pioneers-tutoring

Fueling Success: The Impact of a Nutrient-Rich Diet on Behavior and Learning

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 00:12:01 GMT

In our fast-paced world, where academic and behavioural challenges often go hand in hand, one powerful solution may be on our plates. Emerging research suggests that the link between a nutrient-rich diet and improved behaviour and learning outcomes in children is more significant than we might have imagined.

As we strive to provide the best opportunities for our children's success, the role of nutrition in behaviour and learning cannot be overstated. A diet rich in diverse, nutrient-dense foods supports physical health and lays the foundation for enhanced cognitive function and positive behaviour. By understanding and implementing these nutritional strategies, parents and educators can contribute to a brighter, more focused future for the next generation.

10 Things to Know About the Difficulties in Reading

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 00:51:54 GMT

Dive into the top 10 must-know insights about nurturing your child's reading journey! From decoding the secrets of literacy to supercharging oral language skills, discover the keys to success and why some kids face reading hurdles. Get ready for a journey into the heart of raising confident young readers !

Why early childhood really matters for children, families and the community!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 07:06:37 GMT

Why early childhood matters for children, families and the community!

There has been lots of interest around the world concerning the importance of early childhood education and its direct link with student wellbeing and prosperity. Australia shows concerning results for our children starting school, too many students are at risk of being developmentally vulnerable when starting school.

Recently, a colleauge came across some research being conducted in Australia which demonstrated the real concern I have as a teacher in terms of school readiness.

Early learning education is where the first steps are taken towards your child’s academic success!

The first five years is the most crucial time for learning, this is when the brain is wired to learn quickly and absorb new information easily. The goals of early learning are to create confident learners that can question and participate in meaningful discussion. Too often we find prep students withdrawn from group discussion, and too anxious to put their hand up and contribute. We need learners that are engaged and questioning, this is where real learning takes place!

If you take a look at the above photo, we see a one in five ratio showing vulnerability in social, emotional, language, general knowledge, cognitive and physical development. This is really interesting because some parents might say what does social and general knowledge skills have to do with learning; well I can tell you as both an early childhood educator and school teacher they matter, A LOT!

Here is an example you may be able to relate to, you’re at a dinner party and sitting with a group of adults, all of a sudden, the subject changes to Donald Trump and the latest policy change. You know nothing of the matter in fact you’d heard of the situation in passing but never sat down and looked into what is actually happening in America and therefore you don’t have an opinion, nor do you want to say the wrong thing and risk looking uneducated on the matter. Now, let’s pretend your five years old with a group of other five-year old’s you’d never met before.

Just because you’re five doesn’t mean the feelings and outcomes of this social situation are not the same. In fact, they're worse because on top of this you have little to no experience in dealing with this type of scenario and therefore have no answers.

We need to ensure children are confident learners with enough general knowledge and education that they feel they have something to say on the subject of learning. We need to give them prior knowledge they can draw from in a classroom setting and give them the ability to question and discuss with other children.

A recent 2019 Politian’s briefing has recommended that children commence quality early learning at least two years prior to school (aged 3). This recommendation is supported by numerous amounts of research (click below to read full election briefing).

At Pioneers we are offering a get ready for school program that is designed for your child to become confident and engaged learner! Ready to question and discuss in the classroom.

Link to research below:

https://assets.nationbuilder.com/everyonebenefits/pages/10/attachments/original/1551856501/ELEB-Political_Briefing_Paper_2019.pdf?1551856501

Mathematics or Arithmetic? Teaching maths to kids!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 07:02:57 GMT

Mathematics and Arithmetic? What is the difference? Why do they matter to your child's learning?

Mathematics: is a whole subject which involves number, algebra, geometry, measurement and data analysis. It consists of the study of relationships and patterns.

Arithmetic: the part within mathematics that deals predominantly with subtraction, multiplication, division and addition. Arithmetic is about numbers.

Understanding the difference is essential for anyone teaching children. If you were to look at teaching Maths from an arithmetic viewpoint, you would be concerned with explaining each operation as it's own; for example, teaching addition in its own time using strategies that relate to addition. However, if you have a viewpoint of teaching Mathematics from a mathematical perspective, you begin to realise the importance that relationships have. We start to acknowledge the importance of teaching number relationships between subtraction and addition: 1+2=3 use these facts to help you with subtraction 3-1=2.

I teach from a holistic viewpoint. Children need to recognise recurring ideas and relationships that present themselves throughout maths as a whole. Then we move into the area of 'Mathematical thinkers', the ability of students to think and create with mathematical ideas to solve problems, including those of the real world, e.g. working out percentages at a toy sale!

When we refer to mathematics, we are referring to the ability to identify patterns and relationships — a fundamental building block for children to grasp in primary school. I always say to my students "you don't have to have the answer, but see what you can use, of which you already understand to help get you from point A to point B. At that moment I see 'the 'light-bulb' moment, and there is where potential shines through!

Engaging & Motivating Students to Read!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:59:26 GMT

Recently I have come across students in the upper primary years struggling with motivation concerning reading for comprehension rather than reading just to finish the text. This idea may sound very simple, like don't we all read to understand? Well, no, not always, reading for understanding and to then apply the knowledge is a learned skill and a very complex one also. It requires the reader to have the motivation to understand what they are reading, and the best way I have found to give this to students is through purpose. Giving students purpose and goals that they understand and feel are achievable; this is essential in this recipe to success.

I have the honor of working with a very bright girl who has the ambition to become a successful lawyer, and boy does she have the big bright personality to succeed in this role. However, she was finding it difficult to get motivated about reading a particular text; this is not uncommon for students and even adults! Sometimes as was, in this case, we forget why we read and the skills that we are attaining as we do read. In a reading conference with this student, I was able to give her purpose in her reading and break down the skills she would be developing studying the text and how that applied to her success as a lawyer. You see sometimes we need purpose, motivation, and understanding to drive our reading to the next level.

If you have a child struggling to become motivated about reading there are some things you can do to help improve their reading! Here are some examples I use in the classroom to motivate students:

Finding a book non-fiction & fiction that sparks their interest, whether you use your school library, local library or take an exciting trip to State Libary (Melbourne, CBD)
Give your child set reading goals that your child understands and get excited about actually achieving them; whether it be to read fluently, use grammar to guide their reading, using expression or answering some focus questions related to the text!
Rewards systems!! I couldn't mention this one enough it works so well, there are a few key points when implementing a reward system. First, display the reward chart somewhere public and respectful in the house (make it important and well known), make sure to get a sticker your child needs to do something challenging but not over difficult (we don't want to see frustration, but concentration is great!), make sure when you do give out stickers you give a huge acknowledgement and be specific with what they have actually achieved to get their sticker (make a big deal of it and show them how proud you are).
I also think giving your child experiences related to their reading is another great one if you're reading a book about cooking get into the kitchen and cook and relate your conversation to the book. If your child is reading about an animal at the zoo, get down to the zoo and give your child the opportunity to show off their new knowledge. Read a DIY project book and then actually do the project together!

There are many ways to make reading exciting and relevant, and I believe as educators it's our role to find the means to be excited and be creative! Children have so much imagination and creativity that is just waiting to come into play!

Finding Gaps in Mathematical Understanding

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:55:11 GMT

All too often assessment and testing become a definite concern for many parents, understand how to assess student knowledge if not done via a test is often not completely understood. I'd like to share today an assessment problem I'll be giving to some of my students that have started on their journey towards understanding fractions in the fullest way possible. My core beliefs are that the way to teach fundamental skills in mathematics, is to teach the concept in a way that reflects understanding; what I mean is it isn't enough to teach students how to add fractions by way of a process. We need to teach in a way that produces an understanding that will be used later in student education to support more complex concepts within the same subject.

A good example of this was when teaching some students last week how to add fractions with like denominators and then how to add fractions with unlike denominators. After students had mastered both skills I then went back a step and posed the question "why can't I add 1/2 and 1/3 together?", "what problems would I run into if I didn't change the denominators of this problem?" These questions give a clear indication of whether a student understands the concept entirely, and students who understand the process to get to the right answer rather than the concept. So you then go back to a fundamental question "Well, what is a faction? What is denominator telling me and what is the numerator telling me?" Fundamental questions of this nature bring about questioning and discussion to help consolidate the learning that has taken place hitherto.

Here is another assessment question I will use to help me identify any gaps in student learning within the area of fractions.

Which addition expression has a sum greater than 1?

1/4 + 1/2 or 3/5 + 2/5 3/4 + 3/2 or 3/6 + 3/9

Giving students two computations makes for a better assessment question as you can assess more data. Noting down student responses and student thinking helps with the direction of the lesson and what gaps are present in their understanding of adding fractions and comparing them to greater than 1. In the first problem student would look at 1/4 + 1/2 and would hopefully identify that this would equal less than 1; making a connection with 1/2 being equivalent to 2/4, therefore 2/4 + 1/4 = 3/4, less than 1. In the second set of fractions to add student might use the reasoning of the first is greater than 1, because we have an improper fraction with the numerator being greater than the denominator indicating we have more that one. In both problem questions, students can show any misunderstandings that might be present in adding and comparing fractions.

In my teaching, I believe there certainly is a time and place for testing, and I do not disagree that testing does support education. However, I feel the assessment needs to be creative and engaging to ensure students are participating fully in problem solving and questions to gain understanding. There are many things traditional 'sit and answer questions' test miss and sometimes can display no knowledge in an area a student wasn't probed hard enough to show their understanding.

I'd like to finish with I believe every student is capable of learning and it is my mission in life to ensure each student can reach their full potential in their understanding and be empowered by their education. It isn't about pushing students too hard for something they aren't ready for but allowing them to succeed in a system that isn't designed for every student to succeed.

Improve Your Child's Confidence Today!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:47:14 GMT

As a teacher, I have seen many cases where confidence has affected academic results in a negative way. This is unfortunate as students have the ability to perform at a higher standard but often can't due to low confidence and self-esteem. Confidence is a vital factor in academic success for most students. The majority of the students I see are struggling with a lack of confidence; this can sometimes come across to educators and parents as an unwillingness to learn. Don't mistake your child's lack of self-esteem for an unwillingness to learn. I have seen many behavioural issues in the classroom, as well as lack of participation, come from a lack of confidence.

An example I can recall was when I had a grade 4 student that started tutoring who started the session with an attitude of 'I just don't care, and on top of that I'm not interested' (well this is the position that he seemed to have). However after uncovering the child's extensive anxiety of fractions, (due to a previous teacher skimming over fractions and then having the expectation the student should 'have it'). I was able to build that student's confidence with breaking fractions down to the fundamental ideas, once he had those basic ideas he was easily able to grasp equivalent fractions. My point is if you were to take on the viewpoint of this student has a bad attitude towards learning you would never get to the bottom of the problem and be able to resolve it quickly and efficiently.

Here are some tips to help build your child's confidence:

Expectations Influence Your Child's IQ!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:46:02 GMT

Teacher expectations is a subject I am very passionate about as it is a huge factor in determining what mindset your child will adopt. Over the years of teaching and working with children I have seen many cases of students confidence and mindset affecting their ability at school.

There was a two-year study conducted by Robert Rosenthal demonstrated the powerful effect teacher expectations have on their students. Rosenthal gave the teachers of a government primary school an IQ test "It was a standardised IQ test, Flanagan's Test of General Ability," Rosenthal recalls. "But the cover we put on it, we had printed on every test booklet, said 'Harvard Test of Inflected Acquisition". Rosenthal explained to the teachers that the test would be able to identify 'academic bloomers', a student who hadn't yet identified signs of being gifted but would be over time.

Once the test was administrated Rosenthal chose a selected few students at random and told only the teachers that these students would soon thoroughly intellectually bloom, the teachers were not to tell the students.

The purpose of the study by Rosenthal was to observe if teacher expectations did have an affect on student learning; and over the two years that Rosenthal followed the students and their teachers, whom believed those students selected were indeed gifted Rosenthal says "If teachers had been led to expect greater gains in IQ, then increasingly, those kids gained more IQ". The study showed that the students that were identified as 'intellectual bloomers', had a vast increase in IQ over the two-year period, compared with students that were not identified as intellectual bloomers.

The above study does reflect the importance our expectations of students have in their abilities and confidence, this is not to say every child will respond in this way. I feel very passionate about this, because just as a we have seen positive results in the study, due to teacher expectations rising; we could also see very negative results if a teacher were to take on the idea that a particular student was lazy, dull, just not a learner, not interested and so on. If we are to attach labels to students these labels can actually have a huge impact on that student's self-image, confidence and IQ.

I pride myself on my ability as a teacher to always show students they are capable and no matter what difficulties in their education they are facing, there is always a way through and they have something to offer. There are many excellent teachers that have very high expectations and goals for their students, however this is not always the case and this does need to change!

Below is a video of a teacher from Israel who also demonstrates how teacher expectations can change a child's self-image and ultimately change their journey in education.

References:

Rosenthal, R., &. Jacobson, L. (1963). Teachers' expectancies: Determinants of pupils' IQ gains. Psychological Reports, 19, 115-118.

Identifying Reading Difficulties - How you can help!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:40:50 GMT

As a parent I can understand the extreme worry and anxiety parents face when identifying that their child may have a reading difficulty.

The first thing I'd like to bring to your attention if your a parent with a child struggling to read at this very moment is; it is okay, there are many Australian children from foundation to senior years struggling with reading. The good news is you have identified there is a problem and now you are able to get your child the support they need to become sufficient readers. The purpose of this blog is to inform you that there are many reasons a child may be struggling with reading, and there are many ways to address these difficulties and put your child make on track!

Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:40:48 GMT

Dr Dan Finkel decided after finishing his PhD in algebraic geometry at the University of Washington, that teaching math was the biggest contribution he could make to the world.

Dan’s approach to teaching mathematics is to learn and teach with courage, curiosity, and a sense of play. Everyone should have fun with math, in the speech Dan discusses, classrooms becoming alive when real ‘thinking’ is occurring in students. At Pioneers we focus our math classes on problem-based learning, we apply the five principals Dan talks about:1) Start with a question (It is not about memorizing the steps, but to actually think and create).2) Students need time to struggle (through struggle students get the opportunity to grow and learn)3) the teacher is not the answer key (math is an adventure, not knowing is the first step to understanding). 4) Say yes to student’s ideas and questions, (saying yes is not the same as saying 'your correct', accept ideas and allow students to empower themselves with an investigation). 5) Play! (Einstein referred to play as the highest form of research).

Dan goes on to say “what books are to reading, play is to mathematics”. We can’t continue to misuse math and build students that are passive rule followers. We need to give all students the opportunity to think mathematical and be creative and have the courage to ask those difficult questions; as Dan puts it, "then we won’t be surprised when our children say “I love math!”".

Divergent Thinking...What if......

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 05:35:16 GMT

The word divergent is partly defined as "tending to be different or develop in different directions." Divergent thinking refers to the way the mind generates ideas beyond proscribed expectations and rote thinking -- what is usually referred to "thinking outside the box," and is often associated with creativity. Convergent thinking, on the other hand, requires one to restrict ideas to those that might be correct or the best solution to a problem.

"Imagination is more than knowledge.

For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, for imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand" - Albert Einstein

In the book Breakpoint and Beyond, published in 1993, authors George Land and Beth Jarmen explain a longitudinal study they performed on 1,600 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. The children were administered 8 tests on divergent thinking, and 98 per cent of them scored within the creative genius category. The same children were re-tested 5 years later, and only 32 per cent scored in the creative genius category. 5 years later the same group of children, now between 13 and 15 years old, were tested once again, and only 10 per cent of the children scored in the creative genius category.

What the study by George Land and Beth Jarmen, is demonstrating is that past a certain age, most people are incapable of coming up with unique ideas because they simply don’t have the capacity to do so. So it is true that ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it.’ Being a divergent thinker is how revolutionary ideas come about, it is the unique way of thinking that inspires and empowers people.

Pioneers focus is to build strong capable learners that have the study skills necessary to be successful in life, the way we think and our mindset towards learning and creating is essential in finding our true passion in life and being able to make our individual print in the world.

Australian children falling behind!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 05:35:15 GMT

In the ‘Summary Statistics for Victorian Schools April 2017’ report we see a very concerning trend in the statistics; Predominantly when looking at the ‘per cent achieving top 3 bands, 2016’, we see huge declines in percentages across states in Australia as students’ progress in their education.

Although there are many factors to consider when analyzing these statistics, the results are alarming. An article written on theconversation.com highlights the fact that Australian teens are falling behind, there have been significant declines in math and scientific literacy achievement since 2000. We are working hard to fill in the gaps occurring in students early on in their education to see rising percentages as they progress. It is never too early to help your child reach their full potential and gain a solid foundation of learning before reaching secondary school. A report published by Grattan Institute demonstrated that the gaps that exists in some students (10 months behind) in grade 3, triples by the time they are in year 9 (thirty months behind).

Access the full Grattan report here: https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/Services/EducationResearch/Latest%20Research%20Documents/Widening%20gaps%20What%20NAPLAN%20tells%20us%20about%20student%20progress.pdf

You can access the full NAPLAN report here: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/factsandfigures.aspx

Or read the article published on theconversation.com here: http://theconversation.com/six-ways-australias-education-system-is-failing-our-kids-32958

Children Are More Than a Statistic!

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 05:35:15 GMT

Pioneers mission is for students to be able to gain new knowledge in a way that enables them to apply it. This may seem straight forward, however, there are many mathematical processes that are taught to students in a way that allows them to just recite the mathematical process and get the answer (not always the correct one).

The latter doesn’t give students the gift of being able to create with that new knowledge; to create with it the student needs to be able to truly understand it. Students need to understand the ‘why’ of how we do things not just ‘is this correct’. Here we have an exceptional teacher in secondary Math that has some of the same views as Pioneers, the way he goes about teaching is unique and his purpose is clear. Let’s move to teaching for true understanding and not just for good test results, children are much more than a statistic they are the answer to future global problems!