I’ve spent the last five years as an instructional facilitator working from central administration to support elementary campuses in our district. This past June I requested a transfer back to a campus to work as an instructional coach. Getting back to working day in and day out with teachers and students was the best decision …
I am so excited to introduce That Thing You Do! This new weekly segment will share tips from teachers who make the learning memorable for their students. Huge shout-out to Katherine Sokolowski who teaches 7th grade in central Illinois for guest blogging on the very first ever That Thing You Do segment. Katherine blogs …
When I first became an instructional coach and found myself planning with teachers, I focused almost exclusively on instruction. I’d had over two decades in education, had read dozens of professional books and attended countless teacher training sessions. I believed myself to be an expert on effective instruction. But several years ago everything changed. I …
With this post, the five-part series on creating an environment that supports strategy transfer comes to an end. That would be the end of the blog series—not the conversation, however. There is much more to discuss. (You can read the first four in this series here, here, here and here.) In this final piece on …
In the three previous posts on strategy transfer (here, here and here), we looked at the elements of creating a system whereby students engage in the powerful work of moving from single use of a teacher-coached strategy to the independent, autonomous use of the most effective strategies chosen from a repertoire at the appropriate time …
Creating a coaching system and teaching a repertoire of strategies are the first two steps in creating an environment where students can move toward independence in applying comprehension strategies. These two components of strategy transfer in reading instruction were addressed here and here. The third critical element in designing a system for strategy transfer is …
In a previous post I shared the five steps I believe are critical in facilitating strategy transfer for students when they read. Create a coaching system Teach a repertoire of strategies Commit to an emphasis on conditional knowledge Focus on student goal-setting Provide feedback that transforms the learner The first step, creating a coaching environment, …
I hear it all the time–“My students do a great job applying specific strategies during instruction, but when they are on their own, they struggle to apply the strategies they’ve learned and practiced.” Teachers work tirelessly teaching and modeling thinking strategies during reading instruction. Students work hard learning and applying those strategies as they read …
One of the huge benefits of social media is the opportunity it provides to form relationships with great leaders in the field of education. Shortly after I created a Twitter account, I came across a multitude of passionate, powerful tweets from Dr. Mary Howard. Dr. Howard is an outstanding educational consultant and author known for …
A few weeks ago on a Saturday morning, I got the following text message from my friend and colleague who teaches 6th grade. Four words. The same sentiment this brilliant teacher speaks into the lives of her students when they encounter challenges. Aubrey came to her understanding of the “power of YET” by reading Dr. …
