On the Blink

A teacher’s work never stops. Some of us may get summers off, but how are we spending our time? Attending professional developments, planning for the next year, sorting through our classroom supplies.

My brain is always buzzing with ways to improve my craft.

I decided to attend the Teaching That Succeeds Virtual Symposium. And I was impressed with the quality of research being presented and the accessibility of resources that each presenter provided. The event was held on Zoom, with four timeslots running 3-5 concurrent sessions and a final panel of teacher scientists. Each presenter readily shared their slides and contact info, and all material was distributed to the attendees via Google Drive. During each Zoom session, attendees could place themselves in the appropriate breakout room — but they could also ask for help if they weren’t comfortable on Zoom. The hosts Holly, Elana, and Kata were available in the sessions to moderate and assist attendees. As far as accommodations go, this conference method earned an A+ from me.

The conference was sponsored by the Science of Reading Center, and it had a strong focus on how the science of learning can improve our students’ experience of math and reading fluency. All presentations delivered down-to-earth practices that new teachers could easily build into their classroom.

Though all sessions were recorded, I still wish I could have attended every session in real time. An impossibility, I know. So I decided to offer some tips from the sessions I did attend.

#1: Be transparent. Teach students the real terms.

In Stephane Bolton’s session on increasing students’ reading fluency, she shared the process and rubric she uses in her classroom. Bolton is a first-grade teacher with 22 years’ experience and a formidable grasp of literacy instruction. In the video clips, students used words like “accuracy” and spoke clearly about their peers’ reading skills. Since I’ve taught high school and college, I’ve always been a fan of sharing the rubrics I use and explaining what they really mean.

So, teachers, don’t gatekeep: teach your students the real, discipline-specific terms so they are equipped to discuss their challenges and their victories.

#2: Allow students to grade each other… and you!

When describing her assessment cycle, Stephane Bolton showed clips from her first-grade classroom. She read aloud for her students, deliberately introducing fluency errors and guesswork into her demonstration. Her reading mistakes produced the most adorable giggles from her students, who did not hesitate to provide accurate and clear feedback. She also shared clips of the students scoring each other’s reading, which shows that students at any level can learn to speak intelligently about their learning.

Teachers, you’re not the only one who can score your students. They can easily learn to provide useful and precise critiques, which will help them to see their own work more clearly.

#3: Pause, remember, retrieve.

Presenter Andrew Shimrock, a Spanish teacher of 14 years, walked us through designing a science of teaching and learning (SOTL) project based in our own classrooms. For his project, he studied whether student note-taking during direct instruction hindered their ability to remember the material. He hypothesized that students were spending so much energy taking beautiful notes that they weren’t actually retaining what he was saying during a lesson. So he built a structure that didn’t allow students to take notes until a designated slide popped up. Then he gave students a few minutes to write down what they could recall and discuss it with a peer. Learning science calls this strategy “retrieval practice.”

I was totally blown away by this direct approach. I have often been frustrated by students who feel they need to write down every single word from my slideshows — or who feel compelled to switch colors several times while taking notes. Students write pretty slowly, and it can make a lesson drag. Add to this the irritating sound of clicking pens as a student moves between several colors while the class is taking notes. And no matter how often I have gone over more productive and less stressful ways to take notes, students seem to be in love with their glamorous notes. So I can’t wait to apply this method in my next classroom.

Teachers, relieve your students’ stress over “perfect notes” by allowing them to focus on listening and responding while you are talking. Then pause and ask them to retrieve what they’ve just heard. Offer guided notes to support their efforts only at the end of a unit. By this time, they will have built a strong retrieval practice for the content you’re teaching.

Final Thoughts

The Teaching That Succeeds event was a refreshing experience. It reminded me that professional development can be fun, real, and useful. It is a joy to hear teachers express dedication to their students and their work. I’m thankful that I attended this event, and I’m looking forward to the next symposium!