School-wide Literacy: Can It Happen?
School-wide literacy: Can I get an amen?
March 16, 2015Jeanene F. BurrisBurke County Public Schools
Middle School ELA Instructional CoachA Race to the Top InitiativeNC
Department of Public InstructionEducator Effectiveness
Divisionhttp://gtnpd147.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/file/view/CONFERENCE+PACKET-03132015.pdf
Begin at 1:12Opening activity: Whats in your name? When
finished, ask, What does this have to do with school-wide literacy?
Absolutely nothing, but I see smiles on your faces instead of(Next
slide).
Welcome to school-wide literacy
How many of you have either seen or experienced these reactions
to professional developments or workshops? How effective do you
think teachers with this type of reaction will in implementation of
anything learned in the workshop? So,.Next slide
Record your answers to Top Five Reasons for Professional
Development Negativity.
http://padlet.com/jburris2/ov62oyl9bfjs
Created with Padlet
I want you to turn to page 2 in your packets and with write down
there or access the Padlet site through the QR code or URL and
record your answers to the prompt. These are some of the very same
problems I identified and have tried to address over the last
several months. I will discuss this a little later, but first, I
need to get some preliminaries out of the way. NEXT SLIDE
ObjectivesParticipants willlearn what GTN is.learn what
constitutes action research.understand what is meant by school-wide
literacy and the close-read approach in achieving literacy skills
mastery.learn strategies to help promote teacher buy- in.
When you complete this work session, it is my sincere desire
that you will. (Read objectives) NEXT SLIDE
What is the Governors Teacher Network?For 2014-2015, a select
group of 450 teachers were chosen from 1400 applicants based on
submitted initiatives. In the first of two pathways, the
participants over the course of the school year were to identify
instructional needs in accordance with those supported by Race to
the Top initiatives in Home Base and design effective professional
developments to address those needs. In other words, they were to
conduct action research.Network teachers have continued their
current educator roles while completing the action research
associated with their initiatives.
First,. NEXT SLIDE
What is action research?Classroom and school research conducted
by teachers topositively impact student outcomes.identify and
promote effective instructional practices.create opportunities for
teachers to become reflective practitioners.share research results
with other educators.
Mills, G. E. (2014). Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher
Researcher
The first two objectives are now satisfied. You understand what
both GTN and action research mean. NEXT SLIDE
PurposeThe purpose of my action research was to continue
monitoring the TRMS Literacy Plan with a particular emphasis on
addressing issues with teacher efficacy and buy-in as a result of
ineffective professional development.
Obviously, for any research, you need a purpose. I actually had
started research in 2013-2014 on a literacy plan that I had
developed for one of the middle schools in my district. I had been
approached by lead principal Wendi Barber about coming up with a
literacy plan. I will talk a little later about that.
Data collectionTwo types of data were used during the action
research process:Quantitative: numerical (EOGs, benchmarks, and,
surveys)
Qualitative: data expressed in terms of natural language
Along with a purpose, research is also going to involve data
collection and data interpretation. As I have told various
faculties that I have worked with, I love the stories the data
tell.
2013-14 overall reading
So before I go ahead with further discussion of this years
action research, I need to take you back to the beginning of this
process, so turn with me to page 3 in your packet. Tell the story
of how the literacy program came into being. Take them through what
the PD process was with pages 4-7. The results: seemingly
impressive until you look closely.
Scope of work
Problem: Despite positive 2014 EOG results in overall reading
proficiency, disconcerting gaps also appeared to have
developed.Why: After much reflection, lack of teacher efficacy and
buy-in as a result ineffective PD surfaced as a potential
cause.Benefits: All students will benefit from teacher efficacy and
positive buy-in.
I have to be honest: I did conduct a faculty survey at the end
of 2014. One of the questions dealt with the effective
communication of the purpose of school-wide literacy. I think maybe
I was afraid to ask the really pertinent question of How confident
were you in transferring literacy skills to your students? If I
had, I might would have seen, (NEXT SLIDE).
The problem
Professional development and adequate follow-up improve and
sustain teachers commitment.
Getting School- wide Literacy J. Meltzer & S. Ziemba
(2010)
I dont feel that I had done my job adequately enough, so there
were gaps. What I did next was research. (Next Slide)
Research take-aways
Offer a manageable number of new strategies.Teachers should be
able to move from the workshop to the classroom.The format for
workshops should be varied.Teachers time should be respected.There
should be time for reflection.There should be strong administrative
reinforcement.Develop a forum of empowerment (PLC).
From these research take aways, I developed the framework of my
action research. Talk about each item and what it means. Please
turn to page 8. (NEXT SLIDE)
The planAugust 22, 2014- PD- Review close-reading techniques as
a faculty. Mrs. Burris will assign 1 article per teacher. Each
teacher will provide 4 multiple-choice questions and 1
constructed-response question. These will be due to Mrs. Burris in
specified format by August 29.
September 11- Grade-level meeting; context clues to decipher
vocabulary will be the highlighted technique. Assignment for next
grade-level will be for each teacher to provide 1 article with 5
questions. A volunteer will be sought to lead a discussion on
annotation of texts and its application in the classroom for the
next grade-level meeting on October 9.
October 9- Teachers will exchange articles and questions and
critique the quality. Teacher will lead discussion of annotation.
Assignment for next grade level will be for each teacher to provide
1 article with 5 questions. A volunteer will be sought to lead a
discussion on text-generated questions for the next grade-level
meeting on November 13.
November 13- Teachers will exchange articles and questions and
critique the quality. Teacher will lead discussion of
text-generated questions. Assignment for next grade level will be
for each teacher to provide 1 article with 5 questions on December
11.December 11- Teachers will exchange articles and questions and
critique the quality. Discussion on how to move from teacher-led to
student-led literacy and its challenges will be the focus.
Attendance will be taken at each meeting. 1 literacy credit will
be given for attending ALL meetings and handing in 4 articles with
questions.
As you can see, the plan involved the same components as last
years plan; I just needed to be more specific with my teachers as
to what their responsibilities are. Session 1: Where we were; where
we are; where we are going. From this meeting, we set a goal of 70%
proficiency. I also reviewed NCEES Standard III with my teachers
which conveys that ALL teachers are responsible for literacy,
(STANDARD 3A) I also reissued question stems that had been grouped.
I thought that this might help some teachers make better sense of
how to develop appropriate questions. (9-11) Session II is where
the rubber hit the road. Please turn to page 12. I wanted to vary
the formatting, so I created the enclosed outline for the agenda
for this session. Bear in mind, I was always trying to keep the
face-to face time to 30 minutes. With this second session focusing
on the first close-read component of vocabulary, I offered 3
different activities for teachers to take back to class. You will
find one of these activities on pages 13-15 in your packet.
(Describe the other two activities and show the materials) To close
out this session, I asked teachers to complete a 4-question survey.
With this session, I felt that I had covered 5 of the 6 take-aways.
THE REMAINDER OF NOTES FOR THIS SLIDE ARE ON A HARD COPY!
Survey results
This survey was conducted at the close of the September meeting
(Session II). It was meant to be a reflective activity. The most
troubling thing for me was the rate of return. What could this
mean? Explain the 8.3% in reference to the rate of return.
Survey results
This survey was conducted after teachers had completed the
colleague critique (Session 4). One positive take away I had was
that the rate of return greatly increased. One troubling factor is
that teachers do not feel confident sharing ideas. What could this
show? Perhaps it shows a lack of efficacy.
Survey resultsFor me, the most important survey came at the
close of the professional development sessions. Please turn in your
packets and take a look at the responses. One big positive from
this survey is that there was 100% participation.
See pages 19-22
Evidences of culture change
Evidences of culture changeTeacher's Comments from mid-year
PDP
I have noticed an improvement in students ability to
dissect/comprehend difficult informational text. So many of my
students have amazed me! For example, when reading a text regarding
phytoplankton a scientist was quoted as saying, "the carbon dioxide
taken up by the phytoplankton comes from deep in the ocean, just
like the nutrients...". As we were annotating one of my students
observed that this quote made him think about "upwelling". That is
precisely what it was! This is one of our tested terms. It was also
one of the follow-up questions for this article. Dissecting the
text certainly helps students make connections!
This entry was taken from an educators mid-year PDP.
Any questions?
Before or as you leave, please complete the four-question survey
linked below. THANK YOU!https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SNW2JZ9
Contact me atJeanene Burris- ELA Middle School Instructional
Coach/BCPSEmail: [email protected]: (828)502-9300
Session Materials are
here:http://gtnpd147.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/file/view/CONFERENCE+PACKET-03132015.pdf
ReferencesBrozo, W.G. & Fisher, D. (March 2010). Literacy
starts with the teachers. Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar10/vol67/num06/Literacy-Starts-with-the-Teachers.aspxHow
to help students take ownership of the learning process. (June 1,
2013). Phi Delta Kappa International. Retrieved from
http://pdkintl.org/blogs/classroom-tips/help-students-take-ownership-of-the-learning-process/Mills,
G. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. New
York: Pearson. p. v.Novak, B. (June 3, 2012). Inspiring teachers to
be lifelong learners- 10 ideas to make it happen. Retrieved from
http://novanews19.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/inspiring-teachers-to-be-lifelong-learners-10-ideas-to-make-it-happen/Meltzer,
J. & Ziemba, S. (2006). Getting School-wide Literacy Up and
Running. 21-24. Retrieved from
http://www.nassp.org/portals/0/content/54164.pdfNorth Carolina
Public Schools. (2013-2014). NC School Report Card. Retrieved from
http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/schDetails.jsp?pSchCode=370&pLEACode=120&pYear=2010-2011North
Carolinas Teacher Working Conditions Survey. (2014). Retrieved
frohttp://www.dpi.state.nc.us/newsroom/news/2013-14/20140310-01Pett,
K., Strahan, D., & Gates, C. (2014). Experts in the classroom:
Fellows program connects teacher learning to student outcome. 35
(1). Retrieved from www.learningforward.orgSnow, C. & Moje, E.
(2010). Why is everyone talking about adolescent literacy? Phi
Delta Kappan. 91(6). 66-69. Retrieved from
http://appencore.wncln.org:61080/gale-go/ps/i.do?action=interprALE%CA222229570&v+2.1&u=boon41269it=r&p+AONE&sw=w&authCount
Jump AroundHouse Of PainThe Ultimate Cheese Party CD1, track
112003Misc214008.17eng - County comparative dataSchool2013
Proficiency2014 ProficiencySchool Increase
EBMS51.5%69%+17.5%
HMS43%68.5%+25.5%
LMS47.6%64.2%+16.6%
TRMS41.9%55.9%+14%
WJMS42.5%58.6%+16.1%
NC ABC Report Cards 2013 & 2014Jump AroundHouse Of PainThe
Ultimate Cheese Party CD1, track 112003Misc214008.17eng -
