It's the second week of #cyberPD and we are discussing Chapters 3 and 4 of DIY Literacy:Teaching Tools for Differentiation, Rigor and Independence by Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts. (Heinemann). I recommend watching the video series Kate and Maggie produced. You can start watching the video series with Episode #1 here: https://kateandmaggie.com/2016/03/30/diy-literacy-video-series-episode-1/
Chapters 3 - Remember This - Helping Students Recall Teaching
Kate and Maggie clearly remind us how students get so much information on any day of learning that it's no wonder they forget some of our teaching. Many of our students are unable to prioritize all that information and I understand how the tools that Kate and Maggie share can help students remember the most critical lessons.
Some notes I took in this chapter:
It's important to revisit and encourage students to continue to use the charts that have been created.
Suggestions for keeping charts alive are on p. 42
Reflect on student work
Find and celebrate student work
Share successes with colleagues
Share evidence of growth in the classroom
("After all, everyone, no matter what age, loves to seethe footprints of his or her progress." p. 42
Demonstration notebooks allow for additional rounds of learning.
After the sharing a strategy/skill in the demonstration Notebook kids can jot down on a post it what strategy they will try to practice more independently. (suggestion on p. 48)
Kate and Maggie remind us that scaffolds are meant to go away. At some point, students become independent and no longer need the teaching tool we developed. I liked the list of ways to recognize that students no longer need the scaffold. p. 49
Chapter Four - You Can Do It - Motivating Students to Work Hard
Using micro-progressions with students is like moving the magic curtain to reveal what students need to approach learning with more rigor. Helping to create the micro-progressions help students know what more complex work looks like and encourages them to reach toward new goals in their learning.
It's important for students to be part of creating the micro-progressions. Only then will they be poised to set their own goals. It's important to build in time for reflection each week to review the micro-progressions and set new goals.
Have students share before and after examples of their work. This makes student learning visible.
Cultivate instrinsic motivation - Challenge, Curiosity, Control, Cooperation and Competition and Recognition.p. 62 "Nurturing these five ways when using teaching tools not only helps students develop the internal motivation to work more rigorously, but also increases the chances they'll be able to release the scaffold of the tool."
