Last month, Bill Ferriter invited his readers to join him in an online study and conversation relevant to Kelly Gallagher’s book, Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It (which he made available for free download)! I’m hopping on a plane with my daughter Laura bright and early Saturday morning, and I plan to spend a good chunk of that flight digging into this piece so that I’m ready to talk…
Caroline uses Twitter to connect experienced teachers with schools who appreciate their expertise so that students from low-income communities can benefit. Last week, she suggested that I craft a post about professional development for teachers who work in low-income schools, and ironically, a regional opportunity is taking shape here that might provide a bit of inspiration. Several weeks ago, Scott McLeod shared a compelling four-part series of posts titled Beware the Outside Consultants, and as I…
Linda Clinton is a literacy coach in East Detroit Public Schools. She keeps up with much of what I write in this space, and I can always rely on her to provide insightful comments, meaningful feedback, and ideas that enhance the work that I get to do with teachers each day. As I began this series on literature circles several days ago, she sent the following message my way. It provides a great example of how…
Providing choice, time, and access to great books goes a long way toward motivating kids who would rather not be reading, but as @steveshann reminded me on Twitter last night, community is everything and conversation is where it begins. Informal conversation. Communities build around books and reading rapidly when we invite kids to share their honest opinions about what they’re reading. I remember watching this happen with Go Ask Alice, the Harry Potter series, The…
A whole lot of money is often spent on district-wide professional development days. Often, these events occur two or three times a year, feature an inspiring speaker (or one that was supposed to be), and supply teachers with a fistful of great ideas that evaporate upon contact with the realities of the classroom…particularly when little follow-up support is provided in the aftermath. This year, schools are facing an even larger challenge: cuts in funding. Last…
Hey! Go join Jim Burke’s new social network on ning! Many of the conversations that are taking place there have been taking place within the face-to-face communities that I’m a part of as well. So what are you waiting for? Head over there now. Meet some new people, get some new ideas, and share what you’re up to with those who care about it just as much. Here are a few stops to consider along the…
Taking on the role of an instructional coach has been the most challenging and the most rewarding professional decision I’ve made over the last seventeen years. Although I still provide stand-alone workshops and value them for specific purposes, I’ve realized that asking teachers to embrace change without providing them necessary support is often a waste of valuable resources. As a professional development model, coaching may seem fairly new to some, but the processes involved are often very common…
There is so much to be said for the beginner who is willing to share. Over the last month, various teachers have asked me to help them take their first steps toward blogging, using wikis, building a personal learning network on Twitter, annotating the findings from their formative assesment processes, and using the 6+1 Traits of Writing. Each time I’m asked to share what I know about any of these processes, I’m tempted to direct people toward the…
Several weeks ago, I posted a reflection of a demo lesson that I had recently completed. This lesson coached students in their ability to identify main idea and supporting details, and one of my professional goals was to model the process of formative assessment that I am encouraging the teachers that I am working with to adopt. I used this process myself in my work with the students, and it guided my instruction along the…
Several weeks ago, I was chatting with an acquaintance about school. Our school. The one our children attend classes in each day. Our district, like all others, has a plan for the future, and everyone is adjusting to change. Sometimes, it’s hard to know how to help. It’s hard to know how to ask difficult questions, and it’s hard to know how to get good answers. There isn’t enough time and there isn’t enough space,…