Tuesday, July 21, 2015

#cyberPD - Digital Reading Part 3

My, how these three weeks have flown! Thanks to the smart, smart #cyberPD community, my thinking has grown, stretched, and has been challenged. Remember, next week will be our final (live) wrap-up Twitter chat.

Reflecting...
As I read chapter six, the voices of Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan (authors of Assessment in Perspective and #cyberPD participants) were also whispering in my ear. I learn so much from their work, not the least of which is the idea that if we're going to assess kids, we need to make it useful in our day-to-day work. In my district, we have a required weekly reading test connected to our basal reading series (Reading Street.) I don't have a choice in whether or not I give the assessment, but I do have a choice as to what I do with the information collected. If I use it as a formative assessment to help drive the lesson planning decisions I make, it makes me feel slightly better about having to subject them to the test each week.

Reading chapter six made me think more about this and what other kinds of assessment I'm using. I thought long and hard about the list on page 90. I'm sad to admit that in the past two years that I've taught fourth grade, my conferring with students has taken a back seat to small group instruction. A lot of that has to do with expectations from my district, but a small part of it also has to do with getting to know what fourth grade is all about. I've come to the conclusion that it is still absolutely critical for me to meet with my students one-on-one to meet their individual learning needs. I appreciated all of the resources and ideas Franki and Bill shared in chapter six that will help me accomplish this.

It's funny how so much of this book has tied directly to goals I have for myself and for my students! Chapter 7 was no exception. As fortunate as we are to have 1:1 devices, we are still faced with educating parents so they can become a member of our digital community. I plan to begin this process at our Curriculum Night (held a few weeks into the school year.) Part of my presentation will include introducing our Haiku page (the learning management system my district uses) and our class Twitter account. I set out with the best intentions after our "Who Owns the Learning" #cyberPD conversation to have my kids gradually take over the responsibility of sharing our learning with parents and the community at large, but it didn't quite happen. I have a renewed sense of motivation and purpose for this after reading chapter 7 as well as my earlier read of the absolutely fabulous book by Paul Solarz titled Learn Like a Pirate.

Lastly, I simply loved the last paragraph of chapter 7 (page 108.) I believe these sentiments to be true not only for communicating with parents but also for our work with children. There is no magic list or a "one-size fits all" approach to making learning authentic, intentional and connected. We can pick a few tools and plan to stick with them, while keeping flexibility and student needs in mind. And of course, new possibilities will always be opened up though our PLNs... and those new ideas deserve our time and careful consideration as well.

Reflection Perfection up here in the woods of northern Wisconsin!
As I write this, I am spending time in the woods and on the lakes up in northern Wisconsin. I'm thoroughly enjoying the fishing and snuggles with my nieces, but I also find myself thinking a lot about the #cyberPD conversation and the upcoming school year. But it sure is a beautiful place to take a deep breath of fresh, pine-scented air and cast a line as my mind wanders...



18 comments:

  1. Love your post! I just got back from Northern MN. So nice to disconnect...(kind of) and relax! I bet it kills you each week to give that weekly assessment from the basal. That would be hard for me! Thank you for your work with #cyberPD. Were you able to finish Circus Mirandus yet? I saw you were taking it on your trip...I've been working at it...just need some time to sit down and focus!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I finished Circus Mirandus this morning!! Incredible story. I'm thankful I had a few minutes to finish it this morning before we headed back out on the boat. Always refreshing to be able to disconnect a bit and refresh!

      Delete
  2. "There is no magic list or a "one-size fits all" approach to making learning authentic, intentional and connected."
    I agree with you completely! Our job is to know our students well and then figure out what works best for them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Karen! We definitely have to have a variety of tools up our sleeves to find what works for each individual.

      Delete
  3. Our district is going 1:1 this fall and I am interested to see how it goes. So far there have been summer sessions held for parents so I am hoping the first month or so won't be a bumpy ride in terms of parent communication.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When our district first went 1:1, a mandatory parent education night was held a few weeks into the school year so parents would be well informed about the care, use, and safety of the device. It seemed to really help, especially for those parents who weren't very comfortable with using technology.

      Delete
  4. We love this line - "I don't have a choice in whether or not I give the assessment, but I do have a choice as to what I do with the information collected." This is so important for all of us to remember.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely! And the two of you definitely helped teach me that lesson. Thank you!!!

      Delete
  5. It looks like you might be far away from anything "cyber", and that's what summer is all about, right? I like your honesty about what you've been doing, what you wish for next year, and the struggle to do it. Good wishes for using the ideas we just read about. I loved Teach Like A Pirate, BTW!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Linda! I love reflecting and dreaming over the summer. What could I have done better this past year and how will I approach it in August?

      I've been a huge fan of Paul's through Twitter for a while now and had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times. His book really opened my eyes to some new possibilities!

      Delete
  6. That is a beautiful place! Yes, this book connected so well with the goals I've been setting for myself in the new school year - I think reading it and participating in #cyberPD has clarified my thinking. Looking forward to the Twitter chat!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tara! It's so good to connect with like-minded people who also help to push our thinking, isn't it?

      Delete
  7. Laura,

    Thanks for sharing your honesty about assessments in your district. As you mentioned, many are required, but you do have the authority to do what you need with it. I also say, don't be so hard on yourself! Moving grade levels and going 1:1 continued to stretch your thinking, so starting this year by slowly adding in those conferring moments is a great goal! I like to tell teachers that conferring is small group instruction that happens to be 1:1! Guided reading is still happening! :)

    You loved the last paragraph of the book and I loved YOUR last paragraph! "There is no magic list or a "one-size fits all" approach to making learning authentic, intentional and connected. We can pick a few tools and plan to stick with them, while keeping flexibility and student needs in mind. And of course, new possibilities will always be opened up though our PLNs... and those new ideas deserve our time and careful consideration as well."

    That's it! Thank you for this gem!
    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Michelle!! I so appreciate your reassurance and encouragement with my conferring goal. Moving to fourth has opened my eyes to really thinking about what is most important in small group instruction for upper elementary readers. I'm thrilled that you loved my final paragraph!!

      Delete
  8. Thanks for including that beautiful picture! I'm ready to get away and relax a bit!
    That's interesting you talk about using Reading Street. While I'm not in a basal school, my daughter is, and they don't do anything but it *sigh*.
    On the other hand, we have a huge push to do small strategy groups, which is a change from leveled groups, but no conferring time. It's a struggle to balance it all when you also have the district "must dos" in place, as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle,
      I am fortunate in that they have relaxed the expectations a bit for how/when/why we use Reading Street, so I am able to supplement and make some decisions as to how it will best meet the needs of my students. I do like that (being new to the upper grades,) it gives me some direction as to skills and strategies needed at this grade level, but of course, it leaves so much out! We have a big push to meet with small groups, but that term is used very loosely. "Small" sometimes means 10 kids; it's more about how often we meet with them. As you can imagine, this makes it difficult to spend that quality time 1:1 with readers. But I'm bound and determined to make it work!

      Delete
  9. Laura,
    I enjoyed reading about the way you will transfer what we have read to what you do. You have shared some smart takeaways here. It's hard to balance those "have tos" with what really matters most of our students. It's a continual balancing act and sometimes takes much time and energy. You've been quite thoughtful in your plan.

    Looking forward to continuing the conversation cross the year,
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is definitely a balancing act, Cathy! Unfortunately, I feel like I've become "off balance" recently so I'm looking forward to using our #cyberPD conversation to help keep me balanced. Revisiting it during the school year will be wonderful!!

      Delete