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.