• To learn more about this project’s purpose and outcomes, you might want to read the first post.
• If you are interested in understanding how this project enabled the teachers and coaches involved to position themselves as learners, you can click through to the second post.
• This post demonstrates the beginning of instruction, where researchers applied strategies that helped them gather facts.
• The fourth post reveals how learners were taught to make connections, determine importance, and revise their work.

While Heather’s students began their formal research using varied texts, books were not their only resources. The learners that I interviewed shared detailed stories of the facts that were gathered as a result of different connections and conversations that they had with others. For instance, shortly after we began our work together, something very exciting began to happen:

The kindergarteners announced the arrival of the chicks by Skyping into first grade teacher Molly Koelle’s classroom. Her students were thrilled to celebrate with their younger friends, and more importantly, several of them shared specific facts about  caring for the chicks, culled from the memories of their own kindergarten experience.

This provided Heather, Molly, and all of the students a chance to take Skype for a test drive, in anticipation of their session with Joanne Kaminski, the Skyping Reading Tutor. Joanne introduced herself by accessing Google Maps and demonstrating her location in relation to ours. She shared a variety of facts about chicks with her captivated audience and led us through a very informative read-aloud using Pam Zollman’s book, A Chick Grows Up.

Each of these experiences expanded the background knowledge of these young researchers and writers, and as I redirected them to our guiding questions, it was clear that their thinking had changed considerably.

“Which tools can help us research best?” I asked each of them individually. The most common responses?

“Books!”

“The computer!”

“Our friends!”

“All kinds of teachers–not just the ones in our classroom!”

“Skype!”

As I’m reflecting on this part of the experience, I’m reminded of how important it is for connected learners to be critical consumers of the information they access from all of these abundant sources. After all, just because a person or a text or a website suggests something is fact doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. How do we help kindergarteners begin to understand that reality and engage in a bit of their own fact-checking? What would that lesson look like?

To be continued….

He asked that I position myself as the leader of this coaching experience. This is what I planned to demonstrate:

• Lesson design for student-centered learning
• Alignment to a relevant and measurable objective
• Engagement with appropriately complex text
• Acting on what has been learned about the needs of these writers through formative assessment

In recent years, we’ve begun asking teachers to share what they are learning about their students as writers and to use different kinds of evidence to inform their hunches. We’ve learned that we need to do a better job of helping students:

• Compose expository text
• Gain clarity about what quality looks like
• Realize that learning involves collaboration and the revision of thought and work

So, that is what I had on my mind when I went about planning this demo lesson:

I wanted these writers to be able to define what quality idea development looks like in expository writing. Knowing that this is the work of months and years rather than minutes and class periods, I planned to use this opportunity to begin their learning and determine what could be done to continue it.

I began by asking them what the difference was between a good idea and a great idea, and we anchored that comparison in a study common ideas that they perceived to be either good or great.

A telephone is a good idea. A cell phone is a great idea.

A stereo is a good idea. An iPod is a great idea.

What’s being said about the quality of these ideas? I wondered aloud. Are they good or are they great? What, specifically, is guiding your decisions?

“That’s a hard question,” I was told.

I hoped that it was.

And if you would like to use that video in class, be sure to cut it short because there’s an unfortunate bit of profanity at the end. ; )

Next, I changed the context, asking them if the criteria they generated could also inform how they approach writing with a critical lens. Inspired by David Coleman’s recommendations, I didn’t stop to deliver a definition of idea development to them here, though. I didn’t model it for them either. Instead, I shared several pieces of complex text with them and asked them to use what they learned from their conversation and what the pieces revealed to create a unique definition of their own. Then, I challenged them to independently fleece out specific criteria as well:

This can demonstrate to Lou what these beginning writers know about quality idea development and inform next steps. What does the first column of the sample below suggest about that? How would this guide what you do next as a teacher?

I chose to ask writers to talk with one another. They were asked to pool their thoughts and ideas and allow the work of their peers to inform their own learning further.

Then, they began to draft a collaborative rubric, which required them to evaluate the contributions made by the group as a whole.

“We have to think AGAIN?” a few of them asked me.

Yes, you do. Post-its were moved, removed, and revised.

“I’m interested in your process,” I asked them. “How did you decide which criteria would make it on to your group rubric?”

“Those criteria were better.” I was told.

How?

“That’s a really hard question!”

It is.

“Um…I know! The words were better.”

In what way?

“They were more intelligent,” one writer suggested.

“No, they weren’t more intelligent,” another member of her group challenged.

“Yeah they were–or maybe they were just more specific,” the first speaker added.

“This rubric has to be helpful to ME,” said the writer whose sample is posted above. “I need it to be really specific. That’s what makes ours good.”

As writers left class, I provided each a Post-It note and asked them to define some specific criteria for quality idea development, based on all that they had learned. The Post-Its were attached to the individual rubrics and left with Lou, so that he could study how each writer’s thinking changed and consider where he would need to head next.

A collaboratively designed rubric for idea development has begun to emerge from work of these writers. You’ll notice it isn’t perfect. It isn’t intended to be. This rubric is a genuine reflection of what Lou’s students think idea development looks like. It was designed by them, and it can inform our next steps as we learn more. It should also change, evolve, and grow with them as they consume and analyze various texts and learn more over time.

Rubrics can be a reflection of what students are discovering rather than a tool used to judge or assign grades. As teachers, we can even use what we learn about quality rubric design to provide feedback to student designers on drafts like these as well.

My Reflections:

• I was surprised by how readily most of the students attacked the text provided and worked to generate a definition and supporting criteria for idea development. This was rigorous work, and I did not invest much time in pre-teaching or modeling. I expected that they might struggle and then quit. They struggled and persevered though, although a handful of them required more support and prompting than others.
• I’m wondering how students who are unable to define the elements of writer’s craft or the specific criteria that speak to their quality can compose or improve upon pieces of their own. If we can help writers define and notice specific elements of writer’s craft, will this enrich their own work as well?
• This type of instruction demands a great deal of restraint, particularly when writers are struggling. I felt compelled to answer questions for them, provide them definitions and examples, and generally enable them to escape their discomfort. I think that I’m beginning to embrace the notion that deep learning is uncomfortable, imperfect, and much slower than I feel I have time for. How can I help teachers feel comfortable doing the same, especially those who feel that they will be negatively judged for creating such discomfort?
• I’m wondering when it is appropriate to provide writers a rubric that has been designed by an expert and what the purposes would be for doing so. Does this ever make sense? If so, when? If not, what further shifts in practice will need to follow?
• This process could and should be enabled by the use of collaborative writing tools like Google Docs. Kids could also access and explore varied texts online. They could also research idea development and locate their favorite examples to share with their peers.
• In order to inspire a rich and complex understanding of idea development, it’s critical for writers to consume varied texts and study this element of craft through a variety of lenses over the course of many years.

There is so much more that I could share about this experience and what I’m wondering as a result of it, but I’ve thrown enough text onto the screen for one day, and I can imagine that many people weren’t able to make it this far. Tell me what you’d like me to speak to more, though. What are you wondering?

First, potential coaches have been invited to participate in a variety of workshop sessions aimed at helping them learn and plan strategically. Participants in these sessions have assessed their needs and shared them with me in ways that have helped to shape our conversations and study. We’ve explored a variety of different texts, shared promising instructional strategies and tools, and considered factors beyond the nuts and bolts of on-the-ground coaching itself, including a study of group dynamics, leadership, and (very) basic systems thinking.

This year, with the help of Theresa Gray at Erie 2 BOCES, we’ve also launched what is (to my knowledge) our area’s first literacy coaching forum: WNYLIT. Current and potential coaches from different school districts and with varied experience are beginning to meet and learn from one other here on a consistent basis….beginning today! We’re welcoming others in our area to join us as well. If you’re interested, drop me a line. I’m looking forward to meeting other local literacy coaches, and I’m very excited to be connecting those who are interested in beginning this work to a wider network before they make the leap.

Those that I coach are welcome to join the WNY Young Writers’ Studio as well. Our work is influenced by our fellowship with Communities for Learning: Leading Lasting Change. The CFL framework and the Dispositions of Practice guide our thinking and inform our actions in ways that workshops and training alone cannot. Two of the potential coaches that I serve are now fellows of this community as well.

Finally, potential coaches have been invited to plan, shadow and collaboratively coach with me on the job. I spent a portion of last week “co-coaching” with a fellow of the WNY Young Writers’ Studio who is interested in assuming an internal coaching position in her school district should it become available. This was beneficial in a variety of ways, and one I plan to write more about tomorrow. Do any of you engage in similar collaborative learning experiences? If so, I hope you will share your stories in the comments section below.

I’m hopeful that opportunities like these will allow those who are new to coaching a variety of diverse perspectives and multiple layers of support as they gain their footing and begin building momentum. As an independent coach, my goal is to leave the districts that I serve well poised to work independently as well. These steps are just the beginning……what else do you consider when contemplating ways to sustain new literacy coaches?

January Coach Connect

My blog is a vehicle for communicating with those that I coach. Posts are often developed in response to their needs. For instance, this year we’ve begun building internal capacity for coaching in several places where I work. Throughout September, I began developing content here that will drive some of those future conversations and planning. Publishing this on a blog allows others to access it, engage in conversation around it, and provide me helpful feedback. This way, I can keep getting better at what I do too. I get a lot of mail in response to things that I write–most of it from other coaches who are happy to share their own thinking and work. That’s a beautiful thing.

I house resources, links, and coaching schedules inside of a wiki. This allows those that I work with in one school for one purpose to have access to the work I’ve created for other schools and purposes.

Ning enables me to create a semi-asynchronous environment for those I typically coach face-to-face. It provides greater opportunity for teachers to begin connecting and supporting one another anytime they need to–even if they work in different schools. The nings I’ve established for these purposes are protected, but you can get a great idea of the possibilities that ning provides by checking out the English Companion Ning, The Literacy Coach’s Ning, or Working Together 2 Make a Difference.

Diigo allows me to bookmark my favorite resources for teachers. Housing a digital file-cabinet that links up to my bookmarks right on my wiki provides cleaner access to teachers who are less tech-comfy.

Nancy has me thinking about using Scribd to post demo-lessons and solicit feedback. I’ve done that here before as well.

I’m loving EtherPad for co-planning purposes. I’ve used this to coordinate schedules between buildings, and I’ve also used it to co-plan demo lessons, workshops, and presentations. It is a great collaborative writing tool!

I subscribe to SurveyMonkey and use it to capture all kinds of data. Theresa has me thinking about using Google Forms instead, though. Apparently, exporting that data into Excel is much easier this way.

Flickr allows me to capture visuals that compliment my lesson plans and activities.

Slideshare and Prezi inspire my presentations and allow me to share my work.

My RSS Feed allows me to subscribe to the blogs I want to keep up with.

I know I’d be wise to podcast my lessons, but I haven’t yet (I’m kinda camera shy)! If I did this, what tool would you recommend and why? And what would you add to my list above? I’m still relatively new at all of this. Would love to know which tools other coaches are using!

It’s impossible to make choices around tech tools until we understand where we need to support kids better as learners and create plans for accomplishing that. These plans have to be systemic in nature in order to effect change. This requires expertise in so much more than technology. For instance, it requires some understanding of systems-thinking. It requires that we know how to capture and make meaning from various kinds of data well, how to design strategic plans that will lead to growth in learning, how to measure progress, and how to align tech tools to this much larger vision in a way that will ensure they are being used purposefully. It requires that we are striving to define what literacy is even as the elements of it are changing shape and that we understand how curriculum design, instructional practice, and assessment work in concert with one another in order to produce it. Creating learning opportunities for educators that result in real change demands so much more from coaches than showing up with strategies, resources, and well-crafted demo lessons. The work of the literacy coach lives inside of larger organizations, and the work of that system determines the success of the coaching initiative, the teachers we aim to support as coaches, and the students who will benefit from their work in a thousand different ways.

I spent the better portion of last week considering the Communities for Learning Framework and how I might leverage it to enhance my facilitation of the WNY Young Writers’ Studio and my work as a literacy coach. Theresa and I chatted briefly about creating a separate protocol that might assist those who are eager to begin integrating the use of wikis, blogs, or other tools within their schools and classrooms, but what I’m realizing now is that the CFL Framework itself facilitates our thinking and action-planning around this process well. Integration requires us to consider and plan for alignment, representation, sustainability, and growth around the Dispositions of Practice. Continually growing the expertise necessary to use that framework in powerful ways is a substantial piece of what it means to call myself a coach and a teacher. I’m realizing it has everything to do with how I approach conversations around the implementation of technology as well.

“During our teacher-leader training sessions, whenever we complained about teachers who were, in our opinions, resistant to change, my coach Lucy West implored, ‘Don’t silence resistance. Embrace resistance. Listen to resistance. Within what you are calling resistance lies what you need to do.’”

Casey doesn’t attempt to provide strategies for “tolerating” “coping with” or “managing” resistance. She also doesn’t offer her readers anything in the way of heavy-handed metaphors involving gardens, rocks, flowers and where our watering cans are best employed. Instead, she suggests something much more simple but a bit more frightening: she recommends that we LEARN from those who disagree with us.

And I love this. It’s a simple plan that possesses great promise. What would happen if we all promised to give the best of ourselves, listened to one another, and treated everyone with respect and dignity? I wonder how this might affect change.

This year, I’ve been given the time and the space to truly listen to the teachers that I am striving to help. Most of these teachers are neck-deep in monumental change and grappling with great uncertainty. Some are more comfortable with this than others, and some are more vocal about this than others. It takes courage to speak your truth when what you have to say may not be popular or comfortable for someone else to hear (someone like me, for instance). But if I’m not willing to listen…..if I’m only willing to invest myself in respecting those who understand and agree with me, how will real change ever occur? Preaching to the choir accomplishes very little in the way of change.

Casey discovered that “embracing resistance” enabled her to identify what teachers really needed, and defining this enabled her to better meet those needs. This is what good coaches do, Casey suggests, and the return on their investment is substantial: coaches learn and grow professionally as a result. I’m thinking that this is what good human beings do as well, and that perhaps these values should underpin all that we act upon as educators and advocates for change.