A. Your role at Burke's, When did this opportunity take place? When did this opportunity take place?
As a third grade lead teacher at Burke’s, learning best practices for our Reading curriculum is vital to successful literacy instruction. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from Teachers College Reading and Writing project experts from the comfort of my home with their virtual summer workshop offering June 27-30th.
B. Summary of workshop/opportunity
The workshop started each morning with a keynote address, usually from lead author and professor Lucy Calkins. Hearing her voice directly helps bring to life the narrative script of the Reader’s Workshop curriculum guides. What struck me was Professor Calkins’ ability to be reflective and adapt her guidance from the hardships observed by educators the past two years. After Professor Calkin’s address, we would meet the majority of the day in small groups with educators from around the world led by our facilitator, a former New York Public school teacher. The first two days of the workshop focused on Fiction units of study, the final two days were geared towards nonfiction units of study. Each afternoon, there were choice workshops led by alternate facilitators who gave information on more niche aspects of reading instruction, such as including class library books that celebrate diversity.
C. Goals & Collaborations:
What were your big takeaways from your workshop or project?
I had two primary takeaways from this workshop. The first takeaway that resonated with me was to be less focused on a student's individual reading level with a book, but rather monitor their choices with “bands of text complexity”. This allows students to engage in texts with the appropriate level of rigor as well as having a wider range of books to engage with to appeal to their natural interest as a reader. My second takeaway from the workshop was the importance of independent student reading time in the reader’s workshop. I think this is especially important for the students at Burke’s since many of them have packed schedules after school. Staying diligent to brevity in my mini-lesson will allow students ample time to apply the day’s teaching point in their own practice.
How might this opportunity lead to collaboration with other faculty?
I am fortunate to have a grade level lead teacher colleague that is an alumni of Teacher’s College as well as an expert in having taken several of their workshops in the past. I now feel that I am better equipped to collaborate regarding our reading and phonics instruction for the upcoming school year. I am also eager to get the opportunity to speak with the fourth grade literacy teacher, as I attend the workshop at the same time as her, only in a different cohort. While I would recommend any Teacher’s College professional development, I would strongly recommend targeting an in person workshop, as I feel some of the experience was lost in the virtual format.