents and interests, that every child feels valued and a special part of the whole. The importance of kindness, friendship and respect for others is developed through example and actions, where bad manners and hurtful behaviour towards others are not tolerated.\nThe Class Teacher\nThe class teacher plays a key role in ensuring the general well-being and happiness of each child in her care, in all aspects of school life. However, all staff play their part and the children know they can turn to any teacher if they have a problem or are unhappy. The children are also encouraged to look out for each other too.\nAssemblies are an important part of the school day, providing an opportunity for the children and staff to gather together as a community. They usually comprise a story or discussion point. As well as the important role they play in developing the children’s social, moral and cultural awareness, they also provide an important opportunity to celebrate achievement and effort, in work and behaviour.\nAll classes have a weekly Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) lesson. These lessons form a key element of our Pastoral Care, developing the children’s listening skills and their confidence to talk about their own and others’ concerns and feelings.\nThe House System\nTo encourage the pursuit of excellence, whether in sport or within the academic and pastoral life of the school, each child from Year 1 onwards is assigned to one of four houses. The school houses’ names represent the heritage, history, nature and culture of Cyprus: Alasia, Caretta, Hilarion and Othello.\nChildren are given house points for acts of kindness, particularly good behaviour or notable academic or sporting achievement. They are highly motivated by this structure and quickly form an allegiance to their house. As each house has members from Year 1 all the way through to Year 13, the system also encourages vertical integration within the school. A sense of friendly fun and competition is evident as the house points are counted and the House Cup is awarded at the end of week Celebration Assembly. The annual sports days in spring are a fun-filled day of inter-house competitive races, where children are cheered on by enthusiastic parents.\nNurse & Counsellor\nESK has a full-time nurse and full-time counsellor to provide care where necessary. In addition, every year we ensure that a significant of staff up-to-date first-aid training and certification.\nThe pastoral system is supported by a fair and consistent disciplinary framework to uphold the school’s ethos and standards of behaviour. Bullying and discrimination are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated. All offences will be dealt with in a measured and appropriate manner. The School does not use corporal punishment.\n- Bilim Sokak\n- Bellapais - Kyrenia\n- North Cyprus\n- (via Mersin 10 Turkey)\n+90 392 444 0375"

"Handwriting is an essential skill for both children and adults. Even in the age of technology, handwriting remains the primary tool of communication and knowledge assessment for students in the classroom. The demands for handwriting are great, whether in the classroom or beyond. A found that 85 percent of all fine motor time in second, a fourth and sixth standard classroom was spent on paper and pencil activities. A more recent study noted that kindergarten children are now spending 42 percent of their fine motor time on paper and pencil activities.\nResearch literature extensively documents the consequences of poor handwriting on early literacy and academic performance. Children who experience difficulty mastering this skill [handwriting] may avoid writing and decide that they cannot write, leading to arrested writing development. Handwriting is critical to the production of creative and well-written text affecting both fluency and the quality of the composition. Illegible handwriting also has secondary effects on school achievement and self-esteem.\nSeeing the need for a more specific analysis of skills, Smart WRITE and a team of occupational therapists and educators has developed a set of comprehensive programs/courses for children and adults. We hope these will serve as an example to educators and curriculum decision-makers and bring increased attention to this crucial, yet often overlooked, area of education."

"By Diane Wagner, BA, Grad. Dip. Child Study, LD@school LD Expert\nWriting involves juggling many things at the same time: grammar, spelling, letter formation, vocabulary, punctuation, capitalization, content, and following the directions of educators. All of these skills must be automatic for writing to be effective. For most of us, this is a big task. However, for many students with learning disabilities (LDs), it is an almost impossible chore.\nAs a student progresses through school, the challenges relating to writing continue to increase. Students become involved in story writing, editing, research, note-taking, text/exam writing, etc. All of these tasks require planning and time.\nStudents with LDs who have difficulties in writing are often accused of procrastination or lack of effort, and indeed may become discouraged if they do not get help. It is important for educators to recognize where the breakdown in written language occurs, and find creative ways to assist these students. Difficulties can be in handwriting and/or in written expression.\nIdentifying and Addressing Difficulties in Handwriting\nThe term dysgraphia is sometimes used to describe the specific aspect of fine motor function which affects the speed, fluency and legibility of writing.\nCommon forms include:\n- Motor memory dysfunction -- lack of automaticity of letter formation (cannot rapidly remember how to form letters)\n- Graphomotor production deficits -- incorrect pencil grip (perpendicular, too close to tip, excessive pressure)\n- Motor Feedback problems -- trouble keeping track of where the pencil is while writing\nStudents with handwriting difficulties often avoid paper pencil tasks and have reduced written output.\nSuggestions for addressing handwriting difficulties\n- For students learning to print/write, teach letter formation in a methodical method (ie. grouping letters which have similar formations), emphasizing the correctness of pencil grip, motor memory for the letter formations, practice for fluency.\n- Have the student practice copying for short periods of time and then increasing the time as fluency increases.\n- Encourage the use of pencil grips and/or large mechanical pencils.\nEncourage use of alternative paper material (e.g. for younger students, paper with raised lines provides a sensory guide for the student to stay within the lines).\n- Encourage training for keyboarding skills so that a computer can be used for school assignments.\nIdentifying and Addressing Difficulties in Written Expression\nFrequently, students with LDs demonstrate a significant discrepancy between oral expression and reading ability vs. their written output. This functional gap is a source of extreme frustration for everyone involved, particularly the student who does not understand why they are unable to write with the same ease as they can understand, think and discuss.\nSources of this breakdown include:\n- Lack of skill/expertise with the writing process - i.e. putting thoughts on paper in an organized, sequenced and edited form\n- Not following the necessary writing stages - i.e. prewriting and writing\n- Weak active working memory - i.e. remembering and using all the skills involved in written production: expressing ideas and knowledge, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, proofreading, editing, etc.\n- Weak revision and proofreading skills\n- Attentional weaknesses - weak sustained attention for difficult tasks, distractibility, low mental energy, easily fatigued\n- Difficulty recognizing “the big picture”, disorganization\n- Slow processing speed, weak retrieval memory\nSuggestions for addressing written expression difficulties\n- Assist with the development of a schedule allowing time to complete assignments\n- Work in small time periods rather than spending hours at a time\n- Begin with a brainstorming stage where ideas about the subject are written down. If a student has spelling or graphomotor problems, scribe for them or allow use of a computer\n- Help the student organize their ideas from the brainstorming to an organizational model (i.e. a story map, a timeline, an outline, organizational software such as Inspiration, Spark-Space)\n- Encourage the student to elaborate on which ideas need to be included in the assignment within the organizational model\n- Begin writing first/rough draft from the model\n- Edit for vocabulary usage, sentencing, grammatical constructions, mechanics of writing (spelling, capitals, punctuation, paragraphing)\nSuggested accommodations for written expression difficulties\n- Additional time for writing assignments\n- Alternative means of assessing knowledge (e.g. oral reports or visual projects)\n- Marks for spelling only deducted when spelling is an essential skill requirement for the task\n- For students who cannot keep up with note taking from a blackboard, provide a copy or outline\n- Use of organizational assistive software\n- Use of a digital recorder to dictate thoughts or answers\n- Use of a scribe or speech-to-text assistive software\n- Use of word prediction or spellchecker software\nAdapted from an article by Faye E. Hart, Educational Consultant (used with permission), which was based on the following references: Levine, Mel. Educational Care 1994: Cambridge. Educators Publishing Service Ltd.: Levine, Mel. Keeping a Head in School.1990: Cambridge. Educators Publishing Service Ltd.\nRelevant Resources on the LD@school website:\nClick here to access an article entitled, “The Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) Approach for Helping Students with Learning Disabilities to Improve their Use of Writing Strategies, their Knowledge of Writing, and their Motivation to Write”, by Véronique Parent, Anne Rodrigue, Julie Myre-Bisaillon, Carole Boudreau, and Annick Tremblay-Bouchard."

"Friday 14th August 2015\nWhat more can be done to support pupils in improving their handwriting?\nMany children who aren’t able to grasp the fundamental handwriting techniques and a handwriting quality expected for their age don’t typically benefit from “yet more handwriting practice”.\nInstead, the reason as to why the pupil’s handwriting isn’t up to the expected standard needs to be identified, whether this is as a result of poor fine motor skills, visual spacing abilities, memory retrieval, language processing or incorrect handwriting posture or pen/pencil grip.\nAnd it is this which should be supported and requires practice and not the handwriting itself.\nWith this in mind we have developed the Overcoming Dysgraphia Workbook which provides activities for pupils to work through to support them in developing the fundamental skills that handwriting demands, and in turn, their overall handwriting ability. The workbook is organised into four sections: Drawing, Writing, Planning and Improving memory.\nDrawing is a great place to start in improving handwriting as it exercises, and thus develops, fundamental fine motor skills.It also presents the opportunity to correct any bad habits, such as holding a pencil incorrectly or sitting with bad posture.\nThe Writing section of the workbook ensure that the basic concepts of handwriting have been mastered. It also encourages conscious thinking about what is being written and how it is being written. The activities aim to improve students’ fine motor skills, information processing abilities, language processing abilities and visual spacing abilities.\nPlanning before writing enables pupils with underdeveloped handwriting to organise their ideas beforehand so that more attention can be focused on the handwriting itself. The activities in this section aim to develop skills such as ordering, visualisation and self-improving one’s writing, and can be used and applied to the planning of any writing task.\nThe Improving memory activities will enable pupils to more readily recall information from their long term memory and hold it in their short term memory for longer, allowing them to take more time over their handwriting (not quickly scribbling the information down in fear of forgetting).\nThe Workbook can be ordered from our website either in PDF (£14) or as a paperback (£26). Paperback currently unavailable."

"On 23rd May, Ofsted published a Research Review Series on English with a specific section concentrating on handwriting, providing advice on pupils learning to write fluently before focusing on teaching joined-up handwriting.\nIt is refreshing to see common sense prevail with the guidance now being in line with what Morrells Handwriting have been saying and campaigning for many years.\nOur fundamentals of learning to write and develop the skills at the right pace are now being seen in Ofsted guidance and the National Curriculum, including –\n- Mastering letter formation – correct size and orientation\n- Providing time and opportunity to practise, helping children to progress from accuracy to fluency\n- Delaying the requirement for joined-up handwriting\n- Developing fine motor skills and grip is fundamental to future development\nWhen delivering teacher training or working with children and parents, we concentrate on embedding the key building blocks and progressing at a sensible pace to enable children to master the individual skills required to develop legible joined handwriting.\nThe rush to join doesn’t provide teachers and students with the opportunity to repeatedly practice handwriting, focusing on the short term, leading to poor handwriting.\nThe Ofsted review references research that has found that letter formation ‘may be important for supporting children’s early reading development’. It also goes on to reference evidence suggesting practice is linked to the success in higher-level writing tasks, including children spending more time planning, being more creative and constructing sentences.\nAll of this research comes back to the long-term outcomes of taking ample time during the early development stages. Taking the time will reap the rewards at a stage when pupils are required to write at a pace in all subjects.\nHandwriting is now firmly on the Ofsted agenda with policy declaring a clear dislike for the lead-in stroke and cursive from the start, backed up by the new government directives from the Department for Education.\nThis announcement should provide teachers with much needed breathing space in the classroom to teach the correct pencil grip, form letters correctly and focus attention on progressing towards fluency.\nIf you would like help in understanding the detail of the review and implement the changes, we are on hand to support your teacher training and handwriting lessons in your school."

"Written by Anita Warwick\nThere is enormous pressure on schools as all children return to the classroom. Although remote learning has meant that many children have developed useful skills, such as digital ‘know-how’ and independence, there is a need to refocus on core skills. Of equal importance, attention must be paid to children’s emotional and mental well-being.\nSo, is teaching handwriting at this time important?\nA report by Ofsted into the impact of the pandemic found that children who were hardest hit by school closures have regressed in some basic skills. Some Primary school leaders have noted that writing is an issue for some pupils, including writing at length, spelling, grammar, presentation and handwriting.\nJust this month, recent research at the University of Tokyo* concluded that students who wrote with a pen and paper had a more active brain when it came to trying to remember their notes an hour later. They concluded that it was down to the unique, complex, spatial and tactile information that comes with writing on physical paper. Confidence was able to grow, and results could be seen quickly.\nStarting with just 5–10 minutes a day, focusing on a short handwriting task from which children receive appropriate feedback and praise is time well spent. It provides an invaluable opportunity to build confidence as well as help eradicate any bad habits that have formed, such as:\n- a faulty pencil grip\n- incorrect letter formation\n- letter reversals and inversions\n- poor posture and positioning.\nThis is the perfect time to address habits that may have crept in during remote learning\nBegin with assessment. Where is each child compared to where they need to be? Teachers will need to spend time identifying missed learning to allow for focused teaching of specific areas of difficulty.\nClick on the links below to access free Nelson Handwriting resources to use with your class:\nIn KS2, small amounts of daily handwriting will quickly help children improve their presentation, as well as spelling, grammar and punctuation.\nTry the Handwriting Assessment Record sheets for:\nTeacher modelling can also help encourage and give children much needed confidence boosters – something they may have missed out on in recent months.\nWe know that the quality of handwriting can often be the basis on which performance judgements are made, whether we like it or not. A school with a clear handwriting policy, that focuses on a consistent approach, enables the child to progress through carefully structured stages and provides them with an opportunity to develop their own individual style gradually.\nIn my experience, the short, daily or twice weekly sessions were ones the children looked forward to. They were quiet, relaxed and fun – which is exactly what some children will need right now.\nAnita Warwick is the author of Nelson Handwriting\n*Published in the Journal Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience 2021\nYour local Educational Consultant can give you more information about Nelson Handwriting, helping you to choose the best resources for your school. Click here to book an appointment."

"How OT can support writing ?\nSome of you that follow my blogs may have read an earlier piece on the foundations to fine motor skills, which in turn relates to this topic, however for my practice as an OT I support fine motor skills separately and then work on handwriting skills. So here it is broken down into what I would start with working on certain goal areas with families and children.\nIn my practice when working to set goals with families and children, they may create a goal, “For my child to be able to hold a pen effectively for writing at school and at home”. This is a great functional goal, however when broken down there is a lot to it.\nFirstly, I would think about the child’s developmental age to give indications of where they could be functioning. I would complete a range of Occupational therapy assessments including looking into the gross motor skills. These assessments may include the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, the Miller Function and Participation assessment or developmental screening forms.\nAgain you would have seen in my previous blogs, that gross motor skills developmentally comes first and if we are not able to hold our self-upright in space (sitting on a chair), then how can we be expected to write.\nIf I have a client that only has fine motor goals, but I know that evidence suggests to work on gross motor skills to support fine motor, I would share this with the family and then give some strategies for family and daycare etc to carry out if they are able to.\nAdaptive equipment can support seating and core strength at a desk also, such as wedge cushions which can tilt the pelvis to support sitting upright and hold core position while seated.\nSo, I would begin with where the child is functioning, and given some strategies to support core strength and strengthening upper body skills etc. This really depends on the assessment results, what the child is currently able to do and what the goal is (where they would like to be).\nSecondly, I would assess the fine motor skills using Occupational Therapy assessment such as the Millers Function and Participation, fine motor screening checklists or handwriting assessments. This is often all done in one assessment, it really depends on what the child’s and family goals are. This could show any of the areas mentioned in the ‘foundations for fine motor skills blog’ to support for the child to be able to hold a writing tool. These may include hand strengthening, bilateral coordination, in hand manipulation and wrist extension.\nSupporting these skills in a range of developmental appropriate activities will then support the goal, it is really important the child understands what they are doing, how it supports the goal they have created, and are interested in the activity. The more engagement in the task the more success.\nThirdly, We would practice writing skills. These could be pre-writing skills, working with large gross motor movements, working on horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and circular lines. This could include writing in sand, in shaving foam, or messy play. Using sensory objects to support writing is effective for many learning styles, some children/people are kinesthetic learners; this means they need to move and feel the movement with there tactile sense. This supports their physical memory and retaining what is being learnt.\nIt is so important a range of learning styles is offered for children, as they may not know how they best learn, so we can offer visual, verbal, sensory, and movement opportunities to teach topics such as writing.\nIn this same stage I would be supporting schools, daycare and families to work with their child vertically, such as drawing on easels or windows. This works the upper body and strengthens the muscles for writing.\nLastly, we would apply these skills to horizontal writing opportunities, beginning with strokes and marks on paper. Depending on the child’s developmental age and stage, it can be effective to use think and large writing tools. Such as rock crayons, tripod crayons or half a crayon. This allows the palm and hand to form around the writing tool and promote use of the thumb and fingers together.\nThe dynamic tripod grasp is the most ideal writing grasp, however it is important to know this is not what is needed for your child to write successfully. They may use a lateral tripod grasp, or static tripod grasp for some time. So long as they are able to write effectively and legibly for their age, and that the grasp is not causing them pain then this is acceptable. I have many teachers and parents wanting the ideal tripod grasp to be used, however we are all different and use different writing tools, which at times can require different grasps.\nWe need to think what the focus is for the child, is it to hold the pen correctly or be able to write their names, or sentences at school.\nIn terms of the goal we are reviewing in this blog, the child may work with a static tripod grasp or palmar grasp for some time developmentally, and I review this with the family and we can use visual pictures of how to hold our pen for the child to see. Also supporting where the elbow is for writing, we can use encourage the elbow to be held down to their side by holding a cushion or piece of paper with their elbow.\nThat covers a snapshot of how Occupational therapy can support your child in writing. As you read you can see there is a lot to it, and this can take time and practice of these skills. There is also visual processing skills and sensory processing which plays into writing and fine motor skill development also.\nIt is really important to ask questions along the way for your child, you may see peers in their same age performing differently to your child and again, this is okay as we all develop differently in our own time and space, however we can guide them to develop the skills to support these areas where possible and if it is something your child wants to work on also.\nI hope you enjoyed this blog"

"When pupils find it difficult to write legibly and reasonably quickly, it can significantly disadvantage them in school. We look at how SENCOs can organise additional support\nWriting skills (part two)\nMany children with writing difficulties have dyslexia and/or dyspraxia (developmental coordination difficulties) − these conditions often occur together and affect all aspects of a child’s life, both in school and outside. It is vital therefore, that schools and early years settings are able to identify difficulties in this important area and put in place appropriate interventions where necessary.\nLook out for pupils who have difficulties with:\n- throwing and catching\n- dance/music and movement\n- manipulating small objects (building bricks, jigsaws)\n- getting dressed/undressed\n- using cutlery, scissors, ruler, setsquare\n- organising themselves and their work\n- laterality (knowing left from right)\n- following multiple instructions.\nPupils with motor coordination difficulties may also have poor posture and limited body awareness, moving awkwardly and seeming clumsy; this can be especially noticeable after a growth spurt. They may also tire more easily than other children. As far as writing is concerned, teachers need to think about:\n- the pupil’s sitting position: both feet on the floor, table/chair height appropriate, sloping writing surface may help\n- anchoring the paper/book to the table to avoid slipping; providing a ‘cushion’ to write on can be a help − an old magazine, used paper stapled together, etc\n- the writing implement − the grip (try different sizes of pen/pencil and various types of ‘grips’ available form LDA etc.); avoid the use of a hard-tipped pencil or pen\n- providing opportunities for practising handwriting patterns and letter formation\n- providing lines to keep writing straight\n- limiting the amount of writing required − providing ready-printed sheets or alternative means of recording\n- using overlays and Clicker grids\n- teaching keyboard skills.\nThere are lots of published programmes available for using with groups of pupils who need extra help to develop co-ordination skills. In the SEN Coordinators File issue 26, Wendy Ash described the ‘Fun Fit’ programme that she used in school to great effect. The programme is designed to be organised and monitored by the SENCO, but actually delivered by TAs, using the sort of equipment and apparatus found in most schools.\nThe structure is flexible, with sessions lasting about 20 minutes and being held three or four times each week − often as part of ‘breakfast club’. The skills addressed include gross motor skills such as ball skills; balance; jumping; hopping; galloping; skipping; and fine motor skills such as holding and manipulating small objects; eye-hand coordination; using both hands together.\nThe formation of letters is a very specific area of skill development and providing opportunities for practising − without making it an onerous chore − can be part of the solution.\nPrecision teaching is a good example of distributed practice and may include exercises such as a one-minute daily exercise to see how many b and d words the child can successfully write. This type of exercise provides the child with instant feedback and always focuses on success. Progress can be easily monitored by keeping a daily count or by using a weekly probe sheet. Practising holoalphabet sentences can also be useful, as these contain the 26 letters of the alphabet:\nThe quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.\nThe five boxing wizards jumped quickly.\nParents can also be enlisted to encourage writing practise at home; young children, can enjoy drawing/painting patterns (a wet paintbrush on dry concrete slabs) and practising letters − make sure that parents have a ‘crib sheet’ showing the correct formation. As children get older they can be expected to write their own names in birthday cards and thank you notes; write a shopping list; keep a holiday diary; make a scrapbook with labelled entries; write out recipes. Impress upon parents and carers the importance of making these activities fun, and always praising the child for effort.\nIn lessons, children need to be given opportunities to write, but with the recognition that other forms of recording will help them to achieve and to maintain self-esteem. Provide alphabet strips and word banks for writing (we’ll look at spelling next week):\nAa Bb Cc Dd Ee Fe Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz\nBut also ensure that there are other ways of recording, eg:\n- using a tape recorder\n- taking photos with a digital camera and adding text\n- using a video camera\n- making a recording using a computer and web cam\n- verbal answers, presentations, role play\n- making a storyboard or poster\n- recording information in a table.\nThere is a selection of good quality software to help children to record, eg, Penfriend. As a few letters are typed, a list appears in the floating window of words that the programme thinks you are going to type. Each choice is listed along with the function key (f1 to f12) that you can press to complete the word. This makes typing much quicker for inexperienced typists. A useful feature is that it will speak out each letter as it is typed, or the word if the function key is pressed. Once a full stop is reached the whole sentence is read out. If a block of text is highlighted it will read it all out for the pupil. Look at Wordbar and text help as well. www.inclusive.co.uk\nFind out more:\nThis e-bulletin issue was first published in February 2008\nAbout the author: Linda Evans is the author of SENCO Week. She was a teacher/SENCO/adviser/inspector, before joining the publishing world. She now works as a freelance writer, editor and part-time college tutor."

"Schools are legally obliged to provide equality of opportunity for all pupils. This means that schools must not discriminate against a pupil with a disability by giving them a level of teaching, support and access to facilities that would put them at a disadvantage to their peers.\nEnsuring this doesn't happen may require the school to make some reasonable adjustments so pupils with arthritis can participate fully in school life.\nPainful and stiff joints can make movements slower or more difficult. Ask your pupil sensitively if they’d like any modifications put in place.\nThey might be worried about being singled out for special treatment, so be careful to help practically as much as possible and without making them feel awkward or upset at unwanted attention, especially when they're starting at a new school or college.\nBe flexible about your pupil arriving late or leaving early and allow extra time or help for moving between lessons. This is more of an issue in secondary schools and colleges, where lessons are often in different rooms.\nWhere possible, arrange for lessons to be in downstairs classrooms. If this isn't possible, let them use lifts where available. If necessary, give them a lift pass. Think about access for wheelchairs and crutches where necessary.\nGive your pupil a ground-floor locker or let them leave textbooks in a secure place. If possible, give them two sets of books, one for school and one for home, so they don't have to carry them around.\nBe flexible about uniform rules where there are specific needs, for example with footwear.\nGive them a pass which explains any special provisions to avoid them having to repeatedly explain their needs or get in trouble. This could include, for example, a toilet pass, late pass, shoe pass, lift pass and inside break pass.\nLet your pupil get up and walk around in class to help reduce stiffness. If they feel self-conscious about this, you could give them a task to do, such as taking a letter to the school office if it’s not too far away.\nHave a quiet word with them if you think they seem uncomfortable and ask if there’s anything they’d like to do.\nUsing special equipment and modifications\nSpecially adapted equipment may be useful. Desks and chairs could be raised or lowered to provide the best seating and working position. Your pupil may want a chair during assembly or carpet time, however, if they feel self-conscious this should be done with tact. Back rests, foot supports and book rests could all help.\nProviding your pupil with special thick pens and/or pencils might help them to write easier.\nInstall a rail in toilets or a banister on both sides of stairs.\nThink creatively about adapting activities in PE and drama to make it less demanding for your pupil and encourage them to join in.\nYou can get advice and guidance around these issues from your pupil, their parents and their physiotherapist or occupational therapist.\nArranging school trips\nWhen arranging a school trip you need to carefully consider the needs of the young person with arthritis. Visit the area before the trip to reduce risk and assess access.\nSpeak with your pupil and their parents before the trip to tell them about the timetable and find out what they hope to get involved with. Talking about medication and any other medical information would help.\nBe creative with the activities and try to make your pupil feel like they're not missing out. If there are physical activities, including long walks, try to plan alternatives.\nMake sure that comfortable transport with regular breaks is provided. The accommodation should have good access and possibly either bedrooms on the ground floor or lifts if needed.\nYoung people with arthritis will need time out of school for regular hospital appointments to monitor their condition. Some may occasionally stay in hospital for tests or treatment, or occasionally for surgery if their condition is severe.\nIf your pupil does need to spend time in hospital, a shared timetable can be useful. Your school can work with the hospital school to arrange a part-time schedule.\nFor example, your pupil could have a mixture of being taught in school and through home teaching from a local service provider. This would stop them missing too much work and being left behind, and would let them see friends.\nHospital or home tutors will organise work from the National Curriculum. Ideally this should be arranged with your school to make sure your pupil can carry on with what they've been learning. If possible, arrange for your pupil to take work into hospital or home.\nIf your pupil has been very ill and in hospital for long periods, a discharge-planning meeting or case conference may be held. It’s very helpful if a member of school staff can take part in these meetings.\nHospital schools don’t cater for post-16 education, so if you're a sixth-form or college tutor you'll need to be directly involved with your pupil, their family and rheumatology team, particularly if your pupil is admitted to an adult hospital.\nMaking arrangements for examinations and course work\nSome young people may need extra consideration for examinations, such as extra time or the use of a computer or scribe. This will almost certainly involve being in a separate room under exam conditions.\nThese accommodations need to be requested well in advance from the relevant examination board. Your pupil's rheumatology team will probably need to provide a letter of support.\nIf your pupil finds writing and typing difficult they may struggle with course work. Talk to them about this in plenty of time before deadlines and see if there is anything they need that the school can provide. Speech recognition software on a laptop may really help the young person when they're working on essays and course work.\nEnsuring that a form tutor or another assigned teacher regularly checks that the pupil is up to date with school work, course work deadlines and revision timetables would be a very good idea. Encouraging the child to raise any concerns they have about exams and course work, in a timely fashion, is important.\nGiving career advice\nMost young people with arthritis do well academically and go on to college or university. Securing a job may be more difficult, however, due to many factors, including:\n- limited work experience\n- careers advisors and potential employers having unnecessarily low aspirations for the young person.\nImproving employability is essential. Teachers and careers advisors can play a key role in this. Early work experience which matches your pupil’s strengths and ensures success can:\n- boost their self-confidence\n- improve their CV\n- help them realise their strengths and difficulties\n- give them a realistic insight into the world of work.\nCareers advisors in schools and colleges can seek additional support from the rheumatology team.\nGood careers advice for young people with arthritis will be a realistic and positive focus on what they can do, rather than what they can’t do.\nEncouraging your pupil to be ambitious and confident is important. There will be life skills that the young people will most probably have developed from their condition - these may include:\n- being organised\n- being determined to overcome challenges and obstacles\n- showing resilience\n- thinking creatively to overcome problems.\nIt would be good to stress to the young people that these are skill sets that could be transferrable to the world of work which they should tell future employers about."

"Ideally, host families and their exchange students have relationships built on open communication and honesty. But sometimes, coming into a new host family’s home can cause students to feel unsure about how to approach unfamiliar or confusing situations. Add in a language barrier and cultural differences, and sometimes the communication breakdown is hard to mend!\nMany exchange students will go for weeks and even months before saying what’s really on their mind — and sometimes, they’ll never completely divulge their innermost hopes and fears. In order to help host families decode what’s really going on with their exchange students, we’ve gathered some advice that exchange students want their host families to know.\n1. “We don’t always understand the rules.”\nExchange students understand that there will be new rules when they arrive in their host family’s home. Part of the experience is learning to do things differently, and students are almost always willing to do what is asked of them.\nHowever, sometimes students need a little extra help understanding the “why” behind the rules. When it comes to things like curfews, chores, and expectations about new friends, students may need extra help understanding why certain rules are put in place.\nHere’s a tip: Write down house rules on a piece of paper, and have them ready for your student when they arrive. Allow your student some time to read them and think about questions they have. After they’ve settled in, sit down and talk about each rule — and answer any questions your student might have.\nRemind your student that they can ask questions whenever they come up. It’s important that students feel they are able to ask when they feel unsure!\n2. “Don’t be afraid of awkward silences… we just need time to think!”\nEven if a student has studied English for many years before arriving in the United States, adjusting to a new language full-time is emotionally and mentally difficult. Sometimes students need a few extra seconds or minutes to think something through.\nAmericans are often tempted to fill awkward silences with more questions. When a student is thinking through what they’d like to say, however, these questions can quickly turn into information overload!\nHere’s a tip: After asking a question, wait at least a few moments before asking another. If it seems like your student is struggling to find the right words, be patient. Sometimes it takes time to “switch over” to thinking in another language (and that makes listening and understanding difficult).\nIf there is a significant language barrier, try writing down questions when confusion sets in. Sometimes students are better at reading than listening, and this can help iron out confusion and frustration.\n3. “Sometimes we just need a time out.”\nLearning a new language and adjusting to a new culture can be tiring. Just like doing jumping jacks makes people feel physically tired, speaking in a different language can leave students mentally fatigued. Consequently, exchange students who are dealing with a bigger language barrier may need to sleep more in order to “bounce back” after a long day of speaking English.\nWhile it’s a good idea to encourage social engagement with the host family, exchange students sometimes hit a mental wall that leaves them irritable, exhausted and more emotional than usual.\nHere’s a tip: If you think this might be happening with your exchange student, consider giving them a “time out” to recuperate and recharge. You can set ground rules for these “time outs”, which might include no cell phones or lengthy conversations with friends back home. Remember to talk to your student about what they might need in order to conserve energy and adapt to their new language.\n4. “Homesickness is always harder than we expect.”\nExchange students are always well-versed in what to expect when homesickness sets in, but it’s almost always harder than they expect. Most students have never spent significant amounts of time away from their family, much less in a new country.\nConsequently, students may fall back into old patterns when homesickness sets in. The temptation to talk to family and friends back home will be almost impossible to resist!\nHere’s a tip: When your student is in the throes of homesickness, patience is key. You might think rigid rules are the only way to help your student cope, but this is not always the case. Talk to your student about what they are feeling, and how you can help. They want to feel comfortable in their host country just as much as you do, so don’t be afraid to troubleshoot the problem together.\n5. “No matter how hard culture shock is, reverse culture shock is harder!”\nWhat few exchange students anticipate is how difficult reverse culture shock can be. When it comes time for your student to return to their home country, there will be plenty of mixed emotions: excitement, relief, sadness, and uncertainty.\nDon’t be surprised if your student starts reaching out to your family only days after they’ve returned home. Once the “honeymoon period” has worn off, they’ll be missing American culture more than they realized they would!\nHere’s a tip: Plan a few Skype sessions in the weeks and months after your student returns home. This will help ease some of the fear that comes with returning to their home country.\nIf your student doesn’t stay in touch with your host family after they’ve returned home, try not to take it personally — every student deals with the ups and downs of cultural change differently, and it may not have anything to do with their opinion of you!"

"\"Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each one of us individually.\" Dalai Lama\nResponsibility is taking charge of your learning; setting priorities, understanding how you learn and making use of support. It also means having self-respect and respect for others involved in the learning process.\nPupils can take the lead in organising and managing their own learning.\n- Take an interest in how you learn.\n- Take an interest in what you learn.\n- Reflect and respond to feedback.\n- Attend super curricular activities.\n- When appropriate, seek help inside and outside lessons.\n- Support the learning of friends and peers.\nTeachers can give clear guidance on expectations for managing learning and support on how to achieve this.\n- Plan lessons and activities that support long term learning.\n- Share with pupils why these activities are useful.\n- Provide frequent opportunities for feedback.\nParents can help to develop routines for home learning; then organise and monitor from a distance to allow pupils to become more independent and confident learners.\n- Encourage a regular start time for homework can prevent time wasting and distraction.\n- Encourage activities that support long term learning – Bablake learning guides provide ideas that can be used.\n- Have a space at home for notices: display timetables, kit reminders, calendars, so students can organise themselves.\n- Look for opportunities to take one step back: sometimes this means letting your children struggle, sometimes it means helping them put a situation in perspective rather than solving it for them.\n- Sometimes just talking can help: ask them if they have packed their bag, let them know if there are family commitments on the horizon, chat to them about managing a diary, or explain how to break down a longer task into manageable steps."

"A child goes through several years in school, where they learn most of the foundations of their personality. They learn socialising skills in daycare and continue onto primary school where they are faced with challenging English, maths, and science classes.\nIt may not be easy for everyone in the class to grasp lessons quickly and if that student who needs a little more time to catch up with others is your child, you will want to intervene. Here are some things to help you help your children be more engaged in learning:\nTake Them to an Educational Trip\nSchool is not the only place where children can learn. On school breaks, you and your family can plan for a trip to places filled with information about topics your child will encounter at school.\nA museum tour or a visit to the Chistlehurst caves, for instance, will not have the rigidity of a classroom, which means children will not feel like they are back in school. They will have fun learning new information, making it stick with them longer.\nPerhaps it might be the headstart they need to learn, and going back to school with fresh knowledge will make them want to do better. Do not make the entire trip all about soaking up information, however. Allow children to have their fun and do not rob them of their school break.\nFind a Trustworthy Tutor\nChislehurst residents go to some of the most challenging schools in the UK. For children, this means competition if they want to graduate with honours. It also means added stress if a child is having a hard time grasping the meaning behind tough English topics.\nYou can intervene with the help of English tutoring classes for primary school, but only choose tutors who can make your child feel comfortable. Observe their body language when they meet the tutor for the first time. Fear can only go a long way in making children complete their tutoring sessions. It would not be right to associate fear with learning, as this makes schooling quite the unpleasant experience.\nRemind Them You Love Them\nChildren turn to their parents for guidance, support, and reassurance. When they do not get that reassurance from you, they will think poorly of themselves and plant it in their head that you are disappointed in them.\nThat is not the kind of message you want to give to a child who is already having a hard time grasping difficult school lessons. As you are pushing them to be the best version of themselves, do not forget to remind them that you accept them no matter what. This acceptance will ease some of the pressure they feel and they will learn because they genuinely want to, not because they are spreading themselves thin just to seek your approval.\nRemember that the way you treat your child will echo into their adulthood. If they grow up feeling insecure about how much they deserve love, they may have problems forming intimate bonds with other people.\nPrimary school is just the start of a child’s journey into the education system. Be there as a supportive parent every step of the way."

"A child goes through several years in school, where they learn most of the foundations of their personality. They learn socialising skills in daycare and continue onto primary school where they are faced with challenging English, maths, and science classes.\nIt may not be easy for everyone in the class to grasp lessons quickly and if that student who needs a little more time to catch up with others is your child, you will want to intervene. Here are some things to help you help your children be more engaged in learning:\nTake Them to an Educational Trip\nSchool is not the only place where children can learn. On school breaks, you and your family can plan for a trip to places filled with information about topics your child will encounter at school.\nA museum tour or a visit to the Chistlehurst caves, for instance, will not have the rigidity of a classroom, which means children will not feel like they are back in school. They will have fun learning new information, making it stick with them longer.\nPerhaps it might be the headstart they need to learn, and going back to school with fresh knowledge will make them want to do better. Do not make the entire trip all about soaking up information, however. Allow children to have their fun and do not rob them of their school break.\nFind a Trustworthy Tutor\nChislehurst residents go to some of the most challenging schools in the UK. For children, this means competition if they want to graduate with honours. It also means added stress if a child is having a hard time grasping the meaning behind tough English topics.\nYou can intervene with the help of English tutoring classes for primary school, but only choose tutors who can make your child feel comfortable. Observe their body language when they meet the tutor for the first time. Fear can only go a long way in making children complete their tutoring sessions. It would not be right to associate fear with learning, as this makes schooling quite the unpleasant experience.\nRemind Them You Love Them\nChildren turn to their parents for guidance, support, and reassurance. When they do not get that reassurance from you, they will think poorly of themselves and plant it in their head that you are disappointed in them.\nThat is not the kind of message you want to give to a child who is already having a hard time grasping difficult school lessons. As you are pushing them to be the best version of themselves, do not forget to remind them that you accept them no matter what. This acceptance will ease some of the pressure they feel and they will learn because they genuinely want to, not because they are spreading themselves thin just to seek your approval.\nRemember that the way you treat your child will echo into their adulthood. If they grow up feeling insecure about how much they deserve love, they may have problems forming intimate bonds with other people.\nPrimary school is just the start of a child’s journey into the education system. Be there as a supportive parent every step of the way."

"NQT Conference All teachers are teachers of pupils ... mind map • picture • play dough...\nEmbed Size (px)\nTranscript of NQT Conference All teachers are teachers of pupils ... mind map • picture • play dough...\nNQT Conference All teachers are teachers of pupils with\nOutcomes for the session •\nIdentify features of effective inclusive teaching\nReflect on what you do to include all learners\nIdentify up to 3 other strategies which would make lessons more inclusive so that pupils make good progress\nWhat does educational inclusion mean to you?\nmind map •\nplay dough •\ncombination of all/some\n‘An educationally inclusive school is one which the teaching and learning, achievements, attitudes and well being of every young person matter.’\n‘the most effective schools do not take educational inclusion for granted. They constantly monitor and evaluate the progress each pupil makes…..’\nEvaluating educational inclusion, Guidance for inspectors and schools Ofsted\nInclusion is about the active presence, participation and achievement of all pupils in a meaningful and relevant set of learning experiences.\nNew Programmes of Study (National Curriculum 2008)\nHow well pupils with SEND make progress relative to their starting points\nTwo levels across KS1 and KS2\nKey stage 2-4 pupils are expected to make 3 levels of progress\nThe circles of inclusion\nTeaching Teaching stylesstyles\nSetting suitable Setting suitable learning learning\nOvercomingOvercoming potential barriers potential barriers\nto learningto learning\nResponding Responding to pupils’ to pupils’\ndiverse needsdiverse needs\nWhat do good inclusive teachers do?\n•Think of a pupil with SEND in your class\n•Think of one thing you do already to meet his/her learning needs\n•Give yourself a mark out of 10 for how you meet his/her learning needs\n• By the end of this session you will be able to award yourself at least one more mark!\nIdentify 3 things you do now\nLearn best from information they see or read. Examples: illustrations, pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films and flip-charts.\nWork by reading lists and written directions.\nAble to perform a new task after reading the instructions or watching others doing the task first\nLet’s have a look at that\nMind maps and sticky labels•\nMove facts around to answer key questions.\nVisual and active. •\nMore Interesting form of revising\nMind maps are a great revision tool to explain concepts and ideas based on facts that a student has learnt.\nAuditory learners •Prefer to learn by listening and often mentally recall the words they have heard\n•Absorb spoken and heard material easily and like being involved in aural questioning rather than reading material\n•Prefer listening to lectures, stories and songs\nLet’s talk it over\nlearners •Enjoy variations in rhythm , pitch and voice inflection\n•Prefer discussing and communicating with other classmates\n•Able to perform a new task best after listening to the instructions given by the teacher\nMusic/ chants/rhyme/mnemonics/ –\nSelf questioning/role play\nTeach your group….\nKinesthetic learners •Acquire their knowledge best by doing and moving\n•Love moving around frequently and building things with their hands\n•Able to learn a new task best by going ahead and trying it out, learning as they go\n•Prefer experiments and hands-on experience Let me try!\nGo large! The Water Cycle\nPeople can generally remember:\n10% of what they read 20% of what they hear 30% of what they see 50% of what they both see and hear 70% of what they say 90% of what they simultaneously say and do\nHow will this help you\nto plan for pupils with SEND?\nand Shanker, 1988)\nYour school due to cuts in budget has reduced the number of TAs. You no longer have TA support in any of your classes.\nHow will you support pupils with SEND?\nHow will this change what you do?\nThink about.. Verbalise Reduce text Reduce a diagram Reduce a story or a play Remove a word Reduce a lesson/unit of work/topic to 5 key points Convert a piece of text into a diagram or a picture Convert a diagram into a play, mime or frieze Put key words to music\nConvert text or a diagram into a model •\nSequencing (explain their reasoning)\nUse analogy –\nit’s like… •\nClassifying –describe/explain, compare/contrast, similarities/differences, cause/effect, positive/negative\nCreate learning/mind maps •\nRank order •\nQuestions to make pupils think (Bloom’s taxonomy)\nWhat are the main features of AfL?\nSharing learning objectives and success criteria with learners\nUsing effective questioning strategies\nProviding positive and specific oral and written feedback\nInvolving learners in peer and self- assessment\nDeveloping a formative approach to traditional testing\nPromoting the belief that every student can succeed\nTHE ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN THEIR OWN LEARNING\nOne thing I have learned today\nOne thing I would tell other people to\nOne thing I will do differently\nOne thing that I enjoyed doing\nOne message that I’ll take home with me\nWith thanks to Lee Sheldon\nKim Bishop School Improvement Officer SEND firstname.lastname@example.org\n��NQT Conference�All teachers are teachers of pupils with SEND� Outcomes for the session What does educational inclusion mean to you? Slide Number 4 Slide Number 5 Slide Number 6 Expectations Key stage 2-4 pupils are expected to make 3 levels of progress The circles of inclusion � What do good inclusive teachers do? Distillation Slide Number 12 Slide Number 13 Slide Number 14 Slide Number 15 Slide Number 16 Slide Number 17 Mind maps and sticky labels Auditory learners Auditory learners Slide Number 21 Slide Number 22 Kinesthetic learners Slide Number 24 Transforming Slide Number 26 Dilemma Think about.. Slide Number 29 What are the main features of AfL? www.cornwall.gov.uk� Slide Number 32 Slide Number 33 Slide Number 34 Slide Number 35 Slide Number 36"

"It's important to assess our most challenged students in ways both formal and informal since the assessments can help us target our time and focus well. For example, a challenged student may be a student who arrives in your class with little to no knowledge of the standards from previous grades or the inability to speak English or a tremendous physical or cognitive challenge that distances him/her from the grade level content/standards. Good assessment data can help us to pinpoint what a child likes, how that child learns best, and what learning targets are most important. Good assessments can also help us set goals with a child and work with the child to reach those goals. Further good assessments help us to celebrate the incremental steps a challenged child may make on his/her way to independence and success in a particular area of learning and school life.\nConversation and Relationship\nWe all know that good teaching depends on the relationship between the educator and the child. Hence lots of time to converse and get to know all children sets the stage for a successful teaching/learning year. It may be that an educator has to make more time to get to know a child who faces a lot of challenge in school. It may be that you set up a lunch date, walk around the playground, play an after school game, or more to further build that relationship.\nWe have to be observant about students' basic needs and advocate for what those children need with regard to appropriate clothing, snacks, rest, and academic support. Sadly too many teachers in America report that students are coming to school without their basic needs met. A colleague from another school told me that a child went home on the first day of school only to hear the mom say, \"Why are you home so early, go to bed!\" Obviously there was something amiss in the home, and my friend and colleague will have to be very observant to see if what's happening is a reportable issue, an issue that prevents that child from a positive childhood and ability to learn. Early year collections of snow pants and coats can support later issues during Winter. We can help parents understand too the kinds of snacks, clothing, and routines that support school success. While many parents understand this, some don't for a large variety of reasons.\nEngagement and Empowerment\nWe need to empower and engage students. As one colleague says, \"We have to make the learning sticky\" so that students want to learn and continue the learning on their own time. Working from places of strength rather than deficits is a good place to start with this effort.\nSoon I'll be involved in many meetings. As I think about my teaching I'm mostly satisfied with the work I do with happy, well loved, and well cared for students who meet and exceed the grade-level standards. Where I'd really like to grow is with my ability to serve the students who face the greatest challenges. Those are the students generally taught by many educators, therapists, counselors, the nurse, and more. As I think of this challenge, I'm wondering how we'll pool our resources, experiences, and knowledge to offer these students terrific, forward moving paths of comfort, engagement, confidence, and academic success. What more can we do to better meet this aim?\nFor starters, we can think carefully about our time together. Time is limited so our efforts need to be targeted. We have to use language carefully. We also have to choose the processes and structure for our meetings wisely. The research and efforts related to \"Hosting Conversations\" ties in very nicely here--we could employ new ways to discuss, strategize, learn, implement, assess, and revise our efforts with regard to our most challenged students. Last year we used a strategic process to better serve students. That worked in part, but we could have even done more as I look back at our successes and unmet goals too.\nAs I think and write aloud today, I believe our efforts need to include the following:\n- Welcoming all children.\n- Making sure that children have their basic needs met during the school day. If the needs are not met, reaching out to make sure those needs are met.\n- Engaging the students in enjoyable, interesting learning experiences.\n- Assessing to get a full picture of where the students are, and where we want to take them with regard to the developmental trajectory of basic skills, concepts, and knowledge as well as content/knowledge that they are curious about and want to learn.\n- Building routines and targeted teaching that helps students develop in ways that matter.\n- Stopping regularly to assess again, converse, and reset the efforts to teach/learn well with and for students.\n- Using Hattie's learning cycle as depicted on the top right to support learning/teaching goals too."

"Your child has the right to a good education, and there are ways to make sure that a mainstream school can meet your child's Special Educational Needs (SEN).\nSometimes you might feel that your child is not encouraged enough academically. They may tell you that they’ve been excluded from a task or given different goals from their classmates. Treating children differently can make them feel:\nleft out, disappointed and low in confidence\ndiscouraged from doing schoolwork and attending school\nApproaching the school can be difficult. You may not know when to raise your concerns or worry that you’re being too protective. But remember that it’s in the school’s best interest to make sure your child reaches their full potential.\nSpeak to your child first\nBefore contacting the school, get a better understanding of the situation by asking your child about what happened. If they're upset or emotional, they might find it difficult to talk about what's wrong.\nPerhaps ask them to draw what’s bothering them or ask their friends or other parents.\nConsider the social elements of school as well as the academic side. Sometimes children are unhappy because of friendship problems or bullying. Or there can be rules that can leave out children with special needs from social activities. This can affect their learning and taking part in class.\nYour child’s needs will change during their time at school, but teachers might not realise. Raising your concerns as soon as possible will make sure that they can support your child.\nTry not to overestimate what the school knows about your child’s capabilities and tell teachers about their behaviours, both good and bad. Sometimes teachers make assumptions and can be too cautious with children with special needs.\nIf your child is moving schools, it’s better not to assume that the old school will pass on information. It’s better to tell new teachers, even if you feel you’re repeating things.\nCheck the school’s website or contact reception to find out how the school likes to hear from parents. You may want to phone or email the school when your child’s upset, so check when would be a good time to talk. Make sure you’re in the right frame of mind too. Take notes to follow up your chat in writing and make sure you keep copies.\nRaising a concern at parents’ evening can seem like a good idea, but the teacher may not have time then to give it their full attention. You may need to explain the problem and make an appointment to discuss it further.\nSpeaking with the teacher\nIt’s a good idea to speak with your child’s teacher first. You may be able to resolve the issue. Tell them that you would like to explain your child’s needs and capabilities in more detail.\nSome parents give teachers a ‘welcome’ letter about their child that they can read in their own time. This can include:\nwhat your child needs on a typical school day, and what they can do with the right support\nthings they have achieved and are proud of\nthings that are OK to talk about, and things that are inappropriate\nyour expectations about school and homework\nThe teacher might have made assumptions about what your child can and cannot do. Perhaps they believed they were being kind by allowing them to sit out activities. Remember, you are the expert on your child. Let teachers know what your child is like as a whole person, not just a child with SEN.\nYou could ask about school inclusion policies too. For example, is it the teacher or students that decide pairs and groups for group work? Does your child have to leave class early to get to the next lesson? Do they miss out on homework as a result?\nSetting goals and following up\nLook at your child’s goals with the teacher and discuss what’s stopping your child from achieving them. Can your child do these at home?\nAsk what tasks are different for your child and agree if they can do them.\nAfter the meeting, follow up with the teacher in writing to confirm what you agreed. Ask your child regularly about their day and what they’ve done. This will help you keep track of their progress.\nUnderstanding school reports\nGet to know how the school reports on your child’s performance. This can vary widely. Sometimes reports can make it seem that there’s a problem when everything is fine or make it sound worse than it is.\nIf you disagree with the school\nIf you do not agree with the school or feel ignored, there are other people you can approach for support. Ask to meet the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who may have a better understanding of your child’s needs. Or speak to the Head of Year or Deputy Head Teacher.\nAsking for a copy of the school’s complaints process might focus people’s attention on the issue. This may help if you feel ignored or nervous to take your concerns higher.\nIf this does not resolve the matter, contact the Board of Governors. You can get support with this by:\ncontacting your local authority to find out about their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS). They can provide information and resources about educational needs."

"Our Video Learning Suite\nHave a look through our suite of video resources created for families we support. Designed with consideration of problems real parents and guardians experience, we hope that you will find some useful information below.\nVideos in this section:\nListening and Attention Skills\nAttention and listening skills are key components for learning language and therefore are important for language development to occur.\nA video of this full activity example can be found here.\nPositive Adult and Child Interaction\nThe quality of interaction between an adult and a child can significantly influence a child’s opportunities to communicate and therefore positive engagement can help encourage language development.\nDeveloping Vocabulary and ‘Information Carrying Words’\nWithin any sentence only certain words are vital for getting the meaning or instruction across to a child. These are called “Information Carrying Words”. They play a role in developing vocabulary and are used in everyday activities.\nA social story is a short description of of a particular event or situation a child may encounter, it can be based on a situation they may find difficult.\nVisual supports are a communication tool that can be used in many situations and can frequently be adapted to suit the needs of the child at any given time.\nFor some children a structure free environment can be particularly difficult and may benefit from a framework using a visual timetable or visual cues.\nSocial or ‘pragmatic’ skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with other people in play, conversation and to develop friendships.\nCan’t find what you’re looking for?\nSend us a message with what you would like a video resource of to email@example.com\nWhat did you think?\nWe are always happy to receive feedback and comments on our work. We aim to create material that parents and guardians can really use and benefit from. You can always contact us by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org"

"It’s all over the news this week about the negative impact of lockdowns on children’s speech and language skills. And as a result, I’ve had a few enquiries about strategies to help children at home with their speech, language and communication development from parents and the press.\nFirst and foremost, I want to stress- the experts in this area are the wonderful Speech and Language Therapists who have worked incredibly hard over the last year, as they always do, to support children and adults. And whilst I’m sharing some general tips below to help with Speech, Language and Communication development- if you do have concerns about your child then it’s best to speak to your child’s teacher or nursery/school SENDCO as they may want to refer to a Speech and Language Therapist for extra support.\nAlso if you’re just looking for resources and are in a rush- skip to my amazon page of recommended resources for developing Speech, Language and Communication skills at home here.\nHere are my general tips for helping develop speech, language and communication skills at home:\n- EXPERIENCES Experiences give children something to talk about, which is great if we are trying to develop their speech, language and communication skills. It’s the same with adults, we find we are often a lot chattier if we’ve been to a new place, seen something different, or met someone new! I’m by no means suggesting we need to be taking our children on exciting days out every day/weekend.. new experiences could be something as simple as finding a ladybird and chatting about what it looks like. We, as parents, can help facilitate this play by helping to provide new experiences for them- for example, taking them on a simple walk through a wood together for example. It provides opportunities to talk about what they can see, describing what things look like, what the ground under foot feels like and the sorts of sounds they can hear! And the activities don’t just stop when you get home, you could take photographs on a walk and create a scrap book together- providing an opportunity for children to talk about their walk with others (grandparents for example) using the photos as prompts.\n- DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES It’s not just about new experiences, day to day activities at home can provide brilliant opportunities for developing speech, language and communication skills. Take advantage of these day to day tasks to talk with your child and ask questions, listen and encourage. For example, whilst getting everything ready for their bath time you could ask them questions such as ‘how does the water feel?’ ‘How will we know when the bath is ready’ ‘what words can we use to describe the water’ . You can model examples of vocabulary yourself, introducing/reinforcing adjectives such as wet, splash, warm, hot, cold, freezing, bubbles etc. You could ask them how the towels feel. What we need to get ready for after bath time etc.\nAnother example would be when making dinner, asking them questions about the ingredients and equipment you need, how to describe them, what cutlery you will need to set up for dinner etc. Again introducing and reinforcing key vocabulary yourself. You could even make it a game and choose a letter and ask them to find ingredients for the meal beginning with ‘a’ and have a giggle together about which ones would be tasty and which ones really wouldn’t taste nice mixed together as part of dinner!\n- PLAY!! PLAY!! PLAY!! I believe the most important way to help children develop speech, language and communication skills is through play. Play is incredibly important for young children for their well-being and happiness and for the development of important skills. In my book ‘100 Ways Your Child Can Learn Through Play (fun activities for Young children with SEN)’ I share my ideas of fun, play-based learning activities that enable children to develop a whole range of skills from speech, language and communication skills to fine motor and gross motor skills. And I can’t stress enough the importance of letting children play! Play is how they learn. Playing together with other children for example, is wonderful for developing speech, language and communication skills. This may be free play running around together, sensory play or children playing imaginatively together. For example, acting out toys ‘speaking to one another’ in a pretend scene or maybe by having a teddy bears picnic.\n- Make learning unstructured and playful! Supporting your child to develop their speech, language and communication skills is not about (in my opinion) sitting your child down to teach them new words like a lesson. Children can learn lots through playing and talking with you.\nWhich games could you play?\n- ‘I Spy’ where children have to guess what you have seen by choosing words beginning with that letter. For example, ‘I spy something beginning with ‘t’’ and they have to think about things you can see that begin with the letter ‘t’.\n- ‘Rhyming I Spy’ ask them to find something that rhymes with a certain word, for example ‘I spy something rhyming with hat’ .\n- ‘yes/no’ game where you choose something to ‘be’ (for example a type of animal) and they have to guess what you are by asking you questions that you can only answer with yes/no. For example, are you a farm animal? Do you live in a jungle? Are you fierce?\n- Giving directions on a walk– Play a game where your child has to help direct you on a walk. Give the walk a purpose for example, they could direct you to the nearest post box to post a letter by telling you which way to go at each junction of the pavement. You could make it funny and encourage them to give more directions and detail by ‘accidentally’ going the wrong way!\n- BOOKS! Reading together is wonderful for expanding vocabulary too. Make time to read stories at bedtime together and talk with your child about the book afterwards. It’s amazing hearing children use new words they’ve learnt the night before from their bedtime story! Have a look at our recommendations for books here\n- SONGS AND RHYMES – Songs and rhymes are wonderful for children’s speech, language and communication skills. Theres a reason we are all taught nursery rhymes as children!! And as they are growing up, poetry is also fantastic (find out more about why children need poetry here)\n- POSITIVITY AND PRAISE- This is really important, try to be positive, praise and encourage their speech. You can help expand their sentences by praising, repeating what they have said back to them and then expanding with questions or further information.\nIn summary, in my opinion it’s about less screen time, more books, experiences, chatting and play, play, play! And don’t underestimate the importance of songs and rhymes for developing speech, language and communication skills. Don’t forget, the experts in this are Speech and Language therapists and it’s incredibly important if you’re concerned about your child’s speech, language and communication skills to speak to your child’s school or nursery. It may be that your child needs extra support through referral to a Speech and language therapist, who are the experts in this and who provide absolutely wonderful and vital work to help children with their speech, language and communication development.\nLooking for resources to help support?\nHave a look at my amazon page and my list of recommended resources for developing Speech, Language and Communication skills at home here.\nI’m going to be adding to this post with more resources and links so do pop back! Or send me an email if you think there’s a resource people need to know about."

"We often think that a “language rich environment” means buying specialist resources for your setting, but practitioners who have a good understanding of child development and use effective strategies to promote every child’s communication skills are the best resource any setting could hope for.\nYou can find a useful setting audit here which will reassure you in providing a communication friendly environment and provides a number of suggestions to help you improve this. Complete it as a team and set actions for the next month, then revisit the audit regularly. Remember that some members of staff will be less confident and may need support, so this could be part of a staff development programme which should include opportunities to work alongside more experienced practitioners and perhaps visit other settings.\nA free online course from The Communication Trust is available called “Introducing support children’s speech, language and communication” and can be taken by practitioners to help them understand how they can support children’s communication skills on a day-to-day basis.\nReduce the number of questions you ask children\nAsking children questions puts unnecessary pressure on them to talk and it is easy to start asking more questions when they don’t answer, which makes them even more uncomfortable. Ideally, you should be aiming for a ratio of 1:4 questions to comments.\nPossible comments could start:\nI’ve got… / You’ve got… / We’ve got… / Sam’s got…\nNow it’s … full/empty/red/bigger\nOh it’s … on/under/in/behind\nYou’re… filling/dropping/giving/going to\nThat’s a …. great/interesting/big/little/fantastic\nIt can be helpful to write out these conversations starters and put them next to key activities as a prompt for staff.\nFollow the child’s interests\nChildren learn best when they are already interested in an activity. By getting on the floor and playing at a child’s level, you can match your vocabulary to their play. Photographs and items from a child’s home are good motivators for conversation; you could have some special boxes which go home in turn for families to fill and return.\nUse key signs\nSigned supportive speech is a wonderful way to support less confident children and those with delayed speech and language skills. However, it also benefits all children including those with limited attention. Check if your Local Authority uses Makaton or Signalong . It’s best to start with 5 key signs which all staff use consistently, then gradually add more. Many children are used to watching Mr Tumble so will pick up the signs very quickly. Remember to always say the word as you sign; they are not a replacement for speech and will not stop children talking.\nGive children your time and enthusiasm\nWhen planning your session, make sure you have allocated practitioners who are free to play alongside children, as this is when the best language development will take place. Make sure you spend time throughout the week with every child. It’s easy to miss quieter children, as they don’t tend to demand your attention.\nWe know that in some parts of the country, over 50% of children start school with delayed speech and language skills and that a child’s vocabulary at the age of 5 has been found to be the best predictor of whether children who experienced social deprivation in childhood are able to escape poverty in later adult life. Ensuring your setting provides a language rich environment gives every child the best possible chance of achieving their potential, this is why working in the early years is the best place to be to make a difference!\nAbout the author\nKathryn is a specialist early years teacher and trainer who has worked with children for nearly 25 years, including 10 years as an Area SENCO. She is a licensed Tutor for ICAN Talk Boost as well as an ELKLAN Speech and Language Trainer. She regularly writes and delivers courses for early years practitioners on all aspects of SEN. You can follow her on Twitter @kathrynstinton2, find her on Facebook or visit her website for more information."

"Can we just take a second and talk about how very important parent communication is? I always knew it was important to let parents know what is going on in my classroom, what we were learning or when an important school event was happening. Though I must be honest with you, it wasn’t until I had a child of my own attending school that I soon realized it was even more imperative to have open communication with parents or guardians. Children spend more time with their teachers in a day than with their own parents. Therefore, it is a teacher’s responsibility to communicate with parents or guardians to help them feel more comfortable about their children being with another authority figure for the majority of the day. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or crazy, rather, just enough communication to let parents or guardians know what is going on in their child’s classroom and to keep them in the loop.\nOld School Communication\nA quick note; old school yes, but sometimes a quick handwritten note is the best way to let a parent know how their child is doing. I will sometimes just jot a quick note on a student’s paper that they’ve completed or on a sticky note. This could say anything from asking them to practice that specific skill again or letting them know their child did a fantastic job on that assignment. This makes it personal and it lets parents show that you care and work individually with their son or daughter. I have created a quick note template, which I have printed on bright paper (to help them stand out in a folder), and keep them near my small group table. I will quickly jot a little note to let a parent know how great their child did or maybe something I would like them to try to work on at home. Keeping it near my small group table means I don’t have a reason to forget, and it is easily accessible. A handwritten note means you took the time to pay attention to that student and their particular needs or achievements!\nI really like my students to know that they are a piece of the communication puzzle. Though, being a special education teacher, that isn’t always the easiest thing for them. I will often use a little piece of paper that is cut into a long rectangle and attach it to their wrists. This allows them to remember something like a sight word they might need extra help with. Then, someone sees the bracelet on their wrist they can ask, what does that say, and the students gets to practice their sight word once again. You could use this method in various ways, to remind a parent about snack day, picture day or even as a quick note of praise!\nUsing a notebook to log daily notes for students, I record behaviors and triumphs — another way I keep it old school in my classroom. The notebook is a way to communicate back and forth, along with also just taking notes about a student to allow their parents to have a little more of an insight into their day. The notebook is sent home daily, allowing for parents to read and reply to any notes that were take about their child during the school day. Then each morning I will quickly check to see if the parents had any questions or comments about the previous day. I really like the idea of a notebook, though it is not the quickest method, it allows you to keep all notes in one spot. I find this to be an easier way to refer back and keep track of what a child does in a school day.\nA communication log is also a method that could be used in your classroom. I have used this method to document student behaviors. I type up our schedule for the day then highlight which behaviors we will be concentrating on. This approach helps me easily check if the student was on task or off task, completing the activity or not, and what behaviors I noticed during whatever activity we were working on. This is a great way to communicate with parents as you break down the day and allow them to see what is going on at specific times in the day as well. This method is perfect for collecting student data and having it readily available for meetings. I make a copy of the log before I send it home to ensure I have documentation of the day as well.\nCommunicating in the 21st century\nI’m not sure if you have realized yet or not, but I am a “paper/pencil” type of teacher. However, this school year, I have had to step out of my comfort zone and get creative with how I communicate with parents. As an inclusion teacher, I work within a general education classroom with other teachers and aides to ensure that all students are successful. This year we have adopted using Google Docs to communicate with parents. This is a document that every teacher who works with the student, along with the parents, are able to access from an electronic device, and communicate back and forth about their school day. You can use your computer, telephone or tablet to access the document. This has been a great tool to use as it is open to everyone all day long, making communication so very easy. Maybe you have students who don’t live solely with one parent, this is a great way to communicate with everyone, even if the child doesn’t see everyone every day. I am able to access these documents during my lunch break, so that I can read up on my students, check in on their day and know what has gone on so far. So not only is communication with parents happening, but also within the school. It is a working document; therefore, anyone can add to it throughout the day., So if we type something and family members read it through the day, we may even be able to respond before the student has left the building., This form of communication is a fantastic way to ensure everyone is on the same page.\nWith cell phones being such a large part of our reality, I have also used the app called “Remind: School Communication.” Through this app you can communicate with parents via text message without giving them your actual telephone number. I love this as a way to send quick reminders about field trips, special dress up days or even if we have an assessment the next day or that week. This allows me to send a message to all of the families or just one– straight to their phone. Using the app has allowed me to have open communication with family members at any time of the day… because let’s be honest, most people almost always have their cell phones readily available. I love to send out a quick picture if we are working super hard on a project or if we worked towards a certain goal as a class. This is just a great way to communicate with parents and families members about what is going on in our classroom.\nWith that being said, social media is all around us so we might as well take advantage of it. Having a class “Instagram” or “Facebook” page is a great way to allow families to keep in touch. Of course, I always keep that account private and only allowing access to families within the classroom to ensure the safety of students. This is a great way to share photographs or quick reminders of what is going on in your classroom. Students also love to see pictures of themselves and of the hard work they have completed. We don’t always send projects home right away, so we can share thembeforehand. Having photographs for parents, guardians or family members to see is a great way to allow families to start conversations around the dinner table about what is going on at school. Think about this, you just had a school assembly or the principal was your guest reader in class that day, wouldn’t that be a fun way to document the exciting news?\nSimply put… communicate!\nI have had so many conversations with my own son (who is in preschool) asking him about his day. Before, I was just trying to figure out what he did or what he’d learned. But now, with all of the various ways of communication, I can ask him to tell me about a specific activity that I have seen on his classroom blog or school-wide Instagram. It’s vital to understand that you may have to choose more than one way to communicate because not every way will work for every family member. If teachers can find at least one way to communicate with the families, we’ve allowed them to step into our classrooms. Once we learn which communication method is best with family members, the families have insight into their child’s school day and, ultimately, can be a part of their education.\nWhat other effective ways do you use to communicate with parents? Please comment below!"

"Try this as a simple exercise: get a piece of paper and try to write down your whole class from memory.\nA primary teacher will normally forget between two to four children. These are the invisible children in the class who cause no trouble, may be quiet, introverted or have a difficult home life, but coast under the radar because they always do the right thing.\nInclusion isn't just about the most obvious, such as significant special educational needs (SEN). It's about giving every child the belief that their education is important; that they belong and are seen. It is an embodiment of one of the most important policy initiatives ever developed, Every Child Matters (2003), which aimed to give every child, irrespective of background or circumstances, the support they needed.\nInclusion covers a huge area of school life, so it's important to manage it well. For those that are unsure, inclusion covers special educational needs, gifted and talented, (G&T) pupil premium, English as an additional language (EAL) and safeguarding. It can be bound by bureaucracy, as it is often a government focus, so keeping up to date with the literature coming out of the Department for Education (DfE) is a must for any inclusion managers.\nIn a classroom, having shared learning experiences and spaces, an active learning environment and a daily routine helps establish a good foundation to include all pupils.\nSmall gestures for children go a long way too, especially if they have been \"invisible\" for some time. Getting to know the individuals in your classroom enables you to have a deeper understanding of them and in turn help you get the best outcomes for them academically.\n• Recommend a book. An easy place to start is to select a book you think a certain student might like. It could relate to their interests or be connected to their home life. Leave it on their table with a little note about why you thought of it for them.\n• Make friendly comments or ask questions. Telling a child that you heard she scored a goal in football or that you saw his dad in the supermarket takes less than five seconds but immediately makes the child feel known. Asking questions such as: \"How was your brother's birthday?\" lets students know that we have paid attention to them and remember things they have said or shared with us during carpet sessions or in the playground.\n• Leave a sticky note or send home a note. Write notes to students on a regular, rotating basis. They don't need to be long; just a quick saying you have noticed something or a reinforcement of something you've seen. \"Nayo, I read your story while you were at lunch! Wow, it has a lot of action, and that picture you drew of the main character holding onto the cliff made everything seem so exciting.\"\n• Keep a journal with your students. Use tiny notebooks as \"conversation journals\" with your class. The tiny size fit their developmental desire to write small and kept adults from writing too much. Write them a brief message, which they can respond to, perhaps in a personal, social, health and economics (PSHE) lesson. A typical exchange might look like this: \"Dear Tru, did you get to go the park with Martha? If so, what did you do?\" He might write back: \"I did get to go the park! We hid on the climbing frame and pretended we were spies.\" These journals helped teachers stay in touch with students even on days when you haven't had a chance for much of a personal conversation.\nWith the increase of social and economic need impacting on pupils and their families, it is important to have a good understanding of what individuals in your class may be experiencing and may also give you an insight on how to motivate the disengaged.\nBy regularly writing your class list from memory, you will develop a clear picture of children to focus on throughout the year and create a class environment where nobody gets left behind or forgotten.\nDanielle Egonu-Obanye is an assistant headteacher and inclusion manager at a primary school in east London. She has worked in schools in the city for seven years in both primary and secondary sectors."

"Gifted and talented students are entitled to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning opportunities drawn from the Australian Curriculum and aligned with their individual learning needs, strengths, interests and goals. ACARA acknowledges that there are numerous models of curriculum adjustment relating to gifted and talented students, although these are not referenced in detail in this advice. The purpose of this advice is to focus on how teachers use the flexible design of the Australian Curriculum to meet the individual learning needs of gifted and talented students and make necessary adjustments to meet their individual learning needs. This section builds on the general Student diversity advice.\nGifted and talented students vary in terms of the nature and level of their abilities; there is no single homogeneous group of gifted and talented students. Gifted and talented students:\n- vary in abilities and aptitudes — they may demonstrate gifts and talents in a single area or across a variety of domains; they may also have a disability\n- vary in their level of giftedness — this means that two students who have gifts in the same field will not necessarily have the same abilities in that field\n- vary in achievement — while having gifts is often associated with high achievement, achievement can and does vary across high-potential students and over time, and some gifted students underachieve and experience difficulty translating their gifts into talents\n- are not always visible and easy to identify, and their visibility can be impacted by cultural and linguistic background, gender, language and learning difficulties, socio-economic circumstance, location, and lack of engagement in curriculum that is not matched to their abilities\n- exhibit an almost unlimited range of personal characteristics in temperament, personality, motivation and behaviour — no standard pattern of talent exists among gifted individuals\n- come from diverse backgrounds and are found in all cultures, socio-economic levels and geographic locations.\nAlthough a number of different definitions have been proposed over the years, there is no universally accepted definition of students who would be identified as having particular gifts or talents. However, a shared understanding of giftedness is important in order to address their needs. In Australia today, Gagné’s model provides the most generally accepted definition of both giftedness and talent.\nGagné’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (2008) provides research-based definitions of giftedness and talent that are directly and logically connected to teaching and learning. According to Gagné, gifted students are those whose potential is distinctly above average in one or more of the following domains of human ability:\nTalented students are those whose skills are distinctly above average in one or more areas of human performance. Talent emerges from giftedness through a complex developmental process and via a number of influences, including the teaching and learning opportunities. Gagné’s model recognises that giftedness is a broad concept that encompasses a range of abilities; it also recognises that giftedness is only potential and that it must go through a transformative process in order to become a talent. As such, Gagné makes it clear that adequate school support is necessary if students are to develop their gifts or high abilities into talents or high achievements.\nOther models of giftedness\nThere are a number of other models of giftedness, one of which is the Sea Star Model developed by Dr Abraham Tannenbaum. According to Tannenbaum (2003), giftedness in a child is their potential to become an adult with a developed talent. Tannenbaum asserts that there are two types of gifted people: producers, who produce either things or ideas; and performers, who interpret or re-create these things or ideas. According to Tannenbaum, these two kinds of gifted people demonstrate their talent either creatively by adding something new or original, or proficiently by having high levels of skill. Like Gagné’s model, Tannenbaum’s model attempts to explore the process by which ability becomes actual achievement. He identifies five factors that influence this conversion:\n- superior general intellect\n- distinctive special aptitudes\n- a supportive array of non-intellective traits such as personality, self-concept or motivation\n- a challenging and facilitative environment\nTannenbaum argues that all need to be present for gifted potential to be reflected in talent.\nAccording to Renzulli’s Three-Ring Model (1978), giftedness results from a dynamic interaction between three basic clusters of human traits:\n- above-average general ability\n- high levels of creativity\n- high levels of task commitment.\nHis model goes on to argue that the ‘gifted’ are those who possess or are capable of developing this composite set of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance. Renzulli’s model draws attention to the developmental nature of behaviours such as creativity and task commitment, and like Gagné’s and Tannenbaum’s models it recognises that a range of factors must be in place in order for students with natural abilities to develop their gifts into talents.\nAs can be seen, while each approach has its own distinct definitions of giftedness and/or talent, they all recognise that giftedness is a broad concept that covers a range of abilities. They also recognise that ability or giftedness needs to undergo some transformational process if it is to be reflected in high levels of achievement or talent, and that while there are a number of factors that influence the conversion of gifts into talents, the school plays a critical role in giving students appropriate opportunity, stimulation and experiences in order to develop their potential and translate their gifts into talents.\nIt is important to consider that:\n- gifted and talented students are not a homogeneous group and may require different adjustments according to their individual learning needs, interests, strengths and goals\n- gifted and talented students may also have a disability and/or English as an additional language or dialect — in such cases, adjustments should be developed that address all aspects of their learning rather than just those related to their gifts and talents\n- effective adjustments for gifted and talented students stem from effective and ongoing assessments of student need — because of the capacity of many gifted and talented students to learn at a faster rate than other students, ongoing formative assessment, particularly pre-assessment, is critical to ensure that the learning area content and adjustments align with student needs\n- gifted and talented students who require adjustments to one aspect of their learning may not require the same, or any, adjustment to another\n- the process of making adjustments always starts with learning area content that aligns with students’ chronological age\n- because giftedness and talent are developmental, some adjustments may be necessary throughout a student's educational career, while other adjustments may only be needed for a short period of time\n- the student and parent must be consulted as part of the process to personalise learning.\nWhile the objectives of the Australian Curriculum are the same for all students, learning needs of gifted and talented students may differ dramatically from those of other students. Not only are gifted and talented students likely to make progress towards these objectives at a faster pace than other students, but they are also often capable of achieving at a level beyond their same-aged peers. Even though their cognitive development may not correlate with their chronological age, gifted and talented students are generally placed in Australian schools at the year level appropriate for their age. As a result, they are likely to require personalised learning through a range of adjustments to teaching and learning if the curriculum is to meet their needs.\nIn particular, gifted and talented students have specific learning needs that require adjustments to content (what students learn), process (how students learn), product (how students demonstrate their learning), and learning environment, according to personal characteristics such as readiness, interest and learning preference. By creating adjustments that take account of these differences, teachers are able to address the individual learning needs of each student and maximise their learning potential in the classroom.\n- Content may need to be made more complex, abstract or varied or it may need to be organised differently.\n- Adjustments to process may be made to the level of thinking required, the pace of teaching and the type of approach used. In particular, gifted and talented students require process adjustments that involve higher-order thinking, problem solving, and a focus on critical and creative thinking and choice.\n- The nature of products, the ways in which gifted and talented students are able to demonstrate what they have learnt, may also be adjusted to be more appropriate, for example, by ensuring that they are authentic and address real problems, and require transformation of learning rather than summarising content.\n- In order to successfully implement adjustments to content, process and product, it is also important to make adjustments to the learning environment to ensure that it is complex and abstract, and also encourages independence and intrinsic learning.\nWhatever adjustments are made, they need to reflect the ability of gifted and talented students to:\n- learn at faster rates\n- find, solve and act on problems more readily\n- manipulate abstract ideas and make connections to an advanced degree.\nOverall, adjustments should comprise elements of any or all of the following:\n- faster pace (acceleration, compacting)\n- greater breadth (enrichment)\n- more depth (extension).\nEach of these three elements can be used in different proportions and in different combinations to frame a personalised response to the learning needs of all gifted and talented students. Decisions on the balance between these three broad and overlapping strategies should reflect the particular needs of each gifted learner at the relevant point of their schooling.\nPlanning from age-equivalent content\nThe following points elaborate on the process outlined in the flowchart using the Australian Curriculum to meet the learning needs of all students, found under the \"Meeting diverse learning needs\" menu. The process starts with learning area content that aligns with students’ chronological age — in this example, Year 5 Science:\nIn Year 5 Science, students learn about the solar system [Year 5 Science Understanding ACSSU078] and how to construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies [Year 5 Science Inquiry Skills ACSIS090].\nThe Year 5 Science content provides the starting point for developing the teaching and learning program for all students. The program can be personalised in relation to individual student need through curriculum adjustments which may include the following for gifted and talented students:\n- Drawing from learning area content at different levels along the Foundation to Year 10 sequence to personalise age-equivalent learning area content. For example:\nAn adjustment may be that while most of the students in the class are given websites by the teacher to use to research information about the planets in the solar system as well as a table to summarise their information, a student with gifts and talents is required to carry out their own research on the internet to find information about the planets [Year 5 Science Understanding ACSSU078] and use this information to develop a computer simulation showing the planets in the solar system and their relationship to earth using Kahootz [Year 6 Science Inquiry Skills ACSIS107].\n- Using the general capabilities learning continua to personalise age-equivalent learning area content. For example:\nAn adjustment may be to teach targeted literacy skills, identified for an individual student or group of gifted and talented students, through the science lesson.\nThese may include using their knowledge of the solar system [Year 5 Science Understanding ACSSU078] to design an intergalactic tour and a travel brochure to encourage people to take that tour. This is used to consolidate knowledge of how to structure a persuasive text [Literacy: Text knowledge Level 4 and Literacy: Visual knowledge Level 4], and to present the findings of research into the solar system [Year 5 Science Understanding ACSSU078]. The task is also used to develop creative thinking skills [Critical and creative thinking: Inquiring Level 4 and Critical and creative thinking: Generating ideas, possibilities and actions Level 4].\n- Using the cross-curriculum priorities to personalise age-equivalent learning area content. For example:\nAn adjustment may be that Sustainability is targeted for a student or small group of gifted and talented students through the science lesson. This may include using their knowledge about the solar system and the relationship between the earth and the sun to examine the use of solar energy as a sustainable energy source [Year 7 Science Understanding ACSSU116].\nAnother adjustment may be that a student or small group of gifted and talented students learn about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples explain night and day and use observation of the night sky to assist with navigation [Year 6 Science as a Human Endeavour ACSHE099].\n- Aligning individual learning goals with age-equivalent learning area content.\nAdjustments made in response to a student who has gifts and talents as well as a specific learning difficulty as identified in an individual learning plan can affect not only how they access content but also what the focus of that learning will be. This might involve, for example, a greater emphasis on Literacy and Personal and social capability, which represent some of the essential skills that all students need in order to become successful learners at school and in their lives beyond school. Teachers can use these capabilities to align with individual learning goals such as personal skills and plan for multiple opportunities to develop these skills across the school day. For example:\nIn the context of this Science example, the goal may be for a student to describe the influence that personal qualities and strengths have on their learning outcomes [Personal and social capability: Self-awareness Level 4] in a guided investigation of the solar system [Year 5 Science Understanding ACSSU078] where they have to research and record data about the planets in the solar system. The student then has to use the data to write an information report on the solar system [Literacy: Text knowledge Level 3]. When drafting, editing and publishing their report there is explicit instruction and a focus on sentence structure [Literacy: Grammar knowledge Level 3] and spelling skills [Literacy: Word knowledge Level 3].\nAlthough there is greater focus in the last point on the general capabilities, the learning still takes place through the context of a learning area (Year 5 Science), with an expectation that the Science learning will be achieved alongside the other learning.\nDetailed Illustrations of personalised learning have been developed to promote equity and excellence for diverse learners, including gifted and talented students. The illustrations demonstrate access to age-equivalent learning area content from the Australian Curriculum. There are many sources of advice about planning quality teaching and learning programs that are inclusive of gifted and talented students. The websites of state and territory education authorities are a good starting point.\nUsing the general capabilities to personalise learning\nIt is important to consider that:\n- the general capabilities are an integral part of the Australian Curriculum\n- all of the general capabilities need to be developed in gifted and talented students if they are to learn to manage their own wellbeing, relate well to others, make informed decisions about their lives, become citizens who behave with ethical integrity, relate to and communicate across cultures, work for the common good, and act with responsibility at local, regional and global levels\n- the general capabilities are not an alternative curriculum to the learning areas but support access to and progress through the learning areas for gifted and talented students\n- the general capabilities do not provide the context for learning; teaching and learning programs are developed beginning with age-equivalent learning area content through which teachers may specifically target the development of capabilities in gifted and talented students\n- through a focus on the general capabilities, gifted and talented students can access teaching and learning programs drawn from age-equivalent learning area content that is relevant to their individual learning needs, while at the same time experiencing opportunities to add depth, complexity and richness to student learning in content elaborations\n- because gifted and talented students bring different abilities to their learning, some aspects of the general capabilities may be interpreted and enacted in different ways — for example, the capacity of gifted and talented students to more readily manipulate abstract ideas, make connections to an advanced degree, and find, solve and act on problems informs the Critical and Creative Thinking capability by drawing on their highly developed capacity for analysis, synthesis and evaluation\n- teachers can use the general capabilities learning continua to identify particular skills, behaviours and dispositions that a student needs to develop in relation to their individual learning needs and plan for opportunities to develop these across the curriculum.\nUsing the cross-curriculum priorities to personalise learning\nIt is important to consider that:\n- cross-curriculum priorities are embedded in all learning areas\n- the cross-curriculum priorities will have a strong but varying presence depending on their relevance to the learning areas\n- through a focus on the cross-curriculum priorities, gifted and talented students can access teaching and learning programs drawn from age-equivalent learning area content that is relevant to their individual learning needs, while at the same time experiencing opportunities to add depth, complexity and richness to student learning in content elaborations.\nAgne, K. J.,2001, Gifted: the lost minority. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 37(4), 168-172.\nAshman, A., & Elkins, J. (Ed.), 2009, Education for inclusion and diversity (3rd ed.).\nFrenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.\nColangelo, N. & Davis, G. A., 1992, Handbook of Gifted Education (2nd edition). Allyn & Bacon, Boston.\nEhrlich, V. Z., 2002, Gifted children: A guide for parents and teachers. Highett, Vic., Hawker Brownlow Education.\nGagné, F., 2003, Transforming gifts into talents: e DMGT as a developmental theory. In N. Colangelo & G.A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (3rd ed., pp. 60–74). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.\nGagné, F. (2008) Building gifts into talents:Overview of the DMGT. Keynote address, 10th Asia-Pacific Conference for Giftedness, Asia-Pacific Federation of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, Singapore, 14-17 July.\nGross, M., MacLeod, B., Drummond, D. & Merrick, C., 2001, Gifted Students in Primary Schools: Differentiating the Curriculum, GERRIC, University of NSW.\nGross, M., MacLeod, B. & Pretorius, M., 2001, Gifted Students in Secondary Schools: Differentiating the Curriculum ( 2nd edition), GERRIC, University of NSW.\nGross, M. & Sleap, B., 2001, Literature Review on the Education of Gifted and Talented Children. Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC), University of New South Wales: Sydney.\nMontgomery, D., 2003, Gifted and talented children with special educational needs: Double exceptionality, London, David Fulton.\nNSW Department of Education and Training. 2004. Policy and implementation strategies for the education of gifted and talented students (revised 2004). Sydney.\nRimm, S., 2001, Underachievement syndrome: Causes and cures, Hawker Brownlow Education, Victoria.\nRenzulli, R. (1978). What makes giftedness? Reexamining a definition, Phi Delta Kappan, 60(3) 180, 185.\nRenzulli, R. (2003). Conception of giftedness and its relationship to the development of social capital, in Colangelo, N. & Davis, G. (2003) (eds) Handbook of gifted education (3rd Edn) Pearson Education, 76.\nRogers, K. B., 2002, Re-forming Gifted Education: Matching the Program to the Child,\nScottsdale, AZ: Great potential press.\nSenate Employment Workplace Relations Small Business and Education References Committee., 2001, The education of gifted children. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth government.\nTannenbaum, A. (2003). Nature and nurture of giftedness’ in Colangelo, N. & Davis, G.(eds)\nHandbook of gifted education (3rd edition) Pearson Education, 45.\nWhitton, D., 2002, Educational Strategies for Gifted Children, Hawker Brownlow Education, Victoria.\nVan Tassel-Baska, J., 2003, ‘What matters in curriculum for gifted learners: reflections on theory, research and practice’, in N. Colangelo & G.A. Davis (eds), Handbook of Gifted Education, 3rd edn, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, pp.174-183.\nState and Territory resources\nAustralian Capital Territory Policy on Gifted and Talented Students 2008, http://nswagtc.org.au/files/resources/permanent/ACT_2008_GAT_Policy.pdf\nDepartment of Education and Training, Victoria, Gifted and Talented Education, http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/parents/learning/Pages/gifted.aspx\nDepartment of Education and Child Development South Australia, Policy Statement Gifted and Talented Children and Students Policy 2012, https://www.decd.sa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net691/f/gifted-talented-students-policy.pdf?v=1467090054\nDepartment of Education WA Gifted and Talented Guidelines, http://www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/giftedandtalented/detcms/school-support-programs/gifted-and-talented/teachers/guidelines.en?oid=com.arsdigita.cms.contenttypes.FileStorageItem-id-11663549\nExtending Learning for Gifted Students 2012, Department of Education, Tasmania, https://www.education.tas.gov.au/documentcentre/Documents/ExtendedLearningProcedure.pdf\nGifted and Talented Home, New South Wales Department of Education, http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/policies/gats/\nDepartment of Education and Children’s Services NT Guidelines and Procedures, http://www.education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/2276/GiftedEducGuidelines.pdf"

"This article by Julia Osborn looks at who the gifted are, what the unique needs of these children are including appropriate education, satisfying friendships, and supportive parenting, and what parents and professionals can do to provide for those needs. The author encourages parents taking a major role in ensuring their children’s needs are being met until there is a consensus about what the most productive environment for gifted children is.\nAuthor: Osborn, J. B.\nPublication: APA Workshop\nChildren who seem “precocious” and have skills, knowledge, or abilities beyond their age have fascinated adults. For nearly a century, educators, psychologists and others working with children, have studied the development of unusually able children in an effort to understand the conditions that facilitate or impede their growth into productive adults. The debate about the education and upbringing of these children continues, with the current state of discussion and research sometimes obscuring rather than illuminating appropriate practices. Furthermore, even if professionals do agree on certain recommendations, there is wide variability in their implementation both at school and at home.\nThe U.S. Department of Education summed up the existing challenges faced by parents, educators, and the gifted children themselves in a report. “The United States is squandering one of its most precious resources– the gifts, talents, and high interests of many of its students. In a broad range of intellectual and artistic endeavors, these youngsters are not challenged to do their best work. This problem is especially severe among economically disadvantaged and minority Students, who have access 10 fewer advanced educational opportunities and whose talents often go unnoticed.” (Ross, 1993). The gap is due in part to the common and mistaken belief that children endowed with remarkable intelligence and/or talents have no special educational needs. Although professionals have access to information about the special needs of mentally retarded and learning-disabled children, there is no similar set of guidelines, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, (DSM-IV) for the evaluation of and planning for gifted children.\nDEFINITIONS — WHO IS GIFTED?\nThere are a number of definitions of giftedness commonly in use. The Federal government (PL 91-230, section 806), uses the 1972 Maryland Definition (Ross, 1993), which includes several areas: general intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, leadership ability and ability in the visual or performing arts. The widely used definitions by Tannenbaum and Gagne, stress the importance of factors like societal values, education, effort, motivation and chance (Gross, 1993). Still another definition stresses the emotional experiences of gifted children and the need for them to receive modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order to facilitate optimal development (Osborn, 1999).\nPsychologists who work with these gifted children are aware of significant differences within the group; in any program for gifted children there will be a wide variety of educational levels and talent areas. In an attempt to explore these differences more systematically, a number of psychologists have studied the education and emotional needs of gifted children as a function of their intellectual level (Gross, 1993, Hollingworth, 1942, Lovecky, 1994). Although there is no set of universally accepted levels for categorizing intellectual ability in early elementary school age children, several levels of ability have been proposed based on clinical evidence gathered from intelligence tests and academic tests (Osborn, 1999). As different intelligence tests, given to the same gifted child, will yield different scores, the levels can only be generally described.\n- Gifted, approximately 2 standard deviations above the mean, 98th percentile\n- Highly gifted, approximately 3 standard deviations above the mean, 99th percentile\n- Exceptionally gifted, approximately 4 standard deviations above the mean, 99.99 percentile\nWhile many group and individually administered intelligence tests can identify gifted children (for example, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, Stanford Binet -IV, Otis-Lennon), most do not discriminate well between these different levels of intellectual ability and subsequent levels of academic achievement. Consequently, there has been the mistaken idea that all gifted children are similar in intellectual level and will be similar in academic level or in enrichment needs. In fact, when children take individual tests with very challenging items or participate in challenging talent search tests, the variability in their performance levels becomes quite evident. A similar kind of variability can be seen when children perform in recitals, exhibit art and or display writing. In school settings, experienced researchers and clinicians discriminate different levels of giftedness using other tests such as the Stanford-Binet: LM or the talent search tests (Gross, 1993, Hollingworth, 1942, Osborn, 1999).\nTHE LIFE OF THE GIFTED CHILD\nAll of the experiences of gifted children are influenced by the degree to which they think differently from other children. Highly and exceptionally gifted children have among their other qualities, a tendency to elaborate the simple, to think precisely, to simplify the complex, to remember with unusual clarity, and to reason abstractly at an early age (Lovecky, 1994). They can make strong and unique connections among ideas as well as intense connections between ideas and emotions. Highly and exceptionally gifted children who are sensitive to social nuances and quick to analyze events can construct interpretations of events that range from sophisticated and accurate to subtly distorted and self-defeating. While gifted children’s cognitive skills can be highly developed, their emotional maturity and behavioral control can be more variable. Adults need to follow the complexity of these children’s thoughts, validate their experiences, help modify their emotions, and at times, model more appropriate behaviors.\nUNIQUE NEEDS OF GIFTED CHILDREN\nGifted children, like other children, need appropriate education, satisfying friendships and supportive parenting. However, they have some unique needs in these areas.\nOne of the main tasks for educators is to match the level of the curriculum to the child’s ability to learn. For the gifted child, one of the earliest challenges to development comes when the child is placed into group learning situations where the child’s ability level is clearly quite discrepant from the ability level of the other members of the group. For example, the child who enters kindergarten with strong reading skills, a love of math puzzles and many ideas for creative writing requires a more challenging curriculum than other kindergarten children could tolerate. Gifted children can begin to have adjustment difficulties at the point of entrance to group learning (nursery school, kindergarten, and elementary school). However, these difficulties can be significantly reduced when educational placement is appropriate for the intellectual level. Studies of children with exceptional intellectual ability, or with exceptional math ability, have documented the tendency of gifted children to learn more rapidly and with greater complexity. However, current educational practice has not kept pace with the research. The Department of Education reports that “Gifted and talented elementary school students have mastered from 35 to 50 percent of the curriculum to be offered in five basic subjects before they begin the school year” (Ross, 1993). The extensive research conducted by the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented substantiates the need for modifications in the curriculum as well as the frequent lack of these modifications.\nOne of the most common areas of educational mismatch for gifted students, especially for highly and exceptionally gifted students, has been in the area of math education. Schools typically take differences in reading achievement into account by using flexible instructional groups and can, thereby, make adjustments in the language arts curriculum. However, math instruction is most often provided to the entire classroom simultaneously and is based upon the learning ability of the average students in the group. This can be an unnecessary impediment for mathematically able students. Middle class and affluent parents have been able to obtain better educational matches for their children by using Internet math programs, by finding weekend or summer enrichment programs or by placing their children in suburban schools or in independent schools. However, rural and low-income families with mathematically gifted children have faced exceptionally difficult obstacles to obtaining quality education.\nOne of the main tasks of childhood is to establish friendships with other children, both in one-to- one relationships and in-group situations. This can sometimes be difficult for gifted children who are limited in their choice of peers either because of their exceptional abilities or because of geographic or cultural isolation. For example, the 5-year-pld with an 8-year-old mind who can play chess, build complex architectural constructions and play games with rules may have difficulty finding another 5 year old who can be a building partner, a chess companion and a willing participant in complex games. While gifted children benefit from having the social skills to interact with a wide variety of children, their more complex and creative play experiences often take place with intellectual peers.\nMost programs for gifted children are organized around the provision of an enriched or accelerated curriculum, yet one of the main benefits of such programs is the opportunity for varied and satisfying friendships to emerge as similarly able children are grouped together (Gross, 1993, Hollingworth, 1942, Subotnik, Summers, Kassan & Wasser, 1993). The gifted child’s social development is enhanced when an appropriate peer group is found. In clinical interviews and interest surveys, gifted children and adolescents speak openly of their need to be with other students who share their interests and abilities; they speak frankly of the strain of minimizing or hiding their talents in order to protect the feelings of others (Delisle, 1984, Kreuger , 1985). Many students who participate in the talent search summer programs experience, especially at grades 5 and above, the pleasure of being accepted for themselves and finding other students with similar interests. It is often the desire for friendships, rather than the curriculum per se, that motivates the students to return year after year to these selective programs. However, for gifted students whose parents cannot afford the tuition, locating satisfying friendships is dependent upon the structures of I local, free or low-fee public institutions. In isolated geographic areas or impoverished urban areas, it can be difficult for parents to find peer groups for their children in which both friendships and academic achievement are simultaneously sustained.\nOne of the main tasks of parents is to provide an emotionally secure base from which the child can venture forth into the world. The essential challenge for parents of gifted children is to support the children’s unusual development and to advocate effectively for appropriate programs. At the same time, they must do so in a way that allows the children to take increasing responsibility for and satisfaction from their own development. Gifted children can have difficulties when their families have been unable to achieve an optimal balance between supportive nurturing and high expectation. In these situations, parents can benefit from help in learning how to modify the home environment.\nResearchers have demonstrated that parents are quite good at identifying exceptional development in toddlers, pre-school children and school age children (Gottfried, Gottfried, Bathurst & Guerin 1994, Gross, 1993, Roedell, Jackson & Robinson, 1980). In addition parents play a vital role in the overall development of gifted children and in the development of their particular gifts. Parents of gifted children have an opportunity to influence their children by providing exposure to complex language (Hart & Risley, 1995), by offering stimulating experiences inside and outside the home (Gottfried et al, 1994), and by providing unusual support for talent development (Bloom, 1983). What is less obvious is the degree to which the children themselves propel their parents into the provision of exceptional opportunities. In one remarkable longitudinal study, the gifted children themselves were observed to make more requests of their parents and to respond with greater enthusiasm to their increased opportunities (Gottfried et al, 1994). The researchers discussed in detail the ways in which gifted children themselves play a major role in their own development.\nParent and Professional Recommendations: How to Identify and Support Gifted Children\n- Consider the child’s developmental history. Pay close attention to evidence of accelerated language, motor, artistic, interpersonal and academic development.\n- Attend to parental observation and report. Highly and exceptionally gifted children do unusual things and do them at unexpectedly early times.\n- Catalogue and present examples of the child’s performance. Portfolios of artwork and writing samples, photographs of building projects, samples of oral reading, exploration of math abilities, lists of recently read books, all provide clues to a gifted child’s abilities.\n- Advocate for appropriately accelerated and enriched curriculum and see out unusual educational opportunities.\n- Parents should have professionals document accelerated development and skills by, administering tests with appropriately high ceilings.\n- Foster special experiences for gifted children based upon common abilities and interests.\n- Find appropriate social groups in which children’s contributions to the welfare of the group are encouraged and acknowledged.\n- Parents should seek support from other parents of similar children. Where needed, family therapy or individual therapy may be beneficial to he p identify parenting practices that are supportive and appropriate for a gifted child.\n- Expect complexity in the cognitive and emotional experiences of children. Do not assume common, adultlike or childlike, explanations for unusual behaviors or emotions, explore them.\nIn order to understand the development of gifted children, it is necessary to understand different levels of ability, both in intellect and other domains, and how the level of the child’s ability interacts with the need for modifications in education, in parenting and in social relationships. Until there is a consensus about the most productive academic, home, and social environment in which to nurture the gifted child’s talents and abilities, parents themselves may be most responsible for ensuring that their children’s actual abilities are recognized and openly acknowledged and the children themselves are challenged and accepted.\nCenter for Talented Youth at John Hopkins University, http://cty.jhu.edu/\nNational Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, lists of published research available at https://gifted.uconn.edu/\nBooks of interest to parents\nIdentifying and Cultivating Talent in Preschool and Elementary School Children. CTY Publications and Resources, The Johns Hopkins University.\nLupkowski, A. & Assouline, S. (1997) Jane and Johnny Love Math: Recognizing and Encouraging Mathematical Talent in Elementary Students: A Guidebook for Educators Parents. Unionville, NY: Royal Fireworks Press.\nHalstead, J. W. (1994). Some of my Best Friends are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Pre-School to High School: A Guide for Parents. Teachers. Librarians and Counselors. Dayton, Ohio: Ohio Psychology Press.\nAbout The Author\nJulia Osborn, Ph. D., is a developmental psychologist who has worked at Schneider Children’s Hospital of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and is presently a Voluntary Attending Psychologist there in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has served as a consultant to programs for the gifted and has a private practice in Queens, New York.\nBloom, B. S. (1983) Developing Talent in Young People. New York: Ballantine Books.\nDelisle, J. (1984) Gifted Children Speak Out. NY: Walker & Co.\nGottfried, A.W. Gottfried, A.E., Bathurst, K. & Guerin, D. W. (1994) Gifted IQ; Early developmental aspects: The Fullerton longitudinal study. New York: Plenum Press\nGross, M.U.M. (1993) Exceptionally Gifted Children. London: Routledge.\nHart, B. & Risley, T.D. (1995) Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.\nHollingworth, L.S. (1942) Children Above 180 IQ. Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development. Yonkers-on Hudson, New York: World Book Co.\nKreuger, M.L. (1985) On Being Gifted. Sponsored by the American Association for Gifted Children, written by the participants in the National Symposium on the Education of the Gifted and the Talented, NY: Walker & Co.\nLovecky, D. (1994) Exceptionally gifted children: Different minds. Roeper Review. 17 (2), 116- 120.\nOsborn, J. (1999) Best practices in assessing the gifted: A psychologist’s perspective, in Gifted Education in the 21st Century: Issues and Concerns. S. Cline & K. Hegeman (Eds.), NY: Winslow Press.\nRoedell, W.C., Jackson, N.E. & Robinson, H.B. (1980) Gifted Young Children. New York: Teachers College Press.\nRoss, P. (1993) Educational excellence: A case for developing America’s talent. U. S. Department of Education. U. S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, SSOP, Washington, DC.\nSubotnik, R., Summers, E., Kassan, L., & Wasser, A.. (1993) Genius Revisited: High IQ Children Grown Up. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing."

"The concept of \"undermatching\"—broadly, the idea that low-income students often end up at colleges that are beneath them, academically speaking—has become a hot topic in education of late.\nThere is concern that, for a variety of reasons, these students aren't aiming as high as they should be. And as researchers are wont to do when they see the phenomenon of privilege at work, many are studying undermatching to find out how best to address it. Some academics think \"undermatching is overrated,\" and accuse undermatching researchers of being \"overconfident\" and overstating their conclusions.\nElaine Tuttle Hansen, executive director for the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, has a different perspective, which she articulates in a commentary published by Inside Higher Ed. Hansen suggests that \"the problem is more, not less, pervasive and important than we have yet understood.\"\nFor Hansen, matching isn't something for counselors to begin thinking about when students are in high school. Rather, she argues, it \"means thinking from the beginning, at school and at home, about finding a good fit between students' ongoing educational opportunities and their emerging abilities and interests. … It should be a guiding principle and a fundamental goal of educational theory and practice from preschool forward.\"\nThis isn't a new idea, Hansen writes, and it's not one that should be applied only to low-income students. But it's also something we have lost touch with in favor of inclusion.\nDespite the legitimate concerns about tracking and labeling and the rhetorically persuasive benefits of inclusion, the evidence is clear that we've too often defined and pursued inclusion in ways that ignore advanced learners and fail to identify and develop potential talents among rich and poor alike. No evidence can be found to show inclusion has been good for high-potential students, especially the poor ones. The gifted and talented programs that still exist in many states are too often underfunded, controversial, and poorly designed. Academically advanced learners are routinely taught by teachers with no special training in a field that is not even studied in the top schools of education.\nParents who recognize their children have unmet needs for appropriate challenge are among the most desperate people I talk to today. Some find their way to supplemental programs as a lifeline. Those with resources may choose specialized private schools for talented children, and some may choose home schooling. These options are rarely viable for poor families.\nThe solution, Hansen suggests, is evaluating and challenging students at a much earlier age:\nRead more from Inside Higher Ed\nOur policy and research agenda should include proposing, discussing, carrying out and evaluating plans to ensure school and home recognize as early as possible the need for a close, appropriate, productive match between individual skills and the level of difficulty, challenge, and risk each child is encouraged and enabled to pursue.\nThese plans must include putting resources into asking and answering many tough questions, like how do we identify potential academic talent in the early years of a student's life? Where, when, and how do we give all students a chance to aspire beyond their comfort zone, while at the same time assuring them it is safe to take risks and learn from mistakes?\nThese and other questions are not going to have easy or simple answers. But who knows what would happen if we started treating the space between preK-12 and higher education as a critical intersection rather than a no-man's land? Maybe we would reinvest in a school counseling system that has enough resources to see, nurture, and direct potential in every child, even the bright ones."

"Gifted & Talented\nMrs. Booth is responsible for teaching and learning and educational standards across the whole school, and as such she will be ensuring that all children are appropriately differentiated for, thus enabling them to excel and make excellent progress across all of their chosen wide ranging subject choices.\nWhat does Gifted & Talented mean?\n‘Gifted students are those whose potential is distinctly above average in one or more of the following domains of human ability: intellectual, creative, social and physical. Talented students are those whose skills are distinctly above average in one or more areas of human performance.’ Françoys Gagné\nGagne’s key word is potential, as he like Moorland believes in the power of environmental factors, that being naturally academically intelligent is not enough; as a child needs support and guidance to achieve his or her gifted potential. Supporting and encouraging gifted children is exactly where home and school must come together in partnership to support key interests and talents.\nWe believe that if we fail to identify gifted and talented (G&T) students, then we potentially risk damaging our children who could feel stagnated and unchallenged by a rigid scheme of work. This could result in students becoming disengaged, sitting well below the attainment radar, and not working close to their predicted GCSE potential, as well as the potential risk of disregarding further higher education.\nGiftedness is not necessarily found in attainment or in steady progress through the top of the level bands, or in exam results, and cognitive testing, IQ scores do not automatically equate with achievement.\nSadly, in our experience many schools often ignore the needs of students with exceptional potential, or miss the under-achieving gifted child due to inadequate identification and pressure on resources. We cannot afford to assume that G&T students will be all right, are easy to spot, just need more work, and that they do not need the nourishment that other SEN students require.\nMoorland School values the G&T child and we take seriously our responsibilities to provide them with the appropriate academic.\nMoorland School uses various methods to ensure that G&T students are fully supported, and these include:\n- Differentiation – Adapted resources and dynamic teaching styles to suit the different learning styles.\n- Mentoring – Students allocated Mentors in Key Stage 4 to support their GCSE’s & BTEC programmes\n- Master Classes – These are free additional support classes usually offered to Year 11 students after school between the hours of 4pm to 5pm. Teachers give up of their time to support topic weaknesses and to improve upon examination techniques and practice.\n- Homework – This is set every evening, as this helps to reinforce learning, and establishes topic understanding, and identifies areas of support and teacher intervention. The regular marking of students books and homework’s also helps to inform a teachers planning.\n- Acceleration – Some students are capable of taking certain GCSE’s earlier, and beginning further advanced studies which will support their A-Level intentions.\n- Supported Independent Learning – Students may with the support of teachers and parents decide to extend their own learning within in certain topics of study, this can also me fully supported through the school’s intranet Edmodo.\n- Competitions – This encourages students to compete, and to strive for success and recognition. A good example of this would be our recent debating successes in 2018, which has seen students flourishing, growing in confidence and gaining new life skills."

"Gifted and talented learners in Aotearoa New Zealand are not defined by arcane concepts of genius that pigeonhole their abilities to fixed measures of intelligence, as expressed by Mr Poole in his recent opinion piece. Rather, in the last 20 years, educators, researchers and policymakers in our country and overseas have considered the construct of giftedness and talent as embodying potential and performance in all areas of human endeavour. Here in New Zealand, the Ministry of Education’s handbook for gifted and talented, first published in 2000, revised in 2012 and serving as a framework for the 2017 refreshed tki website, has expressed very clearly that giftedness is socially and culturally constructed.\nDefining giftedness is, in fact, one of the first tasks in meeting the unique abilities and qualities of exceptional learners. How can teachers identify and provide for giftedness if there is a lack of shared understanding of what it is to be gifted? The Ministry asks schools to work with their communities – teachers, whānau, and children – to co-create a school-based definition, which, in turn should inform identification practices and provisions across a continuum of enriched and accelerated approaches to learning. Defining giftedness and talent requires teachers to think beyond Poole’s re-definition of genius as “a developed (not innate) state”, which, quite frankly only acknowledges the development of abilities and qualities, while failing to also acknowledge many other criteria of equal, if not greater, importance.\nThe criteria we need to use for defining giftedness and talent include multicategorial concepts that encompass an array of abilities, across all areas of the curriculum, as well as qualities, like leadership, creativity, caring and thinking. Bicultural approaches incorporate Māori concepts, values, beliefs, attitudes and customs – and we extend this cultural responsivity and inclusivity to other cultures in our schools, including Pāsifika. Importantly, potential and performance – that is, the raw material that can be developed, as well as talent exceeding that of peers of the same age, culture or circumstances – should shape our definitions. Exceptional abilities and qualities are not limited to one academic area, sport or skill, but learners may have gifts and talents in one or more ways.\nUnlike Mr Poole’s view that giftedness is limited to learners whose parents need gratification (from what, I wonder?), contemporary views of giftedness acknowledge that students with special abilities are found in every group in society, regardless of who their parents might (or might not) be. Giftedness cuts across the often divisionary lines of culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender and disabilities of all types. In other words, there is an expectation to identify and provide for gifted and talented students in every classroom in Aoteroa – not only because our National Adminstration Guidelines demand it, but because, our definitions acknowledge that giftedness is not isolated to some groups of children in some classrooms in some schools (with some parents).\nImportantly, the whole point in defining giftedness and talent is to provide differentiated educational opportunities, including social and emotional support. A good definition of giftedness expresses the relationship between a learner’s characteristics, their strengths and interests, and a responsive educational programme. Embedding identification of potential and performance in responsive learning environments also recognises that students’ gifts and talents emerge over time, in situational experiences and learning opportunities that may be unique to them. Identification of exceptionality is not about labelling, it is, rather, the link between a student’s learning characteristics and an appropriate educational response.\nIronically, giftedness and talent, as defined in contemporary Aotearoa, aims to be exactly what Mr Poole re-defines as genius: “good for every child and every field of human endeavour.” Giftedness and talent in today’s world seeks to identify individuals and groups of learners’ strengths, interests, qualities and abilities. Teachers of gifted and talented students respond to unique learning characteristics with not only “purposeful practice and opportunities,” as Mr Poole calls for, but also learning that is at the right pace, depth and breadth, often with like-minded peers, to empower gifted students with a greater understanding of themselves, how they belong in the world and what they can contribute. Through self-acceptance and acknowledgement of their abilities and qualities, gifted and talented students’ well-being and sense of belonging are strengthened. Matching teaching and learning to gifted and talented students’ abilities and qualities shatters glass ceilings, and as the glass shatters, resilience, discipline, deep learning, strategic thinking, empathy and courage are built.\nIn sum, it is not the label of giftedness that is damaging, as Mr Poole purports. The damage for gifted and talented students, and, in fact for all students, comes from a lack of professional engagement with a broad range of contemporary theories, research and practices related to learning. When professionals lack deep, broad understanding of giftedness, maintained through ongoing engagement in professional learning and development, networking and support and critical conversations and critique, all students are in danger. With or without a label, gifted and talented students in Aotearoa are likely to be the collateral damage of stereotypical, uninformed and out-of-date views, like those expressed by Mr Poole.\nTracy Riley is Dean, Research, Massey University and Board Member, giftEDnz: The Professional Association for Gifted Education.\nWant more of the latest sector news, information, opinion and discussion straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletters now: http://educationcentral.co.nz/subscribe/"

"Watching the classroom clock. Staring out the window. Doodling until all space in the margins disappeared. Wondering, yet again, why does this have to be so damned boring?!\nWhat must change?\n1. Recognition that gifted children are different.\nFirst, schools must acknowledge that gifted children are truly different from the norm and need advanced, intensive and accelerated instruction. Gifted children are not just smart; they learn and relate to the world differently. They grasp material more quickly, with greater depth and complexity, and require fewer repetitions to master a concept. Many are emotionally intense, have a heightened sense of fairness and social justice, and ponder existential mysteries at a young age. Those displaying asynchronous development often struggle socially, as their maturity may lag behind their intellect. Without an appreciation of these differences, schools enable gifted students' boredom by failing to address their learning needs.\n2. Provision of appropriate services\nUnfortunately, even when these differences are acknowledged, many school districts fall short of providing the academic services gifted children require. Whether a function of financial, political or philosophical priorities, gifted students are treated like every other child; they are offered the same education in the same format in the same classrooms. While seemingly fair and equitable, this deprives them of an appropriate education, and essentially ensures that vast periods of down time will fill their day.\n3. Elimination of misconceptions and misunderstanding\nMisconceptions about giftedness are commonplace, and those who have not lived with, counseled or taught a gifted child may hold false assumptions. Many view them with suspicion - as studious nerds, oddballs who don't quite fit in, sporting helicopter parents orchestrating their achievements. Let's set the record straight: gifted children are not hot-housed products of upscale parents; no amount of instruction or practice can instill the cognitive complexity and depth of thinking they possess. They are a widely diverse group, in terms of intellectual range, social/emotional needs, and socioeconomic backgrounds. These children warrant a school environment that dispels misconceptions and prejudice, and grants them an opportunity for engaged learning.\nIt is astonishing that so few states in the U.S. offer legal protection for gifted students. Here in Pennsylvania, a legal mandate (although without funding) exists for the purpose of identification and provision of gifted services. While this does not guarantee an ideal education, it gives families leverage to fight for their child's rights. As a consultant, I have spoken with families from other states across the country where these rights are non-existent. Families are completely on their own, and must rely on the willingness of a given school district to help their child. (See NAGC for a list of services in each state.) No children should be denied their legal right to a fair and appropriate education and left to languish in slow-paced classrooms just because of where they reside.\nHow can we eliminate boredom from the classroom?\nAdvocacy, advocacy, advocacy. Change can occur through the following: individual advocacy for your child within the school; participation in parent groups; support for systemic changes in provision of gifted services; and public advocacy for district, state and national policy changes regarding funding, legal rights, and provision of services.\nSince reform takes time, you still need to help your child adapt. Some specific ideas for helping your child manage boredom in the classroom can be found here. And keep in mind that most teachers are dedicated and caring, and don't want to be reminded that their students are bored. So use care when speaking with your child's teacher. But if you want to eliminate the boredom and stagnation that affect gifted children, as well as many advanced students, more involvement is necessary.\nDon't let boredom overshadow your child's or any other child's education."

"Frederick County Public Schools’ mission is to reach our students with exceptional teaching and caring support, challenge them to achieve their potential, and prepare them for success in a global society. The Office of Advanced Academics contributes to this mission through its commitment to rigorous, responsive programming for all students. As a part of the Accelerated Achievement and Equity team, we collaborate with curricular experts regarding the development, implementation, and enhancement of curricular and instructional experiences that support students who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment.\nBy nurturing potential through flexible, responsive, challenging, and creative learning experiences, Advanced Academics programming supports FCPS' goal of preparing students to be successful global citizens and innovators. While the instructional strategies associated with best practices for gifted and advanced learners generally benefit all learners, we recognize that the unique academic needs of our most advanced learners often require specialized resources and instructional techniques that challenge the highest levels of cognition. Ongoing, specialized professional learning for staff who work with highly able learners is a key component of ensuring excellent teaching and support for these learners.\nBecause FCPS values research, the Office of Advanced Academics engages in ongoing investigation of the best practices for highly-able and gifted learners. Recent research in the field of gifted education prompted FCPS to revise and examine its programs through the lens of the National Association for Gifted Children's (NAGC) definition of giftedness and its six Gifted Programming Standards. Highlights of NAGC's work to redefine giftedness include the following:\n- The development of ability or talent is a lifelong process. It can be evident in children as exceptional performance measures of ability, actual achievement in a subject area, or a rapid rate of learning compared to peers.\n- Achievement and high levels of motivation in a subject areas become the primary characteristics of giftedness as individuals mature from childhood to adolescence.\n- High potential students require differentiated educational experiences that consist of adjustment in the depth, complexity, and pacing of curriculum to match their current levels of achievement and learning rates.\n- Some gifted individuals with exceptional aptitude may not demonstrate outstanding levels of achievement due to environmental circumstances, such as limited opportunities to learn as a result of poverty, discrimination, or cultural barriers; due to physical or learning disabilities; or due to motivational or emotional problems.\nFCPS recognizes that because \"giftedness\" is not a static trait, labeling a student \"gifted\" or \"not gifted\" can be problematic and inaccurate; therefore, FCPS staff endeavor to match the needs of each individual child with the programmatic components that best fit his or her unique learning needs."

"|A father introduces his son to Froebel's gifts.|\nGifted and talented is a program that parents generally support because they want their own children's gifts and talents to be acknowledge by others, particularly in school. And those parents with \"gifted and talented kids\" are usually those who who have a greater level of persuasion when it comes to school board policy.\nThe idea of \"gifted\" is also problematic. Usually students with recognizable \"gifts\" are those whose parents have the greatest level of participation in their children's learning, \"gifting\" them opportunities in the form of museum visits and educational resources in the home unavailable to children living in poverty and whose parents may be working two or three jobs to make ends meet.\nThe problem of bored children who may have greater intelligence than average, or are developmentally advanced is one that falls into the problem of class teaching and graded schooling. In real life, where our learning is seldom \"class learning\" and we are no longer assigned to specific grades, we may be tested by circumstances to achieve real objectives. The artificiality of schooling sets it apart form real life. To be honest, I consider the notion of \"gifted and talented\" as being an invention of the 60's that should be eliminated from schools. The notion is elitist and offensive. If we recognize that all children have potential gifts (areas of interest) and talents (skills resulting from application of effort), then no child should be set apart and elevated over his peers by anything but his or her own efforts and schools should be equipped to recognize and employ a diverse range of talents (skills).\nThe wood shop is one area of schooling in which all the forms of human intelligence can be explored and activated, and if every school was equipped with spaces in which hands-on learning might take place, and if all children were able to explore their own capacities freely in such places, we would have schooling in America vastly different from what we have now, directed toward much greater and more meaningful lasting effect.\nToday in the wood shop, I will be sanding boxes, and applying Danish oil finish.\nMake, fix, create, and insist that others have the opportunity to learn likewise."

"Realizing that your preschooler is gifted can catch you unawares, especially if the child is your firstborn.\nIf you are lucky you may have a partner, relatives or friends who act as resources, or at least sanity-preservers, as you face the ultimate hands-on, independent learning challenge - parenting. If you are more fortunate still, these support people or some other source of information might give you the perspective that enables you to detect when you have a youngster that is developing faster than normal.\nIdentifying giftedness in young children Perhaps the most useful first piece of advice is to keep good, dated records of your child's development, not just of sitting and walking, but of the less glamorous stages too, such as grasping an object with finger and thumb, first using a two word sentence, and first turning of the pages of a book etc.\nChildren clearly progress at different rates in the various areas of development. A child may mature quickly in the area of gross motor skills but may be slower in his or her mastery of the cognitive milestones. Of course individual milestones are not, on their own, a good basis either for diagnosing giftedness or for concern. It is the overall pattern of development in the area, with due allowance for cultural and personality factors, that should form the basis of judgment. On this basis the adjacent tables showing normal developmental milestones, and those significantly advanced, may be useful.\nThe above details were taken from Harrison (1995) pp 24 & 33, with Harrison attributing her information to Hall, EG & Skinner, N (1980) Somewhere to turn: strategies for parents of the gifted and talented children. New York: Teachers College Press.\nIt is in the cognitive and social areas of giftedness that some of these milestones are often more difficult to assess. In addition to language development, Milner-Davis (1996) suggests notice be taken of a child's\nA parenting response It has been said that parents of gifted preschoolers should just do what all parents should do-feed their child's interests and respond to their needs as they change, and stay loose (ie flexible). (The normal follow-on advice is to enjoy this time, for problems undoubtedly start when the child reaches school!)\nWhile there may well be truth in this, Milner-Davis (1996) suggests it is important to realise that the needs of the gifted youngster may not all be ones of simply finding the right materials or enrichment activities, and moreover that interaction with preschools and day-care staff can be demanding.\nFor instance a child may have a need for independence and leadership at an age where his or her chronological peers may not generally be ready to be led-this can lead to intense frustration unless there are other opportunities for appropriate social interaction. And the frustration and difficulties may well lead to problem behaviours, such as bossiness, which might need to be addressed and modified.\nProblems with day-care and preschool arrangements can include those which may seem trivial to the adults involved. The organisationally efficient practice of having a line of little toilets without privacy might offend the sense of dignity in some advanced preschool children. (Or alternately it might appeal to the humour of others.) Some emotionally mature children might find being talked about by adults in their hearing offensive. Alternately children who have passed the need for an afternoon nap might find a timetabled slot for one a real problem.\nThe same flexibility we need in ourselves as parents we also need to look for in a preschool or care setting. This includes flexible groupings to allow a child to find their appropriate cognitive, physical and social challenges, and flexible use of resources, without certain materials being withheld simply due to age. Arguments for early admission or transfers from one stage to another apply equally in the preschool setting as they do at school.\nAlmost certainly there will be problems and parents may seek to charge in and set things to right. This might not always be wise. One parent, for whom I have great respect, says it is important for the child to receive the message that the parent can do something about any problem the child faces (King, 1996). But she continues to say that one of the choices the parent may make, after considering the choices, is to do nothing and to leave facing the problem to the child. Parents and other adults can facilitate language and social development by talking with the child about such issues and problems that he or she might be facing. The child can be encouraged to raise some of different solutions and then to predict the likely consequences. Ideally this process gradually becomes the child's, with the adult gradually withdrawing and leaving the child a strong tool with which to face problems in school and later in life.\nParents can also use real life examples to show how different people can have conflicting opinions and still be good people, and how varying standards of behaviour and language might reasonably apply in different circumstances.\nActivities for gifted preschoolers Now for some immediate practical ideas. Things to do in that rare commodity, \"quality time\". Or in the queue at the supermarket. Most of the following ideas come from an article \"Ideas and activities for parents of preschool gifted children\" by Laura Siegelbaum and Susan Rotner, that appeared in Gifted Child Today in Jan/Feb 1983.\nHarrison, C (1995) Giftedness in early childhood. Sydney: KU Children's Services.\nKing, V (1996) Email message on TAGFAM mailing list.\nMilner-Davis, Jessica (1996) The gifted child in the family: Responding to the early childhood years. Talk given at the NSWAGTC 1996 Annual General Meeting, Sydney.\nSiegelbaum, L & Rotner, S (1983) Ideas and activities for parents of preschool gifted children. For further reading there is an excellent set of references in Harrison (1995) and Milner-Davis, in particular, quoted: Barnett, LA & Fiscella, J (1985) A child by any other name... a comparison of the playfulness of gifted and non-gifted children. Gifted Child Quarterly 29(2), 61-66.\nKitano, MK (1985) Ethnography of a pre-school for the gifted: what gifted young children actually do. Gifted Child Quarterly 29(2), 67-71.\nMoss, E (1990) Social interaction and metacognitive development in gifted preschoolers. Gifted Child Quarterly 34(1), 16-20.\nReprinted with permission of the author, © David Farmer, www.austega.com/gifted/.\nThis article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.\nThe appearance of any information in the Davidson Institute's Database does not imply an endorsement by, or any affiliation with, the Davidson Institute. All information presented is for informational purposes only and is solely the opinion of and the responsibility of the author. Although reasonable effort is made to present accurate information, the Davidson Institute makes no guarantees of any kind, including as to accuracy or completeness. Use of such information is at the sole risk of the reader."

"Nikita Lalwani presents a rather misleading and outdated view of the way we educate gifted and talented children (Too much, too young, September 23).\nThe identification of these children and the educational provision for them has moved on considerably from her apparent view of exceptional pupils as a small, elite group of middle-class children who are hot-housed and burdened with a \"label\". I manage gifted and talented provision in 30 schools, and I see examples of how it provides opportunities for all children and offers challenges appropriate to their individual needs every day. The government's personalised learning policy correctly regards children who are significantly ahead of their peers as having their own special needs, which are of a different variety to those associated with learning and behavioural difficulties.\nThe one-size-fits-all approach is no longer acceptable in modern classrooms. I wonder exactly how long Lalwani would like our children to wait until they are no longer \"too young\" to benefit from individual recognition, stimulation and encouragement?\nParticularly in areas of social and economic deprivation, it is our duty in schools to uncover potential (be it on the sports field, on the stage or in the classroom), to celebrate and nurture it, raising the aspirations of all children to fulfil their potential. Ability is spread equally across social class - opportunity, sadly, is not. The G&T programme specifically addresses the needs of disadvantaged children, so that they are not overlooked or concealed.\nFar from treading an \"isolated path\" focused on a narrow area \"to the detriment of not just other subjects but social skills in general\", these pupils are given suitably challenging and enjoyable work, both within their own classes and in joining together with other children. Why should we wait to do this?\nEffective provision certainly is not \"foisting a whole lot of societally desirable (usually adult) dreams and expectations upon the child\". There is complete awareness of the importance of engaging children in their own learning, and encouraging able children to take risks and learn strategies to cope with possible failure. There will always need to be a balance between high expectations and the dangers of putting young children under pressure.\nVery few of us working in G&T today would dream of \"plucking child prodigies out of their peer groups and sending them to university early\". We know that high ability in itself is not sufficient and will not lead to achievement without creativity, motivation and commitment on the part of the child; emotional and social maturity; and opportunities and support from home and school.\nContrary to us \"churning out GCSE-holders in maths and IT\", it is, in fact, precisely today's G&T programme that is significantly contributing to Lalwani's laudable ambition to allow \"genuine exploration, excitement and originality\" back into learning.\n• Jane Maguire is the Gifted and Talented strand coordinator for the Great Yarmouth Excellence Cluster"

"Nikita Lalwani presents a rather misleading and outdated view of the way we educate gifted and talented children (Too much, too young, September 23).\nThe identification of these children and the educational provision for them has moved on considerably from her apparent view of exceptional pupils as a small, elite group of middle-class children who are hot-housed and burdened with a \"label\". I manage gifted and talented provision in 30 schools, and I see examples of how it provides opportunities for all children and offers challenges appropriate to their individual needs every day. The government's personalised learning policy correctly regards children who are significantly ahead of their peers as having their own special needs, which are of a different variety to those associated with learning and behavioural difficulties.\nThe one-size-fits-all approach is no longer acceptable in modern classrooms. I wonder exactly how long Lalwani would like our children to wait until they are no longer \"too young\" to benefit from individual recognition, stimulation and encouragement?\nParticularly in areas of social and economic deprivation, it is our duty in schools to uncover potential (be it on the sports field, on the stage or in the classroom), to celebrate and nurture it, raising the aspirations of all children to fulfil their potential. Ability is spread equally across social class - opportunity, sadly, is not. The G&T programme specifically addresses the needs of disadvantaged children, so that they are not overlooked or concealed.\nFar from treading an \"isolated path\" focused on a narrow area \"to the detriment of not just other subjects but social skills in general\", these pupils are given suitably challenging and enjoyable work, both within their own classes and in joining together with other children. Why should we wait to do this?\nEffective provision certainly is not \"foisting a whole lot of societally desirable (usually adult) dreams and expectations upon the child\". There is complete awareness of the importance of engaging children in their own learning, and encouraging able children to take risks and learn strategies to cope with possible failure. There will always need to be a balance between high expectations and the dangers of putting young children under pressure.\nVery few of us working in G&T today would dream of \"plucking child prodigies out of their peer groups and sending them to university early\". We know that high ability in itself is not sufficient and will not lead to achievement without creativity, motivation and commitment on the part of the child; emotional and social maturity; and opportunities and support from home and school.\nContrary to us \"churning out GCSE-holders in maths and IT\", it is, in fact, precisely today's G&T programme that is significantly contributing to Lalwani's laudable ambition to allow \"genuine exploration, excitement and originality\" back into learning.\n• Jane Maguire is the Gifted and Talented strand coordinator for the Great Yarmouth Excellence Cluster"

"Getting a Foothold on Differentiated Instruction\nBy Jeffrey Benson\nEducators worldwide are seeking ways to promote differentiated instruction. There is a conclusion to be drawn: none of our educators currently have a reliable practice of teaching everyone’s children. Buried deep in the differentiated instruction campaign is the knowledge that providing every student with a path to academic success requires a revolution in what we do.\nCertainly this is true in the United States. There was never a golden age of education, a period imagined wistfully as sometime before the 1960s when schools were organized, resourced, and funded to bring every child to graduation. In fact, nationwide graduation rates peaked in the 1960s at about 70 percent and have hovered there ever since. Today, we teach to an ever-expanding population of impoverished and disabled children. The work we do now in schools is remarkable, but it’s still not good enough.\nIt’s magical thinking to believe that we will reach the promised land where no child is left behind by demanding more of every teacher without vast changes in the organization of schools. Differentiated instruction is a great pedagogical tool, undoubtedly part of the equation, but we have to keep it in perspective: differentiated instruction is initially hard to do, as it requires a fair amount of upfront planning, more resources, and a rich understanding of how each child learns. Differentiated instruction also demands that class time—now used to funnel content into young minds to prepare them for high-stakes testing—must be devoted to help students learn to use new materials, work in groups, and transition from activity to activity.\nSo all administrators who seek a school flourishing with differentiated instruction (but who likely didn’t teach that way when they were in the classroom) need to account for teacher buy-in, because they are already working hard. Here are some strategies to help ease the transition:\n- Be honest that it will take effort to develop differentiated units and lessons.\n- Collect data on the time teachers devote to students who are not succeeding. Different documentable data include\n- Restating directions or reteaching skills,\n- Correcting poorly done classwork and homework,\n- Making referrals to child study teams,\n- Documenting when students fail or are at risk of failing,\n- Making referrals to special education,\n- Documenting special education procedures,\n- Meeting with struggling students during prep time and after school, and\n- Contacting concerned parents.\nThe prep time spent on differentiation will reduce (but not eliminate) a good portion of the above.\n- Set aside staff time specifically for developing differentiated units and lessons. If differentiation is crucial, commit the school’s most precious resource (staff time) to planning.\n- Dedicate training funds to the initiative, not only to a workshop (which may be crucial to provide a common language and approaches), but also to ongoing coaching because what sounds like basic content in a workshop can be more complicated in the classroom. Teachers will benefit from ongoing guidance to do what nobody has done before. Again, if differentiation is that important to your school, devote the resources that only an administrator can access.\n- Don’t ask that all lessons and tasks be differentiated immediately. Set a reasonable timeline: two lessons per week this semester, four per week next semester, the majority in a year.\n- Don’t expect that your most challenging students will fall in line because their lessons now offer options. Differentiation will be a huge support to many struggling students, who—for perhaps the first time in their school lives—will see a way to succeed. But there will be students for whom the mix of social, emotional, and learning issues prevents magical success.\nThe gap between many students and all students graduating will not disappear by more technical brilliance in the classroom. So let’s fully support our teachers to differentiate instruction, and don’t forget that the historical structure and funding of schools are the biggest impediments to student success.\nVeteran educator Jeffrey Benson is the author of the forthcoming ASCD book, Hanging In: Strategies for Teaching the Students Who Challenge Us Most (Jan 2014), which is available for pre-order though the ASCD Online Store. Benson has worked in almost every school context in his 35 years of experience in education: as a teacher in elementary, middle, and high schools; as an instructor in undergraduate and graduate programs; and as an administrator in day and residential schools."

"By Helen Janc Malone\nChild and youth programs tend to be on the fringe of school reform discourse; yet, they can be a positive influence on student learning, particularly in high-poverty communities. Since NCLB, there has been increased pressure on such programs to prove their relevance in education by quickly improving students’ grades and standardized test scores. While some programs are able to make such links through supplemental homework assistance and tutoring services, there are other programs that could positively shape both short- and long-term student learning outcomes but are often discredited as “extra,” “luxury,” or “nice, but not necessary.”\nA problem facing many child and youth programs is that they are largely absent from mainstream education conversations and the popular media, which are dominated by debates about teacher unions, test scores, and school budgets. This is not too surprising, given that school reform and out-of-school time supporters, although serving the same constituency--K-12 students--operate in silos with separate advocacy groups, government funding streams, and human capital structures, and are guided by a distinguishable body of research. As a result, what is often considered tacit knowledge within the child and youth development fields is often misunderstood by the public, policy-makers, and even some school reformers.\nAnecdotes and personal perceptions still tend to guide much of the public’s thinking about the purpose(s) of child and youth programs. Out-of-school time programs face an array of perceptions--from being considered glorified babysitters on one end of the spectrum to being viewed as essential vehicles for helping students prepare for their post-secondary futures on the other. Variable program quality, the paraprofessional staffing model, and diversity of foci are cited by some school reformers as key concerns and primary reasons for keeping such services on the periphery of the education reform debates. Out-of-school time learning supporters often push back, noting that programs vary as much as school classrooms do, and that the field has over the past decade invested in rigorous evaluations, made professional development delivery improvements, and increased quality programming that together help create diverse learning pathways for children and youth, particularly in low-income communities.\nA popular phrase coined a few years back, “schools can’t do it alone,” suggests that we, as a society, place too high of a burden on our schools to both alleviate all the negative influences that play a role in student learning, such as those associated with poverty, and, at the same time, prepare every student to access and graduate from college. For schools feeling pressure to “do it all,” having community partners that offer learning opportunities, provide enrichment activities, and engage children and youth in positive developmental experiences seems appealing; however, school-community partnerships continue to be sporadic, and the government response to include out-of-school time programs into the education fold continues to be largely haphazard and reactive.\nThe push to “prove” the worthiness of out-of-school time programs to have a seat at the education table tends to boil down to demands for immediate causal links to standardized test scores, grades, or school attendance. This shows a misunderstanding of what these programs are designed to do, a narrow definition of what constitutes learning, and an over-eagerness to measure every form of knowledge acquisition against the same yardstick. And, while there is growing rhetoric to move beyond the test scores and invest in the twenty-first century education system(s), the school reality and access to a wider set of learning opportunities for many students in resource-poor communities by and large remain unchanged.\nSo, what can be done to “prove” that out-of-school programs play a role in the school reform movement? Internal to the child and youth development field, there should be greater knowledge production, from longitudinal evaluations, value-added and cost-benefit studies, to data-driven on-the-ground practices. Externally, the education and child and youth development fields should engage in intentional knowledge sharing about effective models of learning and school-community partnerships. Research on out-of-school time learning should be disseminated to a wider range of stakeholders, from teachers, families, front-line program staff, to the general public and media in order to create congruence in language, new images of what learning looks like and could be, and what learning experiences lead to college and career-ready adolescents. Knowledge sharing could build a wider support for diverse content and skill-building delivery mechanisms and acknowledge the roles both schools and non-school institutions play in student learning.\nHelen Janc Malone is an advanced doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the project manager for the Futures of School Reform initiative. Her upcoming edited volume Expanded Learning Time and Opportunities is due out in the fall (Jossey-Bass).\nThe opinions expressed in The Futures of School Reform are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications."

"When Full Inclusion Fails Gifted Students\nFull inclusion was first used in regards to special education; a situation in which parents pushed for and sought legal solutions to compel schools to not place their children in separate classrooms. Full inclusion for gifted education means that GT students are kept in the regular classroom and the classroom teacher is responsible for differentiating instruction to meet the needs of students.\nMost reasons for insisting on full inclusion of GT students are based on myths which claim these students will be fine on their own. School personnel often cite personal biased reasoning for why students should be kept in the regular classroom; that these students already possess intellectual advantage and no further accommodation should be needed.\nWhat are some of negative impacts of full inclusion for GT students? It doesn’t take long to see the negative impact of mixed ability classrooms on GT students. Teasing and outright bullying can lead to being socially ostracized by age-peers. In classrooms where teachers are expected to meet the needs of wide-ranging abilities, GT students are generally a low priority. When these students are not challenged, they are unprepared to face challenges when they do come.\nCurriculum differentiation has the potential to work for high ability students, but few educators receive adequate training to provide quality differentiation that meets these students’ needs. The academic needs of high ability students go well beyond curriculum. GT students learn best when educated with intellectual peers and by teachers trained to work with them.\nWhat are some alternatives to full inclusion that work? Some of the best alternatives are multi-age, standalone programs where GT students are challenged by ability. Many forms of acceleration are excellent alternatives for GT students and cost-effective for schools with tight budgets. Some options include early entrance, dual-enrollment, subject and whole grade acceleration.\nWhat approach can parents take to seek real solutions when inclusion isn’t working? Parents must engage in well-informed advocacy; know school district policy and finances, learn about possible alternatives, attend school board meetings, and know who the decision makers are at the state level. Most parents soon learn that there is power in numbers when trying to influence school policy decisions, availability of programs for GT learners, and potential extra-curricular activities. Parent advocacy groups are essential. A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.\nGlobal #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at 1PM NZST/11 AM AEST/Midnight UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.\nAbout the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: email@example.com\nFuture Trends in Gifted Education (TEMPO – pdf)\nGraphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.\nPosted on March 18, 2019, in Acceleration, Advocacy, Education, gifted education and tagged education, full inclusion, gifted education, gtchat, inclusion, TAGT, Twitter. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment."

"To read part one of this article, click here.\nAny educational system that tries to meet the needs of all children in a single setting misses the mark for many of the students it is so desperately trying to serve. No one wants their child at the bottom academically — and yet placement in this type of setting is the most efficient way for them to catch up. Conversely, everyone wants their child to be in the top group — and yet by definition only a percentage of children can be ahead of the bell curve in any particular subject. To right our educational system we must step away from policies that over-emphasize mainstreaming to the exclusion of more individualized decisions.\nAll Generalizations Are False ...\nAs a society, we want to identify children who have the potential to innovate, to master topics in ways most of us will never imagine. If a child is several years ahead in math, we need to find ways to supplement their learning and push them to meet their potential. If their day-to-day classroom material remains unaltered, they are being asked to do over and over again work they have already mastered. So for these children to thrive, to foster talents and cultivate academic excitement, some academic option has to exist that meets them where they are.\nWhen school budgets are cut, one of the first things to go are enrichment and honors programs. Children ahead of the academic curve spend their days treading water, having mastered much of the mainstream material. They may be directed to read quietly on their own or to read to peers, neither of which do much to further their education. Interest wanes and they aren't inspired to engage in academics when nothing seems challenging.\nHow would you handle another year of basic training in your field? Dr. Bertin, for the next nine months we'd like you to spend six hours a day in Medical School 101 ... again. Without a policy that identifies these children and launches them forward, our system drops the ball. We leave children in a second-grade curriculum even when abilities are at a fourth-grade level. What does that do for motivation? What does it do to for the intellectual future of our country when the gifted and talented receive no specialized attention at all?\n... Including This One\nHeterogeneous grouping also isn't fair to teachers. How can one individual efficiently meet the needs of twenty-four children at various different skill levels throughout the day? It isn't feasible. Not only are teachers meant to come up with lessons plans that cover a range of abilities, they must find time during the day to address each one. Most teachers do a wonderful job within this framework, but are being limited by the mainstreaming trend.\nAs a compromise, they may be forced to create a single lesson meant for everyone. Depending on the topic, this generalized discussion may only accurately target a handful of students. Teachers adapt to the paradigm, juggling the needs of everyone, but in the end grouping students by skill level permits teachers to get more out of their own effort.\nImagine a school with three third-grade classes each with a mix of children reading at three different reading levels. In one option each teacher spends all their time with their own students all day long. Let's say they have a forty-five minute period for reading. The typical way to differentiate instruction in this situation is to spend fifteen minutes of reading time teaching to level A, then B, and then C, while the unattended children practice on their own (they probably lose time as the teacher moves between groups as well, but that's beside the point for the moment).\nIn option two, all children are periodically assessed and regrouped based on progress throughout the year. One teacher spends a full forty-five minutes with the kids reading at level A from all three classrooms, one teacher forty five minutes with level B, and one teacher forty-five minutes with level C. The second method creates a full period of direct instruction for each group and allows teachers to tailor their lessons. It is almost certainly a more effective use of a teacher's time - but most classrooms today follow something more like the first model.\nWhile mainstreaming remains the long term goal for everyone, truly individualized planning in the short term considers pull out services and self-contained classes - yet more and more, these options have been eliminated or are summarily dismissed. Instead of striving for exactly the same education for every child, we should aim to give all children the education that best fits their needs. Within the general student population children can be moved within classrooms based on skills, or regrouped into different classrooms. For children with specific educational diagnoses, like autism or reading disabilities, intensive interventions can continue throughout the day, not thirty minutes here or there. For students advanced in certain topics time can be dedicated towards promoting their specific skills. Through this type of consistent, long-sighted academic intervention, children are most likely to thrive.\nFor those children struggling in the mainstream, switching into a more protected and academically targeted setting can change a child's life all in a moment. This year, Jennifer T. moved into a special education setting for children with reading disabilities. She had spent years diligently working but barely getting by academically, in spite of intensive services and tutoring. Here's what her mother has to say: \"My daughter is happier, and all of a sudden confident in herself. She's proud of her work, and we aren't arguing over homework anymore. She's starting to read for fun. It's amazing, it's like the whole world has opened up around her.\" And isn't that the goal of education to start?"

"All GT Scholars attend 3 enrichment events every year. The enrichment days are designed to help young people learn about some of career and academic opportunities that are available to them.\nRaising aspirations, defining ambition\nThe enrichment programme is about raising aspirations and giving young people a chance to clearly define their own ambitions.\nWhy is it so important?\nWe know that there are loads of opportunities for young people. However, some young people are still hindered by a lack of awareness of these opportunities. Others are hindered by concerns that these opportunities are not suited to their skills, strengths, personality or socio-economic background.\nWhat do the enrichment days involve?\nThere are a range of enrichment activities throughout the year and we encourage scholars to take part in at least 3 enrichment days every year. This can include day trips to universities, STEM activity days and visits to the city. Scholars also have the opportunity to meet with professionals from a wide range of industries.\nWhere are you going? How will you get there?\nIt’s extremely difficult to stay focused and motivated through the year when you’re not entirely sure what you’re working towards. The enrichment programme helps young people have a better picture of what it will take to achieve their ambitions.\nWe don’t expect all young people to know what they want to be when they join the programme. We know that this can change at anytime (even for adults!). What’s important is that young people are aware of the opportunities available to them so that they can make an informed decision about their future academic or career path.\nHow do I apply?\nOur main intake is in September with additional intake every two to three months. Click below to find out how to apply."

"- As budgets cut away at extracurricular programs in schools, low-income and minority students are not getting access to these opportunities, on a scale of three to one, as compared to students from middle-class families, wrote EdSurge.\n- When it comes to extra courses that are academic in nature, in particular, students who have access and take part in them are 400% more likely to go to college than those who don’t, according to research the authors cite from a 2003 paper published in the Journal of Adolescent Research.\n- Organizations such as Blueprint4Summer and OutSchool, both mentioned in the article, are looking to bring some balance, with ways that all students can connect to people in fields they want to pursue, and also find internships and other learning opportunities during the summer, that can be free or low-cost.\nThe very word \"extracurricular\" is misleading when thinking about how programs usually run during the after-school hours can enhance learning. The implication that these courses and activities are extra to what a student needs to succeed educationally may lead administrators to ignore avenues that can add them into a school day.\nBudget constraints may limit schools from offering extracurricular activities to all students. Districts and schools often lack funding and families cannot afford to pay fees associated with these activities. Administrators can consider grants and other funding streams in order to fold extracurricular programs into the curriculum, which can benefit students' learning. This is particularly true when it comes to helping children develop social and emotional learning skills. Partnering with community organizations that might offer scholarships for children from lower-income families is another path toward increasing access.\nAfter-school activities, like sports teams and clubs, can enhance and encourage the development of social skills like empathy and communication. These skills are extremely valuable not only when students are working with their fellow peers in the classroom, but also in a future workplace. Innovative programs might include learning how to work together to keep an active bee hive running on a school site or developing collaboration skills while building designs for an after-school theater program. Data released this week, for example, showed that students who participate in technology and engineering-related activities outside of school score higher on assessments of how they apply knowledge and skills in those areas.\nAll of these experiences help students develop communication, critical thinking and creativity skills, those that employers have said that they want future employees to have — and that some workers may be lacking, but need in order to succeed. Through that lens, then, extracurricular activities are not something extra to a student’s education — but a necessary part of their future."

"This blog entry builds on an earlier one on G.A.T.E. children. Firstly I quickly repeat the need to ensure our gifted and talented children have their needs met at school every day by experiencing a ‘rich’ and ‘relevant’ curriculum and secondly, the blog looks into the incredible damage that can be done by labelling children as gifted and talented. If you are short on time, jump down to the video link and see this ‘must see’ short video which just might surprise you.\nHistorically schools have supported students with remedial learning needs. Sadly many students who have special needs at the other end of the scale have often not had their needs met. Some of these ‘gifted’ or ‘talented’ students (known as G.A.T.E. children) become behavioural problems as they struggle to overcome boredom and frustration.\nThe good news is that in recent times greater education policy requirements have been placed on schools to address the needs of these students. However it is one thing to make policy but many schools find it difficult to find the expertise and resources to ‘walk the talk’.\nIn their bid to fulfil their responsibilities, many schools provide ‘pull out’ programmes grouping students together for a few hours each week providing some ‘one off’ stimulating activities that excite these very capable students. One positive spin off from this approach is G.A.T.E. students get the chance to engage with like minds. Sometimes these students are put up a class level. It works for some but it is socially very risky. There are various ‘one day’ fee paying G.A.T.E. schools operating and some schools recommend parents enroll their gifted child(ren) into one of these.\nHowever these options do not deal with the fundamental issue. Like all students, G.A.T.E. students deserve to have their educational needs, including social needs met every day. Their minds need to be challenged and engaged throughout their school life!\nThis is not a tall order when the curriculum is well understood, planned and differentiated appropriately. Schools must build on the interests of all students providing them with the skills so they have more control over the topic or content they wish to pursue allowing the opportunity for individual and independent study. The exciting 21stC education technology rich paradigm supports and further empowers the learner. This interactive and blended approach encourages creativity, deep flexible thinking and access to a broader range of higher level resources.\nIt is an exciting time in education providing schools take up the opportunities available to unleash their students’ motivation and potential.\nHowever it is with a huge cautionary note I share Jo Boaler’s work around giftedness. Jo is a highly regarded Professor of Mathematics at Standford University. Her research and work is highly respected internationally. I highly recommend you watching this short video.\nJo decided to make this short film after many years of my being a professor at Stanford and hearing from students about the labels they had received growing up.\nShe said, “Many of the students had been labelled as “gifted” or “smart,” when they were in school, and these labels, intended to be positive, had given them learning challenges later in life. Most people realize that it is harmful to not be labelled as gifted when others are. The labelling of some students sends negative messages about potential, that are out of synch with important knowledge of neuroplasticity showing that everyone’s brains can grow and change. But few people realize that those labels are damaging for those who receive them too. At Stanford many students were labelled as gifted in Kindergarten or 1st grade and received special advantages from that point on, raising many questions about equity in schools. But labels and ideas of smartness and giftedness carry with them fixed ideas about ability, suggesting to students that they are born with a gift or a special brain. When students are led to believe they are gifted, or they have a “math brain” or they are “smart” and later struggle, that struggle is absolutely devastating. Students who grow up thinking that they have a special brain often drop out of STEM subjects when they struggle. At that time students start to believe they were not, after all, gifted, or that the gift has “run out” as one of the students in our film reflects.\nIn the above film, which I really recommend that you watch, we also hear from students from a local elementary school who shared their experiences of learning without labels. Their school does not give students the idea that some students are smart or gifted and has instead shared our youcubed messages and videos about the high potential of all students to grow and change their brains. Their math community values all kinds of learners and communicates that all students have interesting and unique ideas to share. The teachers know that careful problem-solving takes time, conversation, and lots of questions from everyone. The fourth graders who are interviewed illustrate the different ideas students can develop when they are given messages of brain growth and high academic potential for everyone, rather than messages of high academic potential for only some students.\nBoth labels and dichotomies are damaging in education. Instead of deciding some students are “smart” or “gifted” we should acknowledge that everyone is on a growth journey and we should celebrate the growth potential of all students. “\nJo’s work is very powerful and really challenges much of the traditional thinking around many schools’ approach to providing for our gifted and talented children. Her last point in bold is very relevant. All children deserve to be challenged appropriately with the right amount of ‘stretch and tension’ to create a curriculum implementation that is built on ‘hard fun’. We must continue to pursue the aspirational goal of personalised learning for all without putting inhibiting labels on children.\nProf. Jo Boaler Standford University.\n(head image source unknown)"

"Family traditions are behaviors that we engage in again and again: regular rituals that are performed at the same time, in the same way. They are done with a specific purpose and are practiced with thought and intention. Traditions strengthen the family bond, giving children the feeling of a sense of safety and identity. Traditions allow children to make connections to the past, while learning their family’s culture, values and religious heritage. They also give children a sense of the rhythm and seasonality of life.\nFamilies have a variety of traditions around the holidays. Many traditions are associated with coming together and cooking together and sharing food. Others have songs, games, readings, lighting candles, prayers, stories, TV specials or movies. In December, many families find ways to share with neighbors and friends.\nAs adults, we often identify the seasons by the kinds of traditions we grew up with. When you reflect on the traditions you grew up with, which of those do you want to continue? What new traditions do you want to create? If you don’t already have specific traditions in your family, it’s not too late to start. The holidays are a perfect time to begin.\nIdeas for creating traditions:\n- Share with your family what you remember about traditions growing up. That can include yours and those of your friends.\n- Invite your children to reflect what kinds of things they remember and appreciate about previous years.\n- Together think of one or two new things that you would like to add to your traditions: things that you would really like to do every year. Plan how and when to do them.\nTraditions can be fun and connecting when you can be present and experience them. Being stressed out and feeling the pressure to make it right interferes with the kind of connection and love that you are trying to create.\nIt is more important than ever to take care of yourself.\n- Take 10 minutes for yourself everyday (a walk, read, draw, nap, sip tea or coffee, music)\n- Slow down and do less.\n- Ask for connection time with your children (reading, doing a puzzle, cooking together, walking together)."

"- What do you mean by family tradition What is the importance of family tradition in your life?\n- Why is tradition important?\n- What is the importance of a family?\n- How can we preserve family traditions?\n- How can I make my family strong?\n- What is an example of a family tradition?\n- What are some family rituals?\n- What family values mean?\n- What is difference between culture and tradition?\n- What’s the difference between customs and traditions?\n- What does tradition include?\n- What is the meaning of traditions?\n- What is an example of tradition?\n- What are the types of tradition?\n- What do you mean by family tradition for Class 5?\n- What is your Favourite family tradition?\n- How do you create a family tradition?\n- Why Tradition is important for family?\n- What are examples of customs and traditions?\n- How long until something is a tradition?\nWhat do you mean by family tradition What is the importance of family tradition in your life?\nFamily tradition, also called Family culture, is defined as an aggregate of attitudes, ideas and ideals, and environment, which a person inherits from his/her parents and ancestors There is a reason we intentionally maintain and create traditions – it’s because they bring meaning to our celebrations and help bond us to ….\nWhy is tradition important?\nTradition contributes a sense of comfort and belonging. It brings families together and enables people to reconnect with friends. Tradition reinforces values such as freedom, faith, integrity, a good education, personal responsibility, a strong work ethic, and the value of being selfless.\nWhat is the importance of a family?\nFamily is the single most important influence in a child’s life. From their first moments of life, children depend on parents and family to protect them and provide for their needs. Parents and family form a child’s first relationships.\nHow can we preserve family traditions?\nShare stories: Talk to one another. Let seniors share the same stories over and over again so that you remember them and can share them with your own kids. Pass down traditions as well so that they live on with future generations. Let other family members know why you do these things, and how they came about.\nHow can I make my family strong?\nBuilding Strong Family RelationshipsOur society thrives on strong families. … Strong families have good communication. … To build strong family relationships, listen actively to each other. … Use “I” messages rather than “You” messages when talking. … Encourage all family members to share their thoughts and feelings.More items…\nWhat is an example of a family tradition?\nPerhaps the best example of family rituals are holiday traditions, such as those surrounding Kwanzaa, Christmas, or Hanukkah. Families also have non-holiday rituals that are unique to their family. … Apple picking every fall or renting a vacation cabin every summer are two good examples.\nWhat are some family rituals?\nFamily rituals: what are they?special morning kisses or crazy handshakes.code words for things or special names you use for each other.the way you always wink at your child as you drop her off at school.something you always say as you greet each other or say goodbye.a game in the car.a restaurant you always go to after the movies.More items…•\nWhat family values mean?\nFamily values involve all the ideas of how you want to live your family life, and they are often passed down from previous generations. They can help define behavior in various situations, help youth make good choices, and solidify the bond that your family has.\nWhat is difference between culture and tradition?\nThe main difference between culture and tradition is that traditions describe a group’s beliefs and behaviors that are passed down from one generation to another. Culture describes the shared characteristics of the entire group, which has been amassed throughout its history.\nWhat’s the difference between customs and traditions?\nThe difference is that traditions and customs are practiced over a long period by many people. A habit is more informal, and is usually limited to one person. … Customs are also usual ways of behaving. But they are not as old as traditions, and they are practiced by fewer people.\nWhat does tradition include?\nA tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. … Tradition is used to indicate the quality of a piece of information being discussed.\nWhat is the meaning of traditions?\nnoun. the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice: a story that has come down to us by popular tradition. something that is handed down: the traditions of the Eskimos.\nWhat is an example of tradition?\nThe definition of a tradition is a custom or belief that is passed down through the generations or that is done time after time or year after year. An example of a tradition is eating turkey on Thanksgiving or putting up a tree on Christmas. “Tradition.” YourDictionary.\nWhat are the types of tradition?\nThe following are common types of tradition.Myth. A traditional story that is retold by successive generations to relay culture or knowledge. … Storytelling. Traditional storytelling that is factual or that admits to being fictional.Language. … Knowledge. … Norms. … Etiquette. … Systems. … Authority.More items…•\nWhat do you mean by family tradition for Class 5?\nFamily tradition, also called Family culture, is defined as aggregate of attitudes, ideas and ideals, and environment, which a person inherits from his/her parents and ancestors.\nWhat is your Favourite family tradition?\nMy favourite family tradition is most certainly Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. … My cousins and other family members that I do not get to see often are there. My grandma and other family members prepare a big meal. There is always plenty for everyone.\nHow do you create a family tradition?\nYou can utilize everyday rituals, the activities and routine of daily living, to establish family traditions. These might include rituals surrounding bedtime. Talking, reading, snuggling up together, and saying a prayer are things to look forward to on a regular basis.\nWhy Tradition is important for family?\nTraditions are rituals families engage in over and over. … They lend a certain spirit that nurtures the family connection, giving us a sense of belonging and helping us celebrate generations of family. More importantly, traditions create positive memories for children.\nWhat are examples of customs and traditions?\nHere are 11 astonishing customs from around the world.Pointing with lips in Nicaragua. … Kissing in France. … Spitting on the bride at weddings in Greece. … September 12 is the Day of Conception in Russia. … Groundhog Day in the U.S. … Tipping in the U.S. … Hanging out in cemeteries in Denmark. … Pointing with the thumb in Malaysia.More items…\nHow long until something is a tradition?\n4 Answers. Personally, if I do a thing two years in a row on a certain occasion – such as watching the first sunrise of the new year – and expect to continue to do it, I call it a tradition. This may be a lax definition of the term."

"Reading “The Night Before Christmas” around the fire on Christmas Eve. Lighting the Chanukah menorah. Going to visit Santa. Serving a meal at the local soup kitchen. Whether formal or informal, recognized or not, each family has its own set of holiday traditions.\nIn addition to making the holiday memorable, these traditions serve a higher purpose.\nFirst, traditions build a sense of stability. Regardless of whatever else is happening during the holiday season, family members look forward to and count on participating in family traditions. When families take part in rituals, trust builds. Family members learn that regardless of the changes life brings, traditions will be a consistent constant.\nSecondly, traditions build unity. Traditions bring family members together. When individuals within a family join together to take part in a ritual, they experience a sense of belonging to something bigger then themselves. For children, traditions are exceptionally important. When children are welcomed to take part in family traditions, it helps them to feel accepted within their family unit. When they feel connected to and accepted by their family, they are less likely to seek out the connection and acceptance they desperately need from other social groups.\nThirdly, traditions build identity. While many families may share similar traditions, the way they are carried out is unique from family to family. When families do something together year after year, it becomes a part of who they are and how they celebrate. As children grow up and have families of their own, they merge traditions and create a new identity of their own.\nLastly, traditions build connections to the past. Traditions can serve as a bridge from the past to the present and from the older generation to the younger. Whether it’s making a special family recipe that’s been passed down from generation to generation, hiking into the woods to cut down your own Christmas tree or using the menorah that your great, great grandparents used, traditions provide something everyone within a family can relate to.\nTraditions can be as simple as making an ornament for the family tree each year or as complex as hosting a family reunion. What’s important is that holiday traditions work for your family and are easy to replicate year after year."

"Family traditions play an important part in most families and not just for the holidays. You don’t need special occasions to create a family rituals; they can be a reassuring part of everyday life. Traditions are about teaching shared values, providing stability, and creating fond memories that bond the whole family.\nThe Importance Of Family Traditions\nCreating and sharing traditions with your children will help to teach them that there can be an order to how things are done and that every family member has an important role to play, both within the tradition and within the family. Family habits help children feel a sense of stability, consistency and security. Our favorite family traditions contribute to our sense of identity.\nTraditions Strengthen and Bond the Family\nTraditions help to bring the family unit closer together as they share in a ritual. People tend to experience a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves when they’re part of a family tradition. This strengthens family bonds with shared memories. Old traditions are even more important to instill in young children because it’s a way of reminding them that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. They have a family, a place they are accepted, a place they belong.\nTraditions Create Stability\nRegardless of all the other things that are happening in your life, family members can look forward to spending time together and sharing the traditions they’ve enjoyed for years. Over the years, we start to trust that, regardless of what life brings, some things never change. In this way, family traditions are reassuring. They can make us feel good just thinking about them. When life gets stressful, thinking about the spending time with family and the traditions we’ll enjoy together helps to bring a sense of calm and peacefulness.\nTraditions Create a Family Identity\nThe things you enjoy together as an immediate family help to create your family’s identity. They determine what you believe in, as a family. It not only creates a bond in the moment that you’re experiencing it, it also helps children identify with their family in the long-term. And, over the years, those children grow up. Then they start sharing those same traditions with their own children. It is a great way to share family values and reinforce them through your group actions.\nTraditions Connect Us to the Past\nOver the years of enjoying family customs through generation after generation and sharing memories with each other, we start to build a bridge from the past to the present. Family recipes are passed down through the generations. A favorite story that parents share with their children becomes a part of the family’s history. A vacation spot you’ve enjoyed with your family for many years creates special times and happy memories that involve older family members. Something special that’s been passed down to younger generations like fine China or a wedding dress become family heirlooms. These are all meaningful family traditions that bond us through the generations to something that is bigger than ourselves.\nFamily Traditions Examples\nBelow are just a few examples of traditions to inspire you. Family rituals can range from silly, fun habits to daily foundational moments, to a weekly family meal. Moreover, small moments and big days all have their place in the fabric of our lives.\n- Worshipping A Greater Power Together\n- Family Walks\n- Board Game Night\n- Family Dinner\n- Family Vacation\n- Holiday Traditions (whether singing Christmas carols or making Valentine’s Day cards)\n- Family Reunions\n- Family Bike Ride\n- Service Day (a soup kitchen is a great place to volunteer as a family)\n- Secret Handshakes\n- Performing Arts Night (sing together, play instruments together, act out a scene from a play)\n- Ice Cream Outing\n- Bedtime Story\n- Weekly Family Meeting\n- Tailgating at Football Games\n- Taco Tuesday\n- Family Arts And Craft Time\n- Cooking Traditional Dishes Together (sharing of cultural heritage)\n- Weekend Breakfasts\n- Berry Picking\nThe reason why traditions are important is that they serve to ground us. Traditions say we are a part of something and that we belong. They give us a sense of stability and they give us something to look forward to. Meaningful family traditions let us know we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.\nCreating a family tradition doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing. It just needs to be something meaningful you can enjoy together as a family. Bake Grandma’s famous lemon pie or tell the story about how a piece of furniture found its way to your home after belonging to other relatives. Creating your own fun traditions can be as simple as starting a Friday Night Pizza Night or family movie nights. It can also be a monthly tradition of going to a special place or enjoying a special activity.\nIn conclusion, there are so many traditions you can share or create within your family. The only hard part will be choosing one! Will you establish a new tradition within your family?"

"The Importance of Family Traditions\nFamily traditions are important for children to learn because many of these were carried down through the family for years. These traditions gave their parents a sense of family and good, warm memories and their grandparents a sense of family along with the same secure warm feelings of love. It could be the traditional smell of baking Christmas cookies to the smell of fresh bread in the oven for the family, but it’s very critical to raising your own family to keep these traditions going. The family nucleus has changed so much throughout the years that many times grandparents have divorced or passed on and the family dynamics have changed. Families are also not as large as they were years ago so everyone kind of does their own thing and people don’t get together like they did 50 years ago. Traditions may have changed, but parents can still remember what they love best of all and try to implement those traditions into their own family unit.\nFamily traditions help the family bond\nTraditions are rather ritualistic and it’s something families continue to do over and over. There are reasons families have traditions and the reasons are they bring love to family get-togethers and help the family bond with unconditional love. Traditions also bring a silent spirit that pulls the family together and gives them a sense of unity to encourage people to celebrate generations of family traditions.\nIn addition, traditions make positive and long-lasting memories for children. Children need warmth and the security of love that comes with these traditions. They actually begin to look forward to them and this creates a strong anchor for family members to stay together and feel like they belong.\nAll families are different and even those with foster children or a new family that is non-traditional can still find ways to create these rituals so everyone has something to look forward to. It doesn’t matter if you’re not related by blood, loving family traditions can still be created so everyone can flourish both physically and mentally. These traditions can make a lifelong impact on every family member whether they are blood or not.\nTraditions create a child’s identity\nPeople don’t realize that family rituals tell kids a story about where they came from and who they really are and also the importance of family. Traditions also build a connection to help kids feel like they belong to something that is unique and very special. Kids that have traditions in their lives are better adjusted and more confident than kids who don’t. They have more self-esteem, suffer fewer behavioral issues and function overall better in their family.\nTraditions are not only for holidays\nFamilies should remember to bond all year long and not just on holidays. They need to have daily interactions and traditions with their kids. These daily connection traditions are the littlest routines you do as a family on a daily basis. These reinforce the dynamics of family values. If you ask a child what they remember the most, their answers are family dinners, bedtime stories and watching movies as a family. Great childhood memories last long into their adult years. No family is perfect and there is no perfect family tradition. If you are interested in starting family rituals, all you need is a bit of creativity, a great family history lesson and unconditional love to bring to the table. This could be as easy as making your best chili on a cold night around a roaring fire.\nIt seems to many people that have lived a few decades that the world keeps changing overnight especially with the rapid change of technology. There is more divorce, blended families, single parents and a lot of tragedy in many families that have severed family units and make us feel like tradition is a thing of the past. Sometimes, it is a family tradition that keeps people together because of distance or anger or other things that have occurred during their childhood.\nMost family traditions have roots that are based on necessity and overtime, people feel a twist of nostalgia for days gone by. This can be the new start for ways your family can bond with each other for new rituals and traditions. Families do evolve and change over time, and many of those traditions have become necessities because they take on a different meaning due to the fact that families have to adjust to a new way of communication with their loved ones.\nFamily dinners whether it be daily, weekly or on holidays often bring new ways of communication between family members. Years ago no one was playing on their phones and not talking to each other, however; look at the previous generations and what you learned growing up even if this is the first generation in this country. It’s easy to say, no devices during our family dinners or holidays and get to know one another again.\nThe main concept is to develop a healthy and meaningful holiday purpose for all of you to come together and share a great feast, even if you are just having a normal dinner. The holidays in winter only come once a year and at least you hope all your loved ones will attend this feast during the holidays. Some families are more religious and to them, the holidays still remind them to get off the merry go round and have fun interacting with their heritage and their loved ones.\nTraditions make more sense if you look at them as a chance to get away from the stress of everyday life and look at your faith and remind yourself what your beliefs really are in regards to your religious faith. Take a moment and reflect on the meaning of this holiday. In addition, remember that you also have that love and faith in your families and that is what you are trying to portray.\nMany families have problems finding a balance and this can turn into a bad dream. Blended families with step parents can end up having meltdowns over something minor like when the gifts should be opened. The reason is many emotions are based on family life during tradition, so everyone wants things to be perfect. It doesn’t matter when the gifts are opened, just enjoy each other’s company. It’s not about the gifts all of the time.\nMost traditions only happen during the holidays. This is when the emotional connections are made and this is usually during a flare-up that we make these connections. Old feelings come back from childhood, resentments return between siblings and parents, and if some family members have passed at a young age, it can make a sad holiday because these people are terribly missed.\nIssues that arise\nDon’t hold onto traditions for your own sake because this is where problems start. Re-evaluate what has changed in your extended family and you might have to change some things around to welcome some long lost relatives that have shied away. Being flexible doesn’t hurt anything, it actually makes it better because maybe a family member you haven’t seen in years will be happy that you accommodated them by the change. This is how you can bring your family closer together.\nHolidays are definitely a traditional get-together but they are also notorious for bringing out the power tripping and old resentments. If you start stressing out before the holiday comes, think about how important it is to have to go through these mental breakdowns with family members that are going to ruin the event. Be honest when thinking about it and understand what tradition means to you as a mother. Is this really important to you to have a family in chaos?\nWhen an old family tradition causes more problems than it’s worth, it’s time to move on. No one can be bound to traditions and everyone knows about their manners and what is appropriate so if this is not the case, drop it. The main idea is to keep your family happy and healthy, with good memories and the comfort the kids feel from a good holiday get together. Your kids will remember the holiday for the rest of the years so don’t make it ugly for them. Make it a happy one."

"“Family traditions old and new what works for me may not work for you. The important thing is we work together to make memories that will last forever.” – Stacy Coles\nRitual and traditions can also connect us back to our homelands; to act as reminder of where we came from and what is important to us. This may be a small activity, such as cooking the meals our parents cooked, or big, such as a spiritual festival.\nA review of 50 years’ of research published in the Journal of Family Psychology* suggests that routines and rituals may contribute to the health and well-being of families. Family rituals and traditions give structure to what it means to be a family — no matter where you are in the world. This structure creates a feeling of love, safety and security for our loved ones (and indeed ourselves). It also creates fond memories for our children to carry forward into their own families when they have grown.\nRitual is important to us as human beings. It ties us to our traditions and our histories.\n– Miller Williams\nIn my family, we do not celebrate winter or spring holidays in the same way that I did when I was a child. However, I do not feel a sense of loss from this change; some rituals and traditions can become, when followed with obligation and lack of appreciation, a hollow affair. We have treated moving to a new country as an opportunity to create our own, unique set of family traditions to celebrate holidays. We have the freedom to adopt new ways and change the old, creating a beautiful balance of a little tradition from our homeland and a little from our new land.\nOne of the reasons for creating our own traditions is that our family is made up of different cultures to begin with. With understanding and respect, we negotiate how we can create a blend of all the traditions that make our family special. It need not become a source of conflict or tension, as long as everyone is heard and understood, and one aspect of the blend is not overly emphasised at the expense of another (know as ‘skewed ritualisation’). This blend of rituals and traditions can help to forge a family’s unique identity.\nWe all need such places of ritual safekeeping. And I do believe that if your culture or tradition doesn’t have the specific ritual you are craving, then you are absolutely permitted to make up a ceremony of your own devising…\n– Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love\nThe new traditions and rituals we have created are centered around fun and creativity. Celebrations for the spring holidays include the annual “Hauling back from the Forest of the Spring Tree” (which is then ‘planted’ on the balcony and draped with tiny wooden eggs); the “Painting of the Eggs” (creating a smeary mess that is held aloft with pride); and of course “The Stuffing of Chocolate Bunnies into Mouths”. We have found that this element of creativity helps us to bond as a family; being guided by what makes us smile, not by what makes us feel like slaves to the traditions of our homeland.\nInjecting fun into family time ensures that you create lasting memories which can become the basis for happy, long-lasting family traditions. For example, my colleague used to create hugely elaborate and long-winded chocolate egg hunts for the whole family. I heard such tales of giggles, mud and chocolate; so much so that I thought we could try it as a new tradition within my own family. For our last spring holiday, we travelled to Spain to visit the grandparents. Unfortunately – forgetting that Spain is hot – many of the eggs were found in puddles of their former chocolatey goodness. Not a raving success, but it has guaranteed that we have created a unique family memory!\nThe human soul can always use a new tradition. Sometimes we require them.\n– Pat Conroy, The Lords of Discipline\nHowever, rituals are not simply for seasonal holidays. They can be scattered throughout the year to mark those occasions, transitions and events where time needs to be slowed, marked and savoured. They create a sense of who we are and what bonds us. Rituals can be as big as old branches pretending to be a Spring Holiday Tree or as small as a bath-time puppet that blows bubbles.\nOn one of the expat mum groups on Facebook, we recently had a wonderful discussion about the everyday rituals that expat mums have developed to cope with lone parenting whilst their partners travel. These rituals have helped to turn this challenging and exhausting time into something special; a positive rather than a negative experience. We discovered that a common ritual among expats is to watch movies that would make our partners roll their eyes, often in our PJs with chocolate, wine, or both. My daughter and I have a ritual of hiring a movie, snuggling down together on beanbags and scoffing popcorn. It’s how we turn our sadness about Daddy being away into a time where we appreciate each other.\nFamily traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.\n– Susan Leiberman, New Traditions\nAs expats, family rituals can help our children when they are experiencing unsettling circumstances such as moving or changing schools. Rituals and traditions supply the ‘constant’ when everything else is in flux. There may be a ritual of waving from the window as your child goes to school, or a special meal on certain days of the week. These are the rhythms that give structure in their lives when all structure seems to have gone. They are even more important when the family is in upheaval. As a parent, it may seem like the last thing you want to do (yet another thing to do on the To-Do list) but the payoff is worth it. Family rituals can be the stability and glue that holds the family together.\nYour family is completely unique; what rituals do you have? What rituals would you like to develop to celebrate life and the passage of time? What would you like to borrow from Switzerland and what would you like to keep from your homeland?\nRituals could be common interests within your family that you enjoy together, for example:\n- Do you have your own special words in your family that no one else understands? Little insider jokes that you share?\n- Songs that you sing or invent the words to?\n- Stories that you always read or make up together?\n- What do you do at birthdays that is always the same? Are there decorations you always use? Songs or activities you always do?\n- What cultural or religious festivals do you celebrate? How are these a blend of family traditions?\n- Do you have family games you always play?\n- Meals that you always cook together?\nIf you look at the habits of your family, you will spot the rituals and traditions that have organically arisen over time. The question is how to add to these, and attach a significance to these times in a way that your children will remember for years to come.\n*Fiese B, Tomcho T, Douglas M, et al. “A Review of 50 Years of Research on Naturally-Occurring Family Routines and Rituals: Cause for Celebration?” Journal of Family Psychology. 2000;16:381–390.\nBy Tammy Furey – Tammy Furey Coaching | www.fureycoaching.com – Taking the Stress out of Family Life\nMore from International School Parent\nFind more articles like this here: www.internationalschoolparent.com/articles/\nWant to write for us? If so, you can submit an article here: www.internationalschoolparent.submittable.com"