Leading for Differentiation

This image just won't leave me.  

Imagine a teacher and his/her students on one side of the bridge. Think of the canyon as all that must be learned this year.  Hear the teacher say, "Come with me.  This is where we're going this year."  Listen to the students:

"Let's go.  It looks great!"





"I don't know.  It looks awfully far."


"I don't think I can make it."


"Can you help me get across?"

The image was put into my head by Carol Tomlinson.  (Drama and voices are my own.)  

What does it take to get all students across the bridge?  As I wrote in my first post on differentiation, Tomlinson thinks about this question in two ways.  Leading for differentiation and managing for differentiation.  The focus on leading pulled somethings together for me with new clarity.

Leading for differentiation is the creation of that community of learners.  It's how we get them to set foot on that bridge.  It's how we get them to keep walking, even when the journey is uphill and we are starting to wonder if we will ever get there.  

When Carol Ann Tomlinson spoke in Winnipeg several years ago, she mentioned a psychologist and author named Carol Dweck.  I purchased and read the book and thought it was brilliant... but I took no further action.  When I heard Tomlinson in San Francisco, she talked about her again.  So did at least five other speakers.  When someone's ideas are causing that much buzz, we need to think about them.  

Dweck researches and writes about two kinds of mindsets: fixed and growth.

Fixed

• Success comes from being smart
• Genetics and environment determine what we can do
• Some kids are smart- some aren't
• Teachers can't override these difficulties

Growth

• Success comes from effort
• With hard work, most students can do most things
• Teachers can override students' profiles
• A key role of the teacher is to set high goals, provide high support, ensure student focus-to find the thing that makes school work for a student. 
• (Carol Tomlinson & Marcia Imbeau 2011)
  
  
  We need to think about the implications of our own mindset on who, where, what and how we teach.
  
  We also need to think about how we are communicating our mindset to our students.  I want my students to be really clear on the fact that I have a growth mindset.  More.... I want them to have a growth mindset too.
  
  
  How We Came to Be...Us
  
  
  
  Because my teacher treats me with respect,
  I feel a sense of dignity in this place.
  Because my teacher treats everyone of us with respect,
  We are respectful of one another.
  Because my teacher sees our possibilities,
  I am beginning to see them too.
  Because my teacher says sweat makes winners,
  We're learning to sweat.
  Because my teacher works hard for me,
  I want to work hard for her.
  Because my teacher won't settle for less than our best,
  We aim high more often.
  Because my teacher says we are responsible for one another,
  We help one another succeed.
  Because my teacher helps us see ourselves through her eyes,
  We see hope in ourselves.
  Because my teacher is a great coach,
  We are a great team.
  
  
  - Carol Tomlinson
  
   
  
   

Thinking about Differentiation

I saw Carol Ann Tomlinson again recently.  She is a former teacher, now university professor and author of many books on differentiating instruction and assessment.  Check out my bookshelf below for links to some of her books. 

One of the ideas she was talking about was classroom management and how it is often thought of as a synonym for control.  And that if we see it in that way, our view of teaching can become ensuring that kids are quiet and still.  The underlying assumption being, that on their own, young learners are unreliable.  She went on to quote Alfie Kohn, saying:
                ... the more we "manage" students behavior and try to make them do what we say, 
               the more difficult it is for them to become morally sophisticated people who think 
               for themselves and care for others.

Tomlinson encouraged us to think about leading students first... and then managing them.

               First asking..."What do my students need to succeed and how can my students and I 
                work together to meet those needs?" Then managing the details necessary to  
               accomplish that.

She described leadership in this way:

•  has a vision for something good
• has the capacity to share the vision and enlist others in it
• builds a team for achieving the vision
• renews commitment to the vision
• celebrates successes
• about people

... and management in this way:

• plans schedules
• handles details
• prepares materials
• arranges furniture
• orchestrates movement
• practices routines
• troubleshoots
• about mechanics

And then she asked this question,

" To what degree do you see yourself as a leader vs a manager of students?"

The question itself isn't that hard for me to answer.  Harder are the questions that follow:

• What is my/our vision for this community of learners?
• How am I sharing this vision with my students?
• Am I sharing this vision with all of my students?
• Have I built a team for achieving this vision?
• Do we need to renew our commitment to the vision?
• Are we celebrating success as often as we should?

What I liked in this way of thinking about differentiation was that it clearly showed it to be about relationships, mindset and the learning environment... first and most often.

  More next time on Tomlinson's view of how to get there.

Classroon-Based Assessment

I know that you have all written report cards in the last few weeks.  Some of you had conferences last week and some are in the thick of it right now (and therefore not reading this!).  As a gesture of solidarity, I want you to know that I have been reading and thinking about: 
Classroom Reading Assessments: More Efficient Ways to View and Evaluate Your Readers by Frank Serafini.

Before you stop reading to send me an email reminding me that reading about assessment is not the same as actually doing the assessments and writing report cards, let me say that you are absolutely right. But here's the thing, it is no longer my job to write report cards so I figure the least I can do is search for ways to make it easier for those who do.

I haven't read the whole book yet, in fact only the preview chapter available online and sent to me by Andrea.  But it is on our list of books to buy because of that chapter.  Serafini describes what he calls the Four Principles of Assessment To Live By:

Classroom-Based Assessments:

1. Must help children learn more effectively

2. Must help teachers teach more effectively

3. Must help teachers articulate their understandings of their students to   
    external audiences

4. Must be efficient so they interrupt teaching and learning as little as
    possible

As a list of criteria, this makes sense to me.  The classroom is a busy place and teaching is one of those jobs where the inbox is never empty.  I need to  think carefully about how I use my time and the students' time.  

We are going to use this book with the Literacy Committee in April.  If you want to check out the preview see the link below.

http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/E02712/Serafini02712Sample.pdf


Please note that I am not recommending this as Spring Break reading.  It can wait until April.  :)  For Spring Break I am reading....

(See new additions to shelfari shelf below!)

Happy Spring Break.

I Know You Are Out There

I don't know if you had the time to read the comments posted after my Daily 5 entry, but I found them very interesting. From Rene, who I am quite certain sleeps even less than I do, was a link to the work he has done in French, with permission from the Sisters.  If you work in French Immersion, you will want to check this out.  I know from conversations with colleagues who know far more than I do about teaching reading and writing in two languages that teaching similar strategies and structures in both languages is not only time saving for the teacher, but effective for the learner.
https://sites.google.com/site/reneammann/pour-profs/en-francais/cafe.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

I have also received an  email about the application of the Daily 5 to Mathematics instruction.  Apparently they receive this question often and are working on  it.  Thanks to the teacher who sent me the following link:
http:/www.thedailycafe.com/public/878.cfm 

So far, I am not as impressed as I want to be.  I don't see much of a problem solving stance here and that is what I am looking for. Maybe, the problem solving happens in the lessons with the teacher and the structure is all about differentiation. I know it is early days and I should be patient.  I am practicing patience as I write this.

I asked you if there was interest in getting together with others working with the Daily 5 and for some of you, this was a definite yes.  Andrea and I will consult with the calendar gods and get back to you.  I know that each time I have chatted with a colleague exploring the Daily 5 I have learned something. 

Have you thought about why the Daily 5 is working for you?  It is good that I have found a job that pays me for this kind of thinking because it is where my mind goes anyway.  :)

Andrea and I have shared our thinking about professional decision making using the triple Venn diagram. It shows the intersection between Belief, Essential Influences and Practices.  Usually I struggle to fit everything I want into the 3 circles in a way that makes sense.  Today I discovered something called the 3 Column Venn diagram.  It works like this.  In the two outside columns you describe 2 elements of your topic, in this case, beliefs about teaching and learning and essential influences.  Essential influences are those things that you need to think about or take into account.  In the third, shaded column, are the practices I will choose to use in my classroom.  The practices that are consistent with my beliefs and are supported by the essential influences I need to pay attention to.

Professional Decision Making

Beliefs	Classroom Practices	Essential Influences
-gradual release of responsibility -differentiating instruction -kids learn to read by reading, not by doing stuff about reading -choice -we learn to write by writing -readers need to have access to   quality literature -explicit  strategy instruction -there will be a range of readers in my room, needing different strategies -reading & writing should be joyful	-          Workshop approach -          Daily 5	-RETSD Balanced Literacy Framework - Early Years Position Paper -provincial curriculum - Regie Routman optimal learning model: I do it, we do it, we do it, we do it…. you do it. -Debbie Miller: comprehension instruction -Kathy Collins: big idea planning

In my beliefs and essential influences I see support for the Daily 5. It is a refinement of my previous Readers' Workshop.  What connections do you make to your beliefs and the essential influences in your teaching life?

Teachers Working with the Daily 5...Let's Talk

As I travel from school to school, I am noticing many teachers reading, thinking about, and trying out the Daily 5.  What really intrigues me is the very wide range of teachers interested in it.  Teachers from Kindergarten to Grade 6 are exploring what it could look like in their classrooms.  It also seems to be of interest to teachers with varying styles and philosophies about how children become literate.  I don't know if this is important or not but I think it is worth thinking about together.


I have some hunches and some questions.(I know, big surprise) First of all, the hunches. 

Hunch #1

What the authors are describing is not new.  Many literacy experts have suggested what is essentially a workshop approach and many of us have been working this way for some time. What these authors do is describe it in a very teacher-friendly, meaningful and concrete way.  We can see ourselves in the picture they are creating.

Hunch #2

The book describes a structure, not a program.  Because of that, there are many ways in for teachers.  We can take what we are already doing in our literacy block and adapt it based on the Daily 5.  Or, we can set it up exactly as they tell us to, knowing that it has worked for many teachers and will likely work for us.  Or, we can start slowly, making one change at a time and reflecting on how it is working and what our next steps might be.  Wait a second, this is starting to sound  a lot like the ways in which I think about differentiation.  The structure is open-ended enough to meet the needs of all kinds of teachers.  It appears to help a wide range of teachers meet the literacy goals they have for their students. 

Hunch #3

The structure is based on some very solid research and practices.  In the approach, as I understand it, students are spending ever increasing amounts of time reading and writing,  not doing activities about parts of reading and writing.  They are engaged in real reading and writing... daily, at school.  Like our Balanced Literacy Framework, the Daily 5 approach supports a gradual release of responsibility.  Students see many models and demonstrations.  They have whole group, small group and individual experiences.  The instruction is differentiated, it is at their level.  It is also strategy based, recognizing that readers need strategies and explicit teaching at all levels of proficiency.  All kinds of strategies.  Strategies for decoding, for comprehension, for choosing just right books, for reading chapter books, for reading non-fiction...

I also have questions.  Some are mine and some are from teachers I have been talking with.  If you have answers, or more questions, or comments on how it is working for you, leave a comment or send me an email. 

• In what ways is the Daily 5 working for you?  
• What adaptations have you made to the structure?  
• In what ways does the Daily 5 not help you meet the goals you have for your students as literacy learners?
• How do you keep the Daily 5 alive? 
• Would you like to get together with other teachers exploring this approach?
• Do I need to make reading The Cafe Book a priority?  Why?

I think I should stop there as I have twice as many questions as hunches and I believe that is the legal limit here in Winnipeg.  As I said in my title... let's talk.

Connecting in New Ways

I think it's time to explore new ways (for me!) of connecting with teachers. Many EY classrooms have their own blogs and it is time for me to get with the program.

What you have that I do not, is access to great kid photos and stories. That will definitely be hard to compete with, but I am sure I can come up with something (do not worry, it will not be to distribute my own school photos!)

My first idea is to share some of the great books currently on my desk (book bag, bedside table...) in various categories:

• Read and loved

• Planning to Read

• Professional books

• Kids books

Most of this post will take the form of adding books to my Shelfari page. My shelf is now on the blog for you to see and I will add to it as new books come my way.

Thank you to the teachers (you know who you are!) who have introduced me to this website. I think it is a wonderful way to spread the word about book finds and I am sure that together we will learn even more ways to use it.

Thank you also to the teachers who send me great book titles. Of special interest recently, are picture books that provide a springboard for student writing.

From the teachers at Hampstead School have come:

Memoirs of a Goldfish, Wallace's Lists and Spork


Thank you to Donwood School and the Curriculum Conversations group for I am the Dog, I am the Cat and a whole website of other mentor texts

http://www.unr.edu/educ/nnwp/Mini_Lesson_of_the_Month_Club.html#archive

Happy reading and writing!