Scenes from an Unquiet Classroom

by Ashley Coblentz and Jackie Moreno

Do our students help write the script for learning or do they sit in the audience?

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This is a question we regularly ask ourselves, and although we definitely want to say the former, the true answer is found in how we use our time. As we count down our last days of first quarter, we are at the perfect time of year to take a close look at our daily schedule, to see if the value we place on student-driven learning is truly reflected in our day.

Today we’d like to share one of our favorite projects that fosters student choice and empowerment, student created book trailers! They are multi-media projects that encourage students to take on the roles of writers, actors and directors of learning.

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A Spanish language book trailer created by a third grader.

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Creating in the Classroom

Together teachers and students define which standards will be addressed. Once students demonstrate they clearly understand the purpose, the creative direction of the project is primarily up to them. For example, students might choose the theme, tone, script, etc. Next enters joy and engagement as they compose music, act, illustrate, read and write about what’s most compelling to them. In other words, students decide how they will prove they have learned what they set out to.

In Writing Workshop 2.0, in addition to publishing their narratives digitally, students might print them as well. Then QR codes leading to student-created book trailers advertising their books are placed on the copies. Other QR codes featuring a student read audio book version are placed on the print copy as well. 

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Joy is found not only in the creation; it expands further as they get to share their writing and book trailers with the whole school. This is incredibly powerful for them since it creates a sense of authentic purpose for writing. By creating the trailers and books, students have more access to texts that reflect experiences of other students “like them”. This is a particularly powerful opportunity for ELL students to tell their stories and the stories of their families, especially given mainstream portrayals of immigrant communities.

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How To

1. Students write and publish narratives.

2. The book trailer concept is introduced, and students are given a descriptive rubric. Students use the rubrics to evaluate professional or other student created book the trailers before creating their own so that they know exactly what the CCSS learning goals are and what is expected from them.

3. Students then use iMovie to create book trailers about their stories. Students use the rubric to make sure their trailer includes all of the key components.

4. After that, students use Voice Record Pro to record themselves reading their narratives. They then convert their voice recordings into QR codes so that other students can hear the stories read aloud.

5. Place the books with the QR codes on them in the school library so that students throughout the school can read the print versions and scan the QR codes to access the book trailers, as well as audio versions of the books.

Peer Coaching

Today, Heather Jung talks about peer coaching in her district.

During the summer months and throughout the school year, teachers are required to attend various staff development programs.  The purpose of these programs is to ensure that high-quality instruction is available to all students.  Many times the staff development that is offered does not accomplish the goals that it is trying to meet.  As school districts around the country face increased budget cuts, providing high-quality staff development is often one of the first things to go.  Often staff development is offered in a large group “one-size fits all” model, which teachers find frustrating.  This style of staff development cannot meet the unique needs of teachers and their students.

In my district, we have previously been offered time weekly to engage in onsite small group staff development that was differentiated to meet teacher’s needs and interests.  This year that time has been cut.  To meet the professional needs of our teachers we are trying a different approach to staff development.  We will be starting a peer coaching initiative at my school in the fall.  This peer coaching cycle will be based on each teacher receiving both a 10 minute coaching observation and a 15 minute feedback and planning conference every two weeks.  This format is based on research done by Joyce & Showers (2002) and Bambrick-Santoyo (2012). According to Joyce & Showers (2002), (see Fig A.) peer coaching has significantly higher outcomes than other forms of staff development.

Figure A. (Joyce & Showers, 2002)

TRAINING COMPONENTS AND ATTAINMENT OF OUTCOMES IN TERMS OF PERCENT OF PARTICIPANTS
	Outcomes
Components	Knowledge (thorough)	Skill (strong)	Transfer (executive implementation)
Study of Theory	10	5	0
Demonstrations	30	20	0
Practice	60	60	5
Peer Coaching	95	95	95

Peer Coaching builds independence and shared responsibility among teachers.  Using this approach we hope to be able to meet the individual needs of our teachers and focus staff development on meeting the unique needs of each group of students.   Meaningful learning “is based on a broader vision of learning that includes not only acquiring knowledge but also being able to use knowledge in a variety of ways (Mayer, 2002).  This is the kind of knowledge that is facilitated by peer coaching. Teachers involved in peer coaching develop strong pedagogy “with someone nearby to encourage, critique, and suggest next steps” (Cushman, 2010).  Having an expert listener available on a routine basis to notice and support growth encourages teachers to develop expertise.  There will be many challenges as we implement this initiative, both logistical and cultural, as we seek build a school climate that will support peer coaching, but the potential rewards are worth the risk.

Works Cited

Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2012). Leverage Leadership: A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional Schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cushman, K. (2010). Fires in the Mind. San Fancisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Mayer, R. E. (2002, Autumn). Rote versus Meaningful Learning. Theory into Practice, 41(4), 226-232.

ESL Program Equity Audit

Today, Holly Niemi shares her ideas on reflecting to prepare for the upcoming school year.

Summer is the perfect time for reflection.  This ESL Program Equity Audit is a great tool to guide that reflection in preparation for the coming school year.  I came across this meaningful exercise at a professional development I attended this past spring.  It came from the text by Alfred and Niño (2011) entitled Leading Academic Achievement for English Language Learners:  A Guide for Principals. My ESL colleagues and I found it a facile and enlightening way to view our ESL program and its future direction. The audit is a one-page document that considers six program areas:  role of ESL teacher, instructional materials & curriculum, professional development, assessment, ESL parent outreach, and teacher evaluation.  This is a wonderful starting point to gauge the access and rigor of an ESL program in light of the demands of the Common Core State Standards.  Additionally, the audit was a means to opening communication and collaborating between both ESL teachers and administrators.  As a group of ESL teachers, we completed the audit, and then later shared it with our school administration.    This audit could be used at both macro and micro levels: it allows for the consideration of the overall effectiveness of a district-wide ESL program or it can be completed at the school or grade team levels.   Overall, the audit allows for educators and administrators to prioritize their ESL program’s needs and begin taking action in the focus areas in order to maximize ELLs’ equitable access to the Common Core.

Download the Equity Audit Table here.

Top Ten Ways for ELLs to Beat Summer Backslide

Holly Niemi shares how she beats the summer backslide.

The downside of summer vacation is backslide.  Summer learning loss is an issue for many learners, especially English language learners. A variety of summer programs may focus on remediation, acceleration or enrichment, all of which will help ELLs maintain and improve the language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

ESL Summer School may meet the language learning needs of ELLs with localized instruction. ESL Grants and Title III monies may help schools fund ELLs with this opportunity.

Summer Activity Camps may be offered through local boys & girls clubs or religious organizations. These camps may provide ELLs the opportunity to learn an instrument, play sports, or visit local attractions, all while interacting with native speakers. Depending on the organization, many of these camps provide financial assistance or reduced for those who qualify.

Job Shadow programs are offered by some businesses, Junior Achievement Program and county programs. This may help secondary ELLs maintain their language proficiency, while venturing into the business world and learning about potential future careers.

Summer Academic Camps may be offered through local colleges and universities. These camps focus on math, science and language arts. Often times, they are organized through the institute of higher learning’s teacher training programs.

Library Youth Programs offer a variety of weekly programs for ELLs, ranging from story time to crafts and games.

Phone Number & E-mail Exchanges on the last day of school will provide ELLs with contact information for their classmates. This way they can call or write their peers and perhaps even plan a time to get tougher in person.

Summer Field Trips are a great way to maintain contact with ELLs. They have a chance to reconnect with the teacher, as well as classmates. This can even be an opportunity to engage parents and families.

Television Programs in English may help ELLs maintain their listening skills, as well as reading skills when the closed-caption is activated. Teachers could recommend a variety of shows with the channel and time for ELLs.

On-line ESL resources may help ELLs practice their listening, speaking, reading, and writing from a computer. Here is a link to 50 resources that may prove useful to ELLs over the summer.

ESL Class Websites will enable the ESL teacher with the ability to post various informative pieces and ELLs to connect with other ELLs over the summer.  Posts could include reading material, articles, as well as English practice website links, as well as local community events that may interest students.