Category: literacy

When is Inquiry not “Best Practice”?

When is Inquiry not “Best Practice”?

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My co-teaching partner leaned across her desk and asked, “So at what point do we stop ‘inquiry into this’ and start teaching them something?”. I responded with nervous laughter because her question sounded like blasphemy. It was an absolutely valid question though and has lingered in my mind for ages, particularly since I am aware of Professor John Hattie’s meta-analysis on high vs. low impact influences on student learning. According to Hattie’s Visible Learning Rankings, inquiry-based learning has a low ranking on its impact scales. I do recognize that inquiry-based learning comes in a variety of flavors, which is well represented by Sarah Plews’ breakdown in her Concept-based Inquiry Mini-PD course:

So I have often felt skeptical of Hattie’s findings because I think generalizing inquiry-based learning is doing this approach a disservice. However, I have come to accept that some content lends itself better to inquiry than others, and some concepts must be developed in a more structured way. I think the reason why inquiry-based learning falls flat on Hattie’s Impact Scales is that many practitioners aren’t sure when and why we might use different approaches.

So, are there moments in our PYP classrooms when we need to put inquiry-based teaching methods on the back burner and provide explicit and direct instruction? Yes, yes there are! And that doesn’t mean we are tossing out all the other PYP practices. This is not a “either/or” situation–either we teach through inquiry OR we are NOT a PYP school. Having a strong PYP program means that practitioners know what content and skills would be best taught through a variety of methodologies.

Ok……so what content and skills might those be, you wonder? Well, here’s the thing, it’s not just the WHAT but it is also the WHO. We have to consider the needs of our students before we decide HOW best to teach them. So what students benefit the most from direct instruction? I think the guidance below is helpful:

Students who learn and think differently. Without explicit instruction, students who struggle with attention or working memory may not focus on the most crucial ideas in a lesson. With explicit instruction, you cue students in to the most essential information.

English language learners. When you use consistent and clear language in each step of instruction, English language learners (ELLs) aren’t overwhelmed with new language demands. Research has shown that explicit instruction can lead to achievement gains among ELLs.

From Understood.Org

When we consider our students with learning needs, it seems obvious that we might alleviate the cognitive load by providing direct instruction. Consider this-When students have a clear understanding of what they are learning about, they are not using their brain power for meaning-making; instead, they are using their working memory to process this information and store it for later use.  This actually helps them, later on, to engage in an inquiry because they have the knowledge to draw upon during a more open-ended lesson. It’s a support, not a deterrent to more inquiry-based approaches.

Explicit and Direct Instruction for the Key Conceptual Lens of Form and Function

One of the filters I use for deciding when we need to explicitly teach something is considering if this is going to be new knowledge to students. Typically it is more efficient to teach the key concepts of What is it? (form) and How does it Work? (function) through a more direct instruction approach when students are acquiring new understandings of concepts or skills. Students need to know the definitions of things and procedural knowledge. Let’s not leave them guessing or feeling confused.

Think about it- can we just send kids with a stack of books and have them generate theories about how language works and then teach themselves to read? No, that would be professional malpractice! We have to explain foundational concepts to students.

Image from https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au

Let’s think about the words “explicit” and “direct”, another synonym is clarity. You might also think of this as “scaffolding”, in which the teacher is explaining and demonstrating a concept or procedure, and then giving students the opportunity to have guided practice. Educational research shows that when we “show and tell” how something works, it has a greater impact on learning.

Students require more explicit instruction with some of the following content and skills:

  • phonics and decoding skills
  • research skills
  • collaboration skills
  • using mathematical tools and strategies
  • safety skills
  • spelling and grammar
  • understanding time and chronology

So what might this look like or sound like in a PYP classroom?

Sounds like: Today we will be unlocking our thinking through the concept of Form and answering the question, “What is a closed syllable?” . We will be successful at becoming knowledgeable of this syllable type when we can:

  • Define what a closed syllable is.
  • Identify what words contain closed syllables and which ones do not.
  • Read at least 5 words with closed syllables in them.

So you may be wondering, What is a closed syllable? A closed syllable is when a vowel is followed by (or closed in by) one or more consonants.  The vowel sound is ‘short’.  This pattern is often referred to as the CVC pattern (consonant – vowel – consonant), although a closed syllable does not always begin with a consonant. Let’s take a look at some examples……

Now it’s your turn, can you sort these 10 words into the categories of Closed syllables and Not Closed syllables? When you are done sorting, read your words aloud, do you hear the short vowel sound in the word? When you think you have sorted the words correctly, you can compare your answers with a partner…..

Okay, before we go today, I want you to whisper to a friend what a closed syllable is and write at least one new word that contains a closed syllable on this sticky note. You can put your sticky on our Definition Chart for closed syllables. And, if you find any other new words when you are reading, grab a sticky note and write it down with your name on it, and put it on our chart.

Looks like:

  • teacher-selected materials and examples
  • the teacher talks more than the students
  • the students are engaged in a specific task, with little agency over how it is done.
  • there is an explicit “right answer” based on attaining the learning goal.

A closing thought

Teaching is complex, especially in the PYP. Although I have made a stark generalization in what Key Concepts might demand a teacher-directed approach, I ask you to think carefully about your unique learners and consider how best they acquire the knowledge, concepts, and skills they need to be successful. There are moments when we are not actively soliciting curiosity, asking students to problem-solve, or generating theories in our PYP classrooms. And if you choose to develop a lesson that isn’t inquiry-based, it doesn’t mean that you are desecrating the PYP principles.

We want to emphasize that being ‘an inquiry teacher’ does not necessarily mean using an inquiry approach for EVERY lesson.

-Carla Marschall and Rachael French, from Concept-Based Inquiry in Action

So, let’s be thoughtful and skillful in our pedagogical decisions, taking a more teacher-centered approach and providing direct instruction when the moment calls for it. Perhaps if we are more mindful of the merit of the precision of explicit teaching, then our inquiry moments will be more profound.

My Summer Reading 2020

My Summer Reading 2020

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First of all, this title is a misnomer. I had to put on a sweatshirt and socks just to be warm enough to start this post. However, my orientation to the Northern Hemisphere means I am experiencing cognitive dissonance, as our upcoming break is really in the midst of winter here in Brazil. Nevertheless, my attention is starting to consider what I want to read during my downtime. I have a few more titles that I am working through right now, but with only a few weeks left of school (Thank you God!) and a likely Stay-cation in our home, I have begun to curate my professional reading list for the "summer". Here's what I have so far:

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Vivek H. Murthy

I'm interested in this title mostly because it is a timely book that speaks about how we can cultivate social connections despite social isolation with the COVID-19 pandemic. As I think ahead of our re-opening plans (or not), I wonder what the mental toll has been on our community, from teachers to students to our families. If there is something that I can bring forward that is positive from this experience, then I am eager to research and try it. I hope this book will offer ideas and give me hope for what could be possibly the "good" to come out of this crisis.

Self-Regulation Interventions and Strategies: Keeping the Body, Mind & Emotions on Task in Children with Autism, ADHD or Sensory Disorders by Teresa Garland

Learning more about self-regulation and creating self-motivation in students is something that I am keenly interested in. There were a lot of books that I sampled and this one seemed to be the most practical one. This topic is not only deeply personal to me, but I also feel that remote learning was really a challenge for these types of students. Again, thinking forward to our next phase of learning, I am hopeful that I can bring in some fresh ideas and offer support for the teachers (and their families) who may struggle, offline or online, with learning.

Evolving Learner: Shifting From Professional Development to Professional Learning From Kids, Peers, and the World  by  Lainie Jae Rowell, Kristy J. Andre, Lauren Steinmann, and Thomas C. Murray

Due to remote learning, we prioritized schedules for student learning over staff learning. Moving our PLCs (professional learning communities)  online was a bit of a challenge since it required teachers to be more self-directed and collaborative. Professional learning wasn't happening TO THEM but THROUGH THEM. and, honestly, it was a struggle as the weeks online continued. With the possibility of still having a significant chunk of our learning happening online when we return in August, I need some inspiration and fresh thinking about how I can best support teachers in engaging--not only with kids but with each other. If there was ONE thing that I thought was critical to moving from survival to thrival (not sure if that is a word) with our teams, it was the sharing of our knowledge and skills. I think PLCs is the heart of cultivating that spirit of collaborative learning, and I want to make sure we upgrade our ability to support and share with one another.

Active Literacy Across the Curriculum: Connecting Print Literacy with Digital, Media, and Global Competence, K-12 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs

I have to be honest. I really admire the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs when it has come to curriculum mapping but I have never read any of her books about Digital literacy . So I actually have a few of her titles on my Kindle now, but this is the 1st one I am digging into. Mostly because it challenges what we think about literacies, and how teachers can invite students to be more engaged in developing their reading and writing skills. One of the things I really struggled with has been the more didactic approaches that seem to have prevailed through this time of remote learning. I am not suggesting EVERYONE did that, nor did it happen all the time, but I definitely shared my thoughts that students became Muted during Remote Learning.  Moreover, just because students were forced to work at home didn't make them more autonomous or self-directed simply with the use of tech. So, I am hoping that this book provides a way forward.

Pedagogical Documentation in Early Childhood: Sharing Children's Learning and Teachers' Thinking by Susan Stacey

Next school year, many teachers at our school will be engaged in a book study of this title as a part of our PLCs. So I want to read ahead to help generate questions and see how these ideas can be combined with the work of Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano and her book, A Guide to Documenting Learning: Making Thinking Visible, Meaningful, Shareable, and Amplified. In the Enhanced PYP, there is a shift in our assessment practices in which we are "evidencing learning". This book I think will be invaluable in how we observe and document the growth of our youngest learners.

What's going to be in your stack of books? What are your must-reads for your holiday break? I would love to hear your suggestions!

Addendum: Since the George Floyd protests, I think it's time to get more educated on how to be an ally. Joining the lovely ladies at Erin Kent Consulting in a book club reading of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You . If anyone is interested in joining, you can go to the Reading and Writing Workshop in the International Schools Facebook page to sign up.
Bias, Prejudice, and Racism–Oh My! 2 Ways to Uncover Blind Spots in Curriculum

Bias, Prejudice, and Racism–Oh My! 2 Ways to Uncover Blind Spots in Curriculum

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Every vertebrate on this planet has a blind spot. There is a break in our visual field when the optic nerves converge and exit the eye to connect into the brain. In that tiny area, there are no light-sensitive cells and thus our ability to perceive something is diminished. Would you like to test this? blind spot test.jpeg

Now wouldn’t it be so lovely if all of our blind spots were that obvious to demonstrate and discover?! However, most of us have biases and prejudice that are concealed and seemingly obscured by the busyness of our lives. We are rarely conscious of them unless someone who is wise to it and courageous enough to bring it to our attention. Although there are tests that can reveal our implicit bias, we have to take action on it if we are sincerely keen to be a better human being.

“Wait?–a better human being?! Why would I want to do that?”

Well, why wouldn’t you want to do that?

Did you know that when we are working at the highest levels of compassion, altruism, and kindness, our brain sends out signals that create shots of happy chemicals like serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine that bath our bodies (and mind) to generate well-being? So doing good is good for us. That’s why it feels so wonderful when we appeal to the better angels of our nature.  Thus when we take action to overcome racism, poverty, and injustice, it’s not just for the benefit of others, but it also has a personal physical benefit for ourselves. And, what may become a selfish motivation becomes addictive over time, with a positive feedback loop created by these neurochemicals.

bias vs principle.jpegOh and it should not just be us, the adults in the room, but we have to inspire the students in our class to do the same. If we are to do real justice to addressing societal issues then, first of all, we need to draw awareness to the “implicit” biases that serve to favor “white people” against Blacks and other people of color.  Sustainable action can only be possible when we shine a light on understanding and overcoming those biases. When we become conscious, a pathway becomes possible to shift energy away from frustrating and hurtful debates over who is or isn’t “a racist”; I think all of us can agree that this name-calling isn’t helpful in directing our efforts toward the problems we are actually trying to solve by confronting racism.

We can no longer go about pretending we do not see race, since it is a construct deeply embedded into the social conscious of (American) society. We assign it to our children at birth. We check race boxes on our applications. We select it on our identifications. We include it in our educational text and use it to tell the story of our country. More important, we recognize that disparities in education, economics, criminal justice and health exist across racial lines. Therefore, pretending we don’t see race and that racism doesn’t exist is not only socially immature; it is also irresponsible and dangerous—it ends up placing blame for racial disparities on those being marginalized rather than tracing those disparities back to a long history of oppression based on color.

Rethinking Racism, by Focus Hope

The term of Culturally Responsive Teaching has started to get attention in educator circles. So what does it mean?

In a nutshell, it describes the ways in which schools and educators recognize, respond to, and celebrate the fundamental cultures within classrooms, as well as providing equity for students from all cultures to gain access to the curriculum. It is divided into three functional dimensions: the institutional dimension, the personal dimension, and the instructional dimension.

Even though there are distinctions between them, when you think about the curriculum, you can see how all of these dimensions are connected. So what makes up our curriculum?….. The units we teach, the books and resources we use, and the ways we develop the culture of learning in our classrooms. To that end, there are  2 main areas, in my opinion, in which culture is transmitted in our school and “blind-spots” begin to develop.

#1-Supporting “The White Man’s Burden” of Curriculum Topics

Most of us have probably not read the poem by Rudyard Kipling which encouraged the Western expansion of the colonial reach of its culture to other parts of the world. It was a “burden” that white people had to bear, to civilize other non-white people, whether they be in the far places of other parts of the world, or to indoctrinate native and immigrant people into their way of living. Of course, this sentiment was prevalent long before the poet’s plea for colonial imperialism, with its basis from the Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries displacing the natives’ religion,  proposing that the “white race” is morally obligated to rule the “non-white” peoples and to encourage their progress (economic, social, and cultural) through domination.

Well, many of us are not marching into neighborhoods and demanding that different cultures change and adapt a “white man’s” habits and perspectives, it’s hard to deny that there is definitely a prevalence of “whiteness” in our curriculum, whether we acknowledge it or not. We teach about the “Koren War” or “Vietnam War” when, in Korea and Vietnam, they call those wars the “American War”, which is much closer to the truth of who wanted to make the war in the first place. If we were to look at our educational standards, the depiction of history in either neutral or positive light of this “white man’s burden” perspective, instead of drawing to mind the misconceptions and malice actions that “white” people did; and furthermore, how they strained to find rationale for the atrocities they engaged in.

More often than we like to admit, very little attention is given to the history or culture of “minority groups”–the very fact that people call “non-white” people “minorities” is a hidden bias lurking in our language. Why are they called “minorities” to begin with? Is it due to population size? Well, that’s a myth that needs to be challenged because more minorities are the new majority. But in terms of which culture is favored and appreciated in our world, you’ll hardly find these “minorities” painted positively. More often than not, they are described as being less intelligent and lazy.

Needless to say, imbuing our curriculum with culturally responsive teaching practices provides not a one-off learning experience for global holidays like Chinese New Year and Martin Luther King Jr Day but opportunities to go deeper with concepts by having ongoing multicultural activities within the classroom setting in order to increase a natural awareness of cultural history, values, and contributions. When you think about cases like Henrico High School‘s Black History Month assembly that went wrong, it’s not surprising because those students and that community had never had to confront other perspectives of history in their schooling and thus got annoyed by the “white guilt” they felt as a result of it. When we provide context for some of the social issues we see today in our world, we have to keep in mind that if we only present this information once a year, then it’s going to bring up backlash. However, if we have continual conversations and design curriculum units that unpack our bias and prejudice, then dealing with conflict and controversy can have a more reasoned approached instead of feeling affronted by the truth of history.

 

#2-Bland and Myopic Libraries

Books take us through space and time like no other instrument of learning. We get into character’s heads and learn about places far away. So it’s easy to see how reading influences our thinking and understanding of others.

Now, let me ask you this if you were to “audit” your classroom library, how many books were either written from the perspective of a character of color or were written by a non-white author? Pretty slim selection, right?

And in my mind, early reading books are the worst! When you look at your guided reading/leveled reading books, whether it is Biff and Chip or I Can Read reading sets, you will see a deficient of multiculturalism.  Now there are some publishers like Reading A to Z that try to include a variety of characters of difference but rarely write about cultural issues from their perspectives. Needless to say, we don’t promote culture and difference among the youngest learners, especially in fiction.

Now I dare you to take a walk into your school’s library–what do you see? The same myopic view of the world according to “straight, white, middle-class Christians” or do you see other texts being highlighted and valued that describe the lives of others? Furthermore, do you see other languages being valued along with English?

When you think about it, it’s no wonder prejudice and bias becomes embedded so early in our learners. Their lives are embued with a bland perspective that may encourage the “love of reading” but not the “love of others”.  We need to stop and question this.  

As educators, we need to demand more of our children’s book publishers, and of our school libraries, for a start. Furthermore, we must take the time to pull those books off the shelves that promote other cultures, reading them aloud and discussing them in class. Exposing kids to “difference” helps them to develop compassion. And for the kids of difference in our class, how do you think it makes them feel–valued and appreciated? –Why wouldn’t we wish to provide that experience for them?!!

There are so many good things that come from this. In this article from The Schools Catalogue Information Services, they list at least 4 benefits from multicultural libraries:

  1. Promotes empathy and unit
  2. Promotes cross-cultural friendship
  3. Helps students to look critically at the world
  4. Encourages identity formation

So, with this in mind, the value of diversity in our classroom and school libraries cannot be understated. We need to examine it critically and work towards having a more culturally-aware and robust selection of literature while using these types of books in our instruction.

We can’t change the past, but we can alter the future

When you examine these 2 areas, content and resources, it is easy to see how bias and prejudice become established in the minds of our learners. The implicit bias becomes formed early in our lives and is not challenged unless we work to dismantle these blind spots. For some of us, this might take a real conscious effort on our part, but for others, it is a natural beacon call to create more peace, understanding, and justice in our world.

Everyone benefits when these blind spots are revealed and barriers to appreciating our differences are removed. We cannot change the conflicts and injustices of the past, but we can alter the future through education. And with enough love and persistence, I do believe that we can collectively, around the globe, can create a better world that works for everyone.

 

#TeachSDGs: Hope, Peace, and Love in the Near Future

#TeachSDGs: Hope, Peace, and Love in the Near Future

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Perhaps it was a mistake to pick Refugee, by Alan Gratz for our family “listen-aloud”. It is tearing a hole in my heart, as the tales of 3 children are mingled together through time and space, as they escape atrocities in their homeland. The book said it was appropriate for 9-year olds, but I feel that I may have chosen an audiobook that is too harrowing and intense for my daughter to take in. Even though this is a work of historical fiction, goodness knows its desperately painful and cruel moments were truthful for many people who underwent the moral crises of the Holocaust, the Cuban exodus of 1994 and the more recent Syrian refugee crisis. Luckily, in some aspects, my daughter is unaware of history, and she just finds the story gripping; however, my feeble heart is retching with sadness and compassion, especially when I think about the immigrants in the American detainment centers, with children in cages separated from their families and this talk of wall-building to keep out “caravans of criminals” that are marching toward the American border. I have to wonder if we have no soul left in our politicians and if our societies will move toward extremism, trying to “eradicate” these despairing individuals from within their borders.

Voltaire once said:

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

 

And as I consider the research and work of Steven Pinker in his book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, there is a reason to be optimistic. Education, with increasing literacy rates, has played an important role in subduing violence in society, and the trend, despite what the newsfeed may tell us, is that the world is becoming a more peaceful place as access to books is giving us a chance to inhabit each other’s minds and gain insights into new perspectives and cultural realities.  Our hearts are growing alongside our brains and evolving to become more empathetic. Clearly, as I read the book Refugee, I am embodying this experience and can definitely testify the impact of this book on my mind and spirit, so I can only guess that, despite my daughter’s ignorance of the specifics of these situations, she is opening her mind to the point of views of others and the resilience of the human spirit.

agreessionMoreover, my daughter, like so many of children her age, are now encountering the Flynn Effect, in which our kids are literally getting smarter with each passing decade with increased IQ scores and an improved ability to reason. This is great news because smarter people do less cruel things and engage in more humane actions. Furthermore, our perspective is shifting on a global scale from this “eye for an eye” mentality, in which violence now is becoming a problem to be solved, rather than looking at each other’s interests as a contest to be won. It is only a matter of time, in which sustainability is no longer a fringe ideal but a Science and Design norm, in which elements of our societies come into a shared understanding of the importance of developing our economies to move into alignment with these values.  What I find especially heartening is that even in developing nations, the IQ gap is closing between those countries and developed countries. This is a global epidemic and, in my opinion, an exciting time to be alive and be in education, as we move into new educational paradigms.

But in my mind, we can set an intention to escalate this transition to greater equanimity and more intelligent thought. As our process of educating young children improves, placing greater emphasis on creativity and critical thought, a direct and compounding effect will occur in the children’s brain, which in turn creates new ways of thinking and problem-solving. However, it can’t only be the methods and tools that improve, the content that we teach to children must improve as well. I don’t think all knowledge is created equal–I think there are certain concepts that deserve more attention than others. With that in mind, teaching the UN’s Sustainable Goals (SGDs) need to be a part of our Programme of Inquiry. If we, as educators, have a true desire to promote greater well-being and peace in our world, then we have a responsibility to advocate for focusing our academic attention towards these 13 goals, and even if we can’t “cover” all of them, making an effort, no matter how small, is a first start in evolving our school’s mission.

There is no more powerful transformative force than education—to promote human rights and dignity, to eradicate poverty and deepen sustainability, to build a better future for all, founded on equal rights and social justice, respect for cultural diversity, and international solidarity and shared responsibility, all of which are fundamental aspects of our common humanity.
—Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO

I know for many schools, PYP coordinators are beginning to prepare a “POI Review” around this time. Instead of just thumbing through IB documents and asking if your POI is transdisciplinary enough, be asking if what the students will be learning is actually going to make a difference in the world–does it connects to any of these goals? And if not, why not?–and How might we change that? There is no reason why we can’t be harbingers of peace through our academics. And, I’d like to add, that making these goals front and center, I believe, will naturally steer our programmes into more transdisciplarity.

It is my desire for us to go deeper in our learning, not just in our pedagogical practices but in the very context of what we are learning. If we can do that, there is no doubt that there will be hope, peace and greater understanding in our near future because we made it so.

 

Evolving Relationships with Parents: Open Forums to Open Minds

Evolving Relationships with Parents: Open Forums to Open Minds

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I’m a parent. So I am biased.

In my experience, parents are children’s 1st and longest lasting teacher. And not all the lessons they teach kids are “great ones”. We know that. But we also know that they are doing their best with the knowledge and strategies they have. More importantly, by and large, parents are invested in their child’s future and care about their role in helping their child grow up to be successful. That term “successful” looks and feels different based on the cultural and socioeconomic background, but it is a part of our job, as educators, to find common ground and understanding so that we may become united in our purpose with making our school year the best one on record. I’ve written before about how our school approaches every school year with a “prequel” to great learning by connecting with families: Hopes and Concerns-The Power of Conversations with Parents and Caregivers. However, that can’t be the only time, outside of conferences, that we invite their ideas and develop partnerships.

At our school, like many PYP schools, we have parent meetings to explain how our curriculum is taught and assessed. Often our transdisciplinary approach has to be translated to families since most of them come from traditional schooling backgrounds. Recently we had a parent coffee morning in which we went over our approach and philosophy around literacy learning. It turned out to be an hour-long discussion and debate about why we approach reading through a Love of Reading vs. Leveled Reading lens. Whether they were from Brazil or Bulgaria, Australia or Malaysia, parents were asking “yeah, but what makes this better?” I personally love it when parents challenge us. I know that when they ask questions, they are open to understanding. They want to know. They care. They are co-constructing knowledge, trying to make sense of the why, what and how schools are changing. As an educator, I love leaning into this sort of challenge.

At the end of our conversations, they got it. They felt empowered. We had given them tools and strategies to walk away with, and they asked for more meetings like this. Our team felt wonderful to know that we had drawn them in, not only as partners but as advocates.

However, we know that this isn’t the end, this is the beginning of discussions. We are wondering how else we can invite them in. We don’t want them on the outside, looking in; we want them to become an integral part of the learning community.  That’s an intention of ours! For example, one of my goals this year is to get parents involved in our unit planning retreats so that they might see past the 3Rs: Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic.  But this tweet also inspired some other directions that might support my intention surrounding this goal and has sparked a lot of thinking about how we might create active and involved parents.

But of course, there are more than 6 ideas to engage parents! This is really the tip of the iceberg. Parents are so much more than “parents”, they are resourceful and creative and curious learners, just like our students. And we have to find more ways to have us educators “mingle” with our families around the topic of learning in the 21st century so that we can expand our definitions of what a learning community can be in our schools.

How might we approach this?-I think our approaches will evolve as our thinking about our families as an integral part of our learning community evolve.

How might we know we are evolving?-I think when we see families go from a passive (or passive-aggressive) to a productive role in our schools, we will know that we are on the path.

For me, I find this an exciting time to be in education. How about you?

#SOL: Not Your Average Homework

#SOL: Not Your Average Homework

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“We’re up to 7 now. Sophia brought in a Koala” I nudged my chin into the crook of my husband’s shoulder, destined for sleep. “7! You need a pet manager.”, he suggests. My eyes pop open. I sit up in bed.

“Yes, yes we do! That’s a brilliant idea.You’re a genius”

Let me tell you how it all began. During the summer, inspired by a former colleague of mine, I purchased a stuffed woodpecker and a fun storybook. woodpecker book I introduced the book and the bird, Benny,  as a home learning activity for the students, discussing the responsibility of having a classroom pet. Here’s how it has worked: one student every day was “picked” by Benny (he does this little bird call when you press him) and they would take him home, read him the story and write a bit about what they did at their home inside a writing journal. benny The kids loved it. They took him to restaurants. They took him to school plays. They took him to soccer matches. Benny was really enjoying himself and the kids were too. They didn’t mind writing a few sentences with their families, and the “homework” wasn’t overwhelming.

Pet #2: Then my 7-year old daughter said that she has a cat, cutie pieCutie Pie, that probably needed to go to Grade 1 and learn more math. Cutie Pie needed some support with math story problems. Huh, I liked that idea. So I had Hannah come into Grade 1 and introduce Cutie Pie to the class. How could they not love that adorable face? Now we had a Math Cat!

You know where this is going right? Because it was only a matter of time before a student was going to ask about bringing in another “pet”. Every time a student said they wanted to bring in another class pet, I’d ask them, “Well, what do they think they could learn from Grade 1 students?”.  There is no end to their imagination. The diversity and interest of these “pets” really amaze me.

We also have a world-traveling monkey, Fruity, who loves to learn about culture and geography. And our latest addition is Joy, the Koala,  loves numbers. We’re hoping that Joy can practice some expanded notation and decomposition of numbers.

Yesterday we opened up the discussion on the “pet manager” job to the kids. They loved it!–of course! So now we will have 4 students who are solely responsible for keeping track of all of these pets.  I personally love that we have such a large Grade 1 family of pets and I love how the students are really showing their initiative and independence with managing them. This is definitely not your average kind of home learning and I hope in years to come, the memory of these little projects finds a home in their heart, cherishing their experience of Grade 1.

 

#IMMOOC, Season 4: Does it Matter?- Giving Students Choice (My Personal Inquiry into Empowering Students Begins)

#IMMOOC, Season 4: Does it Matter?- Giving Students Choice (My Personal Inquiry into Empowering Students Begins)

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400 minutes a day is roughly what most students spend in school. After 180 school days, my 1st graders will have spent 72,000 minutes in our learning community (given that they are not absent) and move onto 2nd grade.What will they have learned? Who will they be at the end of that time? Will our team really have developed inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect? (From the IB Mission Statement)

That is an incredibly hard question to answer. I know that we work hard to forge new territory and challenge our learners to become self-reliant, reflective and kind. Sometimes it is easy- a simple provocation might provide the nudge, but most of the time, cultivating the awareness and motivation to do what is hard takes a lot of different approaches. In IB-Speak, we call it being principled however others may call it grit–it’s doing what’s right or the best thing to do even if it is hard, boring or uncomfortable, especially when NO ONE is watching you.

To develop “leaders of tomorrow”, we need to develop them as leaders of today.

-George Curous-  #EmpowerBook

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately-am I empowering students to make good choices or am I handicapping them by making the choices for them?  As a first grade teacher, this is sure easy to do–to “boss” those little ones around and “help” them make those choices for them.  Painful as it is to admit, that certainly happens.

As I begin this season of IMMOOC,  I really want to shine a light into those dark places of my practice. I want to examine whether or not I am consistently and compassionately developing our learners to be challenged and independent in their learning.

So I am excited to be reading the book Empower to take a more critical look at how I approach student learning and develop greater student agency in the classroom. Perhaps you might be keen to join? If so, you can sign up and join a whole load of us educators who really want to make an impact and create these leaders of today.

 

Leveled Reading Vs. Love of Reading–The Struggle is Real!

Leveled Reading Vs. Love of Reading–The Struggle is Real!

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Since I’ve taught in a variety of school settings, both in America and overseas, what is “best practice” when it comes to reading can be a bone of contention for educators. I’ve worked in some settings whose leaders think guided reading has become blasé and we should do more conferencing with student selected texts, others who feel that “independent” reading is not really reading at all and we should give them leveled texts so that students understand what is a “just right” book for them. It’s hard to argue with either side because each have their points. Although student selected texts show real agency, student chosen texts don’t often expose them to new ideas and challenges which make it difficult to develop strategies to conquer increased demands in an instructional level text. On the other hand, there aren’t too many leveled readers that win book awards and really engage readers to the point that they can’t put the book down. So trying to both instill a love of reading and yet have learning intentions that encourage the growth of skills is a balancing act.

Lately, I’ve been reading Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris’ book, Who’s Doing the Work? : How to Say Less So Your Readers Can Do More,  and they tell a story of an enthusiastic reader who gets deflated by leveled reading, citing the kind of message it sends our learners:

Accompanying these instructional choices are subtle and obvious messages to students. Think about what …book selection communicates..

• I think of you as a reader almost exclusively in terms of your reading level.

• I trust reading levels absolutely and generally don’t consider the nuances of your reading process, the text, or your motivation to read.

• Although you think you know how to select a book for yourself, you really don’t.

• You are not as good at selecting books for yourself as the others.

• The confidence you have in yourself is misguided.

• Don’t get excited about the books you want to read until you check with me.

• I’m in charge of your “independent” reading.

Burkins, Jan, and Kim Yaris. Who’s Doing the Work? : How to Say Less So Your Readers Can Do More, Stenhouse Publishers, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
Created from vientiane on 2017-09-08 20:11:57.

 

Ouch!-Right?  As I ponder the hidden message that leveled texts send, it’s driven my head into a frenzy. How can I do both?–help cultivate the identity of a learner, seeing themselves as “readers” while at the same time, pushing them out of their comfort zone and into the “learning zone”, where their skills are enhanced and extended. Knowing that my school is committed to guided reading, I am thinking about how this concept of “best practice” can be developed in the classroom. Here are 5 ways that I intend to merge what is great about these approaches to teaching in a guided reading group:

  1. Pick texts that reflect the reading interests of the students in the guided reading group.  In the beginning, when we are developing trust in our teacher-student relationship, I think it’s important to honor their interests. I have started off with a reading interest inventory and had a discussion about what their favorite genres might be. It doesn’t always have to be the next book in the DRA or PM reader series (or other level texts series), instead, I can draw from other sources like online magazines or online reading sources like  ReadWorks,  RAZ Kids, and Epic.
  2. Their ability “level” is none of their business. It’s not that I don’t want students to make good informed choices about selecting texts, but all they are not a letter, a number a color or a name. They are a reader. That’s all they need to know. Those levels are for me, the teacher, to ensure that they grow into more challenging and sophisticated texts.
  3. Tool and strategies over pre-reading and post-reading “activities”. When I first read Edgar Allen Poe, I had to sit there with a dictionary. I struggled with all the “big words” but I loved his ideas so I dug in and did the work. I had to go back and reread, but at the end of the story, I felt fulfilled. So during guided reading, I want to expose them to a strategy or introduce them to a tool that can help them solve problems with meaning and print that they encounter in the text.
  4. Encourage them to get a life– a reading life- beyond the group! As an end of week reflection, I want to spend some time discussing some great books that they might have read independently. I don’t want students to choose books because they think they are easy but instead, I want them to really want to find books that excite and interest them. Taking the time to talk about books why we like a book not only gives me data but also shows that I value their choices.
  5. Value questions over answers. A sign of a good book is that it lingers in your mind a while. It leaves you thinking and asking questions about the concepts and ideas in it. I want my readers to apply critical thinking skills when encountering texts and having them evaluating the characters and the information in the book/article closely.  This develops the mindset of a true reader, which I am sure will show up on their running records later.

For any of you who teach reading in the primary/elementary grades, the struggle is real, as we grapple with what is really “best practice” for our unique group of learners. Hopefully, my 5 ideas will give you some pause for reflection as you consider what it is that you believe is paramount to developing your readers. Please share any ideas or take aways, as it helps all of us grow as professionals.
Literacy Amplified: Using Technology Tools Effectively

Literacy Amplified: Using Technology Tools Effectively

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Technology has the ability to enhance learning with positive results. That said, we need to be careful not to assume all technology is good technology or that just having access to technology automatically equates to higher learning outcomes. Strong leaders in education carefully select technology tools and implement strategies so that the tool will not distract or take away from the learning goals, which can easily happen.  -Elizabeth Moje-

I can completely relate to that piece of wisdom, as we have explored 1:1 iPads in our primary classes. Sometimes classrooms can be overzealous in the use of technology, and the point of its use gets lost in using this “shiny tool”. We’ve had to reflect, is it the app/tool that drives our instruction or is it the curriculum? And I think to refine our choices through this filter (the curriculum) is helping us to make better decisions when selecting technology tools.

Studies by Harold Wenglinsky and other researchers from the US Department of Education have indicated that there are criteria that we must consider in our decisions with effective technology use in the classroom. Educators have to ask themselves the following:

  1. Does it elicit higher-order thinking around the contenttechnology-in-class or just an over consumption of content?
  2. Are their social interactions between students, which help build student knowledge. Collaboration is a key skill in developing digital literacies, so keep that in mind when selecting tools.
  3. Does it provide quality over quantity when it comes to practicing skills so that critical thinking is being developed?
  4. What is the “value-added” element of the tool?  Is instruction more personalized and/or differentiated; and can the students develop a more sophisticated understanding of the content?

 

When it comes to developing literacy skills, we have to remember that whatever the tool we choose, it should augment what we already know is critical in developing good readers. So what do we know about good readers?

  • They are active, with clear goals in mind and a purpose for reading.
  • They are constantly evaluating the text, asking questions and making predictions.
  • They can peruse the text carefully, noticing the importance of text features and structure.
  • As they read, they are engaged in making meaning of the text, constructing and revising their understanding.
  • They are making decisions as they read, reflecting on what to read carefully, what to read quickly, what not to read, what to reread, and so on.

When it comes to good writing, we want to make sure the tool reinforces what we know is vital to cultivate in our learners:

  • Writing that is focused, with an obvious topic or idea.
  • Ideas that are detailed and flow clearly.
  • The student engages in a process of revision, elaboration, and editing so that the writing improves.
  • The student sees themselves as an author and is aware that their writing is meant to be shared and appreciated.

Keeping in mind, what we know about good literacy instruction, then we can use technology to amplify the learning in our classrooms. I love what Eric Johnson says about using technology in his instruction, as he explains how teachers can discern what makes for enhanced literacy teaching and learning with technology.

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These four-year-olds work together to create a simple story. Each selected a character and then recorded their characters’ expressions to create a dialogue between them.

Considering this, when we want to amplify the results of our literacy programs, we need to make sure that students aren’t sitting alone, swiping mindlessly through an app or game, but instead, we have a clearly defined purpose for using the tool, and then demonstrate how to use these tools through a Think Aloud or Read-aloud. We may have to model how to work collaboratively in order to apply certain literacy strategies and/or complete a project.  This could include even how students should be sharing their knowledge, and reflecting how well they are doing in meeting the standards of the task.

In our classrooms, we want our students engaged and their learning enhanced as they work with technology. Even at home, I’m a huge advocate for showing students and their families how iPads are tools and not toys so that there is more thought put into the use of this technology. We want our students to be empowered and innovative so that there is a shift from consumption to creation when it comes to content.

So before you start app smashing or sit your student down to a website, ask yourself what impact will this technology REALLY make in the overall learning? And if you can’t identify that, then move away from the “shiny tool” syndrome and take more time to either find a more appropriate tool or use a time-tested traditional method to meet the learning goals.

 

Literacy Week 2014

Literacy Week 2014

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I love organizing school events. I know, I’m weird, huh?

But I believe that events and activities outside of our classrooms are what create community and enthusiasm for learning. Ms. Wakefield and I have been working feverishly to put together whole school activities for students. Some of the activities we had were: …

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