What I found most useful…
Seeing the consultants in action! That is a rarity and the opportunity see and hear the coaching moves along with the post analysis is valuable.
The throughlines were super helpful. Also connecting with others in a similar role.
Kath mentioning that voice and choice is surface level agency, the core idea is building strategies for children to see themselves as capable learners who know what to do when they are stuck. From Matt the idea of a week or two immersion in the text , craft ( or process?) as inquiry and then writing a “bad one’ . The idea of a writer’s craft unit and formatively assessing children as readers as readers and readers as writers . From Megan use the Maths program that’s already sequenced and planned focus on making the lessons relevant and encourage the children to question
Watching the teaching and inquiry in a classroom, rather than just hearing about or reading about it
Every moment listening to Kath, Matt and Megan. You are so articulate and clear and knowledgeable. It is a joy and privilege to watch you all teach. I wish to approximate all of your strengths, and your strengths are the only things I noticed and paid attention to. Thank you for sharing your skills with me.
Something I plan on taking forward in my practice….
Intentional responsiveness that drives sustained curiosity and identity as a learner.
Asking my students way more questions than I do already.
I am thinking more about ways to elevate dispositions and big ideas over the impulse to drill down into content.
Leveling up my questions, being more neutral when responding to student noticings, questions, etc.; not always focusing on a genre unit in writing, spending time focusing on craft and process while giving students some agency in their choice of genre
Using mentor texts and four post its, more co constructed success criteria/checklists, more talk in the whole class setting from children, more heavy lifting from children, quick example from the teacher
So many valuable takeaways. Megan’s observational tool for anticipating student responses, planning for questioning , selecting and sequencing; Kath’s ideas around using multiple exemplar maps, co-creating criteria, and incorporating sidebar lessons to teach the strategy while reducing the cognitive load; Matt’s thinking around genre, what we believe students can do as writers, and how we use stacks of text to highlight the moves authors purposefully make. Thank you all for these thoughtful and practical ideas.
Additional comments…
Thank you, I was in awe of the fact that you all did 3 great lessons in a row, not knowing the children, you really walk the walk, make it look easy ( that’s what experts do!) but also make it seem achievable. I found it useful to look at your lessons through the 11 threads that you had and having the definitions at the front of the book was useful. Thank you for your time and generosity in sharing knowledge and resources, the padlet was also a good idea. Thank you I am inspired and ready to try a few things to continue to build independent, curious, confident learners.
Never doubt your impact on others, particularly adults as your work is often around adults. I am watching you with stars in my eyes, thinking “I am going to be more like Kath/Matt/Megan”. Know that your words, time and energy resonate exponentially through the people you teach. Also, whether publicly or privately, know that you are masterful and skilled teachers. It is not arrogance, it is accuracy to know whether one is capable at a skill set. Thank you for contributing so meaningfully and recurrently to my skill set. I am a skilled teacher because I learn from skilled teachers. Thank you for lighting the way with best practices, research-based information and pure passion for the work of teaching and learning.
