Developmental Designs approach

Seek Wise People

by Ann Larson Ericson

Teaching can be an isolating profession. Some days our only adult contact may be the teacher we pass in the hall as we’re rushing to the restroom between classes. I can still vividly recall my first year of teaching 30 years ago and how lonely I felt. I rarely interacted with other teachers at school. I went home after school to roommates who worked at banks and hospitals and law offices, and they had no concept of what my days were like. I frequently found myself overwhelmed and unsure how to approach challenging students or challenging lessons, and I didn’t know where to turn. It was hard, and I drove home many days in tears wondering if I had chosen the right profession. What I needed was a wise person in my life, but I didn’t know that I needed to seek that person out.

The Difference a Word Can Make

by Edna Attias

It never fails to amaze me how some words can be taken so literally by middle school kids. Yet, as a teacher, I don’t always think of capitalizing on it. Each year, when I start a new advisory I wonder how am I going to get my students to bond and connect with one another. How am I going to build a community in which they learn to care about each other rather than a fragmented group of individuals who end up bickering and then paying lip service during advisory? I believe cultivating a community is essential to meeting my students’ needs for productive relationships. My hope is that they will be able to work together across genders, race, and socioeconomic backgrounds without the need for cliques and bullies, and that they will come to accept each other without categorizing or making judgments. In other words, they become like members of a family.

With-it-ness

With-it-ness
by Ann Larson Ericson

 

How with-it are you? What do you see happening in your classroom, in the halls, and on bus duty? Are you a teacher who notices everything? Development Designs’ philosophy says that we can never not notice things. We always have to be aware of the kids in our room and all the overt, as well as covert, behaviors that are going on. It can be exhausting, but what a difference it makes in your classroom when you’re with-it and your kids know you’re with-it.

Raindrops and Torn Flesh

Ann Larson Ericson

What power we educators wield in the words we choose and how we choose to deliver those words. Our words, tone, and body language have a profound positive or negative influence on our students. Developmental Designs names seven “raindrops” in teacher language—ways of speaking to our students that we try to avoid. These raindrops are guilt, manipulation, voice-overs, verbosity, excessive praise, blaming, and sarcasm. When we see ourselves using this language, we are open to working on our personal raindrops—except for one: sarcasm.

The Gift of Reflection

By Scott Tyink

For my March birthday, I asked my son to give me the gift of time—time doing something together. We both enjoy running, so he signed us up for an 8K race in his university town. I was happy for the gift.

We had been trying to do this race for the entire four years he attended, but something always seemed to get in the way. We ran side by side, weaving in and out of the mostly college runners. We hadn’t intended on it being a way to close out his college career, but we naturally fell into talking about his tenure. There was no arranged agenda and no assigned questions—just a dad and his son having a moment.

We talked about the good friends he made and how he might keep the relationships going even though they would now be hundreds of miles apart. We discussed his choice to attend that university and why it was a good one. We discussed what he learned from school, both socially and academically. And of course we talked about the fun he had: life in the dorms, going to football games, and weekend trips. 

Ending The Year with a Growth Mindset

 

by Anne Ericson

Every now and then, a word starts popping up everywhere. Mindset is that word for me these days. Mindset was the main topic of a lively discussion in my neighborhood book club. Mindset is the focus of my school book-study group, dinnertime conversations, and countless faculty lunchroom discussions, and readers of my previous blog indicated that the topic was on their minds. So why do mindsets resonate with so many people both in and out of schools right now? Maybe it’s because many of us struggle with maintaining a growth mindset, whether we’re parenting, teaching, or interacting with colleagues. Maybe it’s because as educators or parents we inherently want to believe in the space of possibility for the growth of our kids. Maybe it’s because the end of the school year can be exhausting, and we find that maintaining that space of possibility for growth is getting harder. How do we keep our minds focused on growth in our students and ourselves when we get tired or discouraged?

As I near the end of another school year, I find myself reflecting on the kids at my school. I think about students such as Aaron who blurts, Seth who shuts down, and Tasha who wanders and distracts. I find myself slipping into a fixed mindset with these students and thinking, “It’s May and that kid will never . . .” or “I can’t believe she’s still . . .” But then I think about the actual, if unsteady, growth they have had this year.
Aaron raises his hand more often. Seth grabs his lab materials and gets started on the latest experiment. Tasha stays focused and engaged for the whole class period. These things are happening, and that means my students are growing! Growth mindset doesn’t tell us that our students will be perfect. What growth mindset tells us is that they are learning and improving. It’s so important to remember growth when Aaron blurts again—he’s not perfect, but this time he caught himself and quickly raised his hand. A colleague shared a note a student gave her that said, “Even though we’ve had our ups and downs, you’re always there for me and never give up on me.” This boy felt the impact of his teacher believing in him and pushing him, an affirmation of a growth mindset and its positive consequences.

Just like our students, teachers aren’t perfect either. We can slip back into fixed mindsets, especially at the end of the year when we’re tired, our students’ standardized test scores aren’t what we had hoped, or we’re feeling overwhelmed. However, now is the time we need to dig deep and look at the good things happening in our schools.

We might think about some of the following: What changes have we seen that tell us our students are ready to move to the next grade? What classroom routines that we had to lead in September are now led by students? Let’s take a minute to talk with a colleague about changes we’ve seen in our students. Let’s jot down a few positive changes we’ve seen in our most challenging students this year. Let’s make sure our students know that we’ve noticed those changes and that we see their growth—it might encourage faith in their own growth mindsets.

And, as we investigate our students, let’s take a minute to look at our own growth this year. What are we better at now than we were in September? Let’s find a buddy teacher and share how we’ve seen each other grow this year. Take a minute to praise each other and ourselves for all our hard work and effort.

Please share some of your ideas on how you keep yourself focused on growth mindset in these final weeks of the school year. And for another time, let’s think about some of our most challenging students and how “our village” works for them as they struggle from one year to the next.

If you enjoyed this reading you should check out
"Wrap Activities Sprout Surprises" by Scott Tyink

 Additional Resource; Mindset Works

 

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About Ann Larson Ericson 
For more than nine years, I've been using the Developmental Designs approach in my school. I am currently the 7–12 Instructional Coach at Community of Peace Academy, a public charter school on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota.  Before starting my new position, I taught high school chemistry and physical science at Community of Peace Academy. Since 2011 I've spent my summers as a Developmental Designs facilitator of professional development. Previously, I've taught science at urban and suburban schools, served as a director of gifted and talented education in a rural Wisconsin school district, and taught English in Shanghai, China. I hold a Bachelor of Arts from St. Olaf College and a Master of Arts from St. Catherine University. Contact me at [email protected]

Teaching the Job

 

A folder needs to be delivered to the office by a student. When a teacher looks out into the sea of students, who tends to be fished out to do the job? Is it the student who you think can get the job done with minimal interruption? Or is it Peter who often goes astray from his seat to the pencil sharpener?

Songs and Chants and Teaching Math

by Erin Klug

We’ve all had moments when we can’t get a tune or jingle out of our mind. I have young children, and this happens frequently with songs from their CDs. I may cringe when I find myself quietly singing the theme song from Arthur, but this phenomenon is good news for teachers.

Educators have long used songs and rhymes to help students learn and remember content. In my coaching experience, I’ve seen this teaching strategy used less with older students—but it’s too good to lose!

Mix It Up to Build Community

by Ann Larson Ericson

This week I marked my twenty-second first day of school as a teacher. You would think after so many first days I wouldn’t have anything to be excited about, but every first day of school is as exciting as that very first one way back in the '80s! It’s always exciting for me to meet my students for the first time and to begin our yearlong journey together.

Of Teachers and Camels

by Eric Charlesworth

Time is to teachers as water to camels: we never have enough of it, so we must make the best use of what we have.

Every minute we spend at the beginning of the school year laying a good foundation will pay off tenfold in time saved as the year continues. At my school, we’ve found that understanding and including the social-emotional needs of our students in our teaching makes for excellent academic gains. With this in mind, we have doubled down on laying good groundwork early in the year.

Community and Trust-Building Work for Everyone

By Ann Larson Ericson

It’s very important to me to get to know my students—to build our relationships and to learn about their families, their interests, and their stories. But it wasn’t until I attended my first Developmental Designs training that I realized how important it is to build positive relationships with my adult colleagues too.

 

A New Kid in School Fits Right in the Circle

At the beginning of the year, every student is the new kid. Hear from a student how the Circle of Power and Respect puts students more at ease right away.

The Circle for Trust, Confidence, Problem Solving...even Test-taking!

Something for your summer reading list—hear directly from students how  Developmental Designs practices enrich the school day.

 

Relationships, Fun, and CPR

By now you might be missing student voices. So in July, you'll hear what adolescents say about having social-emotional learning intregrated throughout their school day. Experience Developmental Designs practices through their eyes. Enjoy! 

Helping Adolescents Know What They Want and How to Get It

By Ann Larson Ericson

When my children were very young and were going through particularly challenging phases, my mom would say to me, “When they act the least lovable is when they need your love the most.” These were words of wisdom from a wise woman who helps me navigate parenting challenges—and how true those words are for teaching adolescents, as well!

Keeping Everyone on the Bus, all the Way to Their Destinations

Second in a series:
How does the Developmental Designs approach build equity?

 

Positive School Climate Change among the Adults

By Eric Charlesworth

Last Friday we began our afternoon staff meeting with our customary check-in. This is a ritual in which each person in the circle shares about something happening in his or her life, in or outside of school.

I'M NOT YELLING, I'M REDIRECTING

By Ann Larson Ericson

I had some run-ins with my principal recently; he redirected me on three occasions.

Lunch and Learn

By Eric Charlesworth

You may have read or heard about Greg Mortensen’s book Three Cups of Tea, about his work building schools in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The title comes from the idea that the first time two share a cup of tea they are strangers, at the second cup of tea they are friends, and at the third cup of tea they are family.

I have often thought of this philosophy as I attempt to build positive relationships with students. I have altered the philosophy only slightly, and I call mine “Three Slices of Mediocre Pizza.”

The Power of Ownership

By Ann Larson Ericson

Fostering community can be a challenge. Frequently, a classroom can seem like an unintentional jumble of people.

Knowing Students: The Full-View Perspective

By Dr. Terrance Kwame-Ross

I am interested in knowing all my students. I’m interested in their wellness and their ideas, their living situations and interests, because all of this influences their readiness to do good work in school. I plan and organize the classroom environment and content to make sure students have choices in their learning, hands-on, engaging experiences, and time to reflect and make adjustments to their learning. I bring my all to my teaching.

Parallel Parking Parallels

By Ann Larson Ericson

The Developmental Designs approach is everywhere!

Recently, I was reminded of the relevance of Developmental Designs strategies while sitting in the passenger seat of the car my soon-to-be 16-year-old son was attempting to parallel park.

Authority with Heart, Discipline with Care

By Todd Bartholomay

As a school administrator, I was obligated to intervene with students whose poor attendance threatened their success. Frequently tardy, absent, truant, breaking rules, or going through crises at home, some students missed so much school that their possibility for success was fading fast.

Increasing Equity with Relationship-based Behavior Management

by Dr. Terrance Kwame-Ross

In my classroom practice, the Developmental Designs approach provided me with principles and practical strategies that helped me see and hear African-American and Latino students’ stories when I worked with them about breaking rules.

Meet 'em at the threshold

by Chris Hagedorn

A threshhold is a place or point of entering or beginning.

Being at the threshold of your classroom between periods can be one of the most beneficial moves you make each day.

 

Something to Chew On—Make a Connection

By Ann Larson Ericson

I have a student I struggle with. I struggled with him when he was in my ninth grade class, and I dreaded having him in my class again as a junior. When Pedro walked into my room at the beginning of the semester, I took a deep breath and resolved to make a fresh start with him.

Social Conferences—Your Path to Relationship

by Eric Charlesworth

 

This school year, I left my middle-school classroom temporarily and sampled the world of high-school administration, serving as dean at my charter school. It’s been a big change.

The Power of a Quick Problem-Solving Conference

by Ann Larson Ericson

I have many wonderful students who have periods when they struggle.

They may be struggling with the subject matter, with time management, with self-control, with their attitude, with their peers, with their family, with me, or with the challenges of being an adolescent.

Using a Social Contract Beyond the School Day

by Dr. Terrance Kwame-Ross

At The Origins Program, we use Developmental Designs practices in our adult community. Our monthly staff meetings are structured as advisories, using either the Circle of Power and Respect (CPR) or the A+ format. We use Developmental Designs acknowledgments and Power of Play, and we have a Social Contract that’s expressed as shared values around how we will interact with each other.