"Kennedy (1998) found that when teachers focused on student learning rather than approaches to instruction, they did advance student learning." P. 162
I agree with Kennedy's findings of focusing on student learning rather than new approaches to increase student learning. I think the students always need to be the focus and this should be filtered down by the building principal. I have heard of many schools where the principal dictates the programs to be used, generally the newest programs out, in hopes of making big student advances. These schools generally don't make the leaps the principal is hoping for because the teachers aren't properly trained in these new programs and focus their time on learning the new programs verses time on student learning.
"Teacher research groups include a group of teachers who are committed to the process of classroom research and sharing their findings with each other." P.165
After reading the section on teacher research groups in chapter 10 it reminded me of teaching 4th grade, 1998-1999 school year, when the first year the 4th grade ELA exam was administered. My grade level that year had an unofficial teacher research group. We met regularly to share our insights on what was working, what wasn't working as we pre pared our students for the upcoming exam. We all worked so closely together in order to prepare our students. We continued to meet together after the exam to discuss results and analyze the data for the school. This experience was so valuable and I would recommend it to all educators.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Chapter 10
"No longer will the one-day workshop with no follow-up be sufficient (International Reading Association, 2005)." P.161
Thank Goodness for that statement!! I'm so glad the reading association finally declared this and realized the importance of teachers working together to help our children become more literate. Teachers need time to discuss, reflect, develop and implement ideas from these workshops. A one day deal has never been sufficient and I'm thrilled that they are finally realizing it. I think the importance of literacy development has been highlighted in most school districts over the past couple of years and they are trying to make necessary changes. Unfortunately this continues to happen too slowly! At first I think it was because of administrator’s lack of knowledge about literacy but now I think it is lack of funding. Districts need to have several reading specialist/reading coaches in their building to work closely with teachers to close the gap for these struggling readers.
"As literacy coaches visit teachers' classrooms, they establish themselves as part of the classroom milieu." P.162
I would embrace the idea of having a reading coach in my classroom, unfortunately not all teachers will. I think MANY teachers would be reluctant to have someone coming into their classrooms observing and suggesting changes. I think the administrators could ease the tensions amongst the reading coaches and teachers by selecting a coach that is an experienced, exemplary teacher. Someone who is a natural leader and can be extremely flexible and can work well with many personalities. I think the reading coach position can be a huge asset to a school if the administrators find the right fit for their building.
"According to Neufeld and Roper (2003), besides student learning, a feature of teacher development includes forming collaborative groups that share their knowledge and practice with each other." P.164
I agree with this statement. Unfortunately there never seems to be enough time to do this with other teachers, unless its a scheduled contractual meeting that is only two times per month. Which just isn't enough time to share and extract expertise from others teachers for development. The increasing demands put upon today’s teachers make it very difficult to meet with your grade level during school hours. That leaves meeting after school, which creates many obstacles for teachers because of commitments to committees, meetings, workshops, and family obligations.
Thank Goodness for that statement!! I'm so glad the reading association finally declared this and realized the importance of teachers working together to help our children become more literate. Teachers need time to discuss, reflect, develop and implement ideas from these workshops. A one day deal has never been sufficient and I'm thrilled that they are finally realizing it. I think the importance of literacy development has been highlighted in most school districts over the past couple of years and they are trying to make necessary changes. Unfortunately this continues to happen too slowly! At first I think it was because of administrator’s lack of knowledge about literacy but now I think it is lack of funding. Districts need to have several reading specialist/reading coaches in their building to work closely with teachers to close the gap for these struggling readers.
"As literacy coaches visit teachers' classrooms, they establish themselves as part of the classroom milieu." P.162
I would embrace the idea of having a reading coach in my classroom, unfortunately not all teachers will. I think MANY teachers would be reluctant to have someone coming into their classrooms observing and suggesting changes. I think the administrators could ease the tensions amongst the reading coaches and teachers by selecting a coach that is an experienced, exemplary teacher. Someone who is a natural leader and can be extremely flexible and can work well with many personalities. I think the reading coach position can be a huge asset to a school if the administrators find the right fit for their building.
"According to Neufeld and Roper (2003), besides student learning, a feature of teacher development includes forming collaborative groups that share their knowledge and practice with each other." P.164
I agree with this statement. Unfortunately there never seems to be enough time to do this with other teachers, unless its a scheduled contractual meeting that is only two times per month. Which just isn't enough time to share and extract expertise from others teachers for development. The increasing demands put upon today’s teachers make it very difficult to meet with your grade level during school hours. That leaves meeting after school, which creates many obstacles for teachers because of commitments to committees, meetings, workshops, and family obligations.
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