Teach Reading Explicitly

Reading is complex and unnatural. The ability to read is not innate and requires systematic and explicit teaching. It is not something that can be left to chance. Unlike oral language skills, reading proficiency will not just naturally develop. We can't hope that somehow students will just 'get it'.  If students aren't given direct reading instruction and provided strategies, there is little chance they will become good readers. Teachers need to be mindful of the texts and stories we choose to use in class. We sometimes take for granted the ability to read. We forget that for some students, reading (something that comes so naturally to us) can be a real struggle for them. It can cause serious anxiety and stress. Students who struggle with reading will often shut down when the text is too difficult and beyond their level of comprehension. They will become defiant or say that reading is boring. They will look for every excuse not to engage with the text. To ensure this doesn't happen, we have to provide our students with the necessary skills. Some simple reading competencies we can teach students are:

1) Skimming - the ability to get a broad overview of what a text is about as quickly as possible
2) Scanning - the ability to pick out key information from a text
3) Zooming - the ability to focus on the meanings of individual words and phrases and their relevance to a text

To become a skilled reader, students need to master the following:

A) Word Recognition

-Phonological awareness (recognizing chunks of words - the syllables and phonemes from which words are constructed)
-Decoding (the process of turning symbols into sounds)
-Sight recognition of familiar words


B) Language Comprehension

-Background knowledge (facts/concepts in text which writers assume readers will know)
-Vocabulary (especially academic and subject-specific words)
-Language structures (understanding of grammar, syntax, semantics etc.)
-Verbal reasoning (recognizing and understanding inferences, metaphors etc.)
-Genre knowledge (understanding of print and genre conventions)


Comprehension Websites (Click on the link)

The Key to Student Achievement

Teachers often don't agree on issues of pedagogy.

That said, all teachers would probably admit that feedback is a good thing. Feedback comprises the core of formative assessment. It is one of the most powerful influences on student achievement. But what does good feedback look like? It is one of those educational terms that is often difficult to define and put into words. Feedback is usually thought of as advice, praise and evaluation. In general though, it is information about how we're doing in an effort to reach our goals. It is descriptive not evaluative. It is a continuous process that is given consistently throughout the year. Some simple questions that can be used to communicate with parents and guide feedback are:


What can the student do?
What can't the student do?
How does the student's work compare with that of others?
How can the student do better?


Balanced - Mix the positive and the negative.

Providing feedback means giving students an explanation of what they are doing correctly and incorrectly. However, the focus of the feedback should be based essentially on what the students is doing right. It is most productive to a student’s learning when they are provided with an explanation and example as to what is accurate and inaccurate about their work. Use the concept of a “feedback sandwich” to guide your feedback: Compliment, Correct, Compliment.

Timely - Don't wait too long. 

When feedback is given immediately after showing proof of learning, the student responds positively and remembers the experience about what is being learned in a confident manner.  If we wait too long to give feedback, the moment is lost and the student might not connect the feedback with the action. The most useful feedback is therefore often verbal. 

Kind - Be sensitive to the individual needs of the student.

Our feedback should be 'hard on content, soft on people'. It is vital that we take into consideration each student individually when giving feedback. Our classrooms are full of diverse learners. Some students need to be nudged to achieve at a higher level and other needs to be handled very gently so as not to discourage learning and damage self-esteem. A balance between not wanting to hurt a student’s feelings and providing proper encouragement is essential.

Specific - Give details and plan of action. 

Saying "good job" is not feedback! General praise and comments are not effective ways to help students improve. It must not be vague or ambiguous. Try to include examples to illustrate your statement. This is when rubrics become a useful tool. Effective rubrics provide students with very specific information about their performance, comparative to an established range of standards. 

Limited - Concentrate on one ability. 

It makes a far greater impact on the student when only one skill is critiqued versus the entire paper/assignment being the focus of everything that is wrong. Too many instructions are overwhelming. It's more likely that the student will improve when one piece of advice is offered at a time. Start with something small and slowly work towards the larger issues of concern. 

Personal - Have a one-on-one conference.

Providing a one-on-one meeting with a student is one of the most effective means of providing feedback. The student will look forward to having the attention and allows the opportunity to ask necessary questions.  A one-on-one conference should be generally optimistic, as this will encourage the student to look forward to the next meeting.

The Schools We Need

The Right Question

Questions create the challenges that make us learn.

Teachers spend much of their time asking questions. We need to ensure that we are asking the right kind that spark learning. Initiation-Response-Evaluation (IRE) questioning, the 'guess what's in the teacher's head' style, should be avoided whenever possible. We need to provide questions that do more than simply require students to recite what's been learned. Questions that make students really think and not just report someone else's thinking. Good questions will create deeper understanding and advance cognitive development. They can't be answered quickly and easily. They encourage learners to make links with prior knowledge and push them to the limit of their understanding. A strong question should lead to more questions. It should evoke reflection. When inquiring, it's important to make it clear to students what type of thinking they are expected to do. This clarity will assist with our assessment of their learning.

Let's take the time to ask the right questions.

As a famous man once said, "If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask."

The following three question types provide a framework for prompting students:

Clarify
-What did you mean by...?
-Can you explain that differently?
-What other words could you use?

Probe
-Can you tell me more about...?
-What else do you know about...?
-How else might you use that?

Recommend
-What is better about?
-Can you explain why you prefer that?
-What do you agree with...?

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Developing Sequencing Skills

Sequencing is the process of putting events, objects and ideas in a logical order. It's a skill that we use throughout the day, often without even knowing it. For adults, it is second nature. For many students, it is something they need to practice. It needs to be taught explicitly. It needs to be regarded as a thinking process that can be broadly applied across many areas. In school though, it is usually taught as simply the ordering of facts and information. This rote memorization reduces sequencing to lower order thinking.

Sequencing contributes to students' ability to understand and develop their reading comprehension. It is a valuable tool for identifying the components of a story, examining the structure and retelling the story. Through an examination of sequencing in narrative texts, students also hone their writing skills. When applied to mathematics, it can be used in timelines. Just to refresh your memory, a timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates alongside itself and usually events are labelled on points where they would have happened (from Wikipedia).



Timeline Creators

What Would Churchill Think?

Teachers love buzzwords.

The problem with buzzwords in education (or any field for that matter), is that they often oversimplify complex concepts. Sure, buzzwords make for a great soundbite, but in the process, they trivialize. They dumb down. Growth mindset, the belief that one can improve any aspect of themselves through effort and determination, is one of those buzzwords.

Carol Dweck's book was written almost ten years, but has slowly gained momentum in influencing educators and seems to have struck a chord with them. Maybe it's the optimistic nature of the philosophy. Maybe it's the politics of academia. Who really knows why one book gains prominence over another and enters the collective consciousness.

Mindset is a 288 page book that could probably be reduced to a few pages. Much of the book consists of anecdotes about famous people and how they achieved success through adopting a growth mindset. Many seem to view growth mindset as if it's a revelation about human nature. Something bold and new. Yet long before her book was published and Dweck's psychology become popular teacher jargon, Churchill managed to express it in one sentence: "Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential." Think we'd all agree Churchill knew a thing or two about effort. He walked the walk.

The growth mindset outlined in Dweck's book has become a buzzword that frequently gets thrown around in conversations and Twitter chats. Teachers love to talk about it. Many praise it as if it's the be-all and end-all; a perfect solution to what ails education. It seems wherever you look on social media, teachers are waxing philosophical on the need for students to adopt this growth mindset and do away with a limiting fixed mindset. I'm wondering how many teachers have actually read the book? While I'm all for positive change and improving oneself, the whole thing seems a bit too much like feel good pop psychology. Isn't it just common sense? Isn't it kind of obvious? Maybe I'm missing something. I find her distinction between fixed and growth too constrictive. Human psychology is never this simple. People can't be easily defined and boxed into neatly delineated categories. It's not a case of either/or.

Let's not reduce human potential to a buzzword.

Elements of Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning (PBL) is great for developing a tinkering mindset. This mindset is an engaging way for students to approach problem-solving through direct experience, experimentation and discovery. Tinkering combines social and creative forces to provide a truly meaningful learning experience for students. By developing this tinkering mindset in students, we give them permission to trust themselves. They begin to see themselves as learners who have good ideas that can be transformed into reality. They no longer always look to the teacher for validation. They no longer just seek the right answer or what they think the teacher wants to hear.

Good projects have common elements:

1) Purpose and Relevance - give students projects that are personally meaningful so that they can invest their time, effort and creativity into it. Give them something to care about and ignite their passions.

2) Time - decide on the time frame for the project. Some projects could take just a few periods, while some could run for a whole term. Regardless, give students enough time to think about, plan, execute, change course, edit etc. Build in time out of school as well.

3) Complexity - incorporate multiple subjects (if possible) into the project design. The best projects are cross-curricular and draw on prior knowledge and expertise from many diverse subjects. Don't just limit students to the traditional school content knowledge. Making connections to big ideas across disciplines is where the real learning takes place.

4) Intensity - students have alot of intensity for their hobbies and interests. Too often, the curriculum doesn't tap into their passions. Take the time to really get to know your students and what they love to do when they're not "doing" school. Bring this to the projects that you design and offer to them.

5) Connection - with PBL, every opportunity should be made to connect students to each other, outside experts, mutiple subject areas and powerful ideas. Collaboration should not be forced on students but should develop naturally and organically. The connections made through meaningful projects have a real impact on student learning.

6) Access - ideally students will have access to digital resources both in school and at home. BYOD policies in your class are a great first step to ensuring equal access. Concrete materials and manipulatives should be provided and shared equally among all students. Planning ahead and ordering enough of eveything needed to complete the projects is important.

7) Shareability - this is a key aspect of PBL. Students need to make something that is shareable with others. This builds motivation and relevelance. Presenting it to their classmates should just be a starting point. There are many social media outlets now for students to reach a wider, authentic audience.