As Canada continues to work towards reconciliation with Indigenous communities, the authors of this article invite non-Indigenous educators to engage with Indigenous pedagogies as a means to decolonize educational institutions. The purpose of this study was to highlight the value of Indigenous frameworks in effective teaching practices and methods. More specifically, this article focuses on talking circles as a way for Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators and students to “engage in a reciprocal and relational learning process,” prioritizing relationship building and creating diverse learning environments.

Healing Through the Use of Talking Circles

Previous research shows that talking circles, or what has also been referred to as “sharing circles,” can serve as an effective means to encourage “safe communication, specifically sharing and empathy” in various contexts, including public health, community, and social contexts. However, there has been less research conducted around the impact of talking circles in educational settings, emphasizing the significance of this study.

Co-Creating New Expertise

This study attempts to offer theoretical based scaffolding to assist non-Indigenous educators in the practice of talking circles as a pedagogical framework within educational systems. In this way, Barkaskas & Gladwin seek to provide alternatives to traditional, colonial educational practices in Canada’s K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions. Barkaskas & Gladwin emphasize that talking circles serve as a concrete way to decolonize education. Canada’s education system has historically been built on Eurocentric values, where there are only a select few “experts.” However, talking circles recognize expertise as something that is “collectively co-created, held, and shared through reciprocal sharing and learning,” serving to shift the traditional educational paradigm. 

The article then outlines the Indigenous knowledge systems in which talking circles are built – situated relatedness, respectful listening, and reflective witnessing. Situated relatedness calls on all participants in the circle to consider their personal histories and how this is connected to the land they live on. The next phase, respectful listening, asks participants to listen without judgment so that all voices feel seen and heard, therefore fostering compassion and empathy. Lastly, the stage of reflective witnessing requires that all participants focus on their own experiences and use the voices of others to critically reflect on one’s own ideas and perspectives.

Integrating Indigenous Education Into Curriculum

Overall, this study reveals that talking circles can be a strong way forward on the path toward decolonizing education within Canada. As Barkaskas & Gladwin note at the conclusion of their article, “pedagogical talking circles create spaces for exchanging ideas and views, whether similar or dissimilar, with the intentional commitment to meeting each person where they are at in their learning journey.” However, it is also important to acknowledge that Indigenous education must be something that is integrated across all subject areas and viewed as foundational in effective teaching and learning in order to result in transformational change.

Notable Quotes: 

“One of the many catastrophic effects of the Residential Schools, and why both truth and reconciliation remain vital for transformational change, is that Indigenous knowledges were suppressed through a systemic process of devaluation and discreditation (Cote-Meet, 2020). They were replaced with Eurocentric forms of “cognitive imperialism” (Battiste, 2000, p. 198). Reclaiming education through Indigenizing frameworks supports the TRC’s Calls to Action as an immediate response to a legacy of colonialism and as a way to reconsider building sustainable educational futures with Indigeneity and associated knowledge systems as a primary focus.” 

“Including talking circles in classrooms also serves to decolonize institutions by normalizing Indigenous pedagogies and methodologies even in the context of teaching non-Indigenous content. This breaks down the normalized violence of colonial education and supports Indigenous faculty in their work to decolonize and Indigenize universities and schools. Regardless of the challenges it may present, this development can be gradual and still provide impact.”

“We do not imagine that this work is without significant challenges. Educators must be prepared to feel uncomfortable and, as a direct consequence, integrate generative ways of addressing their own discomfort — without relying on Indigenous people as their primary supports—as they come to acknowledge their part in colonization. It is also expected that mistakes will be made, and it is essential for educators to learn from their mistakes in doing the work of decolonization.”

Personal Takeaway: 

When used together, the key elements of Indigenous talking circles (sharing, listening, and reflecting) serve as a strong relationship-building tool and are very similar to the approach that MARIO Practitioners apply to their one-to-one learning conversations. As the authors of this article emphasize, knowledge-building should be a collective process. By placing students at the center of their learning and equipping educators to become better listeners, I believe that the MARIO Framework actively encourages this collaborative learning process and inherently challenges “traditional” approaches to education.—Taryn McBrayne

Barkaskas, P. & Gladwin, D. (2021). Pedagogical Talking Circles: Decolonizing Education through Relational Indigenous Frameworks. Journal of Teaching and Learning, 15(1), 20-38. https://.doi.org/10.22329/jtl.v15i1.6519

Cognitive Science, Pedagogy, Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE)

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 25 primary studies to further explore the link between working memory and reading. 

The inconsistency of working memory assessments

Although working memory is important for reading, working memory assessments are too inconsistent to compare results.

Written assessments yield greater information

The study was conducted by comparing the type of tests, type of measurements and tasks used to assess the correlation of working memory and L2 reading comprehension in the chosen 25 primary studies. The results were meticulously compared to form conclusions. The study found that there is a medium correlation between working memory and L2 reading comprehension. This is greater when participants are asked to recall information in a written format, highlighting that the type of tasks during the test also impact the correlation between working memory and L2 reading comprehension.

Rigorous testing necessary to produce accurate results

The results highlighted the complexity of measuring working memory and its impact on L2 reading comprehension because it can be influenced by the participants prior L2 proficiency, type of measurements, and task with which the assessment is performed. The research suggested that consistent, rigorous tests must be used in future to be able to compare results and minimize variations across studies to gain a true picture of the correlation between working memory and L2 reading comprehension.

Notable Quotes: 

“Although the format of the RST(reading span test) […] currently the most commonly adopted version, variations in the task design are common in research that explores the link between working memory and reading comprehension. Yet, little work has been done to examine how methodological features of the RST might influence the final working memory scores and its correlation with reading comprehension.”

“The overall results of the present study confirmed the medium-sized relationship between WM and L2 reading comprehension (r = .30).”

“With respect to the inconsistent measurement practices, researchers should first be aware of the moderator variables identified in this meta-analysis and take caution in interpreting findings of previous research.”

Personal Takeaway: 

I found the research interesting because as educators and SENCOs we rely on these test to interpret the students‘ progress. The study has shown me that tests cannot provide a full picture of a student‘s learning but have to be seen alongside other data and tasks performed by the student. Therefore, it is always important to not take the assessments as fully comprehensive but as a piece in the puzzle of monitoring progress. Conversations, variety in tasks and scaffolding might allow students to expand their reading and language skills to access and comprehend texts rather than provide support merely on one reading assessment. It is important to keep working memory in mind for L2 teaching but through the right teaching methods and tasks students will comprehend and progress regardless of their working memory.—Frankie

Shin, J. (2020). A meta-analysis of the relationship between working memory and second language reading comprehension: Does task type matter?. Applied Psycholinguistics, 41(4), 873-900.

Cognitive Science, Pedagogy, Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE)

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 25 primary studies to further explore the link between working memory and reading. 

The inconsistency of working memory assessments

Although working memory is important for reading, working memory assessments are too inconsistent to compare results.

Written assessments yield greater information

The study was conducted by comparing the type of tests, type of measurements and tasks used to assess the correlation of working memory and L2 reading comprehension in the chosen 25 primary studies. The results were meticulously compared to form conclusions. The study found that there is a medium correlation between working memory and L2 reading comprehension. This is greater when participants are asked to recall information in a written format, highlighting that the type of tasks during the test also impact the correlation between working memory and L2 reading comprehension.

Rigorous testing necessary to produce accurate results

The results highlighted the complexity of measuring working memory and its impact on L2 reading comprehension because it can be influenced by the participants prior L2 proficiency, type of measurements, and task with which the assessment is performed. The research suggested that consistent, rigorous tests must be used in future to be able to compare results and minimize variations across studies to gain a true picture of the correlation between working memory and L2 reading comprehension.

Notable Quotes: 

“Although the format of the RST(reading span test) […] currently the most commonly adopted version, variations in the task design are common in research that explores the link between working memory and reading comprehension. Yet, little work has been done to examine how methodological features of the RST might influence the final working memory scores and its correlation with reading comprehension.”

“The overall results of the present study confirmed the medium-sized relationship between WM and L2 reading comprehension (r = .30).”

“With respect to the inconsistent measurement practices, researchers should first be aware of the moderator variables identified in this meta-analysis and take caution in interpreting findings of previous research.”

Personal Takeaway: 

I found the research interesting because as educators and SENCOs we rely on these test to interpret the students‘ progress. The study has shown me that tests cannot provide a full picture of a student‘s learning but have to be seen alongside other data and tasks performed by the student. Therefore, it is always important to not take the assessments as fully comprehensive but as a piece in the puzzle of monitoring progress. Conversations, variety in tasks and scaffolding might allow students to expand their reading and language skills to access and comprehend texts rather than provide support merely on one reading assessment. It is important to keep working memory in mind for L2 teaching but through the right teaching methods and tasks students will comprehend and progress regardless of their working memory.—Frankie

Shin, J. (2020). A meta-analysis of the relationship between working memory and second language reading comprehension: Does task type matter?. Applied Psycholinguistics, 41(4), 873-900.

Personalized Learning, Professional Learning

Educational innovators are beginning to explore the concept of personalized learning as a way to reimagine and redesign the United States education system. However, there is currently a lack of research surrounding this approach to teaching and learning. This study seeks to “offer strategic guidance for designers of personalized learning programs to consider while the evidence base is catching up.”

Historical efforts made to personalize learning

Many of the strategies that personalized learning leverages are not new. As the author of this study (John F. Pane) states, “There is a long history of educators striving to meet students’ individual needs and incorporating their interests and preferences into instruction. These efforts include developing individualized education plans for students with special needs, using data to help make instructional decisions for individual students, providing instruction to individual students or small groups of students, providing tutors or support teachers to supplement the classroom teacher’s instruction, and offering diverse elective courses.” In addition, technology has afforded teachers more time to work with individuals or small groups, due to a reduction in complex monitoring systems, largely supporting a personalized learning approach. 

When determining the rollout of personalized learning it is important to consider the possible challenges to implementation. The fact that educators may need to spend valuable time and effort assembling the necessary supporting materials and making them work together as well as navigate potential conflicts with current state or district policies were both cited as challenges to consider. 

Despite these challenges, existing evidence suggests that enthusiasm around personalized learning exists, and Pane suggests that providing guidelines for adoption can be helpful for those who are interested in trialing the approach. Such guidelines include: embracing evidence-based strategies, focusing on time spent with students, leveraging teachers’ skill-sets, using rigorous learning materials (ie. educational software), monitoring implementation, and being prepared to adapt.

More research needed to fine-tune personalized learning

Pane summarizes evidence collected by a team of RAND Corporation researchers who surveyed 32 schools using personalized learning. Considering this data, they identified challenges to implementation and then offered some potential design guidelines for interested educators in addition to outlining the application of these principles in a way that fosters skill development for students. Pane explains that personalized learning holds promise for K-12 educators in the United States as we begin to embrace more customized educational experiences for our students. 

However, it is important to acknowledge that “because personalized learning is composed of so many interrelated strategies, considerable additional research will be needed to sort out the fine details of which strategies, and in which combinations, are most effective for which students.”

Effective strategies needed for teachers

Overall, the study suggests that further research needs to be done on effective personalized learning strategies prior to a major rollout in school districts. Due to the individualized nature of personalized learning, it is important that teachers are provided with effective strategies as a means to reduce the amount of failed implementations and “put it on a path toward meeting its full potential as a major reform of the K–12 education system.”

Notable Quotes: 

“The goal of personalized learning is to make each student’s educational experience

responsive to his or her talents, interests, and needs.”

“Teachers are the next-most-valuable resources available to students when their skills are properly focused on providing instruction and related support to students. Successful personalized learning strategies or models likely will be designed to conserve teachers’ time and effort for activities that are most directly helpful to students.”

“States, school districts, and school leaders who want to allow mastery-based approaches to play out over multiple years will need to rethink how systems of standards, assessments, and

accountability operate. This might require a shift away from age- or grade-based targets of attainment toward systems that focus on growth in achievement.”

Personal Takeaway: 

Personalized learning is at the core of my classroom as a learning support teacher. Allowing students to create their own learning goals strongly aligns with personalized learning and, in my experience, adopting personalized learning strategies often leads to positive learning outcomes, stronger student-teacher relationships, and increased student engagement. However, in order to be successful, personalized learning requires a level of experimentation and a willingness to be flexible. For those of you who are interested in trying out more personalized learning opportunities in your classes, know that it’s okay if things get a little messy, it is all part of the learning process!—Taryn McBrayne

Pane, J. F. (2018). Strategies for Implementing Personalized Learning While Evidence and Resources Are Underdeveloped. RAND Corporation. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19893

Personalized Learning, Professional Learning

Educational innovators are beginning to explore the concept of personalized learning as a way to reimagine and redesign the United States education system. However, there is currently a lack of research surrounding this approach to teaching and learning. This study seeks to “offer strategic guidance for designers of personalized learning programs to consider while the evidence base is catching up.”

Historical efforts made to personalize learning

Many of the strategies that personalized learning leverages are not new. As the author of this study (John F. Pane) states, “There is a long history of educators striving to meet students’ individual needs and incorporating their interests and preferences into instruction. These efforts include developing individualized education plans for students with special needs, using data to help make instructional decisions for individual students, providing instruction to individual students or small groups of students, providing tutors or support teachers to supplement the classroom teacher’s instruction, and offering diverse elective courses.” In addition, technology has afforded teachers more time to work with individuals or small groups, due to a reduction in complex monitoring systems, largely supporting a personalized learning approach. 

When determining the rollout of personalized learning it is important to consider the possible challenges to implementation. The fact that educators may need to spend valuable time and effort assembling the necessary supporting materials and making them work together as well as navigate potential conflicts with current state or district policies were both cited as challenges to consider. 

Despite these challenges, existing evidence suggests that enthusiasm around personalized learning exists, and Pane suggests that providing guidelines for adoption can be helpful for those who are interested in trialing the approach. Such guidelines include: embracing evidence-based strategies, focusing on time spent with students, leveraging teachers’ skill-sets, using rigorous learning materials (ie. educational software), monitoring implementation, and being prepared to adapt.

More research needed to fine-tune personalized learning

Pane summarizes evidence collected by a team of RAND Corporation researchers who surveyed 32 schools using personalized learning. Considering this data, they identified challenges to implementation and then offered some potential design guidelines for interested educators in addition to outlining the application of these principles in a way that fosters skill development for students. Pane explains that personalized learning holds promise for K-12 educators in the United States as we begin to embrace more customized educational experiences for our students. 

However, it is important to acknowledge that “because personalized learning is composed of so many interrelated strategies, considerable additional research will be needed to sort out the fine details of which strategies, and in which combinations, are most effective for which students.”

Effective strategies needed for teachers

Overall, the study suggests that further research needs to be done on effective personalized learning strategies prior to a major rollout in school districts. Due to the individualized nature of personalized learning, it is important that teachers are provided with effective strategies as a means to reduce the amount of failed implementations and “put it on a path toward meeting its full potential as a major reform of the K–12 education system.”

Notable Quotes: 

“The goal of personalized learning is to make each student’s educational experience

responsive to his or her talents, interests, and needs.”

“Teachers are the next-most-valuable resources available to students when their skills are properly focused on providing instruction and related support to students. Successful personalized learning strategies or models likely will be designed to conserve teachers’ time and effort for activities that are most directly helpful to students.”

“States, school districts, and school leaders who want to allow mastery-based approaches to play out over multiple years will need to rethink how systems of standards, assessments, and

accountability operate. This might require a shift away from age- or grade-based targets of attainment toward systems that focus on growth in achievement.”

Personal Takeaway: 

Personalized learning is at the core of my classroom as a learning support teacher. Allowing students to create their own learning goals strongly aligns with personalized learning and, in my experience, adopting personalized learning strategies often leads to positive learning outcomes, stronger student-teacher relationships, and increased student engagement. However, in order to be successful, personalized learning requires a level of experimentation and a willingness to be flexible. For those of you who are interested in trying out more personalized learning opportunities in your classes, know that it’s okay if things get a little messy, it is all part of the learning process!—Taryn McBrayne

Pane, J. F. (2018). Strategies for Implementing Personalized Learning While Evidence and Resources Are Underdeveloped. RAND Corporation. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19893

Interventions, Cultural Context, Law & Policy

The study presents an analysis of the overall language skills of youth offenders involved in the juvenile justice system. This will help identify avenues that can increase the likelihood of successful interventions.

Youth with language disorders have a higher chance of being involved in crime

Developmental Language Disorders [DLD] are a common comorbidity in youth with involvement with the juvenile justice system, and boys with DLD are an estimated four times more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. 

Because of these challenges, youth offenders are at a higher risk of experiencing difficulty engaging in the high-stakes judicial process, as well as navigating their environment, forming relationships, and succeeding academically.

Youth in juvenile facilities have lower language skills

A systematic literature review was conducted, and data was extracted and coded according to age, gender, nationality, and language processing abilities. Language scores of youth in juvenile facilities were then analyzed. Results showed youth offenders presented with significantly lower language skills than their non-offending peers. Further, high proportions of the present sample were classified as youth with moderate (50%) and severe (10%) language disorders.

Extra support needed for children with language disorders

Considering the importance of our language-focused lifestyles, we need to support these life skills of youth offenders in the courts and via educational intervention to maximize the likelihood of success. Sixty-three percent of the current study’s sample demonstrated a mild to severe language disorder. This rate of prevalence is much higher than in the general population and

underscores the need for additional speech and language support among youth offenders or in the child protection system.

Youth with behavior indicative of a behavior disorder are more likely to experience juvenile justice involvement and are at higher risk for unidentified language disorder.

Notable Quotes: 

“It is essential to note that language type has the potential to impact youth in juvenile facilities and their ability to navigate the juvenile justice system effectively and successfully.”

“Socio-economic status (SES) is positively associated with language development, and

children from lower SES families are more likely to have a language disorder than their peers

from higher SES families.”

“[…]parents and caregivers with a higher education level and more readily available resources typically talk with their children more than parents with a lower education level and less resources.”

Personal Takeaway: 

I found it very sad that students with language disorders who do not receive the support they need at school have a much higher prevalence of getting involved in a life of crime. This reinforces the saying, “no child left behind,” and this is what we need to implement in all our schools.—Shekufeh

Chow, J. C., Wallace, E. S., Senter, R., Kumm, S., & Mason, C. Q. (in press). A systematic  review and meta-analysis of the language skills of youth offenders. Journal of Speech,  Language, and Hearing Research.

Cultural Context, Inclusion, Pedagogy

The uses of culture–based educational approaches in music education in Hawai’i have not been previously explored.

Culture-based teaching leads to a greater sense of belonging

When culture-based educational strategies are used, studies show relatedness to Native Hawaiian students’ greater sense of belonging and cultural affiliation, an application of cultural skills outside of school (even increasing the likelihood of engagement in social and political causes), higher rates of college graduation, and greater comfort with their heritage language. Similar results linking culture-based teaching and student academic achievement have been found within Indigenous communities.

You have to understand the culture before you teach it

The author utilized a collective descriptive case-study design and had four teachers, representing different specialties (instrumental, choral, general music, and Hawaiian music), serve as separate case studies within their respective music classrooms. Data collection involved interviews with teacher participants, student focus group interviews, and on-site field note observations. The data were then analyzed with the help of a “cultural auditor” that could look at the data through the lens of someone familiar with Hawaiian culture. Four major themes emerged across the cases. 

1. Approaches to culture-based education: There were a variety of approaches to culture-based education in each classroom, for some it was deeply entrenched and connected due to cultural background in an immersion style education and for others, it was not as deeply embedded and more an add-on to the existing curriculum. In many classrooms, it was important not just to include Hawaiian music but teach the meaning and historical context behind the music included. 

2. Sources of cultural understanding: Some of the educators were culture bearers themselves and could draw from family and personal experiences, while others had to better understand the culture they were trying to teach by consulting with local culture bearers, religious experts, and music and dance specialists. The educators that had a “deep and profound personal and generational knowledge of Native Hawaiian culture and music” saw a more powerful impact on the students in their class. Regardless, each teacher participant emphasized the ways in which they worked to learn more about Hawaiian culture itself.

3. Navigating challenges: Teachers and students struggled with how to present Hawaiian culture in ways that were authentic, and with how to motivate students to learn more about, and reconnect with, Hawaiian culture. Another challenge was trying to incorporate Hawaiian music into an already busy curriculum. There were also concerns about feeling the need to ‘legitimize’ Hawaiian music in light of the biases toward non-Western music in music education and dealing with the internalized stereotypes that come with the legacy of racism in colonized spaces. 

4. Layers of meaning: All participants described deriving meaning but for many, particularly those of Native Hawaiian ancestry, the experience of having culture-based education in music classrooms was life-changing. Some students even had their perspectives changed on what they wanted to do as adults, along with their own perceptions of kuleana (responsibility). Ultimately, culture-based education affirms and forms positive cultural identities.

More teachers who utilise culturally relevant approaches are needed

While the depth of culture-based approaches varied across the cases, with “some teachers focusing on fostering knowledge of traditional Hawaiian musical practices, others on language and history, and others, […] on deeply held cultural values and beliefs”, students found these approaches to be life-changing and culturally affirming. The depth of engagement was tied with the teachers’ cultural background and their teaching specialty, which highlights that teachers who do not resemble their students with regard to cultural identity may face more challenges when working to make their curriculum and classroom community more culturally responsive. Another common thread was the centrality of the student-teacher relationships to the culture-based approaches. 

It is therefore important for educators to continue to work on improving teachers’ cultural competence, developing innovative programs and strategies for a predominantly western teacher workforce, and consider ways in which educators with culturally relevant ties may be further recruited and supported.

Notable Quotes: 

“Culture-based education consists of “approaches to teaching and learning evolving from (but not fixed in) the languages, values, norms, knowledges, beliefs, practices, experiences, and places that are foundational to Indigenous or other cultural groups” (Kanaʻiaupuni et al., 2017, p. 318S). Culture-based education is rooted in and related to such efforts as culturally relevant pedagogy but goes further in working to “revitalize languages, knowledge, practices, and beliefs lost or suppressed through colonization or occupation” (Kanaʻiaupuni et al., 2017, p. 314S).”

“The prominence of this finding asks us to consider the role of the teacher in developing what Gay (2000/2010, 2002) calls “culturally responsive caring,” which places “teachers in an ethical, emotional, and academic partnership with ethnically diverse students, a partnership that is anchored in respect, honor, integrity, resource sharing, and a deep belief in the possibility of transcendence” (Gay, 2000, p. 52).”

“These stories encourage us to consider the profound impact of culture-based teaching within the music classroom and how we might better prepare, support, and give voice to music teachers who not only deeply engage with music of their students’ culture but work to affirm and restore understandings and ways of knowing that have been subject to colonization and marginalization.”

Personal Takeaway: 

In education, students with diverse backgrounds and cultures are often marginalized because curriculums are entrenched with one predominant cultural bias. Culture-based education can motivate students to not only succeed academically but affirm and form positive cultural identities. Since these approaches are led by teachers it is important that the educators either reflect the cultural identities of their students or have the knowledge to implement these approaches with authenticity and depth. The stories from this study encourage us to reflect on how we can better support teachers who engage in the work of lifting up their students’ culture and affirm and restore ways of knowing that have been subject to marginalization.—Ayla Reau

Fitzpatrick, K. R. (2022). “Finding the Other Half of Me”: Culture-Based Approaches to Music Education in Hawaiʻi. Journal of Research in Music Education, 70(1), 22–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294211018667

One-to-One Learning, Interventions, High Expectations

This study investigated the impact of regular, structured, five-to-seven-minute, one-to-one conversations between a special educator and student, over a period of 6 years. This special education intervention prepares students for success in the post-secondary transition and includes cultivating learning habits in each student, such as self-direction, self-regulation, and self-awareness. 

The term MARIO describes an intervention that is Measured, Ambitious, Research-Informed, Innovative, and One-to-One centered. Each component of the MARIO intervention is both learner-driven and based on research evidence.

Measured –  As part of every class, students reflect on, and measure, the efficacy of their interventions and the impact of those interventions on their learning habits.

Ambitious – Research has shown that students with disabilities achieve greater academic success and increased autonomy (Rubie-Davies et al., 2007) when educators share high expectations for their achievement.

Research-informed – The high-impact strategies embedded in the MARIO intervention are supported by Marzano’s (2007) The Art and Science of Teaching, Hattie’s (2009) synthesis of evidence-based research as well as considerable research including the works of Panadero et al., 2017; Siegesmund, 2017, and Turnbull et al., 2010.

Innovative – Innovation in educational research is how practitioners implement alternative ways of increasing outcomes for learners if/when the current method of teaching is not effective (Findikoglu and Ilhan, 2016).The goal of the one-to-one conversations is to foster learners who can think critically, take control of their learning, monitor their progress, and co-create innovative pathways that will lead to their success. 

One-to-One – The structure of every one-to-one conversation, using the MARIO intervention, is focused on students driving the dialogue and the educator listening, reflecting, and providing feedback.

One-to-one conferences – the foundation of growth

During the one-to-one conference, the educator asks questions that require the student to provide evidence of their level of performance as reported on the ‘Habits and Attitudes Towards Learning (HAL)’ rubric. Based on this discussion, the student records their levels of performance on the rubric to accurately reflect their performance. The student also records notes related to their learning directly on their rubric. At the end of the conference, the student shares the most important actions they intended to sustain or change moving forward.

The variables involved in the study

A six-year retrospective cohort analysis of student grade point average data was used to measure the effectiveness of the one-to-one conversations. The independent variable was the Intensive Studies course in which each student was enrolled, called ‘the intervention’, and had one of three values in each semester for each student: not enrolled, enrolled in control intervention, or enrolled in MARIO intervention. The dependent variable was the average weighted GPA in core courses, such as science, math, English, or social studies.

Positive results that improve over time

The MARIO intervention led to a statistically significant increase in average GPA in core courses as compared to the students enrolled in control intervention or limited intervention. The
control intervention and the limited intervention groups did not show a significant increase in GPA as compared to prior to intervention. Statistical analysis revealed a significant improvement (Cohen’s effect +0.83) in academic outcomes in the one-to-one conversations cohort as compared to student outcomes prior to the course and in comparison to the control cohort. These increases persisted in the after-transition period (Cohen’s effect +0.99). Data from student feedback surveys revealed that students perceived one-to-one conversations as helpful and self-identified gains in self-reflection and independence.

Notable Quotes: 

1. “Seventy-eight percent of students responded that the one-to-one sessions helped a ‘significant amount’.”

2. “MARIO intervention students further identified their teacher as someone who pushed them to do their best, held them accountable, and with whom they had a good relationship.”

3. “The feedback survey data also indicated that the MARIO intervention promotes students’ awareness of their own development of strategies for learning.”

Personal Takeaway: 

As an elementary special educator, I have used the MARIO intervention routinely with my students, and have seen them grow in self-awareness, reflective practices, and in developing the foundational skills needed for later self-directed learning. They are beginning to take ownership of the learning process, and through frequent teacher collaboration set personalized goals. – Erin Madonna

Bowman, P., Farrar, E., and Novak, K. (2022). The impact of frequent, targeted one-to-one conversations on special education learning support. Vol.37 Iss. 3, pp. 464-479. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12421.

Joanna Brown Learning Letter

The MARIO Framework

After arriving at my current IB world school in Baku, Azerbaijan to serve as the whole-school learning support (LS) coordinator, I immediately realized how much exciting work there was to be done. The school had a rapidly expanding LS student population, many new team members, budding differentiation and inclusive practices, a desire to start a gifted and talented program, and two rather disjointed divisions of school operation. From different daily and weekly schedules to overall management systems, the school operated in such a way that made any whole school collaboration feel almost ‘split personality ’- not an uncommon occurrence at international schools but a challenge nonetheless.

I started my coordination work by creating more universal referral/assessment processes, developing whole school International Individual Learning Plans (IILP), arranging for external therapy and testing services, and organizing schedules and training for the LS staff. One year later, our LS population was hitting record highs as our school had been labeled the international school for learning needs in the region.

By the end of my first year, with 60+ LS students and not enough teaching staff to support the numbers, our department was stretched. Looking out for my fellow LS colleagues’ well-being, I taught well beyond the full-time teaching requirements while maintaining my coordination work. On top of all this, I received the daunting task of creating a Learning Support Handbook to unite both divisions. I was thrilled with the opportunity to create more alignment and clarity throughout the school, and bit by bit, in collaboration with various administrators and departments, I transformed the previous 10-page policy into a 64-page handbook, rich with resources that communicated critical LS information and outlined our processes and roles accurately and effectively in each section.  

Soon into my second year, our administration recognized my leadership potential and kindly offered to add a new primary LS coordinator position for the next academic year to divide the overwhelming job between two divisions, so that I could develop our services in more meaningful ways, ways that would directly impact student learning and well-being. In other words, with my attention solely on the secondary school, I could fine-tune and expand our inclusion services and even create a gifted and talented section of our program that the school so longed for. Everything was finally feeling like it was all coming together; the LS department was genuinely becoming synched up across the school to serve all exceptionalities.

Cue the pandemic.

“Disjointed” now became a dreamy description. Most of our campus was scattered around the globe, and our school’s instruction went fully virtual. Those of us who remained in Azerbaijan were thrown into a four-month quarantine with only two hours outside each day upon police SMS approval. How we all heroically scrambled to make it work for all students and staff! Wellbeing became the name of the game, and we were continually checking on each other as a school community while focusing on getting through the rest of the year with as many students actively engaged and sane as possible.

Finally, in August, the quarantine was lifted, and we had the freedom again to be outside and enjoy the rest of the summer. Our school prepared to return to campus for hybrid learning in mid-August, even though much of the population remained dispersed and unable to leave or return to the country. Still, I remained optimistic that this hiccup would not interfere with all the progress we had made as a department, and now released from the primary section of the school, I was ready to tackle the hurdles of the new year.

We had three glorious weeks of hybrid learning, and on September 27th, a very unexpected war began between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Stress levels were at an all-time high. This whole period was extremely surreal for everyone in Azerbaijan. The school remained online with teaching hours extending far beyond the norm to help the growing number of struggling students, but we didn’t know if we were properly assisting parents and students in this new reality. Further, how could we enforce proper engagement from an ‘audience’ so distracted by all the events unfolding in the world around us?

The new normal was here. With shifting pandemic rules, safety operations, and of course, the oh-so-personable face masks, our students were crumbling in these unprecedented times. It seemed like every classroom was in need of support, as every teacher worked to the bone to help their students slowly recover from an era that we could scarcely process. Equally taxed, our primary and secondary LS teams adapted quite independently to meet the evolving demands faced by each section, and with sweeping senior leadership team changes, the two levels were now again operating very differently from each other. I felt deflated after so much hard work to unite them previously.

Then, The MARIO Framework entered my life.

My good friend and previous colleague and I often message about our latest practices and job developments. Like most special educators, we are mostly alone in our quest to find the latest research, best programs, and teaching strategies out there for our students, so we love staying in touch through this passion. I was introduced to the framework via an Instagram message chat, when she asked me to check out this remarkable course she had taken recently through The MARIO Framework. Knowing our similar mindsets and callings as educators, I investigated immediately and could not stop myself from enrolling in the first course.

The framework with its research-based approach, called The MARIO Approach, turned all my teaching idealism into reality. It took all the personalized and high impact teaching practices that I loved to the next level, added more I had yet to consider, and backed them all up with a surplus of reliable and current research. Even more amazing, the framework itself provided a flexible structure to allow for the pervasive and consistent implementation of its one-to-one conversational strategies. In my past application of some high impact teaching practices, I would unpack and practice them with students in isolation, almost as a unit of exploration. It never occurred to me to utilize them in harmony through a naturally evolving, on-going conversation with a student… where the student is directed to lead the conversation!

After completing the MARIO Educator Level 1 and 2 Certifications, I clearly saw how it could be the innovative solution that my school needed for alignment  while also providing an innovative platform for gifted and talented instruction. The course shook me out of the pandemic slump and kick started this gestalt shift within me. The MARIO Framework truly allows educators to “fall in love with teaching all over again,” and it couldn’t have come at a more needed time. Through its measured practices, we educators can empower all students to become experts in their own learning and recuperation, so we all become more resilient and evolve in our practices as teachers and learners.