"Learning About" vs. Assessing

"Every time I talk to the children I am learning about them. I like the words 'learning about' much more than I like 'assessing.' I learn about my children. I get to know them. I want to know what they know. I want to know how they know. Isn't that what assessment is all about- learning what children know?"- Jill Ostrow, A Room With a Different View (1995)

When I read this I began thinking immediately about my notebook. The one I started my very first year of teaching. Just like most new educators, I was determined to be the "super teacher." I wanted to be different from others, I wanted to know my students so well that I could teach them in exactly the way they needed to be taught. I knew it was a lofty goal but, as usual, I was determined and  organized. I had purchased a notebook for anecdotal records and carefully labeled each page. The goal was to make notes (especially in the first days) of little things I noticed about my students. Everything from interests to friendships, fears to silly quotes. I imagined this book of observations to inform my teaching, aid in conversations with families and give me ammo when I was trying to curb out of line behaviors.

The idea came about in one of my undergrad classes on observation, I was sure it would set me a part. The notebook served its purpose for a time, I kept it neat and tidy, and within arms reach. I even did a fairly good job of writing in it regularly, for a while. But before I knew it the daily grind of answering emails, returning parent phone calls, eating 2 bites of lunch at the copy machine, searching for lost mittens... and of course teaching, got in the way of the routine of actually writing. What I developed was a mental notebook, where I still kept a "page" for each of my learners. I tuned into how they talked with their classmates, when or if they shared in class, the kind of books they were drawn to, and most of all what made them smile. I began weaving these bits of knowledge in with how I observed them performing academic tasks and quickly the "notebook pages" became like chapters in are larger reference type library I had built.

I found that when I knew what it was that they were good at, where their knowledge started and stopped and what I could do to keep each of them motivated, it transformed the culture of my classroom and my students' achievement. It wasn't really until my 3rd year in the classroom that I had a clean mental system for learning and applying all I could gather about the little humans in my classroom.

I would encourage you to ponder this as we head towards reading assessment windows and a dense time of learning in the year. I'm not telling you to start a notebook, but you can if it helps. Try to just gather information through conversation, observation and maybe even asking your students to write you letters. Allow what you learn to inform your instruction and guide the way you teach. Doing this will also help you understand their work better and support them in their learning.

Book Lists

Follow this link to see book list suggestions from Lucy Calkins and The Reading & Writing Project. Some are by genre and topic, others are by grade level. As you write your units of study and order books to be used during your whole group interactive read alouds, this is a good place to look for suggestions. Also consider these titles when choosing books to add to your classroom library.

The image below gives you a glimpse of what you will find on the site...there are other great resources as well, dig around the rest of the site a little!

Hint cards...

Blueprints

A word about working with WORDS

If you have not yet seen it, I would highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of Pathways to the Common Core by Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, & Christopher Lehman.

The truth is, somehow in the course of the last few years, most classroom educators have lost track of the movement around Common Core. Most of us in MN were initially told that we were not adopting the CCS for ELA, but as you know that has changed, we have. From my perspective, many of us have found ourselves responsible for teaching these standards with very little professional learning about their stark difference to the old standards we used. This book helps to answer the questions you are too embarrassed to ask and provides you answers you can discuss with colleagues and families.
Anyway, one of the most helpful chapters for me has been Chapter 10: Overview of the Speaking, Listening and Language Standards,  because one of the major shifts that comes with these new standards is the way we approach teaching conventions, knowledge of language and vocabulary acquisition. These 3 points are the most meaningful to ponder in light of the actual day to day instruction in all grade levels:

1. "Students need immersion in rich oral and written language, meaning they need to read a lot and be involved in literate conversations in literacy-rich classrooms"
2. "Students do need some words to be specifically taught, but teachers should select words that cross many content areas and will be current and visible in students' experience. This is because, for these explicitly taught words to stick, a students must experience them across contexts at least twelve to fifteen times on average. This means words of the week will not have lasting power unless they are attended to in reading, writing and listening across the day as well as across the year."
3. "Students need to learn how words work and gain the sense that words can be formed from other words and that words with similar spellings often-though not always- can have meanings derived from one another. This means that vocabulary instruction should not just be centered on word lists but should teach students to be active word solvers."

I am not sharing this to dismiss the teaching of sight or content specific vocabulary. I share it to prompt thinking about why we spend as much time as we do on individual words, their structure and meaning when the reality is, students can often find the meaning and have the spelling corrected as they type it faster than they can access the background knowledge we hoped to build. Instead, these new standards want is to focus on guiding them to be meaning makers and word solvers. 

Disciplinary Literacy- 7-12

"How can adolescents think and learn like mathematicians, historians, or biologists if we do not teach them how to read, comprehend, and think deeply about the texts of each discipline?"
TIMOTHY SHANAHAN & CYNTHIA SHANAHAN

This year we have focused on content area literacy in our Professional Learning as 7-12 teachers. This topic is essential to our view of ourselves as teachers of reading and our desire for students to truly understand and internalize the content from their classes. So when I stumbled onto this article by Timothy and Cynthia Shanhahan, I was delighted to read about the work that was done with content area teachers, content experts and reading specialists to create a cohesive approach to disciplinary literacy instruction. Disciplinary literacy refers to the ability to recognize the purpose and strategies best used in each of the disciplines and apply them so as you more successfully read like an expert of that subject would. The article summarizes the a research project that strategically gathered groups of people to discuss, analyze, reflect and focus on reading purposes and strategies in individual content areas in order to better prepare students for the types of reading they will encounter in their various courses.

The article begins with the explanation of the difference between the literacy instruction received prior to middle school, and the increased need for more specified literacy instruction in grades 7-12. The following figure is provided as an explanation of the literacy grow and stages at Shanahan sees it. 

Shanhan explains that the project "has challenged us to rethink the basic curriculum of adolescents literacy instruction, particularly with regard to reading comprehension strategy instruction within the disciplines." This seems to be the most logical way to approach instructing our students. Rather than asking students to make the jump from a Basic to Intermediate Literacy and then tossing them into the world of very complex content text to "figure it out", the results of this project support the need for explicit instruction of reading strategies specific to content and purpose. 

Teachers, disciplinary experts and reading specialists gathered to look at the textbooks being used, record their own think-alouds as they themselves read portions of the text, and then identified the most important strategies for readers to master and apply when reading science, history, and math texts. The representatives in each team were able to synthesize what they knew about the topic, curriculum, and reading to create frameworks for instruction that were aimed at providing students what they needed to be successful in the top portion of the pyramid. 

The following article sites this project and more simply explains what is necessary to consider in the topic of Disciplinary Literacy. Additionally, this author includes some questions that could be used in a PLC conversation or in collaboration with your site's reading specialist. 

Eyes on Disciplinary Literacy

"If we are knowledgeable about the distinct differences among content areas why are we using generic literacy strategies across the content areas?"

PLC Discussion Questions

Teaching Disciplinary Literacy to Adolescents: Rethinking Content- Area Literacy

Vicky Zygouris-Coe, Reading Today Online

Rigorous Reading

The 4 Questions for students

I've just begun reading Formative Assessment in Practice: A process of inquiry and action by Margaret Heritage and in the first 10 pages I can see connections to our work here! When I stumbled onto this quote:
"As the lesson develops, students use the learning goal and success criteria to reflect on their own learning, to evaluate their learning progresses and to think about where they need to go next."
I immediately thought of the 4 questions that guide our PLC work. And then I thought, what a great idea for a classroom poster or bulletin board, the 4 questions every student should be able to answer:

What am I supposed to know/be able to do?

How will I know when I know it?

What will I do if I don't know it?

What will I do next when I do know it?

Consider the power of teaching your students to reflect, plan and respond to their own learning!

Dyad Reading of ANY text

This strategy can be used in most grade levels and in all content areas. It comes from Nancy Lee Cecil's book The Art of Inquiry. Here is the description and the steps to making this happen in your classroom.
       Dyad Reading is a form of reciprocal oral reading that has the added dimension of increasing important critical thinking skills through summarizing and questioning. You can teach the strategy using the following format:
1. Select two students to work together (students who read at generally the same level would be best) and have one read a paragraph or selected section of text out loud.
2. As that child reads, have the other child listen and then summarize (oral or written) what was read. 
3. Have the reader ask the listener critical thinking questions
4. Encourage the children to discuss the answers and, where there is disagreement, have them refer to the text.
5. Repeat the process, alternating roles

 Obviously, this technique would need to be modeled and taught in order for students to generate quality questions and internalize the routine and expectations. But once mastered, this strategy could be a great pre-reading or re-reading activity to deepen students understanding of a text. Once agin, regardless of if the text is from a textbook, novel, article or other source, students reading, listening, summarizing and questioning causes them  to be intentional and in tune with their own comprehension. Go ahead and give it a try!

21st Century Approaches to Teaching

21st CENTURY APPROACHES to 
LEARNING & TEACHING include:
(follow the links and please be patient as the videos load!)

STUDENT VOICE & CHOICE
Differentiating with learning menus

A FOCUS ON QUESTIONS & CONCEPTS

COLLABORATIVE WORK

STRATEGIC THINKING

STUDENTS AS KNOWLEDGE CREATORS

INCREASED INTERACTIONS & TALKING
Twitter in the classroom

USING MULTIPLE SOURCES FOR INFORMATION
Literacy in Physics: Reading a Primary Source

INCREASING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

Engage motivation2012 from jenniferplucker

Beautiful and Diverse Text

I heard about this site while listening to a presentation Cris Tovani gave on reading engagement. The site is called informationisbeautiful.net and what you find there is just that, beautiful information. Weather you are a content area teacher or just looking to spice up your student's reading material, there are many great choices here.
You could address place value, percentages and musicians rights using this info graphic:

Or you could use this to spark a class discussion in physical science

or perhaps you would assign your health class to read and respond to this chart in small groups...

lots of interesting info and interesting text!

Best Practice

"Being a professional carries with it the implication that our behavior is based on the latest and best knowledge available at any given point in time." (Eaker & Keating, 2012)

Beyond "Turn & Talk"

I'm really excited about these. More can be found at THIS SITE, but I'm going to put a few up here as well. The biggest thing to note is that you will need to teach these procedures to your students just like you teach lining up, hand raising and a other classroom routines. Once they know them, you can reference them quickly by flipping back to an anchor chart or poster you create as a class about the sharing procedure.

Teach so it matters...

In his book Engaging Readers & Writers With Inquiry Jeff Wilhelm states that one of the first actions steps to take towards building a culture of inquiry is to 

       

"Reconceptualize your role and that of your students as members of an inquiring community that shares a common vocabulary and set of conceptual tools and strategic practices to solve open problems in a discipline."

Sounds easy, right?!? Not so much. These things are essential first steps, and because of the that I believe they deserve some discussion. As we look at the elements of common vocabulary, conceptual tools, and strategic practices, I will give you some practical thoughts about how to try and maybe even fully implement them for the benefit of your students. 

Developing a common language or vocabulary is something all educators should be aiming for. Not just for the purpose of test taking or spewing definitions, but to enrich the understanding of the content and its themes. This can be done by 

• Most importantly, this includes the conversational language you expect and use in your classroom discussions. How do expect them to agree with you, one another or a guest? What should they say if they disagree? What does a response to a question sound like? How can students have clarifying conversations when they misunderstand or disagree? When these "norms" are established and students know the boundaries and expectations for communication, they will be more likely to engage in classroom conversation and discussion than if they think you are only looking for thoughtless compliance. 
• Creating a visual support for important vocabualry words in your classroom. A bulletin board, poster or even notecards on the wall should be in a place where you and your students can access it. The purpose being that you will use them more, your students will see them more, and the meanings will be reinforced. Consider having students create illustrations or symbols to further support the vocab as their understanding develops. 

Teaching a set of conceptual tools means giving students options for how to deepen their understanding of a concept when there is a defect  As with other elements of inquiry learning, independence is built from repeated modeling and guided practice. 

• One way to do this is by presenting graphic organizers that cause students to record what they know, questions they have and provide an emphasis on connections. If students can see connections between knew knowledge and something they already understand, their conceptual understanding will be stronger. 
• If students are building knowledge through reading a text, teach them how to find key words, identify root words or note similar vocabulary. 

Narcissism & Assessment

   

 I was at a great workshop, focusing on meaningful assessment and feedback at all grade levels. As I sat surrounded by hundreds of educators, I found myself wondering "How did we get here? How did we get to a place where we aren't testing what students really know in a way that is effective or helpful, but grading is consuming so much of our time and brain energy?" The theme of giving honest and authentic feedback kept rolling past my eardrums and into my mind throughout the day, along with the acknowledgement of a fear we have developed in truly measuring and reporting learning. I believe there are many reasons why at times we shy away from the fact that a student, or perhaps many,  are not making it and why we aren't reporting these results to them. We're afraid. Not of what it says about us as teachers or even about what it may mean in terms of curriculum changes. I believe we're afraid of our students (and in many cases their parents.)
        The students we deal with today are living in a world that literally screams a message of their "importance" .....because these are the days when you can gather Facebook "friends", twitter "followers" and Instagram "Likers" as easily as you can sit on the couch and breathe.
      As I considered the implications of this on how we give feedback and assess student learning I was reminded of an article from TIME magazine last month.

The witty and insightful content of the article is steeped in the truth and research of how we got here. The author explains that in the 1970s, there was a push towards self-esteem and self-worth in educations. The original intentions were pure, or at least remotely innocent, but the results have been long lasting. As the article explains from a physiological perspective, self-esteem without an authentic self-awareness, breeds narcissism. You see, if you are just told that you are amazing and wonderful and even worthy of royal titles like "princess" simply because you exist, you begin to develop an entitlement mentality that creeps into all of your thinking. So, zoom ahead 40 years and we now have sports leagues where all participants walk away with a trophy (even if they lost), people who pour themselves into virtual relationships rather than real ones, and an overall consensus that no one wants to be "judged" by anyone else's standard. 

      So, in turn, this leaves us as educators cowering in the corner. Students are "passing" on that shouldn't be. Parents push back about the value of homework and attempt to justify the behaviors we are "concerned" about. No one wants to be the barer of bad news, but if we don't start giving specific and honest feedback about where are students are in their learning, how close they are to the target, and what they might need to do to make improvements.......it will only get worse. 

     So as not to leave you on an immensely negative note; I believe these children are capable of developing an authentic and realistic view of themselves. One that has an awareness of strengths and opportunities.  I believe they have the capacity to receive a D on an assignment that was truly D work, and become better for it. They will need our help though. 

"School should not be a place where young people go to watch old people work!"

"I don't know if teachers can work any harder  than they're already working, so we've go to find ways to make students carry more of the thinking load in our classrooms. As I walk out of school with my colleagues at the end of each day, we're all tired. We're carrying heavy bags of books and papers, and our shoulders are slumped. Meanwhile, our students bound past us to the parking lot, running and jumping down the steps two at a time, full of energy. I once heard someone say: 'School should not be a place where young people go to watch old people work' We've got to figure out how to work smarter, because what we're being asked to do is really a challenge."- Cris Tovani in Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? (2004)

This is one of my all time favorite quotes for today's teachers. There are so many demands on us, and so many people and government structures telling us that we aren't doing enough. And at times, we preach that message to ourselves, questioning a lesson or a student's engagement level and if there is anything we could even possibly to do change it. And then something "new" comes along from our district or instructional leaders and we walk away from a conversation, email or PD thinking "I just can't handle another thing!" But Tovani makes an excellent point. If we were spending our days as facilitators of thinking, delivering short bursts of high quality modeling followed by a large stretch of time to support learners in small groups and individually as THEY work, we may have a little something left at the end of the day.Many teachers find themselves giving the "This is our community and we all have responsibilities" speech to their classes several times a year, but somehow when it comes to the learning, we have most of the responsibility.

Do you know about Emperor Penguin mothers? After delivering an egg into the care of the father, they travel, by walking and swimming, for 2-3 MONTHS eating food for their babies. They return from their long trip, only to regurgitate already digested food into their baby's mouth, which the young penguin receives without so much as a "Thanks Mom, you didn't have to do all that work and digest it for me too!"

I don't want to be a "penguin mother" teacher. I don't want to spend all my evenings and weekends swimming the seas of worksheets and papers, waddling across the snowy plains of lesson plans and show up on Monday to deliver a "student-proof" lesson.

I want to make them do a lot of the work.... and MOST of the thinking in my classroom. If they don't, they won't learn.

Give some responsibility away, ask a student to tell you what they're thinking instead of answering a specific question. Encourage them to communicate their new learning with a poem or diagram and then ask them to help you see the holes in their own thinking.