Thursday, June 19, 2014

Teacher Reflection

Well, my friends, we've made it to the end of another school year. This will be my last blog post for awhile as I head off to enjoy my last summer vacation as a non-mother! I'll see you back here in late August/early September as we prepare to begin the 2014-2015 school year (my 15th year working in education!) and I'll begin my weekly blogs again (that is, until my maternity leave starts!).

As I'm sure many of you have, I've been using some time lately to reflect on how my year went and what my goals and hopes are for next year. I've even begun thinking about what my SMART goals might entail. I'm already getting excited about my plans, which include developing and implementing a more formal coaching model for our school district, which I believe will help me ensure my coaching is as effective as it can be, benefiting teachers and students alike. After two years of coaching, I feel ready and energized to tackle this goal!

If you're having trouble reflecting and thinking about goals for next year, I suggest turning to the Teaching Rubric that's part of our new education evaluation system here in Massachusetts. This rubric is designed to aid in your reflection on your practices and in your goal-setting. But it can feel a bit cumbersome and verbose, can't it? To better navigate it, try considering these questions as you skim through the indicators (I'm going to focus on Standards I & II here, since they're so instructional in nature and that's my thing, y'all!):

Standard I:
  • How rigorous are the tasks you engage students in? Are students working within their zone of proximal development (ZPD)? What assessment practices do you use that help you to determine where each student's ZPD is?
  • How often do students learn through differentiated experiences in your class, whether they be differentiated by interest, learning style, or readiness?
  • How comfortable do you feel with your lesson planning formats and structures? Do you consistently include challenging, measurable objectives (and do these objectives end up being "lived objectives" during the lesson)? Activators? Summarizers? Opportunities for assessing student understanding? Opportunities for all students to practice and to receive feedback? Is pacing ever an issue? Are there built-in opportunities for students to receive support should they need it, or to be challenged with extensions should that be their need?
  • How often do you use formative assessment data (this could be informal or formal) to inform your instruction for the next day(s)? Are you able to do this on a regular basis (weekly or even, ideally, daily)?
  • What types of assessments do students experience in your class? Is it a wide range?
Standard II:
  • Are students provided exemplars and rubrics that help them understand assessment criteria and expectations? Do you model as often as possible? Do you use a "gradual release of responsibility" (I Do, We Do, You Do) so that students are scaffolded towards success?
  • How engaged are your students during lessons? Is time on task an issue? Are all students given chances to practice (not just those who raise their hands)?
  • How often do you tier your instruction in order to meet the needs and readiness levels of all your students? Do you feel comfortable planning tiered instruction based on formative assessment data?
  • Do your students clearly understand your expectations of them? Could they describe them to someone else? Are your expectations so communicated and enforced (through rituals, routines, and appropriate responses) that students eventually "own" them as well?

The above questions don't cover everything Standards I & II delve into. But I think they are a great starting place for examining our instructional practices and determining where we'd like to improve. As you do so, please consider working with me as your instructional coach. The coaching model I'll be developing and implementing next year will help me to even better guide the teachers I work with towards the efficient, effective meeting of their goals.

In the meantime, have wonderful summers, educators! See you for 2014-2015!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Expanding our "Teaching Menus"


“Some classes, it’s like peanut butter and jelly for lunch every single day. But in this class, it’s like my teacher really knows how to cook. It’s like she runs a really big restaurant with a big menu..."

The above is from an interview Carol Tomlinson (DI guru and my academic crush) conducted with a student. Besides her nice grasp of simile, this kid really gets the need for variety in a classroom.

I'll be the first to admit, there were plenty of days in my own classroom where PB & J was the only thing on the menu. To extend the metaphor . . . PB & J was what I was good at. I had mastered it. Plus, I liked PB & J. It was one of my own favorites.

But when I read the above quote, I am forced to ask myself: What about those students I had who didn't like PB & J (still with the metaphor here)? Maybe some who hated it? Maybe some who liked it sometimes, but were pretty sick of it when it was the only option most days? Was I providing them enough variety? Was I providing them enough "nutrients" -- what about all those other foods I could have been serving? Veggies, fruit, even the occasional ice cream?

You know what? I wasn't growing as a "chef," either. Sure, my PB & J was darn good, but what else was on the menu? I wasn't stretching myself to learn to prepare new things -- I was stuck in a comfort zone rut.

When we think about differentiation, we should embrace it as an opportunity to expand our teaching menus, to grow so that we are also running "really big restaurant[s] with . . . big menu[s]." It will benefit our students -- after all, we're trying to nourish everyone, but they don't all have to eat the same thing at the same time to get that nourishment. It will benefit us as teachers, too, enabling us to grow.

The focus of my upcoming summer workshop is how to plan this kind of "menu," including the use of different types of assessments, different options to offer our students, all while keeping their "tastes" and "dietary needs" in mind. It's still not too late to sign up -- if you're interested, and/or have questions, just let me know. Or, if you can't make the workshop, we can plan on working together in a coach/coachee capacity towards this end. 

Happy cooking!

Friday, June 6, 2014

Establishing a Classroom Culture for DI

Many teachers understandably fear what their students' reactions will be to a differentiated classroom. Will they notice that some students may be doing different work than they are? Will they feel "on display" if the teacher calls them to the side for some small group instruction? Will they feel differentiation is "unfair"?

These are, as I said, understandable concerns. We want our students to feel comfortable in our classrooms. But we can't let these concerns prevent us from delivering effective instruction to all students.

Carol Tomlinson, noted DI expert and a personal academic crush of mine, recommends bringing our students into a conversation about differentiation in order to establish a classroom culture conducive to and accepting of DI. Here are some questions she suggests (from her book, Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom, co-authored with M.B. Imbeau, 2010) teachers pose to begin this kind of dialogue with students:


O Who are you as learners? (Are you all alike or are there important differences?)
O Given the differences we see, how should I teach you?
O If our classroom is going to work for all of us, what will it be like? (How will it need to function? What roles will each of us play?)
O How can I learn more about your starting points, interests, & best ways of learning?
O If we have a differentiated classroom, can it be fair? (What will “fair” mean in this room?)
O What will success in this class mean? (How will I know if you’re succeeding? How will you know?)
 
Think about the students you had this past year. How would they respond to these questions? In my 
experience, students recognize and understand the need for DI much more than we think they might.
So, if you're planning on including DI in your classes next year, think about beginning the school 
year with this kind of conversation with your students -- be upfront with them, bring them on board.
It should lead to smoother sailing for all of you when the time comes for some differentiated lessons. 
 
Shameless plug alert: The above is just a slice of what my summer workshop will offer this year. You
can still sign up -- let me know if you're interested and/or have questions!