Chapter 10

"No longer will the one-day workshop with no follow-up be sufficient. Teacher development is viewed as an active process..." pg. 161

Just recently at my school we have a new reading coach/specialist. The previous reading specialist was more of the one-day workshop type of person. There was little teacher involvement and teachers were free to pretty much teach how they wanted to. With the new reading specialist, it is more of an active learning process. She acts more like a reading coach than a reading specialist. However, there has been some resistance to her methods due to the drastic differences.

"They learn the students' names and become and extra set of eyes to observe students' responses and learning in the classroom." pg. 162

Again, we have a literacy coach in our building but she is more of a person in transition. I believe that we are moving away from the role of literacy specialist to the role of a literacy coach. I think that literacy coaches should be in the classroom and should get to know the students. (All of the students!) It is important to know each child individually in order to help understand where they are coming from when you are trying to teach them. Teaching a child is about more than just the results of their assessment!

"They wanted to share their discoveries, so they developed reflective discussion groups. The teachers consider ideas from each other and begin to express their new insights." pg. 163

I think that collaboration and discussion among teachers is great! However, I am just curious where is there time in the day, week or month for one more meeting? As a permanent substitute teacher in my building, I am constantly covering for teacher meetings. I think that colloboration is wonderful but between professional development, workshops, individual meetings with coaches/administrators, all during the regular school day, how much time away from your students is too much??

"In the first year, all teachers read and discussed the book Mosaic of Thought. As the faculty read the book, they began to implement suggested practices, and their classroom language changed." pg. 165

Just this past Monday our ELA teachers meet at a professional development meeting to read and discuss this book. Many of the teachers were not entirely thrilled about it. Has anyone read it before? According to this book it seems like Mosaic would be good for all literacy professionals to read. In it, the teacher is supposed to ask more connection-like questions, which have proven to aid in comprehension. As far as I'm concerned, anything that helps a student better comprehend the text is an excellent addition to a literacy lesson.

"This ongoing form of professional development changes not only practice but also beliefs and values about literacy and literacy instruction." pg. 167

I think that this collaboration in terms of professional development helps prevent teachers from becoming stuck in their ways. I'm sure we have all observed a teacher who fails to advance their teaching methods over time, and teaches the same exact material, the same exact way year in and year out. The world of education is constantly growing and changing and we all need to keep up! This collaborative method not only helps the teachers to become the best instructors possible, but it ultimately helps the students to succeed.