One excellent day

Today was, by my accounting, an excellent day. I slept in a little and made the drive to Tampa to teach a section of my literacy class for this semester.  My Wednesday group is new to me this semester, and I have been working hard to build on the sense of community within this cohort and to share with them my passion for/love of reading.  So today, we started talking about motivation to read in the elementary classroom.  They considered their own experiences as elementary-age readers.  They discussed the strategies they see in their internship classrooms.  And each one of them created a "Readers' Bill of Rights" to use in their future classroom.  And they were all good.  No, scratch that.  Many of them were wonderful.  They got it!  They looked beyond the basic basal readers and beyond the limitations placed by book leveling.  They mentioned reading texts in a variety of formats.  They mentioned texts in languages other than English.  We shared and discussed their ideas. Many of them added ideas from the discussion to their Bill of Rights.  I was in a maelstrom of engagement and positivity.  It was teacher heaven.

We shifted gears to our read-aloud.  I read pages from No More Dead Dogs. I read until I was afraid I might be losing them, so I closed the book.  They wanted me to keep reading.  Their silence and stillness wasn't boredom; they were listening.  (Silly me!  I should have kept reading!)

We wrapped up with small group meetings in which they took turns presenting chapters from this week's reading to one another. I saw discussions and activities and ideas being shared.  I witnessed lots of smiles and laughter along with the learning.  And I overheard comments that told me they yet again, were really getting it:

"I can see me using this in my classroom with our science book!"

"This would help my student stay focused while reading!"

Although I rarely have a "bad" class meeting, this particular day was invigorating.  I left smiling and feeling accomplished.  And, I hope, my students left with that same feeling.  Because today, like many others, they shined and reminded me why I do what I do.

Supporting Reluctant Readers - Seriously?

I am currently working on an analysis of middle grades language arts textbooks to get a frequency count of the different instructional practices recommended to teachers by adopted text series.  I'm focusing on instructional practices that focus on supporting and assessing on-level students' reading comprehension. (Got to narrow it down, or the dissertation will never be done, after all!)

Anyway, as I am going through the textbooks, I am noticing things that make me shake my head the first time I see them and, by the third or fourth time I see it repeated within a text, I want to bang my head.  But so far, this is my favorite: One text series' recommendation "to build motivation and engagement" in reluctant readers. As a researcher whose focus and passion is supporting adolescents' motivation to read, this statement caught my interest. How?  Please tell me the secret!

*******Drum Roll******

Give them additional reading!

Seriously?  

Yes!  Before the student reads the text in the book, have them read a "thematically related text" and discuss it.

But we're talking reluctant readers here; how is giving them more (of the same) to read going to make them want to read?  (Did I miss the research supporting this?)

Sorry, I'll try to tone down the snark.  A little.

What Would I do...? The trip from H@$%

I remember the old commercials that asked “What would you do for a Klondike bar?”  Well, the question that could be asked about my Spring Break is “What would you do to get to a conference to present?” aka “What would you do for a line on your vita?” The answer, in short, is ignore all possible bad omens and push on obstinately through conditions that could, with different choices, be avoided. Now, I’m not whining. I know that many people have suffered a great deal more through the weather this winter.  I’m not even complaining.  I look back on this as an unforgettable experience. But it is also worth sharing, if only so that others can read it and be glad it didn’t happen to them. And with that preface, let the tale begin:

Friday morning was beautiful and sunny on the gulf coast of Florida. Hubby and I were packed and ready to head to San Angelo, Texas, where I would be presenting at an autoethnography conference. I had prepared and practiced my presentation. As we put our luggage into the trunk of the car, hubby crushed his thumb trying to put the handle back down. We later referred to this as the first omen.  After a little colorful language, we both shook our heads and hopped in the car for the drive to the airport.

As is tradition, we went through the drive through of a local restaurant (using the term loosely) and ordered hubby’s drive-time coffee.  It’s not a trip until the coffee has been received.  (Other coffee drinkers will, I suppose, understand.  I am not one of these, thus I consider it a quaint and cute habit.) With coffee in hand, we hit the road again. A few moments later, I heard a Charlie Brown-esque cry of “Well, dammit!” The coffee order was incorrect.  Thus, omen number two.

We arrived at the airport and got through security with no trouble. We had packed only carry-on luggage – a small suitcase and another bag each.  At the gate, it was announced that we could gate-check any luggage we wanted as a courtesy.  Woo hoo! That saves the money we would have spent checking it earlier and also saves us from trying to find space for it in the overhead bins on the plane. With a smug smile on my face, I pulled hubby up with me to check our carry-on bags. That would be the last time we would see those bags….perhaps ever.  The airline still does not know where our bags are.

We dutifully turned our phones to airplane mode before even boarding, and enjoyed a smooth flight to Dallas. As we landed, I turned my phone back on and received a voice mail from the airline; it had been received while we were still on the runway in Tampa.  It informed us that our connecting flight to San Angelo had been cancelled. No flight.  So, what to do?  Do we wait for the rescheduled flight they have us on the next morning? The weather report did not look promising. So, we made a decision.  We decided to go home.  After a lot of waiting, we got booked for a flight that evening back to Tampa. And we got comfortable (as possible) in the terminal.  Then....one flight home…..cancelled.  Then two…..then three.

By this time, Dallas hotels were booked.  People were starting to crowd the airport and there was talk of cots and spending the night.  Hubby & I made another decision.  Car rental to the rescue! We made our way to the car rental hub with the original intention of driving home, perhaps via New Orleans.  (Spring break, after all.) When we got to the rental counter, though, we began debating.  Could we make it to San Angelo by car? I had worked hard on my presentation.  I had even practiced it for my students. And if we rented the car for a one-way trip, there would be an extra $500 fee. Yep, we decided to try driving to San Angelo. So, off we went, on Interstate 20.

To call this a bad idea would be understating it slightly.  The good news was I had driven in bad weather before and those skills came right back to me. I skidded and slid, but never lost control of that rental car.  We saw overturned semis and vehicles of all sorts that had slid right off the road. After about four hours of driving which covered less than two hours of normal-weather driving, we decided to stop.  Alas, there were no hotel rooms to be had! We stopped at a Taco Bell and began searching on-line for an available hotel room.  We found one about an hour away (again, normal drive time) and called to make the reservation. Only about two miles after merging back on the interstate, traffic came to a sudden and complete halt.  It was not the kind of traffic that people call “stopped” but is actually moving a few miles an hour. Nope, this traffic was moving zero miles per hour.  Starting at 11:00 p.m. (1:00 am my time) and continuing for nearly four hours, we sat on I20.  Occasionally we would turn the car back on to warm the inside.  We attempted to sleep.  We entertained ourselves by telling silly stories and, yes, whining.  And laughing.  A lot.  Really, it was quite a ridiculous situation.  What were we doing?

Finally, we saw a lone human coming our way.  Good news! The right lane was now open.  It was recommended that we stop at the next rest stop, park, and sleep.  Sounds reasonable.  Did we follow this reasonable advice? Of course not!  We had a hotel reservation.  That bed was calling my name.  It couldn’t be too much further!  (Ha!)

We finally arrived at our hotel in Abilene at 6:00 a.m.  We had been recorded as a no-show and charged for the room. Since we had paid for it, we asked to please have it for the few hours left before check out.  It took a few minutes to get into our room and pass out in the comfort of the bed.  We also indicated that we would need the room for two more nights.  Playing it safe. 

Saturday morning, I called the airline to see about getting a flight home.  After waiting on hold for a long time, it hangs up on me.  The web site for the airline is also down.We go to Target to get clothes, since all we have is what we are wearing.  By Sunday the airline phone lines have a message saying that there is too much call volume, followed by being disconnected. Web site still down.

I woke up Monday morning and immediately picked up the phone.  Success!  Well, somewhat.  I was asked to leave a number so that I could receive a call back in about an hour. The call back did actually take place in that time!  Hoorah! The nice representative on the phone booked us for a flight Tuesday evening at 7:00.  At about 11:00 I got an e-mail confirmation of our flight. I checked it.  Thank heavens I checked it! Flight set for 7:00 MONDAY.  We checked out of the hotel and headed back to Dallas.   

We returned the rental car and got a shuttle back to the airport.  The wrong airport.  (I forgot that Dallas has two.) One fifty dollar cab ride later, we made it to the right airport and began the wait for our flight home.  We boarded.  We waited.  The pilot announced that our flight was waiting for someone from maintenance to come fix a loose wire in the luggage compartment. Then they needed to get a part.  Hubby and I were giggling louder with each announcement.  It was par for the course. It was, amazingly enough, less than an hour. 

We arrived home, exhausted.  And happy.  And there was no question that ours is a strong marriage.  Not once did we snap at each other.  We laughed together at every new obstacle.  We entertained each other.  And we returned home safely.  We were fortunate.  And foolish. So, what would I do?  Apparently, I would forget common sense and drive through conditions that no one should take a car out in.  

My first Infographic: Using Wordle for Text Analysis

For my multimedia literacy course, I had to create a tutorial on how to use a technology tool in research.  I'm obsessed with Wordle and other word cloud creators (they are way too much fun!) so I chose Wordle as my tech tool to play with.  But how to create and present my tutorial?  Again, my love of trying new tech tools guided me, and I created an infographic using Piktochart.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 



https://magic.piktochart.com/output/3438659-using-wordle-to-analyse-text

First Day Frustrations and the System that Created Them

Yesterday was the first meeting of the course section I am teaching for the semester.  I'm always excited for that first day - meeting my students and setting expectations for the course are both so important. In my mind, I had made sure everyone would be prepared; the syllabus had been posted for more than two weeks so that students would know what text and materials would be needed. I sent out an announcement almost two weeks before the first class asking the students to look over the syllabus and let me know if they had any questions.  I posted the presentation I would be using for class about two weeks ahead of time as well so students would know what to expect and in case any of the students wanted to use it as a note-taking guide. I planned activities that would build a sense of community in the classroom while also delving right into the content.  After all, each class meeting is scheduled for about three hours; I just couldn't see not utilizing that time, even on the first day!

Class began just as I had hoped it would.  Introductions helped us get to know each other without spending too much time.  We went over the syllabus utilizing poetry to summarize the main points.  And when it came time to delve into the material.....

Only a handful of students (less than five in a class of just over 30) had a copy of the textbook.  All the rest of my activities counted on them having access to the text. My frustration was clear to the students as I placed my copy of the text down none too gently and sighed. Then one spoke up:

"We didn't know if we would actually use the text, so we were waiting to buy it."

In that moment, my frustration changed focus from the students who hadn't bought the text to the system they are working their way through.  As a student myself, there have been many times that I have bought a text, never to crack it open for the purposes of the class it was purchased for. I had merely accepted it as part of being a student.  But I was neglecting to remember something that makes me different from many of my students: I am not (currently) struggling financially.  I can just hop online and order whatever texts my professors assign and, if I don't use them for class, I either sell them to someone else or keep them for my own reference if they will be useful.

This is not the case for many of my students.  Some are nontraditional students; parents with small children, career changers, people who have left their full-time job in order to further their education and embark on a career they are passionate about. To ask them to buy a book that they will not actually use regularly for the class is taking away money they could use to support their family and themselves.

When I said that we would use the text for my class in nearly every class meeting, strudents said "Thank you!" Buying the books is not a problem; they are students and expect to need such materials.  But when those materials are barely or never used, it causes the frustration that led to my own first-day angst.

My point?  As a college instructor and hopefully, in the future, a professor, I must keep in mind the financial impact of the materials I ask my students to purchase and make sure that those materials are actually used.  If this were the norm, students would be more likely to come to class that first day with the text(s) in hand and ready to dive into the material.

Counting down to another beginning

One of the exciting things about being a student and teacher at the college level is all the new beginnings; I get three a year, after all! New classes, new opportunities, and this semester (for the first since last fall) all new students to get to know. Starting with a new batch of Level 1 interns who are just truly starting to delve into teaching is a nerve-wracking and exciting prospect.  As I do every semester, I have evaluated what has worked and what I need to build on in both my teaching and supervising. 

Teaching:
This semester, I am teaching a class I have not previously taught, which is always a bit daunting.  It is an introductory educational psychology course, and it ties in well with the work the students will be doing in their field experience.  Both have the preservice teachers (PSTs) studying one student to evaluate that student's background, skills, needs, etc.

I know that the first semester can be overwhelming for the PSTs; they are in their internship classroom one day each week, and also have four (I think) classes.  With that in mind, I have set up my Canvas site so that it is clear from day one what is expected.  I've never started the semester with all the assignments already set up so that students can explore the rubrics and such, and I am curious - will it help or just add more angst to their feelings of being overwhelmed?  As a student, I like knowing what is expected of me from the beginning (and not just a quick blurb in the syllabus, but good info that really explains the assignments), but my undergrads may not.  I will ask for their feedback so that I know if this set up is beneficial to the majority of not.

Supervising:
The school at which I will be supervising is new to our program this year, and I am excited to build relationships with a new set of collaborating teachers and the school administration.  My past few semesters of supervising have taught me a lot about communication; I now cc anything I send to CTs to the PSTs and vice versa, with administration always included as well.  I think that was my biggest hurdle my first semester as a supervisor; I counted on the PSTs to share information with their CTs.  Many did, but it is like a game of telephone.  Now I know everyone is getting the same information (even if they interpret it a little differently). 

Someone in a meeting today suggested asking the teachers to come speak at seminar meetings about areas in which they excel.  I love this idea and will keep my eyes open for great ideas that my PSTs can benefit from.

Overall:
Organization is something I can always improve.  Since both the class I teach and seminar meetings are not in the education building, I have to carry my supplies with me.  Last year, I often forgot I needed little things like sticky notes or markers for an activity.  This year, I took a wheelie tote that I have from my days as a scrapbooking queen (I'm so busy with school, I had to demote myself to princess) and packed it with the materials I need to teach class.  The tote will stay in the trunk of my car so I always have the materials I need.  It will also make it easier for me to transition from my teacher to student role, as I won't have to stuff my backpack with the materials for both any more. (On both my class and seminar days, I also have a class to attend as a student.)

Goals for this week:
Finish setting up Canvas site for Internship Seminar as soon as syllabus is finalized.
Make progress on papers accepted for presentations at LRA
Prepare for meeting with my co-major professors regarding timeline for qualifying exams, dissertation proposal, etc.