Chapter 3 - Classroom Norms and Values

The first paragraph of this chapter really caught my attention, particularly the statements, "For students to gain new perspectives on themselves as readers and learners, classroom norms and values have to change.  The tables have to turn -- from valuing correctness to valuing struggle, from valuing right answers to valuing the process of coming to know, and learning how to learn." (p. 55)

These ideas remind me of the "Positive Norms to Encourage in Math Class," published by Jo Boaler of Stanford University on her website:  http://youcubed.org/teachers/2014/back-to-school-messages/.  I have these posted for my ABE math students and refer to them often.  Students really appreciate "permission" to make errors as they talk and reason through math problems.

 

Comments

Darlene,

Thank you so much for starting off second week of our Book Study with your comments on Chapter 3.  I clicked on the link you shared and want to encourage others to check out the "Positive Norms to Encourage in Math Class."  What a fabulous resource!  I want you to know that I will be sharing it in my encounters with adult educators.

Cheers,

Meryl SME College and Career Standards

I too jotted that quote down in my notes and I think that it is very important that these things happen within a classroom.  There were some great ideas within this section.

I have used the KWL approach quite often, but I like the way that Will Brown uses it as a “preamble” and uses it for conversation.  I think that his way is very purposeful for the lesson at hand.  My class community happens through group work and discussion but I have also had rosters of students who did not build community.  I have seen the activities that were given in action for different settings and I never thought of putting them in my classroom, but I think they would work well.  Setting norms is a great idea and including the student in on the creation allows the student part ownership in the classroom community. 

                I especially liked the activity that Will Brown used to get the students to converse with the class.  Often, the students may state their ideas but will look only at the instructor.  By stepping out of center stage the students will carry out the conversation with others.  When I read it at first, I though he went and stood behind the person speaking and thought, what a great idea, the whole class would follow the instructor’s movements until they were looking at the student speaker.  Perhaps a new spin on it. 

                The sentence frames where great, I have seen examples of these often but never used them but I think I will start.  So often, the students are used to voicing opinions or thoughts but not backing them up with evidence from the reading.  I feel these will be great to have laminated and on the desks in each group of tables.

I particularly like the quote as well on p. 55 “The tables have to turn-from valuing correctness to valuing struggle, from valuing right answers to valuing the process of coming to know and learning how to learn.” 

Also in the social dimension it is important to create a safe and collaborative learning environment, and tapping into the personal dimension by building connections to students' knowledge, experience, creativity, and curiosity. P.56

I have used both activities on p. 60 –Interest and Reading Survey and p. 61 – walkabout bingo.  Students enjoy getting to share about themselves and getting to know their classmates.

I think that I would like to try the name activity on p.62.  It could be very interesting with ESL students since every country has distinct names. I would also like to try the sentence frames on p. 67.  We are working on the Speaking and Listening CCRS with our teachers and the focus of these standards is having students participate in academic conversations.  These frames would be helpful for teachers to model and use them with their students and then encourage their students to use them with one another as they engage in a reading activity and have small group discussions.

I also relate to the quote on p. 68 “Many students believe, often based on their experiences in school, that already knowing rather than being confused or wondering is the only thing of value in an academic setting.”  And “Teachers have the important job of turning this intellectually crippling misconception around, so that students understand that confusion is the perfect starting place for learning.”  

Darlene, Teresa and Aimee, I agree that the point about the tables needing to turn to valuing correctness over struggle is a key. I love the subheading on page 67, "It's cool to be confused." Thanks for emphasizing this issue for us.

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP

Reflections on Ch #3:  How do we incorporate Reading Apprenticeship in small ABE classrooms that are open entry/open exit?

Move to the Sidelines:  Teacher is not a talking head.  Most of the time is spent working at tables with students individually or in small groups.  Therefore, we have already “moved to the sideline.”

Sentence Frames, p.67:  One method I use to communicate with students is email, for it can take on a more personal tone.  Students become risk-takers when they can first express themselves one-on-one and receive affirmation for their ideas.  Then expressing themselves (repeating what they have written) in a small group becomes less threatening.  I plan to try a reading activity in this manner by presenting the sentence frame as an email prompt.

Why Do We Read Activity, p.75:  Recently, I had to move to a much smaller classroom environment.  What I discovered is that students were more willing to share their thinking because they heard the dialogue I would have with individual students and realize that they had similar thinking.  Sometimes a student would chime in with an idea when I didn’t even realize he/she was listening to our conversation.  As I was thinking about the “Why Do We Read” activity and my “small” whiteboard, I thought I could I could very easily put stickees on students’ folders and ask them to share an idea on the stickee.  They could then place it on the whiteboard or even the wall!  Stay tuned!

Personal/Social Dimension and fluidity, p.85:  We have approached student entry into our program in a variety of ways:  managed enrollment, open entry/open exit, etc.  However, because of high employment in our area, lately we have been reverting to more of an open entry/open exit program (not to worry – even that is managed).  With this in mind, fluidity is even more existent.  Because of that, the personal and social dimensions are addressed continually, not just at the beginning, and that is not all bad.

 

Hi Norene and all, Several members have noted the value of using sentence frames such as those on page 67. In addition to supporting students to dig more deeply into the text they are reading, these frames also provide students with the academic language they need to talk about texts. The CCRS expect students to ask questions, offer evidence and build on one anothers' ideas, so these sentence frames can be invaluable as we implement the new standards. The need to provide language is obvious for English learners, but I think the frames can also be helpful with those who speak English fluently.

What do others think?

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP

Hello Everyone,

Sharing is one of the elements that is similar to things I do with my students. I ask the questions that get them involved in a conversation where they are relaxed about sharing. I think having the student share their experience is a buy-in to getting them involved in the classroom. This also draws them in to invest in their learning and the process. My questions are usually centered around the lesson of the day before we even begin working on the application. My questions set the tone for what they are expected to complete during class time.

Another similarity is letting the student know it is okay if they are confused or do not understand what they do not know or are reading. I always assure my students that (we) are all learning together. I try to make them understand that it is okay to ask questions when they do not know as well. Sometimes, the adult learners are embarrassed because of their age, to ask questions and not because of looking a certain way in front of their peers, but because they feel they should know certain things at their age. 

Holly

Holly, When you emphasize to students that we are all learning together,you not only creating a safe space for confusion and questions, it's also clear you are taking a stance as a co-learner. To me, this stance is especially important with adult learners who bring a life time of experience to our classrooms.

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP

Hello Susan,

I believe as educators, we never stop learning. I think our students teach us a lot, not only about themselves, but the material as well. Have you ever had an ah-ha moment on material you assigned? I always try to approach the classroom as a learning community that involves me learning too. I try to help students visualize me standing with them as they learn and not in front them dictating their learning process. I think there is a time and place for the latter, but I highly believe in co-learning as a part of facilitating the classroom.

Holly

I want to second Holly's comments about intentionally allowing time and space for students to share their reading history and interests.

I love that the opportunity to share reading history and interests allows the classroom to be student-centered. I think it also highlights the idea that our relationship with reading began a long time ago, and we need to acknowledge the good and bad in that relationship to move forward.  Once I started including reading history surveys and student interviews, the level of understanding and compassion increased amongst everyone (teacher included), and created a much richer classroom environment. This is huge for breaking down - or at least softening - some barriers students may have to improving their reading skills.

Hi Carlynn,

Are your reading history surveys questions that you put together? I have used interview questions with students to try and get them to share what types of things they read. If they say magazines, I like to ask what section they go to first. Then I ask if they read in English or their native language. I have not had anyone yet who said they read novels. My co-teacher and I read Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo for one of our leveled groups in the STAR Reading program. The students absolutely loved it! We used this for practicing Fluency. After a student read, they would pass the reading on to someone else. We read the whole book over the 8 weeks we had together and then they watched the movie version for a Christmas send off. So in this case, our interviews let us know that this something new for the students. We tied it into Comprehension too when we talked about characters and setting, etc. 

Carlynn, Barbara and all, There is no doubt that learning as much as we can about students' histories is valuable. What questions do you include on your reading surveys? There is a reading survey included in the Appendix of our book, which is very detailed and quite long. How does the survey you are using compare?

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP

This statement also caught my immediate attention. Not only is it underlined in my book, but written in my notes! As a PD provider, I think valuing struggle and learning processes is also applicable to training settings. When new educational practices, strategies, or standards (think CCRS :) are introduced, it's important to allow time for reflection (what does this mean for me? how am I going to do this? what are possible challenges? who are my supports?). By using RA, we hope that discouraged readers will change and grow, but it will look different from student to student.  By offering PD, we hope that participants will change and grow, and we know it will look different from place to place! It's hard to expect correctness when change is involved...

I also appreciated the emphasis on being explicit (page 64+). In so many situations, most people appreciate knowing what's expected, rather than wondering or worrying.

These are great and I'm going to share them with the math teachers in our HiSED program. I love the one about crumpling up a piece of paper and throwing it at the board, then picking it back up and coloring in the lines. I can see where students would have fun, even just as an ice-breaker. Thanks.