Providing educators (at all levels) with useful information and tools is essential in the current educational arena. Warren Mansell & colleagues from the University of Manchester (UK) have synthesized information from various sources (Carey, Cziko, Petrie, Bourbon) to give clear information why the use of PCT works in the classroom. Mansell and associates research & publish sound scientific PCT foundations for many life perspectives.
Use this link, http://www.pctweb.org/ed/education.html, to view PCT Web's research. Proponents of PCT in the classroom can share this information with those looking for concrete solutions. Trainers associated with IAACT are ready & willing to talk with decision makers and set up staff training opportunities for anyone interested (district or school level).
Visit the IAACT web site for more information - www.iaact.net .
Showing posts with label Starting the School Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starting the School Year. Show all posts
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Monday, August 23, 2010
Four Agreements for the Classroom
The beginning of a new school year is both an exciting and a challenging time for all concerned. Turning the page to a new chapter in life holds anticipation and uncertainty for students and teachers alike. Sharing a common purpose and goals creates the conditions for a successful year. Shelley Roy has shared the following article that can assist teachers in creating those positive and productive conditions. When student & teacher agree on their purpose, progress and growth are much more attainable.
Four Agreements for the Classroom
By Shelley A.W. Roy
When Miguel Ruiz wrote the FOUR AGREEMENTS, he once again brought the importance of forming agreements with ourselves to the forefront. As the school year begins across the U.S., educators and students alike are contemplating the upcoming school year. Fall is often a time of reflection and reorganizing our lives after the hustle and bustle of a summer of adventure and vacation.
In successful classrooms, teachers and students are members of a team. Individually and collectively, they ask and answer three basic questions during the team-forming process: "Who am I?" "Who are you?" and finally, "Who are we?" In answering these questions, in building classroom agreements, teachers and students build a firm foundation for the upcoming school year. I believe that the most effective agreements are formed at the principles level of life. This is the level that answers the question, "Who do I want to be?" It is not the level that answers, "What am I going to do?" It is the level of opportunity, not obligation. It is the level at which I shift from thinking, "I have to do such and such." to "This is an opportunity to be the mother, daughter, educator, I want to be."
The four agreements that form the foundation for the school year are personal, social, role and goal agreements. The teacher and every student in a class must have a personal agreement that answers the question, "Who do I want to BE?" As they answer that question, they need to remember that they can’t possibly be everything. They need to limit their lists to three to five principles they want to use to measure their success. For example, my top three BEs are wise, generous, and spiritual. The list is used to self-evaluate who a person is being. The number one life skill is self-evaluation, and responsible self-evaluation measures how being aligns with agreements with self and involves evaluating what is within a person’s control. On a regular basis, a person needs to ask, "What did I do today to live my principles?"
The second of the agreements, the social agreement, answers the question, "Who do we want to be when we are together?" After we have each developed a personal agreement, after we are each clear on how we want to BE, then collectively we need to come to consensus on how we want to treat each other. To form a social agreement, we all must have a sense of connection to everyone else in the group, and there must be a modicum of trust amongs group members. In a school, social agreements may typically be summarized as, "We want to be learning, be respectful, be responsible and be safe."
The third type of agreement, the role agreement, answers the question, "What is my role in getting us where we want to go?" In our family car, whoever sits in the shotgun seat (front seat, passenger side) plays the role of navigator. This has been our long-standing family agreement. In a classroom, it is best if all the adults and students involved in the room are present during role negotiation. The process of
discussion and compromise used in determining roles lays the groundwork for a successful school year during which many hazards and obstacles are avoided. Role clarification allows students to know what to expect and helps develop a safe-risk environment.
Goal agreements, the fourth and final kind of agreements, infuse district and state standards with students’ needs for relevance. To develop meaning and relevance in content learning, and to enhance students’ commitment to learning, teachers and students together develop essential questions for each of the major units of study and for the year. All learning is personal and constructivist by nature, and essential questions, if they are thoughtfully developed, encourage personal engagement with content. Students who are engaged and challenged, students who see real value in what they are learning, are more interested in learning and create fewer distractions in the classroom. Student goal setting moves easily toward student led conferencing.
When these four agreements are included in the beginning of the school year, processes then creating rituals and routines that highlight these agreements becomes the basis of effective task and relationship management in the classroom. Agreements take the guesswork out of expectations; they make what for many is implicit, explicit.
Four Agreements for the Classroom
By Shelley A.W. Roy
When Miguel Ruiz wrote the FOUR AGREEMENTS, he once again brought the importance of forming agreements with ourselves to the forefront. As the school year begins across the U.S., educators and students alike are contemplating the upcoming school year. Fall is often a time of reflection and reorganizing our lives after the hustle and bustle of a summer of adventure and vacation.
In successful classrooms, teachers and students are members of a team. Individually and collectively, they ask and answer three basic questions during the team-forming process: "Who am I?" "Who are you?" and finally, "Who are we?" In answering these questions, in building classroom agreements, teachers and students build a firm foundation for the upcoming school year. I believe that the most effective agreements are formed at the principles level of life. This is the level that answers the question, "Who do I want to be?" It is not the level that answers, "What am I going to do?" It is the level of opportunity, not obligation. It is the level at which I shift from thinking, "I have to do such and such." to "This is an opportunity to be the mother, daughter, educator, I want to be."
The four agreements that form the foundation for the school year are personal, social, role and goal agreements. The teacher and every student in a class must have a personal agreement that answers the question, "Who do I want to BE?" As they answer that question, they need to remember that they can’t possibly be everything. They need to limit their lists to three to five principles they want to use to measure their success. For example, my top three BEs are wise, generous, and spiritual. The list is used to self-evaluate who a person is being. The number one life skill is self-evaluation, and responsible self-evaluation measures how being aligns with agreements with self and involves evaluating what is within a person’s control. On a regular basis, a person needs to ask, "What did I do today to live my principles?"
The second of the agreements, the social agreement, answers the question, "Who do we want to be when we are together?" After we have each developed a personal agreement, after we are each clear on how we want to BE, then collectively we need to come to consensus on how we want to treat each other. To form a social agreement, we all must have a sense of connection to everyone else in the group, and there must be a modicum of trust amongs group members. In a school, social agreements may typically be summarized as, "We want to be learning, be respectful, be responsible and be safe."
The third type of agreement, the role agreement, answers the question, "What is my role in getting us where we want to go?" In our family car, whoever sits in the shotgun seat (front seat, passenger side) plays the role of navigator. This has been our long-standing family agreement. In a classroom, it is best if all the adults and students involved in the room are present during role negotiation. The process of
discussion and compromise used in determining roles lays the groundwork for a successful school year during which many hazards and obstacles are avoided. Role clarification allows students to know what to expect and helps develop a safe-risk environment.
Goal agreements, the fourth and final kind of agreements, infuse district and state standards with students’ needs for relevance. To develop meaning and relevance in content learning, and to enhance students’ commitment to learning, teachers and students together develop essential questions for each of the major units of study and for the year. All learning is personal and constructivist by nature, and essential questions, if they are thoughtfully developed, encourage personal engagement with content. Students who are engaged and challenged, students who see real value in what they are learning, are more interested in learning and create fewer distractions in the classroom. Student goal setting moves easily toward student led conferencing.
When these four agreements are included in the beginning of the school year, processes then creating rituals and routines that highlight these agreements becomes the basis of effective task and relationship management in the classroom. Agreements take the guesswork out of expectations; they make what for many is implicit, explicit.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Introductions: Hello fellow ACTers
My name is Jason and I am a teacher of a grade 2 class in Canada
I invite you to check it out: PCT and a Student with Special Needs (link below and to the right)
My contribution to this blog will be posts of "A-Ha!" moments while my blog will be updated weekly. I hope to generate discussion so please feel free to comment and share your ideas.
In the meantime, here's an excerpt:
"I always start my school year with the “Connected School
I made sure Sophia, who is autistic, was present for all these lessons. I also made sure to call upon her to participate and share her ideas. It made no difference to me whether she actually spoke or contributed. What was important to me was that she was exposed to the info and activities and that she in some way experienced them. In control theory terms, humans learn by experiencing something, then labeling that experience and finally self-evaluating. I could expect other students to experience and label at the same time, but I was not expecting that from Sophia. I only wanted her to experience the lessons. I would label her behaviour afterwards throughout the school day. I was also controlling for Sophia to feel a connection to everyone in the class at some level of perception."
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"Shift" Happens
When faced with shaking your comfort zone & moving into the unknown - or at least the fog - it is reassuring and rewarding to witness when positive "shift" occurs in people around you. This week I witnessed such a positive internal realignment on the part of two co-workers.
One is an ACT III trained career teacher who was "reassigned" to the role of a Primary Reading Teacher (not the lead teacher role she has known for the past 12 years). The initial 'erk' was big and hard to swallow for this very caring and sensitive teacher. Using what she knows about Control Theory & the Loop, the adjustments made and ability to change her reference. Her reference shift & attitiude was "this is going to give me the opportunity to interact with and help more students with far less stress". Choosing a positive approach has eased her initial pain.
The second teacher is not ACT trained, but clearly understands the fundamental concepts of self-evaluation & redirection. School has been in session for only one week; the room is set and bulletin boards & instructional goals are in place... UNTIL... On Thursday afternoon this career teacher was presented with a wonderful yet "status" shattering opportunity. Her room will soon be transformed into the technological classroom of the 21st Century. Talk about upsetting the applecart - new tools, new techniques, new room arrangement, new instructional direction. Most would have a "hissy-fit" and question "Why now, why this; I'm already set & prepared?". Amazingly just the opposite occurred. In our conversation - just after the classroom visit - the response was "You know, I'm thinking this is going to work. This is going to be a good thing for the kids; we can do it!" What a positive shift in thinking again choosing to seek a new reference.
What amazing strength and insight on the part of both these ladies who when looking into the the eyes of the evil "change monster" faced with an unbelievable challenge and to seek a new reference midstream. It's wonderful to see someone "bump it up" to a higher level to resolve a conflict at a lower level. Understanding how to deal & react in such situations is healthy.
One is an ACT III trained career teacher who was "reassigned" to the role of a Primary Reading Teacher (not the lead teacher role she has known for the past 12 years). The initial 'erk' was big and hard to swallow for this very caring and sensitive teacher. Using what she knows about Control Theory & the Loop, the adjustments made and ability to change her reference. Her reference shift & attitiude was "this is going to give me the opportunity to interact with and help more students with far less stress". Choosing a positive approach has eased her initial pain.
The second teacher is not ACT trained, but clearly understands the fundamental concepts of self-evaluation & redirection. School has been in session for only one week; the room is set and bulletin boards & instructional goals are in place... UNTIL... On Thursday afternoon this career teacher was presented with a wonderful yet "status" shattering opportunity. Her room will soon be transformed into the technological classroom of the 21st Century. Talk about upsetting the applecart - new tools, new techniques, new room arrangement, new instructional direction. Most would have a "hissy-fit" and question "Why now, why this; I'm already set & prepared?". Amazingly just the opposite occurred. In our conversation - just after the classroom visit - the response was "You know, I'm thinking this is going to work. This is going to be a good thing for the kids; we can do it!" What a positive shift in thinking again choosing to seek a new reference.
What amazing strength and insight on the part of both these ladies who when looking into the the eyes of the evil "change monster" faced with an unbelievable challenge and to seek a new reference midstream. It's wonderful to see someone "bump it up" to a higher level to resolve a conflict at a lower level. Understanding how to deal & react in such situations is healthy.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Starting the School Year
I just finished reading an article on emotions that Bill Powers wrote. It is available in the book PCT A Book of Readings a free downloadable book available at www.livingcontrolsystems.com . A few of the articles in the book will be of special interest to IAACT folks. Some are more technical, others are very user friendly. (Jim Soldani’s article for example). As I read the article on emotions, I was struck by the wonderful simplicity of PCT. As an instructor, we are often asked, “Why did/does 'so and so' do 'such and such'?” the short answer is because they were experiencing error. However, what I think most folks really want to know is how to change the ‘such and such’.
In his article, Bill explains that “Under normal circumstances, behavior comes about for one of two reasons: either there is a disturbance which changes some perception and thus generates an error signal, or there is a change in the reference signal demanded by some higher control system, which change also generates an error signal.” This answer perhaps better addresses the answer to how do we change ‘such and such’. If we want a person to change the disturbance (environment) needs to change or they need to want (reference) something different.
As most of you begin the school year, this idea becomes very important. Spending time at the beginning of the year to clarify references addresses both reasons for behavior changing. It changes the environment and it provides different references. Remember that disturbance is anything in the environment over which I have no control that is having an effect on what I want (what I am control for). Disturbance is either helpful or hindering. When I think of disturbance, I often think about young children around the age of two, the classic age of ‘me-do’. When we perceive our actions as helping and they perceive them as hindering. Children of this age are often seeking independence and they view our helping as hindering their desire for independence. The same also can be said of middle school students, and seniors who are often control for independence and our actions are perceived as hindering them.
When we are building connections at the beginning of the year, we are laying the groundwork for less error throughout the rest of the year. I think we are also doing something else, we are trying to shift the reasons for why we do what we do - ‘Bump it up!”. As Jim Miller, founder of Warrior Concept International wrote; “We have a choice. We can be ‘nice’ to others because it’s proper manners to do so because we expect to get something from them, or because we have to live with them. Or, we can treat others with respect and honor because we recognize that we are already connected to them in some way.” (http://ezinearticles.com/?Martial-Arts-CHARACTER-And-the-Universal-Law-of-Interdependence---The-Keys-to-Life-Mastery,-Key-2&id=13554 ) Doing what I do because it is who I want to be and because I understand that, I am connected to everyone on this planet is very different from doing it because my elders told me to. One last for the moment the other lasts for a lifetime. Start the year thinking about the lifetime of you and your students, because in the end it will change many moments along the road.
I just finished reading an article on emotions that Bill Powers wrote. It is available in the book PCT A Book of Readings a free downloadable book available at www.livingcontrolsystems.com . A few of the articles in the book will be of special interest to IAACT folks. Some are more technical, others are very user friendly. (Jim Soldani’s article for example). As I read the article on emotions, I was struck by the wonderful simplicity of PCT. As an instructor, we are often asked, “Why did/does 'so and so' do 'such and such'?” the short answer is because they were experiencing error. However, what I think most folks really want to know is how to change the ‘such and such’.
In his article, Bill explains that “Under normal circumstances, behavior comes about for one of two reasons: either there is a disturbance which changes some perception and thus generates an error signal, or there is a change in the reference signal demanded by some higher control system, which change also generates an error signal.” This answer perhaps better addresses the answer to how do we change ‘such and such’. If we want a person to change the disturbance (environment) needs to change or they need to want (reference) something different.
As most of you begin the school year, this idea becomes very important. Spending time at the beginning of the year to clarify references addresses both reasons for behavior changing. It changes the environment and it provides different references. Remember that disturbance is anything in the environment over which I have no control that is having an effect on what I want (what I am control for). Disturbance is either helpful or hindering. When I think of disturbance, I often think about young children around the age of two, the classic age of ‘me-do’. When we perceive our actions as helping and they perceive them as hindering. Children of this age are often seeking independence and they view our helping as hindering their desire for independence. The same also can be said of middle school students, and seniors who are often control for independence and our actions are perceived as hindering them.
When we are building connections at the beginning of the year, we are laying the groundwork for less error throughout the rest of the year. I think we are also doing something else, we are trying to shift the reasons for why we do what we do - ‘Bump it up!”. As Jim Miller, founder of Warrior Concept International wrote; “We have a choice. We can be ‘nice’ to others because it’s proper manners to do so because we expect to get something from them, or because we have to live with them. Or, we can treat others with respect and honor because we recognize that we are already connected to them in some way.” (http://ezinearticles.com/?Martial-Arts-CHARACTER-And-the-Universal-Law-of-Interdependence---The-Keys-to-Life-Mastery,-Key-2&id=13554 ) Doing what I do because it is who I want to be and because I understand that, I am connected to everyone on this planet is very different from doing it because my elders told me to. One last for the moment the other lasts for a lifetime. Start the year thinking about the lifetime of you and your students, because in the end it will change many moments along the road.
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