MOT Groups

Thanks to Woodbury and Soule for inviting me to their groups. I first went to Woodbury and hung out, listening to the conversations. It was great to see the questions and thoughtful discussions that were happening. Most interesting was the PE teacher, who was so interested in discussing the book and the processes of thinking. It was as though this was providing him a window into the world of teaching that he had not considered before...especially in terms of all of the possibilities. Understanding what each is doing is such a powerful way to connect in our profession. They were talking about inferring and Pat had had them think about some quesitons before they came to the larger group. Many connected it to the teaching they were doing. Thinking this through and talking it through and giving teachers the time they need to process this is only one of the ways we will achieve sustainability with this initiative and keep it in the forefront.

I then made my way over to Soule. The energy there was fantastic! This is a model that I wish we could bottle and ship around the country!! The library was filled with teachers who had all come to the group prepared to talk and share and ask questions. There were three leaders, Rhonda, Karen Verry and Anna. What a dynamic combination as they all brought something completely different to the group. I wrote earlier in an e-mail that it reminds me of why I do what I do! The next question then becomes how do we help those along that are not as willing? How do we nudge them in the general direction of metacognition? Ultimately, I think it comes back to doing it ourselves and recognizing it within our own thinking so that we can take that experience and bring it back to our students.

Although these are two different formats, it is my sense that both are effective and perhaps even make sense for where each of the groups are at. Again, I am still looking forward and thinking what is next? How do we keep this energy and this focus alive as teachers continue to make their ways?

I am looking forward to Barron on Thursday. Perhaps you could all send the dates of your MOT groups and I could post them here in the margins as a reminder to all. I know that others are needing support, so let me know what you are thinking and let's start a conversation!

What is Next?

I left our group thinking that this seemed to be on the forefront of our discussions. What is next. ? We are taking the time to have the study groups, having teachers try out the different strategies in their classrooms and doing the reading and having the conversations...but what next? What book next? Where do we go from here? How do we do this with the McGraw Hill and help people step outside of their comfort zones?

Going back to where we started is one idea. Having teachers re-think and investigate their own thinking processes is someplace we need to return to over and over again. This is the place where we are reminded of our own thinking, and it is our thinking that we need to model to our students! Practice, practice and more practice is what we need to do. The more we practice and make these strategies visible to ourselves, the more we have to draw upon to help make them visible to our students. The more we practice identifying them the easier this teaching becomes. In fact, it becomes increasingly more difficult to simply focus on one strategy at a time.

Finally, I again must praise the work you are doing! I cannot even begin to tell you the difference it makes in the work I am doing with teachers. We are going so much deeper!! Thank you! See you next week at your groups!
Tomasen

Celebrations!

Karen inspired me with her story and so I was thinking that perhaps we could each think of something that they want to celebrate in their work with MOT. Think about your work individually or with your teachers. What is something worth celebrating?

Wondering....

So, what are you wondering about this week? What have you tried with your book groups and how has it gone? My hope is that this will be a place for us to have conversations, exchange teaching ideas and just figure it all out with many minds instead of one!!
One of the things I have noticed in many districts is the implementation of basal series combined with efforts to encourage comprehension strategy instruction. How do these two work together? Can they work together? How are they different? What is your thinking about this?