The slides from recent presentations can be found under the “Resources” tab. They may vary slightly from the one you saw at the event, but contain substantially similar information. We are not able to host videos on this website due to the size of the files. Videos are available from at Heinemann at http://books.heinemann.com/wordwise/, and are often used in our presentations. Others are available to members of ASCD and IRA.

We’re going to be participating in an innovative format for professional development in a few weeks–the National Council of Teachers of English is hosting a Virtual Conference. This will be a three-day event spread out over several weeks: April 15, April 20, and May 10. We’re looking forward to it, but also are thinking about ways to make this useful. As more low-cost online solutions pop up–webinars, webcasts, and e-learning–we’re thinking about what makes for good and bad presentations in digital environments. What advice do you have for us? How do these translate to student learning in similar formats?

Without doubt, we have been inundated with information over the last two decades from the business sector on how to make schools better. Some of it has been helpful; other advice has not been. Critics have pointed out that schools are not factories, and that learners cannot (and should not) be regarded as widgets. But we couldn’t help but think of our own students as we read an article from the Harvard Business Review on what motivates workers. Although surveyed managers said recognition for good work was the chief motivational tool, workers overwhelmingly said that it was making progress in their work tasks and receiving the necessary support for it that was the most motivating factor. This quote really leap out at us:

” On days when workers have the sense they’re making headway in their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their emotions are most positive and their drive to succeed is at its peak. On days when they feel they are spinning their wheels or encountering roadblocks to meaningful accomplishment, their moods and motivation are lowest.”

At our high school, students benefit from Academic Recovery (our name for homework assistance, RtI, and tutoring), as well as lunch time and after school tutorials. We know from other measures of progress (grade point average, test scores, and progress monitoring) that it works. But does it have an effect on their perceptions of the work they do? Does making progress motivate? We’d like to hear from you about your thoughts regarding this topic.

Our school has been revisiting five pillars (understandings) that comprise our mission statement. One of them, “It’s never too late to learn,” has been dominating conversations this past week. We have just completed two days of midterm exams and the students (as well as the teachers) are worn out from the effort. It’s been great for attendance, with almost no absences during those two days. This weekend both of us have been writing letters of congratulation to the many students who earned A’s on their competency exams. In addition, a number of others are getting congratulatory notes on the “grit” they have demonstrated in working hard, even if it didn’t result in an A. It’s been remarkable to see the reaction of students and families since we began this practice at the beginning of the previous school year. We’ve heard reports of how the congratulatory cards are displayed at home, and students comment when they receive one. Who knew that for the cost of a postage stamp and a few minutes writing a card, that students would have such a positive reaction? The ones that are responsible, of course, are the teachers who make sure this happens. It really is “never too late to learn!”

We’ve recently read Peter Block’s amazing book Community: The Structure of Belonging and were struck by a quote of his: “[t]he transformation of large numbers of individuals does not result in the transformation of communities” (p. 5). This has left both of us talking about the individual student as the unit of analysis. Countless times we have witnessed hardworking teachers pouring time and resources into individual children, often large numbers of them, only to see similar results year after year. This in turn can lead to the blame game: “I’m working as hard as I can, and nothing changes. The problem must be with the student.” Block’s book is giving us a entry point for internal conversations at our school about the cost of focusing solely on individual reclamation projects while overlooking the larger community of the classroom and school. Maybe what Block is telling us is what we’ve silently wondered all these years: we don’t have time to change the world one child at a time. We need the school to be the unit of analysis. can a focus on the community lead to the transformation we hope for?

We’re spending the next two weeks in the company of high school students who are visiting the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. If you haven’t been there yet, it is an amazing interactive museum devoted to issues of hate, from the Holocaust to cyberbullying, and the personal decision-making of the individual to make the world a better place. The challenge is making this trip extend beyond a single experience. The History teacher has all his students writing a letter to themselves and dated one year from today. They’re describing the three personal commitments they made and how it resulted in a better situation. He’ll return the letters to them on January 7. 2011.It brings to mind a question we’re often faced with: how do you make the learning from a field trip endure beyond a single day?

The new school year brings lots of excitement and a host of new resources for teachers. These recommendations aren’t necessarily for direct student use, but can be a boon for you when creating materials to use in your teaching. We like Many Eyes (http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/) for creating visual data for your students that causes them to sit up and take notice of the facts.  Another favorite is MashOn for creating comics and posters  (http://mashon.com). Finally, we find ourselves consulting HowCast to find out how to do a whole host of things. What are your favorite websites for creating materials for your classroom? Let us know and we’ll share.

How much a reader knows about a topic is one of the best predictors of comprehension. When readers engage with a text for which they have limited BK, the text is more difficult to understand. Even when the background is there, locating and retrieving it can be another matter. And then there’s the issue of assessment–how do you know what they know, and what they don’t know? We’ve been thinking, talking, and writing about background knowledge. Why do you think background knowledge gets neglected in comprehension instruction?

Lots of reminders around school about the end-of-year celebrations. These milestones are huge in the lives of students, and their teachers as well. In recent weeks we have planned for the last dance, the talent show, the Health Symposium (a draw for community partners and families), final exams, summer school classes and of course, graduation. And yet next year is already looming. It’s easy when looking forward to the break to look past the necessary conversations that need to take place in order to begin the next year with a clear vision. At our school, we are keeping our heads in the game by identifying the essential questions we’ll be using schoolwide next year. We gathered proposed questions from teachers and students and then put it to a vote by the whole school. Here are the winners for next year:
1. What is race, and does race matter?
2. Can you buy your way to happiness?
3. Who am I? Why do I matter?
4. How do interactions affect your life?
5. Health is …

I’m in the hallway of our high school doing what has become a routine for us–Hallway TLC. It’s amazing how much both of us are able to get done as we connect with students and teachers throughout the day. We set up a rolling desk and locate it in a high-traffic area of the school. It’s amazing how much you can learn from the casual conversations that students will strike up with you just because they know you’re available to them. So far this morning I learned about one student’s first job interview (intimidating), a weekend birthday celebration (lots of fun) and the academic struggles of a freshman and two juniors. None of this is earth-shattering stuff, and what I like most about it is that it is so ordinary. We’re beginning state tests tomorrow and so our TLC plan will shift slightly. But I have to wonder–how does the experience of having people available to them show up on a test? Will there ever be a way to test the TLC so many educators offer every day?