Advisory in Action - AMLE a Great Resource

A previous blog examined the historical development of advisory programs.  Today I visited www.amle.org to catch up on some of the latest research and practical guidance for implementing advisory.  I encourage everyone to utilize AMLE as a resource for integrating developmentally sound instructional practices.  While reading,  a number of the resources struck a chord. 

In Making Connections with Advisory, 7^th grade teacher Ellen D’Amore describes how important it is to  develop the social and emotional well-being of a child for academic success.  In schools the bottom line is the academic growth of our children.  However, a quality advisory and meeting those social and emotional needs sets the foundation and is an investment that supports the academic outcomes we want. 

We need to be flexible when thinking about how to implement advisory.  Time is always the biggest obstacle.  If we think more broadly about the goals of advisory we can be creative in how they are implemented.  D’Amore describes how advisory initially focuses on the social and emotional needs of students and then transitions into academic awareness and goals. 

Another resource located on the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) website is an article titled, Looking at Executive Function, written by Rick Wormeli.  Explicitly teaching young adolescents the organizational skills they need is a great use of advisory.  If we take the time to support students in their organization we will ultimately gain instructional time throughout the year.  Moreover, it is important for routines and procedures to remain consistent for the young adolescent.  For more on Executive Function check out the article. 

Lastly, Lynn Saleki’s article, Technology in Advisory provides some great strategies for leveraging technology to enhance advisory.  I encourage you to check it out at www.amle.org .