In Service Gets Teachers' Attention

Exit slip:  At the end of this piece you will be able to name two topics discussed by Greene Street Friends School faculty during a recent in-service and to identify two methods to capture students’ attention and strengthen their memory.

For the April faculty in-service day the Student Support Team invited the team of Dr. Robert Ziffer and Debbie Flaks, M.Ed. from the Center for Attention Disorders to present on strengthening and enhancing students’ memory and attention. Dr. Ziffer is a clinical and school psychologist. Ms. Flaks has worked with students, parents and teachers in schools and colleges for over 20 years as a teacher, learning and reading specialist. Dr. Ziffer spoke on what defines both attention and memory and how closely both areas of cognition are tied. Teachers reviewed the components of memory and attention and in particular discussed executive functions and what impact weaknesses of executive functioning have on student success. The review was thought provoking and led directly into a discussion of best practices within teaching to capture students’ attention and strengthen memory skills. This portion of the in-service was led by Debbie Flaks. She introduced a variety of best practices that included:

• Exit Slips - a way to focus students’ attention on the important information covered within a lesson

• Road Maps - a visual that provides an outline for the lesson or unit of study, and ways to weave the language of learning into classroom content every day. 

Ms. Flaks also provided visuals, resources and classroom examples that excited teachers and led many to weave new ideas into their teaching immediately. 

Overall teachers left the afternoon with enhanced understandings of memory and attention, some practical classroom practices, and a desire to continue the conversation on how to support the development of memory and attention within their classrooms.