by Elizabeth Stein

So here we are…at that summative time in our annual teaching cycle when we take a deep breath and reflect. Even though the school year ends at different times for all of us, we are connected through the art of reflection. I still have two more weeks to go, and I am making the most of it. Mixed emotions fill my mind:

• I wish I had more time to enjoy the learning process with the students.
• I feel a sense of pride as I see students’ progress this year.
• I feel a sense of urgency to continue guiding students who have begun to lose their grip on the school year in anticipation of summer.
•  I’m eager to reflect deeply on the teaching practices that worked and didn’t work, as well as the ones that can work with a little tweaking for next time.
• I feel frustrated for all of the co-teaching lessons that flopped and invigorated about the lessons that went well. I realize both experiences have strengthened me.
• I am filled with excitement and anticipation as I think about the opportunity to establish positive co-teaching experiences for the upcoming school year.
• And finally, I’m looking forward to summer and the time to pursue my own learning and professional growth. It is a never-ending process.

And there you have it. Familiar feelings and reflections. This is a time when we think about the highlights of the past year. We think about summer plans. And we hopefully and eagerly anticipate the next school year to come. I often hear my colleagues (myself included) commenting on certain lessons or unit plans: “Well, next year it will be better because…” We are excited to build upon our accomplishments and begin again in September with a clean slate–ready to improve upon our practice and guide students to achieve.

Many hats – many reflections

I have the privilege of wearing many hats throughout the school year. As a special educator, I experience the deep reflective teacher’s life first-hand. As a co-teacher, I collaborate with my colleagues and observe and share in their reflections. As my district’s Mentor Teacher Program Coordinator, I get to see the world of teaching through the perspective of new teachers. And as a college adjunct instructor, I have the pleasure of working with preservice teachers to help them acknowledge their personal beliefs, formulate their educational philosophies, and most importantly, begin to realize that they have an emerging teacher’s voice with much to say.

And so, I dedicate this post to all reflective teachers. Teachers who know that their work throughout the year results in a ripple effect that has the potential of spreading far beyond the time measured by just one school year. It’s quite humbling, really.

We know what it takes

Reflective teachers know what it takes to buckle up and get through the roller coaster ride of teaching. We know we must adjust our strategies and attitudes throughout the year in order to stay focused on our goals.

At the beginning of the school year, I share “The Phases of First-Year Teaching” with my group of mentors and mentees. This flow chart (right) is based on the work of the (Santa Cruz) New Teacher Center. 

Through their experience and research, the New Teacher Center has identified some developmental phases that new teachers experience. I find this chart can also relate to veteran teachers (myself included). I think it serves as a great reflective tool. The mentors in my group share their insights into these phases of the teaching life as mentees relax and feel a sense of community.

At the end of the year, this chart helps me as I encourage this same group of teachers to reflect on the strategies that they used to get them through the various stages of the school year. It is such a powerful tool to get some deeper reflection to the surface. And then, equally as important, it guides my focus as we help empower our novice teachers with proactive tools for the upcoming school year — when the roller coaster ride of phases will begin again.

Check out a full description of the Phases of First-Year Teaching by NTC founder Ellen Moir. I think the phases she describes can remind all teachers to stay focused on what’s most important. At each phase we can power ahead by remembering that what we do, we do for students. The ultimate goal is to guide students to achieve at their personal best. Now isn’t that an empowering thought to remember to help us rise above the disillusionment?

Reflections on co-teaching

I’d like to extend this reflective tool, more specifically, to co-teaching. What does it take for co-teachers to not just get through but enjoy the ride together, as they move through the many phases of teaching? What secrets do successful co-teachers have that can help others to ride the phases as smoothly as possible? (I hope you’ll share your responses to these and other questions in the comments section below!)

To get the conversation going, and in the spirit of reflecting, I asked a colleague who is getting ready to retire this year to reflect on her view of inclusion and co-teaching after a long career. Kim Gilbert is a special education teacher at Smithtown Central School District who is retiring at the closing of this school year.

Q: What is your secret for successful co-teaching experiences?

Kim: One of the things that has made the co-teaching experience successful for me is the fact that I have had the privilege to be with the same team for so long. It allows us to build relationships and become comfortable with each other’s style and build on that each year. It allows me to be really comfortable with the curriculum so I can concentrate on strategies for differentiating instruction and make the teaching more fluid.

In addition I have had time to reflect each summer and think about how to improve instruction since I am able to anticipate what will be expected of my students. It takes time to really function as a team and I am fortunate that we have had the opportunity to work so closely together for so long.

Q: What advice would you give to teachers who are anticipating their first co-teaching experience?

Kim: Put yourself in there and communicate what you need as well as what you are able to do. Planning time is important, but communication even more so. Find a way to really talk with your co-teacher about the students and be clear about offering to share grading or preparation responsibilities. Not always easy, I know.

Thanks, Kim. We wish you all the best as you combine rejuvenation and reflection in anticipation of your next adventures.

So, what are your reflections? What strategies do you use to help you to rejuvenate? How do you rise above any disillusionment? Come share and celebrate by keeping this conversation going…

We have so much to learn from one another!

by Elizabeth Stein

The teacher life is a busy life, no question. Since my last post about integrating the Universal Design for Learning approach into instructional planning and teaching, I’ve received some predictable questions: “How do teachers find the time to do all that?” Or simple, flat statements like: “I don’t have time for that.”

Case closed, right? I don’t think so. I’d like to keep the discussion going and try to show how I’m working to integrate UDL in my own English inclusion class. First, here’s some context.

• My district has not adopted a formal UDL framework (yet–>grin<)

• Most public school teachers where I teach and across the United States are swept up in the instructional shifts brought on by the Common Core. We are in the midst of adjusting to CCSS curriculum changes. And let’s face it, for many people change is scary.

• Most teachers either do not know about UDL or they feel they do not have the time for it based on what little they do know.

• The lesson outline you are about to see was planned with a focus on the Common Core — the thought of including UDL strategies was not on my co-teacher’s mind.

UDL is not about causing change. It’s about looking for natural connections to what one is already doing that can help diversify instruction. It’s about raising our own awareness and turning up our reflective skills so we become accustomed to thinking about how lessons align with the needs of diverse learners.

In my own situation, I’ve decided rather than to push my UDL passion on my co-teachers, I will begin by noticing what they are already doing and make the effort myself to weave UDL in naturally. It’s a start.

Here’s my approach to integrating the UDL framework

Since UDL is in perfect alignment with the Common Core (and I purposely state that as a fact, rather than an opinion), I’ve decided to dedicate this post to zooming in on a specific lesson. I want to show the value of a UDL mindset that even the busiest of teachers may easily adopt — pain free.

My hope is that general education teachers and special education teachers alike will see that UDL is all about high quality instruction and points the way to expanding our best practices to meet the needs of all learners.

This school year, rather than plan direct UDL lessons, I decided to take a thoughtful approach and look at a typical school day for me. I asked myself, “What’s happening in classrooms that naturally align with my wish to make sure that we are implementing a mindful Universal Design for Learning approach? Are there multiple ways that representation, engagement, and expression are happening during daily instruction?

Last week I listed  some of what I noticed going on in my inclusion classrooms. This week let me tie that to a specific lesson, planned with the Common Core in mind and without UDL even coming into the conversation. Here’s the gist:

Purpose of Lesson: To deepen student understanding of famous Civil War leaders and events and broaden their background knowledge of the Civil War.  This lesson provided background as we prepared to read Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt.

Process: Using the Carousel Protocol, students read various texts to gather information on the Civil War and listed important facts about given topics. The classroom was set up with desks in groups of four or five. At each group was a large piece of chart paper with a topic clearly listed at the top. Nonfiction texts of various reading levels were stacked on the desks to support the given topic. Students were given time to read through the text, discuss their findings, and write their key points onto the large chart paper.

After time was up, each group moved to the next table where they would begin their research, discussion, and writing on another topic (and another poster). As class time came to a close each group had the opportunity to review and add facts to the posters.

Assessment:

• My co-teacher and I walked around the room listening in on students’ conversations in the midst of the learning–we gained information about their level of comprehension and ability to use text features to locate important information.

• Students’ written facts demonstrated their ability to read and identify key facts.

• Some students sketched their new understanding rather than writing words.

• Students’ listening and speaking were noted through their group discussions as well as whole class discussions.

 UDL easily aligns with this lesson

According to the Three UDL Principles, here’s how UDL naturally aligned with this lesson:

The aim of a UDL lesson is to create (1) resourceful, knowledgeable learners through multiple means of representation; (2) strategic, goal-directed learners through multiple means of engagement; and (3) purposeful, motivated learners as a result of multiple means of expression. In this lesson, many of those objectives were achieved thanks to the learning strategy selected and the opportunities and options given to students to express and demonstrate their learning. Additional time invested: practically zero.

It is truly amazing how UDL is naturally embedded into high quality, Common Core lessons. Can you imagine what more might be done when UDL is intentionally planned and included in lessons? I can, and that is my mission in my own school and district. It’s really not nearly so much about time as it is about strategic thinking and planning with all students in mind.

Here’s a question…

What natural UDL connections do you see in your inclusion classrooms? Share what you see…and what you hope to see…and then let’s discuss ways to make it happen.

by Elizabeth Stein

Last week I wrote about how high quality instruction must consistently occur before any testing accommodations have a chance of being meaningful. But high quality instruction doesn’t just happen; it has to be crafted. And it has to be given time to become a natural part of the teacher’s style as she or he builds a repertoire of strategies that blend seamlessly with standards, grade level expectations, students’ needs, and personal teaching style.

Recently I went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because I’m always thinking these days about this blog and reflecting on practice, I quickly saw the connections between the skills needed to be a highly qualified teacher and those needed to be a successful artist. More specifically, the skills of a sculptor.

A sculptor uses a chisel as a tool to fine-tune and shape his vision into a work of art. Like sculptors, teachers chisel away to fine tune our teaching creations. Unlike the sculptor, our medium is intangible — but it is also multi-layered and sensitive to slight variations.

We chisel away at our words to make sure we give students the most important facts and ideas clearly. We chisel away at pedagogical theories in order to translate these ideas into meaningful teaching behaviors. We chisel away at our actions in order to perform best practices that will meet the unique needs of our diverse learners.

In order for the sculptor to create her masterpieces, she relies on a familiar and well-established tool–the chisel. In order for teachers to truly create a masterpiece, we need to search for our tool, and it is not something that is always easily identified.

Our masterpieces will not emerge from the packaged program or accompanying teacher’s guide, or that latest KIPP book with all the “how to’s” of being an effective teacher. No, it goes way beyond that.

I’d like to offer my version of a teacher’s chisel–a professional tool that can help us to successfully create optimal learning environments. This tool is called the Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

And UDL can be such a powerful chisel. If we stay mindful as we use it, we can not only create one sculpture at a time, like the artist. We also have the power to create a classroom full of masterpieces –simultaneously. It’s simply amazing.

In my last post I suggested that you watch a four-minute video to give you a foundation for understanding what UDL is all about. So why not take those four minutes to check out UDL at a Glance (if you haven’t already). I’ll be here when you get back.

Back already? OK, another website you need to check out when you have the time is The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). CAST is a nonprofit educational research and development organization that works to make learning accessible for all students through Universal Design for Learning.

Comprehensive – Common Core – Common Sense

Trust me on this: UDL is such a common sense approach to teaching, and it aligns smoothly with the Common Core. In fact, I’m not aware of any other effective way to guide all students to access the core curriculum.

The concept of UDL allows teachers to adapt the curriculum, customize the delivery of instruction, and assess understanding in ways that allow students to demonstrate knowledge, play to strengths, and flourish as learners.

Lesson planning using the UDL approach encompasses three guidelines or provisions:

1.  Multiple means of representation
2.  Multiple means of engagement
3.  Multiple means of expression

My district has not yet formally adopted a UDL framework, but I am working with colleagues to bring a higher sense of awareness and application on a district-wide level. As I stepped out on this journey a year or so ago, I began by noticing what teachers in my district were already doing–without any knowledge that their practices already aligned with UDL. This was great news because as I work to bring UDL to my district more formally, the transition will be a very smooth one for so many teachers. And it doesn’t hurt that UDL aligns with the Common Core standards that are on everybody’s minds.

Here’s some examples of UDL-compatible practices — things I do and see as I teach alongside my colleagues:

Multiple Means of Representation:

• Homework is written on the board for students to copy into their agenda
• Homework is posted on a class website for all to access
• Directions for class work are visually displayed to supplement the auditory modality
• Graphic organizers are used routinely
• Aim and lesson objectivesare posted on the board
• Outlines of class notes are provided to guide understanding of key ideas
• We use clear language and repeat key words and ideas
• We use document cameras and interactive whiteboard slides to model thinking and key concepts

Multiple Means of Engagement

• Students repeat directions following teacher explanations
• We have open class discussions, and students add their thinking to the thinking of others
• We include cooperative learning activities, such as think-pair-share, and jigsaw
• We allow options of working with peers or working solo
• We have individual dry erase boards to record and display thinking and responses to questions
• Strategies such as Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) are used to guide comprehension
• During shared reading, all students can follow along with individual copies of the text as the teacher reads aloud

Multiple Means of Expression

• We do quick-writes
• We use dry erase boards as response cards
• We provide visual and auditory feedback
• Students complete graphic organizers
• They sketch/write/speak to express their understanding
• We allow use of spell-check, dictionaries, thesaurus
• Students discuss thinking with a partner before responding
• We use checklist/outlines/organizers to check off steps toward task completion

Clearly the ideas I’ve expressed so far are all examples of low-tech, multiple means to guide students to comprehend content at deeper levels. In an upcoming post I will outline how the framework of UDL aligns naturally with the reading and writing Common Core anchor standards in my inclusion English class.

As you will see, it is truly amazing how UDL, natural teaching common sense, and the Common Core blend so seamlessly together. It’s all about making the curriculum accessible to everyone. And isn’t that what we all should be about?

Give your teaching a closer look. What UDL strategies are you providing? What UDL strategies would you like to provide?

UDL Graphic: Palm Beach Schools

by Elizabeth Stein

High stakes testing season is upon us. One purpose of testing, we’re told, is to assess what students know and to guide them to be ready for their future.

Students with disabilities are provided support through individualized testing accommodations that ensure that their disability does not interfere with their ability to access the information and to express what they know. The idea is to make the general education curriculum and assessment procedures accessible to all students.

Makes sense, right? But it’s not that simple. Accommodations are only truly supportive if the curriculum and instruction that came before the assessment was accessible to these students in the first place. That means high quality teaching that guides students with disabilities to build their knowledge base and readiness skills.

The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) has released a draft accommodations manual that provides the types of accommodations that may be applied to support students with disabilities and English-language learners to express their knowledge and skills during the administration of the high stakes tests now being developed around the Common Core standards.

To begin development on the Manual, PARCC carefully analyzed the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the claims on the PARCC Performance-Based and End-of-Year assessment components in both mathematics and English language arts/literacy, conducted a policy scan on currently available accommodations across all PARCC states, and synthesized the most current research on accommodations for SWD and ELs. – from the PARCC Frequently Asked Questions document.

PARCC seeks public feedback by providing a forum for people to review the documents and comment. (All comments must be submitted by May 13, 2013.) A final draft will be created in June.

Some acceptable accommodations highlighted in the draft

PARCC identifies five categories related to “equitable access”:

1. Presentation. Any changes in the formatting of the test or the test questions. For example, the use of Braille or sign language.

2. Response. Any changes in the method that the student responds to the questions.  This may include use of a scribe.

3. Timing and Scheduling. Includes allowing students to have more time to complete the test, allowing breaks.

4. Setting. Includes taking the test in a location with minimal distractions, a separate location, and/or smaller group size.

5. Expanded access. Includes additional accommodations for a small number of students who meet certain criteria to require additional support in the areas of reading, writing, and calculating.

The PARCC draft also includes a number of universal design for learning features that expand accessibility for all students either by a student’s choice or at the discretion of school personnel. For example, computerized pop-up glossaries, spell-checkers, or magnification of text will be available. Check out the draft manual to see the full extent of accommodations.

As long as the accommodations do not interfere with the skills being assessed, then the accommodations will be allowed. But I can’t stop thinking about my original question: What are we really accommodating? If the goal is to assess how well students are mastering the Common Core, then let’s take a look at what this means for instruction.

No meaningful accommodation without meaningful instruction

Remember, test accommodations are only supportive if the instruction that leads up to the assessment is also accessible. Otherwise, what happens is this…

• Students never really read the passages because they do not have the strategies, the decoding skills, fluency skills, comprehension skills, or the stamina to get through the reading meaningfully.

• Students just answer the questions to answer the questions. Frequently they do this haphazardly, randomly, and as quickly as they can because they just want to be done.

• Students get discouraged during the test because they do not know how to apply their background knowledge base — and often times, this base is too limited to apply independently.

So in these cases, I ask you…what do the extra time or separate setting provisions really accommodate? In some cases it just gives students extra time to struggle. Extra time to feel frustrated. Extra time to feel anxious, tense, and eventually apathetic.

Basically, no matter how much we accommodate to make these tests accessible, classroom instruction must be clear, consistent, and accommodating each day. The Common Core curriculum must be accessible to students with disabilities and English language learners daily in order for the testing accommodations to serve their true purpose during annual testing season.

What is “High Quality Instruction”?

For starters, watch this four minute video, UDL At a Glance, to give you the basis for what Universal Design for Learning is all about. Next, you should explore The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). It is a nonprofit educational research and development organization that works to make learning accessible for all students through Universal Design for Learning.

CAST has clearly defined the principles and practices of UDL, which support instruction and assessments. Adopting a UDL mindset within our inclusion classrooms can definitely provide some answers to pressing questions about how all teachers can make daily instruction accessible. Why wait for the test?! It’s all about three things: providing (1) multiple means of representation, (2) multiple means of engagement, and (3) multiple means of expression to expand learning opportunities for all students.

I’m on a mission to bring this UDL mindset to the teams of teachers I work with — and to help create a district-wide framework to make daily instruction accessible for all students in inclusive settings. I’ve taken some small steps this year, and I’m excited for the steps ahead!  More on that another time…

PARCC still seeks feedback

So when we think about the testing accommodations, clearly we must consider daily instruction. How are these students gaining access to Common Core-related instruction each day so that the testing accommodations are meaningful for them?

There’s still a little time on our side. PARCC is inviting the public’s feedback on their accommodations draft. CAST has already responded and their valued opinion can be seen here for writing accommodations and here for their response to reading accommodations.

Remember — you have until May 13, 2013 to add your voice–just click here.

And when you think about how to kick up instruction to help students with disabilities and English language learners access the Common Core through high quality daily instruction–comment on this blog and keep our discussion going. We have so much to learn from  each other!

by Laurie Wasserman

In several of my blog posts at Two Teachers in the Room, I’ve made reference to my history teammate Pauline Walker, whom I’ve co-taught with for many years (since our middle school opened in 2001, in fact). She has been teaching longer than any other colleague I know, and still has her passion and excitement for working with kids as she approaches her ninth decade of life!

Recently I interviewed Pauline about a teaching career that (so far) has seen an amazing 54 First Days of School.

When did you first know you wanted to become a teacher?

That’s a funny thing. Originally, I wanted to be a professional musician — I played the clarinet and the alto clarinet — but my mother didn’t want to sanction me to a career in music.

 I’d always been involved with children: I was a playground instructor and then a playground supervisor, and teaching was my second career choice.

My mother grew up during The Great Depression and never got over it. She wouldn’t pay for college if I studied music. I was so mad because back then she sent my two younger brothers to Boston University and Boston College, because ‘you educated the boys first,’ even though I was the oldest.

She felt I would just get married, have children and it would have been all thrown away. I was so angry I paid for college myself. I used my savings from being a playground instructor to attend the old Boston Teacher College and prepare for a life-long career.

You began teaching in the Eisenhower Administration! What was your first teaching job?

My first teaching job was teaching 3^rd grade. I did that for 11 years, until I left for two years to be home with my two children (one of whom is now a professional musician, ironically).

Teaching with Pauline. I’m wearing a hat for a fundraiser; the mask on the board is a former student’s project. We often use a microphone so students with hearing loss can hear better through our FM system.

Kids are more sophisticated and knowledgeable today. When I first starting teaching kids, the emphasis was on reading. Now they have more toys and technology —  cellphones, computers, video games — and the world is a very different place.

The kids today want to be treated like adults. I tell them, ‘I will treat you like an adult but you must act like one.’ For example, I teach them about Ancient Greece with statues of nude people. I tell them they can’t laugh and smirk; they need to act maturely.

Today you have to go with the times. Young people back  then didn’t have the problems they do today: home life difficulties, drugs, alcohol, and just this week, the tragic situation at The Boston Marathon.

You have been a teacher for an amazing 54 years. Please share what has been your most memorable moment as a teacher.

There have been many…I was an elementary 5^th grade teacher, and I had a student, Emily Mann, who wanted to be a writer. I always found a way to focus on what my students did best, and encouraged them to find an area to be successful. She wrote about me in her letter of admission to college; she wrote about me as her inspiration. I then received an award because of her letter, in “Who’s Who Among American Teachers.” I had another student, Christine Yiannacropolis, who became a teacher, because (she told me)”You told us we were going to learn, whether we wanted to be successful or not.” I still run into her at the supermarket, and she’s still teaching, too.

Where have you taught? What schools, grades, and subjects?

I’ve always taught in the same community where I grew up and still live. When I returned to teaching from having my two children, my principals always wanted me to move up (to teach upper grades because I could manage the behavior) but I loved grade 3. I taught combined Gr. 2 & 3, 3 & 4, 4^th grade, 5^th grade and 4 & 5. I then became a self-contained 6^th grade teacher (teaching all subjects) and then we moved into a junior high school, which later became a middle school. Since it became a middle school, I’ve taught Ancient World History.

Pauline displays students’ projects on The Trojan Horse, an artifact from a previous student project years ago. Pauline provides many opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject: maps done in groups; portfolios of classwork, open notebook/binder tests; Greek vases; weekly trivia questions; film notes. She uses many ways to assess students’ understanding. They present their projects, sharing facts about it and how they constructed it.

You are a Social Studies teacher, or as you like to say, “Ancient World History.” Why this particular subject?

I was also inspired by a teacher. I found my niche teaching about ancient civilizations due to a teacher I had in 8^th grade, Ms. Brown. She was super, and I really enjoyed the subject because of her and developed a passion for it.

I started teaching with another teacher about 20 years ago. It’s difficult when one person doesn’t want to share in the responsibility of “the kids come first.” It works if you like each other and share the same philosophy. It’s really as simple as that.

You could have retired long ago. Why are you still teaching today?

I still like it because of the subject I teach.

I smiled when I heard this answer. What Pauline didn’t say but what she demonstrates on a regular basis is how much she enjoys teaching and working with young adolescents. Kids and adults continue to come back and visit her year after year, and she remembers their names, their families, where they attended college, what professions they chose, and often a funny anecdote about when they were her student. She has often shared with me her core attitude about the students she teaches during those times when we have co-taught kids with significant challenges: “I teach who is in front of me.”

With all of your vast experience as a veteran teacher, what advice would you give someone just starting in teaching?

Teaching today is more difficult than it appears. Make sure you really want to do this.

by Elizabeth Stein

In my last post I discussed the power of high expectations as a means of closing the achievement gap for students with disabilities. The systematic view of closing the gap as a multi-layered approach was my focus. It seems so clear that supporting students on a personal, classroom, and school-wide level all have a key role in guiding all students to achieve to the best of their abilities. My colleague and assistant principal Paul McNeil joined in to share some of his thoughts about school-wide supports.

In this post, I’ve included the rest of my discussion with Paul — and I’ve also gathered some comments about high expectations from a volunteer sample of 7th grade students with a range of abilities and backgrounds. Some are classified with a learning disability–others are not. What I found, very clearly, is that all students have a firm opinion when it comes to how they learn best. Educators can learn so much when we just listen to what they have to say.

I got right to the point with this one question for the 7th graders:

Q: Do you like it when teachers have high expectations?

“I do not like it because then they expect us to be amazing at hard things that we don’t get.”

“I like it because without the challenge, school can get boring.”

“Most teachers will explain things so that we can meet the expectations, but sometimes it feels like they tell us what we have to know and then they move on to something else before we really get to understand the first thing. That makes it tough sometimes. Kids are always going to extra help and we don’t have a lot of time to just sit and eat lunch with our friends.”

“I like lower expectations better because it is easier to get better grades, and if you forget to do your homework, your teacher won’t freak out.”

“It really depends. It can be good because if you’re being challenged, you might do better. But it puts you in a lot of pressure. And if you don’t like pressure, a teacher with high expectations can be horrible.”

“I think the teacher has to take in mind the learning skills of the individual students, and then base the expectations on that. Obviously all kids aren’t going to do as well as other kids. Like if a student has trouble writing essays, the teacher can’t just ignore it and then expect the kid to get a high perfect score like other kids. The teacher has to make sure that the student gets the help he needs before the teacher has those high expectations.”

“If teachers have low expectations, it might make kids lose their own belief in themselves, and then they think they can’t do something. Some teachers share their spirit for teaching, and that gives kids the belief and spirit in themselves to know they can do something. I like when teachers have high expectations, but slow it down, so I can learn to do the hard things. If they go too fast, what’s the point?”

“I kind of like it, but it gets frustrating. It’s not just the teachers, it’s the New York State. They change the curriculum and act like we are amazingly Brilliant. They think that it’s so easy, but it’s not. High expectations are good, so people will try, but sometimes it’s too much.”

“As a straight A student, people have high expectations for me, and they expect me to be perfect all the time. I take it as a challenge to make me present better work. In order to meet the high expectations, I have to work extra hard. It takes me hours to do my homework. I try my hardest. I like knowing that people think I am really smart, but it is a lot of work. Other times it can be annoying. After getting back a graded assignment, kids ask me to tell them what grade I got. If I get anything less than 100, they hit me with sayings like, “you stink, that’s terrible for you, your mom is going to be so mad.” It’s annoying to deal with that. And other times it is stressful because it’s not always easy to get the highest grades. Kids also always ask me to help them with their work. Sometimes it’s hard for me to get my own work done. I’m OK with teachers having high expectations for me, but it can be annoying and stressful when kids in my classes have high expectations for me.”

These students sure know where things are at! What’s the takeaway here for you?

My Chat with Paul, Part 2: Creating a Positive School Culture

My recent discussion with my colleague Paul McNeil, assistant principal at Nesaquake Middle School, continued around what we do at the school-wide level to help students to embrace the power of high expectations.

In addition to our “Respect All” mindset (shared in my last post), we talked about other ways our school embraces a positive school culture.

Paul: Our most recent “ALL IN” assembly presented by Gian Paul Gonzalez became “All In Nesaquake.” It started as an assembly organized by our PTA, and it served to support the message we have that respecting ourselves and others is not a “one and done” kind of thing. After the assembly, teachers took it further. With the help of the PTA, they organized the creation of “All In Nesaquake” t-shirts. It contributes to a positive school culture and school spirit.

(For some background on the ALL IN idea, check out this ESPN video clip. Motivational speaker Gian Paul Gonzalez is a ninth grade teacher in New Jersey who takes his motivational message to schools to inspire students to always put in their absolute best effort in all they do. Deciding what’s good enough and important enough to be ALL IN for is powerfully inspiring. It will make you want to get poker chips for you and your students, put your name on a chip and leave it on your desk for your students to see. That’s where mine is!)

And speaking of PTA and parent engagement…

Paul: Parents are an important factor in the mix of guiding student achievement. We have supports for parents as we evolve to the Common Core. It would be great if parents could spend a half-hour each night to support the homework process. They should make sure that the homework is getting done and that it’s accurate. Parents should be encouraging cultural values, as well as making sure their kids are reading. When they go on vacations, they could make sure to include stops at historical sites to tie in what their kids are learning at school. Parents should share their resources. Getting parents on board is very important in setting positive expectations.

One final question…

Elizabeth: What do you wish could be added as we think about ways to support higher expectations at a school-wide level?

Paul: I would like to include a middle school advisory program. We would steal a little bit of time, about a ten to fifteen minute window, where students share time speaking with an advisor. This would be students in small groups with one advisor. This would be a time where students bring up a difficult time they are having or anything that is on their minds. It would be a great enhancement to our cultural arts and character education programs. The advisors would not just take attendance and stare at each other, leading to this white noise, but rather they would have real conversations. The advisor would lead the conversations from the philosophy of Project Wisdom. It would provide consistent support for all students.

(Here’s a good resource about advisories, reviewed at MiddleWeb.)

Thanks to Paul for inspiring the topic for these posts. These are important discussions that need to happen among teachers, administrators, and students in order for us to meet the needs of all our kids.

What’s happening in your classrooms and schools? How do you translate your conversations into actions?

by Laurie Wasserman

Like many other teachers in the U.S., we have our high-stakes testing season in the spring. Our school has just finished its first round of standardized testing. Our students in Massachusetts are tested (on the MCAS) in literature, reading and writing skills in March, and in Science and Math in May. So, how do we get our students ready? What are some of the strategies we use in the classroom, and what does our school do as a community?

Practice in Responding to Test Prompts

In English Language Arts, one of the biggest challenges for students is how to answer  the “open response” questions, which usually require reading a prompt and responding to it using details from a passage. My ELA teaching partner, Paul, uses  our state’s Department of Education website to show students examples of student work and how it is scored from previous years.

We then practice reading passages and responding to prompts. We have students read one another’s responses and determine how they would score them, while offering suggestions and pointers.  We also use class time to read and break down the passages, explaining the glossary at the bottom of the pages and identifying vocabulary words that may be unfamiliar and their meanings. We review about “boldfaced words” and what that means, as well as how to turn a question into a sentence.

We use poetry as well as literature, because our students have difficulty summarizing and understanding poetic devices. We tie this into our poetry unit in which kids recite poetry of their choice, as well as our annual song and poetry project, in which they pick a song of their choice, and analyze the lyrics for examples of similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, hyperbole and alliteration.

Paul has several practice sheets for the kids (see his webpage.) In addition, Paul has the kids analyze specific stanzas (he uses Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven), then has the kids draw what their stanza means, and even throws in a little animated humor: he shows The Simpson’s Halloween (The Raven).

In Mathematics, my co-teaching colleague Aileen uses several methods to help kids get ready for our state’s test:

• Our Daily Do-Nows have Math MCAS Release Questions from previous years. Our students work on a released item at the beginning of class while one of us checks homework. The other teacher clarifies the question if needed, and scaffolds: “What is the question asking me to do?” We then have students volunteer to share their responses at the board, show their work, and explain their solution strategies.

• Aileen plays a game throughout the year using Study Island in which the kids answer questions in teams of four using whiteboards. The Study Island questions are multiple-choice questions similar to what our students will be doing on their math test. She then breaks the question down and explains how to use strategies such as process of elimination and determining which answers make the most sense.

• Aileen also uses her double block (one additional class of 46 minutes per section each week) to review additional math standards, while providing practice on learning algorithms and solving problems.

• She sends home MCAS packets for practice as part of their regular homework, which we then review in class, emphasizing problem solving and answering open response questions (the infamous show or explain your work.)

• Our state allows special needs students to utilize a math reference sheet, which must be approved prior to the testing. These are specific step-by-step methods Aileen uses on a day-to-day basis that provide support for students who have working memory disabilities, who struggle with remembering algorithms, etc. No numbers are allowed on these sheets, and there are specific page lengths, formats, etc., but it is one more tool to help our students who struggle on tests of any kind. We use these sheets throughout the year, and I review how to use them during our academic support class.

Getting Our Whole School Involved

In addition to our grade level team’s teaching approach, our students have a Math Lab class for additional Study Island practice and instruction. Our principal Paul has all of our students take a math assessment both in the fall and later in the spring and placed in a small group RTI class each week on our team to determine which students are struggling the most and would benefit from Math Lab intervention at their level.  Harlan, our math lab teacher, also gives our academic support class students time to work in his room when he isn’t teaching. He is a math specialist working with all three middle school grades.

We have a reading specialist, Patrice, who tests students we believe are struggling in reading comprehension. These students may or may not be in special education, but are having some difficulty understanding novels, handouts, textbooks, etc. She keeps copies of all of our teachers’ texts in her classroom, and works with small groups twice a week to help students learn how to grasp the information in their texts, strengthens their knowledge of vocabulary, and also has her room set up with comfortable cushions and rugs so they may do some reading for pleasure.

Accommodations and Modifications

All of our students on IEPs have accommodations for standardized testing, which we utilize throughout the year on tests and quizzes. If students use these accommodations on a regular basis, they are allowable during MCAS (e.g., scribing, use of a computer, clarification of directions, graphic organizers, math reference sheet, etc.)

In addition we have students on 504s who take tests in a small group due to a diagnosis of ADD, test anxiety, etc. Each of these students is matched up with a special proctor during testing. Prior to MCAS, each of the special education teachers provides our principal Paul with a completed form with all of the accommodations checked off from individual students’ current IEPs. We then print out a guide sheet for each proctor with the various accommodations highlighted. The proctors are given a special folder with these accommodations included along with their manual, student test booklets and answer sheets.

Paul also sends out  an e-mail with an Excel Spreadsheet listing each student who has a special proctor, the location of their testing room, and who the special education teacher liaison is. I talk with all of my students prior to test and explain who they will be with, give them a pep talk,  remind them that they have until the end of the day if they need it, and to use all of their accommodations if they need them.

The Kick-Off

The two days prior to our school’s first MCAS test, Paul has a grade by grade Kick-Off Assembly. He has a powerpoint that explains the kids’ responsibilities (taking the test seriously, being in school and not being tardy, getting a good night’s rest, eating a good breakfast, etc.). In addition, he reviews some important pointers: boldfaced words mean to pay attention, this is important; answer each open response question completely; take your time, etc.

In addition, the kids are all given a copy of the MCAS schedule for their home refrigerators, and we as a team have a breakfast in homeroom each morning of the test. We also tell our student to bring hard candy if they need it, and to wear comfortable clothing.

The Kick-Off concludes with the students signing an agreement and passing it in. It is a letter from the State Department of Education that Paul has reformatted onto our school’s letterhead. A copy of the letter in its entirety is on page 122 of the principal’s test administration manual. The students then print their name, sign it and date it. A copy of this letter is kept in our their files for 3 years.

“Let’s Beat 240!”

This year’s Kick-Off concluded with a wonderful “motivational” video our National Junior Honor Society adivisor, Narineh, created with help from her students and our faculty. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoying doing it. (That’s me in the dark sunglasses with my History teaching partner, Pauline.)

Best of luck to you and your students on your school’s standardized testing, now or in the future!

by Elizabeth Stein

There are many variables reported to contribute to the achievement gap. Race, cultural differences, poverty, school structures, family structures, and inequitable funding are all in the mix of conversations that place blame on why some students are academically behind where they should be.

In this post (and another post to follow in two weeks) I want to examine yet another often-discussed variable: students with disabilities. What can be done to help these students close the academic gap between themselves and their non-disabled peers?

I believe there are some very basic, yet critical, steps administrators and teachers can take to help all students blend their personal best with success — beginning by tapping into the power of high expectations. If we are able to take these steps, then along the way we very well may see the gap close over time.

What can we expect?

When speaking about the academic performance gap of students with disabilities, too often we hear, “Well, what do you expect?” I say we can expect a lot. And that is worth repeating (while I stand very tall on my soapbox!). We. can. expect. a lot. When high expectations are set, encouraged, and supported appropriately, our students with learning disabilities can rise to the greater challenge.

Paul McNeil

Let me introduce you to the education colleague who inspired my topic this week. Paul McNeil is the Assistant Principal at the middle school where I work. One of our recent conversations was followed up by an email message he sent asking me to share some strategies for closing the achievement gap. Little did he know what he was getting himself into! After our meeting, I left bouncing off the walls with excitement. These are the things I think about on a daily basis. You don’t have to ask me twice!

Speaking with Paul is like professional development at its best. You get collegial, informative, supportive, and transformative thinking all at once. That kind of collegiality is something I do not take for granted, and I am thankful that he eagerly agreed to add his voice to this post.

Before becoming an Assistant Principal in 2007, Paul was a social studies teacher in the Smithtown Schools for seven years. During that time, he also served as a co-teacher, which only adds to the value of his perspective here. Before speaking with Paul, I outlined my ideas for what I think needs to happen in order to close the achievement gap for students with disabilities. I placed my thinking sequentially within three levels:

Closing The Achievement Gap at the Student’s Personal Level

• We must make sure that students’ IEPs are written with meaningful individualized goals that state clear objectives, aligned with the common core, and are consistently monitored.

• We must power each student up with specific strategies that meet his learning needs, and provide the opportunities for these students to make these strategies their own.

• We must empower each student to use his strengths to build upon his areas of need. And along this empowering process, students realize that they can compensate for their learning needs to meet high expectations.

• We must recognize the courage it takes for them to be who they are. We must understand that their needs are diverse, but know that they are capable.

• We must, without fail, make them part of the whole. Include them in discussions. Include them in activities. Include them in the mindset that we are a community of learners who come together individually to make up the whole. And each individual is a valued necessity to the equation.

Closing the Achievement Gap at the Classroom Level

• Teachers must establish ambitious goals and learning objectives for students that guide each student’s mindset that he can achieve at his personal best. When these high expectations are coupled with the students’ knowledge that we believe in them, they so often rise to the challenge.

• Teachers must be deliberate in their instruction and their assessment in ways that make the learning process meaningful, while guiding the students to self-regulate their learning success and needs.

• Teachers must realize that the instructional process must be sensitive to the needs of the variety of learning differences in the classroom. That means focusing on the strategies that will work best for a particular group of students, which means that teachers who teach the same lesson for five periods of a secondary school day, well, you will have to rethink the way you do it in the inclusion classroom. Differentiation must happen in order to make true learning happen.

• Bottom line: Teachers in classrooms must break down all barriers to learning, so that all students can have access to the content and opportunity to meet high expectations.

Closing the Achievement Gap at the School Level

Here’s where my conversation with Paul began. I structured our discussion around some key questions, which served to drive our conversation forward. Our discussion was a relaxed exchange, as I typed key words and phrases from Paul’s ideas, which are paraphrased below. For purposes of this post, I’ll share our discussion in this Q & A format.

Elizabeth: What do high expectations look like at a school-wide level?

Paul: It is really like treating it like a classroom. We establish high expectations through our code of conduct and a variety of building-wide programs.

For example, we have a “Respect all” philosophy that stems from an anti-bullying mindset. It’s purpose is to really evoke emotions. It’s really a public service announcement from international perspectives.

On a smaller scale we bring that into our school and with the work of our grade level teams, it allows for intimacy. We have visual reminders throughout the building, and each teacher carries the message of “Respect all” into the classrooms–turning around a win-win situation.

Our Caught Being Kind program was an outcropping of the Random Acts of Kindness week. Teachers report particular students for performing acts of kindness on any given day. It creates a positive middle school mindset. It could be something as simple as holding the door for someone. It is anything a student does that goes above and beyond, such as making sure a friend gets the notes from class.

The student gets a phone call home and a pencil, and he becomes motivated to continue performing kind acts. The basic process is the same as a disciplinary action, but it’s interesting because the amount of referrals for disciplinary action is significantly less than those who are referred with good news.

It’s also good for the teacher; it is something that is quick and easy, but it benefits the culture of the school. A credit goes to the counselors and everyone who contributes to creating this culture.

Teachers really need to be honest with themselves to make sure that they hold all students up to high expectations.” ~ Paul McNeil

Elizabeth: When students with disabilities feel accepted and well-supported, it is much more likely that they will achieve. What are some things teachers and administrators can do to create a culture of sensitivity, acceptance, and tolerance in order to embrace the abilities of diverse learners?

Paul: It becomes a delicate dance. Teachers really need to be honest with themselves to make sure that they hold all students up to high expectations. Sometimes teachers may have unintentional biases, and if that is the case, they are just as much the problem because they are naturally, but unintentionally, linking up students with certain expectations. Teachers need to ask themselves, “How am I interacting with my students?” Teachers also need to ask, “What am I doing to possibly alienate some students? What can I do to help all students feel accepted and not alienated.” Teachers need to step back and look at each student’s level of success and decide whether they are doing all they can to help the student achieve all he or she can achieve.

Peer tutoring is a school-wide program that works. It is a natural link to bringing all students together. It is not just a social advantage, but the students really work hard academically as well. For example, we have honor roll students tutoring students who struggle academically, and many times you don’t even know who is the tutor and who is the tutee. In many cases, these students work side by side to figure out the work together. It really serves to build confidence on both sides.

Elizabeth: What are your closing thoughts at this point?

Paul: There is not an easy answer to closing the achievement gap. It is not something that will be accomplished overnight. It takes a team approach, and it takes time and patience.

Elizabeth: Thanks to Paul for sharing his initial thoughts. In my next post, I’ll have more from my chat with Paul, including his perspective on parent input and his “wish list” of ideas about ways to bring about more positive results more consistently. And get ready to hear from some students about their ideas on the power of high expectations.

So, what’s happening in your classrooms and schools to help to close the achievement gap for students with disabilities? What conversations are you having with colleagues in efforts to close the gap?

by Laurie Wasserman

At the beginning of the school year, I approached my principals Paul and Miriam and asked if I could have a homeroom. A teammate had been ill the previous year, and I thought it might make the transition back to school easier for her. She wouldn’t need to deal with all of the paperwork (report cards, schedules, daily attendance, passing out fundraising handouts, etc.).

I had been a homeroom teacher years ago when our school was first built, and I loved the connectedness with a variety of kids that I wouldn’t normally work with. (I had a specific group of students on IEPs in my self-contained classes.)

The principals both liked the idea and also gave homerooms to some of the other teachers who hadn’t been homeroom teachers in a while. I have 23 students in my homeroom, including five kids on IEPs who are in inclusion classrooms with me, and one who is in a self-contained classroom with another special education teacher.

For those of you who are currently homeroom teachers, or have been in the past, you know that having a homeroom can be a lot of work and responsibility: taking attendance each day, collecting signed report cards and quarterly mid-term reports, making sure students listen to the morning announcements, etc. But here’s what I love: having a homeroom can also be an opportunity to bond with kids you might not normally see during the day, a chance to make connections with students in a less formal situation.

A homeroom community

I decided that as a homeroom teacher this year, my first goal for the kids and for me would be to Create A Community. On our first day together — one of the most important, stressful and exciting days for kids (and for us!) — I began to establish routines, provide emotional support (I teach 6^th grade so this is the huge transition year from elementary school), teach the kids how to do a combination lock, understand their schedules, review our school’s rules and policies in the student handbook, make sure we all know where the restrooms are located and how to find other classes.

I wanted to inspire my students on that first day and took a fantastic idea from my dear friend Cindi Rigsbee, a North Carolina Teacher of the Year and author of Finding Mrs. Warnecke. Cindi, a middle school teacher herself, played the song Unwritten by Natasha Beddingfield for her new students.

Live your life with arms wide open
Today is, where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

I decided to dedicate the song to them, my homeroom students, to have a wonderful first day of middle school. As they exited our classroom, I had a brainstorm: what if every week I dedicated a song to them a la Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 Long Distance Dedications? (If you happen to be a baby boomer, you probably remember listening on Sunday mornings).

The following week was It’s Always a Good Time by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen. I thought that could be our homeroom theme song (I explained what a theme song was since some of them didn’t know!). Then, the best thing happened – my students asked me if they could choose the dedication song each week. How cool are my homeroom students?!

Sometimes the songs are typical sweet and goofy kid songs taken from the radio, and sometimes the songs make me cry: Brittany Nicole’s Gold, for example. I wrote the words on the board: ”You’re worth more than gold.” I’m really, really lucky this year: our district doesn’t block YouTube and I have an LCD projector, so we watch a video of the latest selection together as they get ready for their week.

These are some of my homeroom students during Patriots’ Day when our state’s football team was in the championships. Our school encouraged all the kids to dress up to show their support.

What I’ve learned from my homeroom

When we have time on Monday afternoons and Friday mornings, I let the students share. On Fridays we talk about our plans for the weekend or the upcoming holidays, vacation. On Mondays, we find out how were their weekends, the school dance Friday night, etc. Sometimes we just talk.

I learn so much from these kids. One day I asked them to raise their hands if they spoke another language besides English at home. Three-fourths of them raised their hands. This segued into talk of their family’s heritage, culture, whether they could remember their homelands and missed them. Me, learning about them as people, individuals. One student, Anthony, shared about his dad’s Middle Eastern restaurant being awarded 3 and l/2 stars for their food. I got very excited! Do they make falafel and hummus? Of course! Anthony helps out after school, and the next day a package was on my desk with, you guessed it, the best falafel and tahini sauce I’ve ever had.

When my students share their songs, sometimes I learn about the latest trends, what’s popular with kids (I don’t have kids myself, except my three fur-kids). Valuable information for a middle school teacher. My students taught me about Gangnam Style and actually taught me the dance. In this blurry picture (I’m moving fast!), I’m wearing my Christmas Tree hat and ornament sweater before our break for the winter holidays.

My awesome student assistants

As homeroom teachers know, there’s a long checklist to accomplish each morning: take attendance, collect fundraiser money, keep track of field trip permission slips, answer the classroom telephone (my phone rings A LOT!), check off signed report cards, and so forth.

I soon realized my students could help me and become my assistants! I have a long table with bar type chairs that I bought (as a floor model) at the local Mill Store. My attendance assistants have a list of everyone in our homeroom and check off the names of kids for me who are absent or present. I then take this list and enter it into our electronic attendance program. It saves me a lot of time in the morning, because the kids can tell me orally who is absent. I have two students who do this, and a third is the back up if one of them is absent.

It’s a big deal to sit at the front table in those big chairs. If you have enough responsible kids you can rotate this job and have the experienced assistants train the newbies (make sure you handpick responsible kids!).

For other kids who want to be assistants I’ve come up with the rotating job of answering the phone: “Ms. Wasserman’s room, may I help you?” and taking a message if I am assisting a student or otherwise involved. (I keep a magnetic mini white board and marker next to the phone for this purpose).

I also have handout assistants who pass out all the fundraiser forms, field trip permission slips, picture forms, etc. It saves me time at the end of the day. The kids sign up on my classroom calendar for each month, and we keep a list for the current month on our board. They even come up with jobs for themselves: date changer, weekly dedication song list writer, “reminder” (reminding kids to put up chairs, etc.), and substitute coordinator (helping the substitute when I’m absent and sharing what happened when I return).

People tell me having a homeroom is a lot of work, but you know what? It really isn’t if you give kids the responsibilities of helping you, which gives you time to have a little fun.

by Elizabeth Stein

Here’s a question that comes to my mind each day as I teach in my inclusion classes: How can we spark our students’ curiosity enough to encourage them to be active listeners, eager participators, and interested learners throughout the forty-one minutes of class time?

My focus as I strive to answer this question has two parts. The first part lies in the way we plan to teach the content. I ask, what strategies did we put in place to engage the students? The second part of my answer involves thinking about how we are going to help students to motivate themselves during the learning process?

The idea of helping students motivate themselves can become quite a heated topic among educators. In the many conversations I’ve had with colleagues over the years (both online and face to face), some feel that it’s up to the students to decide to take ownership for their learning. Others feel that the emphasis is on their teaching style and methods of delivery. They feel they need to be like an actor on stage as a way to entertain their students and (they hope) sustain their attention.

I say it’s some of both. We know that students’ attitudes toward learning play a crucial role in the results of learning. And we also know that our decisions about how to use class time — how we teach and engage — can either propel or shut down a positive learning attitude for so many students.

It’s All about Balance

I recently read Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation by Larry Ferlazzo. As I read and annotated in the margins, it was like having a wonderful collegial conversation on the importance of getting students to advocate for their own learning.

Larry reminds teachers that we must look at the big picture — we must think about “why students would want to learn what we are teaching.” In addition, we must think about “how noncognitive character traits (self-control, perseverance, etc.) influence academic achievement and what we can do to help students develop them.”

Teaching in any classroom involves getting the students to buy in to the learning process. Larry’s book is now on my must-read-again, refer-back-to, share-with-colleagues shelf. It is a book that is valuable for all teachers, yet as a special education teacher, I find additional value for co-teachers.

In an inclusion classroom, there is an additional motivation curve ball to consider. In these classes we have students with special needs being educated alongside typical learners. The two teachers in the room must reconsider the instructional methods to make sure that additional supports are strong enough to meet the needs of all students.

The idea of motivation has a different spin to it in an inclusion classroom. It is no longer just about getting kids to buy into the learning. It is about taking into consideration the specific needs of students. There’s an added factor of how are we creating the ability for students to access the curriculum? How can we guide our students with disabilities to develop self-control and perseverance?

As Richard Lavoie points out in his epic and profound F.A.T. City video, when we understand students with learning disabilities, we understand that learning is not just about motivation, but about perception.

Often, students with learning disabilities misperceive information due to their specific learning disability. In inclusion classrooms, we must make sure to support learning needs, so that these students have the opportunity to become motivated to learn.

They need the access. And we are the gatekeepers for providing that access.

How to Motivate Students?

Larry Ferlazzo’s first chapter lays the groundwork for the rest of his book. He brings in the research to support that intrinsic motivation has long term positive effects to learning. The importance of having students set goals, make choices, and participate in cooperative learning all contribute to their ability to take ownership for their learning.

As I read through Larry’s book, I made many connections to the ideas shared by Lavoie in his book, The Motivation Breakthrough. Students with disabilities are often misunderstood as not being motivated when indeed they are completely motivated. They just aren’t motivated to do the things that teachers are asking them to do.

Lavoie argues that all human behavior is driven by motivation. So the student (yes, one of mine earlier this school year) who avoided a task by making unnecessary trips to the bathroom or breaking his pencil point on purpose a million times just so he could spend his time sharpening rather than writing was quite motivated. He was motivated by channeling his energy into avoiding the writing assignment. Quite brilliant when you think about it.

Do you know any students like this? These students are using their strategic thinking—just not in the ways we’d like. Lavoie states that a student in this situation is a kid who “didn’t have lack of motivation. He had a lack of success!” His motivational energy was driven by his need to avoid the task because he didn’t have any other strategy to help him to successfully complete the task.

Again, it falls on us. What access to the curriculum are we providing for these students to guide them to persevere and have the self-control to complete academic tasks in systematic ways? Check out this video where Lavoie describes the motivation process for students with learning disabilities in more detail.

Ferlazzo’s Strategies Can Guide Teachers

Larry Ferlazzo’s book offers many valuable strategies to guide teachers to help students feel more positive about the learning process. His ideas provide the answers about how to create an environment where students take on academic tasks in systematic ways rather than avoid them.

Larry identifies five action-oriented principles that teachers should weave into their daily instruction. Each action can help students to become intrinsically motivated and cognitively supported to become successful, independent learners.

• Building a classroom community of learners
• Activating students’ background knowledge
• Encouraging student leadership through cooperative learning
• Facilitating a classroom culture where students learn by doing
• Providing ongoing opportunities where students reflect on their learning

Larry’s book is filled with lesson plans that are so easy to adapt and personalize to one’s teaching situation. It is a book that I highly recommend for all teachers. Additionally, it should be a must read for all teachers in inclusion classrooms where we are faced with students who need additional tools to become self-directed learners. This is the book to provide those tools!