This summer, the #CyberPD online discussion is focusing on Vicki Vinton's "Dynamic Teaching for Deeper Reading”. This first post focuses on Chapters 1-4.

Rambling Thoughts:

Transfer or Lack Thereof
One of the many ideas that resonated with me was Vinton’s section on the importance of “deep and penetrating” learning that will enable a student to transfer and apply it to different situations and texts. I was struck by the quote from Grant Wiggins that says teachers “need to make sure students understand that transfer is the goal by explicitly saying so.” (p.45) I know that I have heard and participated in many teacher conversations bemoaning the elusiveness of transfer. “It’s like I never taught it!”

And yet, to be honest, I think I could do a better job with being more explicit about this with my students. I know that when we teach strategies, we have used the language of saying things like “Readers ask questions, readers make connections….this is a strategy you will use for the rest of your life.” But do these words hold any real meaning for students? Or do they fall into the “Doing School” category?

I wonder if the transfer element gets lost amidst the piece-meal focus on skills and practice that Vinton describes in Chapter 1? I have worked with many students who struggled  with seeing the “big picture” that a text represented. Instead, they got hold of slivers of meaning and completely missed any patterns and/or connections.

Chapter Three: Critical and Creative Thinking
In this section, Vinton talked about approaching reading critically ("reasoning, making judgements, and problem solving" p.31) and creatively ("generative... possibility...subjective: p. 33). The skills required from both types of thinking enable a reader to problem solve a text and come to a more complete and enriched understanding.

I remember several years back having a conversation about reading and talking about a pattern of reading detachment in several classrooms: students could talk about their books but there was little personal investment. The students had chosen their own books for Independent Reading. I referred to it as “bystander” reading. I remember pondering this disconnect. The students could talk the talk but were not IN the book.

When reading Vinton’s description of creative thinking, it made me think that what I observed was this missing piece. One of the wonders of reading is the mind’s ability to imagine, to “generate” people, places and worlds. It also allows the reader to connect, feel and empathise. I want my students to figure out how to enter the world of the text they are reading. Or as Vinton writes: “To bring their whole selves to a text - their feelings, experiences, observations and thoughts.” (p. 17)
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First Draft Reading
I am interested in reading Section Two about strategies that can be used. I am curious about how to effectively help students who find it challenging to produce a first draft reading that includes more than one or two details. I am thinking that these students need lots of time, practice and repetition.

Attached is a partial list of books read this summer for the #BookaDay Challenge.

i am participating in the #CyberPD online discussion for the final week. It is an opportunity to think and write about “DIY Literacy: Teaching Tools for Differentiation, Rigor and Independence” by Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts.

Chapters 5 and 6
​In the previous chapters, we learned the what-how-and-why of the four teaching tools: bookmarks, demonstration notebooks, micro-progressions and charts. I loved how Chapter Five focused on emphasizing the importance of the student's role. Kate and Maggie talked about ways to ensure students take ownership of their learning.

When the authors talked about the tools, they were explicit about how students could be the active agents. Students make the choices based on where they are.

• “Bookmarks exert a gentle pressure on your students to make choices about what is working for them.” (p. 83)
• “Charts can help students make a plan for themselves when we can’t be there to find the right fit for them.” (p. 81)
• “...but they [the tools] also give kids personalized learning footholds to find their next step along the way.” (p. 71)

One of the big take-aways was using language in the classroom that promotes student reflection and ownership. It made me wonder how well I asked my students, in the past, to “take stock” of their learning and progress. I plan to use some the questions offered by Kate and Maggie:  “Did this week’s lessons push you?” or “Did you try or learn anything new this week?” (p.71). I hope students will learn

As a teacher often confounded by details and logistics, I could definitely relate to Chapter Six, which was appropriately headed Nuts and Bolts. One small detail (or lack thereof) is all it takes to derail a lesson. What I want to do after reading this chapter:

1. Although I have my students fill out surveys, I need to add a social media component (websites, videos, channels, apps, gaming). I am also thinking of putting the survey on Google Forms.
2. I like the suggestions of using pop culture references/tie-ins to tweak student interest in using the tools.
3. Embrace capitalization. Terrible penmanship is a curse and a real obstacle when it comes to writing in front of hypercritical handwriting judges (the students). I never thought of using all caps when making charts.
   

I want to thank again the organizers of this discussion: Cathy Mere, Laura Komos and Michelle Nero for making this experience possible.

I am participating in the #cyberPD online discussion for the second week. It is an opportunity to think and write about DIY Literacy: Teaching Tools for Differentiation, Rigor and Independence by Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts.

Since the start of reading the book, I was struck by how intentionality permeates every page: the tools, the thinking, the visuals used and the examples demonstrated. It made me stop and ponder about how I have used learning tools in the past and how I plan to in the future. I need to focus on not just the how and why but also how to ensure that students value, and use, tools as resources. Intention needs to be kept in the forefront. 

Ch. 3
The issue of memory as a factor in interfering with learning is addressed in Chapter 3. It made sense when Kate and Maggie pointed out how much we expect our students to learn and retain. It is a challenge to get learning to stick when there is so much vying for the brain’s attention. I liked how the authors pointed out that often, students “default to what is most comfortable”. Yes, that makes sense.

I have been part  of a knitting group for almost a year. Countless times I went home and could not recall what stitch I was supposed to do or how to do it. Even when I found YouTube tutorials, I found myself leaning to the safe and easy because I was successful. As an “emergent” knitter, I also admit to avoiding particular stitches or moves that I knew may be challenging. I was defaulting to my comfort zone.

This year, I hope to work on keeping the tools “alive” in my students’ minds. I like how Kate and Maggie suggested different ways to ensure that students are actively using the tools. I am wondering if I can incorporate movement when using teaching charts? This is something I want to explore.

Ch. 4
Kate and Maggie note that the term rigor can be defined as performative and as an action. It reminded me of Kyleen Beer’s statement: “Rigor is not an attribute of a text but rather a characteristic of our behavior with that text.” This definition also echoes the language we use in Reading Workshop when we talk about “active thinking”. My struggle in the upper grades is getting some students to actively think independently and consistently. I was excited to see examples of both micro-progressions and demonstration notebooks that explicitly show students what rigor looks like. 

That is, we can create a learning climate where students see the steps needed to tackle the tasks in front of them rigourously and believe that they can have success along the way --- a learning climate that clearly shows what is gained by putting in the hard work to tackle something challenging and achieve something great.  
(p. 55)

I am rereading the fabulous A Mindset For Learning: Teaching the Traits of Joyful, Independent Growth by Kristine Mraz and Christine Hertz. The authors write about creating a joyful community of learners through the teaching of traits that promote a growth mindset: empathy; optimism; persistence; resiliency and flexibility.

I want to incorporate the habits of the minds with my small groups and create a synergy with the tools described in DIY Literacy. The language, I envision, will fit in well with the teaching tools. Students need to embrace flexibility in their use of strategies: show persistence in not giving up; display optimism in trying their best; and resiliency in bouncing back. The teaching tools can be used to inform, model and demonstrate the traits.

You have to continue to try, a lot of the time. (p. 57)
I have included the video below because the themes of repetition, autonomy and control resonated with the quote from Kate and Maggie that ...over time a reader must own the moves of reading and writing (p.39). The video was shown at an ILA2016 session presented by Kelly Gallagher.