Running & Self-Regulation

It was cold today.
And a little bit windy.
There was rain in the forecast.
I am coming down with a cold.
I have a sore throat.
My sinuses are stuffy.

But I put all these excuses aside, got on my cold weather running gear, and went out for a leisurely 5K run late this afternoon.  Not pushing myself to go fast, just putting in some miles.

I ran a half marathon last weekend - over a week ago - and haven't run since.  It was time.

Part of this is willpower.  I pushed myself to put on my running gear and get out the door.

Part of this is self-regulation. I know that running makes me feel better.  It's a great stress reliever. I feel strong and healthy after a run. There are nights when I think I'm too tired to run, and yet after my run I feel energized.

As the weather turns colder, I will keep running a few times a week - just as long as the roads aren't icy.  And then it will be time to switch to the gym for my fitness fix.

Do you exercise to reduce stress?  
What is your go-to exercise? 

From Quotefancy.com

Horror Movies - Yay or Nay?

Horror movies - it seems that people either love them or hate them.  I don't find it entertaining to be scared, yet both of my girls love horror movies. I can tolerate the ones that are more suspense than blood, guts and gore or 'slasher' movies.

When I was a kid, my mom wouldn't let me watch anything scary.  My bedroom was down in the basement, and she knew I would have nightmares and be wandering upstairs to be with the rest of the family. But when my cousins would babysit me, they would let me watch the Sir Graves Ghastly show which showed all the old, campy horror movies.  I still remember one about an astronaut who dies in some sort of crash but his hand lives. There was a scene of his hand crawling out of the water onto the beach that gave me nightmares for weeks!  Now, thanks to You Tube, I can relive this nightmare over again.



I have seen some scary movies that I enjoyed - Carrie, The Shining, Psycho come to mind.  But I've never seen any of the Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, or Friday the 13th movies.  And I probably never will. The Simpson's Tree House of Horror is more my speed.


What about you?   Are you enjoying a horror movie marathon this month?  Or are you just enjoying all the decorations, the candy and the costumes?  Whatever your preference, Happy Hallowe'en!

Never Stop Learning

This week I celebrated a major milestone in my life - convocation for my Doctorate of Education degree. It's been an amazing, frustrating, fantastic, exhausting, wonderful learning journey. There were days when I was excited to be engaged in such rich learning and discourse and days when I wondered why I was doing this and why didn't I quit? I retired from our board in June 2016, so this degree would have no impact on my employment or my salary.

The speaker at our convocation was Dr. Charlotte Fischer.  She was born in 1929 and received her degrees in Mathematics and Chemistry in 1952.  She went on to study at Cambridge, was the first woman to win an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, has authored over 300 articles in her 50+ years of research. She currently, at age 89, is the Professor Emerita at Vanderbilt University's School of Engineering.

In her convocation address, Dr. Fischer reminded us that with today's modern medicine and health care, we can expect to live very long lives and we must endeavour to fill our lives with meaning far beyond the usual retirement age.

So, even though I have retired from full-time employment with a school board doesn't mean it's time to stop learning and growing. I'm not sure what the future may bring, but I know that my intention is to keep reading, reflecting, learning and writing for many years to come.

Congratulations to my fellow graduates!  It's been a pleasure learning together with all of you for the past three years and I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us.

Official program from Western University

My bedazzled mortarboard from our pre-convocation reception

Take Me Outside Day

Today is "TAKE ME OUTSIDE DAY" here in Canada.  Take Me Outside (TMO) is a non-profit organization committed to educating and creating awareness with Canadians about our connection with nature and our time spent outside. As a teacher, I enjoyed spending time outside with my students and found that I got to see a side of them that I would have missed had we only done our learning indoors.

To participate in Take Me Outside Day you can:

1. Get outside with your class!

2. Let Take Me Outside know that you are participating by filling in the online form.

3. Complete the TMO Challenge - they have separate ones for students, parents and teachers.

4. Share your outdoor learning experiences on social media #TakeMeOutsideDay

5. Spread the word - let students, parents, colleagues and the media know why outdoor time is essential for healthy students.



On the TMO Challenge page, they note: A connection to nature and time spent outside is invaluable to building optimal mental, emotional, social and physical health for every child and youth. Research supports the links between a child’s connection with nature and their health. Increased outdoor time can be directly connected to improved physical activity levels, higher academic achievement, decreased child injury rates, increased attention spans, positive social interaction and increased engagement at school, home and in the community.

In addition to the resources on the TMO page, here are others you may find helpful:

Natural Curiosity: Building Children's Understanding of the World Through Environmental Inquiry - a free downloadable book for Kindergarten to Grade 6

Ready Set Wonder: Nature Prompts for the Early Learning and Child Care Educators - a free downloadable book from the Back to Nature Network
(also available in French at http://www.back2nature.ca/readysetwonder-version-francais-de-attention-prets-a-lemerveillement/)

Into Nature: A guide to teaching in nearby nature - a free downloadable book with lesson ideas for students in kindergarten to grade 6 from Back to Nature Network
(also available in French at http://www.back2nature.ca/teachers-guide-into-nature-french/)

101 Nature Study Ideas

25 Mighty Girl Books about outdoor discovery

9 books that will inspire your little animal to get out of the house and into nature

7 books to inspire nature play

The Importance of Risky Play for All Students

"Bravery is learned, and like anything learned, it needs to be practiced."
                 Caroline Paul


I saw this brief video clip of Caroline Paul, former firefighter and now best-selling author, on Facebook recently and was thinking about another post I had seen about the importance of risky play for children.

(Text of this sign: 

Risk & Play: When you take a risk, your brain changes. Do you remember climbing to the top of a tree? Or swinging as fast as you could until you felt like you might fall off? These risks are more than fun - they help brains develop. Risky play combines fun and stress - turbo-charging brain development.

It can be stressful to climb to the top of the tower if you haven't done it before but learning to handle that stress will make you more resilient under future pressures.

Risky play develops your executive function, the parts of your brain in charge of decision-making. Deciding whether or not to jump off something tests the limits of your judgement. The only way to learn to make good decisions is by practicing making decisions.

Bumps and scares are the vivid feedback you need to improve your judgement. Thankfully, you'll get better and your brain will have developed from the experience).

Risky play does not mean that we are putting children in danger. It means we are allowing them to push themselves and feel a bit of fear, and then overcome that fear. To climb, to jump, to hang upside down, to run so fast it feels like you might fall over, to swing so high that it feels like you just might go right over the top of the swing set!

Do we socialize our girls to avoid risk while encouraging boys to engage in risky play? What lessons are our students taking from our messages around risky play?

The full video of Caroline's TED Talk can be viewed below:

As educators, we need to be mindful - do we provide opportunities for girls and boys to engage in risky, physical play?  We want to ensure that all students will be resilient, confident risk-takers.

For more research on this topic, check out these online books and articles:

The Overprotected Kid - The Atlantic

No Fear - Growing up in a risk aversive society by Tim Gill

Is it our fears that are stopping kids? - Aviva Dunsiger

Community or Cohort?

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about strategies used by instructors and participants to build community in online classrooms.  Last week, Doug Peterson and Stephen Hurley discussed this post as part of their program, This Week In Ontario Edublogs.

Their discussion was quite profound; they explored issues and ideas I hadn't considered at all and dug deep into the meaning of 'community.'  Their conversation prompted me to think more about this topic, particularly the difference between a cohort and a community.

Stephen talked about the Latin root word 'munity' in community, which is also found in immunity.  He said it means making something stronger.  'So being part of a community should make us stronger, or make our learning stronger. I researched this idea further and found this etymology of the word community:

The word community is derived from from the Latin communitas, fellowship, which, in turn, is derived from communis, or "common". 

The prefix "com" signifies "with, together, in conjunction, joint". Removing the "com" from the latin, leaves you with munis, which derives from munire, meaning "to fortify, strengthen, or defend".
AKA: Strength in numbers. 

When we talk about a learning community, then we are saying that we are learning together, with one another and this strengthens or learning.  Doug likened it to the idiom, "A rising tide lifts all boats." Usually this is in reference to the economy - a strong economy benefits individuals and businesses at all levels.  But in this context, can we say that building an online community then strengthens the learning of all participants?

These three examples from my own experience to help to explain my current thinking on building an online community versus a cohort.

The MEHRIT Centre - I recently finished an 18 month series of online courses to become a Self-Regulation Facilitator with The MEHRIT Centre. There are several reasons I would characterize this group as a learning community. We were together for a long period of time, which allowed us to get to know one another, building trusting relationships and sharing our learning.  But what really brought us together as a community is our shared passion for self-regulation and our beliefs about how important self-reg is for children and adults. Through a Facebook group, we continue to learn and share with one another long after the courses have been completed.

Western University EdD Program - I also recently completed my doctorate online through Western University, which is where I did my B.Ed (in person) so many years ago. The participants in this group also became a close community, and even though we have finished our studies, we stay in touch through social media.  In this group, we got to know one another through small group assignments using Skype, Blackboard Collaborate and Google Docs as well as through online discussions. We used our Facebook group to support one another when the going got tough - when the assignment requirements seemed too much, or when the feedback was too harsh or inconsistent. When someone was feeling stressed and ready to throw in the towel, the Facebook group was there for support and encouragement. At the end of the course, several people posted that they had considered quitting but the group helped them make it to the finish line. We were definitely stronger together.

Intermediate ABQ - I have participated in online AQ and ABQ courses, both as a participant and as an instructor. As a consultant, my position at our school board was posted every four years and I had to reapply and re-interview for my job. The first time I had to reapply, my superintendent suggested that I take my Intermediate ABQ so that I would be eligible to take the Principal's Course. I did not have any intention of becoming a principal, and if I returned to the classroom, I certainly did not want to teach intermediate.  I was the Teacher Consultant for Kindergarten and Primary Programs, and that was my passion. Nevertheless, I signed up for an Intermediate ABQ in Family Studies. I completed the course, but as Stephen said, it was just about getting the work done and finishing the course.  I had no passion for this topic, and no shared interest to sustain with other participants once the course was finished.

In this instance, I was part of the Intermediate Family Studies ABQ Cohort but not part of a learning community. It is possible that there were others in the course who were passionate, who may have formed a community that continued on beyond the course. Perhaps communities and cohorts can co-exist within the same group of participants.

Thanks for pushing my thinking on this topic, Doug and Stephen.  I can't wait to discuss this with others at #BIT2018 this November in Niagara Falls.  See you there!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is a day for giving thanks and I have so much to be thankful for - friends, family, good health, a roof over my head and food to eat.  I am thankful for everyone who engaged in learning with me through conversations, be they in person or online.

For those of you who are celebrating today, Happy Thanksgiving.

And, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without WKRP.  This is one of my favourite comedy bits ever.  I'm thankful for laughter!!!!!!

(A longer version is on Facebook but I couldn't figure out how to save the video and embed it here.)

https://www.facebook.com/bill.meck.1/videos/1213400069281/

And for something a bit more recent, there's always Joey's Thanksgiving pants:

Online Learning Communities

There are many advantages to online learning and to online teaching. As an online student, I have the flexibility to engage in learning whenever and wherever I want. I have had the opportunity to learn together with people from across the globe in a range of contexts - private schools, international schools, small rural schools in Northern communities and schools in large urban centres. I have been able to learn from some of the top experts in the field from around the world.

But the sense of community and connection in online classes varies, and I've experienced this both in online classes that I've taught and online classes where I participated as a student.

Recently, I completed two long-term online classes as a student - a three year online doctoral program from Western University and the Self-Regulation Facilitators course from The MEHRIT Centre which took about 18 months. In both classes, a range of strategies helped us to build community and connections, even though we never met in person.

At the #BIT2018 conference in Niagara Falls this November, I am facilitating a Learning Spaces conversation around the topic of Building Community in Online Classrooms. I'm looking for ideas from both the perspective of the teacher and the participants about How do you build a sense of community in an online classroom?

Some strategies from my own experience:

1. Small group size. At Western, our cohort of 13 students remained together during the entire three years so it was easy to get to know one another.  At the MEHRIT Centre, when I teach the Foundations Courses, I typically have an average of 15 students. Even though the courses are only 6 weeks long, I still have time to get to know each student.

2. Online video classes. In addition to our online discussion boards, readings and assignments, our courses at Western included several video conferences each semester using Blackboard Collaborate.  Timing these was problematic, as we had students in China, Qatar, Tanzania, Alberta, and Mexico.  If the video conference was at 8 pm, then it was 3 am for the student in Tanzania and 8 am in China. But these video conferences allowed us to chat with our instructors and one another in small groups.

3. Group Work.  When I saw that we were required to do some group assignments in our courses at Western, I was hesitant.  But the group work assignments were really helpful. Even though we had to deal with time differences and technology challenges, we got to know one another.  One of our assignments was to read a section of each person's major paper, and give them feedback. My partner and I had two Skype meetings; we spent more time talking about the program and the course assignments in general than giving feedback, but that it was good to be able to have that conversation. However, not all group work assignments build community. One of our group assignments for Western had us working in a group of 7.  There were 6 questions so each of us took one question, and posted our answer on a google doc.  The last person to pick was assigned the task of editing for clarity and continuity, and then presenting our group's work to the class.  I didn't really get to know anyone in my group during that assignment.

4. Social Media. Both the Western EdD group and the MEHRIT Centre facilitators group have a Facebook page. Not everyone has joined, but those who have are able to connect informally on Facebook to share resources, ask questions and stay in touch. I also follow online colleagues on Twitter and Instagram, and share ideas there as well.

What other strategies for building an online community have you experienced, either as a student or as an instructor?

How do we build a collaborative learning community in an online environment?

Please share your ideas!  


Update:
Doug Peterson and Stephen Hurley had a very interesting conversation about this blog post on This Week In Ontario Edublogs, which you can listen to at the archives on VoicEd.ca


Their conversation prompted me to think more deeply and write another blog post on this topic.

Stuck in First Gear

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

Robert Burns

In a recent blog post, The Slow Horse Out of the Gate, Eva Thompson shared her reflections on the start of the school year.  As you may guess from her title, it's not off to the start she had hoped for despite careful planning and preparation. And it's not going as well as she remembers Septembers past. She reflects on why that may be and then decides that she must shake off September and move forward into October with positivity.

Her post brought back memories of my first year teaching a Grade 2/3 combined class.  I had been teaching kindergarten for nine years and, for a range of reasons, wanted a change.  I ended up with a new assignment at a new school. New colleagues, new community and lots of new curriculum to learn. That same fall I started my masters degree.

I spent the summer planning and as the new school year started, I felt confident and prepared.  That feeling lasted only a few days.  The Language Arts and Math lessons I had planned were not at my students' level.  I had to quickly adjust and readjust as I began to get to know my students' strengths and areas for growth.

My carefully developed classroom set up was disrupted when new desks arrived.  I had no idea they had been ordered, and while grateful for the shiny new furniture, they were significantly larger than the previous desks.  The desks took up classroom space I had already dedicated to other learning centres.

Like Eva, I had to shake off my September struggles and forge ahead into October with new desks and new long range plans.  I signed up for professional learning sessions for teaching math and writing, and found a grade 3 teaching mentor who supported me throughout that year.  I was a year of remarkable growth and learning, for the students and for me as a teacher.

What strategies have you used when rebounding from a less than satisfying start to the school year?

Note: I found Eva' blog from Doug Peterson's post: This Week In Ontario Edublogs.  Thanks Doug!

Despite seeing this image many places online, I cannot find
a citation for it. Let me know if you have one!

Self-Regulation and Play-based Learning

Enter any kindergarten classroom and you will see children engaged in different types of play – painting at the easel, sculpting play dough, splashing at the water table, playing house in the dramatic play centre.  Some children stay for long periods at one centre, while others move from place to place. The teachers circulate through the room, talking with the children and supporting their play.

Why a play-based program? Children are naturally curious and play allows them to explore, create, build, wonder and ask questions. In kindergarten, educators set up the classroom so that children are actively learning language, math, science and more through play.

How does a play-based kindergarten program help children to develop self-regulation? Just as play is a natural way for young children to learn language and math, it is a natural way for them to deal with and recover from stress.  Kindergarten educators provide many different materials and play spaces in the classroom, and allow the children to decide where they want to play and for how long. With support from the adults in the classroom, children learn which play materials help them to feel calm and which energize them.

The children at the block centre use lots of energy as they carry the blocks and move around in the zoo they have created. Their teacher knows that this will help them to be calm when it’s time to sit for lunch, as they will have released so much energy during play.

The young boy sitting quietly in the book centre is learning to self-regulate.  He has found a place in the classroom where he feels safe and calm. A recent arrival to Canada from Syria and just beginning to learn English, he isn’t ready to play just yet. 

By playing with different materials in the classroom, children learn to self-regulate.  They learn to recognize when they feel stressed and which activities will help them to feel calm. They move away from play areas that they find too loud or stressful, and choose play that meets their needs. Each student is unique, and what is calming for one student may not be calming for another student. One child may find working with play dough calming, while another child may prefer to pour sand at the sand table. With so many materials to choose from in a play-based kindergarten program, each child can find what works best for them!

(Revised -original version can be found in Self-Reg Parenting, Volume 1; Issue 3)