Carol left a comment on yesterday’s post which left me thinking again about vision and action. I’ve written about this before, because in my experience this is as essential as it is complex. Defining literacy is no easy task, and articulating a vision for supporting the development of it within a district is a tremendous collaborative effort. In the beginning, coaching experiences can help teachers define what they are eager to know and accomplish for…
Literacy Coaching is relatively new to our region, and while schools outside of our area may have established coaching models long ago, the opportunity to support teachers in this capacity is something that many districts in our area are just beginning to make happen. It’s exciting to be on the ground floor of this work in WNY. This week’s strand of posts have been written at the request of teachers and administrators who are interested…
One of the things that I am most excited about this year is returning to my work as a literacy coach. Over time, I’ve found myself doing fewer and fewer single-event workshops and devoting more time to sustained initiatives like coaching because they provide me the opportunity to create consistent, job-embedded learning opportunities for teachers without removing them from their classrooms. I find that coaching keeps me grounded as well. The strategies and practices that…
I’ve spent some time this summer taking stock of my online habits, including the ways in which I’ve established and engaged with my personal learning network. Bud Hunt recently shared his own reflections about this, describing the intentional shifts he has planned and the ways in which he intends to study them. His process intrigues me because I’m hoping to make some purposeful changes in how I engage online as well. This should come as…
“…you are teaching yourselves how you will live and work. Early habits take up residence and are difficult to evict later on.” Jim Burke I spent a chunk of this weekend getting inspired by the different approaches my favorite edubloggers are taking with back-to-school posts. The start of every year is filled with such incredible excitement and anticipation. There are goals to set and plans to shape and personal needs to attend to. We’re getting…
I have a confession to make. Last year, when my daughter made honor roll, I didn’t rush right out to the garage to slap the celebratory bumper sticker onto the back of my car. Instead, I quietly displayed it on our refrigerator the day that it arrived in the mail, and reminded her, once again, of how proud she continues to make us. “Aren’t you going to put that on the car?!” Her sister demanded…
The weather was distinctly fall-like this weekend. We just returned from a week in Allegany State Park, where I sat beside a campfire with my husband and reflected on the year behind us in anticipation of the year ahead of us. Every so often, a lanky young woman would wander past us and stop for a moment to plant a kiss on top of our heads. I caught myself wondering where she came from, and…
An interesting conversation is beginning to take shape on the English Companion Ning relevant to yesterday’s piece in the NY Times about providing choice to student readers. I was surprised (and kind of saddened) that this approach was touted as the “future of reading” and that it was contrasted so sharply with other forms of literature study. I don’t know many teachers who sacrifice depth of questioning or comprehension instruction in order to provide readers…
It has been an honor to have Hana Halloran join us at Studio, and her reading of this original poem on our very last day of the high school session marked one of the most moving moments of the entire experience for us all. I love this photo–take a peek at the expression on each listener’s face. Talk about captivating an audience. I thought I’d share this timely piece, with her permission of course, as…
I was introduced to peer review many years ago, when I first began seeking feedback on my own writing. The protocol we used was a lot less formal than the peer review we currently participate in at Communities for Learning though, and as a result, I don’t feel it was nearly as effective. Many people find that adhering to a pretty tight protocol elicits better feedback, and while it’s not uncommon to approach peer review…