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With all things, whatever is recommended it is okay to comb through it, question it, tweak it, and ask yourself if it's your style.

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Looking back on my first year I think about how I taught each lesson as an individual, like I was just checking things off my list. Next year I want to explore cross-curricular instruction.

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This makes me think that as educators we must trust our skills. Our skills in researching, being a researcher, making connections, and collaborating with our professional community.

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Goal setting is something I am interested in exploring next school year. I feel like I spent the beginning half of my year just trying to survive teaching the lessons. There is so much value in setting clear goals for the students and the teacher.

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This makes me think of how I approach lesson planning. Read through the resources and adapt to the specific needs present in your classroom.

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True. These insights are beneficial, but they are not fact. That's where research comes in.

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I loved this line and grabbed it for my demo which is why I didn't share it today! Adapting your instruction is everything. Love this.
-Jennifer Ellison

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I agree with all of these posts - reading and writing go hand in hand. That being said, the issue I run into often is getting students to not see them independently from one another. Skilled writers credit others writers' work they've read with their increased skill in writing. Reading makes for better writers. Why do students see these skills as independent from one another and how can this be rectified? - Jennifer Ellison

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This is my current growth area. I am such a baker and not a cook so I am always searching for what EXACTLY do I need and how much. Tell me EXACTLY what you need and I will deliver. So as I continue my very new career as an educator I am finding that I will need to grow in cooking rather than baking.

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Loved the map imagery as well and general destinations are important as goals, but I agree with Chad - detours are necessary - in life and in the classroom. My best lessons have come from these detours.
- Jennifer Ellison

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I have the students journal, I feel that this way they gain confidence in their writing.

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Yes, tool box! Everything goes in the handy dandy notebook! A different sauce for this, this wine pairing for that...whichever EBP that fits with the time.

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I agree - certain things are meant for certain kiddos at the right time. I think we are in the moment at certain times and not others also. That's a factor. - Jennifer Ellison

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This makes me think that two teachers can teach the exact same material but in different styles and receive two different outcomes.

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If I have a student that can not write to a particular prompt because they are not familiar with the topic, I always have another prompt they can use. I also tell them that sometimes in life they will have to write to something that might be unfamiliar to them (i.e. EOC's) and when that happens, you write about the part you do understand in the prompt.

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While I agree with the premise of this statement, I do think that there hasn't been an exhaustive amount of research doe on writing/learning strategies that are effective with every cohort of students. 'Traditional' teaching practices don't all have to be thrown out if there isn't a traceable link to research. Critical analysis of the strategies, collaboration in teaching and learning are necessary I think.

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Exactly, Chad. I rarely look back at strategies I used the year before because I am only thinking about the students I have the current semester. I mold strategies around what is happening now. The cycle of reading, writing, and discussion stay the same, but not the strategies necessarily.

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Teaching is a science. Every practice and activity has a greater purpose. In every meeting we have with admin it's all about the data, data, data.

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Yes! As we know, reading and writing go hand in hand. Throughout the year, I LOVED seeing my students ability to write grow through our daily quick writes. All students were able to produce more (and improved) writing as compared to the beginning of the year.

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So true! However, like Chad said, we need to critically assess what is shared and ensure it works for the cohort we currently have.

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Love this! Yes, we all need a roadmap to reflect where we are headed AND how far we've come. This will help us guide instruction effectively

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Maps are good, and we should definitely have them. However, detours are necessary sometimes, for different reasons. If we're traveling and realize we've got a flat tire (like lacking a clear audience), it's worth stopping to fix that problem. It's also worth it to enjoy a quick pit stop for a treat (having a particular student work on eliminating passive voice).

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One of my top reasons for loving this profession. SHARING!
There is a lyric from a song that goes well with this: "When you get where you're going don't forget turn back around and help the next one in line"

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Everyone has made a valid point. I once mentored a teacher new to teaching. She cried every time. She stopped when I told her "stop trying to fit the mold of every other teacher here, you are an educator just like they are, you know what you have to teach your students, now go teach your way!" She is good teacher and still learning.

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Yes! You cannot effectively teach your students without getting to know who they are and what they need.

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Rand Spiro, researcher, calls this "cognitive flexibility"--that sense of what skills are needed in a particular context at a particular time.

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Writing requires thinking (boy, do I know that now with the journal prompts we've written for this course!). When we think about, and analyze ideas, topics and concepts, we learn a little (or a lot more) about it.

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The practice might not even be replicable for that teacher. I've had plenty of ideas in the moment that I tried with students, and they worked. The thing is, I tried those things with a specific group of students in a specific time. Some things just don't travel.

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This makes me think of when I use Maps to get directions, but it won't let me choose the route I want to take. A map is a great tool, but the user needs to be able to engage with the tool and use it most effectively.

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We also had a professional development day dedicated to teaching acronyms for writing strategy for STAAR.  Like others have said, it's about meeting individual students at the right place with some tailored support.  I've had so many anxious test takers for whom the knowledge of an acronym brings a calmness and a little more confidence to the experience of writing anything of substantial length.   - Deb

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A mindset that I am working on: writing is not just reserved for writers workshop

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Writing can be apart of any subject area and is truly an extension piece when it is added on. Next year I want to explore how I can use writing in more subject areas.

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Yes. Teaching is a never ending reflection process. We must ask ourselves if the lessons we provide are the best we can do, or if we are doing them because we are familiar and comfortable with the "tradition"

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It's not easy to be everything you need to be for every student you guide. You have all touched on the impossibility and possibility of that.

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In order to get more data, wouldn't something need to be tried more than once? It seems like a catch 22...don't try that because only one teacher did and we don't have enough data to prove it works..?

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Reading and writing go hand in hand.

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I was thrilled to see that my daughter's 8th grade algebra teacher incorporated writing into her teaching of math. At each 6 week period, a significant part of their exam was explaining how they solved a problem. Their interactive journals were works of art! Champs for writing in all subjects @ The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin!

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Yes! One of the greatest resources we have is our colleagues. It's important to remember that like us, they love to help and teach others.

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The beauty of this profession is the opportunity for growth. We have string foundations but no limits on how far we can take it.

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I hear Chad loud and clear. When we are taught "best practices", the idea behind it, is in a perfect world, but we are in the trenches every day and deal with 30 different personalities, multiple languages, students with impairment of some sort mental or otherwise. When one walks into a classroom knowing all this "best practices" becomes what works for my students in that period for that year.

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I often tell my students that in class we will read texts a variety of ways. Sometimes we read as readers and other times we read as writers. When we are reading as writers, we are looking at moves the writer made and thinking about why they did that or how we can emulate that within our own writing. I taught A LOT of football players this year so the sports analogies were heavy. I likened it to watching a football game on tv. Sometimes they watch just to enjoy the game. Other times, they watch with a focus of analyzing what the players are doing and talking about the decisions made on the field.

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I love this. I didn't do much of content material writing until I was required to for TELPAS. When I did, it was so awesome to see the work my student produced as not only writers but also gave me an understanding into their minds as scientists and mathematicians.

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Yes. Again, applying what you know in a way that benefits and works for your student population, their wants and needs.

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This statement underscores the need for constant conversation among educators and 'map proposers' so it reflects the changing times and contexts.

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Knowing information and research, adapting it to work in your classroom is also just as important

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Personally, I have to take the time to digest all content before I teach it. Do I understand the end goal? Do I understand how to get there? When I share my "ah-ha" moments or ways that I understand the material I find that students are open to finding and sharing their journey to understanding the material.

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Yes! Our students mirror what they see. I remember a time I was asked to recall a favorite teacher. Almost always, it is someone that showed passion for the subject and helped you find that passion as well.

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I'm not sure I completely agree with this statement. It may be the wording ("trustworthy") that I have a problem with more than the idea behind it. At the end of the day, the professional in the classroom who knows the students is the one whose voice and opinion is most important. As we have seen throughout the chapter, what works with one group of students is not guaranteed to work with another. It doesn't matter to me if "what worked" comes from a study or my partner teacher or a teacher on tiktok.

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I think instruction, whether reading or writing, should always link the two. If we approach texts rhetorically, and then teach students to approach their writing tasks rhetorically, they start making that connection. I appreciate what Deb wrote about the "Missing Link" article. Most of what we do in school is prepare students to write academically. I don't think that should change. But, at the same time, it doesn't mean we aren't teaching them how to write for the real world. It is about rhetoric. Learning how to adjust their writing style and content for a college-educated audience is teaching them the core skill they need. We just need to do a better job of teaching them that skill, and allow them to work toward independence.

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Love this! A nice reminder that we have a new group each year. That means we must rethink our techniques and adapt them to fit the needs of our students.

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There's a lot of truth to these statements. Writing is one piece of the puzzle, but it's a piece that fits into multiple puzzles. Students are writing all the time, but are they thinking about it that way when they're texting a friend, posting to social media, writing a lab report, explaining their strategy in math, or summarizing a text book in history? It all work together.

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Clear and specific goals can mean different things with each assignment. Research papers really need to meet specific formatting and stylistic requirements. The specificity when it comes to goals for journal or creative writing will need to be different to allow for authors to develop their voice and style.

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As a new teacher I am going through the journey of building my confidence as an educator. The confidence of taking my findings and building on it, celebrating what is working and then working to improve. It's a lot of brainpower, I totally understand the need for the summer reset.

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This reminds me of legislatures deciding how education should be run. Theory and controlled studies are fine and all, but an experienced teacher can tell you when something will flop without wasting time and millions of dollars.

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Yes, true writing across the curriculum would have to happen. So many of my students turn in what can only be described as trash, because they do not think I'm going to read it. When asked why they expect me not to read the answer almost always comes back as, " Mr. or Ms. so and so in History or some other subject, make us write but they don't read it because it's not English class. They just want us to turn in writing."

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I'm always skeptical of the latest new strategy, and I hate having them forced on me by administrators. That rarely works.

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So important to do what is proven to work while being wise enough to adjust when it isn't.

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Speaking of evidence, I was thinking about an article I read on edweek.org, "Is Professional Writing the Missing Link in High School English Classes?"  I'm interested to learn how the NWP connects here.  Several sources in this article conclude that there is a mismatch between what businesses are looking for and what schools are doing; that "writing in school has more of an emphasis on what might happen in college than in the workplace."

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It seems a trend is emerging: balance. Balance between the "tried and true" and the new discoveries. Balance between following the protocol and adaptability.

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I think for new teachers part of the confusion is just the proliferation of names for the same strategy. After I taught awhile, I could see that the basics really aren't that many, just the ones outlined in the text, but the acronyms can be rather endless. Fun, but somewhat confusing. Perhaps we should anchor professional development sessions in the core EBPs more than we usually do.

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Our students read us well. They can sense if you are not excited about the material that you are teaching and they will feed off of that. As I go into my second year I want to explore ways to become excited about what I am teaching and put my own twist on it instead of reading directly from the script.

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This, to me, is one of those double-edged swords. If you're unclear, students get frustrated and unproductive. If you make the expectations to specific, you end up with cookie-cutter writing. It's a bit of a tight-rope walk. The goal is for everyone to get across, but not everyone is ready to try it without a net.

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I like the old metaphor of a toolbox. EBPs are like the tools in the toolbox, and teachers are constantly pulling out different tools and trying them out, anything to fix the learning leak!

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It's exactly what we teach in writing: audience, purpose, and context. How much do they already know? What requisite skills are they lacking? Where are their strengths? Weaknesses?

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I love that the process is flexible. We have a set of things that we know work to move our students along the road of improvement and it's up to us to decide when and where we need more or less of one or the other.

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This is why I am taking part in the STWP. I was given sound advice by a teacher consultant. I needed to be more familiar with EBP's in order to validate centering my classes around the workshop model. I know this is what is right for our kids, but I needed to understand more of the why. Knowledge is power, and I want to be ready to fight the EOC kill and drill beasts.

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I appreciate a roadmap. But will it always take me where I want to go?

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While this is true, I would consider the experience level of teachers in this dynamic. New and inexperienced teachers may not have much experience to draw from, which is where collaboration through effective PLCs come into play.

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I chose this quote because it's really about intentionality to me. I think to become a highly effective teacher you do use EBPs because you are constantly reading journal articles or attending seminars or seeking out professional development. It's like two sides of the same coin.

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I have had that experience where a co-worker raved about a strategy that fell flat in my class. However, tht could happen with a EBP, too.

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I think this is the honest omission that's necessary when it comes to reporting on writing research. The reality is, the data is all over the place, and even qualifying "data" is difficult. The fact that stands out in all teaching is that a teacher needs to be able to adapt the learning to the needs of the students, and it's always going to be unique.

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I agree with Avlyn, in that our schools are not test labs, however, rarely is a teacher allowed to teach in a style that works best for her students, before she is told to do it some other teachers way. Just as one size fits all lessons don't fit every child one teacher's style or method can't be expected to fit all teachers.

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This makes me think that experiments are not a one size fits all. It's a starting point open for growth and new discovery.

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Reading = thinking= writing= thinking = reading = thinking = writing =thinking = ......

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When you teach for a few years, you find that you just have to constantly reexamine your practices. I don't think the role of technology in terms of literacy can be underplayed. It can feel comfortable doing the same thing over and over, and some people are creatures of habit and routine. As the past year showed me, too much disruption doesn't work either. I think it comes down to teacher support. Most teachers are driven by what's best for the students, but how to know what that is and how to do it, can seem daunting in a constantly changing environment.

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Context + best practices = a potentially successful learning experience. Also the right catalyst for a teacher researcher to collect data about what works with which cohort or type of learner.

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This is where the craft of teaching comes in. Someone can follow step by step directions and have fewer results than someone who is experienced and able to adapt as needed. It is important to know the "step by step" first, of course.

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I've been thinking about the EBPs less like a roadmap and more like ingredients in a recipe. Depending on what you want to create, you might add more of one ingredient, and less of another.

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This is the first year that we wrote frequently in my class. I think the biggest eye opener for me was to see their thinking process. It allowed me to stop and realize why my students were not writing as I wanted them to in years past. I was able to see what each student needed in order to get them going on the right track. I am praying I will be able to build on this progress this coming fall.

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If my teammate tries a strategy that works well for her kids and I am able to observe it, that is empirical data to me. I can see it and experience it to know it works. How its that worse than an EBP tht I have not experienced? I am not sure I agree with this.

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I wrote instructional manuals for 15 years before taking a leap into alternative teaching certification. And one of my 'whys' was that I wanted to spend the rest of my life in a career without an instructional manual to allow for maximum creativity!

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We have to trust that those who research are unbiased. We also have to know that our schools aren't labs with students as research subjects. That's what makes a good teacher: knowing students and using best practices to help students achieve success.

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Chad's comment really struck a cord with me. I'd love to hear more about how teachers can share their best practices successfully. I think the teaching profession really shortchanges us in terms of the time we need to build strong teams, and we don't really get taught best practices for team work either.

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The institute has really taught me about the importance of having class time dedicated to writing. I love it.

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My district paid money for a writing consultant to teach us an acronym for STAAR essays because it had "transformed" writing scores in a different district. We tried it here, and it failed. What works for them might not work for us.

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When I worked as a CNC machinist, I ended up training the trade school certified machinists. Most of the time I had to break them of what they'd learned because each shop, each machine, and each piece of material is different. And the variables were insane. A hot day, humidity, or materials that hadn't been properly prepared for the machining process could lead to disaster.

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As a teacher, one of the biggest challenges I have is getting students to write reverse outlines. But I know just how important that type of writing is in terms of developing analytical skills. This research just confirms it. I have a copy of the one of the white papers on it. You can read it here:

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Students have to read and write more than teachers could possibly assess. I struggle with this reality at times because when intrinsic motivation fails, I use the extrinsic motivation of a grade to continue their level of practice. But, it burns me out.

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So true. Our job isn't to experiment with our kids' learning. It is to help them learn. We need to adapt what we find and combine it with what we know about our kids to ensure success.

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As laudable as this goal is, I fear it presents an image of compartmentalizing learning. The attitudes and strategies noted here are relevant for ALL content areas, so in addition to this proposal, I would also propose that integrating learning across content areas would round out the efficiency of these practices and attitudes.

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It seems that my goals always move. I like to write with the kids. I also like to use Kernel essays to get reluctant writers started. Then we build on them. But I try to keep the writing on one topic to one week or they lose interest.

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It is a roadmap, and it helps to be reminded of those best practices, hold our own practices up for examination, and then choose just one or two growth areas for ourselves as professionals. And, it also helps not to beat ourselves up too much over what we do or do not accomplish in the classroom. Children aren't machines, and we are just one of the many factors that go into their learning.

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I trust replicatible research first and teacher testimony second. If a teacher is keeping up with best practices and consistently extending their learning, then I'm more likely to trust their insights.

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It makes me cringe when I hear teachers talking about what they "always" do to teach a particular skill or piece of content. Seriously, stop blowing the dust off your old teacher files. Do the research, implement proven practices, reflect, and adjust to improve your craft.

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Yes, this is absolutely true. Forcing strategies or practices onto teachers rarely works, but districts often don't seem to have the time or ability to focus on teacher buy-in.

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Yes, this is absolutely true. Forcing strategies or practices onto teachers rarely works, but districts often don't seem to have the time or ability to focus on teacher buy-in.

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So many ways to learn.   While I am a fan of Bernabei and Gallagher, I know those best practices really are dependent on student buy-in as well.   It's tough to compete with phones.

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Adding to Bob-Cat's idea, not all businesses are the same. Large, small, service or product oriented, targeting specific reasons for its existence and audience make all the difference in the resulting product. Data helps there, but it isn't the whole picture.

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Everyone learns differently so not everything is going to work the same for everyone

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Teachers should definitely share their successful strategies and practices, but I think it can also be a two-edged sword. I think we all know teachers who think they're better at their jobs than the data supports.