Developmental Designs approach

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.

What I Learned From My 16-Year-Old

By Ann Ericson

We had an interesting conversation at the family dinner table recently. I was giving a short lecture on the Developmental Designs approach to empowering language and the use of directing language. I cited the merits of being direct with students and using clear, concise, non-negotiating language.

Even though we weren’t talking about soccer, Peder, my 16-year-old son, was actively engaged in the conversation. 

He jumped in with, “But Mom, you never do that at home.”

Reflection Language and the Development of the Self

by Scott Tyink

Early in my teacher practice, I, like many teachers in my school, posted a document called “100 Ways to Praise a Child” by my desk, lest I run out of ways to say the same old thing.

Well-tuned Routines

Teachers helping teachers. That's the benefit of working with a Developmental Designs coach. Each one has been in your shoes in the classroom and has seen what a difference social-emotional learning makes when you integrate it throughout the school day. Here Erin Klug shows a teacher what do to if a routine starts to slip. #1: Don't let go!  

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.

Principal Portraits: Notes on Communication

by Todd Bartholomay

When we communicate with students, we enter a fascinating and dynamic dance between sender and receiver. Examining our teacher language in light of five categories (directing, reminding, reinforcing, redirecting, reflecting) helps us match the language we use to our purposes. But for all our efforts to be clear, we cannot control what a student is able or willing to hear, and sometimes we discover that they hear or interpret our language in ways we couldn’t have imagined.