DYS Homeroom

This week we finished up students' "About Me" sharing and discussed the psychology of motivation. We started by examining two very different forms of motivation at work in our lives: Intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for its inherent satisfaction rather than for some separable consequence . When intrinsically motivated, a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge entailed rather than because of external products, pressures, or rewards. Extrinsic motivation is being encouraged to do something because of outside (extrinsic) forces . Said motivation could be positive or negative, meaning they can be encouraged to do something to receive a benefit or praise or discouraged to do something out of fear of consequences. Then we discussed common ways willpower can be depleted throughout the day and how to create an optimal schedule built on self-awareness. What a person works on (and when) can impact their motivation. Therefore, it’s beneficial t...

  "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."  - Maya Angelou This week we discussed executive functioning skills and how these skills are different from mere intelligence. Taking “in” facts and remembering them is often a strength of learners who are gifted. However, acting on ideas or having “output” is a different set of skills.  Fundamental skills related to executive functioning: Metacognition Planning Organization Time Management Task Initiation Working Memory Attention Self-Control Perseverance Flexibility Day-to-day examples of executive functioning skills include: Taking notes Writing down assignments and ideas Organizing materials Prioritizing assignments Writing structured responses Having a study schedule Making a to-do list We talked about how we have to learn these skills by breaking them down and practicing them before they are needed for difficult classes or pursuits. If a class is easy, we may be tempted to by-bass t...

  It was great to meet everyone this week while kicking off the first semester! As a reminder, "About Me" sheets will be sent today via email, and I am still collecting photos for the homeroom collage along with student emails. We talked today about how an "About Me" presentation can range from a freestyle speech riffing off the questions to a tech-assisted slideshow. It's completely up to students how much they wish to put time into it. The discussion this week around the topic of friendship was insightful and engaging. Every homeroom has a different chemistry, and it's an absolute honor to connect them in this online space. Mini-Lesson Topic: 8 Common Questions About Friendship and 12 Tips For Making Friends This week we focused on making friends in an online environment. Of course, these skills are transferable to other relationships as well. We started off with a list of common questions about friendship. One item on the list we narrowed in on involve...

  Welcome to the DYS Homeroom Blog: What You Can Expect the First Week of Class First of all, welcome new students (and students returning from last year)! I’m looking forward to the upcoming 2022/2023 school year. Last year, part of my routine involved sending parents/caregivers and students a weekly summary on Fridays via email. These emails contained announcements and insights about the mini-lessons. (I love to write about gifted psychology and brainstorm useful journal questions for students. I don’t mind summarizing our mini-lessons at the end of the week so you can continue the discussion and deepen your reflections.) To streamline this process, I decided to create a blog. Please check here on Fridays for weekly updates, summaries, and optional homework. I also created a curriculum calendar and an easy place to access the class policy. Feel free to take a look around on this website! What You Can Expect the First Week of Class Photo For Homeroom Collage  It would be...