Good-bye New Year Resolution, Hello One Word Challenge!

About 5 years ago, I did away with creating New Year Resolutions. (Anyone else struggle to keep the momentum after the hype subsides?!) Around this time, I discovered Jon Gordon's One Word Challenge and this tradition has changed my life! For the last three years, everything has centered around being INTENTIONAL. Before engaging with new schools and training, everything has funneled through being intentional with words and actions so as not to waste time. I wanted to also make sure my personal training & certifications were INTENTIONAL in order to provide the most recent and valuable resources for my favorite people - Educators. The year prior to INTENTIONAL was BE, which might seem confusing at first but as an Administrator and District Reading Specialist, I was locked into a cycle of DO. If I wasn't doing something, then it felt like nothing was being accomplished when upon reflection, the most beneficial moments were when I was just in the moment. Be here. Be there. Be in the discussion, the observation, the reflective conversation. Be with the students and teachers. Just BE.

Today, I'm finally able to let go of INTENTIONAL. It has been the cornerstone of a lot of work over the last 3 years, and I'm grateful for the new friendships that have been made, the new colleagues and mentors to count on in a moment, and the new learning that has built upon the teaching & learning toolbox utilized in my work with schools and pre-service educators. For this year, my goal is to stay INQUISITIVE. I don't want to become stagnant in learning, apathetic towards finding and hearing new ideas, specifically around literacy, explicit instruction, and evidence-based teaching. I want to continue to ask questions around Nell Duke's work The Active View of Reading and continually seek answers for aligning classroom instruction to all we know about the Science of Learning. I want to know more about the Science of Math and how it is changing current classroom instruction. 

Stay Inquisitive, Ask More Questions. Do not allow for stagnant thinking, do not rest in the comfortable air-space of "I know it, so I'm done," do not allow for the dust to settle into mediocrity & stillness. One word through which this year's adventures will cycle: INQUISITIVE: given to inquiry, research, or asking questions; eager for knowledge; intellectually curious: an inquisitive mind.

Challenge: What is your one word?

Trainer Mode: Adolescent Literacy & Keys to Literacy!

This last year, I've had the opportunity to engage in Adolescent Literacy work around our state. Our founder at Keys to Literacy, Joan Sedita, is very passionate about this work and encourages us to stay in the know, not only with her findings and writings, but other experts in the field as well. In fact, you can find a a phenomenal blog post here from November with the sole focus of Disciplinary Literacy. 

Some of my best discussions this summer came from working with fellow Indiana Educators as a Keys to Literacy Trainer preparing them for additional knowledge and application of evidence based practices centered on the Science of Reading.  While leading these sessions, my goal was to create cohorts based around community, support, and collective efficacy after our summer week sessions ended. Imagine my joy to meet several of my cohort members in person and to hear how the training has impacted their instruction AND/OR the friendships they made to lock arms with other like-minded educators. The work was long, some days tiresome, but motivating as over 5000 educators focused and reflected on their literacy instruction. The summer sessions were only the beginning for me! I look forward to meeting with the next 150 educators this spring, focused specifically on Adolescent Literacy, to support our struggling students in grades 4-12. Will you be one of them?

Higher Ed & Pre-Service Educators: Joining the IUK Team!

Do you ever have moments where you stop, look back, and think 'how did I get here?'  

I feel so many of those emotions as a Structured Literacy Methods Instructor for Indiana University Kokomo. Working with Transition 2 Teaching Educators and Undergrads has been absolutely challenging and rewarding. These educators are in the weeds of a major shift in literacy instruction across our state, and I look forward to hearing their reflections and questions each week. I've also enjoyed building a community cohort that they can reach out to for support and ideas for implementation of best practices and understanding the pedagogy.  In fact, the most eye opening moments have included our discussions of case studies and how to implement the evidence based practices - and even their investigation of true fidelity. While I am only a small part of their journey, I am grateful for the opportunity to watch them grow as learners and educators.  Our class motto is "Stay Curious" --> don't be afraid to ask the hard questions - you just might be part of moving your school into a different way of thinking and learning.  Over the course of this last semester we met with nine Literacy Experts including Dr. Jan Hasbrouck (Fluency) and Dr. Anita Archer (Explicit Instruction).  They were also able to ask Greg Smedley-Warren of ELEVATE Your Classroom some difficult questions about literacy, small groups, and classroom management! It was raw and real information to challenge their developing beliefs while building collective knowledge & efficacy. Many of them are moving into student teaching next semester, and I look forward to seeing where they end up in our amazing profession.  

Building Up Oral Language for Literacy Development & Success

Over a year ago, I connected with Dr. Sonia Cabell!  Her work around oral language development and assisting teachers with creating a 5-turn Conversation with students is amazing! During her recent presentation with Early Learning Educators at WVEC's Early Learning Conference, she shared that preschool students often mimic their teachers' oral language by easily adopting similar vocabulary, sentence structures, and pronunciation patterns they hear frequently in the classroom. We were filled with some hope as she shared the evidence & research that students with less opportunities for rich discussion are capable of success when paired with a classroom teacher that understands the science and complexities and needs of our youngest learners (we truly are brain scientists down here).  Educators finished out our session by reflecting and digging into our own conversational opportunities in the classroom specifically utilizing read alouds. Teachers shared their questions and challenged each other with additional thoughts for engaging students in 5-Turn Conversations. Teachers aren't often allowed the opportunity to hear the evidence based science AND reflect on the application of that knowledge. If I could turn back time (thank you, Cher), my teachers would KNOW the evidence as they learn new strategies so as to carefully analyze the benefits and struggles of each practice added to their toolbox. Many administrators have shared a fear of once again becoming followers instead of the lead learners - and I couldn't agree more. As the classroom experts, we can't allow ourselves to be led astray. My favorite advice on this journey thus far has been, "Stay Curious. Understand the evidence." In the meantime, I will celebrate the 2100+ students that are going to be learning from the Educators that attended the session this month. 

ISLA Proudly Presents: Chips, Dip, & Praxis 5205 Tips!

Register Here: 5205 Praxis Tips

Date: Jan 30th

Time: 6:30-7:15 EST

Indiana is on a pathway to increasing literacy success across the state. One key area of focus is teacher knowledge and application. When the state requirement for passing the Praxis 5205 was first announced, I was filled with fear & dread (my most normal response, I often have to re-program my mind to stay positive - topic for another day). Test-taking is NOT my strong suit but teaching best practices in literacy instruction is my obsession! What if this assessment declared a big fat no?!  After several deep breath moments ("smell the flowers, blow out the candles" -- thank you, Dr. Lori Desautels), my mind started tracing the training in Structured Literacy. Following up with teaching the required content over the summer with Keys to Literacy, thankfully, I passed the hurdle, and I'm eager to discuss this adventure with you. 

On January 30th, I will share some tips & strategies during our Indiana State Literacy Association mini-event webinar. If you are having a moment, and you haven't taken this next step, join us for some networking, fun, and strategy tips. Oh, and don't forget to bring your favorite snack! I look forward to seeing you!

Explicit Instruction: Where is the Engagement?!

As an administrator, my favorite moments included walk throughs! I was able to stop in, leave a positive note for the teachers, and observe the learning taking place.  It also allowed me the chance to notice if our professional development was carrying over into the classroom instruction. I remember quickly implementing the Turn & Talk from Lemov's Teach Like a Champion but as observations continued, I started noticing the same patterns - such as only certain students were talking, others were unassigned designated listeners. Dr. Archer came into my life about 3 years ago. I started watching some of her webinars on Explicit Instruction and then a year later I met her during the Plain Talk Conference hosted in New Orleans.  Have you ever been in a room filled with magical instruction? It happened that day as I witnessed a standing only room filled with over 100's of adults engaged in a literacy lesson about the migration of birds! Migration!  She had us - hook, line, and sinker!  After returning home, I started reflecting on my own courses, teaching, and learning and true engagement really started to catch my eye. We don't spend enough time teaching administrators about good instruction. I think there is an automatic assumption that if you are going to take the leader's seat, you know what it looks like, but I'm not sure that is always true since so many managerial tasks steal away our days. If you know, you know!  But if I could go back, professional learning would include a thorough analysis of student engagement starting with the old Turn & Talk. As noted in this article, T&T is an instructional strategy that can be utilized with any grade level but the game changers are assigning partner numbers & requiring certain responses from each partner (Stewart, A. A., & Swanson, E. (2019). Turn and talk: An evidence-based practice. Teacher’s guide. Austin, TX: The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk).  For example, after reading an article for class, I have my college students pair up with their "Reflection Partner." Partner 1 may be charged with finding evidence to support the claims of the case study and the impact on student learning. Partner 2 listens and has an opportunity to respond, but when the timer goes off, Partner 2 begins with finding one key problem and evaluating the solutions recommended in the study. The discussion ends with a 10 word summary of the discussion (often used as the exit slip). Does every Turn & Talk lend itself to this cycle? No way. However, I've learned that by assigning roles and responsibilities, I've eliminated confusion, provided clarity of my expectations for response, and provided an environment where "everyone does all the things" (Dr. Anita Archer). And excitedly enough, I've been able to share this training with over 500 teachers to date! Even more exciting: their updates on how things are going in the classroom with student engagement!  How many T&T do I plan for in each of my own sessions?  Great question for another day!

Explicit Instruction: The Phonics Era!

To know me is to know my passion for ensuring Educators know and receive evidence based support and practices in their classrooms.  My career began at the height of ultimate creative expression and thematic construction, and I honestly don't recall reading the case studies students are now required to read for my college literacy methods courses.  At first, I felt robbed of critical information and training, but to wallow in those pits seemed a complete waste of time. At the height of discovering ways to place resources in the hands of my favorite people (teachers), the Dollar General Literacy Grant appeared. My hopes included a train the trainer model for explicit phonics instruction utilizing UFLI Foundations Phonics. If you had told me 3 years ago the grant would result in 95 Instructional Leaders/Coaches/Teachers embarking on a journey to educate multiple educators in their districts (over 1530) plus their peers and additional support staff, with a touch on over 31,000 students to date, I would have instantly shut you down. The biggest bonus is not only the student growth, but the relationships of community established along the way. So many of us look forward to reconnecting and sharing our success stories across districts and providing each other with support and resources. The best times are when they say, "Can you believe the growth?" And then we laugh and celebrate the success of all. Over the course of the last three years of training support & partnerships, Paras & Support Staff have been embraced and included. Instructional Assistants are often overlooked Rockstars deserving of their own time and training to meet the needs they encounter on the daily. I have lost track of the data indicating how many students they are now assisting but the occasional emails of growth are an indication things are going well. It has been a joy to be a part of this ripple of change - and if you are trying to figure it all out yourself, start here with Dr. Holly Lane!