June is my favorite month on the calendar. I get to spend these weeks bringing closure to the work that was done during the school year, working with teams to evaluate our progress and set new goals, and most importantly, celebrating all that has been accomplished and all that I have learned from the incredible (truly they are) teachers and coaches and administrators and students I get to work with throughout the year. It’s been…
This post is the fifth in a series about research and writing in Heather Bitka’s kindergarten classroom. To learn more about this project’s purpose and outcomes, you might want to read the first post. If you are interested in understanding how this project enabled the teachers and coaches involved to position themselves as learners, you can click through to the second post. This post demonstrates the beginning of instruction, where researchers applied strategies that helped…
This post is the fourth in a series about research and writing in Heather Bitka’s kindergarten classroom. To learn more about this project’s purpose and outcomes, you might want to read the first post. If you are interested in understanding how this project enabled the teachers and coaches involved to position themselves as learners, you can click through to the second post. This post demonstrates the beginning of instruction, where researchers applied strategies that helped…
Today’s post is the second in a series relevant to the learning that has transpired in Lockport teacher Heather Bitka’s kindergarten classroom this spring. I introduced Heather in this post. The prologue to this learning experience, which explains our work as co-learners with greater depth, can be found here. This post speaks to the common questions that began provoking us right from the start and what the adults involved hoped the kindergarteners would know and…
Last week, I introduced you to Heather Bitka, a Lockport Elementary Teacher that I have been co-planning an integrated writing unit with this spring. This experience enabled Heather, myself, visiting instructional coach Sheri Barsottelli, and classroom aide Kay Shanley to pursue a variety of questions as learners. Who were our teachers? A classroom full of very curious and energetic kindergarteners, who were pursuing very similar questions themselves. Here are the prompts that guided every learner…
On my Kindle this week: The Power of Collective Wisdom and the Trap of Collective Folly by Alan Briskin, Sheryl Erickson, John Ott, and Tom Callanan. Forward by Peter Senge. Highlights: “I believe there is no more telling indicator of the absence of collective wisdom that the inability to learn as we go. It is characterized by rigidness and dogma. It is characterized by low trust and the inability to talk about difficult subjects where…
When I first became a professional development provider, much of what I was capable of doing was limited to speaking engagements, short-term projects, and workshops. I worked on a team that served over 25 different school districts, each comprised of multiple buildings. I was one of two literacy specialists in my department. Resources were tight. Time was tighter. I knew I had a lot to learn, and I knew that if I were ever going…
Reflective Journaling Enables Learners to Assess Their Needs As a teacher, when I began my own search for self-advocacy protocols, strategies, and processes, my efforts led me to countless books, articles, and experts whose focus was largely on the field of special education and on what parents and teachers could do to help classified learners speak to their needs and protect their rights. I know that this is important work, and in fact, as I’ve…
As teachers, we are often far more sensitive to the weaknesses that learners possess than we are to their strengths. Once we’ve targeted a weakness, it is common for us to slide into problem-solving mode. This inhibits us from empowering kids to identify what they are good at so that they may use their strengths to contribute to our classrooms and our communities. Have you considered how many young people graduate from our high…
Some of the conversations that I have with young writers are inspired by the work of Christopher Johns, whose framework for reflective practice enables them to identify their needs, advocate for themselves, and use what they’ve come to understand to be of service to others. Sounds heavy, but it really isn’t. Consider this: Inspiring those you know to do the same can happen when you invite them to think about, discuss, and craft responses to…