During this season of wonder, I wonder...

I wonder...

Why do some see possibilities when others see problems?

Why do some say, “Let’s try” when others say, “Yeah, but” ?

Why do some relish the challenge when others bemoan the obstacles?

Why do some build up when others tear down?

Why do some reflect on their part when others cast blame?

Why do some extend a hand when others look away?

Why do some forgive when others hold grudges?

Is it demeanor? Mindset? Choice?

What part do we as educators play in the development of which side of the “when” our students (and our colleagues?) end up?

How can we help our learners (and our colleagues?) end up on the left side of “when” in those “Why” statements?

How much of a difference can we make?

I wonder…

Still learning, Doc G.

Friday Fun

The end of a semester often makes me melancholy. Relationships have been forged and deepened over the course of the term. The deeper the relationships, the greater the melancholy. Fall term I usually have at least a couple sections of the second literacy course, often with students I have already worked alongside in the first literacy course. We have been learning and laughing together for 6 – 11 months. This December I find myself deeply melancholy. The things I will miss most about my Fridays include:

·      Weekly meetings with these thoughtful preservice educators

·      Their smiles

·      Inclusion in their caring communities of learning

·      Time spent inquiring together

·      Asking “I wonder why” about the really hard questions and following up with “I wonder if?”

·      Laughing  - with one another and at ourselves

·      Witnessing the growth of self efficacy and self confidence as they “become” teachers

·      Visioning possibilities together

To combat the feelings of sadness, I focus on the joy. My end-of-term reflections bring much joy -- my faith in these fledgling teachers and their process of becoming reminds me that there are many special people who commit themselves to teaching (plus the end of the fall term brings a break and a houseful of family). The privilege of working with preservice educators is so satisfying because I know their future students will thrive. The kids will be all right.

There are just a few final reminders to leave with my latest groups of future literacy leaders:

·      CARE – all humans want to know they are cared for. Trust your children. Smile at them. You have developed caring classroom communities with each other, replicate that in your own classrooms. When you are at a loss for how to respond, respond as a person.

·      TEACH CHILDREN –Teach readers and writers, not literacy programs or standards.

·      FOCUS ON LEARNING – keep the learners at the center, not the lessons.

·      BE A LEARNER and reflect on your own learning. Share your passion for learning with your students.

·      LISTEN MORE, TALK LESS – you have two ears and one mouth. Really listen when children talk to you. When you do talk, be thoughtful about the language you learn. There is no “I” in teacher.

·      Remember LEARNING IS SOCIAL – even MORE  TALK.

·      Remember ALL GOOD INSTRUCTION IS ASSESSMENT DRIVEN – You have to know what students can do to know what they need. Your job is to meet their needs. YOU will know best about them as learners.

·      QUESTION EVERYTHING – wonder- ask why? Ask what if? Teaching is inquiry.

Questioning helps you…

·      QUIT THE CRAZY – question why and what if when you find yourself doing things you know are not good for children. Be a rabble rouser when you need to be.

·      DO BETTER.

·      BE BETTER.

Thank you for embracing me into your learning communities.   LG

Turn and Talk -> DUD

I’ve been reflecting on student talk. Probably safe to say that many teachers are trying to increase student talk (while simultaneously decreasing teacher talk hopefully) in their classrooms. Over the past five years (at least) there has been an explosion in the use of the turn and talk strategy to get students talking.

Turn and talk is pretty straightforward, even though it involves turning. Two students face each other and talk about something. Teachers tell them to talk, and they talk. One of the problems with turn and talk is that the students are focused so much on the talk that they may not be listening! The last thing we need in our classrooms is to set up another structure that invites students to ignore what their classmates are saying.

This prompted me to rename the strategy in my graduate classes as “Turn and Listen.” This moniker stresses the listening portion instead of the talking portion. Many students are more adept at talking than they are at listening so the thinking was to be explicit about the need to listen. Teacher tells the students to listen and the students listen.

But even this label is missing something. Why do we have our students turn and talk or turn and listen? What is our purpose? What are we trying to scaffold them toward? If we are ultimately interested in approximating authentic social discourse in the form of discussion, then why not direct them to do that?

And so, DUD – Double Up and Discuss.

We still need to teach students the routine for this, a routine that is identical to turn and talk. The specific language that we are using may help students develop their discussion skills, even if only because it keeps our ultimate purpose front and center. I tried it not too long ago with a sixth grade class. They were used to turn and talk so they didn’t bat an eye when I directed them to Double Up and Discuss. If they were my own class, it might lead to some substantive discussion of what discussion looks like and sounds like. We also might eventually shorten the directions to DUD. The only change I made was to give them more time to DUD. If we want each person to have time to talk and respond then we probably need to extend the total amount of DUD time. Eventually we could double up our doubles and discuss in groups of four…DUD-D (pronounced duddy?) So many possibilities on our path to developing authentic peer-led discussions.

I am going to try it in my (graduate school methods) classes. Maybe you can try it too.

Still learning, Doc G.

Welcome to grothmindset

I am capitalizing, (although seeing as I used all lower case letters, perhaps taking advantage of would be more apropos) on the popularity of Growth Mindset to change the name of my blog. Formerly known as stilllearningtoteach, grothmindset is a restart. Welcome! and HAPPY READING!