Allison Zmuda
This month, we are very excited to be joined by the wonderful Bena Kallick, co-founder of the Habits of Mind Institute, and author of the recent Students at the Center: Personalized Learning with Habits of Mind, written with Allison Zmuda. Read more
Guest Author
Solution Tree blog post authors have been personally invited to share their expertise. All contributing experts have firsthand experience driving positive school change and impacting student achievement.
A Lesson in Teacher Efficacy from a Rock Loving Three-Year-Old
Categories: Instruction
Recently waiting in a security line at the airport, between consulting opportunities with two districts in two states, I noticed a young couple and their two children behind me, both boys under the age of three. The scene is familiar. Stroller, backpacks, carry-ons, and this mom’s “purse” filled with toys, snacks, and tissues. The three-year-old boy had that typical energy and anticipation as he prepared to fly on an airplane. He, like so many other children, wasn’t super keen on waiting in line, though. Read more
Using eWriters to support reading and writing instruction
Categories: Instruction, Literacy, Technology
(Note: This post is co-authored by Kristine E. Pytash and Richard E. Ferdig, and guest authors John Dunlosky and Karl W. Kosko of Kent State University.)
Whether children are reading electronic storybooks, creating interactive videos and multimedia stories, or reading and responding to standardized tests in digital formats, technology is influencing what it looks like to read and write and how teachers and parents are using new digital tools to transform reading and writing instruction. As researchers and teachers, we are interested in these various ways technology and digital media support reading and writing instruction. Recently, we’ve been studying eWriters and how these tools might influence children’s writing acquisition and composition process. Read more
A School That Takes Student Learning Seriously
Categories: PLC
(This is a guest post from Dr. Angel de Dios, a parent of a student at Mason Crest Elementary School, a recognized Model PLC.)
Actions are supposed to speak louder than words, but words are seen in media much more often. Worse, society with its limited attention span and general lack of critical thinking is now at the mercy of sound bites. What works in education is therefore frequently missed as a careful and thoughtful attention to details is usually absent.
Twenty years ago, the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools published a report synthesizing education research to find what it takes to reform schools successfully. The main authors of the report drew the following diagram to highlight what is necessary for improving schools.
Reading Recovery
Categories: PLC
Rebecca DuFour was recently contacted by an interventionist at an elementary school just beginning the PLC process. A new master schedule has been created that includes (1) weekly time for team collaboration and (2) daily intervention and extension time for all students. The Reading Recovery specialist is currently scheduled to work with first-grade Reading Recovery students one-on-one each morning, which is required to maintain Reading Recovery certification. During the afternoon each day, the Reading Recovery specialist will work with flexible groups of students identified for targeted support based on data from team-developed common formative assessments.
The interventionist asked for information from PLC elementary schools that have intervention plans that successfully incorporate Reading Recovery. Rebecca reached out to Jacquie Heller, a reading specialist at Mason Crest Elementary School. The following is Jacquie’s response: