Not only does FCDS offer the Schools Attuned Program to educators across the southeast, it wholeheartedly embraces the philosophy as a school. The school’s headmaster, Henry M. Battle, Jr., pledged that 100% of the staff would complete the course, believing that “training our entire faculty, as well as other teachers throughout the region, will impact thousands of students and their families in immediate and tangible ways.” In the 2005 summer issue of Independent School Magazine, the national publication of the National Association of Independent School, FCDS shared its success training teachers and implementing the philosophy. Click here to read Becoming Attuned, Transforming a School.

Lower School Reflections on All Kinds of Minds

February 2004

Kindergarten

Even though we kindergarten teachers have been teaching together for 15 years and have always worked well together, there is something happening this year that is better than ever before. I credit our Schools Attuned training to making that difference. We are collaborating more. This is not something we are consciously trying to do; it is just happening. We are coming up with new ideas and new approaches and sharing those ideas with each other. Because of this, we are becoming better teachers.

First Grade

All Kinds of Minds in a First Grade Classroom

As first grade teachers, we are constantly being reminded about the uniqueness of the children around us. We are aware of how different each child’s needs and learning styles are. We look upon our children individually and focus on their strengths and gifts as we try to promote the best in each child while still challenging the children in areas in which they are weaker.

The following are just a few of the examples of how All Kinds of Minds has helped us to expand our teaching ideas and creativity to reach every child in our classrooms.

These are a few of the examples of how All Kinds of Minds has impacted our classrooms in first grade. We are very pleased with the results and it makes learning more fun for the students and teachers.

Second Grade

This year, as a result of my Schools Attuned training, I am constantly looking for the strengths in each student I teach. I ask them questions about their interests inside and outside of school, and I ask special area teachers about students who are strong in art, music, French, science, and P.E. This is helping me to improve the students' verbal and written skills so they can communicate about areas that interest them. It also helps me in parent conferences to be able to emphasize a child's strengths. These strengths can often be used to improve areas of weakness and to cultivate the child's self-esteem. I am trying to encourage more oral presentations in small groups (reading) and in whole class discussions to help students who are more comfortable giving information this way than in written form. This also helps the students who are reluctant to speak to a group. They learn that with practice, it becomes easier. To accommodate the attention spans of all students, I am trying to have shorter lessons at times, especially in the afternoons, and offer breaks for physical movement. We try to have a math game format on Friday afternoons so the children can demonstrate their knowledge of the week's concept in a fun way with each other. Finally, I am also more aware of shortening my directions and allowing more time for them to be understood and followed.

Our new reading series and our All Kinds of Minds instruction are allowing us more opportunities for writing. Since Dr. Levine stresses how important it is for children to learn to write well, we are writing with prompts in reading groups at least once a week. For book reports, we are allowing students to read a variety of book types such as mysteries, biographies, and animal books. They are then asked to do written reports that often allow them to show artistic talent and creativity. For example, children read Beverly Cleary books in December and made wrapping paper to cover a gift box. They decorated the paper with pictures from the book, and wrote a summary of their book as a gift tag. The children present all of their reports to the class to make them more comfortable with speaking to a group. For take-home reading and author studies, we are trying to offer books on several different reading levels to help children find books they truly love to read. If a child needs an accommodation in writing, we are allowing reports to be typed instead of written. In social studies this year, we have broken our Native American unit into two parts to allow the students to better master the material.

Second Grade

The Schools Attuned training has expanded my mind and allowed me to see differences in children that I might not have seen before. I came into this profession because I believe that I can be a positive influence on the growth of every child.   After the first training session, I began to make changes in the way I taught.

 I am walking away from this training a better person and teacher.

Third Grade

Reading Dr. Levine’s books and participating in the Schools Attuned training has reminded me of the struggles and strengths we all have and the blessings or heartaches that can be derived from both. I have tried to become more patient with and understanding of different learning styles. Learning strategies are useful for all of us, not just the children who struggle. The training has altered my classroom focus somewhat to include more emphasis on teaching children instead of subject matter. I hope to be able to continue to incorporate more and more of this philosophy as each year progresses.

On a day-to-day basis in the classroom, I have tried to build in more frequent “mind breaks” as well as physical breaks. I have benefited greatly from the Schools Attuned training this past summer and continuing through the school year.

Having a child of my own, whose needs are different in the everyday learning experiences, I have been fully aware of the learning styles of all children and have tailored my teaching in the past to such needs. This year, in particular, having had the Schools Attuned training, I have acquired other methods to reach the students in my classroom, as well as being able to put a professional name or title to each accommodation I use. Some of the strategies I have used in the past I have updated and modified, and I those I am currently using to improve my classroom style are listed below:

Fourth Grade

Physical Education

I am currently working on a project with the second grade based on developing the construct of Higher Order Cognition. The students are working in groups to create an original PE game.  They have to decide how many players are involved, what type of equipment will be used, what the objective of the game is, and what skills will be involved. Once the project is completed, they will present their game to the class. 

Technology

Schools Attuned has changed the way I create and deliver lessons. Without a textbook, I create all of the written materials used in Technology. In the past, these materials were flat and sometimes hard for younger students to follow. I now create materials that are much more dynamic. They include checklists, step-by-step instructions, and visual aids. Students are now completing assignments effectively and with greater understanding of technology concepts and applications. Schools Attuned has made me more aware of my student’s individual learning styles. I now present lessons with oral, written, and visual demonstrations. Not only are these lessons presented in different formats but I have also broken up larger assignments into smaller tasks. Focusing on one task at a time has made it easier for students to master technology skills. It is amazing to already see the difference Schools Attuned has made in my classroom!

Science

I have found that Schools Attuned has been a tremendous help in Lower School Science, in particular, the Schools Attuned Management Resource Binder has been useful. I have found many helpful suggestions which I am implementing in my classroom. Specifically, I find myself implementing many more learning strategies, i.e. mnemonics, like songs and acronyms. Another very helpful tool that I use all the time now because of my Schools Attuned training is highlighting texts. In fact, I use highlighters on tests with those students who have trouble following specific directions. I have also tried teaching through more multi-modal methods, because Schools Attuned has made me discover and always keep in mind the “All Kinds of Minds” attitude. For example, I find myself using many more books, posters, handouts, writing assignments, computer activities, and fieldtrips as another way of supplementing my regular lessons. I also look for various other ways to assess student learning, I am doing much more verbal assessments as I go as a way of gauging the students’ progress. I also have students create more things themselves as a way of exhibiting their understanding, i.e. posters. Other things I’ve tried are “class paraphraser” where students have to put things into their own words. Another tool I have used that I picked up in Schools Attuned was the “teaching to learn” approach. I have students teach each other a lesson about a specific scientific concept.

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