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Simple but powerful advice: Clear roles, expectations, and reflection can improve collaboration.

Gary Waters / Ikon Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Every high-performing team goes through cycles of growth and development. Educators' time for collaboration is often stuck after a full day of teaching or crammed into minutes between periods. These helpful strategies will help you reset your collaboration time.

Team Charters

Successful collaboration requires clear expectations. Drafting a team charter can help establish and document a team's procedures and connections to the purpose of the work. Reflect on the work of your current team meetings. Can you clearly state the function of each meeting and why? We may inherit meetings that don't make sense for our current work.

A team charter is a simple document that starts with a vision and mission, and serves to formally codify norms and the team's envisioned impact. Each person on the team aligns his or her role to the purpose and objective of the team. It's important that everyone understand their specific role on a team and when their participation is required-as well as when it isn't.

A strong team charter will make agreements on communication and decision-making. For example, a charter might include language such as, "We use email to plan meetings. We only use text if we are running late. Our agendas assign a team member to make the decision, be accountable for the decision. We also identify which team member provides input on each decision. When we make group decisions, we strive for consensus but use simple majority if the conversation is stuck." Communication and decision-making are the biggest stumbling blocks for teams, and establishing clear processes at the outset can help avoid these barriers.

In my work with one rural school district's central office, each teacher had a specific content, programmatic, or grade-level focus. Although they spent their days together, there were few opportunities for effective collaboration.

To help, we developed a team charter to identify three priorities for the team that were adopted directly from the district's strategic plan. The team then determined how these three priorities showed up in their work. What benchmarks would be used to evaluate success and at what intervals? How would adjustments be made to course-correct if the impact was not what was planned?

Once the team had their priorities, every member of the team was able to define how his or her work aligned with those priorities. The team was operating as a group of effective individuals who were siloed and worked in close proximity. The team charter gave them an opportunity to collaborate.

Process Observer

Team charters are beautiful documents, but they are meaningless if they are not implemented in practice. A process observer can help ensure that a team charter is useful.

The process observer is a role like a timekeeper or note-taker that gets assigned at the start of collaborative meetings. This role can alternate at each meeting. Process observers watch how the group follows the norms from the team charters and then report on their observations. For example, they might say, "Our norm is to ask clarifying questions when ideas are presented. In today's meeting, when Laura presented an idea, there were zero questions asked of the idea, and the group moved to another idea. When James presented an idea, folks asked two clarifying questions."

Reporting out observations accomplishes two goals. First, it keeps everyone aware of the group norms. Second, it lets members determine how the team might want to evolve, especially if inequitable data patterns emerge.

When teams get stuck, it is often because norms are not clearly operationalized. People feel that they are doing more work than others or that their contributions don't matter. By documenting the norms of communication and decision-making in the team charter and then reflecting on the process at the end of meetings, team members have data that can be used to drive continuous learning and improvement.

Self-Reflection

We all have assumptions about what work is, based on a combination of our early career experiences, our culture, and our preferences. There isn't a right way to lead or collaborate.

When someone operates in a different way, we may feel a SCARF ego threat: status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, or fairness. These ego threats are minor feelings of irritation that we may try to ignore and push down. Such minor pain points, or pinches, cause us to be less receptive to the other person's working habits. When we feel these slight moments of irritation, the goal is to look inward and determine why that moment was challenging.

To see why this is important, begin a meeting by defining a common education word, like respect, leadership, or equity. What does respect look like, sound like, and feel like for your team members? Do all team members have the same definition? People operationalize respect in very different ways, which means some team members might feel disrespected even when no one may actively intend to disrespect them.

For example, my most common trigger centers on autonomy. Fo most of my career, I've worked fairly independently. When someone "checks in" on me doing work, I might feel micromanaged. He or she may have genuinely been offering to help or been asked to report out about my work. When I pause to acknowledge my annoyance, I can make sure that my responses to those check-ins have a bit more grace than a one-word response. When I express my emotions clearly, I give a team member the opportunity to support my growth. As our understanding builds over time and through consistency, we are able to support each other, build trust, and ultimately strengthen collaboration.

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Simple but powerful advice: Clear roles, expectations, and reflection can improve collaboration. Gary Waters / Ikon Images / Alamy Stock Photo Every high-performing team goes through cycles of growth and development. Educators' time for collaboration is often stuck after a full day of teaching or crammed into minutes between periods.

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Have you and the teacher come together to write up your own class norms/expectation? Maybe if you did this you all could come up with a middle ground, and if that's not possible, then at least she'll know where you stand on certain student behaviors. Maybe even that alone will make her back off a little on things you disagree with her on.

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This seems like a case of conflicting expectations between teachers. Setting your expectations clearly at the beginning of the year (periodically reminding) while also reminding students that other teachers have different expectations that need to be followed is a place to start.
On a different hand, sometimes a colleague is going overboard or being too lax and depending on your relationship with them, you might want to talk to them privately about it and where you two can make a compromise.

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I think that many of the issues you mentioned might be avoided by doing a mini-lesson on group norms.  It might include the following (plus more, I'm sure!):
1. Learning Target: Today I want to teach you that different teachers and classes have different expectations for students, and strong learners take note of these expectations.
2. Ask students what is important to them to be able to learn.
3. Give sentence stems to direct them to norms they may have "missed" (e.g. I read best when...During group work, I can learn best when...I get distracted when...)
4. Make an anchor chart that the class norms can live on.
5. Remind students of group commitments in scenarios in which you predict they may be broken (i.e. competitive games, debates, etc)
6. Use the norms as a restorative way to talk through issues that arise. Remind students that they are the co-author of these norms.
7. Change norms as your students' needs change.

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Restorative discipline seeks to create an environment in which problem behavior is less likely to occur.

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1. Should you ever discuss with a colleague when you think they may have gone overboard with a consequence for a student?
2. How do you know when you are being too strict or too lax in your own classroom management?
3. How can you balance having a different classroom management philosophy that is different than team members?

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1. What do you think the age range to discuss sensitive/potentially divisive topics in a classroom setting?
2. Should visual aids be used to make things such as racial discrimination more real and tangible to students?
3. How should topics such as Racial Discrimination be handled with students? How real should it get?

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1. What are some ways that ELA teachers can guide students to the correct answers, without just providing it?
2. What are your most effective reading comprehension/guided reading strategies?
3. What do you think is the perfect "reading" speed? What is too fast? What is too slow?

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1. Strategic grouping (H, MH, L, ML is a Kagan strategy that works well) of students with layered in talk-time (Kagan strategy: group consensus) can help to have students do the "work" of finding the answers themselves, so that the teacher is not "telling" them what the answer is (if there is one...often in ELA, there is not!).

2. Active engagement during the read-aloud (see notebook entry)

3. Depends on the reader! This is why choice is so important.

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The benefits of reading aloud aren't limited to elementary students. One middle school teacher explains how "read-alongs" improve comprehension and boost engagement.

Ute Grabowsky/photothek images U / Alamy Stock Photo

While reading aloud is typically an elementary school practice, a modified method can be useful for comprehension and engagement in older students as well. In EdWeek's " Bringing the Joy of Read-Alouds to Middle School Students," Christina Torres, an 8th grade English teacher at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, describes how she has used a "read-along" strategy with her students for six years. In a read-along, Torres reads while "all students follow along with their own copy of the text," she writes. "I stop periodically to explain vocabulary, model note-taking in the margins, or engage in class discussion."

Torres believes read-alongs "build student enjoyment, engagement, and camaraderie." She likens the student conversations after read-alongs to "the way an audience talks after a movie: They walk out of class chatting about what happened. They ask their peers in other classes about the voices I used, or if I added sound effects," she writes. They even read ahead and discuss their reading outside of class, she says.

The article provides several tips to make reading aloud with the class more engaging and informative for middle school students. Since it is a performance, Torres says, practice a bit before you try it in front of the class, and consider changing pacing, adding lighting, or trying out an accent. She even adopts a Southern drawl when reading To Kill a Mockingbird. "I create different voices using pitch, vocal placement, and speech patterns to differentiate characters," she writes.

Understanding that preparation is required, Torres rarely asks students to read aloud to the entire class- research suggests that the practice, often in the form of "round robin reading," may stigmatize poor readers, weaken comprehension, and sabotage fluency and pronunciation. Putting students in pairs or small groups, or giving them time to prepare for the section they'll be asked to read, creates a less intimidating environment for reading aloud.

The process of a read-along gives time for students to stop and analyze a text or question vocabulary that they do not understand: "I'll model metacognitive thinking as we read, stopping after a line and questioning my reactions to plot points or literary devices, or connecting the story to other things we've read," Torres writes. Recognizing sign-post moments together as a group-those "strategically placed words, phrases, or plot points that help readers recognize that something important is happening"-enhances comprehension across the class.

Torres also recommends a practice developed by high school English teacher Marisa Thompson called TQEs: thoughts, questions and epiphanies. Asking questions such as "What surprised you?" or "What imagery interested you?" can help students delve deeper into the reading. Torres asks students to share their reflections and make connections between the different texts they read.

Reading aloud doesn't have to be a long, involved activity, though. If scheduling is a challenge, English teacher Kasey Short suggests reserving the last five minutes at the end of class for a read-along.

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Why Reading Aloud to Middle School Students Works

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The benefits of reading aloud aren't limited to elementary students. One middle school teacher explains how "read-alongs" improve comprehension and boost engagement.

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To assume that one can simply have students memorize and routinely execute a set of strategies is to misconceive the nature of strategic processing or executive control. Such rote applications of these procedures represents, in essence, a true oxymoron-non-strategic strategic processing.
- Alexander and Murphy (1998, p. 33)

If the struggling readers in your content classroom routinely miss the point when "reading" content text, consider teaching them one or more of the seven cognitive strategies of highly effective readers. Cognitive strategies are the mental processes used by skilled readers to extract and construct meaning from text and to create knowledge structures in long-term memory. When these strategies are directly taught to and modeled for struggling readers, their comprehension and retention improve.

Struggling students often mistakenly believe they are reading when they are actually engaged in what researchers call mindless reading (Schooler, Reichle, & Halpern, 2004), zoning out while staring at the printed page. The opposite of mindless reading is the processing of text by highly effective readers using cognitive strategies. These strategies are described in a fascinating qualitative study that asked expert readers to think aloud regarding what was happening in their minds while they were reading. The lengthy scripts recording these spoken thoughts (i.e., think-alouds) are called verbal protocols (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). These protocols were categorized and analyzed by researchers to answer specific questions, such as, What is the influence of prior knowledge on expert readers' strategies as they determine the main idea of a text? (Afflerbach, 1990b).

The protocols provide accurate "snapshots" and even "videos" of the ever-changing mental landscape that expert readers construct during reading. Researchers have concluded that reading is "constructively responsive-that is, good readers are always changing their processing in response to the text they are reading" (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995, p. 2). Instructional Aid 1.1 defines the seven cognitive strategies of highly effective readers, and Instructional Aid 1.2 provides a lesson plan template for teaching a cognitive strategy.

Instructional aids

Instructional Aid 1.1: Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers

Activating

"Priming the cognitive pump" in order to recall relevent prior knowledge and experiences from long-term memory in order to extract and construct meaning from text

Inferring

Bringing together what is spoken (written) in the text, what is unspoken (unwritten) in the text, and what is already known by the reader in order to extract and construct meaning from the text

Monitoring-Clarifying

Thinking about how and what one is reading, both during and after the act of reading, for purposes of determining if one is comprehending the text combined with the ability to clarify and fix up any mix-ups

Questioning

Engaging in learning dialogues with text (authors), peers, and teachers through self-questioning, question generation, and question answering

Searching-Selecting

Searching a variety of sources in order to select appropriate information to answer questions, define words and terms, clarify misunderstandings, solve problems, or gather information

Summarizing

Restating the meaning of text in one's own words - different words from those used in the original text

Visualizing-Organizing

Constructing a mental image or graphic organizer for the purpose of extracting and constructing meaning from the text

Instructional Aid 1.2: A Lesson Template for Teaching Cognitive Strategies

1. Provide direct instruction regarding the cognitive strategy

a. Define and explain the strategy

b. Explain the purpose the strategy serves during reading

c. Describe the critical attributes of the strategy

d. Provide concrete examples/nonexamples of the strategy

2. Model the strategy by thinking aloud

3. Facilitate guided practice with students

Instructional Aid 1.3: A Lesson Template for Teaching Summarizing

Lesson Template for Teaching Cognitive Strategies Lesson Plan for Teaching Summarizing

1. Provide direct instruction regarding the cognitive strategy

a. Define and explain the strategy.

Summarizing is restating in your own words the meaning of what you have read-using different words from those used in the original text-either in written form or a graphic representation (picture of graphic organizer).

b. Explain the purpose the strategy serves during reading

Summarizing enables a reader to determine what is most imporant to remember once the reading is completed. Many things we read have only one or two bid ideas, and it's important to identify them and restate them for purposed of retention.

c. Describe the critical attributes of the strategy.

A summary has the following characteristics. It: -Is short -Is to the point, containing the big idea of the text -Omits trivial information and collapses lists into a word or phrase -Is not a retelling or a "photocopy" of the text

d. Provide concrete examples/nonexamples of the strategy.

Examples of good summaries might inlude the one-sentence book summaries from The New York Times Bestsellers List, an obituary of a famous person, or a report of a basketball or football game that captures the highlights. The mistakes that students commonly make when writing summaries can be more readily avoided by showing students excellent nonexamples (e.g., a paragraph that is too long, has far too many details, or is a complete retelling of the text rather than a statement of the main idea.

2. Model the strategy by thinking aloud.

Thinking aloud is a metacognitive activity in which teachers reflect on their behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes regarding what they have read and then speak their thoughts aloud for students. Choose a section of relatively easy text from your discipline and think aloud as you read it, and then also think aloud about how you would go about summarizing it - then do it.

3. Facilitate guided practice with students.

Using easy-to-read content text, read aloud and generate a summary together with the whole class. Using easy-to-read content text, ask students to read with partners and create a summary together. One students are writing good summaries as partners, assign text and expect students to read it and generate summaries independently.

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teach the seven strategies of highly effective readers

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Teach the Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers

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To assume that one can simply have students memorize and routinely execute a set of strategies is to misconceive the nature of strategic processing or executive control. Such rote applications of these procedures represents, in essence, a true oxymoron-non-strategic strategic processing. - Alexander and Murphy (1998, p.

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The jigsaw is a collaborative strategy that provides students with an opportunity to actively help each other build comprehension. Aside from developing a deeper understanding of the text, the jigsaw strategy provides students with an opportunity to work cooperatively and strengthen their communication skills. In order to implement the jigsaw strategy in your classroom, you must first select a text or topic that can be divided into four or five selections. Next, you will split your students into four or five home groups. Each group member will be responsible for reading one of the text selections and teaching the materials to the other home group members. After establishing the home groups, students break off into their expert groups to read and analyze the assigned text selection. In order to effectively master the material, require students to record their findings in some way. Completing a graphic organizer, summarizing the text, and/or answering text-based questions will all work well. When the expert groups have completed their analysis of the text, it is time for students to return to their home groups to present the information from their text selection. Depending on the levels of ability in your classroom, a graphic organizer may be useful for the this portion of the strategy as well. After all group members have relayed their information to the home group, an assessment can be used to evaluate understanding. The jigsaw strategy works particularly well as an anticipatory activity. It is a great way for students to think critically about a topic before direct instruction begins.

Improve Comprehension with Mind Mapping

According to research, creating visual representations of concepts and ideas can help students organize and remember what they learn. Mind mapping requires students to complete a diagram or graphic organizer in order to visualize what they are reading and make connections between ideas. Mind maps can be as highly structured as an in-depth graphic organizer, or as loosely based as doodle notes. The learning objective will help to determine the appropriate mind map to utilize for each lesson.

Stimulate Structured Discussion with Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal teaching encourages students to think critically about a text using four different reading comprehension strategies. Implementing reciprocal teaching in your classroom will provide students with valuable skills that they can apply when reading independently. It is important to select and read the text together as a class before starting the reciprocal teaching process. After reading the text, students are ready to break into groups of four. Providing groups with a graphic organizer to record their work will establish structure and keep students on-task. When students are in their groups, assign each student a role: questioner, clarifier, summarizer, and predictor. The first part of the strategy requires students to work independently. The questioner formulates two questions about the text. The clarifier finds two unknown words or ideas in the text. The summarizer sketches a picture to represent the main idea of the text. Finally, the predictor is responsible for predicting what might happen if the text were to continue. The second part of the strategy begins the collaborative process. Each group member delivers his or her information and the other group members record it on their own paper. Groups will start with the questioner box. The questioner will read the two questions he/she came up with for part one. The rest of the group will record the questions. Next, the group will work together to answer the questions. After completing the questioner box, groups move on to the clarifier portion. The clarifier states the two unknown words or ideas he/she came up with to complete part one of the strategy. The rest of the group records those words or ideas on their own paper. The group then works together to define or explain the unknown words/ideas. A dictionary may be provided to groups having a hard time defining words using context. Third, the summarizer shows the group the picture he/she drew to represent the main idea of the text. The rest of the group draws a similar picture on their paper. Working together, the group composes a two to three sentence summary of the text. Last, the predictor reveals his or her prediction if the text were to continue. The group members record the prediction on their own papers. Then the group works together to find clues or evidence in the text that support the prediction. Groups are finished when all four reading comprehension strategies have been discussed and completed. Click here to download the free Reciprocal Teaching Guided Worksheet for students.

Cultivate Meaningful Conversations with Think-Pair-Share

The Think-Pair-Share strategy is designed to give students time and structure to formulate and share ideas. It promotes participation by encouraging thoughtful response. This strategy, if done correctly, can be extremely effective in building higher-order critical thinking skills. Before implementing Think-Pair-Share with your students, describe the strategy and provide guidelines for discussion. Explain to students that they will think critically about a topic, discuss the topic or question with a partner, and share ideas with the rest of the class. Formulating questions from the text that foster higher-order thinking is important for the strategy to be successful. After posing the question(s), monitor and support students as they work through each step of the process.

Develop Concise Summary Writing with GIST

GIST (Generating Interactions between Schemata and Text) is a strategy for establishing comprehension of a text. It encourages students to write concise meaningful summaries, and it works well with all levels of readers. Teaching students summarizing techniques will help them learn to effectively synthesize information. The goal of a GIST summary is for students to be able to convey the "GIST" of what they read without the extraneous details. Using GIST, students develop the necessary skills to independently identify the main ideas and key details in a text. Begin the GIST strategy by having students read a short piece of text. After reading, instruct students to answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions based on the text selection. Next, have students condense their answers into a one-sentence summary. It is important to support students in writing GIST summaries until they can do them independently.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE GIST SUMMARY PDF!
The goal in implementing reading comprehension strategies is for students to transfer those skills and apply them when reading independently. Focusing on a small group of strategies throughout the school year will give students a chance to really hone their skills.

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9 Highly Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies For All Levels Of Readers

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The jigsaw is a collaborative strategy that provides students with an opportunity to actively help each other build comprehension. Aside from developing a deeper understanding of the text, the jigsaw strategy provides students with an opportunity to work cooperatively and strengthen their communication skills.

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1. Sometimes, talking through the answer with them is what the students need. They may add on as they get where you're going. Some students may have been too shy.

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Eyes wide and mouths agape, 24 8th graders are waiting with bated breath as the villain sneaks up behind our protagonists. I pause. "Should we stop for today?" I ask with a smirk.

"Noooo!" the class collectively reacts, and I laugh and continue. It's rare to have the rapt attention of two dozen adolescents around anything, but when I garner that attention for a book, I am particularly grateful.

Their engagement should hardly be surprising, however. Reading aloud is a strategy elementary school teachers have capitalized on for generations. Teachers use storytelling and drama to get younger students engaged with and loving literature, only to mourn when those same students appear to lose that love once they reach middle and high school. We rarely acknowledge that reading quickly turns from a group experience to an individual one once kids reach middle school.

For the past six years, I've used "read-along," a twist on reading aloud, as a staple of my middle and high school teaching practice. Based on the Performance English program from the Curriculum Research and Development Group at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, my students and I read about 75 percent of our texts together in class (they also have independent reading books that they choose). Unlike traditional read-alouds, all students follow along with their own copy of the text, and I stop periodically to explain vocabulary, model note-taking in the margins, or engage in class discussion.

This strategy has been hugely beneficial for my students. Reading texts aloud in class has helped me build community. And the experience of hearing a story together has helped build student enjoyment, engagement, and camaraderie. Since I began doing read-along, my students have started discussing the books we read the way an audience talks after a movie: They walk out of class chatting about what happened. They ask their peers in other classes about the voices I used, or if I added sound effects. Other teachers tell me they catch students reading ahead or discussing what we read in class with their peers.

This love of storytelling can snowball into an overall love of literature that extends beyond our classroom walls. I often have students ask me if Harper Lee has written anything else they can read after we finish To Kill a Mockingbird as a class.

By reading the book with students, I'm also able to engage more deeply in discussions mid-text. When we encounter a difficult word, we stop and work through it as a class. I'll model metacognitive thinking as we read, stopping after a line and questioning my reactions to plot points or literary devices, or connecting the story to other things we've read. Later, I'll ask students to pause and share their reactions and reflect on where those feelings are coming from, as well as have them create text-to-text connections.

Reading aloud can be nerve-wracking for those new to the method. Here are some ways to reap its full benefits:

Use performance and storytelling techniques.

Do I use a subtle Southern affect while reading To Kill a Mockingbird? Absolutely! Not only does it show students that reading can be playful and imperfect (their reactions to different voices are always amusing), but it also helps conjure the world of the novel and attract interest in the story. I create different voices using pitch, vocal placement, and speech patterns to differentiate characters. I also play with pacing to build suspense or excitement. I'll even turn off the lights or project images on the board for ambience.

Build in time and activities to purposefully engage with the text.

Reading along gives us the opportunity to discuss not just the overall story, but the intricacies of the writing. We can model and use a variety of skills to understand new vocabulary, and give students chances to explain their reasoning when they infer meaning. Stopping to help students recognize "sign-post" moments in a story-strategically placed words, phrases, or plot points that help readers recognize that something important is happening-can help them learn and practice deeper analytical skills in a group setting. I'll have students share their thoughts, questions, and epiphanies ( TQEs, as teacher Marisa Thompson calls them) at the ends of sections or even mid-paragraph, ensuring we read actively. These strategies also allow students to have critical conversations with themselves and each other as they read the text, not just after they've read it. Students can hone these skills together before they have to use them independently.

Practice, practice, practice.

Read-aloud is like any performance: We do better when we know what's coming and how we want to create feeling. When I practice, I time myself reading a page so I can better plan for how much we'll get through in class. I also make notes on different voices, difficult words to address, and where I want to stop to engage in discussion or activities.

Only ask students to read if they've had time to prepare or are reading in small groups.

This a question I'm often asked when I share my read-along practice: How much do I read and how much do the students read? I read a majority of the text in a whole-class setting. While reading aloud can build fluency, research shows that forcing students to read aloud, in front of their peers, and without preparation is not only unhelpful, but potentially damaging. When I do have students read aloud, I use a number of strategies that lower the stakes (such as partner or small-group reading) or give them time to prepare a passage on their own. This gives them a chance to practice fluency while ensuring we don't do more harm than good.

Beyond its practical benefits, read-along has provided me some of my most rewarding teaching experiences. Students frequently share that is one of their favorite, most memorable parts of their experiences with me, and nothing quite beats the feeling of hearing a classroom full of students gasp, laugh, or squeal in delight in response to a great story-ultimately leaving us feeling just a little closer to one another at the end of the day.

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Bringing the Joy of Read-Alouds to Middle School Students (Opinion)

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Eyes wide and mouths agape, 24 8th graders are waiting with bated breath as the villain sneaks up behind our protagonists. I pause. "Should we stop for today?" I ask with a smirk. "Noooo!" the class collectively reacts, and I laugh and continue.

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Jeanie M. Dotson
Culminating Project
(Kagan Online Magazine, Winter 2001)

This study compares achievement scores of sixth-grade social studies students who participated in classes using Spencer Kagan's Structures of Cooperative Learning with students who did not. Heterogeneous grouping of students is essential to the use of cooperative learning structures and the groupings involved consisted of students with varying abilities, from mentally impaired to gifted. The measures were curriculum-based assessments and the mean scores of each class were compared.

Introduction

Article At-A-Glance

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review

Discussion

References

Cooperative Learning is a teaching arrangement that refers to small, heterogeneous groups of students working together to achieve a common goal (Kagan, 1994). Students work together to learn and are responsible for their teammates' learning as well as their own. The basic elements are:

1. Positive Interdependence - occurs when gains of individuals or teams are positively correlated.

2. Individual Accountability - occurs when all students in a group are held accountable for doing a share of the work and for mastery of the material to be learned.

3. Equal Participation - occurs when each member of the group is afforded equal shares of responsibility and input.

4. Simultaneous Interaction - occurs when class time is designed to allow many student interactions during the period.

Hundreds of studies have been undertaken to measure the success of cooperative learning as an instructional method regarding social skills, student learning, and achievement across all levels from primary grades through college. The general consensus is that cooperative learning can and usually does result in positive student outcomes in all domains (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). However, very few studies have been published that specifically target the use of Spencer Kagan's Structures of Cooperative Learning (Kagan, 1994) as teaching methods to increase student achievement.

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis: Sixth-grade Social Studies students at Dunbar Middle School who participate in Kagan's cooperative learning structures will gain higher curriculum-based assessment scores than students who do not use this method of learning.

Literature Review

Cooperative learning is generally defined as a teaching arrangement in which small, heterogeneous groups of students work together to achieve a common goal. Students encourage and support each other, assume responsibility for their own and each other's learning, employ group related social skills, and evaluate the group's progress. The basic elements are positive interdependence, equal opportunities, and individual accountability. Human beings are social creatures by nature and cooperation has been used throughout history in all aspects of our lives. Therefore, it follows that cooperative learning groups in schools would be used as a logical teaching method. The study is of a quasi-experimental design, due to the fact that the participants were chosen as a convenience, cluster sample. Non-Equivalent Groups, Posttest Only is the design style of the study with one group receiving treatment (cooperative learning instructional method) and the other (control) group receiving more traditional lecture/discussion teaching method.Curriculum Based Assessments are teacher made or textbook published instruments specifically designed to measure mastery of material presented. Mastery is considered to mean that students will score at least 80% on each assessment. Various formats have been used such as multiple choice, matching, short answer, essay, and map completion. The textbook used was World: Adventures in Time and Place, published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill in 1997. The assessment instruments are considered to be field-tested, have face validity, and were peer-reviewed by other social studies teachers. All assessments were based on 100%; scores indicating the percentage of correctly answered items. Sample assessment instruments are included in the appendix.The study took place during the first nine weeks grading period of the school year. The students received instruction about working in cooperative groups and practiced before the study began. For each block of material, one class used the cooperative learning structures and the other did not receive instructions in this manner. The group not receiving cooperative learning structures as a teaching method was involved in the traditional lecture/demonstration method with individual assignments. Student achievement was measured through curriculum based assessment instruments designed by the teacher. The assessments were quantitatively compared. Students in the group have roles: Speed Captain (prompts more ideas), Super Supporter (encourages/recognizes all ideas), Synergy Guru (encourages members to build upon one another's ideas), and Recorder (writes ideas). Members carry out their respective roles while the team generates a variety of possible responses.

Methodology

Design

Dunbar Middle School is located in Fairmont, West Virginia. While West Virginia is mostly rural, the school is considered to have some characteristics of an inner city population. The students in the study, chosen as a convenience, cluster sample, are fifty 6th graders, eleven or twelve years old. There are a wide range of SES levels, from homeless children to children of professional, upper-class parents. The students are a mix of abilities, gender, and race, with 12% minority population, who were randomly placed in two (out of seven) Social Studies class periods. Each class period has five to eight students who currently receive special education services. The teacher in the study is an experienced veteran of twenty-five years, who has taught 6th grade at Dunbar Middle School for nine years. This is her seventh year of Social Studies instruction. Participants

Measures of Assessment Instruments

Each class received the same material and the same assessments. Achievement was measured by the percentage of correct responses on teacher made and textbook published assessments and the mean score for the group of students in each class period was computed. Comparisons were made between classes that received instruction using cooperative learning strategies and classes that did not use this method.

Cooperative Learning Structures are methods of organizing the interaction of individuals in a classroom. Step-by-step procedures are used to present, practice, and review material. Some regulate interaction between pairs, some are best for teamwork, and others involve the entire class. The following examples illustrate a few of these instructional methods used. Sample lesson plans for selected structures are included in the appendix. Procedures

Think-Pair-Share - The teacher poses a question to the class and the students think about their response. Then students pair with a partner to talk over their ideas. Finally, students share their ideas with the class.

Rallytable - Students are working in pairs, within their teams. Students will take turns writing on one piece of paper or completing a task.

Numbered Heads Together - Students within the team number off from 1-4. The teacher poses a question and the students put their heads together to discuss the answer. The teacher randomly calls a number and from each team the student with that number writes the answer on the team response board.

Showdown - Each student writes his answer on his individual response board. When everyone in the group is ready, the leader says "Showdown" and team members compare and discuss their answers.

Teammates Consult - Students all have their own copy of the same worksheet or assignment questions. A large cup is placed in the center of each team, and students begin by placing their pencils in the cup. With pencils still in the cup, they discuss their answers to the first question. When all team members are ready, they remove their pencils from the cup and write their answers without talking. They repeat this process with the remaining questions.

4S Brainstorming -
Analysis

The mean for each group's (control and treatment) scores was calculated to find the standard mean deviation effect size and compared using the t-Test for Independent Samples. An effect size was derived to provide an estimate of the magnitude of the results independent of sample size. This gives an indication of practical, rather than statistical, significance.

Results

The purpose of the study was to determine if sixth-grade Social Studies students at Dunbar Middle School who participated in cooperative learning structures would gain higher curriculum-based assessment scores than students who did not use this method of learning.

Student scores from each assessment were recorded and a class period mean was calculated. Table 1 shows the mean percent correct on each assessment for the control and treatment groups. Figure 1 shows this information in graph form and Figure 2 shows the overall group averages of the control and treatment groups.

Table 1

Assessment mean scores

For decades cooperative learning has been implemented in classrooms with diverse populations primarily as a means of fostering positive student interactions. In the United States, cooperative learning was first viewed as an approach to facilitate racial integration.

During the 1960s specific cooperative learning methods began to be developed and evaluated in a wide variety of teaching contexts. In an historic overview (Johnson & Johnson, 1999) nine methods of cooperative learning are listed. Johnson and Johnson developed Learning Together and Alone and Constructive Controversy, DeVries & Edwards created Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT), Sharan & Sharan developed Group Investigation, Aronson developed the Jigsaw Procedure, Slavin created Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), Team Accelerated Instruction (TAI) and Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC), and Kagan developed Cooperative Learning Structures.

A synthesis of research about cooperative learning finds that cooperative learning strategies improve the achievement of students and their interpersonal relationships. In 67 studies of the achievement effects of cooperative learning 61% found significantly greater achievement in cooperative than in traditionally taught control groups. Positive effects were found in all major subjects, all grade levels, in urban, rural, and suburban schools, and for high, average, and low achievers (Slavin, 1991).

Johnson, Johnson, & Stanne (2000) summarize that cooperative learning strategies are widely used because they are based on theory, validated by research, and almost any teacher can find a way to use cooperative learning methods that are consistent with personal philosophies. In a meta-analysis of 158 studies, Johnson & Johnson report that current research findings present evidence that cooperative learning methods are likely to produce positive achievement results. The studies included eight methods of cooperative learning: Learning Together and Alone, Constructive Controversy, Jigsaw Procedure, Student teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), Team Accelerated Instruction (TAI), Cooperative Integrated Reading & Composition (CIRC), Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT), and Group Investigation. No studies were found that specifically investigate Kagan's Cooperative Learning Structures. In each case, the achievement levels were significantly higher when cooperative learning methods were used as compared to individualistic or competitive methods of learning.

Grouping is essential to cooperative learning. The most widely used team formation is that of heterogeneous teams, containing a high, two middle, and a low achieving student and having a mix of gender and ethnic diversity that reflect the classroom population. The rationale for heterogeneous groups argues that this produces the greatest opportunities for peer tutoring and support as well as improving cross-race and cross-sex relations and integration. Occasionally, random or special interest teams could be formed to maximize student talents or meet a specific student need (Kagan, 1994).

While many cooperative learning training packages exist, one study found that most teachers who use these methods have been self-taught (Sparapani, Abel, Easton, Edwards, & Herbster, 1997) and that teachers are likely to use a combination of methods. This resulted in very few activities that involved higher-level thinking skills and most of the observations were of drill and review or routine activities. The reason for lack of teacher training is given as lack of funding and/or administrative support. Another study (Nath & Ross 1996) of teachers using Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) found that if teachers did not strictly adhere to the framework of cooperative learning, the method was unsuccessful and students spent more time on disagreements or conflict management than they did on academic tasks. Sapon-Shevin and Schniedewind (1989/1990) assert that teacher buy-in is an essential factor for success and that cooperative learning needs to be embraced as a teaching philosophy and a set of principles rather than as a teaching gimmick if it is to reach its full potential.

Factors contributing to achievement effects of cooperative learning are group goals and individual accountability. Providing students with an incentive to help each other and encourage each other to put forth maximum efforts increases the likelihood that all group members will learn. As well as individual grades and evaluations there is strong evidence that group grades and team rewards are most successful for motivation (Slavin, 1995). Others argue that the group grades and team rewards allow for the free rider effect of students who do not participate to the fullest extent of their abilities (Joyce, 1999 and Cohen, 1998). Also, it is argued that group grading de-emphasizes the importance of hard-work, personal ability, and perseverance (Kagan, 1995).

Cooperative learning enhances social interaction, which is essential to meet the needs of at-risk students (Slavin, Karweit, & Madden, 1989; Johnson, 1998). Within the framework of cooperative learning groups, students learn how to interact with their peers and increase involvement with the school community. Positive interactions do not always occur naturally and social skills instruction must precede and concur with the cooperative learning strategies. Social skills encompass communicating, building and maintaining trust, providing leadership, and managing conflicts (Goodwin 1999).

In two studies (Nelson & Johnson, 1996; Prater, Bruhl, & Serna, 1998) researchers found that students with behavior disorders who did not receive social skills instruction performed better with direct instruction methods rather than cooperative group methods and that students who did receive social skills instruction performed better with cooperative group methods.

Cooperative learning has been found to be a successful teaching strategy at all levels, from pre-school to post secondary. The developmental characteristics of middle school students make cooperative learning a good fit of teaching strategy for the needs of the students. Young adolescents need to socialize, be a part of a group, share feelings, receive emotional support, and learn to see things from other perspectives. Cooperative learning groups do not separate students on the basis of class, race, or gender and the goals of middle schools are consistent with the goals of cooperative learning theories. It is a peer-centered pedagogy that promotes academic achievement and builds positive social relationships (Sapon-Shevin, 1994).

Social Studies classes lend themselves to cooperative learning methods due to the skills and values within the curriculum. Students may use their thinking, communication, and information-sharing skills to increase their content knowledge as well as their interpersonal skills. Several suggestions were given by Karnes and Collins (1997) to implement cooperative learning structures within the social studies context.

The amount of research suggests that many have studied the effects of cooperative learning and found positive results. In a search for studies that specifically explored Kagan's Structures of Cooperative Learning and/or the use of cooperative learning in social studies classes only a few were located. One study (Maheady, Mallette, Harper, & Sacca, 1991) compared the effects of Numbered Heads Together to a whole-group questioning strategy on social studies tests scores with third graders. Students always performed better when Numbered Heads Together was used and on-task rates were approximately twice as high using this structure. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Kagan's cooperative learning structures as a teaching method to increase student achievement in social studies classes with sixth graders.

A one-tailed, unpaired t test was calculated using the computer software Stat View on the difference between the two class periods. The results are statistically significant at .04 probability level.

Table 2

Unpaired t-test

A standardized mean difference effect size was calculated by dividing the difference between the mean of the treatment group (period 2) and the control group (period one) to provide an estimate of the magnitude of difference, which is an indicator of practical significance. The result is a moderate to large effect size in educational research.

Another question was raised when examining the results: What were the effects of cooperative learning structures on the achievement scores of sixth-grade Social Studies students with disabilities or special needs at Dunbar Middle School? No statistical analysis was calculated specifically on the mean scores of students with special needs, due to the small number involved, but the scores are reported in Table 3. In each case and for each exceptionality, the students with special needs in the treatment group scored higher than the students with special needs in the control group. Figures 3-6 illustrate this information in graph form.

Table3

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

The primary goal of this study was to measure student achievement for those using Kagan's cooperative learning structures as a method of instruction and to compare that achievement with those using a traditional lecture/independent style of instruction. For each assessment the assumption that using cooperative learning structures would result in higher achievement was proven. The results were consistent with those of earlier studies comparing other cooperative learning methods against lecture/independent styles of instruction (Slavin, 1991; Johnson & Johnson, 2000). Figure 6

Discussion

Although the intent did not focus on measuring achievement for students with disabilities, the results indicate that cooperative learning structures can be used successfully for students of diverse abilities. The students in the study presented a wide variety of abilities and functioning levels; including mildly mentally impaired (MMI), learning disabilities (LD), attention deficit (ADD), obsessive compulsive (OCD), English as a second language (ESL), and gifted (GT). All students with special needs in the treatment group were more successful than those in the control group

A goal of placing students with disabilities in an inclusive setting is to foster acceptance and increase social interaction. Kagan's structures and other methods of cooperative learning address this issue due to the inherent nature of the heterogeneous groupings (Kagan, 1994). While not measured, this goal was reached according to the teacher's observations of social interactions within the groups. One of the students in the treatment class was a non-English speaking student. The social context of the group helped avoid the isolation that this student could have felt beginning school in a new country. The students in his group certainly aided in his acquisition of English, as well as social studies content. Other students with disabilities reported that they felt more comfortable working with classmates than working independently.

There were no students with behavior disorders included in the population of this study. Other studies (Nelson & Johnson, 1996; Prater, Bruhl, & Serna, 1998) have found that the social skills needed for cooperative learning should be taught prior to beginning cooperative learning lessons. While social skills are included in Kagan's structures, this pre-teaching of skills for students with behavior disorders would enhance the success of the method.
Cohen, E. G. (1998). Making cooperative learning equitable. Educational Leadership, 56, 18-22.

Goodwin, M. W. (1999). Cooperative learning and social skills: What skills to teach and how to teach them. Interventions in School & Clinic, 35, 29-34.

Johnson, D. W. & Johnson R. T. (1999). Learning Together and Alone: Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Learning (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Stanne, M. B. (2000). Cooperative learning methods: A meta-analysis. Retrieved July, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.clcrc.com/pages/cl-methods.html

Johnson, G. M. (1998). Principles of instruction for at-risk learners. Preventing School Failure, 42, 167-181.

Joyce, W. B. (1999). On the free-rider problem in cooperative learning. Journal of Education for Business, 74, 271-274.

Kagan, S. (1994). Cooperative Learning. San Clemente, California: Kagan Publishing.

Kagan, S. (1995). Group grades miss the mark. Educational Leadership, 52, 68-72.

Karnes, M. & Collins, D. (1997). Using cooperative learning strategies to improve literacy skills in social studies. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 13, 37-52.

Maheady, L., Mallette, B., Harper, G.F., & Sacca, K (1991). Heads together" A peer-mediated option for improving the academic achievement of heterogeneous learning groups. Remedial and Special Education, 12, 25-33.

Nath, L. R. & Ross, S. (1996). A case study of implementing a cooperative learning program in an inner-city school. Journal of Experimental Education, 64, 117-137.

Nelson, J. R. & Johnson, A. (1996). Effects of direct instruction, cooperative learning, and independent learning practices on the classroom behavior of students with behavioral disorders: A comparative analysis. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 4, 53-63.

Prater, M. A., Bruhl, S. & Serna, L. A. (1998). Acquiring social skills through cooperative learning and teacher-directed instruction. Remedial and Special Education, 19, 160-172.

Sapon-Shevin, M. (1994). Cooperative learning and middle schools: What would it take to really do it right? Theory Into Practice, 33, 183-190.

Sapon-Shevin, M. & Schniedewind, N. (1989/1990). Selling cooperative learning without selling it short. Educational Leadership, 47, 63-65.

Slavin, R. E. (1995). Cooperative Learning. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Slavin, R. E., Karweit, N. L. & Madden, N. A. (1989). Effective Programs for Students At Risk. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Slavin, R. E. (1991). Synthesis of research on cooperative learning. Educational Leadership, 48, 71-82.

These findings have relevance to the general classroom teacher faced with implementing inclusion of students with special needs. Cooperative learning structures can be easily used as a modification to instruction with no extra time or effort required of the teacher. One lesson plan using cooperative learning structures has built in peer tutoring and support within the heterogeneous class groupings, which eliminates the requirement for several different plans to meet the needs of all students. Because structures are content free, this method of cooperative learning could be adapted to any curricular area and any level. In this study the sixth grade social studies textbook was the foundation for instruction.

A limitation of the study could be the differences in students within each class period. Although efforts were made to ensure that each class period contained students of comparable abilities, the group make-up could have affected the outcomes. The control group did score lower on each assessment. If the control group would now receive instruction with cooperative learning structures, would they increase their scores? Due to time restraints, this information is not included in this report but is the focus of a follow-up study now being conducted.

The teacher involved in this study was an experienced teacher with an interest and background in cooperative learning that received continual support and feedback from trainers and other teachers using the cooperative learning structures. Sapon-Shevin and Schniedewind (1989/1990) found that teacher buy-in is essential to the success of cooperative learning which was evident during this study. The results could be quite different if the teacher were inexperienced, not committed to using structures, or did not receive support.

Implications for further study would be to explore the success of cooperative learning structures in school wide versus isolated classrooms settings and long-term usage of the methods. In this study the approach was a novel one for the students, as this was their first exposure to using structures in their classes.

While this study focused on sixth-grade social studies students using cooperative learning structures, others have found the method to be successful across all levels. Positive effects were found in all major subjects, all grade levels, in urban, rural, and suburban schools, and for high, average, and low achievers (Slavin, 1991). Perhaps future studies will concur with these findings.

References

Kagan is compiling data on the effectiveness of the Kagan methods. If any of you have any action research from your own classrooms or any comments you would like to share, we would very much appreciate hearing from you. Please E-mail Kagan at: NOTE:
Research@KaganOnline.com

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Kagan specializes in staff development and educational resources for teachers. Visit our online store, magazine and message board the leading authority on cooperative learning, classroom discipline and multiple intelligences.

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Guiding questions are essential for helping the students grasp concepts at a higher thinking level.
Consider the scenario:
The ESL teacher and the student read a chunk of text and highlight the text's new words. The student makes sentences and adds new words to a bank of half-learned vocabulary words in their notebook.

They will regurgitate this information in a quiz/test later.
Now consider this:
The teachers ask questions to ensure that students understand the meaning of the keywords and grammar.

They ask questions, such as, is the sentence punctuated properly? Why is this tense used? What is the meaning of this word? They can also ask questions directly related to the reading.

The teacher frontloads the necessary information and provides questions that the students have to find the answer to.

These are called guiding questions.

What are Guiding Questions?

Guiding questions are designed to explore a topic in greater depth and encourage them to elicit understanding by thinking deeply about the topic. Students must use their own judgment to determine the answer.

The student uses what they have learned to form an appropriate answer.

Guiding questions help the students arrive at a particular endpoint by 'guiding them.' For this reason, they are not considered very open-ended questions.

Guiding questions are often called the spine of the lesson and the activities are the vertebrae.
A Primer of Guiding Questions by Kathy Glass

Why are Guiding Questions Important?

When teachers create guiding questions, everything else in the section serves a purpose because now the students know what they are looking for.

This will help them understand the lesson from a broader perspective and string what they've learned to answer important questions.

The students may think of other questions to ask in response to the guiding question. Students may even have multiple perspectives or answers, but they must have the essential discipline knowledge to answer them.

Guiding questions create a goal for learning. One could try and learn everything and not get anywhere because the goal of learning is not clear.

Examples of Guiding Questions

In History: What is a good life for Vikings?
In Maths: How did you solve the problem?
In Language Arts: What is the meaning of 'tradition'?
In Chemistry: What caused the combustion?
In Geography: How do the animals adapt to their environment?

Students can truly internalise and understand even more complex tasks by applying guided questions.

What is the difference between an essential question and a guided question?

An essential question allows the students to delve even deeper with more open-ended questions. There is no final answer, like a guiding question.

The essential questions get to the heart of the matter and are considered critical factors to help teachers facilitate learning.

In Language Arts: How does language shape culture?
In Science: In what ways does exercise and diet affect health?
In Music: What makes a singer amazing?
In Maths: How and when do we use Pythagoras' Theorem?
In English: What lesson can we learn from this story?

These questions tend to lead students to some critical insights.

Other Questions that are not Guided Questions

Lastly, if we were to ask, "Why is X good/bad" question, we are not asking a guiding question. In fact, we are asking a leading question.

These questions pass judgment by already labeling something. Leading questions are still helpful for the student's learning but do not provide the same purpose as guiding questions.

How to think of good guiding questions?

Write a list of questions around the common theme or topic you wish to study with the student.

You can ask yourself questions such as "why is the student learning this? Why should the student care? Why does the student need to know this?" when developing the guiding questions.

You can later whittle the list down to just a few questions that are non-judgemental, and open-ended enough to get the student's thinking caps on.

You can ask questions that require research and analysis.

Guiding questions can then be used to complete some activities or a final project. The projects can showcase that learning.

Remember!

We don't want the students' to just learn the information. We want the students to consume this information to benefit their learning goals.

We want to go beyond surface-level learning, where the students cannot remember what they have learned, to help the students internalize their new learning.

This is why a teacher's role is so important! Let's create a productive learning environment for all.

In Conclusion

Guiding questions are a popular and useful technique to aid student learning and build upon their knowledge.

By using guiding questions, we can help the student understanding the lesson or topic as a whole.

Guiding questions are often absent from curriculum design, but the teacher can include them in their teaching. These questions will guide the student toward a particular learning goal.

Useful Links

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What Are Guiding Questions? Examples + Tips | TPR Teaching

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Guiding questions are essential for helping the students grasp concepts at a higher thinking level. Consider the scenario: The ESL teacher and the student read a chunk of text and highlight the text's new words. The student makes sentences and adds new words to a bank of half-learned vocabulary words in their notebook.

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Strategies for Close Reading

Notice and Note by Kylene Beers and Bob Probst introduces 6 "signposts" to help students read closely, encouraging them to explore the text and find evidence to support their interpretations.

The book provides text-dependent anchor questions and model lessons to help teachers introduce each signpost. It's a practical guide to help create attentive readers who interpret text responsibly and reflect on its meaning in their lives.

"Just as rigor does not reside in the barbell but in the act of lifting it, rigor in reading is not an attribute of a text but rather of a reader's behavior-engaged, observant, responsive, questioning, analytical. The close reading strategies in Notice and Note will help you cultivate those critical reading habits that will make your students more attentive, thoughtful, independent readers."

-Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst

Also available: Notice & Note/Reading Nonfiction Signpost Student Bookmarks
Notice and Note Book Club Facebook Page
In Notice and Note Kylene Beers and Bob Probst introduce 6 "signposts" that alert readers to significant moments in a work of literature and encourage students to read closely. Learning first to spot these signposts and then to question them, enables readers to explore the text, any text, finding evidence to support their interpretations. In short, these close reading strategies will help your students to notice and note.

In this timely and practical guide Kylene and Bob:

examine the new emphasis on text-dependent questions, rigor, text complexity, and what it means to be literate in the 21st century

identify 6 signposts that help readers understand and respond to character development, conflict, point of view, and theme

provide 6 text-dependent anchor questions that help readers take note and read more closely

offer 6 Notice and Note model lessons, including text selections and teaching tools, that help you introduce each signpost to your students.

Notice and Note will help create attentive readers who look closely at a text, interpret it responsibly, and reflect on what it means in their lives. It should help them become the responsive, rigorous, independent readers we not only want students to be but know our democracy demands.

A newNotice and Note Literature Log offers students practice finding the signposts-with over-the-shoulder coaching from Kylene and Bob. Save with 5-packs.

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

Part I, The Questions We Pondered, shares our thinking about some critical topics of today. Because our thinking about these topics mostly took the form of questions we asked of one another, we decided to present this section as a series of questions and our answers. Our answers, tentative as they are, may help you understand the thinking that guided our development of the Notice and Note Signposts. Also in Part I you'll see sections labeled "What you might wonder about." These are additional questions we thought you and others in your own learning community might want to discuss. See these questions as starting points for rich conversations about literacy education in your own classroom and your own school.
Part II, The Signposts We Found, explains the Notice and Note Signposts, the role of generalizable language, and the anchor question that accompanies each signpost.
Part III, The Lessons We Teach, provides model lessons for teaching the Signposts. This is our language and we don't expect it to work for you or your students until you've put it in your own words, but it will give you a start, a place to begin.
We hope that Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading will help students come to enjoy the pleasures of reading attentively and responsively. They will need you to put the right books in their hands, books in which they can get lost and books in which they can find themselves. And they'll need you, and other teachers like you, to invite them into the conversations that will transform them into the close and thoughtful readers whose entire lives will be enriched by books.

Part I: The Questions We Pondered
1. Is reading still reading?
2. And what is the role of fiction?
3. Where does rigor fit in with this discussion of reading?
4. What do we mean by intellectual communities?
5. What is the role of talk in creating intellectual communities?
6. Do text-dependent questions foster engagement?
7. What is "Close Reading?"
8. To talk about novels do we all need to be reading the same book?
9. As I'm choosing novels, don't the CCSS say novels must be harder, be more complex?
10. And one final question: Are we creating lifetime learners?

Part II: The Signposts We Found
1. The Notice and Note Signposts
2. Defining the Notice and Note Signposts
3. The Anchor Question for each Signpost
4. The Role of Generalizable Language in Teaching these Lessons
5. The Generalizable Language We Use for Each Signpost
6. Explaining the Signposts to Students
7. Assessment and the Notice and Note Signposts
8. Some Questions You Might Have

Part III The Lessons We Teach
1. Contrasts and Contradictions
2. The Aha Moment
3. Tough Questions
4. Words of the Wiser
5. Again and Again
6. Memory Moment

1.Student Survey on Discussions2. Rigor and Talk Checklist
3. Huswifery
4. Text complexity worksheet
5. Notice and Note Bookmark
6. Texts for teaching the Notice and Note Lessons

Companion Resources

Reviews

"Exceptionally well written, organized, and presented...very highly recommended."
-Susan Bethany, Midwest Book Review

Reviews from educators like you...

"This is the missing link. While the Common Core State Standards require students to read complex texts, read closely, and answer text-dependent questions, nothing shows us how to help students do all that during independent reading-nothing until Notice and Note came along. Kylene and Bob show us how we can attend to the demands of the CCSS and support engaged, attentive, independent readers."
-Darl Kiernan, PhD., literacy trainer, Northwest Regional Professional Development, NV

"As Bob and Kylene taught their Notice & Note lessons I watched our students become engaged and excited about reading. Students scoured the text to find support for their thinking, and struggling readers succeeded with texts that would have otherwise been discarded as too hard. Don't buy just one of these books-buy one for every teacher in your building!"
-Margaret Ruppert, literacy specialist, Akron Public Schools, Akron, OH

"Bob and Kylene shared these lessons in my class of eighth graders. When my students began to notice the signposts and ask the accompanying anchor questions, navigating a text became possible even for my struggling readers, and the text became something they not only deeply understood but also enjoyed."
-Jennifer Ochoa, middle school teacher, MS 324, New York City, NY

" Notice & Note will help you foster rigorous reading and high-level thinking while honoring your students' need to interact with what they read. Kylene and Bob forge connections between new academic standards and decades of reading research through commonsense strategies that encourage collaboration and engaged reading. This book is well worth noticing and noting."
-Donalyn Miller, author of The Book Whisperer and a grade 4 teacher, Ft. Worth, TX

"As Kylene and Bob taught their Notice & Note lessons at Chicago Shakespeare, I watched a room of teachers get curious, slightly anxious, and then completely enthusiastic about these new avenues for approaching literacy in their urban classrooms. Kylene and Bob understand research and real classrooms, which is why their work continues to be essential."
-Marilyn Halperin, Director of Education, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, IL

"Teaching students to respond to complex texts is a critical aspect of implementing the Common Core State Standards. When I use Notice & Note lessons in my professional development sessions, teachers invariably go deeper into long familiar texts. These strategies awaken our critical eye and direct us to explore text elements that we might otherwise ignore. Notice and Note strategies will improve how your students analyze and respond to any text."
-Patsy Dunton, ELA Specialist, Maine DOE

"As much as I love Beers and Probst's concept of signposts and anchor questions, I think my favorite part of Notice & Note is their section on "Letting Students Create Text-Dependent Questions." With a few simple steps, they demonstrate how to teach students to ask questions about texts to drive comprehension and learning. I love this approach because it makes texts accessible to everyone-after all, we can all think of questions as we read-but more importantly, it signals the importance of INQUIRY in learning and ENCOURAGES students to ask questions while reading, which is, in fact, what good readers do. This book makes a vital contribution to the ongoing discussion about how to help students become stronger readers."
-Sarah Tantillo, author of The Literacy Cookbook

Read the entire review at Only Good Books

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Notice and Note by Kylene Beers and Bob Probst introduces six "signposts" to help readers identify significant moments in a work of literature and read closely. This practical guide offers six model lessons and anchor questions to help students become independent, attentive, and thoughtful readers.

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If you're familiar with our stories, you know that our teen writers often describe experiences that can be triggering for readers. For example, a story about abuse may elicit uncomfortable reactions from readers who have also been abused or witnessed abuse. So how do you broach a subject like violence, trauma, or mental illness in a responsible way? The answer: with sensitivity.

We suggest taking extra time to prepare yourself and your youth before reading a sensitive story. For some students with previous traumas, being presented with the triggering material in the group setting can feel overwhelming. Our panel of advisers, all of whom are mental health professionals, suggested these specific steps:

1. Read the story carefully before presenting it. Think about how you will respond to a story before bringing it to an individual or a group of youth. If you have a strong reaction or a story brings up powerful memories for you, it might not be the right story to present.

2. Warn the group that the story may trigger strong emotions. If you anticipate that a story might be highly triggering to your youth, you may want to let the group know what you're planning a week in advance. This will allow a participant who has a history of trauma to either opt out of that session or prepare for the upcoming topic with your help or the help of a counselor or therapist, if they have access to one. You can also allow group members to read the material in advance, which can help them feel more in control.

A possible script might be: "We'll be reading a story about X next week. Some of this material may be disturbing or especially difficult depending on what you've experienced in your own life. If you'd like to read it on your own before we read it as a group, let me know. When we do read it together, it's OK to put your head down, step out of the room, get a drink of water, walk around a bit if it feels like too much for you. Whether you've experienced something similar or have been a bystander, this kind of thing can bring up uncomfortable emotions, and that's normal." If you're reading the story aloud, remind your youth that they can pass if they just want to listen.

3. Reinforce the safe space. You want students to feel safe and supported while they read the story and while the group talks about it. You also want them to feel free to express themselves, if they choose. Through your own actions and interactions with group members, strive to create a setting in which participants' thoughts and feelings are respected, even by teens who may disagree or feel uncomfortable.

If you have group agreements, remind everyone of those, especially any about how members interact with one another (such as allowing people to speak before responding, and avoiding dismissive or other uncaring responses).

Conversely, though most students have an innate sense of what not to share in a group, reading an emotional story could result in an some members inappropriately disclosing intimate details of their lives. You can let everyone know ahead of time that discussion should center on the story, not on group members' personal experiences. But also tell them that if they'd like to talk further with you after the session, you are available. In most cases, simply making yourself available and listening is reassuring to the teen. However, you should also know what mental health professionals may be available so you can make a referral if you feel a student needs additional support.

4. Invite a mental health professional to join the group or have referrals ready. Reading and discussing our stories with a group may also present an opportunity to introduce the school social worker, staff psychologist, counselor, or other mental health professional. You might say something like, "We'll be reading a story about a teen who suffered from depression today, so I invited the school social worker, Ms. Davis, to talk a little bit about what depression is and what kinds of help there is for it." For youth who feel a stigma around mental health issues, this can break down some barriers and help them feel more comfortable with the idea of getting help from a professional.

If you don't have an on-staff resource to turn to, look for community resources (for example, in New York City, The Door and many other agencies provide free counseling) You might also give out relevant hotlines and websites. See our Finding Help section for a list of resources.

5. Do some psychoeducation. Psychoeducation is education about common ways that one may psychologically respond to a traumatic event or mental health issue. For example, psychoeducation about depression might include information about what depression looks and feels like, statistics on how many people experience it, descriptions of what kind of help there is, and a hotline that someone might call if they are feeling depressed. See our Finding Help section for a list of resources.

6. Check the room for signs of distress. If the teens are reading the story aloud, tell them that they can choose not to take a turn reading. If anyone indicates that it's a lot to deal with or reminds them of something, let them know that they can put their head down on a desk or step outside. If someone starts crying or displaying another sign of serious distress, you can quietly ask them if they need a break, a tissue, a drink of water, or something else. Follow your instincts about whether the group should take a short recess or keep going, but try not to call attention to the distressed person. If possible, it can be helpful to have two co-facilitators so one person can lead the group and the other can see how people are reacting and step out with someone if necessary.

7. Focus on the writer's agency and hope. Teens face difficult challenges in many of our stories, but they are not defeated by them. The power of the stories is that they show how a credible peer managed a difficult situation-through self-help, help from friends and caring adults, and help from mental health professionals. Our readers surveys consistently show that reading stories like these helps readers feel less alone and more optimistic about handling the challenges in their lives. Our activities-and any activities or discussion you create around our stories-should focus on agency (the actions teens can take to manage challenges). For example, ask your group to look back at the story and identify ways that the writer was able help him or herself. Did s/he reach out for help? Begin therapy? Find a coping strategy that worked? Of course, our stories don't have "happily ever after" endings-those are for fairy tales, not real life-but we've tried to only post stories on this site that model agency, hope, or resilience.

8. End the discussion with an open door policy. Let your group know that they are welcome to keep talking about the story or the issue with you later. Make it clear that the invitation is for everyone, not just those who may be directly impacted. For example, instead of saying "If you've experienced something like this, come talk to me," you might say "If the story really stuck with you, or if you want to think of ways to help other people who've been affected by this, you're welcome to stay behind to talk with me some more." This will make it easier for young people to stick around without feeling like they're outing themselves as depressed or abused or mentally ill.

9. Remind the group again about other supports that are available to them. You may feel like you're being repetitive, but you should sandwich any difficult discussions with information on who can help. Remind the group again if there is a school social worker, staff psychologist, or counselor who can help. Give out that person's contact information to everyone.

All Expert Advice articles are written by Maria Luisa Tucker, Youth Communication's Editorial Director, and based on interviews with our advisory board of mental health profressionals.

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youth communication (content / design) and codeHorse.com (programming)

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Trigger Warning! 9 Tips to Introduce a Sensitive Subject - Maria Luisa Tucker, Editorial Director, Youth Communication

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If you're familiar with our stories, you know that our teen writers often describe experiences that can be triggering for readers. For example, a story about abuse may elicit uncomfortable reactions from readers who have also been abused or witnessed abuse. So how do you broach a subject like violence, trauma, or mental illness in a responsible way?

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Scott Ritchie is a colleague who studies the discourse of innocence in his work:

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Scott Ritchie is a colleague who studies the discourse of innocence in his work:

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KENNESAW, Ga. (Oct 14, 2020) - Kennesaw State University elementary teacher educators and researchers Sohyun An and Scott Ritchie of the Bagwell College of Education are working to help elementary school teachers conduct meaningful classroom discussions about social issues and the impact that racism can have on their students.

Sohyun An

Through a $50,000 grant from the Spencer Foundation, a leading supporter of education research, An and Ritchie will conduct a case study analysis of three local elementary school teachers who successfully teach racial literacy. In this pilot study next year, they will address questions related to the teachers' beliefs about race, teaching racial literacy, and their practices around race-related content.

"We want teachers to be able to have open and honest dialogue with their students on issues of race, racism, white supremacy, power and privilege when they arise during class discussions," An explained. "From these experiences, students can learn how to become informed, engaged citizens and change makers for an anti-racist, anti-oppressive world."

An, professor of social studies education, and Ritchie, associate professor of language and literacy education, have examined the relationship between language, power and identity as depicted in various texts such as social studies books and children's picture books.

Their goal is to help better prepare teachers in engaging learners of a rapidly increasing multicultural world by incorporating more of the students' backgrounds and experiences into the curriculum. The research team will study how elementary school teachers can effectively cultivate and facilitate powerful and meaningful conversations on race and racism during lessons, most prevalent in language arts, writing and social studies.

"Race and racism are considered taboo topics in elementary schools in the U.S.," said Ritchie. "Yet, studies indicate that children recognize race and internalize racism at an early age, signifying that discussions of race in schools could help children learn how to combat racism."

Scott Ritchie

Ritchie further noted that, although teaching racial literacy has proven successful in the secondary, post-secondary, and community settings, almost no resources are available for elementary school settings.

"By gathering data on successful elementary teachers of racial literacy education, we will build theory and develop new foundational knowledge that may have a lasting impact on educational discourse on how to teach racial literacy to elementary students," said Ritchie.

From this initial work on a conceptual framework for racial literacy education at the K-5 level, An and Ritchie plan to translate their project results into a larger study focused on elementary school teachers from around the country who also exhibit best practices for teaching racial literacy.

"The more concrete everyday stories and examples of anti-racist pedagogy at the elementary level that we can highlight through our research, the more powerful the impact will be on other elementary teachers who are willing to take the difficult, and too often less-traveled road, but are unsure where or how to start," An said.

- Joëlle Walls

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.

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Education researchers receive grant to address race literacy in elementary schools

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Kennesaw State University elementary teacher educators and researchers Sohyun An and Scott Ritchie of the Bagwell College of Education are working to help elementary school teachers conduct meaningful classroom discussions about social issues and the impact that racism can have on their students.

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Use this strategy to guide students through a close analysis of an image. By following the steps in this image-analysis procedure, students develop awareness of historical context, develop critical thinking skills, enhance their observation and interpretive skills, and develop conceptual learning techniques. You can use this strategy with any visual media, including a piece of art, photograph, political cartoon, propaganda poster, or video clip.

1. Select an Image
Choose an image that lends itself to deep analysis by students. This analysis strategy works best when the image is one that reflects (intentionally or not) a particular opinion, point of view, or perspective. Visual art, propaganda images, photographs, and political cartoons are good examples of visual media that reflect a perspective.

2. Lead Students through Analysis
Share the image with students by providing copies or by projecting or displaying it in the classroom. Lead students slowly through the following six steps, pausing between each step to give them significant time for thinking and writing.

Step One:
Ask students to look deeply at the picture for a good long time. Have them observe shapes, colors, textures, the position of people and/or objects, etc.

Step Two:
Have students write down what they see without making any interpretation about what the picture is trying to say.

Step Three:
Ask students: What questions do you have about this picture that you would need to have answered before you can begin to interpret it? Ask as many questions as you have.

Step Four:
Have students discuss their questions with two other students in the class to try to find some answers.

Step Five:
Given the historical context and subject of the piece, ask students what they think the artist is trying to say (what does the piece mean), and who they think is the intended audience?

Step Six:
Discuss your interpretation with the class, and be prepared to support your view by referring to specific elements of the image and what you know about the history of the time.

3. Discuss the Process
Take a few moments to discuss with students how they experienced this process of analyzing visual media. For many, it may feel uncomfortably slow, but by practicing and discussing this process, students will begin to respond more thoughtfully and critically to the images they encounter every day.

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Use this strategy to guide students through a close analysis of an image. By following the steps in this image-analysis procedure, students develop awareness of historical context, develop critical thinking skills, enhance their observation and interpretive skills, and develop conceptual learning techniques.

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Introduction

The discipline of history is grounded in reading, and one of the challenges teachers face is trying to teach history to students who for one reason or another have a difficult time reading English. In addition, the Virginia Standards of Learning require that students, as early as the fourth grade, be able to "identify and interpret artifacts and primary and secondary source documents to understand events in history"-a task that often requires reading at a higher level.

"Teaching with Photographs" includes images from the Virginia Historical Society's collection that can be used to address themes in post-1865 Virginia and American history. These images address such historical themes as education, industrialization, urbanization, transportation, the changing roles of women, the development of Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement.

"Teaching with Photographs" is designed to be used by both teachers and students, but it is intended for you, the teacher, to direct student learning.

Resources for Teachers includes examples of photo analysis sheets as well as additional questions you may want to use to address Virginia SOLs. Other images related to each theme are accessible through our online catalog.

For Students contains the selected images for all seven themes, simple captions, and a series of six questions for each image. Questions are arranged according to Bloom's taxonomy; the first questions address observation and recall, while the final questions require more complex and abstract levels of thinking-analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Historical themes

We have chosen to address these seven specific topic areas (listed below) for several reasons. First, we feel they reflect the most important themes in Virginia and American history over the last century. Also, our collections are rich in all these areas. Finally, these areas are ones that allow students to develop what history educators call "historical habits of mind" by evaluating continuity and change over time. Even if we do not ask the question directly, your students will look at the images and ask themselves how things today are different and how they are the same. We also hope they will see the overlap among the various themes. Is a picture depicting white women making cigars a picture about women, industrialization, or Jim Crow?

The themes students will explore include:

Credits

"Teaching with Photographs" was funded by a generous grant from Richmond's Memorial Foundation for Children.

We would like to acknowledge the following individuals and organizations that contributed to the project:

The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Teaching with Primary Sources, Northern Virginia Partnership

Susan M. Orr, education specialist for social studies in Fairfax County Schools

National Archives and Records Administration

Middle Level Learning, a publication of National Council for the Social Studies (www.socialstudies.org)

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The discipline of history is grounded in reading, and one of the challenges teachers face is trying to teach history to students who for one reason or another have a difficult time reading English.

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The Photo Archives is a rich and expanding collection of photographic images gathered from private donors, archives, libraries, museums, and photo agencies from around the world. The bulk of the collection spans the period from the end of World War I to the early 1950s.

Hours and Location

The Photo Archives is open to the public Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and is closed on all Federal holidays, Yom Kippur, and Christmas Day. The Photo Archives is located on the Fifth Floor of the Museum building and is accessible by the elevator near the 14th Street entrance. Appointments prior to visiting the Photo Archives are strongly encouraged due to limited space.

Search for Photographs

More than 30% of the 100,000 historical photographs in the Photo Archives are available through our online catalog. More are being added each month as photos are culled and digitized from the Museum's entire collection. In general, only photographs belonging to the Museum or determined to be in the public domain are featured in this online catalog. However, in a few instances special permission has been obtained to include photographs belonging to other archives or collectors.

A selection of institutional photographs of the Museum (images of the Museum and its programs) are available through this online catalog.

A small sampling of photographs of the more than 10,000 artifacts in the Museum is available through this online catalog.

Comprehensive Search of the Photo Archive

Those interested in conducting more extensive research in the Photo Archives are invited to contact us by mail, phone, or e-mail to set up an appointment. Staff is able to provide long distance photo reference service to those with limited research requests. Inquiries should be as specific and precise as possible. If an inquiry pertains to a photograph in the online catalog, please cite the identifying photo number next to the image in your correspondence. For questions related to genealogical research, please contact the Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center.

Terms and Conditions for Use of Photo Archives Images

Individuals and institutions downloading images from the online Photo Archives catalog must contact the Photo Archives regarding terms and conditions of use.

Reproduction Services

For information about reproduction services please contact the Photo Archives at photoarchives@ushmm.org. Orders will be filled in the order in which they are received. Please allow up to three weeks to complete any order.

Donations of Original Materials

The Collections Division is actively soliciting donations of original prewar, wartime, and immediate postwar family photos. If you are interested in donating original materials, please contact a curator at 202.488.2649 or by e-mail at curator@ushmm.org.

If you would like to donate photographs documenting the liberation of concentration camps please read this page about liberation photography.

Temporary Loans of Original Materials

The Photo Archives seeks to copy all types of photographs that document the prewar, wartime, and immediate postwar experience of people who were caught up in the events of World War II, be they as refugees, deportees, witnesses, relief workers, resisters, rescuers, or GIs.

For those of you who are not ready to part with your collections of photographs, we ask that you consider lending them to the Photo Archives for a period of two to three months to allow us to make museum-quality copies of a selection of them and to include them in our database of photographs. Your original materials will be handled with care while they are here and returned to you promptly. To discuss the loan of original photographs to the Photo Archives, please contact us at photoarchives@ushmm.org.

How Photographs are Used

Within the Museum, the Photo Archives provides images for exhibitions, publications, web displays, and educational materials produced by the Museum. The Photo Archives collection is also used by a variety of institutions and individuals, including all branches of the media, museums, government agencies, scholars and researchers, artists and filmmakers, educators and students, and, especially, survivors and their families.

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Photo Archives at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum

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The Photo Archives is a rich and expanding collection of photographic images gathered from private donors, archives, libraries, museums, and photo agencies from around the world. The bulk of the collection spans the period from the end of World War I to t