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EKC

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One Central Idea: Between, Across, and Beyond the Disciplines

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One Central Idea: Between, Across, and Beyond the Disciplines

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EKC

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Considerations for Assessment of Learning

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Considerations for Assessment of Learning

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EKC

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Lanny Ball

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EKC

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EKC

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EKC

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Here's the study I mentioned in response to our group wondering. :) 

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Here's the study I mentioned in response to our group wondering. :) 

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Tammy Mulligan & Clare Landrigan

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Reflective Practice to Empower Self-Adjusters

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Reflective Practice to Empower Self-Adjusters

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EKC

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Kylene Beers and Bob Probst

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Forged by Reading Excerpts - Authentic Reading Response

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Revising the Classroom: Adventures in Flexible Seating

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Revising the Classroom: Adventures in Flexible Seating

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Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski (2019)

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Brand new furniture Blue, yellow, green chairs Gray trapezoid tables Wobbly cushion seats Everything moves in here Seats at the tables for 18 children 24 students enter Backpacks bursting Books, binders, more. No place to put them. No space for gathering as a class on the floor. A student implores impatiently: "Can't you turn on the A/C?" (Of course we don't have any) Looking around the crowded room, sweat dripping, The teacher says to herself, "Revisions must be made."
***

As writers, we know that revision is an integral part of the writing process. We are always looking for ways to make our writing clearer, crisper, smarter and memorable. As teachers, we also revise constantly. We look for ways to make our teaching clearer, crisper, smarter and memorable too.

This year, I found myself often revising my classroom set-up. I was fortunate enough to be part of a flexible seating pilot in my school district. My classroom was outfitted with new furniture. Trapezoid tables that together made a hexagon grouping; a large, low round table; ottomans and low wobbly cushions; a comfy green couch; seating that also doubled as storage and a lovely portable dry erase magnetic board. I set everything up, knowing when the students came in, tweaks would need to be made.

After the first day of school (that 95 degree one referenced in the poem), I realized "tweaks" wasn't the right word- I needed to make changes to be able to teach my students effectively. I needed:

enough floor space for students to form a sitting circle for our Morning Meeting; also enough floor space to gather for minilessons and read-alouds

a place for students to put their individual notebooks, folders, and other various supplies

home-base seating for each student

a system for introducing the "special" furniture and allowing students to use it in a way where everyone got a turn

lessons on the proper use of furniture that moves on wheels

Some solutions:

My principal kindly allowed me to order portable cubbies which were the perfect place for each student to store materials

My students and I had discussions about the safe way to use rolling chairs

During lessons, students did not sit on special furniture. I found it was too distracting. They were allowed to use it during independent working time.

I needed to get another table to accommodate all the students so each child had a place to sit as a "home-base" seat.

We pushed furniture back to make room for all of us to sit during the Morning Meeting. We returned it to the right spot after those times. (The bonus of furniture on wheels!)

Students were allowed to sit in special seating as a reward or when they were the "Thoughtful Third Grader."

For the last couple of years, I had no teacher's desk. I removed it from my room since I never really sat at it and didn't like the idea that I had a big desk that took up a lot of real estate in the classroom. This year, I began the year without a teacher's desk but something was different. In the past, I had a u-shaped table where I put some of my files, plan book, grade book, etc. This year, the table was removed to make space for my new, larger furniture. There was no place for my things. I tried a few different ways of organizing my materials, but the truth was I needed a place to put some of my teaching essentials. Just a few weeks ago, I begged my amazing custodian to help me find a teacher's desk again. She was skeptical because the teacher's desks are large and rather unattractive, but I was sure it would help. She found a desk I could use and we put it in a spot that wouldn't take up a lot of room. Though it is messy at the moment, it has made a huge difference in how I feel in the classroom. Having a space for my materials is a must.

For those who are going to try flexible seating:

Realize you will revise your classroom and ask students for input and ideas on making things flow more smoothly

Partner up with a colleague or friend who can help you troubleshoot what doesn't feel right about your set-up

Think about the essential areas you need in your classroom (a whole group area, enough floor space, areas to store belongings) and design your room with these key spots in mind

Be flexible in your approach and don't say "NEVER" (Like "I'll never use a teacher's desk again!"...You just might find yourself begging your custodian for one too!)

Set up expectations for using furniture safely and appropriately

Slowly allow students to use different pieces of furniture instead of letting everyone use everything from day one

It's okay to not use fancy furniture during teaching time

I believe that students should learn in an environment that is comfortable, stimulating, and provides space for collaboration and creativity. I believe that classrooms need a gathering area where students can all be together. I believe that organization helps everything run more efficiently. I believe flexible seating can be a way for students to have more choice and ownership over their environment, but it doesn't all come together easily. Teachers have to be willing to revise, rethink, and make changes. Teachers have to be flexible thinkers and be willing to go back to the drawing board to find ways to make the classroom environment work for all learners.

What have been your experiences with flexible seating? What lessons or tips do you have for teachers who might want to give it a try?

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Revising the Classroom: Adventures in Flexible Seating

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Brand new furniture Blue, yellow, green chairs Gray trapezoid tables Wobbly cushion seats Everything moves in here Seats at the tables for 18 children 24 students enter Backpacks bursting Books, binders, more. No place to put them. No space for gathering as a class on the floor.

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Collaborative Jamboard

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What is learning? (Agency & Assessment, June 2021) - Google Jamboard

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The version of the browser you are using is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

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One Central Idea Between, Across, and Beyond the Disciplines with Staggered Timing 

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One Central Idea Between, Across, and Beyond the Disciplines with Staggered Timing 

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EKC

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PYP G3 Central Idea and Staggered Timing

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EKC

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Toolkits: A folder with many examples...

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Toolkits: A folder with many examples...

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EKC

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Frey, Hattie, and Fisher (2018)

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Four Possible Learning Events - Frey, Hattie, and Fisher (2018)

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Here's the TedTalk Nita lifted up for us when discussing the wondering, too. :) 

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Here's the TedTalk Nita lifted up for us when discussing the wondering, too. :) 

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Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.

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Irene Fountas (2013)

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Lesley University Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

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by Irene Fountas, Author and Director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

When my colleague Gay Su Pinnell and I created a gradient of text for teachers to use in selecting books for small group reading, we were excited about its potential for helping teachers make good text decisions to support the progress of readers.

Our alphabetic gradient is widely used by teachers for this purpose and has become an essential tool for effective teaching in guided reading lessons.

With every good intention, the levels may have been applied by professionals in ways we would not have intended. We did not intend for levels to become a label for children that would take us back to the days of the bluebirds and the blackbirds or the jets and the piper cubs. Our intention was to put the tool in the hands of educators who understood their characteristics and used it to select appropriate books for differentiated instruction.

We are well aware of the importance of communicating student progress accurately to families. Rather than the use of levels in reporting to families, we have encouraged the use of terms like "reading at grade level expectation" or "reading above grade level expectation" or "not yet reading at grade level expectation" on report cards along with other clear indicators of a student's processing abilities such as understanding, word-solving abilities, accuracy or fluency. In addition we have encouraged the use of indicators related to amount and breadth of independent reading.

Students actually experience a variety of books at varied levels in a rich literacy program. They may experience complex texts as read aloud or shared reading selections and a range of levels in book discussion groups or independent reading. Highly effective teaching provides a range of opportunities with different texts for different purposes.

In our best efforts to use assessment indicators, we want to be sure that our purposes best serve the children we teach and give families the important information they need. This may not mean using labels such as book levels that hold more complexities and are intended for the use of the educators as they make day-to-day teaching decisions.

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Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

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by Irene Fountas, Author and Director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative When my colleague Gay Su Pinnell and I created a gradient of text for teachers to use in selecting books for small group reading, we were excited about its potential for helping teachers make good text decisions to support the...

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EKC

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Balancing Volume and Writing About Reading

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Balancing Volume and Writing About Reading

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Anna Cockerille

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Most reading workshop experts suggest that students spend no more than 10% of their reading time writing about reading. During the other 90% of reading time, students should be reading, engrossed in books they can read with a high level of accuracy in order to achieve the kind of reading volume that leads to maximum growth.

Readers must also pause at points to distill their about their reading, and writing is a key way to do this. The thinking work that readers are expected to do as they progress through the grades becomes staggering in its sophistication. The way a reader can reach these high levels of thinking is by making work she is doing as a reader visible so that she can share it with others, she can get feedback on it, and she can set goals for how to make it better.

But how to help readers to use writing to move into more sophisticated ways of thinking about books and also maintain a high volume of reading? The key is to teach readers to use writing strategically. There three main ways of writing about reading: short jots to record quick ideas (these are often done on Post-its); longer entries to grow ideas (often done in a reading notebook); and formal pieces of writing exploring a theory about a character or a book (these often take the form of literary essays). It's helpful to teach readers to be strategic about when and about how often they might utilize each kind of writing in order to preserve their reading time.

Readers might think of each kind of writing as follows:

Quick jots: readers should expect these to be the most frequent kind of writing about reading they do. Most of the time when they write about their reading, they'll stop to record a quick thought, or a new detail on a theory or main idea they've been tracking. Their jots will become more nuanced and sophisticated as their thinking about their reading becomes so, but their jots needn't necessarily become longer. For more on helping students achieve their best Post-its, see The Life Cycle of a Post-it.

Longer entries: Occasionally, a reader can pause their reading to write in long form to grow an idea. In upper grades, readers might do this for homework, or in the middle of reading workshop to transition into book clubs. Teaching notebook techniques, such as Post-it to theory charts in which readers take a Post-it and used a kind of focused writing to develop a theory about a character or theme, is a way to help readers be as effective and efficient as possible in their longer writing. Many suggestions for notebook techniques can be found in upper grade reading units of study.

Formal writing about reading, such as essays: Virtually all of the time, formal writing about reading is best done during writing workshop. A writing unit on literary essays is a perfect example of this. During writing workshop, students draw upon the thinking work they've done in reading workshop, including their quick jots and longer entries. And in writing workshop, they develop a theory about their writing, and write an organized piece using examples from their reading.

At this week's TCRWP Twitter chat, staff developers and upper grade reading experts Katie Clements and Eric Hand will lead a discussion on ways to help students to balance reading volume and writing about reading. If you teach upper grade reading and wish to help your students both grow their thinking and achieve maximum volume, be sure to join this chat.

Each Wednesday night at 7:30pm eastern, The Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project hosts a Twitter chat using the hashtag #TCRWP. Join @clemenkat & @writtenbyhand to chat about balancing reading volume and writing about reading tomorrow evening.

Not on Twitter? Take Heinemann's free Twitter for Educators course here.

Anna Cockerille, Heinemann Editor and Coauthor of Bringing History to Life(Grade 4) in the Units of Study for Teaching Writing Series, was a teacher and a literacy coach in New York City and in Sydney, Australia, and later became a Staff Developer and Writer at TCRWP. She also served as an adjunct instructor in the Literacy Specialist Program at Teachers College. Anna has been a researcher for Lucy Calkins, contributing especially to Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement (Heinemann 2012), and the Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grades 3-5 series (Heinemann 2010). Anna is currently serving as an editor on the forthcoming Phonics Units of Study series for grades K-2, and previously served as an editor for theUnits of Study for Teaching Reading, K-5 series.

Follow her on Twitter@annagcockerille

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Balancing Volume & Writing About Reading, 3-8

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Most reading workshop experts suggest that students spend no more than 10% of their reading time writing about reading. During the other 90% of reading time, students should be reading, engrossed in books they can read with a high level of accuracy in order to achieve the kind of reading volume that leads to maximum growth.

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What Are the Best Classroom Seating Arrangements? (Part 1)

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What Are the Best Classroom Seating Arrangements? (Part 1)

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EdWeek (2019)

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What are the best classroom seating arrangements?
Figuring out seating arrangements is one of the most important decisions we teachers have to make-not only about which student sits where but also to help create the kind of learning environment we want for our students.

This series will explore different ideas for this important aspect of our teaching.

Today, Jennifer Orr, Madeline Whitaker Good, Rich Czyz, Tan Huynh, and Mark J. Westpfahl contribute their ideas. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Madeline, Jennifer, and Rich on my BAM! Radio Show. You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.
Response From Jennifer Orr
Jennifer Orr has been an elementary school classroom teacher for 20 years in Title I schools in northern Virginia:
Think about the places in which you feel most comfortable working. What are you looking for? Is it always the same or does it depend on what you are doing? I know I prefer to work sitting in ways that are close to lounging, stretching my legs out. I'm perfectly content to have my notepad or laptop on my lap rather than on a table or desk. At least that's all true if I'm working on my own. When I'm collaborating with others, I tend to prefer to sit around a table so that we're all at a similar height and in close proximity. Students are no different. They do not all want to sit in the same chairs at the same tables all the time. The best classroom seating arrangements are the ones that put students in charge of their space. Students, even very young ones, are able to make decisions about where and how to work in order to do their very best. Allowing students to be in charge of their space requires a very flexible classroom. It requires lots of options from which students can choose. This might include tables of varying sizes and heights. In my 3rd grade classroom, I have one table that is tall enough for my students to stand while they work there. Several different tables have stools or chairs of different types. A couple of tables are low to the ground so students can sit on the floor as they work there. The tables are also different sizes. One table is large enough for eight or more students to fit. Others will only hold one or two. Depending on task and mood, students can decide which option is best for them at that moment. Other types of seating are also good options. We have several beanbags, as well as a couch in our classroom. We have a box full of clipboards in case students want to work somewhere away from a table and need that surface. One of my students last year did his best writing on a clipboard, stretched out under one of our tables. It looked terribly uncomfortable to me but was definitely his go to spot. In order to do our best work, to be focused and thinking hard, we need to be comfortable. If the only options students have are all the exact same chairs at the exact same tables, only a handful are likely to be truly comfortable. Even just offering them the option of the floor will be empowering and mean that a few more are ready to do their best work. This may sound challenging, but engage your students around the question. They'll come up with some fabulous solutions! Response From Madeline Whitaker Good
Madeline Whitaker Good has taught elementary and middle school, and is currently a middle school teacher in Springfield, Mo. She is a co-author of Your First Year:
This is such a hot topic with many educators today. With so many options, from collaborative tables to beanbag chairs, many people have found themselves in "tribes" that swear by their own classroom's seating arrangement. Although there is some research that shows certain arrangements are more effective than others, I argue that the main driver of a classroom's seating situation should be what the teacher needs to be most effective instructionally. When I think back to my favorite teacher I ever had, it was my high school AP English teacher. She pushed us to think critically, significantly increased my writing ability, and supported students sharing their thoughts about a variety of texts. This was all done while we were sitting in .... traditional desks that were placed in .... rows. *Gasp!* I know. Desks in rows?! How could she? The thing is, she was a phenomenal teacher, and placing desks in rows for most of the school year helped her be the rock star teacher that she was. She would sometimes move them around for important class discussions, but most of the time they were in plain old traditional rows. And that was OK. Her class was the one I learned the most in high school. By far. I am not sharing this to defend the placement of desks in rows. If you walked into my math classroom today, I have tables placed in groupings of four students each, but I don't have it this way because someone forced me to or because I felt like it was the latest trend. I have it this way because it works best for how I run my classroom. If you take anything away from this response, I hope that it is that you should arrange your seats in a way that best supports student learning in your classroom. Don't fret over the latest trends you see on Twitter or what the "cool" teacher is doing down the hallway. Focus on what helps students learn with your style of teaching, and as long as you have evidence to show it is working, you have a good seating arrangement in my book. Response From Rich Czyz
Rich Czyz is the author of The Four O'Clock Faculty: A ROGUE Guide to Revolutionizing Professional Development and the co-founder of the Four O'Clock Faculty Blog. He is currently an elementary principal in New Jersey and was a former 5th grade and basic-skills math teacher, as well as a curriculum supervisor and director of curriculum & instruction. Rich is passionate about engaging all stakeholders in meaningful and relevant learning opportunities:
The best seating arrangements are those that place students at the forefront of the decisionmaking process in terms of getting the most out of learning experiences. Learners (both students and teachers) should have the flexibility to make sure that the environment matches the learning experience. There also need to be seating options in meeting the needs of all students. These principles are most important when thinking about classroom design:

Start with tables.
Beg, borrow, or trade to (almost) get rid of student desks and use tables. They open up the classroo, and create a more collaborative setting for learners. Keep in mind that not all learners prefer to sit at a table, and that one or two students may still want that desk. Save just one or two desks for this reason.

Open, flexible seating works best.
Let learners choose where to sit depending on the task. Give them lots of options: big chairs, small chairs, no chairs, standing tables or desks, low tables... Any option is a good option. With modeling of flexible-seating expectations, students will become much more productive in the way they work in the classroom.

Go beyond the classroom.
Don't confine students using your four walls or your expectations for what a learning space looks like. Use hallways, nooks, crannies, outcoves, outside learning space... Anywhere that students learn best provide the best learning spaces. There should be no limits placed on how or where students learn.

Leave plenty of open space.
Many classrooms are full of motivational posters, information, and other "decorations" that actually hinder the learning process rather than help it. Keep in mind that learners need open space. Open space in terms of the floor plan will allow students to move furniture to match the learning activity. Open wall space (preferably writing space!) allows students to do their best work. Make the space as learner-centered and learner-friendly as possible.

Simple fixes go a long way. Any changes you make to your learning environment don't have to be drastic or cost a great deal of money. One of the easiest improvements you can make in your classroom involves raising or lowering table legs to create standing tables or floor tables (Students sit on cushions or mats on the floor). Consider simple fixes like moving furniture or getting rid of a teacher desk to create more space. Not every fix needs to involve spending money or putting forth a great deal of effort.

Keep in mind that the best seating arrangements in classrooms honor the learner! Always consider the purpose of your design. Ask yourself, what am I trying to accomplish and how can the classroom design and organization help me reach that goal? Response From Tan Huynh I'm less concerned with how seats are arranged in a class than with how students are interacting with each other. Just as students don't interact in only one way, no single seating arrangement will work for every lesson. Instead, there's dynamic seating. Dynamic seating means moving the furniture to align with a learning activity and setting up the kind of student interaction we want. Sometimes, we require rows for testing while other times we need small groups for interacting. Dynamic seating allows for the class to change shape so that students can collaborate with each other or work individually. It allows for whole-group or small-group instruction. In primary classrooms that follow the dynamic-seating principle, we often see different zones-each zone used for a particular learning activity. Zones are often marked by clusters of tables or rugs and partitioned by bookshelves or easels. In secondary classrooms with dynamic seating, seats are moved from rows into small groups. Students can easily arrange even awkward dairs (desks attached to chairs) so that they can both easily interact with each other and quickly turn to face the board during direct instruction. The layout of the dairs is extremely adaptable: It can facilitate either direct instruction or student collaboration, whatever you need. The opposite of a dynamic arrangement is a static arrangement, which means that regardless of the activity, the seating stays the same. In static classes, students spend most of their time in rows facing the board and listening to the teacher. Only a fraction of the time is spent interacting with other students-if any. Also, there are no zones for different types of activities. This is not ideal. Our room is like a lesson plan. If we differentiate lessons for students, then we should also differentiate where students sit. If we design student-centered lessons, then we should also design seating arrangements that maximize learning.

Image by Tan Huynh
Response From Mark J. Westpfahl
Mark J. Westpfahl is a two-time Minnesota teacher of the year semifinalist and serves on the board of directors for the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies. He is a former member of the Inver Grove Heights board of education and is in his 10th year of teaching in the Saint Paul public schools:
In the early stages of my teaching career, my room looked like your average classroom with traditional desks. But I rarely kept the desks aligned in perfectly spaced rows, as it always felt like I was taking the easy way out. Instead, I would arrange the desks into different configurations. Sometimes, I did this just because I didn't want my room to be a stagnant place that didn't draw inspiration and other times, I strategically redesigned the room to correlate with a lesson or activity that we were doing. While I did appreciate that the desks and chairs could be arranged in numerous configurations, I started to run into a larger problem. The desks and chairs were starting to fall into disrepair. When I would bring this up to my administration and custodial team, I was repeatedly told that there was nothing that could be done, as the district did not have replacement desks/chairs and there was no budget for new ones. I had students that were sitting on the countertops and on our floor (which desperately needed a carpet replacement) because I had several classes with more than 40 students and only 33 functioning desks. I had researched the flex-seating trend for several months and decided that I needed to take matters into my own hands. After spending numerous hours online looking for potential furniture pieces that would provide style and comfort for my students, I realized that my vision to transform my room may be unrealistic. I started to ask students what they wanted in how a classroom should be designed. Overwhelmingly, they said they wanted seats that were not hard as a rock. Many suggested a loungelike area that had soft and comfortable eating like a Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, a doctor's office, or a library on a college campus. Toward the end of the 2016-17 school year, the Minnesota state Capitol was undergoing a renovation, and hundreds of pieces of furniture from the building were being auctioned off. I thought it would be cool to have comfortable AND historic seats! So, I created a Go Fund Me campaign to raise approximately $250 so I could purchase some of the historic furniture I could put in my classroom. I was stoked! With nine days left in the school year, I brought in the new furniture. My students were excited, and that was all the motivation I needed to go bigger! I created another fundraiser and received nearly $3,500 to completely transform the room. I purchased desks and end tables that had power outlets and USB ports so students could always be plugged in while in the classroom, another thing that students had requested. I knew I wanted window seating overlooking our beautiful atrium, so I decided that I needed to custom build that. The end result has been something my students have enjoyed. The #CHCougars #flexseating #learninglounge is a place where my students can learn about history in comfort, while actually sitting on historic furniture! Here are some video tours of what the classroom looks like at the beginning of each new quarter:

We're #backtoschool today. It's the delayed start to the 3rd quarter in our newly rearranged #CHCougars #flexseating #learninglounge. No graveyard-style seating in this room! Historic @mncapitol furniture, Metrodome seats & education learning trunks. Oh, and an outhouse! 😎 pic.twitter.com/0BWn6Degbw

-- Mark J. Westpfahl (@MarkJWestpfahl) February 1, 2019

It's finally ready! Come take a tour of our #flexseating #learninglounge. I can't wait to kick off the new year on Tuesday. #CHCougars @SPPS_News #cozyclassroom #flexibleseating #learningspaces #studentchoice #comfort #education #edchat #sschat #firstdayofschool @EducationMN pic.twitter.com/WhCEWXS6eM

-- Mark J. Westpfahl (@MarkJWestpfahl) August 31, 2018

Thanks to Madeline, Jennifer, Rich, Tan, and Mark for their contributions.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It's titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.
Just a reminder;you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And if you missed any of the highlights from the first seven years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. The list doesn't include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the "answers" category found in the sidebar. Look for Part Two in a few days.

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Response: 'The Best Classroom Seating Puts Students in Charge of Their Space' (Opinion)

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The new question-of-the-week is: What are the best classroom seating arrangements? Figuring out seating arrangements is one of the most important decisions we teachers have to make-not only about which student sits where but also to help create the kind of learning environment we want for our students.

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Using Formative Assessment to Enhance Learning, Achievement, and Academic Self-Regulation

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Using Formative Assessment to Enhance Learning, Achievement, and Academic Self-Regulation

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Heidi L. Andrade and Margaret Heritage

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Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables, and Boxes

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction to Formative Assessment

Overview

What About Grading?

Three Guiding Questions

Formative Assessment Influences Learning through Feedback

Formative Assessment and Self-Regulated Learning

Classroom Culture and Formative Assessment

Chapter 2: Actionable Principles of Formative Assessment

Overview

Middle School Classroom

Elementary Mathematics Lesson

Diagnostic Items

Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation

Chapter 3: Clear Learning Goals and Criteria

Overview

Learning Goals Derived From Standards

Learning Goals Derived From Learning Progressions

Performance and Product Criteria

Performance Criteria

Product Criteria

Checklists

Rubrics

Goals, Criteria, and Self-Regulation

Co-Constructing Criteria With Students

Chapter 4: Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning

Overview

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence as Students Work

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Diagnostic Items

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Parallel Tests

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning With Technology

Researcher-Developed Tools

Online Assessment Response Tools

Evidence Quality

Validity in Formative Assessment

Reliability in Formative Assessment

Fairness in Formative Assessment

Using the Evidence

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Themselves: Student Self-Assessment

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Peers

Student Interpretations of Feedback

Chapter 5: Taking Action

Overview

Teachers Taking Action

Continue With the Lesson as Planned

Make Immediate Instructional Adjustments

Modeling

Prompting

Questioning

Telling

Explaining

Directing

Providing Feedback

Make Plans for Subsequent Lessons

Students Taking Action: Assessment Strategies That Prompt Corrections, Rethinking, and Revisions Connected to Learning Goals and Success Criteria

Summing Up and Moving Forward

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Using Formative Assessment to Enhance Learning, Achievement, and Academic Self-Regulation

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There is convincing evidence that carefully applied classroom assessments can promote student learning and academic self-regulation. These assessments include, but are not limited to, conversations with students, diagnostic test items, and co-created rubrics used to guide feedback for students themselves and their peers.

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Story Workshop: New Possibilities for Young Writers

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Story Workshop: New Possibilities for Young Writers

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Susan Harris MacKay

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Even our youngest students have lots of stories to tell, whether real or imagined. How can we create entry points for writing, so that all writers feel confident and motivated to share their stories? How can we establish a classroom community of beginning writers where equity, empathy, and compassion become part of the process and vital by-products of story writing?

Enter story workshop, a structure for early literacy that amplifies the relationship between play, art, and writing. Children develop ideas and stories through choices of art materials. By creating images through play, story workshop invites children to explore the "amazingness" (Nisa, age 10) of their ideas in a variety of art forms. "Through their stories," Susan writes, "students share the meaning they make of their experiences in the world." Children in every classroom environment feel empowered to transition from play to pencil as they add words to their stories.

Story Workshop includes an abundance of classroom videos, photos, and student samples that illustrate what is possible when children use words, colors, textures, shapes and all kinds of materials to create the stories they want to tell. Watch how students' imaginations soar, their love of writing blossoms, and their connections with one another become the focal point of your classroom.

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How to create entry points for beginning writers by amplifying the relationship between play, art, and writing. - Heinemann

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Sample Section of G3 Checklist: Conceptual Understandings

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Sample Section of G3 Checklist: Conceptual Understandings

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EKC

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G3_ Patterns, Theories, and Predictions Section of Checklist

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EKC

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A treasure trove of ideas!

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Irene Fountas (2015)

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Lesley University Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

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Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

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More on Text Levels: Confronting the Issues

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by Irene Fountas, Author and Director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative at Lesley University In response to the many comments the blog has received this week on the Text Levels- Tool or Trouble blog post: You have shared many important thoughts on the topic of text levels.

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Some Authentic Reasons to Write About Reading...

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Some Authentic Reasons to Write About Reading...

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Katie Clements (2019)

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Why I Write About Reading - Clements (2019)

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What Are the Best Classroom Seating Arrangements? (Part 2)

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What Are the Best Classroom Seating Arrangements? (Part 2)

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EdWeek (2019)

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What are the best classroom seating arrangements?
In Part One, Jennifer Orr, Madeline Whitaker Good, Rich Czyz, Tan Huynh, and Mark J. Westpfahl contribute their ideas. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Madeline, Jennifer, and Rich on my BAM! Radio Show. You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

Today, Amber Chandler, Heather Stinson, Serena Pariser, Christine Hertz, Kristi Mraz, Ron Nash, Bradley Witzel, and Leila Ansari Ricci share their answers. I've also included comments from readers.
Response From Amber Chandler
Amber Chandler is a national-board-certified 8th grade ELA teacher and the author of The Flexible ELA Classroom and The Flexible SEL Classroom. She's the president of her district teachers' union, and she is a columnist for ShareMyLesson and American Middle Level Educator:
My grand experiment over the last few years has been to move from traditional to flexible seating, and shift my focus to individualized learning. The seating idea came from the needs of my students, in that as I moved away from the typical "school" experience, I needed more flexible workspaces to allow my students to spread out, create, and collaborate. Last year ,I received an "SEL in Action" grant from the NoVo Foundation to implement seating changes based on my hunch that the social, emotional, and academic needs of my students would best be served by creating a space that is more conducive to the type of learning that I wanted: experiential and social. I bought beanbag chairs, standing desks, comfy throw pillows, rugs, shortened tables, and yoga balls. Students loved it, and my classroom was the talk of the 8th grade. I had made videos with my daughter of "what not to do," to minimize the craziness that comes from giving students you've never met a seating arrangement that they would not have fathomed for the last year of their middle school experience. Students chose their seats about half the time, and I used numbers and "squads" for strategic grouping options. All in all, the grand experiment seemed to be going well. That is, until around the middle of our second quarter-once everyone was used to our setup, knew what they liked and didn't, and was no longer impressed just to be there. Around this time, I noticed that my squads (stations) were always messy. The picture-perfect organization systems I had were breaking down. I'd find myself irritated when a gaming chair from squad one was found in squad six. I actually got irritated. The yoga balls seemed to never be where they were supposed to be. How ungrateful could they be, I thought. Here I am trying my best to meet their needs, and yet they couldn't follow the simple directions that seemed quite a bit like the "clean up" song from elementary school. I was really contemplating some sort of refresher course on the seating situation when it dawned on me what was happening. The best classroom seating arrangements are the ones that work for students. When a gaming chair was moved from one part of the room to another, my students were actually making decisions about how they learned best-and I can't argue with the results. My students did really well this year, and despite the fact that my orderly-teacher-nature prickles at the constant shifting of stations, the fluid arrangements that students make from day to day to meet their needs is EXACTLY what I'd hoped would happen. The thing is, when students are in charge of their own learning, when they have a say in how they learn, and when they are trusted to exercise good judgment, awesome things can happen. There is one guarantee though: The best classroom seating arrangements are not those designed by the teacher but rather the ones designed by the students. This year, as I went into year two of the flexible-seating experiment, I kept this new lesson in mind. I started the year the same way, but there was a new step in my directions. At the end of each class, I announce that it is time to "reset" the room, putting the furniture back in the squads where it came from. The necessity to "reset" is one of safety in general, but more specifically, it helps preserve my sanity. Though the seating stretches my students in great ways, allowing them to own some of their decisions, it also stretches me. I've taught for almost 20 years, and in that time, I ended class by saying, "Have a good day. Push in your chairs" for most of them. Now, I put on an upbeat song, announce the "reset," and mingle with my students. Response From Heather Stinson
Heather Stinson (CAGS, MED, S/LP-A) received her master's degree in education of the deaf from Smith College in 2006 and a graduate certificate in children, families, and schools (with a concentration in research methodology) from the University of Massachusetts in 2012. In addition to her many years of experience working with children with hearing loss who communicate using listening and spoken language, Heather has also worked as a preschool classroom teacher. She has presented both locally and nationally on issues related to mainstreaming students with hearing loss and is a contributing author to Odyssey magazine. Heather currently works as an itinerant teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech:
For students with hearing loss who use assistive technology such as cochlear implants or hearing aids to access spoken language, preferential seating is often an accommodation noted in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan. While front and center may seem like the most logical placement, this seat does not necessarily ensure optimal visual and auditory access. Often in early-childhood classrooms, students are seated at several small tables or in desk clusters with other children. The student with hearing loss should be seated on an end facing in toward the rest of the room to encourage visual attention to the teacher, classmates, and the lesson being presented. Horseshoe arrangements in elementary school allow for the student with hearing loss to see the faces of classmates during whole-group discussions, especially when seated on one of the sides of the horseshoe. This visual access helps with speech reading and nonverbal-communication cues. The student with hearing loss should also be seated away from sources of noise (e.g., electric pencil sharpeners, HVAC systems) for improved auditory access. When desks are arranged in rows, as in many junior high and high school classrooms, seating the student with hearing loss on a side in the second row gives them the opportunity to turn to face the person who is speaking without having to completely pivot and also provides the chance to confirm that they heard directions correctly by watching the peer seated in front of them. When students have a unilateral (one-sided) hearing loss, they should be seated so that the "good ear" is facing the desired sound source (e.g., classmates, the teacher) and away from sources of noise. Additional factors that affect access and should be considered when designing seating arrangements include glare on white boards from projectors or windows, shadows which inhibit speech reading when lights are turned off, particularly noisy classmates, and uncontrollable noise such as that from lawnmowers outside. Some of the most successful seating arrangements are created when teachers collaborate with the student with hearing loss. While younger students may not know exactly what they need to access curriculum and discussions in the classroom, many older students can talk about what has worked (or not worked) in the past. With some careful planning around seating arrangements, we can maximize access for students with hearing loss in mainstream classrooms! Response From Serena Pariser
Serena Pariser is the author ofReal Talk About Classroom Management (Corwin, 2018). She teaches graduate classes on classroom management at the University of San Diego. She works as the assistant director of field placement for student-teachers at USD:
The tool of a purposeful seating chart can and will help your classroom management and improve the academic abilities of the class. With a purposeful seating chart, even with a challenging curriculum, students will always be in close proximity to those who can help them. Making a purposeful seating chart is much more than breaking up students who "shouldn't sit together." It requires looking at the students' academic abilities, learning disabilities, language barriers, and then making a chart from there. A seating chart is most effective if made in the first week of school. Groups of 4-6 students work best for collaboration. I like to have the desks arranged in groups so there isn't anybody who has to turn their chair around to face the teacher. There are many creative ways to do this. I find that making every collaborative group of 4-6 students heterogeneous in skills level helps keep the momentum of learning going in our classroom. Students have to collaborate with each other. In addition to spreading out the students with IEP's, English-language learners, GATE, and Gen. Ed. students, I add another layer to an effective seating chart. I usually wait two days before making the seating chart to pick out the happy students who raise their hands often in the classroom. Happy students will reveal themselves fast, so usually I can spot them by Day 2. I'll stick one happy student dead center in the front and one dead center in the back. This keeps the class happy. You want the students who smile, respect and help others with their words and actions, and eagerly raise their hands to become the natural leaders in each class. You can make this happen. Response From Christine Hertz & Kristi Mraz
Christine Hertz & Kristi Mraz are the authors of Kids First From Day One. You can find out more and reach out to them at christinehertz.com and kristimraz.com:
Think about the last time you needed to get some writing done or pay your bills or plan your lessons. Chances are, where you did these tasks had a direct impact on how efficiently and how enjoyably these tasks were completed. Christine loves to write on her couch in the morning, but in the afternoon, it leads to an accidental nap 9 times out of t0. The same is true for the children in your classroom. Where they read, write, solve math problems, collaborate with other students, and play relates directly to their engagement with the learning at hand. The best classroom seating arrangements are spaces and seats that best meet the needs of the students. There's quite a bit of buzz these days about the term "flexible seating." But what exactly is flexible seating? Teaching and learning in an environment with flexible seating means that there are a variety of options of work spaces for students (think kneeling-height tables, standing-height countertops, cheap throw pillows on the ground, chairs at a table.) You might be thinking, whoa! No assigned seats for every student!? And, yes, that's the case. At the beginning of the year, just as you thoughtfully introduce the routines that make up your reading block or your math workshop, you'll teach your students about all of the different learning spaces in the classroom, and the advantages and limitations to each space. You'll act as a guide or a coach to help your students determine which spaces work well for them at which point in the day. Adding flexibility to your seating arrangements presents an opportunity for students to take agency over their learning and to choose where they want to work, based on why that space works for them. Because children, like all of us, are creatures of habit, you'll find that they quickly settle into a favorite spot to read day after day, or gather with a particular group of writers, or seek out spaces where they can be on their own. Incorporating a more flexible approach to seating can, at first, illicit some feelings of unease among teachers. We've been there! When we first tried flexible seating in our classrooms, we had visions of utter chaos running through our heads. But by letting go of some of that control, we were able to see how truly transformative this was for our classrooms and our students. A few weeks after introducing the new routines, we each looked around our classrooms and saw learners standing, kneeling, curled up on a pillow, stretched out on a rug, grouped together at a table-all engaged and working in seats that best met their needs. Response From Ron Nash Classrooms should be set up for learning, not for cleaning. One elementary teacher looked at her classroom and decided every bit of space would be dedicated to students, not to her. She got rid of file cabinets and her own teacher's desk, adding every kind of furniture imaginable: beanbags, exercise balls, stools, tall tables, low tables, rugs, and chairs of every description. Today's Gen Z students like and demand choice (consider the choices they have when contemplating screens of many sizes at home), and this teacher created an agile classroom where some students can work independently, others collaboratively, as they stand, sit, or arrange themselves on cushions or rugs. Hers is a classroom environment that is perfect for her 2nd and 3rd graders. My first classroom had 30 student desks in six straight rows, five desks deep. I had a piece of duct tape marking the exact place where the front right desk leg should be at all times. Such regimentation (well, maybe not quite that regimented) was common in an industrial age that valued compliance and control above all else. Agility in a classroom setting was not as important as rigidity. Classrooms all over the world are being reimagined to serve a generation of students who expect and demand choice and who do not function well in classroom configurations passed down from antiquity-or at least from the last century. Response From Bradley Witzel
Classrooms around the country, especially at the secondary level, are still arranged in a 19th-century model, with straight rows facing the front. This kind of standard arrangement is great for the custodians, but it doesn't lend itself to student interaction, including face-to-face conversations that improve skill sets related to communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. For teachers with typical student desks (single, welded units) or desks with detached chairs, I have found that opening a large area for movement in the middle of the room allows for standing pair shares and quartets without the furniture getting in the way. Desks can be arranged in quads around the perimeter of the classroom to create that open space. The best seating arrangement depends on the content of the lesson, the intention of the lesson, the students' knowledge, and the students' behavior. Some content lends itself better to small groups, half class, small intervention groups, etc. Problem-solve a class seating arrangement based on the content, student needs, interaction needed for lesson completion, technology included, and the space provided. For example, in a class that plans a teacher-directed lecture, then rows may be appropriate. In most cases, however, a lecture includes some amount of paired work and partner checks so pairing desks in partners or triads should be considered. If a lesson calls for many opportunities and demands for students to talk and share with the whole class, then a semicircle or horseshoe setup would be appropriate. If teamwork or group assignments are included, then small groups of the appropriate number would help with the group dynamic. Station teaching allows for a mixed seating arrangement where students may be separated in some groups for independent practice, grouped together for a team problem-solving activity, and in a semi-ircle for teacher modeling all within the room. Likewise, if an administration sets an initiative for a type of instruction that is desired, then appropriate and targeted professional development would help with the initiative. For example, if an administration team is encouraging student interactions across a school, then modeling how to work with groups of students seated in groups of three or four would help prepare teachers to support the initiative. My advice is that there is no best classroom seating arrangement. It all depends on what students are learning and doing for a particular lesson. The best classroom seating arrangements are those that maximize learning for all students, which means seating should vary based on instructional objectives and tasks. Too often, I have walked into classrooms with students seated in individual rows facing forward toward the front of the room. While convenient for the teacher, this does not allow for much group work and student interaction. We want our students to be actively involved learners! When designing your classroom environment, always consider which seating arrangement will make learning more accessible and engaging for all students. For most students, collaborative group work enlists active participation and deeper engagement in lessons. This can be more readily achieved in pods of three to five seats or tables that seat four students. This type of classroom seating also allows the teacher to scan and circulate around the room to check for student understanding and give individual feedback with greater proximity to students. Not surprisingly, this seating arrangement is best-suited for teachers who want to be guides of their students' learning and meaning making, rather than the sage on the stage lecturing to rows of students. It also sets up students for considering themselves a community of learners rather than isolated individuals. Pods or tables of four or so ensure that there aren't always a few students in the back, disengaged from teacher-led instruction at the front of the room. Also consider U-shaped seating with outer and inner rings to encourage student discussions, such as in the fishbowl technique. Make the most of your seating arrangement rather than letting convenience or logistics limit your design of your classroom. Enlist the support of administrators if necessary. More considerations for classroom seating include:

Universally design your classroom arrangement, meaning arrange the seats in ways that will support multiple means of input, engagement, and demonstration of learning by students;

Regroup students often, so that the same students are not always seated in the same space. To make this more efficient, create posters of different seating arrangements to show students how to reconfigure the room (Murawski, 2010). Then set a timer and ask the students to rearrange the seats before time's up;

Consider students with special needs when setting up your classroom seating arrangement. Who needs preferential seating? Who needs teacher proximity for positive behavior support? Who will benefit from a particular peer buddy during group work?;

Consider co-teaching! Often, both general educators and special educators have their own classroom space on campus. If you are co-teaching together, you can have double the space for creative seating. As long as it is not always one teacher or the same teacher who utilizes a room, and heterogeneous groups of students share both spaces, this additional classroom space can boost teacher creativity and maximize student learning.

Now, doesn't that sound less boring than individual rows of students? Responses From Readers
Neil Howie: Seating - in my classrooms the students choose where they would like to sit. BUT I make them aware that this is with my consent, AND it is a privilege I have given them NOT a right. I want my students to choose, but to also realize that with this choice comes responsibilities and basic rules. Behave as a good student I have no issues with two known naughty students sitting together, for example, but I will not hesitate to split said students up if they can't behave like good students. All are aware of my simple rules, very few break them.
IF they misbehave/annoy me/stop others learning, then I will decide where they will sit - usually away from their friends and by themselves.
Bradley Witzel, Ph.D., is an award-winning teacher and researcher who works as a full professor and program director of the MEd in Intervention at Winthrop University. Dr. Witzel has authored 10 books and delivered nearly 500 presentations on strategies for students with academic needs:
Just a reminder;you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And if you missed any of the highlights from the first seven years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. The list doesn't include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the "answers" category found in the sidebar. Look for the next question-of-the-week in a few days.
Thanks to Amber, Heather, Serena, Christine, Kristi, Ron, Bradley, and Leila, and to readers, for their contributions.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It's titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.

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Response: 'Classrooms Should Be Set Up for Learning, Not for Cleaning' (Opinion)

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The new question-of-the-week is: What are the best classroom seating arrangements? In Part One, Jennifer Orr, Madeline Whitaker Good, Rich Czyz, Tan Huynh, and Mark J. Westpfahl contribute their ideas. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Madeline, Jennifer, and Rich on my BAM! Radio Show.

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Patrick Griffin

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Assessment for Teaching [Griffin, Patrick] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Assessment for Teaching

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Twitter: @mrs_gilchrist
Blog: tonyagilchrist.com
Email: tonya@erinkentconsulting.com
Website: erinkentconsulting.com

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Margie Carter

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Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners

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Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners

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EKC Connections: Interview with Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld

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A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

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A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

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Fountas & Pinnell (2016)

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It's hard enough to be a kid. They have lots of things to worry about: parents, friends, sports, grades, etc. Reading can be an escape from those worries, just like it is for adults; it's a way to relax and plunge yourself into someone else's world for a little while. But what happens when a child finds out that they're not reading on the "same level" as the other children? What does that even mean to them? It's not good, they know that. Reading has now become another worry to add to the pile of worries.

Trying to climb the "level ladder" is not what reading is about. It should be about enjoyment and discovery. Focusing too much on text levels can cause problems. Fountas and Pinnell created the F&P Text Level Gradient ™ to be used as a teacher's tool for assessment and instruction. The levels aren't meant to be shared with the children or parents.

Help Students Build Self-Esteem and Love of Reading

"It is detrimental to a student's self-esteem and to their love of reading when they are encouraged to measure their own progress by 'moving up levels,'" (Fountas and Pinnell 2017). Students should not use levels to compare themselves with others or to compete. This is counterintuitive to building a classroom community where each student is respected; has a sense of agency; values collaboration over competition; and grows up seeing themselves as literate.

Make "Choice" Authentic

Telling students to choose by "level" is not an authentic way to select books to read independently. That isn't how I choose a book as an adult. In fact, I really love reading high fantasy, young adult books with a romantic twist. Can I read War and Peace? Sure, but I devour those YA novels like candy and that's what we want students to do: get them to a point where they need to read every day; they yearn for it. As much as possible, strive for them to choose books in a way that all readers do-books that interest and engage them.

Advocate for the Appropriate Use of Levels in Your School

Fountas and Pinnell believe very strongly that students' reading levels have no place in teacher evaluation or on report cards to be sent home to parents. Too much emphasis on levels can lead to misconceptions on the part of families. Informing parents of the level at which their child is reading can make them uneasy. They may see the level as a very exact
measurement, but students don't always read at a precise level. Parents also talk with other parents, and if they find that their child is reading at a lower level than other children, they might panic. But they don't understand the intricacies of how those levels work the way you do.

Levels can be a resource for you and your colleagues to guide student choices for independent reading, but they should not be a limitation or a requirement. Leveled books are instructional tools for teachers who understand them-nothing more. Above all else, a level is a teacher's tool, not a child's label.

Jill Backman, Fountas & Pinnell Marketing Manager

Join the fastest growing community in the field of literacy education. Get your free membership and stay up to date on the latest news and resources from Fountas and Pinnell at www.fountasandpinnell.com

Join the Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ Facebook Learning Group for more collaborative conversation at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FountasPinnell/

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A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

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It's hard enough to be a kid. They have lots of things to worry about: parents, friends, sports, grades, etc. Reading can be an escape from those worries, just like it is for adults; it's a way to relax and plunge yourself into someone else's world for a little while.

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Harvey, Ward, Hoddinott, and Carroll (2021)

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Intervention Reinvention - Reading Logs 

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Christine Hertz and Kristine Mraz

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As teachers, we often spend the summer thinking and fantasizing about how our classroom will look. Then, we arrive, and somehow it is much smaller and there is much more furniture than we thought. Don't lose hope! The journey to a beautiful, functional classroom gets messy before it gets clean. Setting up our classroom furniture might seem haphazard at first, but each decision we make has a significant impact on how our community interacts, functions, and thrives.

The spaces we create affect where and how children gather and work, how twenty-plus bodies flow (or don't!) from one area to another, and how children see themselves as agents of their own learning. Our goal should be to create a classroom where it's clear to children what they can do as opposed to needing to tell them what they cannot do.

No matter what the physical shell of your classroom might look like, you have the opportunity and potential to turn any space into an environment that reflects what you value. Not only does your classroom environment reflect what you and your class value as a community, but it also has the power to shape your community's values. From the layout of the furniture to the feel of the room, from the materials you provide to the way your space evolves in response to your students, the environment itself can drive learning and community building.

***

Learn more about Kids First From Day One at Heinemann.com

Christine Hertz is coauthor of the Heinemann titles Kids First from Day One and A Mindset for Learning. She finds great joy and challenge in helping all children grow as independent and engaged students. She is passionate about keeping play and creativity at the center of children's lives and curiosity and wonder at the heart of learning. Christine has taught in a wide variety of classrooms from preschool to fourth grade and as an adjunct instructor of education courses. She currently teaches in Worcester, Vermont. You can follow her on Twitter @christine_hertz or visit her web site at christinehertz.com

Kristine Mraz is coauthor-with Christine Hertz-of the new Kids First from Day One, which provides a practical blueprint for increasing the child-centeredness of your teaching practice. She and Christine previously teamed up for the bestselling A Mindset for Learning (coauthored with Christine Hertz), which provides practical and powerful strategies for cultivating optimism, flexibility, and empathy alongside traditional academic skills. Kristi teaches Kindergarten in the New York City Public schools. In addition to writing and teaching, she consults in schools across the country and as far away as Taiwan. She primarily supports teachers in early literacy, play, and inquiry based learning. You can follow all of her adventures on twitter @MrazKristine or on her blog kinderconfidential.wordpress.com

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As teachers, we often spend the summer thinking and fantasizing about how our classroom will look. Then, we arrive, and somehow it is much smaller and there is much more furniture than we thought. Don't lose hope! The journey to a beautiful, functional classroom gets messy before it gets clean.

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Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

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Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

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Edited by Dale H. Schunk and Jeffrey A. Greene

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Table of Contents

Contents

1. Historical, Contemporary, and Future Perspectives on Self-Regulated Learning and Performance

Dale H. Schunk and Jeffrey A. Greene

Section I. Basic Domains of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

2. Social Cognitive Theoretical Perspective of Self-Regulation

Ellen L. Usher and Dale H. Schunk

3. Cognition and Metacognition Within Self-Regulated Learning

Philip H. Winne

4. Developmental Trajectories of Skills and Abilities Relevant for Self-Regulation of

Learning and Performance

Rick H. Hoyle and Amy L. Dent

5. Motivation and Affect in Self-Regulated Learning: Does Metacognition Play a Role?

Anastasia Efklides, Bennett L. Schwartz, and Victoria Brown

6. Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation and Shared Regulation in Collaborative Learning Environments

Allyson Hadwin, Sanna Järvelä, and Mariel Miller

Section II. Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance in Context

7. Metacognitive Pedagogies in Mathematics Classrooms: From Kindergarten to College and Beyond

Zemira R. Mevarech, Lieven Verschaffel, and Erik De Corte

8. Self-Regulated Learning in Reading

Keith W. Thiede and Anique B. H. de Bruin

9. Self-Regulation and Writing

Steve Graham, Karen R. Harris, Charles MacArthur, and Tanya Santangelo

10. The Self-Regulation of Learning and Conceptual Change in Science: Research,

Theory, and Educational Applications

Gale M. Sinatra and Gita Taasoobshirazi

11. Using Technology-Rich Environments to Foster Self-Regulated Learning in the Social Studies

Eric G. Poitras and Susanne P. Lajoie

12. Self-Regulated Learning in Music Practice and Performance

Gary E. McPherson, Peter Miksza, and Paul Evans

13. Self-Regulation in Athletes: A Social Cognitive Perspective

Anastasia Kitsantas, Maria Kavussanu, Deborah B. Corbatto, and Pepijn K. C. van de Pol

14. Self-Regulation: An Integral Part of Standards-Based Education

Marie C. White and Maria K. DiBenedetto

15. Teachers as Agents in Promoting Students' SRL and Performance: Applications

for Teachers' Dual-Role Training Program

Bracha Kramarski

Section III. Technology and Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

16. Emerging Classroom Technology: Using Self-Regulation Principles as a Guide for Effective Implementation

Daniel C. Moos

17. Understanding and Reasoning About Real-Time Cognitive, Affective, and

Metacognitive Processes to Foster Self-Regulation With Advanced Learning Technologies

Roger Azevedo, Michelle Taub, and Nicholas V. Mudrick

18. The Role of Self-Regulated Learning in Digital Games

John L. Nietfeld

19. Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments

Peter Reimann and Maria Bannert

Section IV. Methodology and Assessment of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

20. Validity and the Use of Self-Report Questionnaires to Assess Self-Regulated Learning

Christopher A. Wolters and Sungjun Won

21. Capturing and Modeling Self-Regulated Learning Using Think-Aloud Protocols

Jeffrey A. Greene, Victor M. Deekens, Dana Z. Copeland, and Seung Yu

22. Assessing Self-Regulated Learning Using Microanalytic Methods

Timothy J. Cleary and Gregory L. Callan

23. Advancing Research and Practice About Self-Regulated Learning: The Promise of In-Depth Case Study Methodologies

Deborah L. Butler and Sylvie C. Cartier

24. Examining the Cyclical, Loosely Sequenced, and Contingent Features of Self-Regulated Learning: Trace Data and Their Analysis

Matthew L. Bernacki

25. Data Mining Methods for Assessing Self-Regulated Learning

Gautam Biswas, Ryan S. Baker, and Luc Paquette

Section V. Individual and Group Differences in Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

26. Calibration of Performance and Academic Delay of Gratification: Individual and Group Differences in Self-Regulation of Learning

Peggy P. Chen and Héfer Bembenutty

27. Academic Help Seeking as a Self-Regulated Learning Strategy: Current Issues, Future Directions

Stuart A. Karabenick and Eleftheria N. Gonida

28. The Three Faces of Epistemic Thinking in Self-Regulated Learning

Krista R. Muis and Cara Singh

29. Advances in Understanding Young Children's Self-Regulation of Learning

Nancy E. Perry, Lynda R. Hutchinson, Nikki Yee, and Elina Määttä

30. Self-Regulation: Implications for Individuals With Special Needs

Linda H. Mason and Robert Reid

31. Culture and Self-Regulation in Educational Contexts

Dennis M. McInerney and Ronnel B. King

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Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

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The second edition of the popular Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance responds to and incorporates the wealth of new research that the first edition inspired on the subject. At the same time, it advances meaningful perspectives on the scholarship and history that originally shaped the field.

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EKC

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Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers

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Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers

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School Library Journal (2017)

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Leveled reading systems are popular in many school districts but are they doing more harm than good?

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Crystal Godsiff (2020)

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Have you ever heard of Netflix episode logs? No? That's probably because I just made it up. It's like a reading log, but for Netflix shows. How many teachers do you know that use reading logs to keep track of what students are reading? This may surprise some of you who are parents but there are lots of articles and research here and there about how it kills the love of reading. So...

How I accidentally discovered episode logs

I'm tired of my kids non-stop Netflix binge-watching episodes on the weekends. I'm sure there are some parents reading this judging me as they have never just given up and let their kid watch hours of online streaming. But I don't care. It's a bloody pandemic. And I am exhausted.

(Full disclosure: our kids probably watched too much Netflix before this pandemic but I digress.)

Today I just had it and decided that they could watch for as long as they wanted but with one stipulation. I told them that after every episode they could watch another only if they wrote down the title, the episode, and how long the show lasted.

Our son only made it to the second episode. What? That actually worked? Amazing! He said and I quote, "I don't want to watch any more shows because I don't want to write it down so maybe I'm going to ride my bike or play with my cars." What did I think would happen? Honestly, I thought it would just slow them down a little, give their eyes a break from the screen, but not get them to stop completely.

Our daughter quit after three episodes to bake cookies! And then did the dishes. I know what you are thinking... 'I wish she would just stop rubbing it in. Her kids must be amazing unicorns or something.' Technically, only one of them is. But no! You have to try episode logs! And then let me know how it goes.

The unexpected educational benefits of episode logs

First, our son practiced writing his letters on his own and it's Saturday! Second, I now have a log of what shows they watched so I can go online in my spare time and research if these shows are even age-appropriate. But let's be honest... I probably won't. Pandemic, remember? Lastly, our daughter warned me about her list, "I know this looks bad mom, but the titles are really long and I probably shouldn't watch too many." What? She is learning how to self-regulate?! Amazing.

"I'm learning how to spell new words too!"

"Oh really, like what?" I ask.

"Sorceress and exorcism..."

"Excuse me?!" She hands me her log of episodes.

"Gotta go!" she bolts.

"The dishes I used to bake the cookies won't wash themselves!" she shouts as she runs down stairs to the kitchen.

What the hell is she watching!? She is only nine. And she is about to wash the dishes without being asked? Am I being manipulated right now?

Troll Hunters: My daughter's first episode log...

So I'm dating a Sorceress - 23 minutes

The Exorcism of Claire Nunez - 23 minutes

Parental Guidance - 23 minutes

Creepslayerz - 23 minutes

Oh. My. Goodness. I totally deserve this.

- C

P.S If you are a parent struggling with how to keep your kids from watching too much Netflix, you should really try it. If you are a teacher, perhaps suggest it to parents. We need to be looking out for each other during this pandemic. And episode logs might just become a thing. Maybe they can even work for gaming too? Just no more reading logs, please! #episodelogs

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Parenting hack: episode logs - Messing up on Purpose

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Have you ever heard of Netflix episode logs? No? That's probably because I just made it up. It's like a reading log, but for Netflix shows. How many teachers do you know that use reading logs to keep track of what students are reading?

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Dr. Paul Napper and Dr. Anthony Rao

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Introducing The Power of Agency, a science-backed approach to living life on your own terms. Agency is the ability to act as an effective agent for yourself-reflecting, making creative choices, and constructing a meaningful life. Grounded in extensive psychological research, The Power of Agency gives you the tools to help alleviate anxiety, manage competing demands and help you live your version of success.

Renowned psychology experts Paul Napper and Anthony Rao will help you break through your state of overwhelm by showing you how to access your personal agency with seven empowering principles: control stimuli, associate selectively, move, position yourself as a learner, manage your emotions and beliefs, check your intuition, deliberate and then act.

Featuring stories of people who have successfully applied these principles to improve their lives, The Power of Agency will give you the insights and skills to build your confidence, conquer challenges, and live more authentically.

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The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms

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The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms - Kindle edition by Rao, Anthony . Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets.

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Honoring All Languages in Literacy Instruction

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Honoring All Languages in Literacy Instruction

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DisruptED TV

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Psychology Today (2017)

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Psychologists love to measure things, and perhaps nothing has been measured as much by psychologists as reading-both texts and readers. Multiple different instruments measuring text readability have been devised and used over the past century, as have multiple standardized tests of readers' abilities. Though their results are often first presented as numerical scores whose interpretation is difficult without a key, most instruments also translate these into more generally understood grade-level reading scores. These are typically reported as year-and-month scores; thus a book scoring at reading level 8.1 is said to be written at the early eighth-grade level, while a student scoring at reading level 4.6 is judged to be reading at the level of the average student in the sixth month of fourth grade. Two common reading level systems are exceptions to this: Fountas and Pinnell's Guided Reading program uses letters, from A to Z, while the increasingly popular Lexile leveling scheme rates both texts and readers from 0L to approximately 2000L (there is actually no upper limit). Both of these do, however, offer rough grade level conversion charts on their websites, here and here respectively.

However measured, reading levels can be a generally useful guide to whether a particular text is going to be far too difficult for a particular reader. For example, the student who scored at 4.6 on a recent, valid reading test will probably have significant difficulty reading and understanding that text at an 8.1 reading level.

Unfortunately, though, the ubiquity and precision with which these reading levels are now being tested and reported has led to their increasingly inappropriate use, especially in schools. For example, professional development materials accompanying the Common Core initiative instruct teachers to "match" texts to readers based on Lexile level, staying within a narrow range of only 50L above to 100L below each student's tested Lexile level. Most school reading incentive programs require students to read texts within a restricted range of their measured reading skill levels, either within the Lexile range just mentioned, or, if using another rating system, within five months of their measured reading levels. For example, that student who tested at 4.6 might only receive credit for reading books leveled from 4.1 to 5.1. Many schools now even restrict the books students can check out from the school library to those at such "appropriate" levels, and in some cases, parents are even being told to " concentrate on material within his or her Lexile range " when offering books to their children at home.

Such misguided policies and practices are based on three very prevalent myths about reading levels:
Myth #1: Each text has a discrete, accurately measurable reading level.
Because reading levels are often reported very precisely, one might think that measuring the readability of a text was an exact, agreed upon science. Nothing could be further from the truth. Almost all text level measures are based upon some combination of word difficulty (measured by number of letters, number of syllables, and/or frequency of use) and sentence complexity (measured by length in words and/or number of phrases). However, the specific formulas and differing emphases of various measures can result in very different reading levels for a single text.

Take, for example, the 2016 Newbery Medal book, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. The Lexile corporation rates this award-winning book for young teens at 640L, equivalent to somewhere between a 3rd and 5th grade reading level, according to their conversion tables. ATOS, the reading level system used by the Accelerated Reader program, rates it at reading level 4.8 (i.e., 4th grade, 8th month). Using the first 200 words from Chapter 2 of the book, the Free Readability Calculator results in the following range of levels, from seven more of the best known and respected readability scales, for exactly the same words from the same book:

Automated Readability Index: RL 5.6

The SMOG Index: RL 5.8

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: RL 5.8

Linsear Write Formula: RL 6.6

Dale-Chall Formula: RL 6.9

Gunning Fog Index: RL 7.6

The Coleman-Liau Index: RL 8.0

That readability scores for this book, based on well-accepted, research-based formulas, span more than three grade levels is not an unusual result; try it for yourself using 150 words or more from any text. And of course, none of these scales can measure how well the text is actually written-whether the author uses transitions effectively, provides rich descriptions, or explains things clearly, all of which certainly affect the readability of a text.
Myth #2: Each reader has a discrete, accurately measurable level of reading skill.
Tests of reading skill levels, even those that are carefully designed and commonly used, suffer from many of the same difficulties as measures of text readability, in that each uses differing contents and criteria for measuring reading ability.

Some use lists of common words at differing grade levels to judge decoding ability, while others require readers to pronounce a list of nonsense words as well. Some include measures of oral reading fluency and/or vocabulary, while others do not. Some tests ask readers to answer questions after reading a passage, while others measure comprehension through a CLOZE procedure in which readers are asked to supply missing words in a passage, and still others require readers to recall salient details of a text as a means of judging comprehension. Some tests are given by a trained psychologist, one-on-one, while others are given to groups of students in regular class settings. Some are timed, while others are not.

Even the very criterion for scoring "at" a certain reading level differs among tests, with some tests allowing readers to attempt all the test questions (or as many as they have time for), and then scoring based on the number of correct answers, while others subtract a certain percentage of incorrect answers from the number of correct answers before scoring, and still others arrive at a reading level by stopping the test after the reader has missed a certain set number of questions.

Not surprisingly, readers will often score quite differently on different reading tests.

In addition, while texts stay the same from day to day, readers do not. People's performance on many tasks, including reading tests, can be significantly affected by whether they are tired or well-rested, hungry or full, healthy or sick, distracted or focused, anxious or confident. Children are perhaps even more affected by such outer circumstances, since they lack the maturation and self-regulation skills that allow many adults to maintain more even performance levels in varying circumstances.

Myth #3: Readers should (almost always) read texts very near their reading level.

Given the margins of error implied by the variability in both text readability and reading skill measurement described above, the expectation that texts can be closely "matched" to readers' skill levels is clearly unfounded. The idea that texts should always be matched to readers' tested levels is equally problematic, for a number of reasons.

First, reading is an interactive process, so the difficulty or ease with which a particular reader can read a particular text depends in part on his or her prior knowledge related to the text and motivation for reading it.

Reading research has repeatedly demonstrated the effects of prior knowledge on reading comprehension; simply put, it is easier to read and understand texts that talk about things you already know a lot about. When readers have a good bit of prior knowledge on a topic, even difficult texts can be easier to read and understand because they can draw on their own knowledge to fill in any gaps in their comprehension. Conversely, many of us have experienced the effects of a lack of prior knowledge when first reading in an unfamiliar subject area, whether it is economics or art or environmental science. It is not so much that we cannot read or do not know the words in the texts, as it is that we don't have the background knowledge to make sense of what they say. Similarly, readers demonstrate higher "reading levels" in genres that are familiar to them. For example, a complex science fiction novel, very difficult to read for someone who rarely reads in that genre, may be considerably less difficult for a frequent science fiction reader, who is familiar with common science fiction conventions and story lines, and perhaps even with previous books by the same author.

Interest and motivation also great affect a reader's ability to read a text. An excellent example of this is the recent Harry Potter phenomenon, in which thousands of children as young as second grade read and enjoyed 300 and 400 page books written at fifth to seventh-grade reading levels, simply because they were fascinated by the magical world created by J.K. Rowling in her series. Most teachers can likewise recount stories of students like the struggling high school reader who tests at a fourth or fifth-grade reading level, but somehow manages to read and understand a motorcycle repair manual written at the tenth-grade level, because he wants to fix up his motorcycle. And of course, resources can be made available to help truly motivated readers read difficult texts, from dictionaries, online resources, and audio texts to the time-honored strategy of simply asking someone else, a teacher, parent, sibling, or friend, about the words you don't know. We might also point out here that most very early simple books (those with highly repetitive text) simply cannot give children a full sense of the joy of reading.

Also, there is good evidence for the benefits of reading texts both above and below one's official reading level. Reading easier texts can help novice readers, especially, gain fluency and confidence, and can develop readers' enjoyment of reading at all levels. Consider how many of us enjoy relaxing with a good romance or murder mystery that is well below our adult "reading level"! On the other hand, researchers are finding that challenging students to tackle more complex texts, while supporting them in their efforts to do so, leads to greater growth in reading than simply having them read texts at or just above their current reading levels.

Finally, full comprehension is not necessary for a reader to enjoy and benefit from a book. Certainly students should not be assigned and required to learn from a book that is significantly too difficult for them to read, but most of us, again, remember reading and enjoying in childhood books like The Secret Garden or A Christmas Carol or Captains Courageous without, at first, fully understanding the historical contexts or social issues involved. Indeed, it is often as we grow, and read and then reread such books, that we first gain a sense of history or start to value equality or self-reliance or charity, from stories and characters we have grown to love.
Some take-aways:
Reading levels should never be used to limit the texts children may access or try to read. Neither reading tests nor readability measures are anywhere near exact enough to predict which individual child will best be able to read or benefit from which individual book or magazine or online text. There is nothing wrong with letting a child try to read a text, and then abandon it if it is too hard, or too simplistic, or simply boring-after all, adults do this all the time. Limiting reading selections based on reading levels too often results in children having too few texts available to them that they want to read, and thus discourages them from reading altogether.

Passion, curiosity, and knowledge are at least as important as reading levels in helping children find good things to read. This is especially true because we know that motivation and knowledge can increase effective reading levels, while, conversely, readers can enjoy and gain a lot from texts that interest them, even if they are "too easy."

Children should not be required/expected to independently read and learn from texts that are considerably above their reading levels. Ironically, textbooks are perhaps the most common source of such demands, since they are frequently written well above the reading levels of the grades for which they are intended. But disparity between student reading levels and text readability levels does not necessarily mean we should discourage or prevent such students from engaging with such texts. Rather, it should trigger educators to provide support for reading as necessary, including vocabulary- and knowledge-building tools, partner reading, group discussions, audio- and video-texts, and simple availability for questions. Indeed, since reading levels are not exact measures, and also affected by prior knowledge and interest, such supports will probably be helpful to many other students as well.

To read more about this topic, check out these clear, but nuanced discussions of readability and leveled reading by top researchers in this field:

Hiebert, E. H. (2012). Readability and the Common Core's staircase of text complexity. Retrieved from http://ransonbalancedliteracy.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/file/view/Text-Matters_Readability-and-Complexity.pdf

Shanahan, T. (2011). Rejecting instructional level theory. Retrieved from http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/2011/08/rejecting-instructional-level-...

Benjamin, R. G. (2012). Reconstructing readability: Recent developments and recommendations in the analysis of text difficulty. Educational Psychology Review, 24(1), 63-88.

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Psychologists love to measure things, and perhaps nothing has been measured as much by psychologists as reading-both texts and readers. Multiple different instruments measuring text readability have been devised and used over the past century, as have multiple standardized tests of readers' abilities.

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Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

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Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

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Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy

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embedding formative assessment: practical techniques for k-12 classrooms

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Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

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Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms [Dylan Wiliam, Siobhan Leahy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

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François Grosjean

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François Grosjean
University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

A number of myths about bilingualism are discussed in my new book, Bilingual: Life and Reality (Harvard University Press, 2010). They are summarized here.

Bilingualism is a rare phenomenon. WRONG. It has been estimated that more than half the world's population is bilingual, that is lives with two or more languages. Bilingualism is found in all parts of the world, at all levels of society, in all age groups. Even in countries with many monolinguals, the percentage of bilinguals is high. For example, one can estimate that there are as many as 50 million bilinguals in the United States today.

Bilinguals acquire their two or more languages in childhood. WRONG. One can become bilingual in childhood, but also in adolescence and in adulthood. In fact, many adults become bilingual because they move from one country (or region) to another and have to acquire a second language. With time, they can become just as bilingual as children who acquire their languages in their early years (minus the native speaker accent). In general, people become bilingual because life requires the use of two or more languages. This can be due to immigration, education, intermarriage, contact with other linguistic groups within a country, and so on.

Bilinguals have equal and perfect knowledge of their languages. WRONG. This is a myth that has had a long life! In fact, bilinguals know their languages to the level that they need them. Some bilinguals are dominant in one language, others do not know how to read and write one of their languages, others have only passive knowledge of a language and, finally, a very small minority, have equal and perfect fluency in their languages. What is important to keep in mind is that bilinguals are very diverse, as are monolinguals.

Real bilinguals have no accent in their different languages. WRONG. Having an accent or not in a language does not make you more or less bilingual. It depends on when you acquired your languages. In fact, some extremely fluent and balanced bilinguals have an accent in the one, or the other, language; other, less fluent, bilinguals may have no accent at all.

Bilinguals are born translators. WRONG. Even though bilinguals can translate simple things from one language to another, they often have difficulties with more specialized domains. The reaction people have is almost always, "But I thought you were bilingual!". In fact, bilinguals use their languages in different situations, with different people, in different domains of life (this is called the complementarity principle). Unless they learned their languages formally (in school, for example), or have trained to be translators, they often do not have translations equivalents in the other language.

Mixing languages is a sign of laziness in bilinguals. WRONG. Mixing languages such as code-switching and borrowing is a very common behavior in bilinguals speaking to other bilinguals. It is a bit like having coffee with milk instead of just straight black. The two language repertoires are available in bilingual situations and can be used at will. Many expressions and words are better said in the one or the other language; mixing permits to use the right one without having recourse to translation which simply may not do justice to what one wants to express. This said, in other situations, bilinguals know that they cannot mix their languages (e.g. when speaking to monolinguals) and they then stick to just one language.

Bilinguals are also bicultural. WRONG. Even though many bilinguals are also bicultural (they interact with two cultures and they combine aspects of each), many others are monocultural (e.g. the inhabitants in the German speaking part of Switzerland who often acquire three or four languages during their youth). Thus one can be bilingual without being bicultural just as one can be monolingual and bicultural (e.g. the British who live in the USA).

Bilinguals have double or split personalities. WRONG. Bilinguals, like monolinguals, adapt their behavior to different situations and people. This often leads to a change of language in bilinguals (e.g. a Japanese-English bilingual speaking Japanese to her grandmother and English to her sister). This change of language has led to the idea that bilinguals are "different" when speaking the one, or the other, language. But like monolinguals, it is the situation or the person one is speaking to which induces slight changes in behavior, opinions, feelings, etc., not the fact that one is bilingual.

Bilinguals express their emotions in their first language. WRONG. Some bilinguals have grown up learning two languages simultaneously and hence have two first languages with which they will express their emotions. And for the majority of bilinguals who have acquired their languages successively-first one language and then, some years later, another-the pattern is not clear. Emotions and bilingualism produce a very complicated but also very personal reality that has no set rules. Some bilinguals prefer to use one language, some the other, and some use both of them to express their feelings and emotions.

Bilingualism will delay language acquisition in children. WRONG. This is a myth that was popular back in the middle of the 20th Century. Since then much research has shown that bilingual children are not delayed in their language acquisition. This said, one should keep in mind that bilingual children, because they have to deal with two or more languages, are different in some ways from monolingual children, but definitely not on rate of language acquisition. As for bilingual children with language challenges (e.g. dyslexia), they are not proportionally more numerous than monolingual children with the same challenges.

The language spoken in the home will have a negative effect on the acquisition of the school language, when the latter is different. WRONG. In fact, the home language can be used as a linguistic base for acquiring aspects of the other language. It also gives children a known language to communicate in (with parents, caretakers, and, perhaps, teachers) while acquiring the other.

If parents want their children to grow up bilingual, they should use the one person - one language approach. WRONG. There are many ways of making sure a child grows up bilingual: caretaker 1 speaks one language and caretaker 2 speaks the other; one language is used in the home and the other outside the home; the child acquires his/her second language at school, etc. The critical factor is NEED. The child must come to realize, most of the time unconsciously, that he/she needs two or more languages in everyday life. This is where the one person - one language approach often breaks down as the bilingual child quickly realizes that the weaker (often minority) language is not really needed (the caretakers or other family members often speak the other, stronger language, to one another, so why keep up the weaker language?). A better approach is that all family members use the weaker language at home, if at all possible, so as to increase the child's exposure to it and mark the language's "main" territory.

Children raised bilingual will always mix their languages. WRONG. If bilingual children interact in both bilingual and monolingual situations, then they learn to mix languages at certain times only. When they are with monolinguals (e.g. Grandma who doesn't speak any English), they quickly learn to speak just the one language (communication breaks down otherwise). It is important though that the situation be truly monolingual (and not a "pretend situation" in which a bilingual parent pretends not to know the other language); children will make an effort to speak only one language if they feel it is vital for communication. Thus, caretakers will want to create natural monolingual environments where children will need, and hence use, just one language.

For further reading click on the following links:

1. François Grosjean's new book Bilingual: Life and Reality (Harvard University Press, 2010)

2. A short text, "What parents want to know about bilingualism", by François Grosjean

3. An interview of François Grosjean on bilingualism

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Francois Grosjean - Myths about bilingualism bilingualism

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Francois Grosjean, François Grosjean, Grosjean, psycholinguistics, language processing, bilingualism, biculturalism, sign language, aphasia, applied linguistics, BIMOLA, language processing in aphasics, prosodic structures, second language grammar checking, Life with two languages, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition

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Fountas & Pinnell, School Library Journal (2018)

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Fountas and Pinnell Guided Readers by Interest Q_A

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Trevor Mackenzie

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How can we . . .
Help students see themselves in a more positive, confident, and personally fulfilling light?
Cultivate the conditions for agency and equity in our classrooms and schools so all learners can thrive?
Shift education so that our students become more empowered, more competent, and more compassionate young people?

Trevor MacKenzie takes another deep dive into inquiry as he examines the role of assessment in education through the lens of co-designing and co-constructing with students. In Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition, he outlines the beliefs, values, and frameworks that allow teachers to scaffold assessment infused with student voice, understanding, and autonomy.

Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition offers practical ways to . . .

Co-design assessment with your students to create both a sense of belonging and ownership over learning in the classroom.

Establish greater clarity and a deeper understanding for your students in how they'll be assessed.

Positively impact achievement and scores as well as your students' sense of self and personal responsibility and autonomy.

Give your learners an authentic seat at the assessment table!

"If you value inquiry and seek to develop reflective, self-directed students, get this book. It is brimming with advice and seasoned with soul. Your students will thank you."
-Jay McTighe, coauthor of the Understanding by Design® framework

"I work with schools around the world to help them redesign and align their curriculum and assessment, and this is a book I'll be recommending to those schools from now on. It's a perfect starting point for the work educators need to do to make assessment authentic, meaningful, and powerful."
-Alexis Wiggins, teacher, author of The Best Class You Never Taught

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inquiry mindset: assessment edition: scaffolding a partnership for equity and agency in learning

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Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition: Scaffolding a Partnership for Equity and Agency in Learning

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Buy Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition: Scaffolding a Partnership for Equity and Agency in Learning: Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com

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Fountas & Pinnell (2019)

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Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning

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Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning

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Peter H. Johnston

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In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.

Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout, Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things we say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is vitally important.

This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.
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In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool:

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Pernille Ripp (2021)

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I have been thinking a lot about easy books. About our adult urges to steer kids into "better" books, harder books, away from all those easy books. Away from books with pictures, graphic novels, or topics we deem immature.

I have been thinking a lot about our well-meaning intentions and how they sometimes do damage that we are not even around to see because the real consequences of our gentle guidance actually steers a child away from reading altogether.

I have been thinking a lot about the collections of books we build, where our money is used, because often it is not so much into the books that kids actually want to read but the ones we hope they read. And how we then sometimes wonder why no one seems to want to read the books we have.

Why is it that we, the adults, who have the ability to shape the reading lives of our students into beautiful things sometimes get so lost in thinking of the future of our readers that we lose sight of the present? Don't get me wrong, I want to do the best I can to create rich reading opportunities for all of my students but that also means that they need to want to read right now.

As so perhaps this reminder is more for myself as I feel the pressure to help these children grow as readers, perhaps this post is really just a re-commitment to the words I have spoken for so many years. Perhaps it is a reminder to the universe of what our gatekeeping of books can do for the lives of the readers we are entrusted with. Perhaps this is a reminder that when we decide that a child is reading too "easy" of books we are really dismissing the reading journey they are on. That in our quest to challenge our readers we sometimes lose sight of what they may need from their reading experiences right now, and that that perhaps is not harder vocabulary or more complex storylines but instead a chance to truly melt into a world and escape a little bit from the craziness of this one.

It is a question I am asked a lot when I coach and train other teachers; what about the kids who read books that are much too easy, how will we challenge them? The problem is implied; easy books don't offer up real growth opportunities. Easy books don't develop their skills. Easy books don't push them forward in the ever-present journey toward becoming a better reader. Easy books means that they will never perform in a way that our standardized tests want them to do. And I hear the worry, the concern for their readerly lives, I see that the question is not asked out of an urge for censorship but instead from a place of care.

But it seems as if, in our well-meaning intentions, that we have forgotten what a better reader really is. A better reader is not just someone who can just tackle complex texts, who can comprehend at a deep level, who can answer the questions on the test to back up what we already knew. While those are aspects, they are not the only thing that makes a child a better reader.

A better reader is someone who sees reading as valuable. Who recognizes the need to read because they will feel less than if they don't. Who sees reading as a necessity to learning, for themselves and not just for others. Who sees reading as a journey to be on, something worth investing in. That a better reader is someone who will continue to come back to reading when they can, finding value within whatever materials they read in order to make their lives better in some way. A better reader is not just a child who reads hard texts, always pushing their skills, but also someone who commits to the very act of reading. And so I wonder; when we tell children not to read "easy" books, how much of their individual reading identity journey have we dismissed? And what becomes of the reader?

"Easy" books, whether they be graphic novels, illustrated books, books about "silly" topics, books below their actual comprehension skills, free verse, audio books, or even picture books, can get such a bad reputation in our schools. As if those books are only allowed in the brief moment of time when they fit your exact level, whatever level means. As if those books are only meant to be discovered when you have nothing else to read, when you actually are allowed to read for fun, rather than for skill. As if those books are only relegated to a certain age, a certain stage in your readerly journey. and after that they should be put away, never to be revisited again.

Yet so often the books that others may judge as "too easy" for us are the books that make us readers. The ones where we finally feel comfortable, where reading is not hard work but something that we can do successfully. Are the books that keep us loving or liking reading. That keeps us coming back. Those books that we devour in one sitting because we must find out what happens next, aren't those "easy" books for all of us?

So do we tell our students to embrace easy reading whenever they want to keep them loving reading? Or do we push them so hard to develop their skills that their connection to reading breaks and then we wonder why reading becomes something just to do for school and tasks?

And yes, I teach that child that reads Diary of a Wimpy Kid every day, who is not sure of what else he can read that will make him love reading as much. My job is not to tell him, "No, you cannot read that," but instead to urge him to read more books in the series and to celebrate the reading that is happening. To recognize that this child has discovered a part of himself where he finds a purpose within the pages of this book and to help him find books that will offer up similar experiences. Not to take away, but to recommend, while also protecting the fierce commitment that exists between a child and a favorite book. To explore why that child loves this book so much and then help discover others like it. To acknowledge the reading relationship that already exists and to build on that rather than breaking it apart at all costs because I know better.

Don't all kids deserve to have their reading choices celebrated and held up as valuable choices no matter where they are on their journey?

I am not dismissing the need to challenge kids to read more, to read longer, to read more complex text, but we must be careful with how we present their reading choices, how we judge their reading choices. We must make reading for enjoyment, whatever that means for a child, a central part of our teaching so that children can understand that reading for enjoyment is just as, if not more, important than reading for a skill. And we must honor the choices that kids make to further this part of their journey. The research agrees, "...it was shown that those who graduate from programs that encourage self-selected reading, do not avoid literature of high quality...Children in a print-rich environment in which they are free to select their own reading do not stay with easy books. They not only read more as they mature, but they also select, on their own, books that are harder to read and have more complicated plots."(Krashen, Lee, and Lao - Comprehensible and Compelling, 2018). So are we making room to embrace those books that happen to make our children, and adults, love reading? Or do we only focus on those texts that will continue to challenge them in the ways we have deemed acceptable, to move their skills, unfocused on the other damage it may do?

Because when we tell a child that a book is too easy for them we are dismissing the very reading journey they are on. That book we called too easy may have been the first book they have ever wanted to read, it may be the first series they have wanted to complete, it may be a book that offers them an escape, it may be the first book they have connected with, that they have seen themselves in, or even one that they can fully read on their own.

While our job, as educators, is to develop children who can read, our job is also to support and develop children who want to read. The two are not always taught together, or even considered, so it is up to us to make sure that when we plan for our reading experiences that "easy" books and anything else that may keep a child's love of reading intact is not only welcomed but encouraged in our classrooms. We must ensure that when we plan for reading instruction, that we plan for the protection of the love of reading. And that we stop calling books easy when what we really mean is enticing.
I am excited to be heading out on the road again to be with other educators in-district or at conferences, while continuing my virtual consulting and speaking as well. If you would like me to be a part of your professional development, please reach out. I am here to help.

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I have been thinking a lot about easy books. About our adult urges to steer kids into "better" books, harder books, away from all those easy books. Away from books with pictures, graphic novels, or topics we deem immature. I have been thinking a lot about our well-meaning intentions and how they sometimes do damage...

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Debbie Miller

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Introduction: We Can Do This

Asking Beautiful Questions

Paying Attention to What Doesn't Feel Right

Asking, "What If?": Creating Space for Possibility

Chapter One: What If Each Day's Teaching Focused on Children's Agency?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Disengaged Child

What's the Best That Could Happen? Agency Fosters Engagement

Imagining New Possibilities for a Child

Conferring to Support Access and Choice

Paying Attention During Independent Work Time

Conferring to Inquire and to Offer Community

Postscript

Chapter Two: What If We Made What Children Make and Do Our Priority?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Workshop Planning

What's the Best That Could Happen? Meaningful Work

Planning for What Children Will Do First

Planning for What Teachers Will Do During Work Time

Figuring Out What to Teach

Playing with the Sequence

Taking Ownership

Chapter Three: What If Our Classroom Environment and Routines Offered Choice?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Frustration over Supplies

What's the Best That Could Happen? Managing Their Own Work

Being Intentional in Our Language

Cocreating Routines

Designing Agentive Environments

Chapter Four: What If We Owned the Units We Are Asked to Teach?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Units We're Given

Are These the Right Goals?

Which Texts Work Best?

How Will We Know When We're Done?

How Can This Happen Within Daily Workshop?

What's the Best That Could Happen? Perfection in Imperfection

Chapter Five: What If Read-Aloud Sustained Children's Independent Thinking?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Wisdom in Children's Thinking

Expecting Brilliance

Finding Time for Read-Aloud

Reading Aloud for Joy

Teachers and Children Thinking Aloud

What's the Best That Could Happen? Being Inspired to Act

Conclusion: In Pursuit of Beautiful Questions

We all have difficult moments in our teaching, and without a question to drive us forward, we can get stuck. But that difficult moment might be the question we need to ask ourselves. Questions can bring a positive attention, creating a presence in the moment. When I ask children, "Are you the kind of kid who...?", I'm inviting them to imagine a new possibility for themselves, one in which they have more power than they did before. I want those new possibilities for teachers, too. Are you the kind of teacher who is ready to try something new, something that will make your students stronger, more joyful readers and bring you greater joy in your work? I think you are.

Asking questions leads to opportunities-it's about growth, openness, and a willingness to change, which top-down models don't allow. It's a way for us to focus our thinking and be present in the lives we've chosen to live. Asking the question is the essential behavior of teaching. It's not a perfect call-and response but a messy business of wondering, stumbling, and figuring things out. It requires bravery and commitment, but that's what teaching is. It's a joyful, creative, purposeful profession. If you feel you've lost even some of your passion for teaching, I would love to help give it back to you. So, in this book, we'll talk about creating beautiful questions about the teaching of reading. To help you take on the process of asking beautiful questions, I'll share how I got to some beautiful questions about teaching reading and what I did with them as I worked with teachers in classrooms across the country.

This book is about owning our teaching and making decisions based on who we are and what's best for the children in our classroom today. That all sounds ambitious and brave... and the work is-teaching is-but it happens in so many small and simple ways. My wish is for you to think about what you do and ask your own beautiful questions, so that you and your children can thrive and view yourselves and each other as valuable, idea-filled, creative, and contributing humans who own your teaching and learning. Be open and receptive to possibilities! Think: "What if we did it this way?"

"A one-of-a-kind book, full of wisdom and heart. Debbie Miller inspires educators to step back and question everything-challenging us to rethink and reinvent the ways we teach. What's the best that could happen? Read this book and it will help you find your own answer to that beautiful question."

-Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question and The Book of Beautiful Questions
"Debbie Miller is a magician with children, and in What's the Best That Could Happen? she hands us her magic wand. With honesty, humility, and optimism, she shares her thoughts and actions about teaching and learning. Run-don't walk-to conjure up this essential book!"
-Stephanie Harvey, coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit series, From Striving to Thriving, and Strategies That Work
"Debbie Miller is suggesting something revolutionary. She is suggesting the way to ensure all students learn is to intentionally and persistently expect not just capability but brilliance from them."
-Gretchen Morgan, author of Innovative Educators: An Action Plan for Teachers

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"One of the great joys of teaching is anticipating children's brilliance." In What's the Best That Could Happen?, Debbie Miller confronts a challenge all

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

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Zaretta Hammond

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From math, literacy, equity, multilingual learners, and SEL, to assessment, school counseling, and education leadership, our books are research-based and authored by experts on topics most relevant to what educators are facing today.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

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In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction.