Whole Child Education

Virtually every study that has examined the role of the classroom teacher in the process of educating students has come to the same conclusion: an effective teacher enhances student learning more than any other aspect of schooling that can be controlled by the school.

But that doesn't mean blaming teachers for low test scores. Starting tomorrow, ASCD's Fall Conference on Teaching and Learning focuses on how schools can support teacher effectiveness in a balanced way that addresses all of the factors research indicates improve student learning. Follow the conference learning online with Conference Daily and join the conversation on Twitter through the #ascdfc11 hashtag.

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Coaching is popular these days, as evidenced by a recent article in The New Yorker (October 3, 2011) describing how a neurosurgeon decides to extend coaching into the operating room and improve his skills in unhooking a damaged thyroid from the grasp of surrounding tissue. Athletes also get coached, in just about everything. So do executives and those needing better life skills. And teachers increasingly receive coaching on structuring lessons and pacing their instruction.

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Studies show that many teachers want to work collaboratively and that they actually teach better when they do. But just cobbling together a group of teachers and calling it a "professional learning community" doesn't lead to results. So what are the elements of an effective professional learning community?

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Project-based learning (PBL) is a fantastic way to increase parent and community involvement in your school in a truly authentic way. Instead of finding lots of little strategies to engage parents, PBL provides an opportunity to use one part of your school identity, the curriculum and instruction, as the leverage to have parents present at the physical space. Here are some tips and strategies on how to use PBL to increase parental involvement.

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It isn't a new concept that parent and family engagement in children's learning is key to student success and development. But we are introducing and working with new technologies that can improve, reinforce, and support the engagement and communication. Microsoft Education in the United Kingdom offers resources to allow educators get the most from information technology investments and has worked with the Department for Children, Schools, and Families to share the stories of five schools that are using technology in innovative ways to better engage parents in their children’s education.

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Join renowned author, neurologist, and teacher Judy Willis for an exciting free webinar on strategies to increase how effectively your students can store and recall content.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011, 3:00 p.m. ET
Register now!

The key to forming new memories and storing information is the brain's practice and experience recognizing and constructing patterns. The best glue to promote the consolidation of new information into short-term memory is activation of prior knowledge. In this interactive webinar you will take a journey through the brain and learn proven Neuro-LOGICAL strategies for building patterning skills, activating prior knowledge, and more.

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It's a bright, sunny Tuesday morning, and students are entering Roosevelt Elementary school with excitement and energy. No backpacks. No luggage on wheels. Just lunch bags and handheld devices.

As they enter the renovated 75-year old building, students find places to settle in. No homerooms. No morning announcements. Everyone busily logs in to the network system using their personal devices, indicating they are present for the day, reading school announcements, and reviewing their individual schedules for the day.

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Physical structures should match school cultures and learning modalities, not the other way around. Despite what some might say, physical structures communicate a lot about the learning environment and what to expect. Just like we set up seats for the first day of school to set a tone, the building communicates a tone as well. Throughout my visits, I’ve come across many innovative buildings that really set a tone for safe school culture and innovative learning. It's not about technology and bells and whistles; it's about the layout and ways that the walls talk.

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Schools that take a whole child approach to education are conscious of the intersection between physical space and the academic, social, and emotional development of students. The learning environments we create—the physical along with school climate—can either help or hinder learning, development, teaching, and collaboration.

In this episode of the Whole Child Podcast, we look at what kind of school environments optimize the way students learn, teachers teach, and communities interact and hear from guests who are creating learning environments that facilitate the process of ensuring students are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. You'll hear from

• Bob Pearlman who shares his extensive experience and expertise working at nearly every level of the school transformation process. Extend your learning with resources on new learning environments to support 21st century learners. Download a free chapter on designing new learning environments, written by Pearlman, from the book Rethinking How Students Learn.
• Kristin Cuilla, director of new school development for New Tech Network, who describes how schools and communities are rethinking teaching and learning to create and transform learning environments where students are highly engaged.
• Luis Torres, principal of P.S. 55 in the Bronx, N.Y., and a 2011 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator, who will share how he has used nearly every part of the learning environment, from the halls and walls to the neighborhood and community partnerships, to revitalize the school, students, family, and community. Learn more about Torres' work in this interview:

   

   

What is your school doing to transform the learning environment in ways that make a difference for students' learning and development?

Project-based learning (PBL) by nature lends itself to authenticity and real-world relevancy. All well-designed projects connect learning to an authentic task, but some can really run with it. This is where project-based service learning comes in, where PBL is used to not only create authenticity, but also fulfill a community service and need.

I have a long term partnership with EagleRidge High School in Klamath Falls, Ore. PBL is becoming one of its core identities as the school moves forward. On a recent visit, teachers were collaborating to build a PBL project for a Community Studies course.

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