Teacher Terminology Tips
Read these 8 Teacher Terminology Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Child Education tips and hundreds of other topics.
Fine Motor Skills
As your child develops physically, and especially once she's reached nursery school age, you'll begin hearing the term "fine motor skills". What exactly are "fine motor skills" and how do they apply to my child?
Fine motor (also known as small-muscle) skills are exactly as the name implies: the skills of using small muscles, such as those in the fingers and hands. These muscles are the ones that will be used for holding spoons & forks, pencils & crayons, and scissors.
The fine motor skills are also closely related to (and often learned in conjunction with eye-hand coordination.
What did she say?
Educators have their own language. It's a language of technical terms that describe each stage of learning each type of child goes through throughout his or her development. As parents, we do not always understand what these terms mean.
Whenever you hear your child's teacher use a term you are not entirely familiar with, ask for an explanation. Oftentimes we parents shrug off some of the things our children do in school without realizing just how important those things are. The fact that our child may have great cognitive thinking skills, but is having trouble with his "consanent blends" does not have to send up a red flag, but our children's development is in our hands.
With open communication and cooperation between teachers and parents, our children have a much better chance at success.
Logical Thinking
Logical thinking skills allow children to draw conclusions based on information gathered. Following a sequence of events and being able to determine a probable outcome is a Logical Thinking skill.
Creating patterns or sequences with blocks, pegs, shapes or other manipulatives will help develop these logical thinking skills. A common logic tool is the "if-then" relationship: If it rains tomorrow, then we will not play outside.
Logical thinking is just one aspect of problem solving. See also: Creative Thinking
Gross Motor Skills
You may be thinking, "My child is clumsy, but I wouldn't call him 'gross'!"
Gross motor skills are also known as large muscle skills, those muscles used for running, jumping, and climbing. A child learns with his whole body, including those large muscles that oftentimes get him into trouble (when used for running in the house or climbing the forbidden tree).
Not only are running and jumping great exercise, but a child also learns balance and self-awareness.
Creative Thinking
Creative Thinking, also sometimes known as "thinking out of the box" is an important aspect of child development. Creative thinking can often allow for new and "unconventional" ways of solving a problem.
Problem: child is away from home without his "toys" and is bored with nothing to do
Conventional Solutions: go out and buy a new toy or turn on the TV
Creative Solution: a cardboard box becomes a car or spaceship, a broom becomes a cowboy's horse
Cognitive Thinking
Cognitive thinking skills are the skills of "knowing" or gaining insight.
Putting together or solving puzzles build the cognative thinking skills. It's the ability to gather bits and pieces to come up with a "whole". This "whole" may be a picture (as with a jigsaw puzzle, or it may be an idea or solution to a problem.
Diversifying Lesson Plans- Fair, not equal
One of the increasingly popular mantras in education is "Fair is not equal. Fair is getting what you need". We in education are starting to realize that each class does not have all learners of one nature. You have students who are struggling, either with the topic or with English language, your middle of the road students, and your high achievers.
Most teachers only teach to the middle, because it seems easiest and most likely to serve the entire class. However, when you only teach to the middle of the spectrum, you are actually alienating two out of the three groups in your classroom. Your struggling students are not working on the middle level, and thus will get lost and exasperated or depressed. At the same time, high achievers are getting bored and feeling anxious to move on.
You can't just teach the struggling students- it bores both the middle and upper level students. You can't just teach the high achievers- then almost no one knows what is going on. So what do you do?
Tiering your lessons is a fantastic way to get all the students in your class on task. It's also incredibly simple.
First, create your middle lesson plan as usual. This is the work your average students will get during class. Next, create a challenge lesson- an extension of the lesson that is a little harder and more involved. The higher achievers, who will finish the average lesson, can move on to this. Finally, create a way to scaffold the average lesson so you can assist the struggling students in the initial task in a group.
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences- Not all Kids Learn Equally
All students are not the same. We assume "smart" means a very specific type of learner when, in fact, the opposite is true. Educational psychologists back the concept put forth by Howard Gardner in the early 1980s that students have various modalities and intelligences that define how they learn and understand the world. Teachers looking to reach some of the more academically challenged students, as well as parents of struggling children, would do well to consider applying alternative intelligence activities to their daily curriculum. Here are the 9 types of intelligences Gardner defines.
Logical-Mathematical- These are your typical book smart learners. They do well with abstractions, logic, reasoning, numbers, and critical thinking. These students are considered to have fluid intelligence that can apply in several areas, and do well with problem solving and pattern recognition activities.
Spatial- These kids can visualized things within space and time. Architects and artists, they have a keen mind's eye and can apply it to puzzles and other visual activities.
Linguistic- These are your talkers, readers, and writers. They revel in language and can enjoy word play and more challenging texts in the classroom.
Bodily-kinesthetic- These are the hands-on learners, who understand the world most clearly in terms of physical space. They require high energy, high impact activities to stay focused and understand tasks.
Musical- The sound group. Musical students have some ability in pattern recognition and math, but more in simple auditory actions. They enjoy the sound of words and can create rhythms easily.
Interpersonal- The social butterflies. These students have a high understanding and empathy for how other people feel and connect to each other. They are people persons and can deal well in a group or one on one.
Intrapersonal- These students have a keen awareness of self. Self reflective and contemplative, these students are the deep thinkers who need activities to be related to their life.
Naturalistic- These students love nature and can relate all things to the environment around them.
Existential- Highly spiritual, these students are concerned with the supernatural, religious, and beyond.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Sheri Ann Richerson |
