Literacy/Language Arts
Albert Einstein said, “a hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other [people], living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” Teachers all over the world engage in collaboration to exert the best in teaching and learning for students. Below are two successful structures that happened in the Los Angeles Unified School District to support literacy/language arts instruction:
Elementary and Secondary Literacy/Language Arts examples using Virtual and Face-to-Face Collaboration:
Over the past two years, Mylene has facilitated two hybrid collaboration groups that blend virtual and face-to-face collaboration using Edmodo. This free platform provides a priceless forum for teaching and learning. She met bi-monthly with National Boards Certified Teachers to train them as facilitators for teacher groups at their schools. The facilitation support included McTighe and Wiggins’ Understanding by Design model, strategies & tools from The Adaptive School, and coaching conversations based on the work of Cognitive Coaching. The first group was called the "Treasured Planning Network" group with 45 elementary teachers. The second group was called the "East Planning Network" with over 50 elementary and secondary teachers. All documents were posted and maintained online, including relevant articles, handouts, and other resources related to their planning sessions. They created and shared units in face-to-face sessions. Additionally, prior to posting their units online, they reviewed their work using a common rubric. Below is a screenshot of two teacher teams that submitted their units on Edmodo.
At the end of the nine month session, teacher-facilitators submitted written reflections regarding the collaborative process. The responses included an appreciation for the time to plan units with their colleagues, heightened awareness for data-driven planning & re-teaching, and increased efficacy with collaborative structures.
Secondary Literacy/Language Arts example on an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme template created during Face-to-Face Collaboration:
An English/Language Arts teacher, Computer Science teacher, and Science Teacher met together to increase the use of Academic Language in their instruction. They used a backwards design model &IB template, while focusing on relevant print media accessed by students. Click here to see a unit that supports student analysis and reflection of imprecise language.
REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
- What are you some similarities between these lesson planning tools with ones that you are using at your site?
- What are you noticing about technology to support accountability?
- What might be some implications of this section of our project for classroom practices?
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