Showing posts with label community. Show all posts

Friday, August 19, 2016

First Things First

Posted by Amazing People, on 3:27 AM
Our district has been working to be intentional about our culture.  As a community, we are continually talking about our commitment to being our best for one another.  In this conversation, we talk a lot about choosing our response to an event based upon the outcomes we want.  Nowhere is this more important than during the beginning of our school year.  It's easy to get caught up in the requirements for assessment, to worry about students who may need to make large gains in a school year, to want to make use of time by diving in quickly to challenging learning, or to teach in ways we think might help students perform better on tests though in our hearts we know may not be what is best for the children sitting in front of us each day.

These are the days we have to put all of this worry aside and attend to first things first.

I was reminded of the importance of staying focused on building learning communities today as I chatted with an old friend.

At the end of the day today, I stopped by one of our elementary schools for a meeting.  While I was there, I decided to wander into the primary hallway to chat with some of the teachers.  As I was walking down the hall, I ran into a colleague whom I've known for some time.  She and I took classes together at Ohio State University and have had many discussions about learning across the years.  I always learn so much talking with her.  I admire her love of literacy, her creativity, and her gift for keeping children first.  

 "How's the first few days been?" I inquired.

"Great," she smiled and began telling me about all they had been doing.  Though she had to be exhausted from these first days of school, she didn't show it.   

We talked as we walked toward her classroom; immediately I found her space welcoming.  There were frames outside the door for their learning gallery, a space to celebrate their steps along the way.  The wall inside was lined with letters from the previous year's class positioned close to the new students' first day of school writing; their proximity reminded me how much second graders learn in a year.  

There were other parts of her room that welcomed young learners.  The library was brimming with carefully selected picture books.  If a reader walked into the space, she/he would be surrounded by books.  Along the wall colorful large squares of warm earth tones had been hung to display the learning students would soon do as conversations grow in their community.  There was a large meeting area on one side of the room which was surround by books, learning tools, and a chart stand.  There was a place on the wall that would soon feature a timeline that would tell the stories of their days.

Her room called me in, but it was her conversation that warmed my heart.  As we chatted she told me about the way they were focusing on finding happiness. The books around the carpet were about finding your happiness.  Their morning meeting had started with a suggestion that students look for the happiness in their day and they ended the day by writing about the happiness they had discovered.  These were just some of the ways she was connecting her community.  She told me how they would grow their library and make it their own.  She showed me how they would celebrate the reading they do together all year.  She walked me to the wall that would highlight their learning journey and the books students would use to individualize that story.  Everywhere we walked she talked about the intentional plans she had for these first days of school.   

 "I want them to leave my room loving learning," she said finally.  I had to smile.  I didn't know how they could do anything but love learning in this room so thoughtfully prepared for their next steps.  

The outcome she wants is a classroom where students love to learn and take care of one another.  It is obvious that all voices are valued here.  These first days matter in the days we cannot yet see.

Links to Keep First Things First:  

(If you have favorite beginning of the year posts, I hope you'll share them in the comments.)  










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Saturday, June 25, 2016

Why Digital Writing

Posted by Amazing People, on 1:00 AM

"The question is no longer whether we should use technology to teach writing; instead we must focus on the many ways we must use technology to teach writing." - Troy Hicks, Crafting Digital Writing

Lifting Our Voices:  Writing Beyond Our Notebooks 
The room was quiet as participants wandered from space to space surveying writing collections.  Each person had brought their �archaeological dig� to our writing project retreat.  We were each charged to find writing to share with the group from across our lives.  Everything was quiet as we moved around the room and read each other�s pieces.  Each "dig" was filled with childhood reports, paper books made by tiny fingers, journals filled with wondrous words, and collections of handwritten poems.  I was struck by the beauty of the words that surrounded me and the gifts these writers had tucked safely away in closets and drawers.  

As I was laughing over the childhood piece of a friend, one of the participants approached me about the writing in my collection.  �You still are writing a lot.  I wish I was still writing,� she confided.  �It�s been a long time since I just wrote for the joy of it.  I really only write when life requires it.�  I could hear the lament in her voice and could understand her words.  I�ve been where she is.  There have been periods where I didn�t pick up a pencil, periods where I let the busyness of life overtake my schedule, periods where I chose to remain silent. 

Her comment caught me a bit off-guard, however.  Writing has become such a part of my life that I guess I really hadn�t given it much thought lately.  I�ve become accustomed to the time for reflection, the ah-has I discover, the joys, and the struggle.  I write to dabble, to play, to discover.  

For days, her comment stayed with me.  I had stopped by her collection.  I was struck by the natural talent toward writing she had displayed since she was a small child.  Her words flowed effortlessly across the page.  They were full of truths and rhythms.  Yet I had noticed, like other writers in our group, the writing she shared in more recent years had likely been required.  For many the beautiful words, the lessons, the stories to change the world, were tucked away.

The Power of Connection
I looked closely at my own collection of artifacts.  Like others, I had my childhood pieces.  There was the terrible fourth-grade poem that my teacher had planted the suggestion that I might some day be a poet with his encouraging words.  (I�m pretty sure that poem indicated the complete opposite.)  There was the poem asking, Who Shot JR? (that takes you back --- some of you will have to Google the reference), from my middle school years.  Yep, that was worth a laugh.  There were pieces sprinkled across my high school career, and then there was a huge stage of quiet.  Lots of quiet.  I happen to know there was some required writing in those days, but that was about all I carved out of my day.  

As I looked at my collection I noticed the frequency of writing had certainly increased in the last seven years.  Why?  

Digital tools.  

Connection.  

In the last few weeks, I've really had a lot of time to think about the power of connection. It is the connection to communities like the Slice of Life, Poetry Friday, and Choice Literacy. It is the connection to blogs of friends, the #amwriting and #micropoetry Twitter groups, and others who read, interact and support each other in writing. I probably wouldn't still be writing without these communities to make me think, give me pause, and support my writing. It's the writing for something, that has changed my writing life and caused me to slow down to get things down on paper or held in digital spaces. (A few other communities you might like: #Celebratelu with Ruth Ayres, Teachers Write 2016, #CLMOOC Connected Learning Mooc...please share others in comments.)

Being digital has shifted my writing.

Why Digital Writing
I often find myself thinking intentionally about questions such as these:  
  • What does it mean to write digitally?  
  • How is it different from other mediums for composing?  
  • What are its benefits?  
  • How is digital writing like writing in other mediums?  
  • Why is it important to provide digital writing opportunities for young literacy learners?
There have been a lot of things happening that have put thinking about digital writing at the top of my list:  work on a digital literacy cooperative doc, conversations around digital literacy with #cyberPD, questions from friends regarding digital writing, and work with #CLMOOC.  

 I suppose my participation in digital writing communities has helped me to see the many benefits of writing digitally.  In these years, I have been writing more in digital pieces.  The more I've written, the more I've realized my students need these same opportunities.  There are benefits of writing digitally:




Most of all, digital writing gives our words a space reach out into the world.  It gives us the opportunity to see life from other perspectives, to think about things in new ways, to be affected by the stories and wondrous words of others.  

I'm hoping that before our time in Central Ohio Writing Project is over that some of the other writers in the group find their places to share their stories to let their words spill out of their notebooks.  Digital writing gives voice to each person now. 



Saturday, February 6, 2016

Calling Them Out or Lifting Their Voice?

Posted by Amazing People, on 6:24 AM
Until you know me, I'm a bit quiet.  Of course, I'm not sure my friends who know me well would ever say that about me.  The larger the group, the less I know the people, the more foreign the topic, the more likely I am to stay quiet.  We have students in our classroom who are the same way.  There are students who prefer a conversation one-on-one.  There are students who might, just might, talk in a small group.  There are students who don't feel comfortable sharing in a large group.

Recently I stumbled upon Alfie Kohn's article:  "Your Hand's Not Raised?  Too Bad:  I'm Calling on You Anyway."  In his article, Kohn makes the argument that calling on students who haven't volunteered is "a way to shame a kid."  As with all of Kohn's thinking, it really made me stop and ponder for a bit.  There are students who never wish to talk in a large group, and there are a variety of reasons why this might be so.  Should we just call on students who offer participation or those who are so interested that they just shout out their thinking to the group?  I'm not so sure...  

Calling on students who haven't "volunteered" is a tricky business.  We have to really know our students and no child should ever feel pressured or put on the spot.  I've had students I would never have called on in the large group.  These are the students I knew an eye glance or a quiet conversation later always seemed a more comfortable way to talk about our learning.  These are students I was always ready for the moment I knew I needed to listen.  The reasons students don't participate are many.  I'm guessing, as well, these may differ if you are 6, 12, or 16.  Students don't participate for a variety of reasons:  disengagement (sorry, Alfie, I know there's probably a better word), confusion, shyness, and feelings of not belonging only touch the surface of reasons why they may not participate.  

For a minute, however, let's think about the other side of this coin.  Let's think about those students who are rarely heard in our learning communities.  Let's understand we must really know our students here.  We do really need to think hard about the reasons a child may not be participating.  Let's agree that we must work hard to build strong communities that support one another: where listening and turn taking are essential practices.  Let's note Kohn's point that no child should ever be "forced" to join a conversation.  

However, for a minute, let's also ask ourselves about those quiet students who get lost in the sea of voices who push to rise to the top.  Let's, just for a minute, agree that their voices matter too.  In looking at different perspectives on calling on students Kohn adds, "A smiling, 'gentle invitation' ('Chris? I notice you haven't spoken for awhile. Would you like to chime in here?')�and periodic reassurances that anyone may choose to pass at any time�is completely different from a nonnegotiable demand that everyone must answer."  A few months ago I started working with a small group for interactive writing.  There were a few students unfamiliar to me, and Bella was one of them.  She didn't make much eye contact with me and didn't seem comfortable joining our discussions.  Other students monopolized our discussion and I'm not sure she could have entered the conversation if she would have tried.  I would talk with her briefly by herself as she came and went.  Eventually she would come whisper her thoughts in my ear and agree that I could share them.  Each day I noticed she worked harder and grew a bit more comfortable.  We'd smile knowingly at each other.  I'd quietly comment or gesture toward something she was attempting.  Now - every once in awhile - she is sharing her thinking with her peers and I love to see how quiet they get to listen to her.  I think this careful work helped her to know what she had to say mattered and helped to lift her voice.  

There is reason to pause as we read this article and think about the learning community we are nurturing.  He reminds us, "Ideally, moving beyond hand-raising or cold-calling is part of an ongoing project of creating a democratic, caring classroom community, one in which students are helped to feel a sense of belonging and given continuous opportunities to make decisions, individually and collectively."  I love the vision of first graders requesting responses from one another without my insertion into the conversation.  Maybe someday I'll get there.  (I really appreciate the work of Peter Johnston's in Opening Minds as I think about helping students develop agency, building dynamic learning frames,  and building strong communities.  See a few quotes at the bottom of this post.)  I agree with Kohn that students should really own conversations and their voices should be heard more than mine.  However, I'll continue to consider his assertion that calling on students who haven't volunteered is not something we should do.  I feel we have an obligation to gently nurture our communities to allow equal value of every child's thoughts in our classrooms.  

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Classroom Environments that Support Inclusive Intervention

Posted by Amazing People, on 7:44 AM
Last year was my first year in reading intervention for quite some time.  It was the first time I had been completely out of my classroom and devoting my entire day to supporting readers.  My time is spent with primary students needing additional reading support.  I don't consider my readers to be struggling or deficit, but to be a different place than most of their peers.  My role, as I see it, is to help them to build bridges and make connections so they can be a part of their reading communities.  I still find myself thinking between my role as a classroom teacher and my role as someone providing reading support.  Both roles provide different advantages and challenges in supporting readers.

To support readers I prefer situations in which I am able to go into classrooms (some advantages here).  I'm not a big fan of the word push-in.  It sounds controlling.  It sounds forceful.  For me, I think of it more as working alongside.  There's something that feels more accommodating about going into a classroom.  I feel like it sends the message that the student is most important.  It seems to say, "I'll meet you where you are."  I also find that it helps me to make stronger connections to classroom instruction and help students with transitions between lessons and the work they do in their classrooms.

I am continually reminded of how lucky I am to have teachers who are willing to set up communities that make coming into their classrooms to support readers work.  Of course, for this type of situation to work classroom teachers and support staff must be willing to work together in the best interest of the children.  Communication has to be open and honest.  Time has to be respected on a daily basis.  These are some of the characteristics I find conducive to success:
  • Long Literacy Blocks:  Recently I was talking to a few friends who work in the same role I have in other districts.  They were asking how I managed to get into classrooms with schedules being the way they are.  As we talked I realized some of what makes my situation work is that teachers dedicate 120-150 minutes in literacy instruction.  In grade levels where teachers run similar schedules, it is also possible for me to flexibly move students between classrooms to better match lessons to student need without shaking up everyone's schedules.   
  • Consistent Routines and Schedules:  It's easier to go into classrooms that have consistent routines and schedules.  In these classrooms students know their role across learning times and teachers are freed up to meet with small groups and individuals.  Coming into classrooms works best in classrooms that are using a workshop model.  There's much flexibility within the structure of a workshop to meet with students.  
  • Timeliness:  Both teachers and support staff have to work to respect time.  If I say I am going to be in someone's classroom for a certain period of time it is important that I am there every day at that time.  Because the time of support staff is also limited, it is helpful when classroom teachers are keeping the class on schedule to help utilize the time available for specialists.  
  • Cooperative Learning Environment:  I find the best inclusive intervention happens when the tone in the room is one where everyone works together, problems are solved as a community, and each member is seen for the strengths they bring the others.  In these rooms the group understands they're stronger together.  The teacher isn't the only one solving problems, and students are connected to others beyond their classroom.  
  • Students Engaged in Self-Selected Work:  I have found I've had the most success in classrooms where students have choice and ownership in their work.  In these situations, students know they have time during workshops to complete projects as learning carries across days and isn't as full of deadlines.  Stepping away from their work for a bit doesn't mean they won't be able to finish.  Students given tasks to complete by the end of a literacy block worry they won't be able to finish on time.  Additionally, it is easier for me to connect our learning to the work they are doing when they are working on authentic tasks related to learning.  
  • Students Are Responsible for Their Time:  When all students in the classroom are responsible for their time and have ownership in their learning they are more likely to use their time effectively.  Interruptions are much less in these types of classrooms.  
  • A Hum of Learning Fills the Room:  Silence isn't necessary for me to go into a classroom.  As a matter of fact, our small group can sometimes be a distraction in a room expected to be silent.  However, in rooms where everyone respects the learning space it is much easier to meet.  In these rooms students and teachers move to one another to talk.  Voices are kept at a whisper and conversations are about learning.  There's conversation in these rooms, but it is purposeful conversation.  
  • Thoughtful Movement:  It isn't necessary for everyone to stay in their seats for small group work to happen, but it is easier when movement is limited to purpose.  In classrooms where students collect books, tools, and other items needed before finding a space to begin there is less movement during the time we work together.  
As the calendar turns to August I'm busy thinking of ways I can better support students in the coming year.  What worked?  What needs to change?  I know I couldn't do any of this without the help of the classroom teachers that support these students across the day.  I'm fortunate to be part of a community that believes in the power of literacy and putting students first.

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