I love looking back at old Friday Feedback editions and I found this one from FOUR YEARS AGO that is more imporant than ever when we think about learning loss due to the pandemic closures - WOW, HOW TIME FLIES!!
This newsletter from September of 2017 was developed after many of us attended Doug Fisher's conference in Ottumwa to kick off that 2017-18 school year. Shortly after seeing Doug, all teachers were treated to Anthony Muhammad and his thoughts on School Culture.
Enjoy this "oldie but goodie"...
Doug Fisher -
Doug's big claim to fame is his work with Nancy Frey around the Gradual Release of Responsibility. What I love about Doug's new book is his partnership with world renowned author John Hattie. Here are the keys to the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) and effect sizes according to John Hattie:
1) Classroom Discussion and Collaboration - .82 effect size (50% of Instructional minutes in a week should be devoted to Student-Student Discussion). A .82 effect size is resulting in two years of growth compared to those students who are only receiving direct instruction and never discussing learning with peers. Students connect to and like school more as this phase of the GRR goes up - get students talking about what they are learning!
2) Repeated Reading - Allowing students to re-read material or books that they like is great. One thought is we could have, every so often, "Throw Back Thursday" during our period 6 time - Repeated Reading = .67 effect size = well over a year's worth of growth compared to students who are denied the opportunity to re-read material.
3) Independent Practice and Study Skills - Turns out that directly teaching and discussing appropriate study habits and study skills is important = .59 effect size.
4) Fisher mentioned the importance of Teacher Clarity - the focus lesson portion, or direct instruction portion, of our lessons is crucial so long as we are being clear as crystal about what we are learning, why, and where we are going with this learning = .75 effect size = nearly two years of accelerated growth for one year's input compared to those students whose teachers are not clear on targets, purpose and direction.
5) Reading Matters - Communicating with parents/guardians on the importance of reading at night - 20 minutes of reading per night has a tremendous impact on love of reading and vocabulary building. Kids should have choices in their reading - give them a menu of choices; talk about what they and you are reading.
Anthony Muhammad -
1) The 4 Critical Behaviors of Sustainable School Success =
A) Communication B) Relationships
C) Support D) Accountability
2) We must address our "elephants" if we are to achieve a truly healthy culture; culture is the foundation for all success and sustainability to be the best
3) Don't let fundamentalists dominate the culture; call them out so our culture doesn't become toxic; believers must be heard and must lead
4) A healthy culture is much more productive for our students; know your why and your impact - Capture Kids' Hearts!
