A Reflection on Coaching

Over the past two years I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work alongside so many wonderful educators in District 302! Coaching enabled me to get into the classroom and assist teachers in taking risks, trying new things, attempting personalization,  and allowing teachers to get the most out of their students. Coaching also enabled me to get to know individuals on both a personal and professional level and to build relationships that I never had experienced before.

I have already noticed an impact that coaching has in the classroom. Many are still reluctant, which is understandable, but I feel that everyone should just give it a try and then make your judgment. Earlier this year I wrote a blog entry about the idea that everyone needs a coach at some time in their career. I referenced how even Michael Jordan needed one, allowing him to reach the highest level of achievement. I still believe this statement is true and that yes, we have so many excellent teachers in Kaneland, but there is always a chance to become better.

As I head back into the classroom next year,  I can look back at the experience I received as an Instructional Coach. I can also look at all the possibilities that have been opened up for me.  I had the opportunity to witness excellence in over 70 classrooms throughout our district! Through my daily learning walks, the many conversations with teachers, and the cycles that I was involved in, I have learned so much about education as a whole. The things that I have learned will only better my own production in the classroom.

Just recently I was asked if I would ever make a  request to use an Instructional Coach once I get back in the classroom? That is a most definite YES!  Why wouldn’t I? It’s another set of eyes in the classroom, someone I can bounce ideas off of, someone that can help me research and get answers, a person that can guide me along the way, someone I can co-teach with, and someone that I can count on to get the most out of my students. And most importantly, someone that I can reflect with. There’s actually a running joke within the Instructional Coaches team that so- and-so is going to set the record for the number of cycles. I intend to be THAT someone!

So how is this coaching going to help me in the classroom? Well, now I can become a better coach to my students. By using the same techniques that were used with teachers, I can now use them with students. The key is listening- listen to what they need, what they want, and what they expect to become successful. Guiding them along in their decision making instead of making the decisions for them. Having conversations with them to allow them to become better students. There really isn’t much difference in coaching students and coaching teachers- the end result is generally the same. And, more importantly, the experience should make me a better teammate.

As I head back into the classroom I will be saying goodbye to a great team of coaches, not only at the elementary level, but throughout Kaneland.  But now it is time to take the experience that I received and share the information with my new team. As I look forward to next year I realize that I will be joining yet another excellent team and moving into a new environment.  My goal is to bring the knowledge that I have received over the last two years to the classroom and to my newest teammates. I can’t wait!

Slowing Down to Go Faster: Building a Solid Foundation Part 2

Part 1

There is a certain rush that we as teachers feel as the school year draws near the end.  Will we have enough time to get to everything? How do we keep these kids in line? Have we done enough? When does summer begin ☺?

There is also the pressure of looking forward to next year.  Are you shifting grade levels? Adopting new curriculum? Jumping into a pilot? Focusing on proficiency based feedback? Or asking how am I going to keep my head above water?  

Take a step back.  Take a breath….and let’s talk.  In order to gain some control and confidence as you move forward, it may benefit you to slow down. Slow down and know that you have support to help you develop a system that allows for a deeper understanding of your standards.

This year I have had the privilege of working with a few teams of teachers to help create a system that allows them to dig deep into their standards and find ways to identify what proficiency means.  We have worked together to identify reporting standards and move those into rubrics or proficiency scales that use language and student examples to clarify what proficiency looks like, sounds like, and can be described as.  These documents are not created to be kept hidden in our ever growing Google Drive. These are living documents that are evaluated weekly and tweaked to help create clarity amongst a team of individuals that are all teaching students in the same grade span.

When thinking about the best way to write about this process I realized that I did not have the best version of the process to tell.  I decided it would be best to reach out to those that have gone through the experience this year and have them share how this process has helped them gain clarity and a solid foundation to move at a quicker pace moving forward.

 

From the Classroom Teacher’s Perspective

By: Morgan Padalik

When approached with the opportunity of norming in the fall, much like many teachers, my immediate thought was … and when do I have time for this? Up until that point, and even still afterwards, the feeling of not having enough time is always a pressing issue for teachers and there never seems to be enough of it. Being as transparent as possible, the issue of time will always be there, HOWEVER the efficiency and productiveness of time can change and norming has demonstrated that.

As a classroom teacher that specifically focuses on the STEM side of the grade level content, I felt like I had a pretty solid handle of the standards that my kids were being asked to master. Fractions, got it!, Multiplication and Division, you bet! Decimals, piece of cake! As a grade level, we were trying new strategies and structures to meet the individual needs of the kids. Again, as transparent as possible, the new math continuum was a bit overwhelming as it was uncharted territory for not only students but also for us as teachers. Recognizing the nature of the continuum and the proficiency component that is embedded within it, the proposition of norming fell smack dab on our laps at the perfect time.

Fast forward to this spring, we are now fully entrenched in the norming and proficiency process. At this point, we have met as a collective team to create proficiency rubrics for three days and meet weekly to norm our student samples.

We are far more reflective in our marking of students and their progress as we have established consistency and actual parameters of what it means to be proficient. We have edited our completed rubrics again and again and again as we have realized over time how to make them better.

We collect student samples of models of the different proficiency levels and document. Etc…

YES, a lot of time as been put into this adventure however that time has also been invaluable! As a team, our constructive conversations have led to clarity, consistency and a thorough understanding and unpacking of the standards. While the norming process has bitten off a big chunk of our time this year, the transition back into school and math next year will be a lot friendlier based off the work and conversations that we have had this year. We thought we were taking a few steps backward while in reality, we were jumping many steps forward! The time that we have spent has truly been worthwhile as the work produced was lasting work that made a difference not only in student achievement but also teacher performance!

While those in the thick of the proficiency and norming mania can go on and on about the benefits and progress they have experienced and seen, my biggest piece of advice is to JUMP in and start slowly! By no means is anyone expecting you to have it down pat in record time so for that reason, start SLOW! Get into the knack of norming, start to unpack your standards, have meaningful conversations… You have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain. ☺

From RTI’s Perspective

By: Rachael Willson

Believe it or not, math is not as black and white as we all think it is. There are an abundance of resources and activities that address each standard we teach. Unfortunately, not all of these resources and activities are consistent with what the standard actually means. Some go beyond while others just skim the surface of what is truly expected.  Just like these inconsistencies in the resources and activities, within our team there were differences in interpretations of what it looked like to be proficient in the standards we were teaching. Even though each one of us knows the standards, the level of expectation differed from classroom to classroom.

This sparked and ignited a discussion with Lauren. Our team decided it was time to meet and create proficiency based rubrics for essential standards within the current domain we were teaching. Yep, another task we added to our plates but in the end so worth it.  Our first meeting was an all day affair. We spent pretty much all morning discussing our goals for our meeting and establishing norms. In addition, we examined the standards we were going to identify as “power standards.” Just these two agenda items took time to discuss but they were an integral component for our afternoon task of creating rubrics.  The in-depth discussion that took place was valuable, but it was difficult especially if we were not on the same page as far as proficiency. It is important to be open to others’ ideas and opinions. This discussion took a lot of collaboration as well as compromising. Making time to meet, the quick turnaround on providing student samples and using the rubric to norm and then time to discuss the samples we were not on the same page on was a very slow process in the beginning. It takes commitment from all team members involved.

By taking the initiative to begin this process and creating norming rubrics as well as providing student samples to look at and discuss,  helped our team align our expectations on proficiency. I am not going to lie and say it was easy at first. Now it is just part of our routine. Norming student work as an individual teacher and comparing our rating with our peers, forced us to step outside of our comfort zone. Flexibility and being open to a living rubric are crucial components to this process. The definition of proficient may change as students display their knowledge. Therefore, there may be a need to tweak the language. In the long run these difficult conversations have brought us closer as a team and the level of collective efficacy has strengthened. We are still working through kinks and tweaking but I feel the time we have put into this process has made us more cognitive of the feedback and activities we provide for our students. Our worthwhile discussions promoted a deeper understanding of the standards as well as what we expect students to know in order to show proficiency.  Isn’t this worth the time?

 

By: Courtney Ward

We were fortunate to be an integral part of the utilizing the math continuum this year. While we started with a proficiency based checklist  to monitor student’s achievement, we were finding that it was very cumbersome and pointed out a glaring problem that we weren’t all on the same page when it came to what was proficient. This isn’t to say we didn’t know our standards or what we were supposed to be teaching, just what I thought was mastery level work wasn’t the same as my colleagues, which was surprising because we have taught together for years. There is where the problem lies. We assume we all hold our students to the same level of expectations. Did it mean that one of us is a better teacher than the other? Absolutely not! All it did was provide us an opportunity to become a stronger team of teachers that will do better for students.

We needed a better tool to report; that’s where it all started. How do we create a more useful tool that is less time consuming but would give us a better picture? Rubrics and norming. I would be lying if I said this wasn’t a time consuming process, but I would also be lying if I said this wasn’t the MOST worthwhile PD I have done as an educator. The process wasn’t pretty… we debated… A LOT, we were frustrated, we comprised, but our team left stronger, smarter, and with a clear picture of what proficiency looks like for our students. This led us to weekly norming meetings where we pulled student samples and evaluated each piece using the created rubrics. Initially, the meetings took some time because we again debated on the scores that we all didn’t agree on, but now there are weeks we don’t meet because our scores are all in sync. We have become an well-oiled machine.

Moving Forward with Better Conversations about Personalized Learning

Student voice and choice is at the core of personalized learning.  This is an area where we have all shown growth over the past few years.  At times, we struggle with balancing voice and choice with how or what we present to our students.  Teachers like to craft lessons, it is part of how we were trained! However, we must adapt and change to meet our learners and how they respond.  This same concept applies to how professional development or opportunities for teachers must evolve as well.

 

A few months ago, Natalie and I presented the opportunity for a Twitter Chat among our four buildings during morning collaboration time. This opportunity was truly inquiry based with the goal of us exploring together.  We hoped it would bridge communication among buildings as we all strive to learn about personalized learning. We were thrilled with the initial response of over 30 participants. We asked for your ideas of topics, what schedule would work best for you, and offered twitter support.  While we gave you a voice in how we developed the Twitter Chats, our participation has dwindled. Although we personally may love Twitter Chats, it is clear to us that this format isn’t working for everyone.  It seems clear that there is a desire to connect and learn about what is happening in other buildings, so we are faced with deciding what the next steps are in determining a new format.  We want this collaborative opportunity to be one that is valuable for you, so we are once again asking for your voice. Just as teachers and students can co-create a path to learning, coaches and teachers can do the same.

 

Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey in this link, so that we can alter our path in a way that is meaningful for all of you.  Please fill it out by next Thursday, April 18th.  We will reach out soon with new opportunities.

 

Revision in Writing

As we are now in the midst of having our students publish a piece of narrative writing to collect district data; the students are given the option to either revise their submission from the beginning of the school year or to create a new piece.

An important part of the writing process is revision. But exactly what is revision? “Revision is the stage in the writing process where the author reviews, alters, and amends their message, according to what has been written in the draft. Revision follows drafting and precedes editing. Drafting and revising often form a loop as a work moves back and forth between the two stages.” See below.

Image result for writing process image

Revision is not easy. Our writers need to be explicitly taught strategies on how and what it looks like. We cannot just tell our students — go revise your paper, they will be lost.  Below are some strategies on how we can get our students to revise.

  1. Provide models for the students to see what this looks like. Take a piece of writing from your own journal and model in front of them what it looks like to revise.
  2. Add details to your writing” – we’ve all heard and said this to our students. If a strategy has not been explicitly taught, they will probably just go back and add one word. One strategy that is powerful in “The Big Book of Details” by Roz Linder is called Zoom In. Linder describes zooming in as focusing “more on highlighting a physical or personality trait of a person, an aspect of an object, or an experience.” She suggests trying this with your class by zooming in on objects in the classroom and do a shared writing. Below is an example of zooming in on an object (outside classroom):

Example: My pickup truck made its way down the road to school.

Revised:  My old, tattered, and rusty pickup truck made its way, chugging along, down the road to school.

  1. Delete the unnecessary – Our students will sometimes write without clarity and muddy the true intent of their writing. After your student has read their writing, here are a few questions you may ask them:
  • Do you have a better understanding of the subject?
  • Can you picture this in your mind?
  • Did you stay on the subject/topic throughout?

Revision can be taught during small group or individual conferences, depending upon the need of each student. If you are wondering what this might look at your grade level, below I have included a Learning Progression for the Writing Process on revision.

Level 1:          Beginning of Kindergarten

  • With support, writers can go back and tell new details about the event/topic. They can point to their pictures, add on to the pictures, and perhaps label.

Level 2:          Mid-Year of Kindergarten

  • When nudged, writers reread their work, and revise by adding to pictures, making new pictures and sentences and adding labels.

Level 3:          End of Kindergarten/Beginning of 1st Grade

  • When nudged, writers revise their work by “stretching” out a picture, that is, drawing more pictures to show parts of the event and then writing sentences to stretch out the story. The writer may also add more sentences (between three and six sentences to the book).
  • A writer at this stage is also starting to learn that revision can help focus a piece of writing and may begin to take off parts.

Level 4:          End of 1st Grade/Beginning of 2nd Grade

  • A writer at this stage has a small repertoire of revision strategies (add more dialogue, take away parts, add more details, stretch out the most important, etc.). She knows to use a chart for visual reminders of learned strategies.
  • A writer at this stage knows that there are predictable places that are important to revise (e.g., the beginning, the climax, etc.).
  • The writer begins to revise with more purpose, considering craft and the effect different craft choices have on the way a story sounds to a reader.

Level 5:          End of 2nd Grade/Beginning of 3rd Grade

  • A student at this level will write an entirely new draft of a story. In previous levels, the child may have written changes on an original draft and published that, and now she is ready to make significant large-scale changes and then write a second draft outside of the notebook. She has a small repertoire of revision strategies and knows that there are key ways revision can always pay off (i.e., revising beginning, ending, key parts, rethinking audience, topic, etc.). Her new draft does not just feel like a reworked version of the first but rather shows significant large-scale change. She knows to begin working on a new piece immediately after “finishing” one.

Level 6:          End of 3rd Grade/Beginning of 4th Grade

  • The student at this level can take one piece through a sequence of drafts, each feeling entirely new and benefiting from large-scale changes. Students at this level have multiple revision strategies, They “write until the water runs clear” and know that more rewriting will lead to better writing. The child also understands that revisions bring out the significance of the piece.
  • The writer is starting to not wait until revision to make a piece stronger but considers this while drafting.

Level 7:          End of 4th Grade/Beginning of 5th Grade

  • At this level, students have an internalized sense that yesterday’s revision strategies become today’s drafting work, and they bring all they know about revision into the initial drafting of their stories. Their revision is large scale and targeted, and they have multiple strategies to draw from. Students at this level begin to look closely and critically at mentor texts during this stage of revision and ask themselves what the author did that they can try.

Level 8:          End of 5th Grade/Beginning of 6th Grade

  • At this level, students revise not only drafts but also entries, choosing to find ways to ratchet up their own work using strategies they have learned, mentor texts, and talks with partners. Rather than following strategies to revise key places, a student at this level might instead or also read through a piece searching for places where the writing feels stronger or weaker and marking and rewriting those over and over.
  • A student at this level might also start to revise by experimenting with craft to bring out significance. For example, a writer might not just rewrite her lead starting with dialogue, description and so on but rather look more closely at varying sentence lengths, word choice, punctuation moves, and so on.

As always, let us know if we can help you further.

 

Works Cited

Calkins, Lucy. Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing. Heinemann, 2013.

Linder, Rozlyn. The Big Book of Details: 46 Moves for Teaching Writers to Elaborate. Heinemann, 2016.