Planting the seed for future generations:
  • About Kylie Taig
    • Contact details
  • Ditch the phone
  • Awards
    • Microsoft Innovative Teacher >
      • Asia Pacific Regional Innovative Education Forum - Poster Development
      • Partners in Learning Institute 2011 >
        • Partners in Learning Application
    • 2013 Blackboard Catalyst Award
  • eLearning in the Classroom
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    • Web 2.0 ideas!
    • Interesting Publications
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      • Our journey with iPads
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  • Conference Resources
    • Expanding Learning Horizons 2010
    • Expanding Learning Horizons 2009
    • MAV Conference 2009
    • ATiEC 2009
    • TeachMeet Melbourne
    • Victorian English Teachers Association - Mobile Learning
    • Differentiating with the aid of Technology >
      • Differentiation Tools
    • VITTA 2013 >
      • Today's Learners - Our digital journey
      • Teaching Teachers - Promoting effective Professional Development
      • New Learning: New Spaces
    • Blackboard Leadership Breakfast
    • IPSHA - Today's Learners - Our Digital Life
  • Reflections
    • Professional Reflection >
      • Know students and how they learn:
      • Know the content and how to teach it:
      • Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning:
      • Create and maintain safe, and supportive learning environments: ​
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    • My Journey - Microsoft HQ
    • ISTE 2012
    • Blackboard World 2012
    • Positive Education

A compliment!

16/5/2013

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Today's feel good activity was to view the Street Compliments YouTube video produced by one of my favourite groups Soul Pancake.  My Year 7s students were mesmerised while the characters gave their all and told their friends/Mothers/Fathers how they really felt about them.  At the conclusion of the clip the students clapped and I launched into our next task - our Bullying assignment - a report outcome - a marked task with a set due date.  This was until one of my students started waving his hands around asking "Well aren't we going to do that?"  "Um" I replied having not really thought it through... "Sure!"  We quickly grabbed a glue stick to act as a microphone and it was decided that my cupped hands would make perfect earphones!  A number of students chose to come to the front of the class and tell their classmates how they felt about them - "Thanks for making me laugh", "You are a great friend", "You helped me when I needed it most"... I even got a go - "Thanks for being a great teacher and always fixing out laptops so we don't have to visit ICT!".  What a magical, unplanned lesson that left us all with warm fuzzies in the pit of our stomachs!
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Some positive words - from the magic mushroom!

16/5/2013

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I have a magic mushroom!  Inside my magic mushroom are words of encouragement - 'You are loved', 'The world would not be the same without you' etc.  Last Friday I let my students choose a note and they were instructed to keep it folded until they arrived home later that night.

The idea was quick and simple and the kids loved 'choosing' their note from the magic mushroom!  I never thought the impact would be so wide!  Some students emailed me later that night thanking me for the kind words, others told me that they had given their note to a parent or sibling.  The biggest surprise was the number of parents that found out about the activity - obviously it was a dinner table discussion! I received many emails from parents and just this morning I was stopped by a parent as I came in to school - thanking me for the small but significant gesture.
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The Act of Kindness...

9/5/2013

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Last week I set my Year 7 Students the task of undertaking a Random Act of Kindness.  I was very excited to hear about their adventures and I was interested to read their reflections on the activity.  The 'act's varied from picking up rubbish to walking a neighbours dog.  Some students gave up their seats on the tram and others did jobs around the house without being asked - like unpacking the dishwasher.  One student missed a party to fill in for a basketball team that was short and another student even found and returned a lost bag that contained keys, a wallet and some sporting equipment.  

Most students reported that completing a Random Act of Kindness made them feel 'good' and 'happy' and many said they would definitely do it again!

Tonight's homework is to say something nice on social media!  At the moment we seem to be in a ditch of negativity so together as a group the students decided to do something nice for each other and avoid the negative comments!
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Success!!

9/5/2013

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Today I went back to the staff room to see how many people had taken a FREE Compliment.  I was surprised and delighted to find that there was only one compliment left - An even nicer surprise was the THANK-YOU message on the top of the paper!  I think I may have to offer some FREE smiles next...  I also love these Take What You Need sayings!  
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My own Random Act of Kindness...

4/5/2013

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A little while a go I stumbled across these FREE Positive Thoughts and FREE Compliments posters (thanks so much for sharing Amanda) and today I finally had the opportunity to print them and post them around my school.  I feel a little like a kid in a candy store waiting to see if anyone will take the Thoughts or Compliments...  To get people started I gave out a few - so the posters looked used!
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Slight diversion from the task - Random Act of Kindness at work!

3/5/2013

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Today I set my Year 7 Health Students a special task - a Random Act of Kindness (RAOK).  This task fitted in nicely with our Bullying Unit as I have been asking the students some challenging questions about why they don't stand up to bullies and why they don't speak to someone if they are being bullied.

They have a week to complete the task and I have provided them with some examples:

http://inspiremykids.com/2011/random-acts-of-kindness-a-little-act-can-go-a-long-way/    
http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/   
http://loveistheword.org/101-random-acts-of-kindness/
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Once they have completed the task I have ask them to reflect on the following:

1.  What was your Random Act of Kindness?  Explain the event and the people who took place in the activity?

2.  Describe the reactions of the people involved in your event.

3.  How did you feel after carrying out your Random Act of Kindness?

I look forward to sharing their RAOK with you!
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The Beginning - P for Positive Emotion

27/4/2013

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Today I spent a glorious two hours working on my Positive Ed task.  My email’s mounted, I was vague when my husband called to check in on how my day was going and I gave the Staff who visited my office quick (but efficient) responses to their questions – all far from my normal in-depth chatter!  BUT at the end of the two hours I felt that I had achieved a lot. 

Recently I have begun using the App/Program EverNote to store notes from meetings, to share information with students and staff and to keep a record of all of the cool ideas I find while surfing the net!  It therefore made sense to start an EverNote Notebook to keep a record of all of my ideas and notes while in the initial collection phase of my PERMA task.  I have found the web clipper to be a savior – one click and the information is sent to the a specified folder for later reference.

Now back to the task:

Today’s challenge was to identify exactly what Positive Emotion, the P – in PERMA was and to gather as many classroom ideas which promote Positive Emotion as possible.

Initially it was hard not to get caught up in the amazing whirl-wind of the Positive Emotion Pinterest Pages.  Here are just a few of my favourites:

Teaching: Positive Education - http://pinterest.com/kindercoaching/teaching-positive-education/

Positive Education - http://pinterest.com/scienceofhappy/positive-education/

Emotional well-being - http://pinterest.com/petersla1/emotional-wellbeing/

Before I share some of the many ideas I have discovered I feel I should start with a definition.
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Positive Emotion - This element examines how people optimally experience, predict, and savour the positive feelings and emotions that are part of normal and healthy living and human functioning (e.g. peace, gratitude, inspiration, hope, curiosity etc).  Adapted from Reach Out - My Well-being, My Classroom.
So why is this important in education??  

Rather than try and paraphrase an explanation I feel that this website entitled Positive Psychology pretty much sums it up – and the bonus is it comes from Melbourne!!  
Positive emotions have an impact that goes far beyond bringing a smile to our faces. Feeling good helps us to perform better at work and study; it boosts our physical health; it strengthens our relationships; and it inspires us to be creative, take chances, and look to the future with optimism and hope. Feeling good is contagious. Seeing smiles makes us want to smile. Hearing laughter makes us feel like laughing. And when we share our good feelings with others, they appreciate and enjoy our company.

We have all experienced highs and lows in life, but we are doing ourselves harm when we dwell on the lows. If we look back on the past with pain and regret, we will become depressed. If we think of the future and worry about danger and risk, we become anxious and pessimistic. So it is incredibly important to recognise the positive emotions we feel, so that we are able to enjoy the present without worry and regret.

I could go on and on forever and fill my entire site with Positive Emotion ideas but again I will just list a few of my favourites…

Cheer up chicks –

http://sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com.au/search/label/webkinz

The Sid Shuffle - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uMuJxd2Gpxo#!

Classroom Lottery -

http://simply2ndresources.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/project-of-day-inspired-by-pinterest.html

Classroom Cheers –

http://thefairytaleofafirstgradeteacher.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/classroom-cheers.html

The completion of this small section of my task was two fold. 

1.  I had gathered a number of classroom ideas that I think could benefit many of the teachers at my school and

2.  The personal enjoyment and satisfaction that I gained from reading other people’s positive journeys gave me a sense of purpose and a renewed enthusiasm for my school, my students and indeed the world itself!

And finally...  This one really made me smile:  http://pinterest.com/osubuckeyegirl/for-the-love-of-teaching/     

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My Proposal:

28/3/2013

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1.    What you intend to do:

A classroom is like a student’s second home!  It is where they develop the skills which will allow them to strive in both social, behavioral and academic contexts now and in the future.  With this in mind it is important that teachers have the skills and knowledge in order to support students to reach their full potential.  Learning environments must be positive and challenging, yet safe places where mistakes are regarded as normal, laughter is frequent, and people focus naturally on strengths in themselves and in others.  In order to support teachers in creating a classroom, which reflects the PERMA model, I intend to create a resource (paper and digital format) for teachers called ‘Positive Boosters'.  This resource will contain simple ideas, tasks, tips and resources to help promote positive education within the classroom.  It is hoped that the contents of the book will be used across all year levels and in a range of disciplines.  The digital format will contain ready-made worksheets, posters and media resources that teachers can easily print (or show) and use instantly with their class.   

2.    How your initiative reflects the PERMA model:

The book ‘Positive Boosters’ will be developed around the PERMA Model and contain sections which focus on the core principles of Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Achievement.

3.    Timeline for your proposal:

It is hoped that this task will be completed by the start of Term 4, 2013 so that teachers will be able to consider using some of the material with their classes in 2014.

4.    Who will be involved:

All ideas and tasks will be road tested with students from across the school.  Consultation with various teachers will be sought along the way.  Year 7 KTG will be asked to participate in a number of the activities and will be asked to give feedback on the tasks.
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The Task:

28/2/2013

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In 2012 as a senior leader at Carey Baptist Grammar School I attended a number of professional development sessions facilitated by Associate Professor Lea Water’s.  Lea is one of Australia’s leading academics in the area of Positive Psychology in educational and management settings.   She is a registered psychologist and holds a PHD in Organisational Psychology and is the Director of the Masters in School Leadership program at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne.

Her sessions with the senior Staff covered a wide variety of open-ended topics and she challenged the staff and indeed myself to think about ways in which you can lead in a more positive, life giving way.  She spoke about leadership being a process of influencing people and cultivating organizations so that personal, team and organizational objectives are achieved.

Lea also introduced us to Professor Martin Seligman’s PERMA Model (Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment)

According to Seligman PERMA makes up five important building blocks of well-being and happiness:

            Positive emotions – feeling good

            Engagement – being completely absorbed in activities

            Relationships – being authentically connected to others

            Meaning – purposeful existence

            Achievement – a sense of accomplishment and success
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Each of these elements is essential to our well-being and satisfaction with life. Together, they form the solid foundation upon which we can build a happy and flourishing life.

Each of these elements will be analyzed in depth in a later entry.

At the end of the 30 hours of professional development our Principal Philip Grutzner set the senior leaders a homework task!  The task is to share our training is a “useful way, thus supporting our commitment to successfully infusing a positive education culture at Carey”.

By the end of this year we will need to:-

1.    Outline an initiative that each of us led in our school section which involved Positive Education and in particular one or more aspects of the PERMA model.

2.    Provide a photograph of an example of positive education at work in our school section.

3.    Provide a story of an example of positive education at work in our school section.

At the end of Term 1 we were required to submit a proposal outlining what we intended to do, how the initiative reflects the PERMA model, the timeline for the activity and who will be involved.  The next post will outline my proposal.
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