During April, we will examine the place that assessment has in the lives of both educators and students. Keep this question in mind as you view, read, and share thoughts from this month's content: How can we assess what we value?
“Noticing and celebrating what students and teachers are doing well is not a frill or mere paying of compliments. It is honestly and specifically acknowledging a positive behavior, action, or learning activity. It requires re-visioning what we see, say, and do when we walk into teachers’ classrooms.”
Could any professional thrive in a culture of distrust? It is doubtful, yet a fog of fear and misplaced accountability measures has settled in too many schools, preventing the kind of environment in which teachers can grow and thrive. In order to teach responsively and reflect on the kinds of instruction that promotes student growth, teachers need to know and celebrate what they are doing well - and hear this from evaluators.
As one of the most respected and experienced names in literacy education, Regie Routman believes that celebration is a crucial ingredient to a positive teaching and learning environment not just for children, but teachers as well. Regie’s extensive work in numerous school residencies over the last 15 years affirms this belief and in her Heinemann Digital Library article, available for download below, she shares that she has “never seen increased and sustained literacy achievement without a collaborative, knowledgeable, and trusting school–wide culture.”
As you read her article Let’s Celebrate Teachers Before We Assess Them, note her advice on instructional walks, collaboration, and overreliance on some forms of data. What could be the first step in building celebration, trust, and transformative feedback into your team or school?
Announcing a new On-Demand Mini-Course from Regie Routman!
Transforming Our Teaching Through Reading to Understand
As students become self-directed, they learn to select appropriate texts, problem solve, self-correct, and set realistic reading goals. Regie’s new On-Demand Mini Course Transforming Our Teaching Through Reading to Understand will help you guide students toward becoming independent readers who love and understand what they read. Learn more here.
Regie Routman’s intimate knowledge of teaching and learning, down-to-earth style, and dedication to children’s success have made her one of the most vibrant and respected names in literacy education. Her books, Teaching Essentials; Writing Essentials; Reading Essentials; Conversations; Literacy at the Crossroads; Invitations; The Blue Pages; and Transitions, as well as the DVD-based Regie Routman in Residence, have encouraged hundreds of thousands of teachers to take charge of their professional learning and create efficient, joyful practices.
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Wondering where to connect online? Start by signing up below for Heinemann's Online PLC! Each week, we'll share content from the Heinemann Digital Library as food for thought and discussion. Our conversations can occur in comments here on the blog, on Twitter using #OnlinePLC or in our Facebook Group. Looking forward to sharing content, conversation and camaraderie!
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