Fallon EDRD 431

"Reporting is a more extensive process, and report cards are simply one way of reporting." p.115

While reading this, I have seen logs and newsletters done in some classes I have been in, but I have yet to see narrative reports and parent universities. I love the idea of logs. I believe communication is KEY! Especially if you want the parents on your side.  They need to aware of everything. I have to agree with Tabor with the narrative reports...they sound amazing, but imagine doing this for 23 students. 

What does it mean to have the role of a teacher as a researcher?

The role of researcher can take many different acts.  If there is one thing that I have learned during my education in this program, is that you need to get to know your children. Know them as people, as readers, mathematicians, scientists, geographers, writers and in all other learning aspects. This requires research. One just can not assume and not take the time to get to know our young learners. When we are in the classroom, when we observe, listen and engage, we are researching. 

One way we research is with conferences:

When...

"...First when I'm initially getting to know my students and I want to get some information about the strategies they use when they read to help me get ready for my conferences..." Serravallo pg. 45

Researching can help us notice strengths and help children to build confidence. This in return helps children to take risks and feel safe. "I know my students are more likely to take risks in their learning when they feel safe and competent already." Serravallo Pg. 49

When can also research when we hear the children interact with each other. Learning is social, and if we allow them to build off of one another's ideas we can see the growth among them. 

----My internship experience----

Part of Ch. 4....

All tests are subjective.

I never thought of all tests being subjective, even standardized test. After Serafini described the whys and the ways to reduce it; it definitely has become more clear. 

"Our evaluations need to be practical and purposeful, meaning we should use the information generated every day to inform our decisions concerning our lessons and units of study." p.90

"We can't get away with isolated words, phrases, and sentences, no matter how wonderful they might appear. We can't use them as teaching tools as if they stand alone and can be picked up and down at will." p. 77

"The way we interact with children and arrange for them to interact shoes them what kinds of people we think they are and gives them opportunities to practice being those kinds of people." P. 79

"Identity kit."

Johnston makes it clear the outcome of your language in a classroom. Children pick up on the small things. They pick up more than we tend to give them credit for. I like how Johnston provides the interview with Pam the teacher. She groups the children by "more capable," and "less capable." This is beyond sad, but the sad part is that sometimes we aren't always conscious of our stereotypes or genres in our classrooms. I know Johnston really talks about teachers just being automatic about their responses, as if it is natural. I believe it takes practice and awareness when you are first teaching. I guess this is where evaluations can really be supportive in knowing your own "automatic" responses. 

Also, Johnston revisits the word "We." This is SO important when working with children. The teacher, Pam, mentioned did not use this community word in her classroom. 

"...She wants them to be aware of themselves as learners..." P. 84

"Recall that "children grow into the intellectual life around them' and them that intellectual life is fundamentally social." P. 65

"We" - Makes you a part of the community. Lets the children know that you owe a part to the classroom as well and that you are learning just as much from them as they are from you.

"...Children's social imagination is associated with their sense of well-being." p. 67 ..."Understanding ourselves entails understanding others and how we are alike and not alike."

LOVE - "...the more we are able to orchestrate interactions in ways that allow us to think beyond ourselves..." P. 67

Community building/ a democracy classroom. I know I tend to quote Paul Chaplin a lot, but it seems like his classes coincide with our class! Today he was discussing the importance of a democratic classroom.

Some of what was taught:

Citizenship and Classroom Management

Play some role in development of classroom and playground rules.

Resolve problems through collaborative effort

Make decisions about how they allocate their time and about what activities they pursue.

This helps the class think beyond themselves and understand different perspectives.

 He also referred to inquiry and how that contributes to the democratic classroom. 

This next quote amazed me, it really takes a spin on classroom management and allows the children to reflect on themselves. 

"You guys say such important things, it amazes me you would talk while others are talking." p. 68

Question: What other ways can you say this? I feel like if they keep hearing this exact thing it will loose its meaning.

Once again I love this! It also shows the children respect, and that EVERYONE has important things to say, so respect that. LOVE!

"Are there any other ways to think about that? Any other opinions?"

- I have seen this done in my internship for math. When a student comes to a conclusion my coaching teacher will ask if the rest of the class agrees or disagrees. If someone disagrees then he has them talk to the one who came with the conclusion and talk it out, because sometimes when you talk it out it helps you understand your misconception. 

I love how she started off the chapter by saying that she won't choose students for small groups by level or book, but by the strategies they use and what they all need growth in. Most small groups I have seen have been what she said not to do. Always by level. 

Start by demonstrating. 

End with encouragement and expectation.

Question: How do you know when to collect useful data? Because it is said not to collect data when it is not needed, but when do you know? 

Spontaneous grouping!

Go into it with a four box grid of anticipated areas of concern and observe. Then, write the names of children that coincide with the concerns.

"Clearly state to them what you noticed, and the one teaching point that you're going to introduce them to help make them stronger readers."

"While accomplishing the same thing, this one casts the teacher not so much as a listening other, but as a community member helping the community strategically manage its inquiry process. It does this by shifting from 'I' to 'we.'" P. 55

I connected this to us saying, "I can still also struggle with..." This allows the children to become confident, and feel safe in the environment of your classroom. 

"The ability or tendency to ask effective questions contributes a great deal to children's agency, and to their development of critical literacy." P. 55

We must help to teach them these social skills by modeling them. Paul Chaplin was talking about this in Social Studies methods. Children do not just come into the classroom obtaining social skills, rather they need us to demonstrate how to communicate effectively. 

"When we do answer the students' questions, we seize the authority in a way that positions students again in the less powerful position and traps them in a monologic discourse." P. 56

"Think time."

"Thinking time also offers respect-a relational property that is the lifeblood of a learning community. When a teacher waits for a child to figure something out or self-correct, it conveys the message that she expects the child to be able to accomplish it." P. 56

I always thought wait time, or thinking time, was awkward and not useful when i was younger, but it is very resourceful. I really like how Johnston connects this to expectation. When we give the children the expectation that they will succeed, they will have a greater chance of succeeding. 

"...Rushing through many new skills is rarely what is best for the student...often, less is more." P. 102

Throwing new strategies down children's throats all the time, actually won't benefit them. I think about a sport, you need to conquer one technique before you move to the next. So like the Charmin commercial says, "Less is more!"

"It can be tempting for young readers to only practice what I teach them on the day I teach it, never to think about it again. By following up with skills and strategies I previously taught, I am sending the message to students that once they are taught a new skill and strategy the expectation is that they incorporate it into their reading lives from now on." P. 102

I can relate to this, I think all of us can. We learn something new, try it the same day and if we do not see the benefit right off the bat, then we stop. It reminds me of math and the phrase, "When are we ever going to use this?" We need to give children the expectation that they need to use this in their "reading lives." 

I enjoy reading how Serravallo says how to do a follow up reading conference. Pg. 104-105 really emphasizes to start with compliments, then move into instruction. We need to build from what a child knows, not beat them up for what they struggle with. Sometimes they may not hit the nail right on the head the first time with a new strategy, which is where we can do some research questions and see what we can do. 

1. Can you show me some places where you (last teaching point)? -this holds them accountable.

2.How is (last teaching point going)? - this shows us how they feel about it.

3. What has been tricky for you with (LTP)? - leads instruction

(To follow up with Noah's instruction I will be teaching on Tuesday, chunking, I will do a follow up conference by, "Listening to the student read and possibly taking a running record." P. 107

"There is no 'Wrong' method of instruction in reading conference, but it helps to decide how much support you think the reader will need with the strategy." p. 114

Ch. 9

"When a reader talks about her books, she is giving me a sense of how she is constructing the meaning of the text." p. 117

READING IS MEANING MAKING! This is what we strive towards!

researching:

"I stand back so I can see what they readers are doing naturally."

I like how Serravallo goes on by saying that sometimes children, or anyone for the matter, act differently when being watched. By standing back and being a fly on the wall, you are more able to see what a child is doing naturally, with out putting up a facade. 

Ghost partner:

"When I become a ghost partner, I am supporting both the listener by giving him language to use for how to talk  to the speaker and the speaker by giving him the language how to communicate an idea to the group." p. 122

I never heard of this strategy. I find it interesting....Do you just do this when you walk around to each partnership, or group? Or stick to one group?

I like this quote a lot: "...Just like real people, characters are not just one way." p. 128

I feel like sometimes this is an abstract idea for children.

"The key to my success is keeping clear records that document my teaching methods, content, and structures." p. 129

"When looking through a window, we often find a bit of reflection of ourselves bouncing back...we can reflect on what we have taught during the year..." P. 22

I thought this connected to Choice Words when Johnston talked about the discursive histories, and how we should reflect on what we say. "Some of us have to think more carefully about the language we use to offer our students the best learning environment we can." p. 1 "Children, in their own ways, teach us about the language of our classrooms. We have to ask what discursive histories have made it possible for them to say what they say."p. 3 I know this is not an exact connect, but it made me think about how our instruction and words reflect not only on our children but back to us. We need to take time and observe and see what we are doing. 

"This information does not come to us ready-made; it is generated through the process and instruments we select and the knowledge base we bring to the observed learning events." p. 22

Strategies I took away:

"Observations of students' responses during whole group Read Alouds..."

"Conduct daily "check-in-conferences' with students."

"...give each group of students a name, like "yellow stars"or "blue moons." I use the names to indicate which group I will be collecting reading response notebooks from or having reading conferences with that day." P 25

Parent Informational Survey

Use computer labels to organize observations throughout the day. These observations should be unbiased!

Checklists (quick)

Think Aloulds...used for demonstrating strategies we may use so our children can see us model them. (Cambourne all the way!)

"Parents generally know their children better than we do, and it is our responsibility to acknowledge this fact and include parents in our instructional decisions." P. 26

This connects to last year and how we said "Parents are the experts." Not only are they a huge asset in instruction and knowing the children, but it is also wise to have them on your side and to keep them informed at all times. 

Question: 

Do you recommend the book An observation Survey by Marie Clay?

Most of what Serafini said about miscue analysis is what we have been taught, what we have read, but one new idea I encountered was when she talked about ratios. 

"The primary purpose of these analyses should be to understand the skills and strategies that readers bring to the act of reading not simply to find a reading level. " P. 47

"Think alouds are a window for generating immediate reactions to texts, and they provide information about what readers are attending to and not attending to while they read." P. 47

Serafini then describes how she would model this in front of her students. (Demonstrating.) Then have the children do it in small or whole group, so they can try it on their own with guidance. These help us to see what children are thinking as they are reading, and what pops into their minds!

AHA moment:

"My rule of thumb is, 'If you aren't going to analyze it, don't bother generating it.'" P. 49

"It's important I know what to teach in a conference and how to teach it." P.132

I like how Serravallo really emphasizes that conferring/ conferences is within everyone's reach.  It is kind of reassuring that she says this because, just like how she said the yoga poses she was doing looked intimidating, so does conferring with readers. It just takes a lot of planning.

She also re-emphasizes "Envisioning!" 

Who would have thought of "Mining you own reading for what to teach?" I honestly never thought of this. This is genius. Analyze your thoughts. See how you out words, how you make meaning and how envision the text. 

-Research the book that the child is reading. 

"Text Characteristics" "...Taking each of these characteristics and naming skills a reader would need to use the handle that characteristic or difficulty." 

"I like to have a collection because I know a strategy that works for one reader might not work for another, and because sometimes there are strategies that help a reader to work more deeply at one skill." P. 137

Get to know your readers and the level of books they are reading.Then study them. "What skills does this level demand?"

"As proficient readers read, their knowledge of what makes sense, what sounds right, and what looks right all helps them to read text." P. 142

From reading what Serravallo says on miscue analysis (running record) I saw she focused on patterns. "...The first step is to look for some kind of pattern."P. 145 This is used for fluency and intonation. For instance, if a child pauses numerous times this could be something pertaining to fluency, and we can guide them to strategies to help them conquer this.

I like that later in the chapter she talks about the structure of a conference. She also goes into evaluating herself.  To do this, one should record themselves and ask the questions she poses.

Key quote:

"How did you figure that out?" 

"...It requires the student to position himself as a storyteller with himself as the protagonist in the story....Such a narrative invites a sense of agency as a part of the child's literate identity." P. 31

"We hear a lot about teaching children strategies, but we often encounter classrooms in which children are being taught strategies yet are not being strategic." P. 31

"This strategy  of arranging for a student to figure something out independently, without full awareness, and then reflecting on it, has been called 'revealing.'" P.32

"agency -- I can do something." P. 33

"Which part are you sure about and which part are you not sure about?" P. 34

This last quote really goes with what we talk about it in class. Start with what the child knows and build off of that.  Instead, of us going head first and correcting what they are doing wrong, we need to guide them. Ask what they believe they are doing right, and what they think they need help with.  This can address misconceptions as well future instruction. Especially if you see several children struggling with the same doubts. 

Toward Better Standardized Tests:

"Assessments should be fair and valid. They should provide equal opportunity to measure what students know and can do, without bias against individuals on the bases of race, ethnicity, gender, income level, learning style, disability, or limited English proficiency." P. 5

"...A learning experience that leads to new learning and growth is a quality experience." - John Dewey P. 11

Quality learning experience:

1. Authenticity: the relationship between school-based learning and "real-life" learning.

2.Continuity: the relationship between what is being experienced now and how this will affect the future experiences.

3.Engagement: the relationship between a learner and the experience at hand.

4. Functionality: the relationship between the experiences provided and their purpose in the real world. 

"As teacher, we often have to make judgement based on our intuitions and hunches in a short amount of time....They also need to spend time reflecting on the information generated by various assessments and to use the information to make sound instructional decisions." P. 12

First off I would like to say I thoroughly enjoyed reading about standardized testing in here.  First, because I highly disagree with it. Second, because I am writing a speech on standardized testing and why it is not always the most accurate depiction of what students know. Most of the time these tests focus on what a child is doing wrong.  This is not what our focus should be on! Start on what the children know and grow from that.