All COURSE PARTICIPANTS - please read the note we received from TINT below.
PSU has changed their Fall calendar due to furlough days they'll be taking around the holidays. Sooooo, we need your student grades
by 12/11. Grades are going to run 12/16 (instead of 12/23).
All coursework is due by 12/5!!!
ASSIGNMENT SIX: DVD Reflection- Included in your text is a DVD containing video clips of Regie’s conferences with writers in the classroom. There is a detailed commentary accompanying the DVD on page 336 of her text. Please watch the DVD
and then look at her teaching notes beginning on page 336 (Regie suggests just watching without notes first so that you don’t miss what she and the students are doing.) After both watching and reading her notes, write your reflection and please post a copy of your DVD Reflection to the blog.
*NOTE: If you experience problems playing the DVD please refer to the Writing Essentials companion website at www.heinemann.com/writingessentials for directions for playing the DVD. Look in the upper right hand corner for the link.
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Seeing this video has helped me to learn that a writing conference does not need to be a time to explicitly teach and revise students’ skills in their writing. Rather, it is a time to bond with your students over the fact that they have been brave enough to share their hard work with you and to allow you to help them make it better.
ReplyDeleteI have always been overwhelmed with writing conferences and I feel like I need to make every student’s writing perfect while I spend this time with them. I look at their work and think about all the things we would need to do to get it to a published state, but really it does not need to be this hard to get work to a publishable format.
Right now I am trying to conduct skills conferences with all of my students as a form of assessment for the various skill lessons I am teaching during writing. Based on watching Routman’s conferences, I no longer feel like this is a good use of my time with my students. I will be changing the way in which I conduct conferences right away. I am also going to use her framework for both one-on-one and whole group conferences. I think that this will give me the tools that I need to help me be successful with making this change happen.
I did enjoy seeing Routman's whole group mini-lesson on spelling. It helped me to better understand what she means by conducting skill lessons in a more natural use and practice. I have always agreed that drilling spelling is not a way to get kids to be excellent spellers. After seeing Routman guide and lead an editing whole-group conference, I feel more confident in my own ability to do so, and I see how students would be motivated to learn from another student’s work instead of a practice workbook. I also see how having a very safe and secure classroom environment is essential to this style of instruction and I am really glad that I have been able to build this for our class this year.
DVD Reflection
ReplyDeleteI think it is always refreshing to see someone else interacting with students. I always find little things that I would like to incorporate into my class. Some of the things that I saw Routman doing that I would like to try out were:
-work with students one on one in front of the whole group to finish a story together
-notetake for the student so they are not bogged down with the physical act of getting words on paper.
-use dialogue to draw the story from students in their own words
-the spelling lesson. I really felt like she made it very clear that second graders should know the "ow" and "ou" sound and that she expected them to be spelling at a higher level in their own writing. I also liked the format of the lesson. By choosing one student, she was able to tackle a problem that many of the students may have been experiencing.
When Routman was conferencing with the girl while the rest of the class was busy doing something else, I made a strong connection to that setting. I try to conference with students in the back of the room while students are working independently. However, oftentimes, I find that noise from the group, even if it is on-task noise, is very distracting for me, but especially for the student that I am conferencing with. Sometimes I feel like it is counterproductive. So, it was comforting to see Routman conferencing with a similar noise level in the background. maybe it is just something that I have to become more comfortable with.
I also liked how Routman was so positive with the students. She found strengths and really commended the students. I feel like this went a long way towards making each and every student feel comfortable and actually excited about sharing their work with Routman and/or the rest of the class.
I wish there was a wider range of age levels in the dvd.
Thanks Hope and Tod! It’s always nice to be able to see “a picture” of what someone is talking or writing about…a picture really is worth a thousand words!!!
ReplyDeleteI worked in a writing center during my undergraduate studies. There, we did one-on-one conferences with students similar to those in Routman’s DVD. It reminded me of some techniques I had forgotten. For example, having the student read their paper out loud helps to protect their voice and prevents a teacher/editor from taking over the piece. I like how Routman gave suggestions, but asked the student what they preferred. Her recommendation to use post-its and not write on the student’s paper or make any corrections myself resonated with me.
ReplyDeleteThe spelling lesson was both intriguing and provoking. My seventh grade students are moving from spelling to a focus on expanding their vocabulary, but many still need explicit spelling practice. This gave me some good ideas. Again, I admired how she had Derek make the corrections independently. I know I would have told him the letters and moved on long before she did. On the other hand, I wondered how she kept the other students engaged when even I, an adult viewer, was losing interest. I was also concerned that Derek would feel singled out when she made him repeat the word over and over in front of the whole class. I understood that she gave several words of encouragement to make him feel successful, but I think he felt embarrassed, too, based on his body language. It was uncomfortable for me to watch.
Some concepts I want to add to my own teaching from this DVD include reminding students to use what they already know (as in the spelling lesson,) reading a student’s work again after he or she has read it once to point out the strong areas explicitly, savoring great lines, using post-it notes, and having students circle their errors rather than doing it for them.
Assignment Six: DVD Reflection
ReplyDeleteThis is by far the most helpful teaching tool for me. I learn so much from watching other people teach, and it is empowering to see Regie work her magic. My two favorite lessons to observe were the spelling and the little girl named AlexSandra.
The spelling lesson was an incredible eye-opener for me. This is something that I have struggled with since I began student teaching. It seems like spelling is one of those things that we often do just to appease the parents. There is no transfer, so the kids who are good at it and read a lot, continue to be good. The rest are left to struggle through the test and feel unsuccessful. I loved how Regie used the student’s writing as a springboard for a whole class spelling lesson. How wonderful to empower that child to figure out the spelling on his own, not just memorize it to pass the test. The simplest part was one that I had never even thought to do: After Regie and the boy figured out how to spell the word, she covered it up and had him rewrite it. Then again, faster. My only concern is the effectiveness for the rest of the class. I think about my own class, and even if they were really paying attention, I am not sure how well the information would transfer. I am absolutely willing to try it out!
AlexSandra was another inspiring piece to watch. I have so many struggles with writers that don’t always produce straightforward writing. This girl just needed to change her title in order to make her story flow. I have begun to really emphasize to my students that it is not important to have a title until the end of their piece, because it so often changes. While conferencing with students this week, I have already used this method of meeting and discussing just one area of focus. The kids can then come back with a clearer piece of writing. It is always so nice to get to spend one-on-one time with them, too. They feel special and heard, and that is the way it should be!
Probably one of most important things I'm coming away from this course with is the power of positive teaching. Like many teachers, I thought I was pretty nurturing and supportive, but watching Regie work a classroom, I see how much more encouraging I can be than I have been. I love her continual focus on the 'celebration' of the writer - the student - his / her voice.
ReplyDeleteI was also intrigued by the spelling lesson - I am determined to keep teaching spelling as most of my ELL students are very weak in that area...however, I have learned to 'teach' the word patterns instead of drill them. I am unwilling to leave the teachable moment to chance context, but am learning to refer to previous lessons when I see issues in their writing. I also felt for the effectiveness for the whole class - I try to keep spelling review pretty short and can do so because spelling is part of my daily routine.
Finally, I love seeing the effectiveness of the short and personal writing conference in action. Our literary coach is trying to get more of us to do workshop writing, and this class and the dvd is going a long way to help me buy into the vision....it is a far cry from the writers workshop I was first trained in some 12 years ago. Again - this is so positive and personal - I can't wait to hear the voice that comes out of this!
Thanks Alicia, Lisa, and Teri for sharing your thoughts on the DVD!!! Alicia – I also love the idea of using Post-its rather than writing comments right on the students’ papers….is there a way where you can incorporate this idea in your distance learning course? Lisa, I’m so glad that you gained so much from viewing the DVD clips, I think one of the biggest ideas and most important is that idea of supporting students with that ONE focus during a conference (as hard as it is to let some things go…). Yeah Teri…thanks for highlighting the importance of positive teaching through celebrations.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching Regie’s video clips, I couldn’t help but take notes. After I finished watching all of the conferences and listening to her comments, I had compiled a list of ten notes: seven strategies I want to apply and three strategies that I’m not so sure about.
ReplyDeleteSeven Strategies I Want to Apply
1. Conference affirmation – When Regie is conferring with Max, I love how she uses that time not only to affirm him as a writer, but also as a member of the class. It’s amazing how powerful that author’s chair can be.
2. Bring the joy back into writing! I feel so fortunate that my students are not bogged down in test preparation. We are able to run a readers and writers workshop every day all year, without taking breaks for contrived test prep. Nevertheless, it is important to always go back to the goal of inspiring my students to love to write.
3. Secret stories – I have never tried this strategy for generating story ideas. The kids in the video seemed to have a good time telling the stories of secret things that they probably shouldn’t have done. I want to try it with my kids!
4. Quick applauses – In part one of Regie’s book she encourages us to celebrate writing every day. I really liked how she encouraged the class to “clap for that great beginning,” or “give her an applause for the way she ended her poem.” These are quick and easy ways to celebrate the small successes in our students’ writing. I love it.
5. Sticky note scaffolding – Sometimes students are able to tell you what they want to change, but they’re slow to do it. I like the idea of jotting down notes on sticky notes while conferring with students, then leaving the sticky notes with them to scaffold their independent revision.
6. One-on-one conferencing couch – In the last video clip we see Regie conferring with AlexSandra. They are talking on a cute little couch at the back of the room. I usually do roving conferences, where I meet with a student at their desk. I like the idea of having a special one-on-one conferencing space (couch, carpet, desk). I think this could help students feel more comfortable to share by eliminating the risk that others would overhear what they are saying.
7. Reread to delete parts that don’t belong – In Regie’s conference with Ervin, we see a focus on the importance of revision to eliminate words and sentences that don’t belong. At the beginning of the year it is difficult for me to show students how important it is to reread. Once they write the last word of a story they say they are “finished.” I like how Regie has Ervin read his story and then she reads aloud parts that seem redundant and/or unrelated. He is able to make the decision, with Regie’s help, to get rid of those parts.
Three Strategies I’m Not Sure About
1. Too much help? – In the conference with Ervin, as well as all the others, Regie gives a lot of suggestions for what a child could write. Although the child ultimately writes in the changes, I feel like she may contribute too much to the words in their writing.
2. Spelling Lesson for Derek – As I watched the spelling lesson with Derek, I couldn’t help but think, “How much are the other kids benefitting from this?” It seemed that the conversation with Derek greatly helped him, because it allowed him to fix his writing and build writing schema to help him “never misspell those words ever again.” However, the rest of the kids seemed restless.
3. Too much time talking – It looked like there were several children that went to the author’s chair in one day. They each had a 2-5 minute conference. It seems like that would take a lot of time from independent writing time. I wonder if time would be better spent by doing only one public conference (where all students are watching teacher conference with student) per day.
Watching this video, the thing that strikes me the most is how simple it all seems. I love the idea of the shared all-class conference. It would definitely be a time-saver, but also it would be quite effective as a way to incorporate small lessons in which the kids would likely not even know they were being taught because they would be having fun at the same time. Where has this been my whole, short, teaching life?!
ReplyDeleteIn listening to how Regie interacts with the students, she is clearly using the positives of each student’s writing to use as an example of what other students COULD do. She makes it clear during a Garrett’s conference that the things she is pointing out ‘might be a good idea for a couple of you’. There is no criticism, just a friendly suggestion. I have a feeling that those students went back to look at their writing to see if those suggestions fit in. The whole thing is so relaxed, enjoyable to watch and for students to participate in, and positive.
I love how Regie says, “What would help the reader is…”, and “I am going to suggest, but it is up to you…”. She then asks Ervin, “Does that sound like a good idea? Do you want to do that?” and she gives him the pencil to make the changes; she doesn’t make the changes for him. I see this as very empowering for the student who expects us to make changes to their writing to make it ‘right’. Instead, she gave the power and control back to the student. In the next clip, she is guiding a struggling writer through adding to his writing with the entire class watching and enjoying. This is so good for all students who are struggling with the same problems and can see that they are not the only ones and can absorb what they are learning from a non-personal perspective. Wow!
Watching these videos is much more helpful and valuable than just reading about the same situations. My goal is to learn to comfortably let go over my concern over grammar for students until they are ready for it. I want them to love writing first!
DVD Reflection
ReplyDeleteIt is always so helpful to watch an excellent teacher in action. The main point I received from watching the DVD was to celebrate the writer. I need to keep that foremost in my mind at all times, because the “constant editor and reviser” in me is always ready to point out where improvements could be made. Just having a time for students to come forward and read their work makes for a positive atmosphere ~ no spelling or grammar errors pointed out, no hints for better word choice, just true celebration and enjoyment of the students’ writing.
It was delightful to see and hear Max read his writing out loud ~ how wise of Regie to have him read it of her and the class, rather than Regie reading it! He seemed to enjoy reading it out loud the 2nd time even more than the first. Very reinforcing. Another good idea: have a student read their selection, then point out parts of the writing that really shine ~ and then have the student read it again so that all can really hear that section you just pointed out and enjoy it.
I liked how Regie suggested ideas, basically saying “I’m going to suggest this, but you can choose”. Too often we make “suggestions” and the student changes their writing to please us, the teacher, rather than staying true to their own voice. She also had the student make the cross outs, reinforcing how they should revise their work as they re read it.
This was a good spring board for me as I have revised how I do writing conferences. Previous to this my conferencing started with the student and I looking at the student’s paper that I had marked with stars, smiley faces, spelling errors, grammar errors, and words or praise, encouragement, or places they had to make changes. I love how she shows the conferences can be short, celebratory, and helpful all at the same time.
I wish very much that Regie would have added writing conferences with middle school students. They can be so reluctant to share due to concerns about what their peers will think. Nurturing a positive, caring classroom environment is key to making this work, but there are still kids who are painfully shy. I wish I would have seen how to do this before school started this year because I would have started out the FIRST day with writing and immediate sharing out loud in the classroom. However, I did start this type of sharing in early November when I first read the conferencing chapter and I see the benefits already.
Scott, Amy, and Yvonne – I enjoyed reading your responses. It’s always helpful to watch a Master Teacher in action to give your own instruction a little nudge in the right direction!
ReplyDelete