A Whole Child Approach: Balancing Learner Agency and Mental Health

Academic performance and mental health are inextricably linked: students who struggle to regulate their own behaviors also struggle academically. Inversely, learners display disruptive behaviors when grades drop.

This pattern begins in early years. We often observe disruptive behaviors around the time when students realize they're being compared with peers... and they're not fairing well. Self-regulation challenges that lead to expulsion further compound the issue of low academic performance; students who aren't present during instruction (for any reason) are less equipped to demonstrate mastery. We know that students who struggle with mental health usually do not receive adequate treatment making truancy inevitable. It's truly a vicious cycle that spirals into abject poverty, substance abuse, and prison.

Unsettling trends were published by the Child Mind Institute and Association for Children's Mental Health.

• Being at risk for mental health problems in first grade leads to a 5% drop in academic performance in just two years.
• Half of all mental illness occurs before the age of 14; 75% occurs by the age of 24.
• High school dropouts are 63 times more likely to be jailed than four-year college graduates.
• Over 50% of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities ages 14 and older drop out of high school - the highest drop out rate of any disability group.

We want children to be positive statistics: successful workers, managers, business owners. It follows that we must identify cracks in society (outside learning environments) and cracks in how we respond to learners with academic challenges (inside learning environments). We must work diligently and with tenacity to repair, not patch, these cracks before they become potholes - or worse, sinkholes that swallow our youth. We want to ward off disengagement from the lifelong learning process.

Consider the proposal below as a framework for reflection and action planning. You're invited to keep the conversation going by sharing the content, leaving a comment, or submitting a guest blog post.

Examine the Approach

Educators take a course in graduate school called instructional theory. During this course, I was charged with developing a personal instructional philosophy (or educational philosophy). Though generally referred to as expectations, parents have instructional philosophies as well. We all have a set of beliefs that govern how we approach and experience the task of educating others.

• Engagement. Are you hands-on and enjoy guiding students to the finish line? Do you prefer to serve as a guide on the side?
• Voice. Are you open to researching student interests to answer questions and provide supports? Do you listen and leave students to their own devices?
• Participation. Are you solely exposing learners to quality workbooks, e-books, worksheets, and activities? Do you carve out time to discuss learning expectations and outcomes?

Promote Learner Agency

Specialized instruction becomes an option only after we provide adequate instruction; this is the status quo that results in many overlooked drop-outs. Still, there's a reason students with mental health disorders are not eligible to receive the accommodations they need when there's lack of appropriate instruction. This reasoning further supports our responsibility to examine how we're approaching instruction and learning. How are we providing adequate instruction?

Does your approach limit or promote learner agency? Is there a healthy balance of student freedom and adult control that's age-appropriate? Are we considering how our approaches impact mental health?

Consider the Impact

There's value in reflecting on how we engage students. When leading activities, adjust feedback and answers to student questions with rigor in mind. We want to provide just enough support for the student to demonstrate maximum independence.

Consider a student that you know has background knowledge in long division; you know the student is capable, but she's forgotten steps to complete a long division item. Showing work - the problem solving process - for the student isn't an example of giving feedback with rigor in mind. Instead, we achieve an appropriate level of rigor through questioning... by asking guiding questions that lead the student to uncover logical next steps. Another approach that maintains rigor involves reminding the student to look at her notes on long division, where she's recording the story that helped her demonstrate mastery on previous items.

In these ways, we promote learner agency. The student feels a sense of accomplishment; she's empowered. She gets to participate in the learning process as opposed to passively watching a leader-centered approach. Meta-cognition and meta-learning take place; she's thinking about her own thinking as well as learning how she learns best.

Humanism is a school of thought that suggests students learn when their affective (feeling) and cognitive (thinking) needs are met. When giving feedback with rigor in mind, we affect learning in ways that motivate the learner. By the end of our scenario, we've improved how she feels when thinking about long division.

Teaching and re-teaching in ways that accommodate student anxiety about making mistakes and failure, faciliates stability, strengthens character, and improves relationships.

Schedule educator professional development and parental engagement training today. You're also invited to keep the conversation going by sharing the content, leaving a comment, or submitting a guest blog post.

Student Strategies for Less Stressful Testing

It is almost that time of the year when Mississippi students begin state testing. Classrooms can become very intense, because teachers have administrators on their backs... and administrators have central office staff on their backs. This pressure can cause tension between teachers and students. 

Students in high schools really have it tough because state testing solidifies graduation. Consider a four tips designed to improve assessment performance.

Review information daily. Daily review periods minimize test anxiety. Many students get nervous on day of test, because they don't feel adequately prepared. If learners review learning material on a daily basis, they will not have the added pressure of getting it all in at the last minute. Students who feel prepared on test day generally experience less anxiety and are better equipped to demonstrate skills mastery.

Clarify gaps in learning. Many teachers review testing standards with students. Teachers connect preexisting skills as they introduce new concepts. But, students are encouraged not to let a teacher proceed with the lesson if the lesson is unclear, if questions remain. Test takers regret having not asked questions for clarity in class when they get to the test and run across a familiar topic that they do not fully understand. Avoid this stressor and improve performance by asking questions and following up with more questions.

Change daily habits. Many times students want to continue to stay up late, hang out with friends, or  try to remember things without writing them down.  As students enter testing periods, transition in focus is mandatory. Their focus should be on mastering the test, on exceeding expectations. Accomplishing this goal may require a few changes in daily habits. I would always tell students that those same friends will be there after testing, if they are your true friend.

Build endurance. Often, students find themselves falling asleep during testing. Sometimes, sleepiness will over power the mind and body, and students begin marking any answer choice just to finish the test. Prepare the extended testing periods now by getting a good night's sleep. By resting the body, students build up more energy that can be leveraged to practice testing endurance over the next few weeks.

My final thoughts: I understand that testing can be stressful. Let's work on ourselves to facilitate less stressful testing.

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A very special thanks goes to
guest blogger, Darein C. Spann, Ed.S.
Darein is a public school teacher and
board director for the National Education Association.

Education Stakeholders as Lifelong Learners

This is likely not the first blog post you've read about educators as lifelong learners. The reason: there's value in viewing learning as a journey as oppose to a means to an end.

We're conditioned in some ways to study material for tests and research topics for papers. The end-goal in both instances involves achieving a passing score. Then, many move on to the next imposed challenge. The cycle lives on in those of us who go through the motions. We follow steps and engage in processes prescribed by outside entities without reflecting on meaning and value.

There are moments when educators fail to question understanding, to apply knowledge and skills in novel ways. Upon reflection, it's helpful when educators adopt the model of lifelong learning. Though we don't yet have the capacity to ameliorate our younger selves, it is possible that educators, parents, and students advance as lifelong learners.

What does this mean? The traits of a lifelong learner are numerous; providing a full list of these would take up more space and time than we have. Since education stakeholders tend to focus on identification of appropriate instructional approaches and learning strategies, let's truncate the definition of "lifelong learner". Here's my version...

A lifelong learner is one who pursues problem-based research and 

performs experimentation to assess the fitness of possible solutions 

on an ongoing basis. 

How does it look? In short, we develop processes to learn on our own. We intrinsically seek and solve problems. Four phases are encountered during this journey. Lifelong learners (in any field) tend to...

1. pursue problem-based research
2. identify possible solutions
3. examine solutions via experimentation
4. repeat this process to address a new (or old) problem

Why is it valuable? Many education stakeholders benefit when one person adopts this model of learning. Stakeholder behaviors evince curiosity. For instance, parents model curiosity when they inquire about strategies to address academic challenges and behavior setbacks during parent-teacher conferences. Also, as educators, we manifest curiosity by offering alternatives to struggling families and peers.

Our efforts are not in vain, because lasting growth ensues. Five minutes dedicated to responding to a parent or co-worker activates dormant knowledge and skills. Weeks dedicated to researching strategies for a learning disabled student lead to permanent personal and professional growth, plus undiagnosed and borderline students benefit from the new instructional outlook.

Improving confidence, easing family tensions, facilitating learning, increasing performance, and bridging the transition to more challenging environments are borne out of the intrinsic motivation to view one problem through different lenses. 

As lifelong learners, stakeholders understand that no education is ever complete. We value professional development opportunities and look beyond these to seek solutions to immediate threats to the development of more independent learners. This is the mission of my firm, Jackson Education Support.

Custom products and personalized services offered for educators, parents, and students. Specialty subjects are literacy, math, and science. Schedule a consult to discuss challenges and goals here.

Remember to Remember: Reflecting to Change

Imagine you are preparing to teach students a new skill. You do your due diligence by researching and planning a stellar lesson. You have a clear focus and engaging activities. You rehearse the lesson format and feel confident. You begin the lesson, but as time goes on students begin to lose interest and goof off. The lesson ends and students do not grasp the concepts. You are left feeling frustrated and confused. Sound familiar? 

This scenario is common across classrooms everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you are a novice teacher or a veteran, it is  incredibly difficult when instructional plans go awry. As hard as it may feel, this is precisely the time when you have to remember to remember. Put differently, reflect on the instructional plan and delivery. Intentional reflection can be transformative if done on a regular basis. Consider the following during reflection exercises, especially when lessons are not well received.

Focus on the positive. It does not matter how much experience you have. There will be many times when things go wrong. Teaching is a courageous undertaking that requires bravery. Try not to be negative with yourself or your students. Avoid negative thoughts by embracing successful moments during a lesson. Find at least one aspect of the lesson that was successful. Did you plan a great introduction? Were students engaged during a particular part of the lesson?

Don’t take it personally. It is easy to take misbehavior personally, but this is usually a symptom of something deeper. Rather than focus on student behavior, reflect on aspects of the lesson that caused disengagement.  Also, think about ways to address similar situations in the future lessons. Was the activity explained properly? Was the amount of content too overwhelming? Really pinpoint where the breakdown happened, so that you can identify effective solutions.

Ask for help. Now that you have a positive outlook and you've pinpointed areas needing improvement, ask for help. Look for resources. Brainstorm with a colleague. Bounce ideas off of mentors. Seeking help from others yields a variety of strategies to improve engagement during lessons.

How will you practice intentional reflection?

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A very special thanks goes to

guest blogger, Kandice Cole. 

Kandice is a writer, teacher, and education consultant. 

She resides in Chicago with her husband and infant daughter.

Educational Support: Shaping My Future

I am young enough to recall specific pivotal moments in life that influenced personal choices along my professional path. Yet, I am old enough to reflect on how those moments served as a springboard during my journey. 

Formal education was rocky for me in the beginning. School was not easy. I, like many children who have trouble learning, deflected by misbehaving.  I remember being labeled by teachers and other adults; my self-esteem shrank.  I vividly remember the pain these labels caused.

Fortunately, a fourth grade teacher saw past the superficial and encouraged me.  At first, I applied myself simply because I wanted to please her.  Oh, how I yearned for more positive reinforcement. I became attentive in school and soon found I no longer had a desire to misbehave.   My grades improved, and I passed to the next grade instead of being held back as others had predicted. Eventually, I embraced my mother's love of reading. I viewed books as an escape from reality. I read everything - whether age-appropriate or not - to my mother's chagrin. My mother encouraged reading by purchasing books and newsletters within her limited budget. When I was of age, I registered for a library card at local library. The more I read, the more curious I became about the world and what it had to offer.  I would - and continue to - get lost in books.  

I also received encouragement from my grandmother to do well in school.  Due to her limited 2nd grade education, she could not offer assistance with homework, but she offered support. My grandmother purchased school supplies and attended every school award ceremony. This was no small feat because my grandmother had serious health issues; it took Herculean effort for her to be present.  Later in life, I understood the value of my grandmother's support and encouragement, the value of seeing her in the audience as I accepted an academic award.  Believe me when I say this: I scanned the audience until I found her beautiful face!  Even then, I knew that disappointing her was not an option. She made sure that I had an opportunity to have what she was denied. I was motivated to strive toward her expectations.

Yet another teacher took an interest in me and went beyond the call of duty by exposing me to museums, art galleries and higher education. She would often spend Saturdays with me at Cambridge Commons and Harvard Square "teaching" in a way that many classrooms preclude.  Because of her, I experienced the classroom of life outside of my neighborhood school. This stoked the flames that had arisen from reading.  

Due to the encouragement, exposure to unfamiliar experiences, and educational support received, I developed the self-confidence needed to overcome (what I believe was) an undiagnosed learning disability. Educational support was vital to propping me up so that I could achieve successes and persevere in the face of failures. We know that failures are part of life, but students have to experience success. A record of success is the foundation which fosters the wherewithal to power through obstacles, to once again relish the sweet taste of success. 

Without educational support, my life could have been very different. For these reasons, I am so thankful for a structured educational services provider like Jackson Education Support. This firm provides the  encouragement, exposure, and academic support needed to build self-esteem and promote success among students and citizens. 

Don't let your child's natural-born flame to learn be extinguished. Contact Jackson Education Support to foster your child's life-long love of learning.

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A very special thanks goes to
guest blogger, Mrs. Pamala Feehan.
Pamala is a wife, mother, grandmother, and entrepreneur.
She has experiences as an instructor and director in academia.

Cure Unmotivated Readers

We know the benefits of reading, so let's challenge ourselves to make reading a fun experience for learners. If something is fun, adults are more likely to do it... So, why wouldn't this be true for children as well?

Though unequivocal differences exist, adults and children learn in similar ways. Both groups must experience motivation to learn. Whereas adults are more motivated by responsibility to family and career, young readers are almost entirely driven by intrinsic motivation. This refers to the "WHY" behind what we do and how we do it.

Read with purpose.

Setting explicit goals is one way to promote intrinsic motivation. Though effecting intrinsic (or individual) motivation seems a futile endeavor, research on human nature helps us create goals whereby learners choose to do the "heavy lifting". 

Bringing your child's reading goals into focus is well worth the effort. Get to know the child. Learn what drives them to take action. Keep reading to learn how...

Bring goals into focus.
Jeremy's teacher suggests that he read more often to build vocabulary and improve comprehension. Following a conversation with Jeremy, you learn he likes cars. He likes custom cars with "pimped out" add-ons, engines, and paint jobs. Your first thought is to buy a book about "pimped out" cars, and wait for his grades to improve.

However, a more effective approach involves setting explicit reading goals whereby Jeremy has input, attainment is uncertain, and short-term tasks are identified. To facilitate intrinsic motivation, these three criteria are integral:

1. Involve the student.
2. Ensure goals are not too easy and not too hard.
3. Develop a hierarchical plan with phases.

What do we know about human nature?

Learners are more likely to take ownership of a project if they have a say in how it unfolds. This first criteria is straightforward. However, we don't want to release children to their own devices without providing guidance.

Guidance with setting goals should be data-driven. That's to say, parents and educators want to examine performance data and set a goal that's neither too hard nor too easy. Human nature prompts us to avoid overly difficult and ridiculously easy tasks. The brain wants to solve a problem or resolve inconsistencies. As such, goal attainment should be probable, yet uncertain in order to achieve optimal levels of intrinsic motivation.

We're also hard-wired for immediate gratification. Since development of reading skill is a life-long process, we increase intrinsic motivation to read by emphasizing the short-term. An ideal approach leverages hierarchical goal systems to demonstrate how short-term tasks relate to a long-term goal. In this way, children visualize how puzzle pieces fit together to form the bigger picture.

How do we leverage goal-setting to make reading fun?

Jeremy's explicit reading goals as reported by the classroom teacher are to (a) build vocabulary and (b) improve comprehension. These are long-term goals. Let's transform the second goal into one that makes learning fun: improve comprehension.

First, we need input from Jeremy. What are Jeremy's ideas for building vocabulary? Depending on his age, he may have little to offer initially. Don't fret. Do research. Ask Jeremy to offer feedback on comprehension practice completed in class; observe his behavior at home for clues about activities that keep his attention.

Let's say Jeremy likes drawing or computer activities, so you challenge him to make comic strips that summarize each chapter of Cars on the Move. With this approach, Jeremy looks forward to reading about an enjoyable topic and drawing comic strips or building them online.

To recap... 

1. We involved Jeremy in developing an explicit, reading comprehension goal. 
2. Since he has the skill (but has not produced comic strips as summaries), it's reasonable to conclude attainment is uncertain. 
3. Comic strips are to be created for each chapter (rather than after reading the 24-page book), so we addressed the need for instant gratification. 

As with implementing any plan of action, remain flexible. Adjust. You may find it's better to create one comic strip frame every few pages. It may be ideal to switch from creating digital comic strips to drawing them by hand. Jeremy may suggest a different summary activity altogether.

Jackson Education Support promotes intrinsic motivation by involving students in setting challenging goals. Personalized learning plans leverage student interests to improve academic performance.

Access a more recently peer-reviewed publication on this topic here.