Comments on: Identifying your students’ hidden talents http://www.teachingwithaloha.org/2009/09/identifying-your-students-hidden-talents/ Bringing our Universal Values of Aloha to the Art and Heart of Teaching Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:55:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Steve Sherlock http://www.teachingwithaloha.org/2009/09/identifying-your-students-hidden-talents/comment-page-1/#comment-80 Steve Sherlock Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:27:18 +0000 http://www.teachingwithaloha.org/?p=82#comment-80 Dean, I agree that focusing on the positive is the way to go. Marcus Buckingham does this with his strengths program. Observation is key but the point I'll come back to is the time it takes to record that observation so it can be usable later. This is one area where appropriate technology should be introduced into the classroom to enable this timely capture of the observation. Simple voice recorded notes wouldn't achieve the end as it would take as much time (if not more) to replay the recording and then transcribe it. Perhaps a hand-held device with some check boxes to make a quick entry would be the best bet timewise. Dean, I agree that focusing on the positive is the way to go. Marcus Buckingham does this with his strengths program.

Observation is key but the point I’ll come back to is the time it takes to record that observation so it can be usable later. This is one area where appropriate technology should be introduced into the classroom to enable this timely capture of the observation. Simple voice recorded notes wouldn’t achieve the end as it would take as much time (if not more) to replay the recording and then transcribe it. Perhaps a hand-held device with some check boxes to make a quick entry would be the best bet timewise.

]]> By: Dean Boyer http://www.teachingwithaloha.org/2009/09/identifying-your-students-hidden-talents/comment-page-1/#comment-78 Dean Boyer Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:57:39 +0000 http://www.teachingwithaloha.org/?p=82#comment-78 Thanks Steve. Yes, it requires time and intentional planning. Of course, some of the information can be through simple observation as children play and work. I wish I had done this more as a teacher. I certainly wish more of my teachers had taken the time with me. Another thought just came to mind...how wonderful it would be if bosses, managers, leaders...would focus on how their employees are smart! Perhaps that is the foundation for working from one's strengths. Discovering each employee's hidden talents...think what could happen! Thanks Steve. Yes, it requires time and intentional planning. Of course, some of the information can be through simple observation as children play and work. I wish I had done this more as a teacher. I certainly wish more of my teachers had taken the time with me.

Another thought just came to mind…how wonderful it would be if bosses, managers, leaders…would focus on how their employees are smart! Perhaps that is the foundation for working from one’s strengths. Discovering each employee’s hidden talents…think what could happen!

]]> By: Steve Sherlock http://www.teachingwithaloha.org/2009/09/identifying-your-students-hidden-talents/comment-page-1/#comment-77 Steve Sherlock Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:36:56 +0000 http://www.teachingwithaloha.org/?p=82#comment-77 This is a great thing to do, the one aspect of it that makes it real hard is the time it takes to do it right. With only one adult in a classroom of 20 kindergartners, there is precious little time to fully engage this. One way my wife (the kindergarten teacher) says that No Child Left Behind can succeed would be if a second adult (professionally trained) was in all K-2 classrooms. Give the extra time and attention to the youth at the time when it would be most beneficial in their development. This is a great thing to do, the one aspect of it that makes it real hard is the time it takes to do it right. With only one adult in a classroom of 20 kindergartners, there is precious little time to fully engage this.

One way my wife (the kindergarten teacher) says that No Child Left Behind can succeed would be if a second adult (professionally trained) was in all K-2 classrooms. Give the extra time and attention to the youth at the time when it would be most beneficial in their development.

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