This video is available as a NAESPA membership benefit or for a limited time as a conference attendee.
|
00 :
00
Talk Less, Teach More: Using Images and Other Non-Verbal Techniques to Support Learning
Talking isn't teaching, and listening isn't learning. In fact, verbal directions and imperatives put many of our students at an automatic disadvantage. In this enjoyable and thought-provoking session, participants will learn how verbal messages often unintentionally exclude disadvantaged students and escalate classroom confrontations, and how to rectify this situation. Create more equitable, accessible classroom and school environments through the creation and implementation of non-verbal and visual strategies to effectively deliver academic and behavioral directives, and teach and reinforce procedures. Participants will also learn how to utilize safe and assertive communication skills to increase student cooperation instead of confrontation. When students are set up for success, school climate and culture improve and students view themselves and their schooling in a more positive light. Through these easy-to-use strategies, a big impact can be made on the students who need us most.
This talk was presented at:
2024 National ESEA Conference
February 2024
in
Portland, OR
For more information:
www.consciousteaching.com
Speakers
Grace Dearborn
I worked for many years as a teacher in under-resourced, high-poverty schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. My heart broke for so many of my kids, whose home lives and childhood experiences were so traumatizing that their ability to learn at school was deeply undermined. While I, and a few of my colleagues, looked for ways to connect with and support these students, I saw many other teachers just giving up on them, saying things like "They have to meet me halfway" and " You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink." I understand how a person might come to this place of not caring anymore, after years of trying unsuccessfully to deal with the extreme and difficult behaviors that traumatized youth often display in the classroom. Most people don't go into teaching to become behavior specialists. But that's part of the job. And people who aren't willing to do that part, or become better at it, are essentially perpetuating the damage these kids are already experiencing. In my own work, I was willing to become better at it. I was willing to learn, to alter my beliefs and behaviors towards my least successful students, and to experiment with new ways of interacting with and supporting them. And I saw it pay off, for them and for me. I was drawn to colleagues who were doing the same and we fed off each other's successes. Over time we started to see patterns and trends in what kinds of things helped and what kinds of things didn't. We started to share this learning with others, in our school and in other schools. Now, as an independent consultant, I feel a deep and pressing need to share what my colleagues and I learned, so that more students can get what they need and more teachers can feel empowered instead of helpless and hopeless. In my first year consulting, I worked with teachers at a high school in Oakland CA where I created a year-long literacy intervention social studies course that was taught to all in-coming ninth graders. This course resulted in a dramatic increase in state test scores raising the school’s state score by 70 points over three years. More recently I completed a three-year contract with a Title 1 school in Omaha NE where my support was one piece of a three-year intervention that was so successful that suspensions and referrals were reduced by over 70% and academic outcomes improved almost 30% in literacy and 60% in math. I have authored three books on classroom teaching and behavior intervention: “Yeah, But What About This Kid?,” “Conscious Classroom Management,” and “Picture This!” I may not be the only person qualified to speak on the topics of equitable and trauma-informed classroom management, but I am certainly one of them.
ESEA Network
The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (formerly the National Title I Association) is dedicated to building the capacity of education professionals to provide disadvantaged children with a high quality education. Their ESEA Network website provides a host of resources to educators at all levels.
Connect With Us
 |
 |
 |
 |
Contact Us
ESEA Network ● Phone & Fax: 800-256-6452
532 North Franklin Street ● Fort Bragg, CA 95437
About Us
The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (formerly the National Title I Association) is dedicated to building the capacity of education professionals to provide disadvantaged children with a high quality education. Their ESEA Network website provides a host of resources to educators at all levels.
- About Us
- About ESEA
- Federal Education Programs Summary
- Mission & Principles
- Bylaws
- Association Leadership
- Association Staff
- State ESEA Leaders
- Help and Support
Connect with Us
|
|
|
|
