tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77410078308028568522024-03-14T06:11:00.966-07:00Coaching By DesignJill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-20666658018552407402012-08-16T11:14:00.000-07:002012-08-16T11:14:24.381-07:00A Win/Win Situation<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a great year teaching first grade. The students, families, and coworkers made coming to work a joy everyday. Looking out at 6 and 7-year old faces in my classroom made me very happy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This summer my principal and I discussed the possibility of me leaving the classroom and returning to coaching. The position wasn't in the budget but I told her if it did materialize, then I would love to return to coaching. If the position wasn't funded, then I would love to stay in 1st grade, teaching our young learners how to read. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a win/win situation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am happy to say this week I returned to coaching, with a focus on reading. I plan on updating this blog with ideas and thoughts as we move into fully implementing the Common Core State Standards and go deeper into best literacy practices. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's nice to be back.</span>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-72929798999200395612012-03-15T08:12:00.000-07:002012-03-15T08:12:03.174-07:00...and on to something new: Teaching with Design!<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This past year of blogging has been a wonderful adventure. My reason for starting this blog was to give me a way to differentiate my coaching. For me, at least, it was a way to highlight and coach on topics that I saw in my own school. Some of my posts have resonated with a larger audience outside my school, town, and state. Thank you to everyone for reading.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">September 2011 I left coaching to return to the classroom. I am teaching 1st grade and loving every minute! I hope you will join me at my new blog <a href="http://teachingwithdesign.blogspot.com/">Teaching with Design</a>.<br />
<br />
Design has been defined as follows.<br />
<blockquote><br />
<dl><dd><i>(noun) a specification of an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_%28philosophy%29" title="Object (philosophy)">object</a>, manifested by an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_%28philosophy%29" title="Agency (philosophy)">agent</a>, intended to accomplish <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal" title="Goal">goals</a>, in a particular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_%28systems%29" title="Environment (systems)">environment</a>, using a set of primitive components, satisfying a set of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requirement" title="Requirement">requirements</a>, subject to constraints;</i></dd><dd><i>(verb, transitive) to create a design, in an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_%28systems%29" title="Environment (systems)">environment</a> (where the designer operates)</i><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design#cite_note-2">[3]</a></sup></dd></dl></blockquote>Design has always been important to me. Artists, architects, chefs and many other professions use design to create new products. Teaching, like these other professions, require practitioners to be the artists as they design new lessons, create new units, and build the foundations to structure new learning. I think it is the very purposeful manner, the design, a teacher uses that makes the difference in student learning. The planning and prep done beforehand all make the delivery of the lesson successful.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iGLjpYSw9xcjqN0o1j8lDon97U-ZKpLZC4OXrVxtxiZVsHDQs6DLPVDE-BO1oRs7lwErWzyA6FOrqKubHmep7iVihiXHFhrIR6DEqmEKtfH4QEHjnzpXqhFuhZkLbRyZelNZYjks0cCd/s1600/IMG_3230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iGLjpYSw9xcjqN0o1j8lDon97U-ZKpLZC4OXrVxtxiZVsHDQs6DLPVDE-BO1oRs7lwErWzyA6FOrqKubHmep7iVihiXHFhrIR6DEqmEKtfH4QEHjnzpXqhFuhZkLbRyZelNZYjks0cCd/s320/IMG_3230.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I can't help walking into my own classroom and view it with a coaches eye. I see what has been accomplished over the past months to create a positive learning community but I also see what still needs to be done. Starting a new class 5 weeks into the school year was a challenge. Weekends were filled with prepping for the next week's learning. Each week, however, is got easily as I got to know my students better as learners.<br />
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I truly enjoyed my years as a coach and enjoyed working with adults to improve student learning. Now I am in the position to walk the walk, instead of just talking the talk. I am looking forward to the challenge and hope you will join me at my new blog!</div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-71824534562932666352011-08-31T11:10:00.000-07:002011-08-31T11:10:49.939-07:00Compliance or Competency: What’s Important? <style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavPEKhSRFYeUGcrtY_xuubrL8OnzFa1ztn7_ldHJo1D7-MLkwQAGLrdXrnEgfNKW8IJwyJJ4hUHbASq3W3ZYuAgvLQbzw7OaBtkTva-QsRixheB5ssVj8FjpuBW2bzpL8fvYQ8REZ39cw/s1600/MSlough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavPEKhSRFYeUGcrtY_xuubrL8OnzFa1ztn7_ldHJo1D7-MLkwQAGLrdXrnEgfNKW8IJwyJJ4hUHbASq3W3ZYuAgvLQbzw7OaBtkTva-QsRixheB5ssVj8FjpuBW2bzpL8fvYQ8REZ39cw/s320/MSlough.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Readers Workshop</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> August brings a new school year, new teachers, new grade levels, new administration, new curriculum, and new students. The first weeks are a rush of planning, prepping, and establishing rituals and routines. After being in school for a few weeks the dust begins to settle and schools settle in for the hard work ahead.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Walking into the classroom there are expectations set at every school for the way of work. Some schools call them “non-negotiables” while others discuss “culture and traditions”, but whatever they are called, they all set the standard teachers are expected to reach in their teaching.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Some of these expectations are easy to reach: bulletin boards done a certain way, standards posted in a consistent format, even walking in the hall with students. Simple compliance to the expectation is easily attainable. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Competency, however, is more difficult. For instance, just the compliance of posting standards for the students is easy. Understanding the standard and designing an engaging lesson for students requires a level of competency that requires deeper work from the teacher. When establishing rituals and routines at the beginning of the year, teachers are asked to record, or chart, the student thinking. This important groundwork sets the stage for how the classroom will run for the rest of the year. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Understanding why these lessons are important will help take the level of teaching from simply complying with expectations to a deeper competency, benefiting both the teacher and students in the long run. In the end, isn’t that what’s really important?</span></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-67748784823769763082011-07-27T18:00:00.000-07:002011-07-27T18:00:55.692-07:00Response to Intervention Part 3: Success!<style>
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<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">N.B.E. Man</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Part 1 in this series covered the background of our 1st year of school-wide interventions. Part 2 looked into the guidelines, management issues and lessons learned. Finally, in Part 3, the success of the reading interventions are laid out for review.</span></i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">After a year of planning, training, and implementing it is rewarding to report on the student achievement success from the interventions used during the 2010-2011 school year. The best proof that professional learning has been successful is the resulting student achievement. On the FCAT, Florida’s state test, Neptune Beach Elementary grew by <b>52</b> points and made AYP in reading! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">An earlier post described the some of the professional learning the teachers participated in prior to the start of the Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) lessons. As with any new program, there were some glitches that had to be worked out, but in the end it was running smoothly. LLI was the main reading intervention in the primary grades. We are proud to report that <b>100%</b> of the students in LLI showed 6 months or more growth in reading. Our 3<sup>rd</sup> grade students take the FCAT. They must pass FCAT Reading to be promoted to 4<sup>th</sup> grade. The 3<sup>rd</sup> grade students in LLI groups made outstanding growth with <b>90%</b> of them passing the FCAT Reading test. In fact <b>70%</b> of them scored at proficient level or above! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">We had other reading interventions also in place in 3<sup>rd</sup> grade. The students in Corrective Reading also made growth. The Corrective Reading Group B1 had <b>40%</b> of the students passed the FCAT while Corrective Reading Group B2 had <b>60%</b> pass the FCAT. In </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">4<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> grade the students from the Corrective Reading groups will most likely be placed in LLI groups, starting around the second week of school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Our main math intervention, Math Navigator, was easier to implement but more difficult to document. As mentioned in the previous post, effective record keeping and documenting student growth was problematic. At the end of the school year the data had holes and a number of students had missing scores. Due to the inconsistencies in the data, it was not possible to clearly report student growth in math. NBE did not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in math, in both of our subgroups. Three things could have impacted our math scores: new generation standards, new textbook adoption, and a retooled test FCAT 2.0. Any one of these could account for a decrease in student achievement. Next year there will need to be an increased focus not only on the interventions, but also on the core math instruction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">In the past, teachers have asked, "What can we do with students who come to my class reading a year or more behind the rest of the students?" Until this year there wasn't a clear answer. Now, with the LLI and other interventions being used with a dedicated time to provide them, there seems to be an answer that meets the needs of both the students and the teachers. This continued focus, working with tested and untested grades, should reduce the overall number of students requiring interventions. At least now when they are identified, we have options. We also have a reason to celebrate all the hard work everyone gave to get to this point.<i> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><i>Thank you for reading about our interventions and sharing in our successes. Please take a moment to leave a comment, ask a question, or make a suggestion. All will be greatly appreciated!</i><br />
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</span></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-36266188667066325042011-07-26T09:23:00.000-07:002011-07-26T09:23:58.391-07:00Response to Intervention Part 2: Guidelines, Management and Lessons Learned<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNW2KxUtTWSU6iPnq_OYCneJ5iCSErjwhB9KAD5KUgOH6JNTpLKftKS6X-R7RwmCc1gGnyhKlvvn54pYIXU8Utq1_2yrmIy1XKhVt4ocbJ5tjvem-_tRPR02RpSa2RhCP8QB7MbUveiMt9/s1600/IMG_0539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNW2KxUtTWSU6iPnq_OYCneJ5iCSErjwhB9KAD5KUgOH6JNTpLKftKS6X-R7RwmCc1gGnyhKlvvn54pYIXU8Utq1_2yrmIy1XKhVt4ocbJ5tjvem-_tRPR02RpSa2RhCP8QB7MbUveiMt9/s200/IMG_0539.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">N.B.E. Manatee</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Part 1 covered the background of our Response to Intervention efforts at Neptune Beach Elementary. This post will cover some of the specifics, those pesky little details that make or break a program! </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Guidelines:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As with any new program we are learning as we go along. Here are some of the guidelines we follow:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">No more than 50% of the teachers on a grade level are doing intervention groups. The other teachers monitor the rest of the students on the grade level. We have a state mandated 30-minute physical education time. The entire grade level goes to “recess” at the same time. We pull most intervention groups during this 30-minute block. While we don’t want students to miss the critical outdoor exercise time, there are less than 10% of the students in intervention groups. All of our interventions are intended to be finite in duration so students return to the normal schedule at the end of the intervention. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">All students must be progress monitored between every 5<sup>th</sup> to 7<sup>th</sup> lesson. The results must be graphed not only to show individual growth but also against the norm for the grade level. In other words, interventions must not only show growth but also must be closing the achievement gap.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Students who need additional support beyond the 30-minute Tier 2 block are seen by a team to determine Tier 3 eligibility. The Tier 3 work must also follow the same academic focus in Tier 2. If a child’s weakness is in comprehension then all intervention work is in comprehension. Our special education and ESOL teachers help support the majority of our Tier 3 work.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">All intervention groups meet daily for the allotted time. Exceptions are made for teacher absence and state testing.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">All students are to receive Tier 1, or core instruction, daily in their own classroom. Intervention groups supplement, not supplant, core instruction.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In addition, there are specific guidelines for each type of intervention. With the Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) we follow specific guidelines, such as:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">LLI groups have 3 to 4 students in the group. Fewer students can move faster than larger groups. This also allows us to do progress monitoring on a student every sixth lesson. More students would produce less frequent progress monitoring.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">LLI groups are determined from multiple sets of data. This includes FAIR (Florida Assessment in Reading), DRA 2 (Developmental Reading Assessment), and BAS (Benchmark Assessment System) as well as anecdotal and observational notes, and running records. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">In upper grades, students who present with decoding or fluency issues may be placed in a Corrective Reading group prior to LLI.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Math Navigator:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Our first math groups worked with student who scored between 25% and 50% on the screener. Students that scored lower generally needed a different form of remediation. Math Navigator is not a one-size fits all tool.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Math Navigator groups work best with 6 students. Larger groups are problematic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Management:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Materials Management:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Materials need to be housed in a central location where all teachers have access. Once trained in the system, teachers are responsible for collecting and returning materials in a timely manner.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">For LLI, copies need to be turned in well in advance of the lessons. Most teachers request copies in 5 to 10 lesson increments. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Math Navigator has consumable student workbooks. Reordering new materials will be done on an annual basis.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Student and Information Management:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Students follow rituals and routines similar to classroom guided reading groups.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Attendance must be kept daily.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Anecdotal notes must be kept at least weekly on individual student progress.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Communication between the intervention provider and the classroom teacher must be on a regular basis. This can included electronic or paper copies, followed by discussion, but cannot solely be verbal.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Group notes and graphs of student progress can be requested at any time by administration.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lessons Learned:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Problem 1:</b>The biggest issue we encountered was <b>effective record keeping</b>. Time strapped teachers had difficulty getting into the routine of recording information from the intervention. Both Math Navigator and LLI have electronic record keeping systems but the teachers were slow to embrace them and thus a lot of data was lost when they transferred the paper data into digital information. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Solution:</b> Start, from Day 1, with the electronic record keeping. For Math Navigator this means taking the pre- and post-test on the computer. It saves time by automatically scoring the assessment as well as giving the teacher data on common misconceptions. In LLI the data system keeps attendance, documents progress monitoring and graphs growth over time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Problem 2:</b> <b>The right student in the right group at the right time</b>. During training we all worked together to break down data to identify the students that would benefit the most from the interventions. By the time the last intervention was complete some of the students in the groups were too high for the group, and thus did not show the gains obtained by the lower students. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Solution: </b>Letting the data tell the story speaks volumes in selecting students for interventions. When there is limited time, space, and resources it is important to be diagnostic when selecting students for interventions. We recommended spaces be filled first by students in our AYP groups with additional spaces being filled by the other students.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Problem 3:</b> <b>Communication</b>. Communication between the classroom teacher and the interventionist needs to be documented. Often the classroom teacher was unaware of the progress being made in the intervention groups, making it hard to communicate with parents and other stakeholders.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Solution:</b> This is related to Problem 1, effective record keeping. One solution is to print up the documentation from the digital data collection system with LLI or Math Navigator. The second solution would be to have dedicated time, during weekly data discussion meeting, to verbally update classroom teachers on the printed copy of student progress.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Be sure to look for Part 3: Success!</span></i></div><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-11339824297083636892011-07-25T08:30:00.000-07:002011-07-25T08:30:34.733-07:00Response to Intervention Part 1: Background Information<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><style>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">N.B.E. Manatee</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i>This is Part 1 of a three part series on the first year of Response to Intervention at Neptune Beach Elementary School.</i> <br />
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Response to Intervention, RtI, is not a new thing. Florida, as a whole, and Duval County in particular, spent time discussing it before it became a reality. Prior to implementation we knew Neptune Beach Elementary had to have a plan before taking this school-wide. Luckily there were trailblazers before us to help lead the way.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first thing our team did was read. Blogs, books, and articles by some of the biggest names and organizations in education were consumed by the boatload. We learned about new websites where we could see what others schools were doing. We also learned from some of their mistakes. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The next thing was to develop a master schedule. Teachers have too much on their shoulders all ready. If we just said, “Fit this in as best you can” then we took the chance it could be dropped. Designating time for RtI helped to make it a reality. This time was considered sacred and no other academics could occur during this time slot. The time slot varied for each grade level. Some schools have had success with one common time for all grade levels to do intervention work. This make sense when a large proportion of the students need interventions. At Neptune Beach Elementary the number was less than 10% of the entire student population. It made sense for the time to be dedicated when there were no other academics occurring and other students were engaged in non-academic tasks.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the same time we had to identify and train personnel on how to work with struggling learners. We started with reading in primary grades. Even though these students would not take the state test for several years, we felt this was an investment in the future. We kept hearing over and over what takes 30 minutes to remediate in kindergarten and 1<sup>st</sup> grade takes 2 hours in 4<sup>th</sup> grade. Since we didn’t have 2 additional hours in the school day, we started working to reduce the number of kids who struggled in reading. By October of 2010 we started five Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) groups. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In November of 2010 we started training three of our upper grade math teachers in America's Choice Math Navigator. NBE lost 50 points between the 2009 and 2010 FCAT, with 32 points occurring specifically in math. By February 2011 we ended up with 5 teachers running Math Navigator groups in 3<sup>rd</sup>, 4<sup>th</sup>, and 5<sup>th</sup> grades. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reading, though, was still problematic. We trained additional teachers in LLI to meet the needs of 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> grade students. Currently the LLI program materials only go up to Level N, or the middle of 3<sup>rd</sup> grade. We are looking for a solution for 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> grade students. In those grades the identified RtI teachers can use <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Soar to Success</i> (part of our Houghton Mifflin reading adoption) as well as other materials, such as Corrective Reading. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the spring we expanded our math intervention groups to include second grade. The entire grade level was screened globally and then specifically in place value. We find the most of our struggling math students have weak conceptual understanding in place value and how numbers work. They can memorize facts but have little recourse when they get problems wrong due to number sense issues. The work done this spring should show an impact next spring when they take the 2012 FCAT.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The next post, <u>Response to Intervention Part 2</u>, will go into the specific guidelines, management tips, and lessons learned from our experiences. </i></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-55646235391127794072011-06-09T06:17:00.000-07:002011-06-09T06:17:44.745-07:00Summer Professional Learning<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">I’ve been getting requests from teachers at my school for summer professional reading suggestions. We have multiple copies of classic books on various topics such as guided reading, conferencing, problem solving in math, response to intervention, even books on leadership in our professional library. Teachers are welcome to check them out over the summer! Can’t beat free, right?</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This year, however, I am suggesting varied options beyond the traditional text. All of them are free. All of them are on current topics. All of them can be used to grow professionally. Almost all of them are blogs! I start them off with one of my favorite authors, Sharon Taberski, and link them up to her blog <a href="http://allaboutcomprehension.blogspot.com/">All About Comprehension</a>. Next in line, another favorite standby is the <a href="http://www.fpblog.heinemann.com/">Fountas and Pinnell</a> Blog. Both of these blogs will give teachers new thinking and information from familiar resources.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Adding onto published authors I also suggest some local bloggers, such as <a href="http://onceuponateacher.blogspot.com/">Melanie Holtsman</a> and <a href="http://coachingchronicles.blogspot.com/">Suzanne Shall</a>. Sometimes we overlook the good things going on in our own back yard. These teachers are living with the same learning schedule and testing requirements. Reading their thoughts and ideas can help us grow and share new ideas in return. Additionally, I look to see who they are reading, and add those blogs to my Google reader.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But what if you like your summer reading in video form? Then I suggest you need to check out the <a href="http://www.teachingchannel.org/">Teaching Channel</a>. These short videos give one a glimpse into another classroom. I love that the have connections to the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Speaking of new standards, the <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/">Common Core State Standards</a> will be rolled out in Kindergarten in the fall of 2011, followed quickly by 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> grades in 2012. They will be implemented in 3<sup>rd</sup>, 4<sup>th</sup>, and 5<sup>th </sup>in 2013. This summer would be an excellent time to read up on the Common Core Standards, paying attention to the vertical growth over time as well as the standards for your grade level. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Appendixes are filled with additional information, including examples of student work that addresses the age old question “How good is good enough?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you like your summer professional learning more interactive then I suggest you sign up for one, or more, of the many free webinars being offered. You can find them listed on sites such as <a href="http://ascd.org/Default.aspx">ASCD</a> and <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/">Edutopia</a>. I have already signed up for one about using the iPad in the classroom!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Summer is a perfect time to reflect and rejuvenate. Each year seems to bring more demands on the classroom teacher and less time during the school year to think deeply about our own professional learning. Give yourself the gift of time this summer to learn something new. Your students will benefit greatly come next year!</span></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-38679528037775136032011-05-24T19:34:00.000-07:002011-05-24T19:34:35.138-07:00Sharing Stories with Twitter<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I love meeting people. I love stories. Could there be any doubt that I love Twitter because it allows me to meet people and hear their stories? </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Being on Twitter has been like reading 200 plus stories all at the same time. Some of the stories are related by family ties - the brothers @courosa and @gcouros come to mind. While others are connected, such as @holtsman and @dreamleader, by a common workplace. I am connected to @cowpernicus by a mutual interest in professional learning. Surprisingly he is one of the few people I follow that I have also met in person! Most of the stories I follow are from educators. Others are cyclist, like @ghincapie, or entertainer like @ActuallyNPH, giving me insight into another lifestyle so very different from mine.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One story I look forward to visiting every day is from Natasha Badwar. </div><div class="component" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="profile-pane"> <div class="profile-basics clearfix"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Natasha Badhwar" class="thumb" data-user-id="59724733" height="200" src="http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1365695682/IMG_7438_bigger.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natasha Badhwar</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="profile-text"> <div class="profile-info-wrapper"><div class="full-name"> </div><div class="screen-name-and-location"> <a class="screen-name screen-name-natashabadhwar pill" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/natashabadhwar"><strong>@natashabadhwar</strong> <span></span></a> </div><div class="location">New Delhi</div></div></div><div class="user-info"> <span class="bio">Mum, Film-maker, Teacher. Making friends with her slow side. <a class="twitter-timeline-link" href="http://tales.twitter.com/2010/08/twitter-is-about-life.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://tales.twitter.com/2010/08/twitter-is-about-life.html</a></span> <a href="http://mydaughtersmum.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://mydaughtersmum.blogspot.com</a></div></div><blockquote><div class="tweet-text pretty-link">"At the Levi's store, I met someone who recognized me from Twitter. Flattered, I bought exactly what she was buying."<span class="icons"></span><span class="icons"></span></div></blockquote><div class="stream-item-content tweet stream-tweet simple-tweet " data-item-id="73026395932082176" data-screen-name="natashabadhwar" data-tweet-id="73026395932082176" data-user-id="59724733"><div class="tweet-content simple-tweet-content"><div class="tweet-row"><div class="tweet-corner"> </div></div><div class="tweet-row"> </div><div class="tweet-row"> </div></div> </div><div class="profile-basics clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="stream-item" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span> <div class="more" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Daily Natasha updates her followers on parts of her life. Other than the heat, life in New Delhi is very different from life in Florida. Natasha writes about simple parts of life; her daughters growth and development, photographs from her garden, and travels all in 140 characters or less. Because of her tweets I am now more familiar with life half way around the globe.</div><div class="more" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="more" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Twitter, more than any other written text, forces me to use many of my higher order thinking skills. Building on my schema - what do I know about this author - and synthesizing new information from each tweet makes my reading a richer experience. Over the past year or so I feel like I'm getting to know some of these authors quite well. I have come to anticipate the new domestic workshops or golfing adventures as experienced by @shareski. Periodically @russgoerend and @MrsBMG post videos of their young son. We all get to watch him grow and change, delighting in his charming antics with the family cat and a very random Roomba! Recently we all waited with @thenerdyteacher for the joyous birth of his son. </div><div class="more" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="more" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So these stories continue, day in and day out, and in and out of weeks, and over the years. I work hard to keep the stories straight and continue to learn more everyday about the world outside my home, school, and my little beach community. I can only hope my story makes someone smile and gives them a little insight into my thinking and growing as an educator. I'll keep reading and sharing, hoping you will, too. You will find me on Twitter - just look for @jaxbeachteach.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-81253177226793789072011-05-12T11:37:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:24:30.962-07:00Finding my Religion with Sharon Taberski<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sometimes we get lost in education. Seems you can't go a day without hearing how public education is broken. We face massive budget cuts, further devaluing our efforts. Is it any wonder that occasionally even the strongest educator can feel defeated? Who is out there speaking for the teachers?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79Zz0FWPZdgihqducMsVdDU_J4qLvci5ye8dG9YaVU4xPdQPcpR__p4jI8jN7ZjcwlJ0c5A1x4jb96r6aYxeT2JPUJJ0mFlsANC9m9ojZ-R3kENBFMG0cqWHJBxtWIalG4U93XBzJDx6c/s1600/IMG_2801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79Zz0FWPZdgihqducMsVdDU_J4qLvci5ye8dG9YaVU4xPdQPcpR__p4jI8jN7ZjcwlJ0c5A1x4jb96r6aYxeT2JPUJJ0mFlsANC9m9ojZ-R3kENBFMG0cqWHJBxtWIalG4U93XBzJDx6c/s200/IMG_2801.jpg" width="165" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sharon Taberski</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Personally, I find Sharon Taberski is a voice for teachers. She writes with honesty about teaching reading in the primary classroom. Taberski calls herself a “teachers' teacher” with her work supporting her words. Ten years ago her book <a href="http://heinemann.com/products/E00227.aspx"><u>On Solid Ground</u></a> made a difference in my understanding of Readers Workshop. In the fall of 2000, six months after <u>On Solid Ground</u> was published, I began my first coaching assignment. Her words helped put into perspective how various pieces of the workshop model came together into a cohesive whole. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Fast forward ten years later. I am still coaching and I am still referring to <u>On Solid Ground</u> with great regularity, quoting pages and passages like a preacher from a bible. It was with great anticipation that I marked Sharon’s session on my <b>must attend</b> agenda for <a href="http://www.reading.org/General/Default.aspx">IRA’</a>s Conference in Orlando. It was time for me for go back to the well for inspiration.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the exhibit hall I purchase Taberski's new book, <a href="http://heinemann.com/products/E00411.aspx"><u>Comprehension From the Ground Up</u></a>. The subtitle, <i>Simplified, Sensible Instruction for the K-3 Reading Workshop</i>, reassured me that Sharon was continuing to look out for teachers. I waited eagerly for a new shot of inspiration. It has been a dark time for me professionally. My coaching position eliminated, educational funding cut, and teacher bashing abounds. I was in need of light in these gloomy days.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="description" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Finally, on the last day of the conference, it was time for her session: <u>Re-Envisioning the Five Pillars of Reading</u>. Rather than simply following the medical model of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, Sharon realigned and combined them with missing elements to create a new structure that supports comprehension. After all, as Sharon says in her blog, </span></span></div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="description" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://allaboutcomprehension.blogspot.com/">“Reading and writing. Talking and learning. It's ALL about comprehension."</a></span></div></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Building on analogies, stories, and examples, Sharon spent the hour guiding us through her new thinking. I have been blessed over the years to hear Sharon speak on several occasions. Each time she shared more of her current thinking. At one point during the session she brought up cognitive dissonance, stating, “I don’t care if you think like me. I care that you think.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So here I am, just a day later, thinking. I have yet to read more than the introduction of <u>Comprehension From the Ground Up</u>. I want to be able to focus and reflect, not rush through the learning. Truth is, I can’t wait to read every chapter and verse. After hearing Sharon speak I know her words will continue to lift up the profession of education. Its about time to practice some sensible instruction in reading, don’t you agree? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-87039808366874087422011-03-31T07:42:00.000-07:002011-03-31T07:42:42.291-07:00Spring Cleaning<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">As the weather turns warm in North Florida I start to put away the winter clothes and bring out my spring and summer clothes. Since the weather stays very mild in Florida, especially compared the northern half of the United States and Canada, my wardrobe change has a lot to do with sleeve length and colors. It’s spring now, so I’m doing my spring-cleaning. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">There is a rhythm to the seasons. In schools we have a rhythms, too. Right now we are in testing season. The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) will be given in a little over a week. Half the teachers in the school are under tremendous amounts of stress. Months and months of teaching boil down to weeks and weeks of fine tuning of lessons, small groups, and conferences. Spring break, this year before the test, couldn’t have come at a better time. Tempers were sharp and nerves were brittle. The season of the TEST was upon us.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Teaching, like the Florida weather, should remain fairly constant through the school year. Some of the tools we use before the test are ones that we should be using throughout the school year. This year we have had a greater focus on data. We have had more benchmark testing and progress monitoring than ever before. The district implemented a new information system to help teachers sort and configure the data in a very timely manner. The key, however, is what the teacher does with the data that makes the difference.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">We learn a new reading genre when we learn to read data. It has it’s own vocabulary and types of comprehension. Reading strategies, such as inference or synthesis, are important to get meaning in data. Schema - for the student, for the assessment, for the benchmark – is critical for comprehending the information. If one just looks at it as a math problem: “What is the difference between the number of students in the proficient range compared to the number in the non-proficient range?” you never get at the root of the data. A better question might be “Compared to the benchmark assessed, which students need significant reteaching and which only need a quick reminder?” The data helps me to see what my students need to learn next. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The FCAT will come and for two weeks we will be testing the culmination of what students have learned since they walked into school in kindergarten. After the test, however, we have a chance to do a little spring-cleaning of our own. Let’s look at our teaching practices. We should keeping looking at the data, fine tuning the small groups or the conferences. Take the time to make sure the students are proficient in the areas they struggle with the most before going to the next grade. In your spring-cleaning, look at some of the teaching you have typically done in the spring. Does it still fit with the data you have on your students? What can you do now that will make a difference to your students in the future? Reflecting on our practice makes us better teachers and helps our students learn. In the end, isn’t that what’s important?</span></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-86210245558033747422011-02-14T11:41:00.000-08:002011-02-14T11:41:50.174-08:00Reflections: A Quiet Place<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Deep down inside, there is a quiet place. To get there you have to start past the bright, electronic lights and the beckoning sirens song of the Internet. The visuals come by you fast and quick. If you close your eyes, and can keep your hands from touching the screen, you can pass by without them touching you very deeply. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The next level is lite by incandescent lights and the unnatural glow and sounds from a television blaring at you, sucking you into the mindless pool of inactivity. A simple click of a remote can silence this beast but beware: the sound of silence afterward can be uncomfortable.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Passing next is the gentle glow of a candle, and the softness of a down comforter. It is easy to curl up in a ball, surrounded by the gentle hug of sleep, and snuggle into a nap. Shake your head and clear the webs, because the journey is not yet done.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finally, the quiet place is achieved. Upon arriving you notice someone there. An interesting person with a unique personality and individual characteristics. You may not recognize the individual, especially if it's been a long time since you visited your quiet place. But take a moment and get to know this unique individual. You may find you really like this individual or have missed being in touch. Pretty soon, though, you come to know who this individual is and how important it is to visit your quiet place. Because the essence of the the quiet place is the core of who we are, as individuals. It's important to be in touch with yourself and dwell within your quiet place. After all, if you don't take of you, who will?</div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-14290039687012744392010-12-17T06:46:00.000-08:002010-12-17T06:46:20.033-08:00Where is THAT on the Learning Schedule?<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holidays in an elementary school are a fun time of year. Today is Pajama Day and the whole school is decked out in warm winter sleepwear. No, this isn't on the Learning Schedule. It is part of our school community traditions. I have my black and white snowflake flannel pj's. Even the principal is sporting a one-piece pair of pink footie pj's with puppies on the toes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My last post was about teaching with laser-like focus. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In these times of accountability teachers often feel like they have to focus on teaching and hide holiday fun. The two, however, are not in conflict. It's always a balancing act to meet the demands of the curriculum and still let kids have childhood memories of special activities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week I was in a kindergarten class that seems to have mastered this balance quite well. When I walked into Holly Goleski's class to watch reading she quickly explained they were doing math. "We did double centers yesterday so we could do double math today." They were also decorating gingerbread houses later. What followed was a focused lesson building on the patterns they had been exploring in math. Yes, this was on the learning schedule. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH4V14jFGOBTRu5sCqBcmOO8h2yV5qVviF9liXX441gU4PJKa14bRlvHSeCXQ0DvUcmhhDgAEVqoEWY8830h9RPTaVXBbnH8b3xsCCc-xnAUbezn31pWonXin1JHA-BNjxG2M7pokpR6m/s1600/IMG_2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH4V14jFGOBTRu5sCqBcmOO8h2yV5qVviF9liXX441gU4PJKa14bRlvHSeCXQ0DvUcmhhDgAEVqoEWY8830h9RPTaVXBbnH8b3xsCCc-xnAUbezn31pWonXin1JHA-BNjxG2M7pokpR6m/s320/IMG_2003.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCfULF-28oqA7TfKZZ4MHXUUkhD9cNy2k8bU7LbP8f3F4r5EMyb1UYlha6MgjXwIDzmGwmM3K4Ss_YSXZn_VYbb2zQ7epIjU49A0ycb3l9k6jiG5amLRTV22BwP6xoBkSuyB8jYI9Vcwm/s1600/IMG_2004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCfULF-28oqA7TfKZZ4MHXUUkhD9cNy2k8bU7LbP8f3F4r5EMyb1UYlha6MgjXwIDzmGwmM3K4Ss_YSXZn_VYbb2zQ7epIjU49A0ycb3l9k6jiG5amLRTV22BwP6xoBkSuyB8jYI9Vcwm/s320/IMG_2004.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The lesson was clear. The student explanation of their learning was on track and showed different ideas and strategies. Learning takes time. Projects take time. Memories last a life time. One memory the students will take away is the video they created last week <i><b>Jaguar Days of Christmas</b></i>. No, it is not on the learning schedule but this little video from a kindergarten class has created good feelings not only in the school but also within the city at large. It has been featured on the news and tweeted about by Jaguar players. At least one district administrator can repeat the lyrics word for word. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not all learning is on the Learning Schedule. I hope you will take a moment to enjoy some holiday fun with Ms Goleski's kindergarten students.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-5yz2QFnq5I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-17226161809946050892010-11-30T06:23:00.000-08:002010-11-30T06:23:44.614-08:00What Does it Take to Teach with a Laser-Like Focus?<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feedback from the November 2010 Focus Walk in upper grades included the phrase "teach with a laser-like focus". On the surface this seems simple - precise, focused teaching. Everyone does that, right? Thinking deeper, there seems to be so much more. What does it take to achieve the "laser-like" focus?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Remove Distractions</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Planning what will be taught will help establish a focus. While planning, look for ways to avoid tangents that will take the attention off the main idea of the lesson. Too often we try to include too many concepts in one lesson. Another scenario occurs when we try to extend lessons beyond the scope of the curriculum. Many tangential lessons start from a simple mention in a story and take on a life of their own!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Visual Reminders</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having visual reminders can help a lesson maintain focus. Simple strategies, such as recording the benchmark and essential question on a chart, can provide enough of a visual reminder to keep the lesson on track. Other tools, like a clock or timer, can keep help with time management. Differentiation does not occur during whole group instruction. Keeping lessons focused will increase the time spent in small groups or working with individual students.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>The Important Thing</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Margret Wise Brown's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Important-Book-Margaret-Wise-Brown/dp/0064432270/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291084734&sr=8-1">The Important Book</a> teaches us the main idea, or what is important, for many common objects. </div><blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>"The important thing about rain is/ that it is wet./ It falls out of the sky,/ and it sounds like rain,/ and makes things shiny,/ and it does not taste like anything,/ and is the color of air./ But the important thing about rain is that it is wet."</i></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Teaching with a laser-like focus requires the teacher to concentrate on the important message of the lesson. Sometimes this looks like explicit instruction, such as a skills lesson. Other times this involves a quick launch into an inquiry lesson in math. Whatever the type of lesson, teaching with laser-like focus is an achievable goal for every teacher. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is just the start of the conversation on focused teaching. Help take this conversation to the next level by adding your strategies. </div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-88758244217059519972010-11-16T13:11:00.000-08:002010-11-16T13:11:22.187-08:00My Life as a Writer<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today I wrote...</div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li>an email about an upcoming training</li>
<li>a coaching log entry</li>
<li> an activity to use with the December Book of the Month <u>Bad Kitty</u> (Bruel)</li>
<li>several calendar updates for school visits</li>
<li>a post it note to a teacher outlining a task for the Literacy Team</li>
<li>an outline and protocol for reading Chapter 4 in <u>Mosaic of Thought</u> (Keene, Zimmermann)<u><br />
</u></li>
<li>another email following up on a previous school visit</li>
<li>several Twitter posts (some related to work and one not so much)</li>
<li>a text message responding to a parent about the cost of the Thanksgiving Feast for visitors</li>
<li>directions on how to access the Math Navigator sites and information on screenings</li>
<li>a gift exchange form for next month's holiday lunch with the leadership team</li>
<li>an online form to renew my membership in the International Reading Association</li>
<li>another post it note to remind me of a classroom observation tomorrow</li>
<li>a phone number for the help desk</li>
<li>several terms for a Google search </li>
<li>and the first few letters of many websites for Firefox to auto complete before selecting one or another to visit</li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some days I add charting to this list, or lesson plans, or directions, or descriptions. Blog posts, like today, can be part of my writing. I'm sure I do more writing now that I'm out of college than I ever did when I was in college.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What I don't do is write creatively. Now it's not to say I don't <i>try</i> to put a creative spin on my technical writing, but for the most part I have no desire to do much in other genres of writing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think in images. Given a choice between describing a scene in writing, visually or orally I would chose the visual every time. Today, with my journal in my lap, watching a lesson, my fingers itched for my camera. Not a word was written down during the lesson. What I took away was the image in my mind of the shy smile one of the boys had when the teacher praised his reading. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It took me a long time to wrap my mind around starting a blog. Truth be known, I was shooting for a podcast but decided to start small. My writing is for everyone else but me. That's my life as a writer. </span>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-51884881262088936282010-11-07T11:55:00.000-08:002010-11-07T11:55:56.206-08:00Small Moments that Mean the Most<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sometimes you hope a moment never ends:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the joy in watching a young child sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the pleasure of getting unexpected recognition for a job well done</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the appreciation of standing in a forest as snow falls silently around you</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sometimes a moment seems to last forever: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the awkwardness of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the painfulness of hearing someone say the wrong thing to you at the wrong time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the unnatural silence at a funeral</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You never know which of these small moments will be the ones you carry with you. I suppose we carry them all and pull them out when the need arises. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today I am working on making a few more small moments:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the smell of pumpkin bread baking in the oven</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the feel of cool air on a sunny day</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...the way the ocean looked as the wind whipped up the surf</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hopefully you, too, had some nice moments in your day today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know I did.</span><br />
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</span>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-7674965586928262692010-10-31T13:43:00.000-07:002010-10-31T13:43:14.253-07:00Books That Have Impacted my Life<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I've been thinking about this blog post all week. There are so many books that I recall as important, it was hard to pick just one. Finally, I decided to pick two books - one from my childhood and one that currently impacts my work.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDy4JpBOHj0yx1eOBdO6Wr4kui4wa7LuPZT9uraHdoLrTzeYcryS1sEb3pOtm2XX4Q13qXPBD47xz_DbGdLLtA0ESHMtstsCvWXfeR-scAL7FDuL3pnsvAGUSSBMcckPyw9-9Z0AeKyPh/s1600/Golden+Book+of+Fairy+tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDy4JpBOHj0yx1eOBdO6Wr4kui4wa7LuPZT9uraHdoLrTzeYcryS1sEb3pOtm2XX4Q13qXPBD47xz_DbGdLLtA0ESHMtstsCvWXfeR-scAL7FDuL3pnsvAGUSSBMcckPyw9-9Z0AeKyPh/s320/Golden+Book+of+Fairy+tales.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first book that made an impact was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Book-Fairy-Tales-Classics/dp/030717025X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288556346&sr=8-1">The Golden Book of Fairy Tales.</a> I got my copy on my 10th birthday from my aunt and uncle. I wasn't able to read all of the stories but I poured over the illustrations, drinking deeply into my imagination as I heard the stories read aloud. I remember counting the fingers in one of the illustrations, checking to see if this was before or after the sister cut off her finger to save her brothers. These were not the politically correct versions kids get now. They were scary and sad and universal in the richness of their stories. I just loved them!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwttxmrO9xGhfLbUkvRNjOL6f-kr1j8NMqklucbS5vJfcB0mgphnoVPvudMSXQ-U8TWhZavbgP1lfTl4uP8pkHiASgbyFBzLnlj0sFpMCCeq7Zxb2luHi4fe5Ezd5ErY7Pv-dCMXXqtkVO/s1600/a_whole_new_mind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwttxmrO9xGhfLbUkvRNjOL6f-kr1j8NMqklucbS5vJfcB0mgphnoVPvudMSXQ-U8TWhZavbgP1lfTl4uP8pkHiASgbyFBzLnlj0sFpMCCeq7Zxb2luHi4fe5Ezd5ErY7Pv-dCMXXqtkVO/s320/a_whole_new_mind.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fast forward to recent times. My next selection is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whole-New-Mind-Right-Brainers-Future/dp/1594481717/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288556712&sr=1-1">A Whole New Mind</a> by <a href="http://www.danpink.com/">Daniel Pink</a>. I named this blog based on the Design chapter. But story, another chapter in the book, also speaks deeply to me. We connect to each other by story. It is telling that my favorite book from my childhood was a storybook. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope the stories I tell in this blog connect with you, my gentle reader, and lead you back to read more!</div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-84773796889202395742010-10-22T16:35:00.000-07:002010-10-22T16:35:07.652-07:00My Life as a Math Non-Believer<div class="MsoNormal"> <style>
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</style><span style="font-family: Arial;">I have decent number sense. I can figure out tips at restaurants and how much something is on sale, even if it is 25% off the 40% sale price. Estimation is my best friend. My head hurts when I have to do traditional algorithms </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvd08U3MaaEhbo3q35WhuY-wyiu3vrPqt570b7AdyT3j_BaeCxTV3Tdi2iIpVQMzodf14Y49f_Rd8p8HU1VMGTjEq_BwTIKVNuh8H6tzOIFCEfKh8w1atX7OgARnXVKEFEX7Sk0aVSyzz2/s200/knitting.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="196" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Patterns in Knitting</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I <i>get</i> algebra. A lot of it makes sense to me. I look for patterns in all sorts of things and try to balance equations in things like knitting. Can’t for the life of me remember what to do with the creature called a <a href="http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/quadratic/">quadratic equation</a>, can you?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I am good with spatial orientation. Friends like to go on trips with me because I can figure out where I am and how to get places with (and without) maps. I can’t remember <a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/2647/geometry/intro/p&t.htm">theorems</a> and made it through geometry in high school by doing extra credit projects (like making math posters for the classroom).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In college I was an art major. I avoided math. Took a class called “Math for Non-Believers”. We looked at math in a very non-traditional way. It challenged me. It appealed to me. I could visualize, and thus understand, three-dimensional objects and how they worked in space. Thanks to <a href="http://www.mcescher.com/">M.C. Escher</a> I could make sense of one-dimensional objects, too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Math had meaning when it had a practical application. Even the course in glazes I took with the ceramic engineering students was a fun challenge. Never knew the abstract concepts in math could have practical applications. I could use math and chemistry to create a glaze with depth and aesthetic beauty. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">My problem is that I was taught math by memorizing rules and procedures - hateful stuff - to get the one right answer. To balance out the skills (and drills) and the “only way” to do math I embraced the conceptual understanding of how math works as my lifeline. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We accept the developmental growth a child makes in reading and spelling so why can’t we understand the same child needs to figure out how math works, too? It is my hope more students are given the opportunity that I never had in school to grow in their conceptual understanding of how math works. It’s nice to know we have so many doors in our school that we can walk through to see this in action daily!</span></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-47717324314766870752010-10-14T15:00:00.000-07:002010-10-14T15:00:51.700-07:00Class Poll: How Do You Want To Learn Today?<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My class consists of 70+ certificated staff members. Several of them opened the school almost 30 years ago. </span><span style="font-size: small;">One was hired last week. </span><span style="font-size: small;">In terms of experience they are a heterogeneous group. When asked, “What do you want to learn today?” their answers are as diverse as their experiences.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My job, as the instructional coach, is to research, design and facilitate professional learning at Neptune Beach Elementary. We are part of the Learning Forward <a href="http://www.learningforward.org/alliance/index.cfm"><u>Learning School Alliance</u> </a>(LSA). We believe collaborative professional learning, teamwork, and problem solving are keys to school improvement.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;">LSA members: </span><br />
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Strengthen school and district culture to focus on educator and student learning; </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Initiate, refine, or expand the use of collaborative professional learning within your school; </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Explore ways to evaluate the effectiveness of collaboration within your school; and </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Develop leaders within your schools to facilitate the transition to a learning school.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Teachers and principals will receive training, coaching, and facilitation to advance their skills in applying the Learning Forward Learning School principles and practices. LSA members will learn together in their own schools, with other schools through webinars and facilitated conversations, and at meetings held at Learning Forward conferences. They will openly share their goals, their progress, and -- over time -- their results.</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;">When people use the term “professional learning” or “ professional development,” they can refer to traditional structures such as a workshop or a conference. It also includes collaborative learning cycles (CLC) among members of a grade level or content team in the school setting. Professional development, however, can also occur in informal constructs such as conversation among colleagues, independent reading and research, observation in another classroom, joining a personal learning network (PLN) on Twitter, or other learning from a peer. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Every year we assess our professional learning using the <a href="http://www.learningforward.org/standards/sai.cfm"><u>Standards for Staff Development Assessment Inventory</u></a> (SAI). Historically we have scored the lowest on <b>question 29: <i>We observe each others classroom instruction as one way to improve our teaching.</i></b> The poll tells us the teachers want to learn from each other in their own classrooms. This year we designed a number of professional learning activities that include at least one out of every five hours observing in a classroom. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sometimes a poll tells you more about the conditions a learner desires, <b><i>how</i></b> they want to learn, instead of <b><i>what</i></b> they want to learn. What you do with the information makes all the difference!</span></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-19457392851648044082010-10-07T05:44:00.000-07:002010-10-07T05:44:28.021-07:00Differentiation in 1st Grade Math<div style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Differentiated Instruction is a way to insure all students has access to the curriculum. The content, process or product can be differentiated based on the student’s readiness, interests, or learner profile. Sounds simple, right? Talking about differentiation is one thing but acting on it is often a more difficult task. Differentiation is math is especially difficult for some teachers. We work hard making all sorts of “stuff”, different worksheets, tools, and other materials. Despite our best intentions, what typically happens is the standard (or benchmark) get watered down instead of differentiated. In a recent blog post <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coach_gs_teaching_tips/2010/10/differentiated_instruction_what_difference_does_it_make.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">Differentiated Instruction: What Difference Does it Make? </a> David Ginsburg makes the following point: </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><style>
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><blockquote>But does it really matter whether DI is a bad idea, as Mike Schmoker insists, or a badly implemented one? Either way, effective teaching includes assessing and addressing students' individual differences. </blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are three key things every teacher needs to know to be successful at teaching. You need to know:</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Your students,</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Your curriculum (standards, resources, materials), and</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>How to make it visible to others (including your students!).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first two are familiar to all teachers but the last one is generally not given the importance it deserves. Visibility can take many forms. It can be the planning the teacher does before the lesson, recorded in a lesson plan. It can be charted, to keep a concrete record of previous learning. It can be the portfolio of individual student work, documenting growth and acquisition of a skill or strategy. It’s the formative assessment, the assessment FOR learning, that makes differentiation so powerful.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In this video Alane Wright, 1<sup>st</sup> grade teacher at Neptune Beach Elementary, talks about how she differentiated a math lesson for her students.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/15455011" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/15455011">Charting in 1st Grade Math</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4857808">Jill Kolb</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Key in this lesson was the simple changes Alane made to meet the readiness level of her students. By giving some students dice with dots, and some with numbers, and some with a combination of both dots and numbers, all students were able to meet the benchmark. Also key was the charting Alane did with her students. The students with the least efficient strategy – counting each dot on both dice – now have a visual reminder of other options for combining situations when they are developmentally ready for it!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3p0aPiXtG3nL-mrPVK817qLPsId-I4tCpKUn4fOAR1VvRma6a9izkKm8dYssNcTbMXag7o_4QxeNA0eAk7JunZQyW1hdS6j4CIdAERhj7EpSsP7ROznDc-QIXcGypL7l4Q4mzmJ4Xznai/s1600/Math+For+All+K+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3p0aPiXtG3nL-mrPVK817qLPsId-I4tCpKUn4fOAR1VvRma6a9izkKm8dYssNcTbMXag7o_4QxeNA0eAk7JunZQyW1hdS6j4CIdAERhj7EpSsP7ROznDc-QIXcGypL7l4Q4mzmJ4Xznai/s320/Math+For+All+K+2.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>So what is the next step? For me, I am only as good as the resources I have around me. Reading blogs and books are like learning to fish. If I want to keep eating, oops…teaching math to young students, I’ll need to fish for new ideas. One book I love is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Math-All-Differentiating-Instruction-Grades/dp/0941355772/ref=pd_sim_b_1">Math For All: Differentiating Instruction (K-2)</a>. There is also another version for Grades 3-5 and 6-8. While it is not the kind of book that you can open up and say, “Oh, I can do that tomorrow!” it is an outstanding resource that will show you how other classroom teachers have differentiated math lessons for their students. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3p0aPiXtG3nL-mrPVK817qLPsId-I4tCpKUn4fOAR1VvRma6a9izkKm8dYssNcTbMXag7o_4QxeNA0eAk7JunZQyW1hdS6j4CIdAERhj7EpSsP7ROznDc-QIXcGypL7l4Q4mzmJ4Xznai/s1600/Math+For+All+K+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Designing good differentiated lessons includes the important step of making visible all the learning going on in your classroom. Charting with your students is one key way of documenting their growth. I would love to hear about ways you differentiated math with your students or different charting ideas. Thanks in advance for sharing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-58202177309642686532010-10-02T10:50:00.000-07:002010-10-02T10:50:23.471-07:00Designing a Math Closing: Charting Matters!In Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) the math workshop model consists of three parts - Launch, Explore, and Summarize<br />
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<b>Launch</b> (Opening Meeting 15-20 Minutes)<br />
<b>Lessons may address:</b> <br />
<ul><li>Presentation of conceptual problem </li>
<li>Analysis of problem strategies </li>
<li>Comparison of related problems </li>
</ul><b>Teacher Role: </b><br />
<ul><li>Teaches mini-lesson that includes the presentation of a conceptual problem to be solved </li>
<li>States the focus of the work (concept and/ or skill) clearly connecting it with standards </li>
<li>Makes expectations explicit </li>
<li>Teachers should not present particular strategies that will lead students to solve problems in that way during Explore. </li>
</ul><i>Student talk should be to clarify questions</i> <br />
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<b>Explore</b> (Work Period 20-25 Minutes)<br />
<b>Student Role:</b><br />
<ul><li>Independent work </li>
<li>Partner work </li>
<li>Small group work</li>
<li>Involved in working problems that engage them in different stages of the problem solving process</li>
<li>Knows exactly what is expected </li>
<li>Contributes to class activities </li>
<li>Works with manipulatives and other mathematics tools or resources as needed </li>
<li>Generates evidence of process used in problem solving </li>
<li>Uses accountable talk </li>
</ul><b>Teacher Role: </b><br />
<ul><li>Monitors student work </li>
<li>Engages individuals or groups in accountable talk</li>
<li>Observes students’ discussions and explorations of their strategies </li>
<li>Makes anecdotal notes on observations, such as misconceptions and strategy development </li>
<li>Examines student work as it evolves </li>
<li>Small group instruction </li>
<li>Conferencing </li>
<li>Teacher begins to develop the summarize session by noting different strategies that will be addressed during the closing and selecting students or groups to present during the closing. </li>
</ul><b>Summarize</b> (Closing 20 – 25 Minutes)<br />
<b>Student Role:</b> <br />
<ul><li>Shares strategies and approaches to given problems </li>
<li>Makes connections to the main concepts from the lesson </li>
<li>Justifies strategies and solutions </li>
<li>Compares and analyzes solution strategies presented </li>
<li>Uses accountable talk </li>
</ul><b>Teacher Role:</b> <br />
<ul><li>Scaffolds problem solving strategies from least efficient to most efficient </li>
<li>Scaffolds students as they make connections to the main concepts from the lesson </li>
<li>Fosters a spirit of inquiry by asking higher order questions </li>
<li>Addresses misconceptions </li>
<li>Highlights and records student strategies and generalizations for future reference </li>
</ul>Teachers often feel teaching only occurs when they are the one in front of the class. This workshop model turns things around, placing the student in the role of the expert with the teaching coming at the end, during the Summarize. The student is the one teaching how they solved the problem to the other students, demonstrating a strategy. The planning begins during the Explore where the <i>“Teacher begins to develop the summarize session by noting different strategies that will be addressed during the closing and selecting students or groups to present during the closing.”</i><br />
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This careful planning for the Summarize section is done while the teacher circulates through the room, observing the student application of strategies. The scaffolding of the closing, from the least to the most efficient use of strategies, gives the class a view into the different ways students solved the same problem. Images shared in front of the room, or projected from a document camera, create a temporary view into the thinking. Charting, on the other hand, creates a permanent record of student strategies. <br />
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Learning to chart is not difficult. It just takes practice. It also helps to have models and a few guidelines. Amber McFatter, 2nd grade teacher at Neptune Beach Elementary, is one such model. In this video she explains about charting in her classroom.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/15474412" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/15474412">Charting in 2nd Grade Math</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4857808">Jill Kolb</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Sometimes teachers will tell me "I can't chart in front of the students. My charts look so messy!" It really is okay if the charts are messy because learning is messy. There are strategies for teachers to help with charting. <br />
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<b>Preparation</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaK42HLRY5nEskJFEzMgLjaQFjsI6cJT-CD_lAI_uyp8Cc9ETC1Eneu5w9-T3TMOFjBeaUt6zfCje_2x2XAgpf2NantTz6zMyqUAicLf1FSwZUjqY82s7dC7N9Cg3XPjG2CLsEkIdyaEx/s1600/IMG_1057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaK42HLRY5nEskJFEzMgLjaQFjsI6cJT-CD_lAI_uyp8Cc9ETC1Eneu5w9-T3TMOFjBeaUt6zfCje_2x2XAgpf2NantTz6zMyqUAicLf1FSwZUjqY82s7dC7N9Cg3XPjG2CLsEkIdyaEx/s200/IMG_1057.jpg" width="150" /></a>First make sure your chart paper and at least two markers of different colors are available. Most teachers hang the chart, with magnets or tape, right next to the screen so they have a clear view of the student work being projected. It is nice if you have one color marker for each student. Please don't use yellow or pastel markers or any type of highlighter! They are difficult to read and fade very quickly. At Neptune Beach Elementary teachers are encouraged to not only include the benchmark and/or the essential question on the chart but also to include the date.<br />
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<b>More Preparation</b><br />
During the Explore you are planning your closing and selecting students to present their strategies, scaffolding the strategies. You will get an idea on how much room to allow by looking at the student work. Different strategies may not take the same amount of space. It is important, however, to represent their strategy in the same manner as the student. This includes drawing, labeling, and recording student thinking. After a while it gets easier to identify both the efficiency and maturity in the strategies. <br />
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Hopefully this will help you and, more importantly, your students create deeper learning with math closings!Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-50711749426701776612010-09-19T11:44:00.000-07:002010-09-19T12:48:54.260-07:00One Story, Two TalesEvery now and then a day just comes together. This is a tale of such a day. The stories within this tale run in parallel lines that end at the same spot. The first part, the one of learning and growing, includes a cast of teachers. One teaches kindergarten; three instruct first graders, two help students with special needs (ESE), and the last teacher facilitates the learning of English Language Learners (ELL). The group doesn’t end there, as it includes the guidance counselor, the lead special education teacher, the principal and myself, the instructional coach. We came together, from all our different points of view, to collaborate on how to help our struggling readers. <br />
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The days began early as we came into the room, carrying steaming mugs of coffee and claiming spaces at the table. Towering off to the side were the boxes containing the new kits: Fountas and Pinnell <a href="http://heinemann.com/fountasandpinnell/lli_Overview.aspx">Leveled Literacy Intervention</a> kits from Heinemann. Brightly colored orange, green and blue boxes were piled high. Contained within them was hope and promise. Helping struggling readers is hard work. There are almost as many strategies to help them, as there are students. We know a few truths: (1) No publisher knows our kids as well as we do, and (2) One size does not fit all. Given that understanding we purchased these kits to provide one more tool to support our kids. <br />
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A new year, a new principal, and some of the quietest teachers in the school made for a gentle start. Ground rules were reviewed, revised and posted. Last year we started our book study of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/When-Readers-Struggle-Professional-Multimedia/dp/032501826X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284919748&sr=8-1">When Readers Struggle: Teaching That Works</a>. Last year we had a glimmer of an idea what our Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions would look like in practice. Now we have a reality. It was time to put theory into application. Part of the morning was spent asking questions and determining personal and professional outcomes. Logging into laptops, we went on a tech field trip to find free resources to support our new materials. We started with the Fountas and Pinnell <a href="http://www.fpblog.heinemann.com/">blog</a>, discussed using <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/FountasandPinnell?ref=ts">Facebook</a> to get updates, and following them on Twitter. Other than Facebook being blocked by the district, everyone was able to find one or more tools. Some loved the forum on the Heinemann website, noting other people had the same questions! Others enjoyed <a href="http://twitter.com/FountasPinnell">Twitter</a>, especially the video post of Irene’s dog, Meli, learning to swim. <br />
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Finally it was time to break into the boxes. You would have thought it was Christmas morning. The voice level changed. The energy level elevated. Shrink-wrap disposed of, stickers applied to folders, books sorted and placed into correct sections. I sat back and watched the teachers work together with their new materials. I had all summer with the kits to read and watch and learn. This was their time to play. Far quicker than I could have done myself, everything was assembled and organized. The morning work was over. Time to refuel and bond over lunch. I am a firm believer that more relationships are built over a 45-minute lunch that sitting next to someone for 4 to 5 hours in training. <br />
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Everyone joined back together to go to the next step. It was time to watch the professional development videos that came with the kits. Segment after segment was sequentially watched. Some segments were repeated while others were paused so we could discuss key points. At some point one of the teachers went back to the boxes and started pulling out teachers guides. Quickly others went and pulled out more materials. The abstract concepts were becoming reality as they engaged with the materials. <br />
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Time slipped by quickly and soon we were down to the last 15 minutes. Time to pack up the videos, throw away the cold coffee left over from the morning, and reflect on our learning for the day. The agenda, with all those early morning questions, was revisited. Some questions were answered while others were still on the table for our future session next week. Some teachers asked to the manuals, eager to continue their individual learning. Post it notes were filled out, noting who was taking what, and then they all piled out of the room, in a flurry of notebooks, books, and fluttering papers. Quiet remained in the room. The boxes were back; stacked up in the shelf, waiting for the next time the teachers would arrive. It reminded me of pets in a store waiting to be adopted. Today the teachers got down and played with them but no one took them home. The story doesn’t end here but the day is finished and so is this part of the tale. <br />
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There is a second tale that has run behind the main story. It is the story of how an instructional coach plans and implements professional development. This is my tale.<br />
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It started with a dream, a goal, and a quickly tossed comment. <br />
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The dream was one I’ve had for a long time. What if we could help students before they failed? I dreamed of schools that worked with students, catching them before they failed. All teachers would be effective in working with a variety of learners, feeling confident in their ability to reach their students. <br />
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My goal was a personal one. In my position I have the opportunity to make my dream a reality. My goal then was to prepare the teachers to the best of my ability so they would be effective in teaching a variety of learners. <br />
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The comment? It was one of those parking lot conversations. I was leaving the <a href="http://schultzcenter.org/">Schultz Center</a> while another coach was passing me on her way inside. “Hey Lisa!” I called out. “I need some help finding some good stuff for our interventions next year.” Lisa smiled and said “Get the Leveled Literacy Invention kits from Heinemann. You won’t be sorry. They are that good.” So the seed was planted and I went back to school and told my principal, “We need to buy this!” pointing to a flyer I printed from the Heinemann website. She smiled, offered to buy some of the professional books for a book study and the subject got dropped. <br />
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At the end of the school year my principal came to me with a request. She had to spend the remaining money in the budget by the end of the week or chance losing it to the district. I pulled out my tattered flyer and said, “We need to buy this!” The comment became our reality.<br />
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The <b>first step</b> is where planning comes in to the story. I had to figure out a way to give the teachers a sense of urgency, or desire, to take on this intervention kit. Just like a classroom teacher, I had to design an environment for learning. My tool was a simple K/W/L, though it was framed under the agenda. They had questions – basically translated into what they wanted to learn. At the end of the day we revisited the agenda, documenting what they had learned. They questions were the burning issues that could have become roadblocks if they hadn’t been addressed. So step one was done. <br />
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<b>Step two</b> was to give the teachers fish and a fishing pole. Not actual fish, but the proverbial fish. If I just told them everything, in a handout or PowerPoint, they would have the information for that day. But if I taught them to fish, find their own resources, then they could continue learning when I wasn’t around. I differentiate the technology options. Some were introduced because I knew they were active users of social media. The blog would appeal to another style of learners and give them links they could explore and go deeper. My intrapersonal learners would like the technology tools that came with the kits. They could explore the video and print resources at their own pace, time, and location. Fish and Fishing pole – done!<br />
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<b>Step three</b> focused on processing time. Learning is active and takes time. Giving the teachers time and space to touch and manipulate the materials was important. It couldn’t be rushed or even controlled on my part. This was a risk. I couldn’t make them interact with the kits but I trusted my knowledge of teachers in general and this group in particular. We just can’t resist getting our hands on new stuff! Giving them a significant amount of time to explore, without me directing, was critical. Processing time builds learning. Step three – done!<br />
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<b>Step four</b> was closing the deal. After looking at all the materials came the question – how to we use all this stuff? Seeing how to use the materials with students in the video answered a lot of the remaining question. The segments were short and focused on specific points. It was easy to replay segments or pause the videos to discuss points or ask clarifying questions. At the end of the day step four was still “in progress”. During reflection the teachers were much more comfortable in taking the next step to implementing the interventions, but there were still significant questions. No problem, I expected they would need more time. What was important was they asked for the additional time to learn rather then me telling them they had to come to training. <br />
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Like I said, the big story is still unfolding, but this portion of the tale is finished. It is satisfying when a day just seems to come together. It’s also satisfying when all the careful planning and preparation makes the training seem effortless and, dare I say, fun? If we were just going for compliance we could have made that happen faster. Our students, however, deserve better. They deserve teachers competently prepared so they would be effective in teaching a variety of learners. In the end, isn’t that what really matters?Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-3146105992229092262010-09-04T12:46:00.000-07:002010-09-04T12:53:40.608-07:00Design Thoughts on Narrative WritingWe just finished the second week of school and administering the first District Writing Prompt to our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. It is baseline data and to be used to inform our writing instruction. We have to avoid the knee jerk reaction, when presented with low baseline data, to drop the workshop model and teach prompt writing. This can be hard for teachers when they know the state writing test is in the spring.<br />
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During the school year we focus on teaching five writing genres – narrative, functional, report of information, response to literature (literary analysis), and persuasive. In 4th grade, however, we add one more. The test genre, or the one they will use on the writing test, is a genre created to measure narrative or expository prompt writing in a 45-minute time frame. The state has a 6-point rubric used to score the product. Thought the rubric is broken into several categories it is to be used to holistically, rather than analytically, score the writing. <br />
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The problem arises when we focus too much on teaching the parts and miss the big picture in writing. Narrative, as a genre, has defining characteristics, key of which is time. Time has to pass in a narrative to make it a narrative. Transition words help the reader know time is passing but just including <i>first</i>, <i>next</i>, and <i>finally</i> do not make a narrative. A narrative has to have a plot, or simply a story. A whole story, not just a great beginning, a quick middle and none existent closing connected with transition words. Plot, coming from the concept of “plotting out a timeline”, is key to creating a whole story. <br />
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Other elements that support the narrative genre include using author’s craft to engage the reader throughout the entire piece. Carefully selected words and phrases can help bring the writing to life for the reader. Too much, or poorly selected word choice, can turn author’s craft into author’s crap in no time! <br />
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Writing is like a basic white t-shirt. The basic t-shirt can be found all over in many varieties and brands, from the big box store to the designer boutique. But what distinguishes one from another? A well-designed t-shirt depends on the cut (women sizes versus the one-size-fits-all or men sizes), the material (cotton, cotton/spandex, or something high tech), and tailoring. Some shirts are perfectly serviceable but will never rise above humble beginnings. No amount of added craft, bedazzling, puffy paint, or embroidery is going to make it better than it was to start with in the first place. In fact, too much makes it a cliché of bad taste. To have a good t-shirt first you have to start with a good design. To have good narrative writing first you have to start with a good story.<br />
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We need to avoid the temptation to teach writing as a formula or a recipe. It is not how many similes are in the writing, it’s how well they are used. It is not how many “sensory details”, “vivid verbs”, “snappy bright beginnings” or any other ingredient taught to kids to add craft to their writing. It is starting with a story, a good story. As adults we have a conceptual understanding of what a well-crafted sensory detail can add to writing. Our students need to build that level of understanding through immersion in reading and listening to stories, discussing and charting ideas about writing. <br />
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Designing good narrative writing instruction should always include lessons on story. What is a story? How does time pass in a story? What is rising action? How do we know when a story is over? How do our favorite authors start their stories? How good is good enough when it comes to writing a story? All of these lesson, and more, should be part of the initial teaching of the narrative genre. <br />
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Narrative writing does not naturally occur in 45-minute blocks of time in response to a prompt. It is important that we do not confuse the created test genre with the real world genre of narrative writing. When students are taught how to write stories in the workshop model it is easy to transfer that skill into the test genre later in the year. It is important that we remember what is essential in teaching writing.Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-58533540217410540812010-09-01T19:00:00.000-07:002010-09-01T19:00:13.203-07:00Shift Happens<meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Originator"></meta> <link href="file://localhost/Users/jillkolb/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <link href="file://localhost/Users/jillkolb/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip1/01/clip_editdata.mso" rel="Edit-Time-Data"></link> <style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfT1PIhThYdsF2Wj9-3njkvvxBduYh8xi9vHu6hUg4X3dvG7auYyobkXfOwgrpw6g2Je9eKHZflQDRCSkbdE_t8i1u4zw1lruM5KneQoUZptm6seRO5sonNsFtmVw-fXtDIgpyNxcPwg2I/s1600/IMG_1004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfT1PIhThYdsF2Wj9-3njkvvxBduYh8xi9vHu6hUg4X3dvG7auYyobkXfOwgrpw6g2Je9eKHZflQDRCSkbdE_t8i1u4zw1lruM5KneQoUZptm6seRO5sonNsFtmVw-fXtDIgpyNxcPwg2I/s200/IMG_1004.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team Design from RtI Training</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Sometimes you don’t realize how true your words are until they are brought home to you. A few weeks before school started this year we had a leadership change, welcoming both a new principal and assistant principal. Both are experienced and talented leaders but unexpected surprises. Right now we are all learning our way. The shift happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The other big shift, not only at our school but also across the nation, is Response to Intervention (RtI). Last year felt a bit like a page from the story of Chicken Little. Instead of saying the sky is falling, we went around saying “RtI is coming! RtI is coming!” Classroom teachers, being focused on their current students, waited for this shift to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Being a proactive sort of person, I felt we needed to design a system for RtI. If RtI was going to happen, we needed to be prepared for it. I started reading. <u>RTI from All Sides</u> (Howard, Heinemann) became my go-to text, followed closely by <u>When Readers Struggle</u> (Fountas and Pinnell, Heinemann). Websites, especially the </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.rtinetwork.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.rtinetwork.org/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">, provided us with ideas and models to build our design. My iPhone became filled with podcasts on RtI. It was amazing what one could find in a short amount of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">With just under 1,000 students, our school is not only large but also complex. We are a center of both English Language Learners (ELL) as well as student with significant cognitive delays. Luckily we are staffed with quite a few teachers to work with our special needs and ELL students. In RtI all students get the core curriculum in Tier 1. If they require additional support, such as Tier 2, then the label or lack of label is not a consideration of support. If they need help they will get help. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">What has always hampered getting support to kids who need it has been finding the time. There is no additional time in the school day so we had to find a way to streamline and identify instructional times. The blog post on <u>Scheduling Considerations for RTI at the Elementary Level</u> (<a href="http://www.rtinetwork.org/rti-blog/entry/1/99">http://www.rtinetwork.org/rti-blog/entry/1/99</a>) was extremely helpful in designing the master schedule. We created a schedule that built in blocked times be used for RtI Tier 2 and 3 instruction. Fitting in the legal requirements and setting academic priorities were the first rocks we put in place. Reading, Math, Writing, Science/Arts, state mandated 30 minutes of daily physical education, a little lunch and – Bam – we were done. Working under the “decision of least loss” we started to identify students who were in need of interventions in reading and, using the blocks of intervention times, started filling in the schedule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I’d like to say this has all been smooth but in reality it is very chaotic and still in progress. Tempers can flare, collaboration is strained but the vision is becoming reality. Materials are being shared. Space is being shared. Conversations about student academic needs are being addressed openly and professionally. What is the best part is the shift in thinking and perception. “Those kids” are becoming “our kids” not only in word but in action. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Shift Happens. Some times the shift feels like an earthquake. Other times its like loose sand underneath your feet. It may make you feel unstable for a while, slow you down or make you slide. After the initial shift you just dust off and keep going.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7741007830802856852.post-10378648876562030752010-08-29T09:11:00.000-07:002010-08-29T09:37:44.359-07:00Design in EducationDesign in education, like design in the arts, is both an act of creation as well as completion. A well designed lesson will engage and, at its completion, create new learning for the students.<br />
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It is my desire that this blog will use design to help teachers, administrators, and other members of our school community to create new learning. My position as Instructional Coach in an elementary school gives me a different perspective on how to design systems for learning. I am personally growing as I start this blog and would appreciate all feedback.Jill Kolbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854579794786707676noreply@blogger.com1