Building communication skills in our students is integral to their success after school. The ability to understand the different types of communication and the effect these have on our personal and professional lives is paramount to a fruitful future. With the second semester of 2020 and our seniors in their final phase of schooling we wanted to spend some time talking to teachers about the importance of communication skills.

In this edition of Classroom Connections, we have provided an understanding of the co-teaching method and its effectiveness for any school, given ideas for creating the perfect teaching atmosphere and provided FREE brain training activities to use in your classroom.

The Importance of Communication​

Communication is what allows us to interact with others and the world. Through communication, we learn and share information that shapes our life and experiences.

Communication skills can take a lifetime to master, but it is important that we try to communicate as effectively as possible. Our communication skills affect not only our personal lives, but our professional ones too.

Featured Blogs

Creating the Perfect Teaching Atmosphere

Every teacher’s goal is create a classroom full of young people that love to learn. When we create resilient individuals that can challenge themselves and feel safe making mistakes we have achieved that goal. Positive feedback can be used to support our students when they make a mistake is one of the best ways to build this resilience and have them learn from their mistakes.

The Co-teaching Method

Co-teaching is a teaching method where teaching is done in teams. Typically, two teachers will look after two classes together, rather than each teacher looking after one class individually. This approach has been implemented in schools across Australia and benefitted students. When setting up co-teaching schools it is important to align theory, evidence, structure, and physical set up – if it is not set up just right, then it may fail.​

Resources

Preparing properly for exams is a skill. Mighty Minds' staff are experts in exam preparation and want to share our expertise with you. With workshops tailored to your specific needs, these sessions are optimised to produce great results. We will go through the four phases of test-taking to build students' confidence and clarity of the things they need to succeed.

Steps to the Future is designed to help students pave their own pathways in life, focussing on their future education, training and careers. 

Students work through four carefully crafted chapter based on the QCAA Career Education Short Course Syllabus (2018). Each section steps students through the process of finding work, setting goals for the future and identifying their strengths and weaknesses in order to build the ideal career path. 

New Release Resources

Critical and Creative Thinking Program – online and fabulous!

The introduction of Cognitive Skills has led Mighty Minds to re-examine thinking processes and skills that young people need – that was the basis for the creation of our new online Critical and Creative Thinking Program. Creativity is about originality and innovation. Everyone has the ability to be creative but do they have the necessary skills? In order to reach their full potential, students should engage in higher levels of thinking. Over the course of the program students will have the opportunity to develop and practice their critical thinking skills in order to be engaged and effective learners.

Want to extend your students? Sign up for our Critical and Creative Thinking Program. On special for the remainder of 2020 for $4 plus GST per student!  

Free Resources

Brainteasers

Getting students working can be hard if they are not warmed up! Use these brainteasers to get them ready to learn.

Creative Thinking

Your imagination is like a car. You can’t just plug in a key and expect it to go — you need to make sure you have enough fuel. Your imagination uses inspiration as fuel, but unfortunately inspiration is not always easy to come by. It might take you hours, days, months or even years to find the inspiration you need, and it could strike at any moment. It might come to you in a dream, while you are at school, while you are watching a movie or even while you are brushing your teeth!

Sometimes, however, we need inspiration to strike at a specific time, and luckily there are a few things that can help you find it. 

Fundamental Skills Competition!

Students across Australia have been busy answering English, Maths and Science questions on the Mighty Minds Student Portal. We'd like to send out a big congratulations to our highest scoring Fundamental Skills champions for Term 2. The top 3 students will be receiving prizes for their hard work! Learn more about the student portal and subscription options.

Social Superstars

Mighty Minds is happy to announce that we have created a Facebook group just for teachers!

This group is a safe space for teachers to connect and communicate about important issues impacting schools, share resources and ask for advice. The group is open, so any teacher can create posts and ask questions of their fellow teachers. 

We will also be providing free resources each week to assist you in and out of the classroom!