Wednesday 27 February 2019

The Journey Towards Resilience

The Journey Towards Resilience
by, Kate Henkel, Instructional Coach


Resilience is a word we hear more and more often in today’s society. Merriam-Webster’s
dictionary defines resilience as tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or
change” (2019).
In an ever-changing and demanding 21st century, ensuring children have the capacity for
resilience is absolutely essential. I recently attended a Neufeld Institute Conference titled
Resilience, Relationship and Recovery - Towards Flourishing Children and Youth where
the concept of resilience was explored through the lens of Dr. Gordon Neufeld.
Neufeld is the founder of the Neufeld Institute, and is a leader in child developmental
psychology. He questions the societal trend which categorizes resilience as a
stress-based response based on performance rather than optimal functioning. In other
words, we commonly assess how resilient someone is based on whether they are able to
perform under stressful conditions. Neufeld asks us to consider a different construct of
resilience whereby an individual is able to reach his or her optimal potential as opposed
to simply performing or going through the motions of living.
Relationships Matter - Strong Alpha Adults are essential in the lives of youth and children.
The central component to Neufeld’s theory of resilience is the importance of a strong alpha
adult in every child’s life in order to serve as a compass point (Neufeld, 2018); providing
unconditional love, support and guidance at every step. One of Dr. Neufeld’s greatest fears
is that increasingly, children are taking their behavioural cues from interactions with peers,
rather than from adults who, by our very nature as humans, are meant to support, and
guide children as they progress through the developmental stages. Neufeld speaks to the
importance of children being able to work through their feelings in a supportive and safe
environment in order to develop to their full potential. For this to happen the following 3
basic conditions must be present in a child’s life:
playfulness - opportunities to escape and unwind such as music, art and games
restfulness - moments of peace and solitude in a quiet, safe place such as a natural area in
a playground or a quiet reading corner
feelingfulness (Neufeld, 2018) - opportunities which allow students to connect with their
feelings such as sharing circles, and other safe spaces with trusted adults for showing and
sharing feelings
So, what does all of  this mean for educators and how can Neufeld’s theory inform our
practice?  
It’s no secret that educators are on the front lines as we continue to lead our youth into the
21st century. There is an enormous responsibility to ensure that we prepare our students to
be lifelong learners, and contributing members of society. This sounds daunting, but as
educators, we are naturally caring individuals. We are well positioned to support students on
their journey towards resilience which will create a strong foundation for them to build future
success.
What we have to do is be mindful of the influence we have in shaping a child’s journey
towards resilience, and design learning environments which foster the development of
strong relationships with our students. Some simple strategies to consider include:

  • Greeting students at the door to your room prior to the beginning of every class
  • Taking the time to engage with all students about important events in their lives and following up from previous conversations. “How was your game/test/interview?”
  • Sharing/Talking Circles
  • Inviting parents and grandparents into the classroom
  • Maintaining ongoing communication with parents and guardians via phone calls and email
  • Leading and/or attending school-based extra-curricular activities
Remember that as trusted educators, we are in a position where the relationships we
build with students, and the opportunities we create for playfulness, restfulness and
feelingfulness will have a significant impact in a child’s ability to be resilient.


References
Neufeld, G. (2018).: Proceedings from A Neufeld Institute Conference: Resilience,
Recovery and Relationship: Towards Flourishing Children and Youth. MB,
Winnipeg.
Resilience. (2019). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary online. Retrieved from


Tuesday 12 February 2019

Visualization and Spatial Processing in Mathematics

Visualization and Spatial Processing in Mathematics
~Geri Lorway, Thinking101
Written by Darla Milford
~Instructional Coach~


‘Do You See It?’
These were the first words asked of the Grade 3 students at Spitzee Elementary by Math Guru
Geri Lorway...and it was a phrase that was repeated intentionally over the next 2 days as we
watched Geri engage in spatial processing, vocabulary development, and rich mathematical
thinking with students.


Visual Spatial Processing is the ability to tell where things are in space and by ‘space’ I mean seeing
objects, whether it is puzzle pieces, dot configurations, or body parts, in relation to the world around
you.  Ones’ early proficiency in visual spatial reasoning is an indicator of success in not only
numeracy but literacy.


We were introduced to the idea of a ‘Quick Draw,’ a dialogue-rich, visualization activity that was
created by Dr. Grayson H. Wheatley, a math researcher of nearly 40 years who has done research
on the development of spatial reasoning in children.  The link to his website is below.


Using this activity, students visualized key geometric elements in the given shape by seeing it 3 times:
  1. seeing the geometric image once and drawing what they had seen
  2. seeing the image again and adding to or reorienting their thinking
  3. finally being presented with the image to see how their own drawing compared to
  4. the original image



This was the image used with the students.


Geri then moved on to creating a vocabulary list with the students that explained the image they
had just seen using mathematical language.  Through rich discourse and open-ended questioning,
students were able to clarify and extend their thinking to make new meaning of the shape they had
seen.

In mathematics language is key to understanding and being intentional in using this math vocabulary
while speaking about math and listening to one another, will help develop our thinking.

This was just one of many activities used during our 2-day Math Professional Development with
Geri Lorway.  If you visit her website Thinking 101 you will see that Geri believes in the power of
spatial reasoning.  

According to Geri, ‘Spatial reasoning is the reasoning we use to learn, anything!’  

If you’re interested in learning about other spatial reasoning activities like using area models in
multiplication or using dot arrangements to demonstrate subitizing and visualization,
visit Thinking 101 or talk to your Instructional Coach.