Learning Continuously
"People with this Habit of Mind are always striving for improvement, always growing, always learning, always modifying and improving themselves. They seize problems, situations, tensions, conflicts and circumstances as valuable opportunities to learn" (Costa and Kallick, N.D).
What are the 5 promises?
As part of the 100% project, we use common language and strategies to ensure that students are learning continuously in all aspects. At times, that means that the lesson is directed at how to be a contributing member of the classroom, school building or community.
One of the strategies that we use school wide is the 5 promises; we hold a community meeting to celebrate those promises every Friday. The 5 promises are: commitment to quality, perseverance, gratitude, contribution and honor and integrity. Each month, we identify one of the promises to teach the students inside of our classrooms. Each week, based on the emphasized promise, we pick two students from each class that have shown excellence in that promise. While this is a practice that is used school wide, it is up to the individual teacher how to teach that promise and what part of the promise they might focus on. For example, in first grade this year, it has been difficult to get across what honor and integrity mean. So instead of focusing on the whole promise, I chose to focus on the word integrity first and compare it to honesty. As we got the hang of what it meant to show integrity, we tied in honor and explored that word and were then able to put them together. The 5 promises show students that learning from mistakes is good and that there is always a chance to grow and learn. They are working hard to continuously learn in order to earn all 5 of their bracelets so that they can wear with them pride and be in the school wide picture. Two of the promises that focus and allow to show how to learn continuously that I demonstrate to my students are commitment to quality and perseverance. By teaching these two promises explicitly, my students are able to take academic risks by learning continuously. To learn more about how these promises and community meetings are incorporated into my classroom, please see below! |
Commitment to Quality
We do our best by giving 100% at all times. We understand there is always room for improvement.
When introducing commitment to quality to students this year, it was important that they understood the vocabulary behind the promise. What does it mean to be committed and what is quality? I took the time to create a lesson plan around a fun video for the students and then we practiced what this promise might look like. In our classroom, we use our rubrics as a tool to connect the idea of commitment to quality and learning continuously. If the first time that I wrote an assignment, I scored at a 2, I now know what I need to work on. Revising the assignment shows their commitment to quality while exhibiting a mindset of continuous learning through the corrections to the assignment.
In these student responses below, Student A applied what they know about continuously learning through an example on their iReady test. They were ready to accept that taking their time and focusing on the questions made a difference in their test score. In order to best support that student in understanding what it means to learn continuously, I need to make sure that they know that this skill applies to class work and the impact a grade can have on moving forward and accomplishing their goals (both short and long term). Encouraging this mindset will help the to maintain that frame of mind in their lives both in and outside of school.
Student B is applying this concept of learning continuously to their career goal of becoming a cop. This is appropriate because they will need to commit to continuously learning as skills and requirements are always changing. The student does not make the connection about having the desire for this career and the steps that are necessary to get there. Moving forward, I could create a goal setting lesson to best support this student. Some of these activities would include researching requirements for their desired career. These could include: speaking with someone who is in the career, listening to an upper education counselor or even setting up field trips that expose the students to that career. Setting goals and objectives towards their career allows them to use other resources that acknowledge the importance of learning continuously. Moving forward, it is imperative that I am modeling life long learning throughout my teaching and interactions with my students.
You can also see a picture of the students that are being celebrated for showing this skill that week and the lesson plan that was used for a mini - lesson.
In these student responses below, Student A applied what they know about continuously learning through an example on their iReady test. They were ready to accept that taking their time and focusing on the questions made a difference in their test score. In order to best support that student in understanding what it means to learn continuously, I need to make sure that they know that this skill applies to class work and the impact a grade can have on moving forward and accomplishing their goals (both short and long term). Encouraging this mindset will help the to maintain that frame of mind in their lives both in and outside of school.
Student B is applying this concept of learning continuously to their career goal of becoming a cop. This is appropriate because they will need to commit to continuously learning as skills and requirements are always changing. The student does not make the connection about having the desire for this career and the steps that are necessary to get there. Moving forward, I could create a goal setting lesson to best support this student. Some of these activities would include researching requirements for their desired career. These could include: speaking with someone who is in the career, listening to an upper education counselor or even setting up field trips that expose the students to that career. Setting goals and objectives towards their career allows them to use other resources that acknowledge the importance of learning continuously. Moving forward, it is imperative that I am modeling life long learning throughout my teaching and interactions with my students.
You can also see a picture of the students that are being celebrated for showing this skill that week and the lesson plan that was used for a mini - lesson.
Perseverance
We never give up even when faced with difficult challenges. We strive to accomplish all of our goals.
This promise was one of the easier promises to teach the concept of to the children but more difficult to instill in them. Like most of the other promises, these are skills that take practice and a grace period for learning. But at the age of 6 and 7, giving up seems to come very easily to them. Showing them example after example has been the best way to demonstrate that perseverance by sticking with something instead of giving up is better in the long run. This could mean that instead of giving up and sleeping through a math test, they look around the room for anchor charts, pick out a strategy and try, even if they get the wrong answer. It means asking for help when needed to see if attempting a skill in another way is helpful. Perseverance is something that does not come easily, but is a skill that needs to be continuously practiced in order to be successful in life.
Another way that continuously learning is demonstrated explicitly in our classroom, is by showing my own mistakes and making changes when I am teaching. This strategy demonstrates continuous learning because I am adapting my work and learning from mistakes as I go. It also allows students to take more academic risks when they are able to see me make mistakes and continue to persevere. When I make mistakes during my teaching, it is important that I acknowledge that they continue to push my learning and how I can adapt moving forward. To the right, you can see a group of students that won their perseverance bracelets this year. Below is the lesson plan and activity that was completed to further lead discussion about learning continuously by never giving up and accepting that making mistakes is a great way to make progress. |
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Our Other Promises
Gratitude: We are thankful for what we have and what we work for. We always show appreciation through our words and actions.
Honor and integrity: We do the right thing even when no one else is watching. All of our actions represent who we are.
Contribution: We take every opportunity to serve the school and the community. We see ways to help others in need.
Honor and integrity: We do the right thing even when no one else is watching. All of our actions represent who we are.
Contribution: We take every opportunity to serve the school and the community. We see ways to help others in need.
Finding this video with a catchphrase "attitude is gratitude" was a great way to introduce this to my class. They love being able to walk around and say, "Do you have an attitude of gratitude today?" to their classmates. Using this saying made implementing gratitude into our classroom easy and the bracelet created a connection for the students to then start using their manners and paying attention to what was around them. Taking the time to practice and role play also made a difference in what they had to be grateful for and how they could express their gratefulness.
To the left, you can see the winners for the week and below you can see the lesson plan and video that I used in my classroom to introduce gratitude. |
The best way that I could describe this promise to a group of 6 and 7 years olds was to repeat exactly what the tagline of the promise says and break it down from there. I discussed right versus wrong and used the word honesty as a synonym for integrity. The lesson took two separate days and a couple of different videos. Taking the time to introduce what the different words for this promise meant made the promise more understandable, realistic and practical for the first graders.
Below you can see one of the lesson plans and two of the videos that I used with my class as well as the students who won honor and integrity bracelets for the week. |
When discussing contribution with my students, it was important that I identified that something as simple as picking up trash or helping clean up without being asked is contributing to our classroom environment. Although this is a simple concept, we talked about how it could go a long way, e.g., when the cleaning crew comes in at night if they do not have to spend as much time sweeping.We decided that is not the only thing they could do. We were able to have a discussion about several different ways they could contribute. The conversation has helped students apply this in centers or small group by helping their friends stay on task and giving support when they need help, and by making sure that everyone is doing well by checking in with one another.
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Conclusion
Using the 5 promises as a way to introduce students to learning about character and growth has been extremely helpful this year. In the past, these lessons were limited to community meetings on Friday and that was all. Taking the time to teach the students the promises in a mini-lesson and show them different videos, has created a level of engagement and interest that was nonexistent last year. Students are anxious to see who is going to win the bracelet at the end of the week and often times try to point out when they have shown the character traits of the promise to make sure I am paying attention. Each and every student is learning about the best way to earn a bracelet as they go and they are constantly encouraging one another. Being able to take a practice that was school-wide and apply my own twist inside my classroom has been very beneficial and I plan to continue this practice in the future.