Elementary Schools: Andersonville, Briceville, Claxton, Dutch Valley, Fairview, Grand Oaks, Lake City, Norris, Norwood
Middle Schools: Clinton, Lake City, Norris, Norwood
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Week #2 - Reading and Discussion
After reading chapters 5, 6, and 7 from Farrell's Reflecting Practices book, choose one of the reflection techniques that you will use in staff development. Discuss how you plan to use it with your teachers.
Over the last few weeks I have been working with the interns in my building. Once a week, we meet as a group and I go over a lesson that I have planned. Each week we go to a different grade level and they observe me doing a lesson in all the content areas. After the lesson, we go back to my classroom and discuss what they observed, how they would change it, likes and dislikes, and they are able to ask questions during this time. The purpose of this is for the interns to see how literacy, both reading and writing, can be intertwined with all content, not just during reading block.
In addition to the interns observing my lesson each week, I am meeting with each individual intern for a pre-observation conference, I observe them conducting a lesson, and then we meet for a post-observation conference. The purpose of this activity is to allow the intern some individual attention from a literacy coach, to give them the opportunity to discuss their ideas and thoughts with me without the fear of others being around. As Farrell stated in his text, many teachers are self conscious about others observing them and critiquing their lesson. This way, the intern and I can have a good conversation before and after their lesson and I can really get him/her to reflect on their teaching without feeling fear.
Having said all of that, I would like to start incorporating reflection break 53 (pg. 69) into my pre-observation conferences with the interns. Some of the questions I already use, but others I would like to start using. In addition to that, I am also going to start using reflection break 54 (pg. 70) during our post-observation conference. When I ask the interns to reflect on my lessons, to critique me, and tell me how they would've done things differently not many of them speak up. For some reason they seem afraid to talk openly to me. Over the next 5 weeks before spring break I hope to make our weekly meetings more like a reflection group so that the interns can become familiar with observing lessons and talking openly about them.
We have discussed the need for a mentoring model for reflection at the middle school level. So many teachers feel they defensive when asked to further reflect on their lessons. We would like to institute a type of critical friendship reflection with teachers partnering and visiting their critical friend's class periodically to watch and then reflect with their friend later. This would be a two-way communication between both teachers. The partnerships could change at the 9-week period or when decided in the plan to change so all teachers could be exposed to greater experiences.
During one of our team meetings I did Reflection Break #2 with my fourth grade teachers. I've had the hardest time working with these teachers and I feel like the things they've complained about all year are issues that are addressed in this break.
At the beginning of the meeting I could tell that they didn't want to be there. They always start with, "how long is this going to take?" I started with giving them a copy of the break and having them read and just write for a few minutes. Then we spent the rest of the meeting sharing our responses. The meeting was our best all year. It took their entire planning and they even wanted to continue it after school. Some of their comments were, "it feels good to have an opportunity to talk about our experiences then reflect on how we can take more control of our teaching life" They seemed to appreicate getting the chance to express themselves with judgements and to know that we all have the same concerns.
Farrell's Model of Reflective Practice Break #26 - Group discussions where teachers talk to other teachers, are definitively collaborative and orally based. This type of collaboration is highly effective for teachers interested in practicing reflection. Because this type of reflection is done orally, teachers build on one another's insights to analyze and interpret data and their experiences in the school. Different viewpoints formed by a teacher's educational beliefs are one of the main strenths of this type of collaboration.
At the middle school I would like to develop collaboration teams by subject area rather than grade levels. I think this will make for more focus on student learning. All middle school teachers reflect but I can see it would be far more beneficial to reflect as a team than alone. Of course, before a subject area meeting takes place to collaborate, much self-reflection will happen anyway. So maybe more reflection and group reflection is the key rather than just self-reflection.
This year, the planning for Reading Recovery classes was a bit different. I wanted to break into the routinized practice that I witnessed last year, so we front loaded classes. Every other week we met for continuing classes, so that teachers would have more time to reflect on what they were doing. My hope was that they would get away from doing the "same old thing" with regard to book choice, and a 'program'. I believe we got a shift in that.
So, for the second half of the year, we have done cluster visits. I am combining p. 38 (group discussions) with p. 39 classroom observations, and p.39 teacher journals to shake things up a bit.
All Reading Recovery teachers are in groups of 4 that meet in clusters on Jan 20, February 18, March 14, and April 7th. In the group of 4, 1 person will teach, the others will observe, and the teachers will have a discussion about both the teacher and child after the lessson. After the discussion, the teachers will reflect on their learning and send an email to all in their group about their ideas and learnings. I compile all the thoughts from everyone in the group and send them out to all the RR teachers. So, even though a teacher may be in a group of 4, she will have access to all of the group experiences. We have done 3 of these cycles so far, and the 4th is coming up soon. This next one will have an added layer of "reflection". I am asking the teachers to try out the "video camera' protocol from Critical Friends.
There has been much discussion in our building about many of the topics for reflection on Break 74 - helping students to think independently, motivating students, etc. One of our biggest concerns is over the amount of Summer Loss our students demonstrate in August, and how long it takes to get them 'back up to speed'. So our individual reflection has been on how we can minimize the summer loss, and give our kids the BESt start in August. I asked teachers to reflect on these concerns and write down any ideas we could discuss. Mrs. Patton and I discussed the ideas with each teacher. Their contributions were varied and well thought out. Our staff will be meeting next week to discuss this further and make our plans.
I was pleased with the depth of reflection. I feel that too many times if we begin the process with a large group discussion,, some individuals will not reflect and our discussions will not be as productive. Most teachers were very engaged in our discussion, and MP seemed to be energized by the suggestions and the possiblity of these changes making a difference in student achievement. I have yet to experience our staff working together to solve problems, so I am excited about the opportunity to collaborate on this important issue.
Angela, a few years ago my principal had me create a mentoring model to use with our newer teachers. I found a model being used in the state of North Carolina. New teachers were paired with a seasoned teacher. These teachers worked together throughout the year to address the many needs of a new teacher.
We did not have a coach on staff at the time and due to so many other administration responsibilities the program just kind of fell to the wayside. Now I am thinking I should dig it up and maybe try to tweak it for use in the future.
That sounds like a great idea RaeAnn. Would you mind sharing it when you find it?
I agree with you Angela. It would be wonderful if we could meet with content area teachers and allow them to collaborate and reflect on teaching practices. I feel like it would be very beneficial to everyone involved.
I plan to use Reflection Break 33 which discusses the pros/cons of individual vs. group reflections. I plan to use my team meeting groups which are by grade level to group teachers. This would mean a group average of 3 people plus myself and the principal if he choses to participate. I would like to focus our reflections on ways to improve instruction in reading and writing using the checklists provided by Dr. Dorn in the Shaping Literate Minds book. I would like to see our group read portions of the book, come together to share our thinking, and then put what we have read into practice and then come back together to share what worked well for us.
The advantages to this grouping would be that the teachers are all in the same grade level, have common standards, and the support of each other. The disadvantages would be some groups would have dominating members who might prevent others from freely sharing, being able to stay on task in the amount of time given, and possible trust issues within some groupings.
With my staff I chose to do reflective break #3 called "Are you a Reflective Teacher?". During one of our team meetings, I asked teacher if the considered themselves to be reflective. Most of the immediately responded yes. Some of them stated they enjoyed quiet time in the afternoons to reflect or on the drive home. However, when we started discussing what reflection actually was to them, it seemed they were more about reflecting on the surface of the day not so much about their teaching.
I am looking forward to continuing to discussion self reflection with my staff as a way for them to grow professionally!
Over the last few weeks I have been working with the interns in my building. Once a week, we meet as a group and I go over a lesson that I have planned. Each week we go to a different grade level and they observe me doing a lesson in all the content areas. After the lesson, we go back to my classroom and discuss what they observed, how they would change it, likes and dislikes, and they are able to ask questions during this time. The purpose of this is for the interns to see how literacy, both reading and writing, can be intertwined with all content, not just during reading block.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the interns observing my lesson each week, I am meeting with each individual intern for a pre-observation conference, I observe them conducting a lesson, and then we meet for a post-observation conference. The purpose of this activity is to allow the intern some individual attention from a literacy coach, to give them the opportunity to discuss their ideas and thoughts with me without the fear of others being around. As Farrell stated in his text, many teachers are self conscious about others observing them and critiquing their lesson. This way, the intern and I can have a good conversation before and after their lesson and I can really get him/her to reflect on their teaching without feeling fear.
Having said all of that, I would like to start incorporating reflection break 53 (pg. 69) into my pre-observation conferences with the interns. Some of the questions I already use, but others I would like to start using. In addition to that, I am also going to start using reflection break 54 (pg. 70) during our post-observation conference. When I ask the interns to reflect on my lessons, to critique me, and tell me how they would've done things differently not many of them speak up. For some reason they seem afraid to talk openly to me. Over the next 5 weeks before spring break I hope to make our weekly meetings more like a reflection group so that the interns can become familiar with observing lessons and talking openly about them.
We have discussed the need for a mentoring model for reflection at the middle school level. So many teachers feel they defensive when asked to further reflect on their lessons. We would like to institute a type of critical friendship reflection with teachers partnering and visiting their critical friend's class periodically to watch and then reflect with their friend later. This would be a two-way communication between both teachers. The partnerships could change at the 9-week period or when decided in the plan to change so all teachers could be exposed to greater experiences.
ReplyDeleteDuring one of our team meetings I did Reflection Break #2 with my fourth grade teachers. I've had the hardest time working with these teachers and I feel like the things they've complained about all year are issues that are addressed in this break.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the meeting I could tell that they didn't want to be there. They always start with, "how long is this going to take?" I started with giving them a copy of the break and having them read and just write for a few minutes. Then we spent the rest of the meeting sharing our responses. The meeting was our best all year. It took their entire planning and they even wanted to continue it after school. Some of their comments were, "it feels good to have an opportunity to talk about our experiences then reflect on how we can take more control of our teaching life" They seemed to appreicate getting the chance to express themselves with judgements and to know that we all have the same concerns.
Farrell's Model of Reflective Practice Break #26 - Group discussions where teachers talk to other teachers, are definitively collaborative and orally based. This type of collaboration is highly effective for teachers interested in practicing reflection. Because this type of reflection is done orally, teachers build on one another's insights to analyze and interpret data and their experiences in the school. Different viewpoints formed by a teacher's educational beliefs are one of the main strenths of this type of collaboration.
ReplyDeleteAt the middle school I would like to develop collaboration teams by subject area rather than grade levels. I think this will make for more focus on student learning. All middle school teachers reflect but I can see it would be far more beneficial to reflect as a team than alone. Of course, before a subject area meeting takes place to collaborate, much self-reflection will happen anyway. So maybe more reflection and group reflection is the key rather than just self-reflection.
This year, the planning for Reading Recovery classes was a bit different. I wanted to break into the routinized practice that I witnessed last year, so we front loaded classes. Every other week we met for continuing classes, so that teachers would have more time to reflect on what they were doing. My hope was that they would get away from doing the "same old thing" with regard to book choice, and a 'program'. I believe we got a shift in that.
ReplyDeleteSo, for the second half of the year, we have done cluster visits. I am combining p. 38 (group discussions) with p. 39 classroom observations, and p.39 teacher journals to shake things up a bit.
All Reading Recovery teachers are in groups of 4 that meet in clusters on Jan 20, February 18, March 14, and April 7th. In the group of 4, 1 person will teach, the others will observe, and the teachers will have a discussion about both the teacher and child after the lessson. After the discussion, the teachers will reflect on their learning and send an email to all in their group about their ideas and learnings. I compile all the thoughts from everyone in the group and send them out to all the RR teachers. So, even though a teacher may be in a group of 4, she will have access to all of the group experiences. We have done 3 of these cycles so far, and the 4th is coming up soon. This next one will have an added layer of "reflection". I am asking the teachers to try out the "video camera' protocol from Critical Friends.
There has been much discussion in our building about many of the topics for reflection on Break 74 - helping students to think independently, motivating students, etc. One of our biggest concerns is over the amount of Summer Loss our students demonstrate in August, and how long it takes to get them 'back up to speed'. So our individual reflection has been on how we can minimize the summer loss, and give our kids the BESt start in August. I asked teachers to reflect on these concerns and write down any ideas we could discuss. Mrs. Patton and I discussed the ideas with each teacher. Their contributions were varied and well thought out. Our staff will be meeting next week to discuss this further and make our plans.
ReplyDeleteI was pleased with the depth of reflection. I feel that too many times if we begin the process with a large group discussion,, some individuals will not reflect and our discussions will not be as productive. Most teachers were very engaged in our discussion, and MP seemed to be energized by the suggestions and the possiblity of these changes making a difference in student achievement. I have yet to experience our staff working together to solve problems, so I am excited about the opportunity to collaborate on this important issue.
Angela, a few years ago my principal had me create a mentoring model to use with our newer teachers. I found a model being used in the state of North Carolina. New teachers were paired with a seasoned teacher. These teachers worked together throughout the year to address the many needs of a new teacher.
ReplyDeleteWe did not have a coach on staff at the time and due to so many other administration responsibilities the program just kind of fell to the wayside. Now I am thinking I should dig it up and maybe try to tweak it for use in the future.
That sounds like a great idea RaeAnn. Would you mind sharing it when you find it?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Angela. It would be wonderful if we could meet with content area teachers and allow them to collaborate and reflect on teaching practices. I feel like it would be very beneficial to everyone involved.
I plan to use Reflection Break 33 which discusses the pros/cons of individual vs. group reflections. I plan to use my team meeting groups which are by grade level to group teachers. This would mean a group average of 3 people plus myself and the principal if he choses to participate. I would like to focus our reflections on ways to improve instruction in reading and writing using the checklists provided by Dr. Dorn in the Shaping Literate Minds book. I would like to see our group read portions of the book, come together to share our thinking, and then put what we have read into practice and then come back together to share what worked well for us.
ReplyDeleteThe advantages to this grouping would be that the teachers are all in the same grade level, have common standards, and the support of each other. The disadvantages would be some groups would have dominating members who might prevent others from freely sharing, being able to stay on task in the amount of time given, and possible trust issues within some groupings.
With my staff I chose to do reflective break #3 called "Are you a Reflective Teacher?". During one of our team meetings, I asked teacher if the considered themselves to be reflective. Most of the immediately responded yes. Some of them stated they enjoyed quiet time in the afternoons to reflect or on the drive home. However, when we started discussing what reflection actually was to them, it seemed they were more about reflecting on the surface of the day not so much about their teaching.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to continuing to discussion self reflection with my staff as a way for them to grow professionally!