Britteny Drakeford, an 8th grade ELA teacher at Saluda Trail Middle School in Rock Hill Schools, chatted with Keri Fersner about how a workshop model has helped her personalize instruction for her students. Read on to see what Britteny shared about the effects of the workshop model on student ownership and engagement in her classroom.
What does your workshop model look like in your classroom, especially since we are in a different space with COVID now, and we are back in person with social distancing? How has this season of social distancing changed your educational practice?
I do a mini lesson and then my kids can get up and do something. I notice a difference in them when we use this model. It’s like they can take the content in with that format. We have to figure out ways to get them up and moving, which means they are more engaged.
We’ve been hybrid, so a small group on A day and a small group on B day. We have dividers in our room so moving the desks doesn’t happen anymore like I used to pre-COVID. But in my PLC, we brainstormed ideas to still have them move, to still do stations. So ideas like putting stations actually on the dividers and then having them spaced. We did a gallery walk in the hall, put up what they needed and then spaced them out. It’s all about being creative and coming up with ways that you can still do workshop model without them having to sit the entire time. So that’s changed, the way they interact with the stations, but COVID hasn’t changed my philosophy of teaching. I’m always thinking of ways to engage them differently, or trying to think of ways to solve problems or issues.
In our workshop model, the teachers are out in the field with them, making mistakes with them.
Tell us more about how tracking data looks like in your context.
One of our goals as a grade level team was that our kids knew what was going on so they had ownership. And that was something our 8th grade needed: that competency going into high school of being able to self-manage and self-regulate. So a group of teachers this summer created an e-notebook, which houses learners’ MAP data, goals, and what skills they are strong in and what they still need help in. It also houses test data for all the content areas, so they can see which skill they mastered in each area.
So in our class, we had some conversations around MAP data. We sit and talk to each student and each conference takes 6 minutes. They discuss their fall score and their spring goal, what they can work on and where they improved. We discuss their IXL plans, and we select skills because it relates to the skills where they need to improve.
So students have a better understanding of where they are and you all have crafted resources to help support that. How have your students responded to that?
I was talking to one student in a conference and she was saying that she was surprised that language was her strongest skill in her MAP data. English isn't her first language, so sign language is her first language. I told her, yes it is because you are using more than one language all the time. Vocabulary was one of her highest areas too. So giving them the opportunity to look and see what they are good at, (or where they need work) having that conversation is so much better than just handing them a paper. But even if they don’t improve, we have that connection from the conversation.
At the middle school level, was goal setting and conferring hard for you to implement?
I think what made it easier was intentionally planning the gradual release in my day. It had to be a part of my plan, and a part of my daily agenda on the board every day. I had to be intentional with my time, and with less learners in the class each day with hybrid, it made it easier. But I had to intentionally plan for it, telling them this is what we are doing today. During bellwork, I’m going to meet with you about your MPA goal, then we do the mini lesson, then independent work starts, and then I meet with more learners. Even now, we meet together to make those plans. So I'm thinking about them crafting their own plans next semester. They’re working on being able to do that. My next step is to help them do that with my support and we figure it out together now. The next step is I have to figure out what I need. Because in high school, they have to figure out what they need. It’s trying to teach them how to advocate for themselves.
How do you get your students excited about reading and writing in this age of technology and make it personal?
I think making it a priority was key. We do independent reading every day. No technology, you have a book. I need at least 15 min of no screen time, even for reading. It is the first thing they do when they enter my classroom and they have a choice when they are reading. Our library delivers books to them. My district does a 10 book challenge and we can see where other 8th grade classes are. I know when they get to 8th grade, they don't want to read. But it is a priority.
Writing is still challenging with them in giving them a writing choice. I do writing workshop where they write in Google docs and I make suggestions on those documents so they can see the trend of potential mistakes they make when they write. So, in suggestion mode, they can see it without me fixing it for them. It’s making those things priorities and they are sharing it with me as they write, that formative feedback. I surveyed them through a Google Form and asked what they thought about it. They like to see their feedback early. We caught the mistakes early on. Before doing it this way, I saw a lot of what they wrote, I graded, gave it back, and they don’t make changes. Now I see them making those changes.
How do you tap into the social emotional side of things with your students? Do you embed it in their work? Or separate?
It’s mostly embedded. I talk to them a lot, even in their MAP conferences, and ask them, “How are you doing? Is there anything I need to know?” Our guidance counselor does a great job of sending out a weekly survey and they can complete that and she knows who needs help. Sometimes there is a Google Form on my homepage if they need anything, whether it’s academic or personal or just being understanding. I had a student email me because her assignment included recording herself and she couldn't record at home with everyone else there. So, I told her to turn in the writing part and we could record tomorrow when she was in school. It’s about showing grace and showing you don’t have to do everything exactly the way I need all the time. We can work something out.
I also do grade conferences with them. They grade themselves on a rubric and then we grade together. So as they are talking to me about why they gave themselves a grade, we are looking together at their paper to see evidence of it. My students are harder on themselves when it comes to grading their writing. Being able to grade with them, it helps when they go home and they can explain why they got the grade they got. I think that’s more personalized because we have that conversation. I’m not necessarily changing what I would do anyways: I would have a rubric, I would have graded the essay, and now I don’t grade essays at home! It may take me two days of class time but it doesn't get graded two weeks after they turn in. It’s important to plan strategically to give you the time you need while still giving ownership to the kids.
Want to hear more from Britteny? Listen to our podcast episode with her here: https://anchor.fm/personalizeSC
Follow Britteny on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Ms_Bldrakeford
Comments