LLCN Brief Kent ISD

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with Dr. Karen Mapp, a Senior Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and former Faculty Director of the HGSE Education Policy and Management Master’s Program.  Dr. Mapp has authored several books on Family Engagement Partnerships - Her latest book:  Everyone Wins!:  The Evidence for Family-School Partnerships & Implications for Practice is the focus of our podcast today. 



Here is a quick brief of our conversation:



Sarah starts the dialogue with Dr. Mapp by prompting her to tell us about use of the term family-school partnerships in her work.   She shares the co-designed working definition of family engagement developed by State Department of Education, families, and educators in Connecticut - “Family Engagement is a full, equal, and equitable partnership among the adult caregivers, community members, and practioners.”  Dr. Karen Mapp talks about the relational trust that is required for full partnership.



 Mark adds to the dialogue by asking:  “What are some key ideas to keep in mind in relation family engagement?” Dr. Mapp leans into Larry Ferlazzo’s words - “Family Engagment leads with our ears.”  She describes how the partnership builds trust by listening and talking with families - instead of talking at families.  Dr. Karen Mapp emphasizes that we need to do a better job of preparing preservice teachers for family engagement and then offer this professional learning for our current practitioners as well.



Sarah responds:  What are some key components to move towards practicing two-way communication?  Dr. Mapp talks about moving past system structures that are set up with deficit mindsets towards embracing the fact that families do care about their children.  Once families are seen as the geniuses that they are for the funds of knowledge they hold, we can create these deep community partnerships.  Taking on the attitude that families are valued and equal partners makes us as educators better practitioners.



Mark prompts:  “You’ve reference so many studies in your work.  Share with us a study or two that stands out.”  Dr. Karen Mapp shares 40 studies in her book Everyone Wins.  She highlights the Botswana study and the impact on families through this simple text message practice to communicate with home environments.  The second study featured by Dr. Mapp today is the parent-teacher home visit model study.



Following our normal podcast protocol, we ask for resources for educators to learn more about family engagement and encourage Dr. Karen Mapp to highlight some departing words for our listenersWe wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters!  Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.  

All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at:  bit.ly/LLCNresources2223  Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: anchor.fm/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform.

Please note the audio used as an introduction and in transitions in this podcast is under the Creative Common License and attribution is given as follows:Medicine by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6256-medicineLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with Northview Public Schools teacher librarians, Kurt Stroh & Carrie Davies. Their daily work centers on serving the elementary and middle school communities in their Kent County district. Their efforts have long centered around championing literacy and reading through their avid reading of children’s and middle-grade books, facilitating author visits and staff book clubs, and curating amazing library collections as they book whisper to hundreds of young readers daily.

Here is a quick brief of our conversation:
Sarah starts the dialogue with Kurt and Carrie by prompting: “Talk with us about providing a wide range of books and other texts for scholars in the classroom. What are the need-to-know pieces that all educators should have understanding of?" Kurt addresses book access for all readers - current, relevant, quality texts for all kids - including a wide variety of formats and choice in reading. Carrie dives into exposing readers to a wide variety of genres. The podcast conversation continues in a back-and-forth manner with both Kurt and Carrie emphasizing that readers need to see themselves reflected in books.

Mark adds to the dialogue: What thoughts could you share to help listeners as they think about including diverse books in classroom libraries and instruction? Carrie starts the narrative by describing a recent staff book study about diverse books and how books offer the opportunity for students to experience mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Kurt talks about the should be doing/shouldn’t be doing actions as we think about classroom libraries.

Kurt and Carrie explain the importance of daily reading opportunities including insight about reading volume. Kurt emphasizes that school may be the only time when students have time to read - Every child should have time to read and time to be read to daily during each school day. Carrie addresses how we get there by talking about building reading stamina. “Some of the best excitement comes when we give kids authentic opportunities to share what they are reading,” says Kurt Stroh. “Ultimately, what we want to do,” says Carrie Davies, “is grow life-long readers.”

“What are ways that have been successful in getting texts into the hands of readers?” Mark inquires. We want to get as many high-quality, current, relevant books in front of kids. “They will read what we bless,” says Carrie Davies. Reading is social. We want to talk about what we are reading. It just becomes natural to book talk, share book trailers, and share what we are reading with kids. Personalizing book shopping experiences in the library, gifting books, and celebrating book birthdays are ways to hook readers. Also, getting books in the hands of teachers therefore gets more books in the hands of students. Building a reading community is filled with many intentional actions.

We talk resources! So many resources. Check the resources link for all the details! Carrie and Kurt share ideas around funding classroom and school libraries and encourage us to start small to avoid feeling overwhelmed before we conclude our time together.

We wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters! Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want to future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.

All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at: bit.ly/LLCNresources2223 Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: anchor.fm/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform

Please note the audio used as an introduction and in transitions in this podcast is under the Creative Common License and attribution is given as follows:
Medicine by WinnieTheMoog
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6256-medicine
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with foundational literacy expert and consultant and author, Dr. Julia Lindsey, who shares the insight from her newly released book Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills. Her specialties are in literacy, language, and culture.

Here is a quick brief of our conversation:

Sarah starts the dialogue with Dr. Lindsey by prompting her to tell us about what is important for educators to be aware of in the most recently talked about views of reading. Julia describes how the three prominent views of reading - The Simple View of Reading, The Reading Rope, and The Active View of Reading - have about 20 years of research between each view and that they’re building upon the views of the previous model of reading. They’re meant to be used theoretically, we know they all contain what we need for word recognition and language comprehension. The most recent view of reading - The Active View - notices what components bridge between word recognition and comprehension and highlights the importance of cultural and background knowledge. Dr. Lindsey reminds us that research is always growing and changing.

Mark adds to the dialogue by asking: “As kids are learning to decode, what are the essential elements?” Julia says the route to teaching kids to read is through teaching purposeful decoding skills. Print concepts, phonemic awareness, sound-spelling relationships, vocabulary and oral language development - these elements together allow us to decode words. Add in “chunking” and we equip kids with the skills to read single-syllable and multi-syllable words. Systematic, explicit instruction is the key.

Sarah responds: This can sometimes be a lot of information to process. Where would an educator start? Julia answers with small swaps that educators can try out in their classrooms tomorrow with their existing curriculum. Start with phonemic awareness. A deficit in phonemic awareness usually leads to difficulties in reading. Decades of research show the most important phonemic awareness skills are blending and segmenting. (There are so many additional “golden nuggets here - just listen!)

Mark inquires: “How is this work applicable in upper elementary?” The components of word reading don’t change based on your age, answers Dr. Lindsey. If you’re learning to read, those core components still need consistent and systematic instruction. With older children, we need to be even more attentive to meaning. This makes decoding more age-appropriate, yet also supports vocabulary and multisyllabic decoding. Wholistic support of the process supports the older learner with motivation as well.

"What resources would you recommend as we aim to learn more reliable, research-based routines?"  Julia mentions several easily accessible resources including her work at beyonddecodables.com as well as her recently published book that we reference here.

We wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters!  Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.

All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at: bit.ly/LLCNresources2223 Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: anchor.fm/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform. 

Please note the audio used as an introduction and in transitions in this podcast is under the Creative Common License and attribution is given as follows: Medicine by WinnieTheMoog Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6256-medicine License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with researcher, author, former UCLA Principal and Assistant Director, and independent educational consultant, Margaret Heritage.   Her work has long centered around formative assessment and ambitious teaching and spans multiple continents.

Here is a quick brief of our conversation:

*Sarah starts the dialogue with Ms. Heritage by prompting.  “Talk to us about formative assessment and ambitious teaching.  What are the need-to know pieces that all educators and students should have understanding of?” Margaret defines ambitious teaching as student-centered-thinking when developing concepts, practices, and language where learning is social and the effort is collective learning through multiple modes.  Students are encouraged to share their provisional thinking and engage in rich disciplinary discourse.  Ambitious teaching and formative assessment are reciprocal ideas.

*Mark adds to the dialogue:  “We are often get asked about the frequency of assessment.  How often should formative assessment occur and what should it look like?”  Ms. Heritage delineates that formative assessment is on-going assessment during the process of learning to determine where students are as the lesson unfolds.  “It’s the DNA of teaching and learning.”  She goes on to detail the differences in types of assessments and give examples of formative assessments in the classroom.

*Margaret talks about formative assessment at the lesson level and assists us in identifying the goal or target we want students to accomplish.  She clarifies how we close the gap - and what the gap really is - in student knowledge.  Clear learning goals and performance indicators are essential to any teaching and assessment.  These are the drivers of the feedback loop.  Ms. Heritage emphasizes the critical nature of  understanding what meeting the learning criteria really means.  She reiterates a statement we have long valued at Kent ISD - “Go slow to go fast.”  

*Then, we talk a bit about how to provide feedback to students.  Mark asks:  “How do we provide feedback to our students most effectively to help them make sense and identify next steps in their learning?”  Margaret dives into feedback related to thinking and focusing around having students do the work.  Students need to do the “heavy lifting” with sufficient support in order to accomplish the learning.  Giving feedback is a very sophisticated skill when done well.  It helps students develop a repertoire of learning strategies.

*Margaret Heritage summarizes our conversation by noting some key resources related to learning further about formative assessment and reinforcing the important role of the formative assessment  in the classroom.

We wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters!  Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want to future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.

All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at:  bit.ly/LLCNresources2122  Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: anchor.fm/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform

Please note the audio used as an introduction and in transitions in this podcast is under the Creative Common License and attribution is given as follows:
Medicine by WinnieTheMoog
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6256-medicine
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with Arizona State University professor, researcher, and author Dr. Steve Graham. For over 42 years, Dr. Graham has studied how writing develops, how to teach it effectively, and how writing can be used to support reading and learning. His research involves typically developing writers and students with special needs in both elementary and secondary schools, with much of occurring in classrooms in urban schools. This dialogue is focused on thinking “outside-the-box” as we aim to plan and facilitate writing instruction that engages all students.

Here is a quick brief of our conversation:

Sarah starts the dialogue with Dr. Graham by asking “What is the first thing you tell educators in the field about writing instruction?”  Dr. Graham talks about the amount of time spent writing and on writing instruction in the classroom.  We continue the conversation with a dive into more insights from his article “A Path to Better Writing: Evidence-Based Practices in the Classroom.”

Mark adds to the dialogue: “We are frequently asked questions around writing instruction that include: How long should students write each day? Should we dictate topics or allow student choice when thinking about writing? Where should we start with writing genres? Talk to us about what guidance you offer teachers in these areas.” Dr. Graham points out five major points in relation to writing instruction.

Then, we talk a bit about the positive relationship between writing instruction and increased reading comprehension.

Mark delves into asking about writing assessment and how it is used for reflection and improvement in his next question to Dr. Graham.

Dr. Graham summarizes our conversation by noting some key writing resources and reinforcing the role of the teacher in elevating writing instruction.

We wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters!  Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want to future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.

All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at:  bit.ly/LLCNresources2122  Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: anchor.fm/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform

Please note the audio used as an introduction and in transitions in this podcast is under the Creative Common License and attribution is given as follows:
Medicine by WinnieTheMoog
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6256-medicine
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with Michigan State University professor and author Dr. Tanya Wright.  Dr. Wright is a former kindergarten teacher whose research and teaching focus on curriculum and instruction in language and literacy during the early childhood and elementary years. Her research examines instructional practices that promote oral language, vocabulary, and knowledge development for young children.  This podcast is a conversation regarding her work in the area of vocabulary and references her 2021 publication - A Teacher’s Guide to Vocabulary Development Across the Day: Grades K-3.  In essence, this dialogue is about vocabulary instruction opening doors to learning for all students.

Here is a quick brief of our conversation:

Sarah starts the dialogue with Dr. Wright by asking “What does it mean to ‘truly know a word’?”  Dr. Wright talks about ways in which we use words we know - to read, write, speak, listen, and learn.  She explains some of the depth of word learning.

Mark asks “What can we do to make word-learning stick?”  Dr. Wright delves into how we learn new words with repeated exposure in meaningful contexts including ways to be effective and efficient with word learning.

Then, we talk about “There are so many vocabulary words in our curriculum resources, how do we choose?”  

Mark asks the elusive "How do we assess vocabulary learning adequately?" question.  Dr. Wright shares what truly captures vocabulary word learning and also shares some vocabulary resources for educators.

Dr. Wright summarizes our conversation by noting that a key idea to remember is that vocabulary instruction should be embedded across the day and over time.

We wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters!  Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want to future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.

All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at:  bit.ly/LLCNresources2122  Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: anchor.fm/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform

Please note the audio used as an introduction and in transitions in this podcast is under the Creative Common License and attribution is given as follows:
Medicine by WinnieTheMoog
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6256-medicine