Lighting A Fire

One of the most challenging aspects to being an educator is getting (and keeping) students engaged in learning. We have all had it happen: we walk into a studio or classroom, ready to teach a unit that we find exciting & interesting, and our students are only lukewarm and barely paying attention at all. This can dampen that enthusiasm we felt as we put the materials together.
 
W.B. Yeats said that : "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." So the question to ask is how do we do that? How do we make our lessons more interesting and 'light a fire'?
 
For many years, I have been able to use stories as a versatile medium to keep younger kids interested in science, world cultures, health, nutrition, yoga and creative movement. We "tell" the story together by using the postures in a sequence. I use interactive movemment games that mirror the story themes, and imagery of the characters they can relate to and these characters overcome challenges and solve problems just like we all do in real life. They identify with those qualities they want to emulate and remember the lesson better this way.
 
As they get older, I have have noticed that they want time to 'zone out', so I place them in a relaxed but active listening state and give them time to 'zone' on a specific imagery that I lead them through verbally and musically. They come out of the imagery relaxed, full of creative ideas and insights, and fully aware of their inner and outer worlds. (This is also known as meditation.)
 
Maybe none of these methods will work in your specific environment, however there are some other techniques that you can use. The key is observing and knowing your students. Below are some ideas that can be adapted to a traditional classroom or therapy setting:

• Develop a Unexpected Introduction: A riddle, a joke, or an effective warm-up activity that can draw interest into the class content is one key to keeping students engaged. The first five minutes are crucial and should draw students into the lesson and set the tone for the rest of the class. 
• Incorporate a Variety of activties: Use varied activities to meet the diverse interests, sensory & cognitive levels and learning styles of your group. Think of the sensory systems and use visual, auditory and movement based activities or props and imagery to keep the group engaged. (Example: one student loved challenges & she also enjoyed video games-so I created a yoga set based on her favorite, "Zelda" .)
• Find the element of Fun: Find anectdotes and the element of fun in what you are teaching and infuse it into the lesson. I like to use modified games and stories. For example, if you are learning about dinosaurs, play "Freeze Dinosaur" (variation of "Freeze Dance")  or have the children go on a "Dinosaur Dig" in some sand; or have them create their own dinosaurs out of clay, sidewalk chalk or colored pencils. Games bring learning to life, reduce stress, encourage cooperation & are more effective in teaching lessons.
• Remain Flexible:  Always allow some flexibility in the lesson plan. If you planned for 3 objectives, but you only got to one, and the students are enagegd and having fun, that's okay! Children are spontaneous and energetic when we create the right environment for learning. Let them lead you sometimes.
• Link activities to the topics in a meaningful way:  Incorporate multi-curricular and multi sensory activities, such as reading stories while practicing yoga poses or journaling or doing an art project while listening to relaxing music. This will not only add variety and interest but will help concentration, attention span & overall success.
• Allow Full Participation: Let your students take attendance, select a topic (within reasonable choices) for the next class, and lead the class in a portion of the content.
• Gather Feedback: Listen to your students! Learn about what they like to do for fun, what interests they have, who they look up to, what music they like, sports they play etc. Ask them to assess your lessons with a informal survey so you can see what's working and what's not.

*What are some ways that you "light a fire" & make your classroom or therapy room more engaging for students? Please tell us in the comments below!

Thinking Outside The Lesson Plan: 6 Ways to Accomodate Alternate Learners

Working in Ms. T's pre-school early intervention classroom 5 years ago was one of the most memorable  learning experiences for me. I have taken so much of what I learned there from both Ms." T", my co-workers and the kids themselves and have applied that to my current work as a children's yoga teacher. In addition, I have been able to offer workshops & trainings to hundreds of parents, therapists, educators & other children's yoga teachers showing them how to do the same.

One of the first and most important techniques I learned was how to create non-threatening  environments that accommodate a variety of alternate learning styles & challenges & offer the best opportunities for all children to be successful. This concept is at the very center of my adaptive yoga programs. I work with many children who have autism, visual or other sensory perception challenges, poor motor planning or dyslexia, poor auditory or cognitive processing delays and other adaptive needs that make it necessary for me to make accommodations. To do this effectively, I have to think a little bit (sometimes alot) outside of the lesson plan.

Here are 6 accommodations that I have found are the most common & most useful, especially for older children, teens & young adults:

1) Talk with the student: (For all students) Ask how he/she learns best. Often these students can explain in their own words what helps them learn and this input can be developed into concrete learning strategies. These strategies are usually easy to incorporate into a classroom setting or a yoga group setting. In this way you have made the student a partner-and an active participant-in his or her learning.

2) Use Visual Aids:  (For children with auditory/cognitive challenges)  PECS, simple pictures or felt boards can be used to demonstrate & communicate a variety of concepts and ideas. In a yoga group, model the postures or movements & breath work slowly for the student so he/she can see how its done. Allow students to partner up and play a modified & more age appropriate version of  the "Mirror Game".  In both classrooms, follow up with a brief explanation speaking slowly, clearly & using as few words as possible.

3) Use Oral Instructions/Testing: (for students with poor visual processing, poor motor planning & fine motor challenges) Tests can be read aloud to the students or provided on audio file, and students can give answers orally. In a yoga setting, this is how I assess the students level of understanding & also practice social & conversational skills-by asking/answering questions and telling stories. Its important to remember to be clear & use as few words as possible.

4) Modify Essay & Note Copying Assignments:  (for students with poor visual processing, poor motor planning & fine motor challenges)  It takes some students much longer to copy information from a book or a board. In some cases the student may not be able to even read their notes. Provide simple lecture notes, or discreetly assign a fellow student or peer to copy the notes using carbon less paper to make a second copy for the student to review.  For tests, use as many match and  fill-in-the-blank formats as possible. ( Multiple-choice questions also tend to pose a problem for some students because of the amount of reading required to answer the questions correctly.) A simple handout with a brief summary, stick figure drawings and simple captions works well for yoga classes.

5) Modify Research Assignments: (For all students) There are many ways to offer alternative assignments to demonstrate skill or content master for traditional as well as yoga classrooms. Alternatives to long written papers could include video or oral presentations, collages, photo journals, shadow boxes, role playing, dioramas, etc. I use lots of simple themed art projects in my yoga classes to go with each lesson to give the student a personal & physical reminder of the basic concepts presented.

6) Use Routine Skill & Concept Reviews:  (For all students) Good for reinforcement of academic as well as yoga concepts. Can be used before a test or as a transition before moving on to the next concept introduction. A review can be done at the end of the week, at the end of a unit, as an oral review or even as a fun class "Jeopardy" or "Wheel of Fortune" type game, incorporating flash cards or other visual aids if necessary. A simple 'study guide' (one page only) with short summaries of key concepts & vocabulary words can be made easily and given to the students to take home & review on their own. Encourage students to stay organized by keeping all notes in a binder or folder for quick reference. (For one of my teen girl's yoga classes I provided folders and let them decorate to have a personalized place to keep all yoga class notes in.)

Whether you are a traditional educator, classroom assistant or children's yoga teacher, its not difficult to make these simple accommodations for those who may need them. A little time and creativity will go a long way to benefit both educators & students.







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