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Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.
Hosts

An Online Discussion with
Marilyn Duncan, author

Date:  August 6-9, 2007
Place: TLN Listserve


           TRANSCRIPT

       Of Discussion:
     Getting the School Year Off to a
     Great Start in Kindergarten and
     Beyond... Organizing and Planning
     for Classroom Teaching

  Author of
  The Kindergarten Book: A Guide to Literacy
  Instruction  and
  Literacy Coaching: Developing Effective Teaching Through
  Instructional Dialogue




If you missed the informative discussion with Marilyn Duncan, or if you just want to recap the discussion you can read the transcript below .

The postings listed below are not in the order in which they were received. For your convenience, we have relocated the responses to questions so that they appear directly after the questions posed.

We hope you have enjoyed this discussion as much as we have and will join us in our next discussion.

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Opening Remarks
Darcy Bradley

                                                                                                Darcy Bradley

Hello Again, Colleagues, Friends, Students (or all of the above!),  

The topic of discussion over the next 4 days (Monday-Thursday, August 6-9, at least in the US) is one that we all grapple with, no matter the grade we teach: Getting the School Year Off to a Great Start in Kindergarten and Beyond…Organizing and Planning for Classroom Teaching.  Author, teacher and staff developer Marilyn Duncan is our featured discussant but we are sure that you will have a lot to comment upon, question, and add to the discussion. Those of you who have subscribed to our listserve over the past year will recognize Marilyn’s name from a previous conversation about instructional coaching. (You can find a transcript of that discussion on our website at www.rcowen.com).  

I just had the pleasure of talking with Marilyn about getting a good learning community going in my current and upcoming college classroom, and already thinking of ways to streamline my teaching! So there’s a lot of truth in the old saw  “everything you need to know you can learn in kindergarten” if you recall the popular best seller of similar title from several years ago by Robert Fulghum.  

So, here are questions to consider as a conversation starter:  

1). What is it that you think about and do in order to ensure a great start to the school year? I’m first thinking about this concept for kindergarten but I wonder if you could make some generalizations to other grade levels and even instructional coaches or teachers of adults as well?  

2). You’ve been teaching a variety of age levels over many years. Can you talk a little about how your thinking about school year starts has changed over time? (In other words, what did you used to do, what did you change over time, and why)?  

I realize that these are two very big questions and you might just want to choose only one, Marilyn. 

Hope that others will chime in with questions and comments over the 4 days, as you desire. Don’t forget to change the subject line when you have a question or comment that changes the topic. It really helps keep the threads more clear. Also, help the listserve readers by using paragraphs for any response of length.  

Looking forward to the next 4 days with all of you! 

Very cordially and appreciatively,  

Darcy

                                                                                   Marilyn  Duncan

Thank you Richard and Darcy for providing another opportunity for us to talk together about teaching and learning.  

It is indeed winter here on the South Island of New Zealand where the weather has been described as “dodgy” this year. Today it’s warm (everything is relative) and sunny – tomorrow calls for snow. The mountains out the window are stunning but I have to say that I’m going to look forward to returning to Colorado in a few weeks and enjoying the end of summer.

At this time of year, I begin dreaming about the start of the school year. My dreams are usually more like nightmares and are a visual reminder of some of the mistakes I made over the years. So I’m sure it won’t be difficult to combine the two basic questions:

• What is it that you think about and do in order to ensure a great start to the school year?
• Can you talk a little about how your thinking about school year starts has changed over time?

Also, while materials and spaces differ depending upon the age and stage of development of learners, my beliefs about starting the school year and developing a learning community are consistent regardless of who I work with. So hopefully this discussion will be meaningful for everyone. Please do not hesitate to ask for clarification when needed.
 
As I plan for the beginning of the school year, I think about the middle!  I ask myself, “In the best of all worlds, what would I expect to see if I walked into my classroom in January or February?”

• What would the physical space look like if you walked into my room?
• What would the students be doing?
• What would the teacher be doing?
• How would I know that students are learning?

If I can picture the product, then I’m more likely to understand the process needed to get me there. If I have a strong sense of what it looks and sounds like when it works, then I should be able to clearly communicate that picture to my students. And because the business of the classroom is learning, I should be armed with the information that informs how students will use their time and how I will use my time as well.
 
So planning for the beginning of the year means I will be thinking about:

• Creating learning spaces – knowing how space will be used and how materials will be organized and accessed
• Communicating expectations – helping students understand the classroom as a community and developing the skills to manage their time so I can manage their learning
• Gathering learning information – unless I gather information about what each student knows and can do, then I am unable to determine what that student needs to learn next.

I will post three additional messages about my basic thoughts related to creating learning spaces, communicating expectations, and gathering learning information.
 
I look forward to hearing what you think, ideas you have used, and any questions you might have.
 
Kind regards,
Marilyn Duncan

                                                                                              Marilyn

Creating Learning Spaces

Dear Friends,
 
If I go back to that picture of how the classroom looks in February, I see a classroom where everyone is learning. Children are engaged in independent work, in pairs, in small groups, and some are working with me. There is flexibility in the way students move around the room. The room is not quiet but neither is it noisy.
 
In order for that vision to become reality, I know I must wisely consider how learning spaces are created and their purpose.
 
Chapter 4, in The Kindergarten Book could describe learning spaces in any classroom.
 
“The classroom environment is organized for learning. Spaces are arranged to enable learning to occur easily and naturally, spaces for the whole class to gather for instruction and spaces to work with small groups. Teachers need easy access to move around the room with individual children.”
 
So if this is a classroom for learning then learning spaces are not places to keep kids busy. They are designed for instruction and for the application and practice of skills that students have been taught in whole group and small group instruction. I need to be able to clearly articulate the purpose of each space and how it will support student learning.
 
One strategy I have used to plan learning spaces has been to write down my answers to these questions:

• What spaces will support the learning and independence of my students?
• What materials need to be in this space (teacher and student)
• What will the students be expected to do?
• What might I observe about student learning in that space?

I know learning spaces need to be both predictable and orderly.
 
For example, I know the benefit of students reading independently, so I have created a library space. I have determined what I would expect to see when students are engaged in reading independently. My students understand the purpose of the classroom library and how it works. And while the materials in the library will change based upon student interests, the curriculum, and the stage of development of the readers the expectations for the library space are always the same – no surprises.
 
Materials need to be easily accessible to both my students and me. Expectations are set for how these materials will be used and returned – more about that in the next message.
 
Please feel free to share ideas about how you have planned the learning spaces in your classrooms.
 
Kind regards,
Marilyn

                                                                                              Lori

 I love the questions.  When I was in the classroom, I was fanatical about room arrangement.   One of my big issues is with cute. I don’t like cute and especially hate cute in the form of bulletin boards.  I want the walls, not just the floor spaces, to support the work of children done in the room.  I could ask myself the same set of questions with regards to the walls.

What displays will support the learning and independence of my students?
What materials need to be displayed in this space to support that end?
How will students be expected to use the space?
What will I observe kids doing?  How will it support their learning?

Lori

                                                                                              Marilyn

Dear Lori,

Thanks for the additional questions that deal with the walls. I am also a real believer in using the walls as learning opportunities. Your questions support my thinking below...

Something that I have had to learn is making certain the wall space is also predictable and orderly. When I walk into rooms, I try to look at access information through the eyes of a struggling learner or a second language learner. If we want the walls to be learning supports, are they predictable (I always know that information about mathematics is on this wall) and orderly (the information has been arranged so that I can use it easily).

I think back to a kindergarten student I was working with. He was trying to accessing the letter “r” in order to write about a rocket. He did not have an alphabet card in his hand to use and the only alphabet I could find in the room was on top of the white boards. I was trying to use a strategy that I use with children and their alphabet cards.  I asked him to look up above the board. I said, “Rocket starts like rabbit (the picture that was with the letter ‘r’) what letter is that?” He looked, and looked, and looked, and said, “There isn’t one of those up there.”  It was a great opportunity for me to talk with the teacher about how important resources (on the wall, in the hand, on the shelf) are to kids and how easily they must be accessed.

Marilyn

                                                                                             Cheryl 

Marilyn,

I will be teaching 3rd graders this year after 12 in K-1. I know how important accessibility is in Primary. Is it as important in 3rd? (ie: alphabet at eye level, etc?) Thank you for such an engaging conversation.

Cheryl in Colorado

                                                                                              Marilyn

Hi Cheryl,

Congratulations on making the shift to third grade. Changing grade levels every once in awhile is the best thing we can do for ourselves professionally. It certainly makes us think in different ways.

I think accessibility is important at any age. Actually, I just reorganized our books here at home and the #1 request from my husband was for all of the reference books to be on the same shelf.

Probably what we have to be asking ourselves is what do the learners at this age need access to? At grade 3, they most likely do not need the alphabet frieze at eye level but they will probably need the “questions we ask ourselves when we proofread our writing” (which as a class we will have gathered together). So your job as you plan for the start of the year is to make some predictions about what they will need.

As you’re planning you can really be focused on some of those questions from yesterday --

• What spaces (including the walls) will support the learning and independence of my students?
• What materials will support the learning of my students?  
• What materials need to be displayed in this space to support the independence of my students? (Lori’s wall space question)

And I’d probably add --

• How will I organize these materials or this wall space, to be easily accessed by my students?

The more students are able to access what they need, the more independent they will become, the more learning will occur for them, and the teacher will be able to get to the job of instruction.

Marilyn

                                                                                   Cheryl

Marilyn,

Thank you. The last few days I have attended some conversations with our new principal and other staff members that has stretched my thinking. I feel like I am a first year teacher again and it is extremely exciting yet scary at the same time. The level of assessments, student skills, etc is slightly overwhelming. This online conversation has come at the perfect time.

Thank you for being willing to share your time and expertise with us.

Cheryl

                                                                                                      Linda

Great start!  But forget 'cute' in high school!

I work with 'struggling' adolescents in high school intensive reading classrooms.  My students have encountered repeated failures in school.  They are diverse in their interests outside of the classroom.  They are not self-directed 'in school'.  I try to create a family atmosphere in my classes from the first day.

Can you provide some ideas for the first few days of school with adolescents?

Thanks.
Linda Janney

                                                                                             Marilyn

Hi Linda,

One of the things that Peter and I talk about in a book for beginning teachers is power, authority, influence, and control.
 
These four qualities concerned with learning need to be balanced. We have the power to determine what our students do and what they should learn and what they should not. Our power as teachers is little short of absolute so it has to be exercised with sensitivity. Obviously, it should never be abused.

We are also in authority. We know more than our students; that’s why we’re the teachers. It’s our job to manage learning and manage behavior. Establishing and maintaining control is essential for kids’ learning and our sanity.

We have influence as well. When we have established trust and respect, we will be able to influence the way our students think and act. That too is a powerful tool that has to be used with discretion.

“Power, authority, and influence in learning you always have as a teacher; control is divisible. Your goal should be to vest more control over the learning process with your students; you want them to become less dependent on you; you want them to become independent learners.” (Beginning Teachers, in draft)

It seems to me that the farther up the grades we go, the less control students actually have over their learning – especially adolescents who are already labeled as struggling.  

I admire that you are creating a family atmosphere in your classroom. I think the first few days would be spent building upon that idea.

I would be thinking a lot about how to increase engagement and motivation.  Here are some ideas...

• I would talk with these kids about how the 90/50 minutes would be used in our classroom (some time for whole group instruction, some time for reading and writing, and time for me to work with small groups).
• I would talk with them about the givens (they are expected to read and write daily) and the choices (they will have a lot of choice in what they will read and what they will write about).  
• I’d be looking for the most engaging short stories that I could read aloud to them so they would realize that there is a lot out there they might like to read and I’d probably read aloud to them several times during the first few weeks.
• I’d be talking with them about how readers select what they want to read. I’d be bent on having a variety of materials that would be of interest to these students from novels to magazines.
• I would meet with them in small groups for assessment purposes, once again selecting a short piece that we could read together and begin to talk about (even though for the most part, struggling readers have rarely been asked to talk about what they’re reading). I would convince them by my actions that the learning information that I’m collecting is not about them being right or wrong but about helping me decide what they need to learn next. I’d be talking with them in groups about when reading is hard and when reading is easy.
• I would help them begin to see how they can plan how they’ll use their time during the class period. (You are expected to accomplish these goals during the week, but how you use your time is negotiable). I would give them lots of examples of how kids have used their time in your classroom effectively. I would be pointing out when I see individuals or small groups making effective decisions about how they use their time.
• I would be planning for some initial work in pairs and small groups because I know what adolescents like best is to talk with each other.
• At the end of each class period, I would ask them to evaluate what went well and what they might change the next time they come to class.

I did quite a bit of work this year in one secondary school. The first visit was spent walking through the school with the administrators. We were focused on one grade level, so I saw the same kids over and over again in science, social studies, math, and language arts classes. There was a particularly effective language arts teacher in this grade and we walked into her room in the middle of the day. It was as if the kids I saw in her room were totally different students than when I saw them in different subjects. They were highly engaged and highly motivated. When I asked a couple of them about the difference they all said it was about choice. That in this room, they were able to choose how they would use their time and often who they would be working with. They talked about the fact that their teacher expected a lot of them but that she was fair because she told them what they needed to do and helped them do it. They had confidence and exhibited a lot of independence.

Developing independence is a gradual process, especially with kids who have not made choices for most of their school careers. In the end you want your students to understand that “this is the way we do things in our classroom; this is the way we learn here, this is how I have to learn.”

Best wishes on a great start,
Marilyn

                                                                                                       Linda

Thank you so much.  I think you are dead on right about the importance of making choices when it comes to working with adolescents.  And yes, they do love to work in small groups where they can chat.  Keeping them engaged in the assignments can be challenging when trying to prepare them for those LONG & BORING tests that they have to take every year! 

You have given me some sound and sensible ideas for the first few weeks over which I can ponder. 

I still find it difficult to work with a small group because when you are working with one group, the others get easily distracted.  I do set up my room so the desks are clustered together, and the kids can collaborate easily. With teenagers, that arrangement is a double edged sword. 

Thanks again!

                                                                                            Marilyn

Hi Linda,

I’m pleased the information was helpful.   A couple of thoughts about small group instruction and what the others are doing...

First thing I ask myself is how long my small groups are. At the beginning of the year, especially, I try to make them very short. My feeling is that most kids can only sustain about 15 minutes without some sort of interaction from me. The advantage of working with more proficient readers in groups is that I would often say to them – go ahead and read the next four pages – then I’d be checking with each of the table groups to see how they are progressing.

Also, my kids had daily (or weekly) planning sheets, where they set short-term goals for their work. I was very explicit about what my expectations were for what they would accomplish (in other words, I set the medium and long-term goals). They were responsible for setting the short-term goals (e.g. This is what I’ll accomplish today/this week toward my goal). This way it was their problem when they weren’t working and not mine.

And this is where divisible part of the control comes in.  If kids are unable to set and reach those short-term goals, then I begin to monitor their daily planning more closely and see if that helps. If not, then do the planning for them. I usually ask kids for help when making those decisions. I might say to them that I noticed they were having a tough time meeting the short-term goals – what might we do to help solve that problem?  Many times the kids themselves would suggest moving away from the group for part of the time.

And occasionally, I’d have to make the decision for them.  But always leaving the door open for them to make better use of their time.

Marilyn

                                                                                             Linda

I love the idea of planning sheets (more to ponder).  Now I'm wondering what it would look like.   

Your input is very helpful.  Keeping adolescents engaged is very difficult.  In fact, as a student, I am difficult to engage!  Shortening the time is what I would have done with my first graders.  It's amazing how similar the two age groups can be.   

Linda

14                                                                                             Marilyn 

• to help students manage their time (If they know they are scheduled to meet with the teacher in a small group and an editing conference, they will have to determine how to manage the rest of their time to accomplish their daily (short-term) goal.
• to organize how students will be practicing/applying what they have been taught
• to help the student articulate short-term goals that are process oriented, more than product oriented
• to provide the teacher with another quick assessment tool as to how the students are taking responsibility for their use of time, and engagement in learning

                                                                                                        Leslie

Marilyn, 

As a literacy coach in grades K-8, and formerly a reading teacher in grades 6-8, I am well aware of the frustrations of the middle school ELA teachers.  Anything I can do to help them achieve some organization and expectations for kids, is a blessing for them.  They often complain about their students’ lack of focus during independent reading time.  They claim that the kids "can't do it"!  Why were they so capable in grades K-5?  I think it might have to do with a lack of clear expectations and guidelines, which brings me to my question about the kids setting their own short-term goals. 

So, let's see...what kind of short-term goals might they set?

1.  Quantity of reading
2.  Variety of reading within genres
3.   Focusing on one particular strategy
4.   Responding more critically

etc, etc Am I on the right track? 

Leslie
Lit Coach
NYC

                                                                                             Marilyn

                                                                                                Freida

I love cute and I am the queen of cute.  When I started, over 30 years ago, I did all the work, but now my students do the work.  They have so much more ownership.  I do teach at the university, but I know it works in schools because my students, now teachers, take it to their classrooms, and I learned it from an excellent second grade teacher. 

Day one, everything is piled in the middle of the room, chairs, tables, books.  We sit on the floor and discuss what we want the class to be, what we want to learn, what we expect (a classroom scribe does all the writing, in younger classes the teacher does take dictation).  

We do a social contract, how each student wants to be treated by others, how they expect to be treated by me the teacher, how they expect to treat me as the teacher, and how we will handle conflict.    

Then we go about arranging the room, where will desks, chairs, charts, and books be placed, and students place them in the classroom.  They organize the books into genres and I do not have to remind them or clean up after them and put them back into the right basket (I have a block class longer than the average hour university class).    

Day two, we review what students said they wanted the class to be, what they wanted to learn, so we talk about procedures to carry out that kind of a classroom.  Of course I “gently lead and suggest ideas” that I have seen work and give choices. 

We may decide that if they need to talk to me they need a sign up sheet and we post it in the room, or if they want name plates to get to know everyone, then they may decide to turn their name plates a certain way to signal that they need a conference with me. 

Because the students do this, and I have emphasized to them how much it is “their” room, it is cute!  They write neatly, they take digital pictures; they bring stickers and scrapbook supplies.  I have a student who is in an alternative school and no adolescents are more “at risk” and “struggling” than they are and it works there and it is cute.  Well, it is “alternative cute” , but then I listen to rap and pop music so cute is relative.  

Freida

                                                                                   Cheryl

Freida,

I love this idea! Not only does it help the students have ownership in the classroom, it sounds like a fantastic way to introduce rules, expectations, etc in a very exciting, engaging way!

Cheryl in Colorado

                                                                                 Marilyn

Dear Freida,

This is a great model for university students about how good it feels to have some control over your environment and your learning. I think what I hear you saying is that while the students are making the decisions about how the classroom will look and what they are interested in learning, you also have a picture in your mind of what success will look like for them (and for you).

Marilyn

                                                                                       Lori

When I use cute, I mean all that commercial cutesy junk—big-eyed children and butterflies... 

Lori

                                                                                   Freida

However, when my students bring in the scrap book stuff it is exactly the kind of stuff that you see in the prepackaged teacher store.  They make it, so they have ownership and they like cute.  

Freida

                                                                                          Kathy

“Cute” has a place.  When those anxious kindergarten parents arrive at the door, I invite them into a lifetime partnership as they take their first steps into that cute classroom. Made as cute as possible is a first teaching point.  It may be an oversize word worm to launch the study of high frequency words to support readers and writers.  As words are introduced and practiced, the worm grows, and the children learn to use that worm.  The parents are drawn into the goals for their kinder in an environment that is pleasing, warm, attractive….cute.  I agree that the classroom environment is potentially the child’s most accessible resource.  Cute for the sake of cute is too darned much work for no return!! Kathy

                                                                                             Freida

 Well said 

Freida

                                                                                               Lori

Absolutely. However, it has to be more than decoration.

Lori

                                                                                             Paula

Hi all!

In talking about the kindergarten atmosphere.... I have very little commercial stuff in my classroom.  Almost everything is made by me or the kids.  So much "homier" I think!  :)  A colleague invited me to go shopping for classroom decorations and was surprised when I told her that I hadn't bought anything decorative besides name tags in about 10 years!  :)  But yes, I agree that kinder especially needs to be warm and inviting.  A child's introduction into school, in my opinion, should be positive and warm and set the tone for a positive attitude towards school.  I was once at a school inservice that took place in a kinder room at a school that was not mine.  The school was on a year-round multi-track system so at any given time a number of classes were "off-track".  I assumed that the barren and cold room was one where the class was on vacation.  I was so sad when I learned that the room was for a kinder class that was to start the next day!  Not the most nurturing introduction to school! 

I just wanted to add a comment about those anxious kinder parents or rather share something that has worked well for me.  A couple of days before school starts I invite the parents to an informational meeting.  I am having mine this Thursday, as a matter of fact, since our first official day is Monday the 13th.  I talk about procedures, expectations, etc. and tell the parents about myself.  Since I began doing this, I have had much stronger parent support.  It is especially helpful to the parents who are sending their first born off to school.  It helps alleviate a lot of their anxieties, which are passed on to the kids.  The drawback is it means that I need to set up my room earlier than others... I like the parents to see the room as I explain the program.. but the payback is great!  

 In  terms of class organization, I got a new tool this year that I can't wait to try.  My room is much smaller than the other K rooms which is tough for me because I like to have a lot going on in my room... lots of interactive text, centers and others.  I convinced our PTSC to order me a rolling cart with tubs and slots on the side for books and files.  I plan to use it as an assessment center with all of my assessment tools on the outside slots, and materials for each group in the tubs (if that makes any sense).  It is on wheels so I'll be able to wheel it in when I need it... and wheel it away when I don't.  I am anxious to try out the new system.  Does anyone else have any tips on managing a small space? 

Thanks! 

                                                                                     Marilyn

Dear Paula,

One of the changes I made when I was faced with a smaller space was arranging the “learning spaces” more around where materials were stored.  In other words, if I wanted children to be able to practice spelling words that had been taken from their writing, I had the materials for that practice stored on a shelf.  When they were ready to practice, their job was to find a “cozy spot” in the room – rather than practicing in the “spelling space”. That seemed to work. Once again, there was an element of choice (some chose a corner on the floor, others chose to sit at a table). I still had room for the areas that were of importance to me. I also noticed that my large meeting space and my small group instruction space ended up being the same space (I taught on the floor).  

The bottom line (which I know you realize) is that the space you have is the space you have. Good luck in making it work!

Marilyn

                                                                                                Katie

Dear All:

Perhaps it is our choice of words that is getting in the way? 

cute = synonyms- attractive, delightful, charming, pleasant
                 Source: Webster's New World Thesaurus

Would we agree that the classrooms students walk into this fall need elements that are attractive to students, that delight and charm them and are pleasant?

Purposeful is a word to consider as well; what is our purpose as we select and arrange all of the things that make up a classroom environment?

Katie

Katie Moeller, Coordinator
The Learning Network/Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.
3201 Brentwood Way
Tallahassee, Florida 32308
Cell Phone & Voice Mail: 850-766-6137
E Mail: kmoeller@aol.com

                                                                                          Marilyn

This is great, Katie.

I guess when I walk into a classroom, the first thing I think about is whether or not I’d like to spend a lot of time there. Some classrooms just draw me in and make me think that I’d be thrilled to just stay. Usually those classrooms are colorful, organized, and very purposeful as well as delightful and charming.

Marilyn

                                                                                                                                        Debbie

This is great!  I, too, think that cute for the sake of cute is too much work if there is no return.  I do like the word 'purposeful,' and maybe some house or apartment shopping words might apply as well...curb appeal (that's what our parents want - some reassurance that we know what we are talking about and that we take good care of our rooms) and themes - colors - evidence of planning and preparation...valuing children... 

These are what come to mind for me.  Now I teach online (university) so I have to create a classroom differently than all of you with floors, ceilings, walls, windows, and doors!  Food for thought here.

Great conversations!

Debbie

30                    Marilyn

Hi Debbie,

I don’t know much about teaching online but when I think of working my way around the internet I once again
go back to those words — predictable, organized, and accessible. That’s what I look for on a website. Is it easy for me to get what I need quickly and easily. If not, I leave. :)

Marilyn

                                                                                            Debbie

Marilyn,
 
I think of 'my' classroom as synthesizing and exploring and creating and investigating teaching and learning in new key so to speak through creating a professional community of teachers (graduate or undergraduate).  
 
Looking at a website is much different than participating in a course online and I create courses that create collaborative, holistic, learning experiences much like I would in a traditional course except we have the web, blogs, wiki's (new to me this fall I think), podcasts (still staying away from that one for now), and the like. Most everything that we do in onsite courses can be done in online course with some tweaking.  It is the tweaking that things different but we always start with an introductive exercise like 2 truths and a lie and all discussions (posts) begin with what the learner brings to the table.
 
Good point though about predictable, accessible, and organized websites - they do bring us in.

Debbie

                                                                                             Marilyn

I think I’m going to need to take on online course! Sounds really interesting.
Marilyn

                                                                                            Melody

Hello all,

My name is Melody Singleton, and I am a student at the University of North Texas. I appreciate having access to such a wonderful learning resource as this.

As I followed along with the discussion, I was glad to finally read the comment from you, Katie. I felt that the choice of words were just defined differently by the users. I really agree that a room should be pleasant and appealing, especially to very young students. Of course that doesn't mean that the room has to be filled with cartoon type characters or objects, but it does mean that, as a teacher, you need to know what will attract the attention of your students. Parents are to be considered as well. While there are many realistic resources to be used as aids in student learning, many parents of young children are wowed by the more "cutesy" displays.

Of course I agree that anything worth putting up should be of learning value, but we should always be mindful of who we are catering to, the children.

                                                                                            Marilyn

Hi Melody,

I think that if we communicate with parents what Katie was saying — the purpose part of the classroom organization and design — then they begin to see that indeed “form follows function” and that while it is colorful and appealing, it is also very functional. So perhaps part of our planning for the beginning of school is how we communicate our beliefs about learning spaces to the parents as well.

Marilyn

                                                                                             Melody

Marilyn,

My initial intention for signing up with this list serve was to use it as a learning resource for myself. I thought I'd merely follow along with the discussion and remain obscure. I am starting my year of student teaching this fall, and sadly, despite the wonderful instruction from various teachers with the U.N.T. staff, I find myself feeling very inadequate and slightly ill prepared. I hope that my comments do not sound grossly immature.  However, I feel the need to ask this question and don't feel that any question is a dumb question. So, with that in mind:

I understand the value of having a meet the parent night, especially with children just entering the school system. I know that a lot of time and preparation goes into setting up that event, and there seems to be adequate time for teachers to make presentations, to tour parents around the room, and for the parents to ask any questions they may have before their children actually begin attending. I attended such an event with my son when he started school. I wonder though, do those types of events occur with parents of children who are in the older grades? I don't remember being invited to anything except plays, etc. after my son entered first grade. Should there be such an event, and if so, what should it entail? Would this be the time when we would communicate our beliefs about learning and learning spaces to the parent? Would the event look the same if you teach a grade where children begin to move from class to class for various subjects?

It seems that in all my learning, I remain sketchy on many of the basics. Any information you have to share will be appreciated.

Melody Singleton

                                                                                            Melody

Hi Marilyn,

I think it’s terrific that you are not only listening and learning but contributing to this discussion. The people on this listserve are thoughtful and challenging. They are also highly professional. They are a wonderful model of the kinds of teachers all kids need.

I definitely believe that it is beneficial for parents to have the opportunity to talk with their child’s teacher regardless of the grade. You have excellent ideas about the content of such a session. You mentioned:

• communicating beliefs about learning and learning spaces

I would add:

• Expectations for learning achievement (The most effective way I have seen this done was for teachers to share a few samples of what proficiency looks like at the end of the year. I think it’s only fair that parents are aware of what we’re aiming for)
• Expectations for parents – helping them understand where their support is needed
• Expectations and purposes for homework (especially in the upper grades) - I always wanted parents to understand that my belief was that homework was not about quantity but about kids have a bit of time to practice and improve the quality of what they were learning.

There’s probably more and I’d love to hear what others think is important content for these kinds of sessions.

One challenge that teachers face is that the older the student is, the fewer parents seem to show up. Teachers put a lot of preparation into these evenings and it is disappointing when only a handful of parents are there to take in the information. After awhile, I think the teachers decide it’s not worth their effort which is a shame.

A few things we tried --

• Making them more curricular focused (connecting a family math/literacy night to a short amount of time in their child’s classroom and being able to build on the experience they just had with the kind of experiences kids have in classrooms
• Linking them to events (e.g. having a writer’s evening where kids shared the writing they had published and a small amount of time was spent talking about the process with students doing most of the sharing and talking.
• Food – for some reason, food often brings the families in. We were usually able to get donations of food from the local grocery stores and then linked some parent information to “dinner with the kids and their teachers.”

I am a big believer in the fact that less is more. So (just like I seem to do with these listserve messages) I had to blab all the things I thought every parent should know on my computer, then I made a decision about what was really important and that was the content of our time together.

Marilyn

                                                                                           Freida

Marilyn,

I have come to believe that what you say is so important.   I began my career thinking that I was an educator of children in my classroom, but I have learned that I am an educator of my classroom, their parents, the larger community in which my classroom is a part, and if I want optimum educational experiences for all children, then I must be vigilant about educating all I come in contact with about the importance of the education of our children.  Now I sound like a crusader and maybe I am, but we must make sure that the general public understands and knows about the research and what is best for learners.  Who better to do that than the teacher in the classroom day in and day out?

                                                                                    Kathy

Freida,

Amen!  And with the parents as partner-educators, kids have greater success.  We must take all opportunities through bulletin boards, newsletters, selecting tasks for student work that will go home, and conversations to let parents know what is important and how to best support young children.  Those parents can help us spread the word to those outside our immediate school family.

                                                                                    Jeri

Kathy

I find this to be right on. I need to keep to the front of my mind "take all opportunities through bulletin boards, newsletters, selecting tasks for student work that will go home, and conversations to let parents know what is important and how to best support young children" That is so true. Our parent population is supportive but does not know what to do. Many of our parents do not speak English and might have some fears coming in to speak with us (like me, who does not speak Spanish). I have found that when I explain why it is important to do certain activities with their children (through a translator) they are right there for us and most of the time there is a complete positive change in the students. It is really important to help parents know what is important and how they can best support their children no matter what grade level.

Jeri

                                                                                Elvia

You are so right on track, and I don't think your thinking is so much being a crusader as it is a full realization of our job.  This is my tenth year teaching and I've learned so much from other teachers I admire; I now realize our role is so much more about at least the community of your whole classroom and grade level, but at most it's about the community of the entire school and all that encompasses it. 

I have not read all the posts, so someone may have suggested this, but...That said, borrowing from one of my daughter's teachers, I've encouraged the teachers I work with to create welcome packets for the parents telling about our backgrounds and the class routines and expectations.  This is a folder filled with helpful stuff like schedule, outline of curriculum and how I plan to teach it, philosophies and current research to explain why I do stuff I do, discipline procedure and research backing that up, tips on how to help their kids with reading and writing, and volunteer info that super organizes the parents and takes loads of work off my shoulders (ex. I have spring water brought in weekly, and once a month a parent can volunteer to clean a section of the room, I have a list of parents who can come in and watch the class, and those who provide cleaning supplies or volunteer to drive, etc).  This helps parents feel useful and part of the classroom.  We hold an intro meeting before classes or at least the first week and go over it then.  This has helped tremendously in making my job less overwhelming and helping to make connections between me and the parents as well as create a community. 

Elvia

Pat 

I actually create a parent handbook that includes all of the same papers.  The parents love it, most keep it in one place in the house so they can refer to it. (Thank you Laura Candle).  

PatK

                                                                                                Marilyn

                                                                                             Freida 

Yes! to the educational  jargon and we come back to the cute versus purposeful discussion.  I am because of this conversation changing my definition of cute to purposeful. 

                                                                                                Elvia

I once had a v.p. chastise me for not having a cute enough room.  I like an open, clear, clean room with plants and rugs and pillows and defined spaces.  I don't like clutter or cutesy useless stuff.  I like useful and child created, not manufactured, things to be on the walls.  I like to create our guides on the walls as we go instead of buy a lot and tack them up...I think it's more meaningful.  As soon as I tacked up some cartoonish stuff on the walls, she was pleased.  I have always thought color should not be distracting, it should exist, but not in an overpowering way....thoughts?

Elvia

                                                                                                Lori

One thing I did in the classroom was to cover ALL my bulletin boards with the same kind of fabric.  And okay, I do hate cute, so I often selected a muted plaid.  Fabric doesn’t fade, if you take care in terms of pattern—it does not distract.  I found that when the room was pulled together with a unifying fabric, I was less overwhelmed myself with ‘visual noise’.  One idea that I snitched from somebody was the notion of an interactive calendar. &nbs