#cyberPD ~ DIY Literacy Week 1

I am very excited to share my thinking this week on Chapters 1&2, as well as the Bonus Chapter in DIY Literacy!  This is the first time I have participated in cyberPD, so thank you to Cathy, Laura and Michelle for organizing this incredible opportunity.  I'm hoping to join some of the Twitter chats for the book in the next few weeks!

As I thought about how to organize my post, I decided to collect my favorite quotes in one post.  I also wanted to reflect on how I can share my learning with teachers in the fall. As an instructional coach, I am always reflecting on how I can share my professional learning with my colleagues.  

Chapter 1

Favorite Quotes to Share with Teachers

"True learning happens when students get the instruction that fits their needs, have the agency and motivation to work hard, and remember and recycle what they've learned." (pg. 2)

"...often we get trapped in the hamster wheel of breadth - of being sure we have gotten to everything - rather than catering our work on depth." (pg. 3)

"It is important to create authentic, deeply known repertoires of strategies for students, but sometimes these clear strategies become muddy from overcrowding." (pg. 5)

These three quotes resonated with me because teachers are always talking about how overwhelmed they are with the amount of content that needs to be covered.  I agree with Kate and Maggie that we need to focus on true learning, as we avoid the hamster wheel.  I love their reminder that less is more.  It's important to remember that students don't need more tools and strategies; they need a toolbox of tried and true strategies that they can rely on in a variety of situations.

As I share these tools with teachers in the fall, I plan to emphasize the value of making learning stickier through using tools that are:
*visual,
*make the abstract concrete, and
*encourage repeated practice.  It's easy to forget that one has to practice something for at least twenty-one days to make it a habit.  

Chapter 2

Favorite Quotes to Share with Teachers
"You are never strong enough that you don't need help." Cesar Chavez 
Teaching Charts 

• "Both types of charts (repertoire and process) are lists to help students get going in their work largely by recording the teaching that has already taken place, preventing its loss in the sands of time." (pg. 13)
• "The best charts, whichever the type, are those made in front of students and as collaboratively as possible." (pg. 13)

Demonstration Notebook

• "A demonstration notebook is a collection of interactive lessons the teacher can use to demonstrate repeatedly with kids, whether individually in conferences or in small groups across the day, unit and year." (pg. 14)

Micro-progression

• "...only by knowing the full trajectory of a certain skill can we possibly create a pathway for how to get their with students." (pg. 18)

Bookmarks

• "Allowing students to decide and write down for themselves the teaching that is most helpful creates space for them to be self-directed and reflective on the teaching happening in the classroom." (pg. 19)

As I read this chapter, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could use these tools in my work as an instructional coach. Although I hope to share all of them in my professional development work with teachers (especially in the upper elementary grades), I think it's important for me to find ways to include these tools in my work in classrooms.  My plan is to create a demonstration notebook that can be a collection of my lessons in classrooms.  I would love to have a model that I can share with teachers, but I also think it would be an incredible way to archive my lessons in a variety of classrooms between two buildings.  I also plan to create a few model micro-progressions that I can share with teachers for reading and writing workshop during our professional development in the fall.  I agree with Kate and Maggie that zooming in on a smaller span of a skill's level and pairing each level with models can provide a visual and powerful path for both students and teachers.  The impact micro-progressions can have on student learning and reflection is exciting to me!  

Bonus Chapter
I love the reminders and guidance in this chapter on how to find help and how to mine our own work for strategies.  Most of all, I appreciated the reminders at the end of the chapter of common problems and obstacles, as I think I've encountered all of them at one time or another!

Be on the lookout for strategies that are too wordy.  (Guilty!)  Keep it simple.

Be on the lookout for strategies that are too general. (Guilty!) Make sure the strategy is clear.

Be on the lookout for cramming too much into one strategy or tool.  (Guilty!)  Once again, less is more.

I am looking forward to reading Chapters 3 and 4 this week and reflecting on memory and rigor. I looked at a few of the videos this spring before I purchased the book, so now that I have started reading, I'm excited to watch the videos again, as I think I will have a deeper appreciation and understanding!