Transcript Slide 1

MINDFUL TEACHING FRAMEWORK
LEVEL 2
Clif St. Germain, Ph.D.
St. Helena Parish School
District
District Vision:
To develop a productive educational system that increases student
achievement, develops educator effectiveness, and builds public confidence.
OVERVIEW
In schools that meet teachers’ needs for
resources, professional development and
collegiality, more teachers are likely to be
caring and effective.
 These teachers are also more likely to give
students a feeling of being cared about,
promote students’ confidence in their
ability to succeed in school and show how
academic success is linked to their future
success
 Student beliefs about their ability to
succeed in school has a direct effect on
their level of academic engagement

THE PROGRESS PRINCIPLE
Knowing what to do to energize and nourish high levels of
positive engagement— and avoiding what does the
opposite— turns out to be a key to building high performing
organizations.
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People are most motivated and energized when they feel
that they have the resources to overcome obstacles and
make progress.
The negative effects of butting into obstacles and not
getting anywhere carry three times more negative weight
than making progress carries positive weight.
High priority leadership actions include: creating the
conditions that help people succeed by removing
unnecessary obstacles, supporting group development,
capacity building, and promoting helping behaviors
through competence, trust and accessibility.
Strengths are characteristics that give us an advantage.
 A highly competent superintendent with a deep commitment to learning,
raising standards, building a collaborative culture, and learning success for all
St. Helena students
 A philosophy grounded in promoting across the board capacity building for all
 A focus on classroom resources and eliminating negatives to learning
 A talented and dedicated District Leadership Team that meets monthly to
devise strategies that link leaning initiatives to implementation in schools
 A seasoned and effective secondary principal and two promising administrators
at the elementary school
 A cadre of strong master teachers and lead teachers at the school sites
 A number of partnerships that bring additional resources directly into St.
Helena classrooms including SPDG, Southeastern Louisiana University,
President’s Arts Turnaround Program and Regions Bank
 Recipient of several Grants for enriching classroom learning
 1:1 Technology footprint
 New and improved school facilities and a number of new academic programs
(i.e. Literacy Initiatives & ACT preparation classes)
 Opportunity to have a complete K-12 student population
Challenges are characteristics that, unless met, place us at a
disadvantage.
 Assimilating middle school teachers and students into the St.
Helena learning culture
 A lingering reputation for academic failure despite the facts on
the ground
 Dealing with the current political firestorm surrounding Common
Core Standards, PARC testing and changes in how teachers are
evaluated
 Helping students understand and accept the importance of
regular attendance, persistent effort and cooperative behaviors in
school
 Helping teachers embrace the challenges of professional
development and teamwork as part of their job description
 Winning over skeptics in the St. Helena community
 Making more efficient use of academic performance data to
improve classroom instruction
 Building inter-school alliances
MULTIPLIER EFFECT
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It provides a context for examining and personalizing
best practices in teaching
It illustrates a cyclical teaching progression that
begins with lower levels of cognitive complexity and moves
to higher levels of cognitive complexity
It balances taking in information with guided
practice, assessment and creative applications of
new learning
It fosters teacher-to-teacher consistency regarding the
major components of a research-based teaching process- A
Multiplier Effect.
.
Mindful Teaching is a capacity building
framework designed to foster the sharing of
specific knowledge and skills embedded in
the essentials of quality teaching.
MOTION LEADERSHIP
In St. Helena District Schools a
key leadership driver is to
promote conditions for learning in
every classroom so as to create a
“systemic” multiplier effect with
regard to student academic gains.
GETTING TO A
COLLABORATIVE CULTURE
Our goal is to create a
differentiated approach for
helping novice, capable and
accomplished teacher-learners
feel safe and supported as they
work together to incorporate and
refine the use of “best practice”
instructional strategies in St.
Helena Schools.
Tri-Level Approach to
Professional
Development
Discussion Topic
TODAY WE WILL:
 Review
the connection between Bloom’s
Taxonomy and the 4 Phases of Mindful
Teaching
 Review elements of high engagement
learning
 Explore resources for infusing greater levels
of student engagement thru the use of
technology
 Invite suggestions as to how returning
teachers can help new teachers with the
implementation of Mindful Teaching in
classrooms
THE MINDFUL TEACHING
FRAMEWORK
Mindful Teaching is a capacity building
framework designed to foster the sharing of
specific knowledge and skills embedded in
the essentials of quality teaching.
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


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It provides a context for examining and personalizing best
practices in teaching (collaborative capacity building tool)
It emphasizes the importance of high engagement learning
It illustrates a teaching progression that begins with lower
levels of cognitive complexity and moves to higher levels of
cognitive complexity
It balances taking in information, guided practice and
creative applications of new learning
It fosters teacher-to-teacher consistency regarding the
major components of a research-based teaching process.
Level 2
.
MINDFUL
TEACHING
PRACTICES
Discretionary
Autonomy
.
Activity
How are Bloom’s Taxonomy
and the Mindful Teaching
Progression Similar?
MINDFUL TEACHING© THINKING
PROGRESSION
Using your Mindful Teaching
Progression PlacematHow could you organize the 4
Phases to better suit your
current teaching practices?
Activity
.
Promoting
Higher levels of
Student
Engagement
WHAT DOES HIGH STUDENT
ENGAGEMENT LOOK LIKE?
Focused Attention
 Active Participation
 Task Persistence
 Completing Work
 Enthusiasm and Cooperation
 Interest and Willingness to ask Questions
 Seeking Assistance with Difficult Tasks
 Pride in Success
 Self-Directed Learning
 Using Meta-Cognitive Learning
 Learning Buzz

40 Ways to Leave a Lesson
Handout Activity–
Survey the text of the article
with a colleague and note
promising engagement
strategies.
Greater Infusion of
Technology and the
Arts in Teaching
.
Activity
High School: By department,
using your 50 ways to
Integrate Technology
handout- explore promising
sites and prepare to report
back to the larger group.
Elementary School: In grade
level groups review “A School
Revitalized Through the Arts
and discuss plans for next
year.
Closing Thoughts:
Turn to pages 21-22 in Teaching Up for a closing discussion
In Readiness the
instructional
intention is …
To create a supportive learning
climate that prepares learners
to initiate new learning; to
make new learning interesting
and doable ; to provide a
context that encourages
students to risk new learning
Basics: discussion with
feedback/agenda use and word
walls.
In Delivery the
instructional
intention is…
To explain important ideas in
ways that learners can begin to
make sense of them, think
about them, remember them
and prepare to use them in
ways that lead to deeper
understanding. Basics: direct
teach with probing and
affirming and technology use
for illustrations.
In Performance the
instructional
intention is…
To provide opportunities for
learners to apply new learning
in ways that deepen
understanding, invite problem
solving and demonstration of
knowledge and skill. Basics:
guided practice, flexible groups,
pair-share /formative
assessments with feedback.
In Transfer the
instruction
intention is…
•Readiness is the introductory phase of
the learning process… Readiness provides
the structure for students to initiate
learning?
•Delivery is the information gathering
phase of the learning process. Delivery is
the information exchange segment of the
learning process.
•Performance is the application phase of
the learning process. Performance is
practice “doing it right.”
•Transfer is the integration phase of the
learning process. Transfer provides
evidence that students know and can use
new learning as a foundation for future
learning?
Which classroom practices
make the biggest difference
in student learning?
•Reinforcing effort and providing
personal recognition
•Setting objectives and providing
feedback
•Using advance and graphic
illustrations
•Identifying similarities and differences
•Probing with questions, using cues
•Summarizing and providing feedback
•Cooperative learning and group work
•Meaningful practice with feedback
•Testing new ideas
What can individual
teachers do to help each
other teach more
mindfully?
•In cluster meetings share craft
knowledge about what works (and
resources you use) in your
classroom
•Include management strategies
•Agree to serve as a sounding board
for new ideas from other teachers
•Invite other teachers to visit your
classroom