Tag: montessori

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What Sets Us Apart

Skye College: Lofty ambitions achieved through practical tools.

Thrive in life

At Skye College we are vision-driven, and our vision is unashamedly radical.  We aim to equip every student to thrive – not just in school, but in life.  Not just now – but in the future.  From the research, people who thrive have four things in common.  Firstly, they are deeply connected to others and are able to continually build and sustain those deep connections.  Secondly, they are equipped to reach their full potential in order to, thirdly, contribute to their world in ways they find personally meaningful.  Finally, people who thrive have healthy and productive habits that lay down the rails for a successful and resilient life.  

Research driven

At Skye College, supported by Skye Education, we have invested years in research and development.  We are equipped with a solid understanding of what works in schools, and what it takes to equip students to thrive in life.  We exclusively use approaches with a proven track record for maximizing success.  

For example:

·       We understand the skills students will need to thrive in the 21st century, and we know how to teach in the most effective way to ensure our students (all of them), not only gain these skills but maximize their own potential and develop unique talents.

·       We understand how learning works.  We know that people can make rapid progress when we align our teaching to the way the brain is wired.  We design our classrooms and Professional Development programmes accordingly – so that students and teachers can get better faster. 

·       We know that socio-emotional and academic development go hand in hand – each building the other.  We understand how to create great school cultures of psychological safety, positive social-norms, consistent adults, supportive connections, and discipline processes that restore, rather than strain, relationships.

·       We understand what sets successful teacher teams apart…  One component is the team’s beliefs about their efficacy – their perception of their shared ability to be successful.  This sense of shared efficacy is, in fact, one of the greatest predictors of student achievement discovered to date.  Luckily, we know just how to build such teams.    

The missing links that leads to implementation

The knowledge on what works is available (if complex) and yet schools have, in many cases, not benefitted fully from what we know about what works.  We believe that the “missing link” is a practical process to translates the “big ideas” of what works into granular components and behaviours than can be easily trained, practiced, implemented and monitored by busy staff of bustling schools.

At Skye College, we support our teachers to do just this by going granular.

 

We go granular by translating research-based best practice into granular techniques and practical tools.  Here is just one example of the process we follow with the various, complex and interconnected components that make for thriving schools.

Going granular – an example

We know that teacher and student expectations are a major driver of student achievement.  In short, students tend to live up to these expectations – whether high or low.  We understand this dynamic, and we know how to elevate expectations by equipping teachers with granular techniques and micro-behaviours that can be easily taught, practiced, monitored and perfected – demystifying this vital component of great teaching.  These tools include:

·       Asking interesting, rigorous, and open-ended questions (technique 4 – “art of the question”).

·       Asking all students to answer questions, whether or not they’ve raised their hand (technique 14  “cold-calling”).

·       Creating a safe classroom, where mistakes are welcomed, peers are supportive and students can take the intellectual risks necessary for growth (technique 42 – “culture of error”)

·       Planning an “exemplar” answer to a question.  Knowing what a good answer looks like will help a teacher to “stretch” student thinking and not settle for the first best, semi-correct answer.  (technique 7 – “exemplar planning”).

·       Rewarding right answers with harder work…  In other words, teachers should make it a habit to ask more of students and stretch their thinking even further (technique 22 “stretch it”).

·       Creating joyful classrooms where student motivation and engagement are maximized (technique 61 – “the joy factor”).

These are only a few of many techniques that build great expectations.  And great expectations are just one small part of the amazing classrooms that are within reach of every school who implements what works.

At Skye College we’ve taken our vision – an education to thrive – apart.  We know how it works.  We understand the intricate parts and how they fit together.  We’re ready to give our teachers the tools they need to put it back together and bring it to life, for all.  

To find out more and visit Skye College, book a tour now with the Skye College Principal. Click the button below.

Click here to book a tour
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Books that Inspire Us in the Classroom

Today we’d like to share three resources that have inspired us in our journey towards relationship-driven learning.

The first – “How to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk” has been dubbed “the parenting bible”.  First written in 1980, authors Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish have been inspiring more than one generation of parents to take a more feeling-centred and playful approach to parenting. 

Years later, Faber’s daughter, Joanna, released a follow-on book (our second recommendation) – “how to talk so little kids will listen”.  Though slightly different in their approach, both books focus on understanding and accepting feelings, and finding ways to build relationships with children.  Both books are filled with encouraging stories from parents all over the world who find better ways to get out of the house / put on shoes / eat dinner with their small people.  What we like about Joanna Faber’s book is that it focuses specifically on ages 2-7, and groups commons struggles together by chapter.  So, if you are struggling at bedtime, you can simply turn to the bedtime chapter. 

Our third recommendation provides much greater depth of understanding that, we believe, will help you better implement the suggestions in the first two books.  The incredible work by Marshall Rosenberg – “Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life” is truly life changing.

Two truths that have inspired us in our journey towards relationship-driven learning weave like a golden thread through these three works…

  1. Accept feelings and understand the needs that trigger them
  2. Create positive feelings of cooperation through playfulness and choice

 Accepting feelings and understand needs.

Many parents struggle to accept and understand their child’s negative emotions.  Our first response is often to try to get a child to stop feeling a certain way…  Bottling up emotions can be dangerous, however.  Research suggests that not acknowledging an emotion can increase its strength.  On the other hand, successfully supressing emotion can negatively impact mental and physical health.  A 2013 study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester found that people who bottled up their emotions significantly increased their chance of premature death from all causes.  Short term consequences include negative effects on blood pressure, memory and self-esteem.

Accepting and regulating emotions begin with understanding.  Emotions are not, as we commonly think, triggered by what someone else does.  Instead, emotions are triggered by our own, human needs.  Marshall Rosenberg has brought warring factions to peace through this simple yet profound principle.  His book, our third recommendation, can bring peace to your home by helping you create a safe space for feelings and needs.  To do this, follow four steps (simple, yet deceptively difficult due to the way most of us have been socialised to react when confronted with strong negative emotions.)

Steps to regulating your child’s emotions

Step 1.   Observe behaviour (e.g. yelling “No!”, hitting a sibling etc.)

Step 2.   Identify the emotion that is triggering the behaviour (Angry / annoyed / sad etc).

Step 3.   Identify the deeper human need that is being met / not being met to trigger that emotion (Need to decide for oneself / need for fun / need to feel safe etc.). 

Step 4:  Verbalise the behaviour you see, and guess the emotion and need.  You don’t need to be sure.  Simply allow the space for your child to correct / confirm your guesses and so continue the conversation.  We’ll share a link to a list of common feelings and needs at the end of this post… if you’re stumped, you might find you / your child’s need here. 

Step 5:  Make a clear request.

What does this look like in practice? Let us say you are trying to leave the house, where your child has been happily playing.  Instead of commanding, insisting, and threatening, you might say to a child who is stamping his foot and frowning: “I see your face look upset.  Are you feeling angry because you need to play / it’s important for you to play? Once you have correctly identified your child’s feelings and needs, they may be more open to hearing your own feelings and needs.  Continue the conversation, focusing on feelings and needs as they come up.  Once all feelings and needs have been heard, you can make a clear request.

It is impossible to do justice to the incredible work of Marshal Rosenberg in this post.  We highly recommend reading his book if you are interested in learning more. 

Create positive feelings of cooperation through playfulness and choice.

Adelle and Joanna Faber remind us of the simple truth… nobody likes to be told what to do, even if they know that what they are being asked to do is good for them.  Imagine coming home from work and having your spouse tell you – “Sit down.  Hang up your coat.  Eat your dinner.  Finish your food.  Don’t spill.  Brush your teeth.” 

How do you feel?  Like doing what you’re told?  Unlikely…  We all have a deep human need to decide for ourselves.  This need is real and valid.  When told what to do, we feel rebellious because our need is not being met.

Parents often have better results when they intentionally create positive feelings – helping their child to feel cooperative rather than rebellious, by meeting their need for connection and play.  Instead of trying to pin down your three-year old to put on socks, make the sock talk.  “I’m feeling so flat and empty and cold!  Oh, how I wish someone would put a nice warm foot into me…”  Most of the time, kids will be delighted to oblige.   You may also focus on playful choices.  Instead of saying “go get in the car,” you might say “how would you like to go to the car today?  Hop like a bunny?  Walk backwards?  Ride on my back?  Fly like a pterodactyl?”.  Most likely you will reach the car giggling, instead of yelling. 

We have only scratched the surface of these three wonderful books that have helped us to formalise relationship-driven learning as part of our Thriveway journey.  

We sincerely recommend them to each Skye College Parent. 

Get your copy from Takealot: 

How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish 

How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen by Joanna Faber & Julie King

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Facts or Fads… Equipping your child to thrive by doing what works

What works in education?  This question has been at the heart of an ongoing debate … until recently.  The most extensive educational research study ever undertaken presents us with clear, if complex, answers.  Over the past 15 years, Professor John Hatti and his team have investigated and ranked a myriad of influences that affect student performance at school.  His results are based on data from a staggering 240 million students (and counting) worldwide.  His findings surprised many…  Of the 150 influences he investigated, the vast majority (145) had a positive effect on learning.  Seems that almost everything done in education works.  But here is the catch – not everything works equally well.   Not by a long shot.   

Teachers who maximise their impact focus on the big ideas, the powerful strategies, those approaches that radically maximise learning and equip every child to reach their full potential.

The following is an all-too-brief summary of some of the key ideas that lie at the core of Skye College’s approach to education.  Thank you, John!

Effective teachers understand learning

Learning happens in three phases.  During surface learning, students are learning to understand single ideas, such as addition.  Over time, students move into deep learning – understanding deepens as students grasp connections among multiple ideas (for example, multiplication as repeated addition).  The end goal of learning, however, is transfer learning – the transfer of knowledge and skill to new domains.  Students have reached transfer when they apply what they know of addition and multiplication in the science class or while shopping. 

Effective teachers understand this learning process.  They know where students are at any given moment and adapt their teaching strategies accordingly. 

During surface learning, for example, the strategic use of concrete manipulatives should play an important role.  New math concepts can be effectively introduced using concrete objects like counting beads or fraction circles.  The use of concrete manipulatives should be followed by more abstract pictorial representations of these manipulatives (pictures of counting beads), preparing the child for the fully abstract world of numbers and symbols.  Maria Montessori perfected this concrete-pictorial-abstract progression in her rich manipulatives, which is why we love using Montessori equipment to help students move through surface to deep learning.

During deep learning, collaborative peer interactions become increasingly important.  Approximately 50% of math time each week should be dedicated to “learning out loud” with peers in pairs, small groups, or the whole class.  This is more than answer seeking.  Math talk includes explaining strategies, justifying answers, and comparing approaches – all skillfully facilitated by the teacher towards the end-goal of deep mathematical thinking.  The reality at many schools, however, echo the research – teachers spend up to 89% of classroom time in monologue and students seem to come to school to watch their teacher work.

During transfer learning, problem-solving teaching offers great potential.  Students draw on their knowledge and skill to collaboratively solve complex and meaningful problems, consolidating and further extending their learning as they interact with the real world.  The timing here makes all the difference….  Introducing complex problems too early in the learning cycle is not effective.  After all, it is impossible to creatively solve a problem you do not deeply understand.

"Effective teachers never value any approach over student learning."

Effective teachers are precise.

Effective teachers understand the learning cycle and use teaching strategies appropriately.  Importantly, however – they never value any approach over student learning.  Good teachers are constantly checking, in real-time, that students are making progress towards the learning goals of the lesson.  Such teacher can stop, correct, adjust, reinforce, and give timely feedback because they have their finger on the pulse of learning.  What is more, they view the results from student assessments (whether a quick verbal check for understanding or a mid-term test) as feedback on their own teaching.  They are learning teachers, always honing their craft.

Effective teachers create safety.

Great teachers create trusting learning environments.  In these classrooms, everyone’s voice is important, mistakes are opportunities to learn and learning, rather than results, are celebrated.  There is much that goes into creating a classroom culture where everyone feels safe.  One strategy is to intentionally teach students the language of respectful collaboration. 

Sentence starters are a great place to begin … 

  • “I agree with you because _____ and I’d like to build on that by _____”
  • “Would you mind explaining your thinking when you said “______” so I can follow your reasoning?”
  • “I disagree, because it seems to me ________________”

When students use the language of respectful collaboration, they hone a vital skill.  What is more, they co-create safe spaces where everyone can learn out loud.

Effective teachers equip students to drive their brains.

Remaining relevant in a future world will require your child to continue to learn, unlearn and relearn throughout their life.

Being in the driver’s seat of one’s learning requires several complex skills.  Importantly, you need the ability to think about your thinking (meta-cognition) and the self-regulatory skills to persist when things get tough.  It is equally vital that you know what to do when you are stuck. 

Effective teachers weave the development of these skills into the fabric of classroom life.  They think out loud so that students can observe and learn self-questioning. They value interesting mistakes and intentionally focus on learning to learn.  Good teachers provide feedback beyond the right or wrong answer – feedback that includes the kind of information students need to develop as life-long learners. 

Instead of “good job”, an effective teacher might say.

  • “I like how you approached that difficult passage by making a key-word outline – that’s a really helpful strategy.” Or
  • “You really developed your stamina by redoing that problem and I love how you built on your mistake.”  Or
  • “You don’t know? Well, show me what do you know…”

When teachers speak to students in this way, students develop an internal voice that will support, teach, and encourage their learning long after the teacher’s voice has faded.

"Effective teachers think out loud so that students can observe and learn self-questioning. They value interesting mistakes and intentionally focus on learning to learn."

Thrive in life.

At Skye College, we choose research-driven pedagogy because we believe in equipping every child to reach their full potential.  People who thrive have this in common…  People who thrive are also deeply connected and skilled at building strong relationships.  They are equipped to contribute to their world in ways they find personally meaningful.  People who thrive build good habits that lay down the rails for a successful and resilient life. 

Sounds like the education you wish you had?  Click here to learn more about how the Skye College Thriveway will equip your child to thrive.  Thrive today.  Thrive tomorrow.  Thrive in life. 

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Bringing the calm of a Montessori education home.

Mom and dad, we invite you to pause.  There, where you are, in the thick of parenting and life.  Pause, for a moment, to consider the miracle of your child’s developing brain.

Your child’s brain is deeply extraordinary.  Your baby was born with approximately 100 billion neurons.  As an adult, you only have about half that many. 

Your child’s brain is a learning powerhouse.  It more than doubled its volume in the first three months and connections are forming now at a rate that will remain unrivalled in later life.  Even more incredible – this is not a passive process.  Children are actively involved in their own brain development.  They seek out the social and sensorial experiences that build healthy brains.

Maria Montessori’s work was guided by this insight, which reframes everything we do in parenting and education.  Your child is profoundly capable!  Your child is building their own brain!  Your job is to shape the environment so that it supports this natural development; to facilitate the sensorial and social experiences your child needs to thrive.  Your job is simply to create a safe space for your child’s developing brain at home.  Here are some thoughts on getting started.

Nurture and touch

“Of all things, love is the most potent.” – Maria Montessori.

Nurturing touch at school and at home is vital.  The research here is unambiguous.  Children who experience loving physical touch show improved and lasting cognitive development.  Children who experience above-average affection from their mothers are less likely to be hostile, anxious, or emotionally distressed as adults.  Receiving minimal touch as a child, on the other hand, is associated with long-lasting cognitive delays and aggression.  

Yes spaces

“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” – Maria Montessori.

Your child touches things because they are driven by the deep and important need for sensorial experience.  Your child is not just messing around… they are engaging in the important work of building their brain.  To support your child, create yes-spaces around your home.  Yes-spaces are areas your child can freely explore without fear of breaking anything, getting into trouble, or hurting themselves. 

Remember to view your home from your child’s perspective.  You might be surprised at what you notice when you get down to see things as they do… One mom we know discovered a mysterious space (cave) under a cabinet where her son (pirate) had stashed all her teaspoons (treasure).    

Productive struggle

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” – Maria Montessori.

The comedian Michael McIntyre has his audience in fits when he proclaims, talking to expectant couples, that they have no idea how difficult things will become when they have kids.  “Things you don’t even consider to be things will become nearly impossible… like leaving the house.”  We’ve all been there.  We often respond by doing things for our kids and, of course, that is often appropriate.  It is important to remember, however, that your child builds their brain through productive struggle.  When you can, design some time into your schedule to allow your child to do things for themselves – even to help you out.  Their confidence and independence will soar.

Follow your child

“Follow the child, but follow the child as her leader.” – Maria Montessori.

You don’t share your child’s passion for dinosaurs / dead bugs / the dog’s tail.  We get it…  Following the child is simply about respect.  Remember that, in all these things, your child is building their future self.  Your child is unfolding their unique personality.  Allow yourself to know them and be fascinated.  Here are four simple things you can do tomorrow…

  • Observe.  Following the child requires, firstly, that we learn to observe without distraction.  Take a few minutes to simply watch your child at work and play – we guarantee that you will notice something new. 
  • Create a rich environment.  Provide opportunities to discover interests through books, experiences, and time in nature. 
  • Slow down.  Do not overschedule!  Your child does not need to be a soccer superstar AND chess whizz AND master chef AND programmer by the age of eight.  Allow your child the precious time and space to simply be. 
  • Respect.  Always respect your child’s choices and interests and, if you can, share in their joy.  Let them show you the wide and wonderful world (of sometimes icky things) they are discovering for the first time.    

Child-friendly order

“Order is one of the needs of life which, when it is satisfied, provides real happiness.” – Maria Montessori.

Order, for a child, is about more than mere tidiness.  Your child’s job is to make sense of the world.  To discover its properties, patterns and relationships.  Your child’s job is to find out where they belong.  This path of learning and development is more like that of a butterfly than that of a bullet.

When ordering spaces, remember your goals.  Ultimately, you want your child to develop competence and independence and to grow as an individual.  This means that your child’s things should be stored and displayed in ways that are inviting, encourages independence use and reflect their current development and interests.  The easiest way to achieve this is to limit the number of things your child can access at one time by rotating objects.  Providing simple categories your child can restore themselves is a good start.  Think “vehicles”, “people” and “animals” for toys.  Refrain from insisting that Silvanian Families are not “people”, but “animal-people”… you can work your way up to that.    

Let go of perfection.  Focus on kindness

“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future… Let us treat them with all the kindness which we would wish to help to develop in them.” – Maria Montessori.

Have you ever considered the paradoxical truth that the “perfect parent” would be unable to truly prepare kids for life?  Life is messy and your kid is not perfect.  Luckily, being imperfect yourself, you are the perfect person to teach them how to be imperfect – gracefully!  Think about it this way…  if you never made any mistakes your child would never see resilience in the face of failure.  If you were always right, strong and in control your child would never see you model humility or be okay with weakness.  If you never had to accept help and grace from your child, your child would not experience the joy of such a kindness. 

Mom and dad, we invite you to give yourself a break.  Be human.  Do your best and, when you fail, apologise.  There are few lessons more valuable you could teach your child!