11 Yr Old Teacher! Amazing!!

[tbed63]

14 people who have no experience working with elementary aged children.

[marcieandbrooklyn15]

I'm 11. I wish my teacher would let me take his place but the state won't let him!!!

[TheTravelfool]

As a teacher, the education dept speaks with a certain "lingo" let's say. Why do we all agree with this lingo? and do we all agree a gifted child, such as her, benefits from being in the teacher position?

[Rwarncheese]

Dayymmnn. This video gives me he chills... I'd be scared of her & I don't know why.

[skyninjakiller]

tedbotello?

[BlueRonin44]

Teaching children to use hand gestures over verbal communication seems to ill prepare them for an academic environment, wouldn't it? One would also think it would ill prepare them for trolling on the internet as well.

[tbed63]

@BlueRonin44 You are so correct. Who do you know that is teaching children to use hand gestures over verbal communication? Tell them to stop! ; )

[BlueRonin44]

@tbed63 Presuming this is your system, I am referring to you rewarding children for using gestures and punishing them when they do not.

[tbed63]

@BlueRonin44 You have misunderstood some things. First, there are no punishments. Second, just because the students are encouraged to use hand gestures does not mean that they are being taught to use hand gestures OVER verbal communication. You don't hear all the verbal communication between students in this video? My classroom is all about students learning to express themselves verbally. I do appreciate the interaction with you though ; )

[Igi293]

@tbed63 i know that is just weird

[ownthispwn]

Wow, Mckenna is really good, she has lots of energy and can really communicate with the students in a positive and fun way.

Nice jobb.

[terror0earth]

I dont understand what they are doing at 5:05

the sigh of dissaproval? Im confused

[tbed63]

@terror0earth Search Whole Brain Teaching here on YouTube and watch the basic video on it. I think that should help you understand. It would be hard to explain it in a few words here.

[Igi293]

@terror0earth they are sad because they got dexter credit that means the teacher didnt see like barely any hand jesters so he didnt give them credit

[PalmBreezeCAFE]

Great job. Any time you get enthusiasm in the classroom during a lesson, a lot is being learned.

[Frenchie1656]

Thanks for sharing this video. Are the students commenting on work of another student in the class or is it a work sample? Could you give some suggestions of how to adapt this for younger children?

[tbed63]

@Frenchie1656 The students are commenting on the writing of another student. All students have their papers displayed for critique at different points. The point of the video is to engage the students in critical thinking about peer work rather than fostering reliance on the teacher to do all the thinking for the students. How to apply this to younger children? Well, that's a very big question that can't be answered in this space. In short, ask the kids to evaluate student work before you do it.

[yourmadgeness]

I love this! awesome!

[Simsker]

Its kindda easy.

[divineobliss]

Great job McKenna !!!!

[misskgirl650]

The only thing that really bothers me about this video is the title. It's great to encourage your students and call them "amazing," but it seems overkill to think it's something that all 11 year olds can't do, and the "ONE" girl who "can" is "amazing." It also strikes me as ageist-- almost like the teacher underestimates 11 year olds.

[GypsyLeah]

omg that looks like fun

[Xxninja195xX]

we had this in eighth grade.It was weird.

[archibaldthesimple]

As you say I am watching a small clip from one day and I don't know the background of these particular students. Which is why i was commenting on the clip, and the students behaviour in it. What I said was a fair critique of a short clip regarding the teaching style presented. No need to take it personally I meant no offense to you or your students.

[archibaldthesimple]

We were shown this at uni and broke it down in to is basic elements and found it to be very flawed as the students know their being filmed, and only proves that a select group students know how to read and remember what Mr Belling wrote as an example. They are also given credit for enthusiasm rather than for higher order thinking. They are using advanced language however the students are fumbling over words which shows a lack of true confidence, Confidence being a key indicator of understanding.

[tbed63]

...Lastly, lack of confidence? Are you serious? Some of these students have language processing issues and therefore hesitate as they speak, but lack of confidence? Those experienced with children this age can easily recognize the amazing things going on with these kids.

[tbed63]

I train the students through hours and hours of critical thinking exercises. You are correct in saying that the students are being rewarded for enthusiasm. However, this is NOT at the expense of being rewarded for critical thinking. You are watching a few minutes of day after day lessons. Critical thinking is the number one behavior that is acknowledged and fostered in my classroom.

[tbed63]

@archibaldthesimple Your logic is quite flawed. First, if you've ever worked with 10 and 11 year old kids you know that they do not have great acting skills. So to say the fact that they know they are being video taped changes the validity of the pedagogy makes no sense. Who is Mr. Belling? Do you mean Mr. Bedley? That's me. I didn't write a single thing for them to remember.

[deesophiegirl3000]

@tbed63 hey!! lol

[tbed63]

@archibaldthesimple Thanks for taking the time to comment on my video. By "uni" do you mean university? I'm curious about which university is critiquing my video. That's very cool! You may want to proofread your comments before posting, especially as a university student. It also helps to lend credibility to your critique. "Their" is "they're" because it's a substitute for "they are." That's something that I worked on quite a bit with the kids in the video.

[jessterz0]

@archibaldthesimple the key indicator of understanding is a correct answer, but this does not imply that the answer must be spoken in a way that shows the child is confident in their words. stuttering, lack of concentration, embarassment, opposition, or any opposing factors can take the confidence away. enthusiasm also, is a first step towards understanding. it gives the child the want to learn, and therefore the means. i'd also point out, the vocabulary is at their proper stage of understanding

[BrittenLi]

I like her use of oral cloze when she was reading aloud at the very beginning.

[twiddly11]

this is in a public school cuz they r wearing different cloths

[0774SPLV]

I did not mean to insinuate that as individuals the kids are not pleasant but that the cacophony would interfere with my ability to follow or enjoy the lesson. Kind of like a group of silly drunks. Would prefer to engage with them when they are calm and more normal.

[tbed63]

@0774SPLV I can assure you they are nothing like silly drunks because, if that were the case, I would not be able to tolerate their presence. Again, because of the nature of the audio in a video, the cacophony appears to be much worse than it actually is. They are perfectly normal and quite calm. They just are not taught to be sedate robots who do not think for themselves like what occurs in many learning environments.

[hardinmichael1981]

what is so great about hand gestures?!

[tbed63]

@hardinmichael1981 I was skeptical about the hand gestures component until I used it with my students. There are many benefits. First, students must look at the speaker in order to copy his/her gestures, thus fostering better listening skills. In addition the speaker practices good public speaking skills. Also, the kinesthetic learner benefits because of greater retention of the material. I hope that answers your question.

[hardinmichael1981]

@tbed63 that's very interesting @ gestures. I asked b/c many listeners and even many speakers can find their own gesturing, as well as the gesturing of others, to be very distracting. I suppose as long as it doesn't get out of hand (npi) and become a poor habit that it could be beneficial. the whole class seems very engaged and the quality of their critiques was often very impressive for their age group. was this class in a public, private , or charter school?

[tbed63]

@hardinmichael1981 It is a public school. This is a high achiever class. However, the criteria for 'high achiever' in our school is not the same as in many since we are a Title 1 school. Most of these students would be considered average in a higher Soc. Ec. school. I agree about the gesturing. Since they are 9-11 y/o kids, this is a way to begin the training of using ones hands to speak. I don't expect them to perfect the art form just yet.

[0774SPLV]

This would give me a headache if I was a kid. I would even hate to be around them as an adult. Way too loud.Why do educators love those elements of totalitarianism? Why the obsession with freaking grades too? Pretty lame.

[tbed63]

@0774SPLV I totally agree about the grades. There are much better ways to motivate students and assess learning. With regard to the volume, the video blows the noise way out of proportion from what it's like in real life. If it was really this loud, it would drive me insane, too! Hating to being around them as adults? I think you are being very harsh. Do you really think that 33 different individuals would all be hard to be around? These kids are actually very nice, easy-going kids.

[ranchomaranatha]

Wow, I wonder if I could get you to send down a truck load of them to teach us here!

[lilianmay444]

I think this is a great idea. I am going to school now to become a teacher. How did you introduce this idea to the students? Did McKenna have any instruction from you diring this exercise or did she do everything on her own?

Great idea!!

[tbed63]

@lilianmay444 It's going to be hard in 500 characters to explain everything to you ; ) Basically, I train the kids by slowly handing over responsibility. I obviously have done the lesson you see here, with me as the teacher, several times prior to the making of the video. McKenna did everything on her own in this lesson. I just told her to lead a discussion on the writing sample and use Power Teaching. I occasionally intervene when students lead something like this. Nrmlly let them fig. it out.

[tbed63]

@lilianmay444 McKenna definitely had instruction, but it was more in the form of modeling. The students in my class are trained in leadership skills and public speaking throughout the school year, so what you are seeing is more the product of many many hours of hard work with the kids. We don't waste many minutes of class time! ; )

[svtuition]

great idea

[1inspire]

The student wearing the glasses with the white shirt holding his hand up to respond and sits on his bottom the entire time; He is determined(Extra Credit); student up on their knees getting recognized?(Dextra Credit?)

[tbed63]

@1inspire: Great critical thinking, if you are inferring that the kids need to be called on more fairly (i.e. TOSA training.) Obviously at 11 years old, my 'student teacher' hadn't quite arrived at a state of perfection yet ; ) I normally use the sticks in a mug method for equity.

[The50Pesos]

great job!

[The50Pesos]

woooow my highschool teacher cant even get us to answer like that

[JessyT2]

amazing power of that little girl. great teacher. congrats.

[islamic22flower22ksa]

very nice and cute bu it will work only with children

thx 4 sharin

[ryouba]

There are some videos where power teaching is used in a college setting as well.

The purpose of it, to me, seems to be keeping energy at high levels (which I know that high energy = better information retention rates from your students), and by having the students participate, they seem to be learning by rote.

The possible downfall I see is that I wonder how this may affect individualized learning in the higher grades.

[KeithTurban]

does this work when the cute, confident, (and surely popular) blonde girl isn't the one at the front of the class

[tbed63]

Well, it's like anything else. It works only as well as it is implemented by the teacher and carried through by the student. She is definitely one of the best at it, but I have had several students who do a great job without the looks and popularity. You have to have a solid foundation of respect and discipline in the classroom in order to try something like this.

[jdub9436]

One Comment - Alfie Kohn

[aprilmayjune06]

My goal for the next school year is to learn how to this and implement it in my fifth grade classroom. It is awesome!!!

[Happytrails345OH]

Mr. Bedley, This is impressive. This should be used in all schools!

[MickChapman1986]

How can you say this is impressive? Have you seen the outcomes, this type of stuff looks good but is teaching really about entertainment?

[jennitxfun]

Have you read the research lately? I suggest a bit of brusing up...you might surprise yourself with the beyond amazing results...not to mention the FUN you will have as well!

[cieraangel]

I'm a 6th grade ELA and SS teacher. I've just recently started using Power Teaching because a lot of my students didn't seem motivated and I wanted to reach them. Most of the kids seem on board and really enjoy the gestures but I have a few who just don't seem to be buying the kool aid I'm selling. Does this get "old" to the students if you're using it all year, and what do you do with the challenging students who have the entire class saying rule #2 and 3 over and over and..over?

[tbed63]

I use the Power Teaching techniques sparingly in my class. I found that once you trained the kids, all you have to do is say "Teach it" without all the gestures and hoopla. It's the concept that is so important...engage engage engage. Never yack at the kids for longer than a couple of minutes straight without some sort of involvement by ALL students.

[poosheesty]

Some of the comments are as good as those I got in writing workshops in grad school. Are the kids encouraged to praise? They ARE helpful--very--but they don't praise or find what they like in the piece, at least not in this section of the vid.

[tbed63]

The kids are so good at it for a couple of reasons. First, this class is mostly high achievers. Secondly, I do critical thinking activities where I engage all learners on a daily basis. You are correct that the kids don't give enough praise. I find it more challenging to get the students focused on the positive rather than the negative. Of course, we adults tend to have the same problem.

[th3inquisitiv31]

there is something mysterious going on...

I don't think this is your average class

[tbed63]

The ultimate compliment! Thanks. They are just an average class but I've spent a lot of energy training them to think and act like you see in the video.

[tbed63]

She already is a teacher. Not being sarcastic, nor does she have a degree. We don't need degrees to be teachers. All the students in my class are taught to teach. Some are better than others. She happens to be quite adept at teaching. In fact, she's probably better at it than a lot of teachers with degrees.

[WolfOfUnderCover]

Seriously She to young to be teacher ? but she good

[lauraepina]

Well done! Great technique.  I love the academic language these students use.

[Acbball123]

I bet she will be a teacher when she grows up

[tbed63]

She already is!!! ; ) She'll probably be president! She's one-in-a-million.

[troublem8kr101]

wow!

[goalhigh]

its' really amazing!! controlling and managing the class is so powerful!, I can't think of her age, 11!!!

[dadfdfada]

awesome , she's cute as well :)

[pinhod66]

omg sooo great!! i hope i can use power teaching in my classroom

[EducationIllustrated]

Encourging students to teach is a great technique. Without social interaction, students will rarely make meaning of content. Great job!

[kdkiley]

I think this video is so awesome and cool! If i was a 11 year old teaching a class i would SUCK. So i think that was pretty cool and what this 11 year old did.

[mommajomma1]

Wow! this is so wonderful! The interaction among the learners is fabulous. I think it's great for kids to be able to express their viewpoint and it's very effective...!!

[pazsion]

hehe, wel it's good for teaching them to respect and listen to peers. And emotions yea! these are usually dicouraged in public classrooms.. the noise level and chatter would make it difficult for me to learn. but these are kids =) and they usually dont miss much regardless of distractions. power teaching, whoda thought?

[rockinthestandards]

Thanks for your thoughts pazsion! Actually the noise level is accentuated by the mic on the video camera. It would drive me crazy too if it was really that loud. It's not nearly as bad in person. ; )

[sanchezgal81]

WOW! This is GREAT!