Education Strategy

Echoes of Diversity

Leave a Comment / Education Strategy /

Moving Away from the DEI Acronym Toward Advocacy and Change The use of the DEI acronym has echoed the image of diversity without the real-life change that comes with true advocacy. Part of this is due to the lack of representation in those building and creating the systems of change. Part of this is due to the intentional and unintentional creation of a scarcity mindset that puts those who could benefit from DEI initiatives against one another instead of recognizing diversity as a strength. But this isn’t the first time this has happened. It’s also happened in the conversation around feminism and how traditional conversations happen without acknowledging the perspectives and lived experiences of Black women, leading to approaches harmful to the Black community. The conversation about AI and its use in pushing toward the appearance of diversity instead of businesses and organizations choosing to put in the work to treat diversity as an organizational value has also led to leaving behind what it means to have real systems and approaches in place to advocate for diversity and change. In this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast, Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock talk about diversity, how to build a culture in your educational setting that values it, womanism, feminism, how changing terms leads to surrender in the dialogue around social change, educational marketing, and more. Dr. Scott Gostchock brings to the table 31+ years of experience in education, administration, and community activism. His real-life stories and examples breathe new life into this conversation as he connects with co-host, Ruth Jefferson. Ruth’s lived experience, her 10+ years of experience with digital marketing and communication strategy, and her unique perspective and ability to look at history and society both as something she lives within and is an observer of make this conversation more approachable, even for listeners just starting on their journey toward better understanding the way history connects with the present and how you, as an educator, can be an active part of facilitating change. Interested in engaging more with this conversation? Email Ruth and Scott at admin@podcast.votmg.org. Or, click here to open a new tab and leave a voice note that’s a minute or less. We love hearing from you! And, with this new feature, we can hear the voice that goes with your feedback. Looking for that article on social media benchmarking? Click here to open it in a new tab.  FAQ What is diversity? Diversity means embracing the value of each person, acknowledging that part of valuing each person means seeing that each person’s ethnic identity, cultural background, socioeconomic status, and their identity as male or female are not themselves sources of value but are instead ways in which this value is expressed. Why is it important to note that the definition of woke has changed over time? “Woke” originally meant to be awake and aware of racism. For the in-group who originated the word, it still holds this meaning.  If you’re not familiar with the word, you may have heard, or even used, this word as a short-hand insult for things you view as forcing you into a position of political correctness, or to refer to things related to social justice as a whole, without a specific focus on what you may or may not agree with. Some who are familiar with the history of the word may still use it as a shorthand insult to hide racist intent.  There’s a difference between the original definition and the shorthand insult and its definition. This change over time is a result of the gentrification of language.  The in-group has a definition for a word, a vocabulary members of the in-group use to describe their lived experience. People not a part of the in-group start interacting with the in-group and adopting vocabulary, not understanding the history, meaning, and true context of words.  Their misuse and misunderstanding of words from a vocabulary. Sometimes this is well-intentioned. Sometimes this is done out of laziness. No matter the intention, this abuse of language causes those more distant from the in-group to come across vocabulary in ways that allow them to define them and set the terms for conversation.  The price for those who are part of the in-group becomes higher and riskier in both physical and emotional ways.  Hear what’s being said. Identify the meaning behind the words being used. Learn the context. Develop an understanding of the history. Approach communication with humility and diversity as strength.  How can you, as an educator or administrator, facilitate the creation of a culture in your setting that truly values authentic diversity? As an educator or administrator, here are some actions and mindset shifts you can adopt today to build the kind of culture that truly emphasizes and fosters authentic diversity:  Embrace the journey. There will be ups and downs. Know that these are part of the process.  Allow your different team members to speak into that journey and to provide feedback as you stay connected to that mission, vision, and values.  Make sure that the mission, vision, and values are clearly written down and in places where they’re easy to reference.  Seek an understanding first when engaging with your community and before attempting to diagnose.  Be willing to be held accountable and to respectfully hold others accountable.  The importance of accountability is also something we talk about in the episode, The Empathy Gap: Building Responsive Community. Click here to open a new tab and listen to the episode.  Diversity means embracing the value of each person, acknowledging that part of valuing each person means seeing that each person’s ethnic identity, cultural background, socioeconomic status, and their identity as male or female are not themselves sources of value but are instead ways in which this value is expressed. “Woke” originally meant to be awake and aware of racism. For the in-group who originated the word, it still holds this meaning.  If you’re not familiar with the word, you may have heard, or

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This is an image of the podcast cover for The Ruth and Scott Podcast. In it, Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock are standing in front of a building.

Reviving Community, Rebuilding and Establishing Trust in Education

Leave a Comment / Community, Education Strategy /

Reviving Community, Rebuilding and Establishing Trust in Education Clarity of purpose fine-tunes your team’s alignment. As an educational leader, your focus on this comes face-to-face with unique challenges. In this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast, Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock bring their unique perspectives and experiences to the table as they explore these challenges and ideas for how you, as an educational leader, can face these things head-on. Looking for encouragement as you embrace the call to being the leader God’s calling you to be? Order your copy of the 5 Essentials of Christ-Centered Team Building today!  Click here to open a new tab and place your order. Key Topics Talked About In This Episode Include: The USS Abraham Lincoln Culturally-responsive work, ministry, and purpose in schools Building feedback loops in educational environments that facilitate community Violations of trust in the educational environment and relationship repair When breaches of trust become breaches of identity Getting the pulse of your community The change in access to tools students of color would typically use to help with navigation of resources to help with the educational journey The importance of mentorship in helping students achieve educational outcomes How NIL deals can provide insight into the provision of further opportunities for students Relationship transitions for parents with college-age children Erikson’s Stages of Development and learning to navigate relationships and relationship changes. What’s in your newsfeed? Share it with us by emailing The Ruth and Scott Podcast at admin@podcast.votmg.org. Let’s keep the conversation going and continue to learn and grow as part of this podcast community. FAQ What are the 5 essentials of a team? Thinking about trust from a deficit mindset can lead to challenges down the line and barriers to clarity in the function of your team. The 5 essentials of a team focuses on a growth mindset that breaks out of that mold through:  Vulnerability-based trust True and positive conflict Clarity of purpose leading to commitment Accountability as the highest form of praise Results Want to learn more? Dr. Scott Gostchock shares insights from his 31+ years of experience and educational leadership in the 5 Essentials of Christ-Centered Team-Building Webinar. Click here to open a new tab and order your copy today. How can you, as someone working in an educational setting, build in feedback loops to help your team achieve success? Establishing feedback loops is vital to your success because it means that you connect with your students, families, and community, and also open the door to getting helpful feedback you might not have otherwise received from those who are closest to them. Here are some examples of how you can do this:  Allow anonymity where possible.  Highlight ways feedback is being put into action to achieve direct results.  Use technology to make it easier to provide feedback.  Allow people to vote with their feet by holding quarterly meetings.  Hold parent and family-teacher conferences.  Make home visits when possible.  Develop an understanding of students and families at a social and emotional level.  Build parent-teacher groups with a clear mission and focus.  Host community gatherings and forums.  Invite community leaders into your school.  Invite families in once monthly for community dinners and let them be a part of putting them together.  Put together a Spring event like a play or musical and invite school families and community members to attend.  Conduct 360 evaluations for everyone, including more than the administrative staff.  As a parent, what insights can Erikson’s stage of trust vs. mistrust give you to help you better prepare for your child’s transition to college? Allow yourself to understand that your world is changing. Open yourself up to explore and get to know your child in this new environment, with new roles and responsibilities on both sides, for you and for them. Think through and identify new obstacles that can show up as this relationship changes. You won’t know them all up front, but going through this exercise can help prepare you to take on a more growth-oriented mindset for challenges you can’t see in this moment.  Thinking about trust from a deficit mindset can lead to challenges down the line and barriers to clarity in the function of your team. The 5 essentials of a team focuses on a growth mindset that breaks out of that mold through:  Vulnerability-based trust True and positive conflict Clarity of purpose leading to commitment Accountability as the highest form of praise Results Want to learn more? Dr. Scott Gostchock shares insights from his 31+ years of experience and educational leadership in the 5 Essentials of Christ-Centered Team-Building Webinar. Click here to open a new tab and order your copy today. Establishing feedback loops is vital to your success because it means that you connect with your students, families, and community, and also open the door to getting helpful feedback you might not have otherwise received from those who are closest to them. Here are some examples of how you can do this:  Allow anonymity where possible.  Highlight ways feedback is being put into action to achieve direct results.  Use technology to make it easier to provide feedback.  Allow people to vote with their feet by holding quarterly meetings.  Hold parent and family-teacher conferences.  Make home visits when possible.  Develop an understanding of students and families at a social and emotional level.  Build parent-teacher groups with a clear mission and focus.  Host community gatherings and forums.  Invite community leaders into your school.  Invite families in once monthly for community dinners and let them be a part of putting them together.  Put together a Spring event like a play or musical and invite school families and community members to attend.  Conduct 360 evaluations for everyone, including more than the administrative staff.  Allow yourself to understand that your world is changing. Open yourself up to explore and get to know your child in this new environment, with new roles and responsibilities on both sides, for you and for them. Think through and identify

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This is an image of the podcast cover for The Ruth and Scott Podcast. In it, Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock are standing in front of a building.

The Accessibility of Transformational Leadership in the Classroom and Community

Leave a Comment / Education Strategy, Transformational Leadership /

The Accessibility of Transformational Leadership in the Classroom and the Community Transformational leadership is a promise and a trust. It’s a promise of consistency, vulnerability, and commitment to those you work with and those you serve. It’s a trust and a stewardship of each relationship as you approach education holistically and with a focus toward what can be. In this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast, Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock talk about what this means for you as an educator, for the school environment, for the community you serve, and for the accessibility of the educational experience. Listen now to join the conversation. The Ruth and Scott Podcast is built for conversation. Email us at admin@podcast.votmg.org to add your voice to this conversation or to any of our other conversations. You may just get the opportunity to have your comments or ideas shared on the next episode. We look forward to hearing from you! FAQ What is transformational leadership? Transformational leadership embodies servant leadership. The underlying premise of transformational leadership is to help people become better versions of themselves in whatever way you can serve. It’s about lifting people up and encouraging them. It also empowers members of your team by tapping into both the strengths of each team member and their sense of agency.  What are some of the challenges of transactional leadership? Transactional leadership isn’t as forward-directed as transformational leadership is. This creates gaps in:  creating the next generation of leaders passing on knowledge helping people to grow and to develop In this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast, Dr. Scott Gostchock, co-founder of Partner2Learn, LLC, brings in his own leadership experience from being a shift manager at McDonald’s to his experience as an educator and administrator, and what transactional vs. transformational leadership looks like across these different contexts.  How do the 4Rs of transformational leadership apply directly to an educational environment? The application of the 4Rs of transformational leadership looks different based on where they’re being applied. For administrators serving staff and faculty, this means that you:  Build relationships with staff and faculty, getting to know their strengths.  Clearly define roles and responsibilities for each member of your team.  Clearly define the results you’re looking for and how they’ll be specifically measured.  For educators, working with students, this means that you:  Build relationships with your students and get to know what their strengths are.  Establish roles and responsibilities for students. Ensure that students understand what’s expected of them (results), how they can hold themselves accountable for meeting expectations, and how you as the instructor will be evaluating them.  Transformational leadership embodies servant leadership. The underlying premise of transformational leadership is to help people become better versions of themselves in whatever way you can serve. It’s about lifting people up and encouraging them. It also empowers members of your team by tapping into both the strengths of each team member and their sense of agency.  Transactional leadership isn’t as forward-directed as transformational leadership is. This creates gaps in:  creating the next generation of leaders passing on knowledge helping people to grow and to develop In this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast, Dr. Scott Gostchock, co-founder of Partner2Learn, LLC, brings in his own leadership experience from being a shift manager at McDonald’s to his experience as an educator and administrator, and what transactional vs. transformational leadership looks like across these different contexts.  The application of the 4Rs of transformational leadership looks different based on where they’re being applied. For administrators serving staff and faculty, this means that you:  Build relationships with staff and faculty, getting to know their strengths.  Clearly define roles and responsibilities for each member of your team.  Clearly define the results you’re looking for and how they’ll be specifically measured.  For educators, working with students, this means that you:  Build relationships with your students and get to know what their strengths are.  Establish roles and responsibilities for students. Ensure that students understand what’s expected of them (results), how they can hold themselves accountable for meeting expectations, and how you as the instructor will be evaluating them.  Educator, are you looking for ways to tap into the strengths of your students? Start with these strategies for helping them build agency. Read the Article

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An empty classroom with arranged desks, exam papers, and pencils ready for students. Social entrepreneurship can be used by educators in the classroom to build agency in children.

Social Entrepreneurship and Partnership, Two Gamechangers in Building Childhood Agency

Leave a Comment / Classroom Management, Education Strategy /

Social Entrepreneurship and Partnership, Two Game-Changers in Building Childhood Agency   By: Ruth Jefferson Children are well aware of the world around them. Stories in the news and conversations held by loved ones present these realities through a lens that’s filtered but still very much felt. What life experience has not yet taught children is that they can have agency. This article explores how parents and educators can partner together and use social entrepreneurship principles as a key to unlock agency and encourage innovation and the processing of complex emotions. The Early Years Learning Framework and What It Teaches About Childhood Education In 2009, Australia introduced the Early Years Learning Framework. The framework is marked by 5 learning outcomes that highlight the importance of safety, security, exploration, relationships, and identity to the learning environment. These 5 learning outcomes are: Identity: This outcome aims to ensure that young learners feel safe and secure and that they’re operating from a place where they’re confident in their strengths and what they can do. Connection and contribution: Young learners begin to understand ideas like what’s fair, relationships, and diversity. Wellbeing: Children begin to learn about physical and emotional health and resilience. Confident and involved: Kids begin to learn about physical and emotional health and resilience. Effective communication: Children begin to harness creativity for the goal of self-expression through symbols, language, and various other media. Social entrepreneurship can be used to teachchildren about relationships and healthy and appropriate conflict-handling. In some ways, EYLF builds on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, recognizing the needs that children have for safety and security before they’re able to learn. Social entrepreneurship can be taught in ways that build on this to encourage agency. For the child at this stage, social entrepreneurship can be used to teach the child about relationships and healthy and appropriate conflict-handling. Through modeling the desired behaviors, both parents and educators can work together to equip children for times in the future when conflict can arise and to self-advocate should the necessity for this arise in the course of this or other relationships. Social Entrepreneurship and Other Entrepreneurship Styles Four entrepreneurial styles surface in conversations about business. These are the small business entrepreneur, the scalable startup entrepreneur, the intrapreneur, and the social entrepreneur: Small Business: The small business leader has identified their what and that there’s a business opportunity that this what represents. For example, a lawyer who has spent time in the formal education system and in internships notices that there’s an opportunity for them to engage in private practice. Often, this is an entrepreneur with a small business entrepreneurial style. Scalable Startup: This entrepreneur has the same starting place as the small business owner, with a notable exception. Their vision is larger. They don’t just want one location. They see the opportunity for expansion and want to go for it. Intrapreneur: Expansion is also key to this entrepreneurial style. However, possibilities are discovered from inside of this framework that lend themselves to the innovation of products and services that will bring change to the marketplace and change the standard for others operating inside of it. Social Entrepreneurs: These entrepreneurs are present in society and in the world around them. They see a problem happening and are motivated to do something about it. Because of the nature of social entrepreneurship, it can be a helpful way for kids to process, in a healthy and holistic way, the challenges facing their community that they might not currently have the language to express. Social Entrepreneurship and Educational Outcomes Children are explorers by nature, identifying what is through experimentation, hands-on with reality. This natural draw toward testing to see what works and what doesn’t is at the heart of innovation, creating something new. As parents and educators, your approach to teaching innovation for kids will be guided by age-appropriate strategies that allow the child to continue to explore organically. This also means establishing clear boundaries to help children understand the difference between when it’s time for task orientation and when it’s time to engage in unstructured play. Parents and educators can partner to help establish and hold this boundary through setting strategic outcomes. For educators, measuring educational outcomes starts with the establishment of clear SMART goals for student learning and using those to guide the way curriculum is implemented. For example, an educational outcome set for K-5 readers in the state of Wisconsin involves students learning to have conversations about how a reader’s point of view might be different from the writer, a character in a specific reading, or even a narrator. This kind of educational objective can be brought to life through social entrepreneurship by helping students understand marketing personas that represent the people they’re looking to partner with in their community to work toward solving the problems they’re noticing that are resulting in these complex emotions and feelings of helplessness. As a parent, you’re in a unique position both in terms of responsibility and in terms of the way that you can support educational outcomes. Because of this, you can engage with your child in ways that allow your child to experience their community both through unstructured play with other kids in your community and through experiences that allow them to more organically engage with those they want to partner with in meeting a community need. Kid-friendly events, including kid-friendly community theater and sports, can be positive places for these interactions to take place. Building Agency Through Social Entrepreneurship Accountability is the greatest ability in both one’s personal life and their professional life. However, it’s also difficult to take hold of agency, or the sense of control one has over actions and what happens as a result of one’s actions. In fact, when one doesn’t have a sense of agency, learned helplessness can set in. For adults with more of a solid foundation and a wealth of experience and successes to draw from, resilience helps with recovery from the results of challenges that happen outside of

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This is an image of the podcast cover for The Ruth and Scott Podcast. In it, Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock are standing in front of a building.

5Rs, 4 Pillars, and This Transformational Key

Leave a Comment / Burnout, Education Strategy, Mentorship /

5Rs, 4 Pillars, and This Transformational Key to Change Your Life and Community Is your life in balance? If what you do is out of alignment with who you are, the chances are…probably not. But things don’t have to stay that way. Join Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock now for this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast. Together, we’ll talk about the 5 Rs, the four pillars of work-life balance, and other principles that will help you take back your personal sense of agency and approach life from a greater place of strength, even as you face the challenges of your personal and professional settings. In this episode, Ruth and Scott also talk about immigration and society, and how you, as an educator, can step in as more of an integrated part of your community in the face of the challenges of today’s world. What you do matters. Who you are matters more. And, you are not alone in your desire to walk with your students in the social, emotional, and also the academic spheres of their lives. Looking for more reads and resources to help you on your journey? Click here to open a new tab and engage with the read 3 Reasons Why the Civil Rights Movement is Important to the Classrooms of Today from The Ruth and Scott Podcast Blog. Interested in a topic you want Ruth and Scott to talk about on an upcoming episode of the podcast? Email us at admin@podcast.votmg.org. We look forward to hearing from you! FAQ What are the 5 Rs of work-life balance? Rest Recreation Refreshment Relationship Reflect What are the 4 Pillars of Work-Life Balance? Flexibility and autonomy Boundaries and communication Mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being Purpose and personal fulfillment How can you, as an educator, work within systems and with families through challenges like those associated with immigration and other student needs? Communicate openly with students and families so you can identify and better understand the challenges they face and how they view these challenges. Then, work with parents, staff, students, and the community to develop action plans that will work for your specific community. Rest Recreation Refreshment Relationship Reflect Flexibility and autonomy Boundaries and communication Mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being Purpose and personal fulfillment Communicate openly with students and families so you can identify and better understand the challenges they face and how they view these challenges. Then, work with parents, staff, students, and the community to develop action plans that will work for your specific community. Movements are made of moments. Click the button below to unlock insights into how the moments of the Civil Rights Movement are important to the classrooms of today and 3 key takeaways for your context.  Read the Article

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5 Ways to Facilitate Learning and Incorporate Sensory Language In Your Lesson Plans

2 Comments / Education Strategy /

5 Ways to Facilitate Learning and Incorporate Sensory Language In Your Lesson Plans Why is a strengths based approach to learning important? Traditional teaching strategies start many times from a deficit model. It is important to know where students are starting from and what they still need to learn. But the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Knowing where a student is starting from, what their life experiences have been, and what the passions and interests of learners are will help you to better partner with students in their learning process, will help students embrace this process with passion, and will help to facilitate student ownership and agency so that students openly embrace becoming life-long learners.  How can I help students overcome fear of failure? You can help students overcome their fears of failure by helping them to see failure as a worthy part of the learning process and progress as worth celebrating. Strategies that can help with this involve elements like embracing the role of the classroom as community, encouraging learner agency and ownership, and highlighting the practical ways failures have led to successes throughout history.  How does dialectical journaling help students build sensory language skills? Practice unlocks ability. Dialectical journaling helps students explore sensory language and the mechanics associated with its vocabulary in a setting where they’re not experiencing sensory overwhelm. This can facilitate student agency so that when they’re in a setting where they’re more likely to experience sensory overwhelm, they’ll be more likely to be able to use this language.   Traditional teaching strategies start many times from a deficit model. It is important to know where students are starting from and what they still need to learn. But the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Knowing where a student is starting from, what their life experiences have been, and what the passions and interests of learners are will help you to better partner with students in their learning process, will help students embrace this process with passion, and will help to facilitate student ownership and agency so that students openly embrace becoming life-long learners.  You can help students overcome their fears of failure by helping them to see failure as a worthy part of the learning process and progress as worth celebrating. Strategies that can help with this involve elements like embracing the role of the classroom as community, encouraging learner agency and ownership, and highlighting the practical ways failures have led to successes throughout history.  Practice unlocks ability. Dialectical journaling helps students explore sensory language and the mechanics associated with its vocabulary in a setting where they’re not experiencing sensory overwhelm. This can facilitate student agency so that when they’re in a setting where they’re more likely to experience sensory overwhelm, they’ll be more likely to be able to use this language.   Sensory language is defined as language that focuses on the senses, specifically senses like sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. Through this kind of language, learners are able to experience stimuli both real and imagined. For those with Sensory Processing Sensitivity, there is a familiarity with the weight of experience. However, there may be a block in the ability to communicate this with you as the educator or with others in the learning environment. As an educator, you can help facilitate agency by incorporating sensory language into your lesson plans and classroom instruction. In ways that elevate learning for all of your students. Here’s how. Use Clear and Direct Language to Communicate Instructions to Learners. Ambiguity in instructions can add to sensory overwhelm and make it more difficult for sensory-sensitive learners to engage in class. Using language that is clear and direct helps to lower the barrier to entry so that every learner has an opportunity for success. Life happens. Prepare for those moments with partnership. As an educator, your goal is to be clear in your instructions. But it can be difficult to achieve this goal with the appearance of barriers like the fast pace of the school year, the rapid and systemic changes that can happen in the course of that year, and societal changes that affect the emotional regulation of students. Life happens. This is why having support both personally and professionally is important. Personal support can help reduce or overcome burnout. Click here to open a new tab and unlock 12 Mindset Shifts to Help You Overcome the Symptoms of Burnout. Professional support can help you to achieve your professional goals, provide you with accountability in achieving them, and help you to face the rapid pace of change head-on. Encourage Confidence in Learners by Building from Strengths. Learning is an objective. This means that it requires a clear strategy to accomplish effectively. Deficit models don’t account for this. Instead, they focus primarily on what’s missing from the equation. For sensory-sensitive learners already experiencing anxiety or even fear, deficit models feed into the potential for sensory overwhelm. For all students, this sets the groundwork for insecurity and negative peer pressure. Adapting your class instruction style so you focus on the strengths of your students and develop an ecosystem of partnership and accountability and that embraces the philosophy that any student, given the right helps, resources, and opportunities, can learn is vital for achieving the objective of student learning. Instead of focusing on learning from the starting point of deficit, building from the strengths of learners mean that you as the educator open the door for getting to know your students better by finding out what their passions are and where they are already as learners as compared to where they should be and using that solid foundation of what they know, enjoy, and have experienced and become familiar with to help guide the path forward for what the learning process could look like for each learner. The National Education Association provides an example of what this looks like for English Language Learners. Click here to open a new tab and read that article. While this article is about language learning. It provides insights

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Three people sit at a table in front of a floor-to-ceiling window. Sensory-sensitive learners can achieve more through partnership, facilitation of agency, and strengths-based learning strategy.

5 Ways Sensory Processing Sensitivity Affects Learning

Leave a Comment / Education Strategy /

5 Ways Sensory Processing Sensitivity Affects Learning What is Sensory Processing Sensitivity? Sensory Processing Sensitivity, also known as SPS is what happens when the fight-flight-or-freeze response is triggered as a result of exposure to certain stimuli or a number of stimuli within a timeframe that the learner doesn’t have time to process. This sensitivity has real implications for student learning and information processing. Teachers can help sensory-sensitive students by emphasizing partnership with each student, facilitating the building of agency, and building from learner strengths. Which learners are affected by SPS? Any learner can experience Sensory Processing Sensitivity. It is also common with those whose experiences include neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions like: developmental delays, ADHD, Bipolar, and ASD.  As an educator, what can I do if students are having difficulty with expressing their experience of sensory overwhelm? The importance of listening to both verbal and nonverbal communication is vital to your partnership with all students, including those with Sensory Processing Sensitivity. You can also work with students to build their sensory vocabulary through strategies like the ones mentioned in this article from The Ruth and Scott Podcast Blog. Click here to open the article in a new tab.  Sensory Processing Sensitivity, also known as SPS is what happens when the fight-flight-or-freeze response is triggered as a result of exposure to certain stimuli or a number of stimuli within a timeframe that the learner doesn’t have time to process. This sensitivity has real implications for student learning and information processing. Teachers can help sensory-sensitive students by emphasizing partnership with each student, facilitating the building of agency, and building from learner strengths. Any learner can experience Sensory Processing Sensitivity. It is also common with those whose experiences include neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions like: developmental delays, ADHD, Bipolar, and ASD.  The importance of listening to both verbal and nonverbal communication is vital to your partnership with all students, including those with Sensory Processing Sensitivity. You can also work with students to build their sensory vocabulary through strategies like the ones mentioned in this article from The Ruth and Scott Podcast Blog. Click here to open the article in a new tab.  Sensory Processing Sensitivity is a topic that’s gaining more traction. More research is being conducted. Individual learners are trying to put their lived experience into context. But what does this mean for classroom instruction? How can you, as a teacher, meet your students where they are? Here are 5 ways SPS affects learning. Some Things to Know About Sensory Processing Sensitivity Before We Start A common misconception is that Sensory Processing Sensitivity only affects people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While people with ASD may also have SPS, this sensitivity affects those with ADHD, certain learning disorders, Bipolar Disorders, and others not facing psychiatric or neurodevelopmental challenges.  Sensory Processing Disorder affects the lives and experiences of learners across the board. Click here to open a new tab and open this article by the Cleveland Clinic that talks more about Sensory Processing Sensitivity. Sensory Processing Disorder affects the lives and experiences of learners across the board. Before we continue with this conversation, here’s something else you need to know: SPS doesn’t look the same in every situation and for every student. Because of this partnership is one of the most vital elements of your toolkit. What this looks like depends on the learners you’re working with. For younger learners, this partnership starts with parental involvement. It may also include occupational therapists. At every level, you can bring along with you on your journey to best serve your students, admins, and possibly even community advocates, though the shape of this involvement may also vary based on the learners you work with. You also need to know that your work with students with SPS, as with each of your other students, is a process of continual learning and growth. These 5 points will help to get you started on this journey. Overwhelming Sensory Load Can Mean Students Aren’t Able to Focus on Learning Materials One way to think about Sensory Processing Sensitivity is like you would think about an allergic reaction. Your body is having an overreaction to what could, to some people, be harmless. To others, that same thing could evoke a sneeze on one end, or on the other end, be deadly. For someone with SPS, a stimulus could be mildly annoying. It could also be much more than that. But, just like when you’re having an allergic reaction and the itchy eyes and runny nose interfere with your attention and learning, a similar thing can happen when a student with SPS engages with classroom instruction. An Overwhelming Sensory Experience Can Lead to Overwhelm and Exhaustion That was Sensory Processing Sensitivity and its similarity to an allergic reaction. But let’s talk more about what it actually is. A stimulus is introduced, and the body goes into fight-flight-freeze mode. The body’s fighting in response to SPS can look like an emotional overreaction, and it could look like a learner looking for certain stimuli as though its experience is a craving. Freeze could look like delays in response time after a stimulus has been introduced. But the responses can be even more varied than this. When a sensory experience is overwhelming, the result can be an active reaction that leads to exhaustion. Experiencing this as a younger learner is something that can be helped by the formal organization of the day that includes a nap time. This isn’t the case when a learner is in more advanced grades. But it’s still important for learners to be able to withdraw for a time so that they can come back and re-engage in a way that actually facilitates learning. Your Student Might Not Have the Language or Vocabulary Available to Make Their Experience Understood In the article, 3 Breathing Exercises to Help with Emotional Regulation, one of the topics discussed is how intrapersonal communication can be complicated by internal noise. Click here to open that article in

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Is Technology Widening the Gap? The Thing About AI and the Relationships We’re Building​

Education Strategy, Relationships /

Is Technology Widening the Gap? The Thing About AI and the Relationships We’re Building Meaningful relationships transform moments, including moments spent engaging with technologies like AI. Ruth Jefferson and Dr. Scott Gostchock talk about this and more in this episode. Race, tech, mentorship, ethics, and more. This is one of those listens perfect for your commute. Listen now! Listen Now! What is AI and how is it being used to amplify harms? AI can be a very helpful tool for business, academics, and life in general. However, it can also be very dangerous when used as a tool in the wrong hands. This is exemplified by those currently abusing AI to create negative perceptions around people and people groups, propagate stereotypes, and encourage greater division. The amplification of toxic voices only increases this potential for harm.  Can AI widen the gap between the haves and the have nots? The concern is the uneven access to AI that those from more affluent backgrounds will have in terms of available AI tools and resources. This disparity could be leveraged to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, resulting in those from backgrounds with lower socio-economic status being left behind.  What is the foundation of good mentorship and parenting? At the heart and foundation of any good mentorship or parental relationship is love. From love, extends 5 essential and transformational principles: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and positive outcomes. When those involved in any mentorship or parental relationship view each other in love and hold each other accountable, what’s also being communicated is worth. Holding someone accountable communicates that they matter and what they do matters. This is a place to work forward from.  AI can be a very helpful tool for business, academics, and life in general. However, it can also be very dangerous when used as a tool in the wrong hands. This is exemplified by those currently abusing AI to create negative perceptions around people and people groups, propagate stereotypes, and encourage greater division. The amplification of toxic voices only increases this potential for harm.  The concern is the uneven access to AI that those from more affluent backgrounds will have in terms of available AI tools and resources. This disparity could be leveraged to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, resulting in those from backgrounds with lower socio-economic status being left behind.  At the heart and foundation of any good mentorship or parental relationship is love. From love, extends 5 essential and transformational principles: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and positive outcomes. When those involved in any mentorship or parental relationship view each other in love and hold each other accountable, what’s also being communicated is worth. Holding someone accountable communicates that they matter and what they do matters. This is a place to work forward from.  Like what you’re hearing? Find resources and reads to dive further into the topics covered in the podcast when you connect with the Ruth and Scott Podcast Blog by clicking on the button below! Read More

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