Professional

Development

Making Thinking Visible: February 3, 24, March 18, and April 20

Our PLC met over the course of the semester to discuss the chapters of Making
Thinking Visible. Each time we met someone in our PLC led the discussion and we
talked about our takes on the subjects. Each person had something different to bring
to the table and it was very helpful in planning my unit. I was able to incorporate a
good number of the strategies that we talked about. I have found that discussing
things like this helps build my understanding on it more than just reading it. I have
found it beneficial to meet with this group and have loved the conversation that we
have had. The following is a reflection on each of our meetings, what we discussed,
and how I plan to incorporate the strategies into my unit.
Meeting 1: For our first meeting we read prior to our discussion and reviewed the
two chapters together. Rebecca led us with guiding questions, but most of our
conversation flowed from the parts of the chapters that we made comments about.
We all agreed that this first part was a slow read and covered much of what we have
been taught over the past few months. It was all about how to engage students in
actually understanding the material. The way to do this is to make their thinking
visible. I think that this constructivist concept is a wonderful way to encourage
students to think critically, but we all agreed that it is hard to teach that way in the
education system today. It will be a hard fight not to teach to the test as a teacher
when that is one of the main goals that teachers have to meet because of the state.
Although it is a fight, I think that the concept is great and I will incorporate the
inquiry, listening, and many other strategies mentioned in these two chapters into
my unit. It was a great first discussion and I look forward to the next meeting.
Meeting 2: For our second meeting we discussed the next two chapters that we
assigned. I lead the discussion this week and began by highlighting some points in
chapter 3 and asking the group what their views were on establishing routines in
the classroom. We talked about positive aspects of routines and we noted how it
was interesting that the author referred to the strategies as routines. One quote that
we all highlighted on was when it said that we are getting students to think not only
about other ideas but recognize and elaborate on their own thinking. The
strategies/ routines in chapter 4 are very useful for introducing a new concept. We
all shared what strategy stood out to us and how we could use it in our classroom.
Something that we always come back to and discuss is the impact of these thinking
strategies when there is so much pressure on standardized tests today. We
discussed how that as teachers we are going to have to discern what our students
need and what will help them learn and grow while still preparing them for the
content that they need to know for those tests. I just wish there was not so much
pressure for those tests and that children could go to school to learn and grow more
in these areas that we discussed. I really liked the strategy 3-2-1 bridges and plan to
incorporate it into my unit. I love how there is an initial response and a new
response once the topic has been discussed. I think it would be great to use during
engagement and assessment or closure to watch the students thinking develop. I

really enjoyed seeing explicit strategies in this chapter and am excited to learn
more.
Meeting 3: We decided to this session virtually and we did a blog post. Each of us
posted a question from each chapter and we responded to each persons questions. I
really enjoyed doing this because I reflect well by writing and I was able to do that
with these strategies. One strategy that really resonated with me that I have
incorporated into my unit was Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate: Concept Maps.
Whenever I look at a map I usually dont think it to be vital in helping me
understand the content. This strategy helps teach students that you can gain a lot of
great information through analyzing a map and of course, making connections. I
used this in my unit by having them look at a map of the United States divided into
slave and free states in the 1800s before the Civil War. These strategies that we
discussed were very helpful because they are meant to support and extend
instruction. That is not the only strategy I used from these two chapters, but it was
one that I had never though of applying before until now. I enjoyed seeing
everyones blog posts and questions and I am looking forward to our last meeting
together.
Meeting 4: Today was our last meeting and Julia and CaDric led our discussion. One
of the first things that we discussed was how the purpose of all of these strategies to
make students thinking visible is to develop routines of thinking this way in the
classroom. It is easy for me to think of them as just strategies and not routines that
should be developed over time that the students eventually do naturally when
looking at a text, picture, etc. When writing our units it is hard to think of them as
routines because we dont have our own classroom. As I have written mine I have
used most of the strategies as assessments to test the students thinking and
understanding of the concept. That is its purpose, but this discussion was helpful
for me by reminding me that these can become daily routines that students do in all
subject areas not just strategies to make their thinking visible one time. Since our
first meeting I feel like we have all had so much more experience. Our first meeting
we talked a lot about standardized tests and how we are supposed to incorporate
these strategies with the pressure of teaching for the test that many schools put on
teachers. A few people in our PLC including myself saw standardized testing in
action at our Urban placement. My teacher is recently out of college and had the
same concept based instruction as we are receiving and has not been able to get
comfortable using these thinking routines because of the pressure that is put on her.
After reading this book I want to make it my goal as a teacher to incorporate these
thinking strategies in teaching the content that the students need to know for the
standardized tests. I think that we need to work more on connecting the both of
them together and doing our best to help students learn by making their thinking
visible in any way we can. Dr. Haralson asked us all to sum up this book in one
sentence and I said, This book is full of practical strategies and routines that
challenge and encourage student thinking in the everyday classroom. I really
enjoyed this book study and look forward to incorporating the thinking routines in
my classroom.

BARC: February 18. 2016

We were told about a PD opportunity in Vestavia, so I took advantage of it and went
with fellow peers. I did not know what BARC stood for, neither did I know what to
expect. I found out that BARC stands for Birmingham Area Reading Council. At first I
was a little intimidated, but all of the council members and in-service teachers were
very welcoming. I sat next to a teacher that works at a private school in Birmingham
who actually graduated from Samford. It was so encouraging to talk to someone
who had been in the classroom for a couple of years now but had the same training
as I am gaining now. In order to get to know more of the people at the event, the
council members all shared one of their favorite childrens picture books and why.
They asked us then to stand up and go towards the one that describes our life at the
moment or means something significant to us. I really liked this activity and chose
The Little Engine That Could because I am just trying to take each day and
circumstance as it comes, pressing on towards the finish line. The speaker, Dr.
Kelley Hill, shared with us her favorite childrens books from the year 2015. I
absolutely loved hearing her input and wish that I had heard her suggestions before
I read my 100 childrens books. She had a variety of genres and I really enjoyed
hearing the little details that made her love the books that I otherwise wouldnt have
noticed. She spoke for about an hour and then for the last few minutes we broke out
into groups. I chose to go to a Close Reading group where the woman gave us a
folder of strategies and examples that she has used. We did not have much time
here, but her quick insight was helpful. I really enjoyed this professional
development opportunity and look forward to reading some of the literature that
Dr. Hill suggested. I will use the list of books that she gave to consider using in my
own classroom and in my lessons. I would love other opportunities to hear about
new and popular childrens literature that other teachers have found engaging and
useful in the classroom.

Ed Camp: April 23, 2016

Professional Meeting

Avondale Elementary, 3rd Grade: April 4, 2016

I was able to sit in on my corresponding teachers third grade team meeting with the
4 other 3rd grade teachers and the reading & math coach. It was very informal and
unlike the team meeting that I attended at Trace Crossings. My teacher said that the
teachers try to meet weekly, but that the reading & math coach is not involved much
at all. The meeting took place a week before ACT Aspire testing and my teacher was
discouraged that the reading & math coach had not extended her help in this way
sooner. One teacher mentioned that she has a student on a first grade reading level
and she has been pulled out for intervention only 2-3 times this whole school year.
That was shocking to me considering the amount of staff support that there was a
Trace and that students were continually being referred and being worked with.

There was a lot more communication and collaboration at Trace where here I
noticed that there wasnt much at all. The help that the reading & math coach
extended was not very organized in my opinion. It did not seem like she knew the
teachers or the students enough to know exactly where to help. She mentioned that
she worked mainly in the lower grades and in that case I understand. The coach
gave each teacher a checklist of things that they would like her to work on with
particular students, but it was very broad. The biggest issue for the teachers is that
they lack resources. It made me sad coming from Trace where they had a Maker
Studio, iPads, Chrome books, a reading room for leveled books, and so much more to
support their learning. These teachers dont even have leveled books to do guided
reading with their students. Its not just the reading & math coachs fault that
students are lacking the support that they need and that is what they were talking
about. After being at Trace for so long, I just have this list of expectations of how
things should be and because this was different it threw me off guard. I am so
thankful for this experience and the opportunity to sit in on these meetings because
it gives me insight into how all different types of school systems work and how I can
be prepared if I am placed in one like this in my future career.