This is the companion post to  http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/news-and-thoughts/what-i-know-as-a-former-psych-teacher-that-everyone-in-schools-can-benefit-from
inspired by the same Skillful Teaching training.

What I loved about teaching sociology is how it made previously invisible inner-workings of society visible to my students and the numerous a-ha moments that arose from that. 

If you haven't lived abroad, grown up in a non-majority culture, or been a serious student of sociology or cultural psychology, you may also find some a-ha moments.

Because of that background, and what I learned as a teacher of non-western history, African-American Studies and as a teacher at Turning Point Academy, I only beginning to approach cultural proficiency. I am still learning, but learning enough to shudder at the things I did as a well-meaning but culturally not-proficient early teacher 20 something years ago and even up to a few years ago. Maybe even now.
Here are a few things I've learned:

• Perceptions are everything. See the psych link for that and this  http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/piedmont-pd/culturally-responsive-teaching-putting-race-on-the-table

• There are many kinds of cultures. None is more right than the other. (let that sink in, teachers.)
  
• We approach making meaning about everything that happens, everything we see and hear, via the lenses of our cultures.
  
• There are different majority or dominant culture (white in the USA) and non-dominant (non-white in the USA) stages of moving toward cultural competence depending on your culture and whether or not it is the dominant one. The stages of Racial Identity (linked here) are fascinating especially if you grew up in a majority culture or if you are a student of sociology. These are similar to the Cultural Proficiency Continuum Descriptions in the published RBT training materials p. 50.
  
• Most American schools reflect a middle class cultural bias. See 2nd bullet if you don't see why this is a problem.
• Once you see, you must speak up whenever you see bias reflected in education. And in life. This is harder for some than others, but it is just like with bullying. It is the only way to improve.

Our own Ronny Reddig was named one of the Top 10 Culturally Responsive Teachers in the nation by Teaching Tolerance magazine.  Watch him work his magic here in this video.

Growth mindset Neuroplasticity/ Neurogenesis resources:

I wrote about teaching growth mindset after my the first training. This link includes the great Ron Berger Austin's butterfly lesson: a fabulous concrete example of engagement, growth mindset, etc:
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/teach-growth-mindset



Here is a psych award-winning rap that might make your student groan, but still very useful for all kids and I tell them to write a better one if they hate the song http://youtu.be/vcLNNntt6Ts

More Great resources: 
 http://inside-the-brain.com/tag/sfn/


Plenty of stuff your kids will love about neurogenesis:  http://www.radiolab.org/story/235337-how-grow-your-brain/
Speaking of children, workshop participant Katherine Bird shared this link that she says will be good for upper elementary and middle students to explain how the brain is plastic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KLPxDtMqe8

Songs about neurons- sounds childish but AP psych uses some of this: https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/songs.html
Spea
Attribution Theory and Biases

Understanding the psych term "Fundamental Attribution Error can help our students develop growth mindset, but importantly, it can also help us as teachers recognize when we might be judging a student unfairly:

All of us are biased and our intuition fails us when we try to see them (even after studying them)
Cognitive biases Resources

• Exhaustive list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases
  
• Fun Cognitive Biases Song: http://youtu.be/3RsbmjNLQkc
• 12 that prevent us from being thinking rationally (thinking skills)http://io9.com/5974468/the-most-common-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rational
  
• "58 Cognitive Biases That Screw Up Everything We Do" from Business Insider Magazine:
  

 
Implicit assumptions:
Harvard's Implicit Associations Test - student or teacher needs privacy to take this!
Make sure they know it is confidential and allow to take at home 
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html 

A few more useful terms from pscyh to help teachers teach better:

• Metacognition here's one link of how to teach metacognition via metacognitive partner talk (a Reading apprenticeship strategy Ms. Lyttle and I tried
• Effective effort
  
• Learned helplessness
  
• Teach the behaviors you want - what it looks and sounds like.

New look for this site! All pages are the same, the look is different. To navigate, click on the three horizontal lines at the top left to see the other page choices.

Updates this week include:
Today is Digital Learning Day at Piedmont. We will celebrate with our annual DigiDine Lunch but have some special surprises, including an Everyone Matters Day Challenge Selfie booth complete with IB learner profile #Iam statements for the selfies) and PiDay QR codes to a TedED video of Pi (thanks for the reminder, Mrs. Delery!) 

 Our "Celebrating Piedmont" page   http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/celebrating-piedmont  Yes, we do sit at desk sometimes (like to have deep discussions in Socratic seminar or to research with our one to one tech).  But this week we saw plenty of active STEAM-infused maker activities across the curriculum  like:

• Piedmont students creating a multimedia exhibit that won them a trip to state history day competition 
  
• Dionysus and Hera guest teaching in the sixth grade
  
• Maker Movement activities like the 7th grade science roller coaster project in action , the giant slingshot parked on our hill for egg drop day
• Active student learning in the hallways and more

Something for your students- The StudentSpace section of this website not only has info about the DLDay Selfies but also information about the items in our Media Center Makerspace  http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/studentspace

Ms. Barone's  IB self study blendspace plus notes from the NC Tech conference (courtesy of Ms. Lyttle) and news from  the NC Gifted Conference  (courtesy of Mr. Milligan, Burick, Fatzinger and Gurthie) are here   http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/piedmont-pd

 Free Readings Database: Central Text Anthology  - 

•  (sign in required) texts include informational and literary readings, film clips, podcasts, interviews, cartoons, charts, and photographs

• Meshes perfectly with IB, close reading, character ed, etc. 
  
• Pairs well with blended learning now that we have Chromebooks.
  
• Great resource for Socratic seminar discussions. 
  

 Curated by Teaching Tolerance, materials in this collection "encourage students to question common understandings, consider multiple viewpoints, analyze and critique power relationships, and act to change unfair and unequal conditions.

Use this anthology with the larger Perspectives Curriculum to "Build Literacy-Based, Anti-Bias Learning Plans in 3 EASY STEPS

• SELECT AN ESSENTIAL QUESTION
  
• SELECT A CENTRAL TEXT Browse a carefully curated collection of rigorous texts that exemplify anti-bias themes (link above) 
  
• SELECT TASKS AND STRATEGIES 

Playtime isn't just for preschoolers, teenagers need it, too  Giving students occasions to learn through play not only fosters creative thinking, problem solving, independence, and perseverance, but also addresses teenagers’ developmental needs for greater independence and ownership in their learning, opportunities for physical activity and creative expression, and the ability to demonstrate competence.

Research: Active Learning More Important than Flipping the Classroom  "Whether instructors flip their classrooms or not, the key to improving learning outcomes is to involve students actively in the learning process, constructing their own knowledge rather than just passively listening to lectures."If you're not using a model with active learning already, then the flipped classroom is certainly a viable alternative," said Tyler Kummer, one of the authors of the study, in a prepared statement. "But if you are, you're already going to be seeing the learning advantages in your course." full study at http://www.lifescied.org/

 Piedmont is  connecting Digital Learning Day to "Everyone Matters Day" by letting the students practice digital citizenship to create a positive digital footprint by participating in the  #IAM Selfie campaign. 

We will have an Everyone Matters #IAM selfie booth set up in Piedmont's cafeteria. Students who have their signed CMS photo permission slip can  take a selfie with a cutom-made or ready-made sign (example #Iam a maker!).  Thanks to Ms. Hogan Hamer, the signs are available in multiple languages!  

Ms. Gurthie  will use the selfies posted to social media that day in a collage and video for the official Everyone Matters Day on April 2nd.

This project uses social media to affirm the individual, create a positive digital footprint, and celebrate the diversity of our own community just as our Piedmont IB Community and Service students have done already for Malawi via the #Piedmontwalkfored campaign.

Students can increase their own knowledge in of the DIY offerings at Piedmont's  DIY and Pi DigiDine.  The lunch is an annual Digital Learning Day tradition at Piedmont. 

Now it its third year, this year's theme  is "Pi and DIY"  because the QR codes  posted at lunch tables and around the cafeteria will link to Pi Day and DIY maker activities from sewing to snap circuits, calligraphy to cad for 3D printing.  

Students can use their BYOT devices to lunch and learn. Interested students can take it a step further and earn patches at DIY.org for the skills they develop in our makerspace, in class or at home.

Related Posts:
Big Hero 6 and the Maker Movement

For Students:
Everyone Matters Day: http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/studentspace/celebrate-everyone-matters-day
Make Something: DIY and Passion-Based Learning: http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/studentspace/ingenuity-creativity-and-inspiration
Piedmont Makerspace offerings: http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/studentspace/category/makerspace

For Teachers:
Everyone Matters Lesson Plans:
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/teach-your-students-that-everyone-matters-lesson-plan-ideas
Introducing Maker Project to Students:http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/maker-movement-how-to-introduce-a-project-to-students
Starting a MakerSpace at Your School: http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/piedmont-pd/intro-to-makerspace