#NCTE15 Sessions

 

Making Powerful Connections Across the Twitterverse Using Social Media to Become Agents of Change

Amy Brennan, Jill DeRosa, Jenn Hayhurst, Mary Howard, and Jeanne Marie Mazzaferro shared how Twitter, a book Good to Great, and Voxer has led to changes in instruction and professional development.  Read more about their session here on Jennifer’s blog.

Embracing Trouble:  Problem Solving and Responsive Teaching in the Reading and Writing Classroom

Colleen Cruz, author of The Unstoppable Writing Teacher: Real Strategies for the Real Classroom, presented a series of steps to problem solve writing difficulties. This was interactive as we were working on a problem of our own as we learned about the steps.

1. Name your trouble.
2. How do you know it’s a problem?
3. Where do you feel stuck? Why is it keeping you up at night?
4. What are you most afraid will happen?
5. Rename the problem as a realization or goal.
6. Name the roadblocks that might get in the way.
7. How might you deal with those roadblocks? Find a small little piece to start with.
8. Plan first step. Second step. Send yourself a text with your plan as a reminder.

Barb Golub reminded us that “No matter what, Independent reading time needs to happen every day.”  EVERY.DAY.INDEPENDENT.READING.EVERY.STUDENT

“Be true to yourself.”

“Teaching is hard.”

“You need to find your group or tribe for both celebrations and in times of trouble.”

Jennifer Serravallo, author of The Reading Strategies Book:  Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers, began with a description of her previous typical classroom of 32 children,  10 with IEPs, 5 Ells, and parents who felt disconnected from schooling.

Because it was chaotic, she knew that she needed an action plan to fix the problem.  She relied on experiences from her father, a chemist, to develop a plan.

1. Get to know the student.   Stuff inside a messy desk may tell us more than the assessments.  Use an engagement inventory to consider student stamina/ability to re-engage.  How do you use running records? Not use for process, not as summative, but for formative information, but for next steps in teaching.

Where is the student pausing?

What patterns in pauses, miscues, . ..?

What is the student thinking about?

2. Decide on a goal for each reader. Honor student strength and potential when determining next steps. Jen referenced both Petty and Hattie for research in goal setting and specific feedback focused on goals.  She reminded us that you must have a goal in order to be impactful. Look at the  Hierarchy when making decisions about goals. “Have one goal for kids.”

3. Teach a strategy that aligns to goals.  The strategy will have actionable steps with a verb.  It will literally break down the work in a skill. (The newest publication has the goals color coded like the picture above!)

4. Make the goals visible.  The goals need to be visible for the reader,  other teachers, and parents.  Pictures can help.  Information on class website / blog can also provide visible goals.

“Have Student notes in a two pocket folder. Put reading information in one pocket and writing in the other pocket.  Write notes.  Have this chart ready at all times for communication purposes.  Make it be like a “chart” at the hospital that hangs on the end of the bed.  The doctor comes in and picks it up – One chart that travels with the student.  (BRILLIANT coordination of information about the student!)”

5. Stay focused on the goal during conferences and small group work. So if you are working on fluency, you will make sure the student reads text.

“Teachers:  You matter! You make a difference!”

The Art of Knowing Our Students:  Action Research for Learning and Reflection

Matt Renwick – Elementary principal in Wisconsin

We began with Matt’s question, “What do you think of when you hear the word ‘research’?”  Research should actually include listening, talking and even laughter as everyone learns from each other.  Action Research – be a renegade / individual who rejects conventional behavior. Matt shared examples of research that both he and the teachers in his building are engaged in

Karen Terlecky – literacy coach for teachers of grades 3-5

“The stories behind children are important! It’s not all about the numbers!”  Karen’s research question is “How might stamina and choice increase student reading engagement and achievement?”  Observational data might include taking pictures/video, listening to students read.  Additional information from “status of the class” can tell about stamina, where stuck, favorite genres, and whether students are just “skipping around.” And a shout out to Cathy Mere, “How might celebration within the literacy block incrase student motivation and engagement?”

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan

Clare and Tammy speak and write so eloquently about assessment and making sense of all the data that is collected – and so much more than just the numbers! How do we get “Wonder” as a regular piece of teacher work? In other words getting past issues of time, learning, questions, AND not having ALL the answers!

Assessment:

1. More than a number
2. Assessment and instruction are inseparable
3. Instruction can meet high standards and be developmentally appropriate.

“Students want to know how they are doing. They don’t want to just hear about the errors that have been recorded.”  Triangulating data must include teaching.  Ask:  “What do you notice?  What do you wonder?”

I loved our work where we looked at the data pictured below and listed what we knew and wondered about this student who had scores below the benchmark and above the benchmark as well.  What do you notice  and wonder?

 

 

Take aways for today:

Learning is complex, for adults and students

Assessment is complex, more than a number

Students are complex.

Quality literacy instruction is hard because no script can meet the needs of all students.