The Whole Child

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The Whole Child Initiative proposes a definition of achievement and accountability that promotes the development of children who are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. We seek to redefine what a successful learner is and how we measure success. Join the group to post your comments, notify the group of coming events, and connect with other like-minded educators. Here are a few resources: 

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Most Recent Group Videos

    • Why Power Standards? Why now?

    • Dr. Robert Marzano calculated 3,500 benchmarks spread across 14 different content areas and stated, “you would have to change schooling from K – 12 to K – 22" to encompass everything. Many school districts use research-based processes to select a safety net of consistent Power Standards, and utilize additional learning expectations as supporting standards.

    • Meet the Attendees: Torian White

    • Torian White, an assistant principal in Georgia, talks about a teacher that made a difference in his life and how it affected him. Meet educators like Torian at ASCD's 68th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 16-18, 2013, in Chicago, Ill.

    • Meet the Presenters: Sandra Day O'Connor

    • Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor discusses the importance of teaching civics. Catch her presentation live at ASCD's 68th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 17, 2013, in Chicago, Ill. 

    • 2013 Annual Conference: Meet the Presenters, Carol Dweck

    • Author Carol Dweck discusses the importance of a growth mindset. Catch her presentation live at ASCD's 68th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 16, 2013, in Chicago, Ill. 

    • 2013 Annual Conference: Meet the Presenters: Robert Marzano

    • ASCD author Robert Marzano discusses "Our Time" -- how we know more than ever about what makes schooling effective.  Catch Bob's presentation live at ASCD's 68th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 16, 2013, in Chicago, Ill., or come to his one-day preconference institute on the Art & Science of Teaching on March 15. 

    • 2013 Annual Conference: Meet the Presenters -- Carol Tomlinson

    • ASCD author Carol Tomlinson discusses "Our Time" and the importance of making the most of every moment. Catch Carol's presentation live at ASCD's 68th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 17, 2013, in Chicago, Ill. 

    • Classroom Instruction That Works Video

    • ASCD's bestselling book is now a video. Watch the preview and find the book and video at http://shop.ascd.org.

    • Wade Boykin: Creating the Opportunity to Learn

    • Wade Boykin, co-author of the ASCD book Creating the Opportunity to Learn discusses the impact of No Child Left Behind on the achievement gap.

    • TEDx Video Dr. Judy Willis Feb 1, 2012 PART 2

    • TEDx Video Dr. Judy Willis Feb 1, 2012 http://bit.ly/wlxLIC Topic “From Neuroscience Lab to the Classroom” TEDxEnola 

    • Make a Difference: One

    • Video with quotes from the book: One: How many people does it take to make a difference? by Kobi Yamada.

    • 2012 Annual Conference: Carol Tomlinson and Marcia Imbeau

    • Authors Carol Tomlinson and Marcia Imbeau discuss why collaboration is important but often difficult and why teaching is sometimes an isolating profession. Catch their presentation at ASCD's 2012 Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 24-26, in Philadelphia.  

    • Annual Conference 2012: Robyn Jackson and Allison Zmuda

    • Can rigor and engagement coexist? In this video, Robyn Jackson and Allison Zmuda discuss some of the myths about teaching and learning. Catch their presentations at ASCD’s Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 24-26, 2012, in Philadelphia, PA!  

    • Classroom Instruction That Works, 2nd Ed. Trailer

    • The long-awaited follow-up to one of the most important books on teaching, Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Incresing Student Achievement, 2nd Edition, is now available for pre-order in the ASCD Store. It will be released in Jan. 2012. 

    • L2L Managing Your Time and Talent, Group 3

    • This video was developed as part of the "Managing Your Time and Talent" workshop during L2L 2011.

    • Edutopia Judy Willis Video A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool By Judy Willis MD 4/14/11

    • From Blog on Edutopia by Judy Willis, M.Dl Below is text that accompanies the video clip at  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/video-games-learning-student-engagement-judy-willis                                   A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning ToolBy Judy Willis MD4/14/11 The popularity of video games is not the enemy of education, but rather a model for best teaching strategies. Games insert players at their achievable challenge level and reward player effort and practice with acknowledgement of incremental goal progress, not just final product. The fuel for this process is the pleasure experience related to the release of dopamine.Dopamine MotivationThe human brain, much like that of most mammals, has hardwired physiological responses that had survival value at some point in evolutionary progression. The dopamine-reward system is fueled by the brain's recognition of making a successful prediction, choice, or behavioral response.Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that, when released in higher than usual amounts, goes beyond the synapse and flows to other regions of the brain producing a powerful pleasure response. This is a deep satisfaction, such as quenching a long thirst. After making a prediction, choice, or action, and receiving feedback that it was correct, the reward from the release of dopamine prompts the brain seek future opportunities to repeat the action. For animal survival, this promotes life or species-sustaining choices and behaviors, such as following a new scent that leads to a mate or a meal and remembering that scent the next time it is present.No Pain, No GainThe survival benefit of the dopamine-reward system is building skills and adaptive responses. The system is only activated and available to promote, sustain, or repeat some mental or physical effort when the outcome is not assured. If there is no risk, there is no reward. If there is no challenge, such as adding single digit numbers by a student who has achieved mastery in adding double-digit numbers, there is activation of the dopamine-reward network.In humans, the dopamine reward response that promotes pleasure and motivation also requires that they are aware that they solved a problem, figured out a puzzle, correctly answered a challenging question, or achieved the sequence of movements needed to play a song on the piano or swing a baseball bat to hit a home run. This is why students need to use what they learn in authentic ways that allow them to recognize their progress as clearly as they see it when playing video games.Awareness of Incremental Goal ProgressIn a sequential, multilevel video game, feedback of progress is often ongoing, such as accumulating points, visual tokens, or celebratory sound effects, but the real jolt of dopamine reward is in response to the player achieving the challenge, solution, sequence, etc. needed to progress to the next and more challenging level of the game. When the brain receives that feedback that this progress has been made, it reinforces the networks used to succeed. Through a feedback system, that neuronal circuit becomes stronger and more durable. In other words, memory of the mental or physical response used to achieve the dopamine reward is reinforced.It may seem counter intuitive to think that children would consider harder work a reward for doing well on a homework problem, test, or physical skill to which they devoted considerable physical or mental energy. Yet, that is just what the video playing brain seeks after experiencing the pleasure of reaching a higher level in the game. A computer game doesn't hand out cash, toys, or even hugs. The motivation to persevere is the brain seeking another surge of dopamine -- the fuel of intrinsic reinforcement.Individualized Achievable ChallengeIndividualized achievable challenge level is one where a task, action, or choice is not so easy as to be essentially automatic or 100% successful. When that is the case the brain is not alert for feedback and there is no activation of the dopamine reward response system. The task must also not be perceived as so difficult that there is no chance of success. It is only when the brain perceives a reasonable possibility of success for achieving a desirable goal that it invests the energy and activates the dopamine reward circuit.fMRI and cognitive studies reveal that the brain "evaluates" the probability of effort resulting in success before expending the cognitive effort in solving mental problems. If the challenge seems too high, or students have a fixed mindset related past failures that they will not succeed in a subject or topic, the brain is not likely to expend the effort needed to achieve the challenge.Brain effort is costly because this three-pound organ needs 20% of the body's supply of oxygen and glucose to keep its cells alive. The brain operates to conserve its resources unless the energy cost is low or the expectation of reward is high. In the classroom, that is the ideal level of instructional challenge for student motivation.When learners have opportunities to participate in learning challenges at their individualized achievable challenge level, their brains invest more effort to the task and are more responsive to feedback. Students working toward clear, desirable goals within their range of perceived achievable challenge, reach levels of engagement much like the focus and perseverance we see when they play their video games.Feedback or scaffolding may be needed to support students' perception that the challenge is achievable, but the levels of mastery are rarely the same for every student in the class. This is when we need to provide opportunities for differentiating and individualizing. These interventions range from clearly scaled rubrics, to small flexible groups for "as needed" support, or collaborative groups through which students can "enter" from their strengths. Descriptions of these strategies, beyond the scope of this article, are found in differentiated instruction literature.Game Entry Point is a Perfect Fit Through Pre-assessment and FeedbackThe best on-line learning programs for building students' missing foundational knowledge use student responses to structure learning at individualized achievable challenge levels. These programs also provide timely corrective and progress-acknowledging feedback that allows the students to correct mistakes, build understanding progressively, and recognize their incremental progress.The classroom model can follow suit. Video games with levels of play allow the player to progress quickly through early levels if the gamer already has the skill needed. Gamers reportedly make errors 80% of the time, but the most compelling games give hints, cues, and other feedback so players' brains have enough expectation of dopamine reward to persevere. The games require practice for the specific skills the player needs to master, without the off-putting requirement to repeat tasks already mastered. This type of game keeps the brain engaged because the dopamine surge is perceived to be within reach if effort and practice are sustained.Good games give players opportunities for experiencing intrinsic reward at frequent intervals, when they apply the effort and practice the specific skills they need to get to the next level. The games do not require mastery of all tasks and the completion of the whole game before giving the brain the feedback for dopamine boosts of satisfaction. The dopamine release comes each time the game provides feedback that the player's actions or responses are correct. The player gains points or tokens for small incremental progress and ultimately the powerful feedback of the success of progressing to the next level. This is when players seek "harder work". To keep the pleasure of intrinsic satisfaction going, the brain needs a higher level of challenge, because staying at a level once mastery is achieved doesn't release the dopamine.Bringing Incremental Progress Recognition to the Classroom... and BeyondIn the classroom, the video model can be achieved with timely, corrective feedback so students recognize incorrect foundational knowledge and then have opportunities to strengthen the correct new memory circuits through practice and application. However, individualized instruction, assignments, and feedback, that allow students to consistently work at their individualized achievable challenge levels, are time-consuming processes not possible for teachers to consistently provide all students.What we can do is be aware of the reason the brain is so responsive to video game play and keep achievable challenge and incremental progress feedback in mind when planning units of instruction. One way to help each student sustain motivation and effort is to shift progress recognition to students themselves. This can be done by having students use a variety of methods of recording their own progress toward individualized goals. Through brief conferences, goals can be mutually agreed upon, such as number of pages read a week (with comprehension accountability), progression to the next level of the multiplication tables, or achievement of a higher level on a rubric for writing an essay. Free bar graphs downloaded from the Internet can be filled in by students as they record and see evidence of their incremental goal progress. In contrast to the system of recognition delayed until a final product is completed, graphing reveals the incremental progress evidence throughout the learning process. I've found that for students who have lost confidence to the point of not wanting to risk more failure, it is helpful to start the effort-to-progress record keeping and graphing with something they enjoy, such as shooting foul shots or computer keyboarding speed and accuracy.Immediate Gratification or Long-term Goal Pursuit?Compared to an adult brain, a young brain needs more frequent dopamine boosts to sustain effort, persevere through challenges and setbacks, and build the trait of resilience. The brain's prefrontal cortex, with its executive functions (judgment, analysis, delay of immediate gratification, prioritizing, planning, etc.) will be the subject of a future blog. In relation to the video game model, it is important to plan instruction keeping in mind that the executive function circuits are late to mature – well into the twenties. The visible evidence seen on their graphs or rubric progress evidence helps students develop the concept that effort toward a goal brings progress. This, in turn, builds their capacity to resist their young brain's strong drive for immediate gratification. As students use visible models to recognize their incremental goal progress, they build the executive function of goal-directed behavior.Classroom instruction that provides opportunities for incremental progress feedback at students' achievable challenge levels pays off with increased focus, resilience, and willingness to revise and persevere toward achievement of goals. The development of students' awareness of their potentials to achieve success, through effort and response to feedback, extends far beyond the classroom walls. Your application of the video game model to instruction encourages the habits of mind through which your students can achieve their highest academic, social, and emotional potentials.

    • What if?

    • Standards-Based Education

    • Inspired by:http://www.fwps.org/cur/sbe/

    • The Journey of Choice

    • The Journey of Choice was created for one of the classes in the Seattle University Doctorate in Educational Leadership program.

    • Peter Reynolds on Changing the Destination of Education

    • FableVision founder Peter Reynolds talks about creativity and negative labels and their relation to education. Meet Peter during his Sunday, March 27th General Session at ASCD's 2011 Annual Conference & Exhibit Show in San Francisco.

    • Wes Moore on Becoming a Leader

    • Wes Moore, the author of The Other Wes Moore talks about his military service and becoming a leader. Meet Wes during his session on community and education at ASCD's 2011 Annual Conference & Exhibit Show in San Francisco, March 26-28, 2011.

    • Linda Nathan: On Having Access to Educational Opportunities

    • Author Linda Nathan discusses a heartbreaking story of a talented student who lost out on going to college. Meet Linda during her session at ASCD's Annual Conference & Exhibit Show in San Francisco, March 26-28, 2011.
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Most Recent Group Photos

    • Support for New Principals

    • My ASCD Book Spine Poem

    • I creatively ordered the titles...fun idea via http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/16/book-spine-poetry-future/

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    • Braley, Wagoner and Struck

    • Rep. Bruce Braley meets with constituents Bridgette Wagoner and Clare Struck during a courtesy call prior to Struck's appearance before the Senate Education Committee about meeting the needs of the whole child.

    • Harkin and School Leaders

    • Chairman Tom Harkin with Bridgette Wagoner, Clare Struck, Clare's son Jacob, his girlfriend Tori, and Kendall Griffith.

    • Welcome to Washington

    • Sen. Tom Harkin greets Clare Struck.

    • Harkin and Struck

    • Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin discusses whole child education with Clare Struck.

    • Whole Child Hearing

    • Clare Struck, guidance counselor at Price Lab School, testifies before the Senate HELP Committee about meeting the needs of the Whole Child.

    • House Call

    • Bridgette Wagoner and Clare Struck meet with senior education counselor to House Education Committee ranking member Rep. John Kline (R-MN) to discuss whole child approach to education.

    • Sen. Chuck Grassley's Office

    • Price Lab leaders pay a courtesy call to Iowa senator Chuck Grassley while in Washington, DC.

    • Price Lab Leaders on Capitol Hill

    • Bridgette Wagoner and Clare Struck about to enter the Senate Office Buildings to testify at the Education Committee's Whole Child hearing

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    • Walk To School Day

    • It was a beautiful morning for Walk To School Day.  I hope all 500 students appreciated the gorgeous views as they tumbled out of the buses and we walked in one line together all the way to school.   I wish we could do this every day - I love living here!   More pictures, if you'd like to see them:  http://blogs.falmouth.k12.ma.us/simplysuzy/

    • Whole Child Podcast at Conference

    • Molly McCloskey, managing director for Whole Child Programs at ASCD, chats with director Bridgette Wagoner and guidance counselor Clare Struck of the Malcolm Price Laboratory School.  Their school is the recipient of the first-ever Vision in Action: The Whole Child Award. Listen to the podcast

    • Whole Child Podcast

    • Molly McCloskey, managing director for Whole Child Programs at ASCD, warms up the audience for a live recording of the Whole Child Podcast at the 2010 ASCD Annual Conference in San Antonio. Listen to the podcast

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Comments




  • I hope you'll read my new article, "Getting at the Roots of Bullying," published by the Virginia Journal of Education. It examines how to prevent bullying from occurring and how to intervene when necessary. Here's the link:
    http://www.veanea.org/vea-journal/1010/index.html
    Bob_Sullo, 3 years ago| Flag
  • Calling all reflective leaders: nominate an educator for the Outstanding Young Educator Award at www.ascd.org/oyea by August 1st.
    Meg_Simpson, 3 years ago| Flag
  • Among other things, The Whole Child Initiative seeks to ensure that we create classrooms where students are engaged, safe, and challenged. I am hosting on online book study group based on my ASCD book "The Motivated Student." The group will begin in just over two weeks. My goal is to gather educators from around the world (literally) to discuss how we can create classrooms and schools consistent with The Whole Child Initiative. Many of the members of this group have expertise that I hope they'll share with their colleagues. I encourage you to join the "Inspiring Student Motivation" group and be part of the conversation beginning April 15. You can get all the specifics by going to: http://edge.ascd.org/_The-Motivated-Student/BLOG/2273392/127586.html Together, we can create the schools and classrooms we want for our students.
    Bob_Sullo, 3 years ago| Flag
  • Just a simple "thanks" for reminding all of us that education is more than test scores and AYP. As both an educator and a parent, I know that the most valuable school experiences include so much more.
    Bob_Sullo, 3 years ago| Flag
  • I passionately believe in educating the whole child. We just built a new middle school based on the Whole Child Initiative. It is a beautiful tribute to the concept.
    Nancy_Gibson, 3 years ago| Flag

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