Mark's Learning Log- Wondering if all teachers in training and graduate teachers are being taught to instruct all students in reading as though they were in the red? September 29, 2024I have this wondering that we are teaching all students in the class – as a whole class lesson – in the junior years as though they all needed the intensive phonic instruction and frequent repetition. Yes some explicit instruction … Continue reading →mwalker
- Why Why is the question we all need to answer! May 31, 2024In my work with school educators this is the question I ask them to resolve for themselves. What drives you to lead / teach young people and why? What happened to you and why is that important. I was reminded … Continue reading →mwalker
- Wondering if all teachers in training and graduate teachers are being taught to instruct all students in reading as though they were in the red? September 29, 2024
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Category Archives: Reading
Teachers do not teach comprehension they test it.
Last week I attended a presentation by Di Snowballwho has recently returned from working in schools in the States for over 16 years. Di has been contracted to work in some regions in Victoria to hlep “struggling” schools, I gather, however … Continue reading
Posted in Instruction, Leadership, Reading, school, Uncategorized
Tagged http://www.curriculumpress.edu.au/teachingcomprehension/faqs.html, http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/329, http://www.reading.org/Publish.aspx?page=bk177-13-Pressley_7.html&mode=retrieve&D=10.1598/0872071774.13&F=bk177-13-Pressley_7.html&key=FBC2E8D8-2042-400A-BDD5-CF1499C66308
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Teaching Reading Clips
We have discovered this wonderful resources from the Canadian Curriculum Services which has great web casts with similar challenges to our schools: http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/april18.shtml We have been revising our understandings about reading instruction and what certain teaching strategies look and sound … Continue reading
Posted in Reading, school, Teaching, Video Clips
Tagged http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/april18.shtml
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A new model for “Writing” is needed in schools.
It seems writing is now more in focus than reading. Over the last 6 months I have heard and read a great deal about the power of writing and how the model needs to change in schools. I wrote about … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Reading, school, Teaching, Uncategorized, writing
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Reading Comprehension Strategies made explicit in classrooms
I visited Matthew Needlemans blog and really like the way his is trying to get his students to anchor their reading comprehension skills through the creation of posters that students can connect to. Often charts displayed in rooms don’t provide … Continue reading
Posted in Reading, Teaching, Uncategorized
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Making a difference by Douglas Reeves.
I was fortunate to hear Douglas Reeves for the second time at the recent ACEL conference in Melbourne. He is the founder and chief executive officer of the Center for Performance Assessment, an organization dedicated to improving student achievement and … Continue reading
School improvement is not unlike peeling an onion – the jouney is layered and may produce tears .
At most weekly leadership meetings we agenda a discussion on a published research paper distributed and read prior to meeting and this week it was the 90/90/90 Schools: A Case Study article. The article written by two journalists was based on research … Continue reading
Toronto Superintendent Kathy Cowan visits Elsternwick.
On Wednesday 7/8/08 I was honoured to host Kathy Cowan a superintendent of a family of schools [SE6] in Toronto. I first met Kathy at Harvard University in 2006 and again in 2007 in Toronto when I visited a number of the family’s principals. … Continue reading
Get Smart – Open the Classroom Doors!
One of the central themes of the Big Day Out this year was to “get smart and open the classrooms doors” so that instruction, which can often seen as private teacher business, can be seen and improved. Each year Darrell Fraser, … Continue reading
Between Class Difference: Myth or Reality!
This week at our weekly leadership meeting we discussed a research article about an American school who number crunched student achievement over a 3 year period. This article really set us up for the weekly staff meeting where we were investigating the … Continue reading
Posted in Assessment, Leadership, Reading, Teaching, Uncategorized
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National Literacy and Numeracy Tests: Useful information or a waste of time?
This week students in Years 3,5,7 and 9 are completing, for the first time, national tests in literacy and numeracy, NAPLAN. Whilst this has been common place in America, England and other countries its the first time in Australia … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Reading, Uncategorized
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Teen Writing – some positive research
I was reading a recent research report titled: “Teens, Writing and the Internet”. The summary which I have linked makes for easy reading and quotes in my view some positive information: 85% of teens engage in social forms of … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Reading, Teaching, Technology
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Teaching for Understanding
Have you ever struggled with teaching or assessing growth in learners understandings – I do? It’s easier to teach and assess skills. I like the example many people give of coaching a sports team – you teach skills that are observable – … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Reading, Teaching, Uncategorized
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Mentoring at Monash University
Yesterday at the invitation of a colleague I joined him at Monash University as he started a Masters in Education course. As I walked from the car park I was struck by the both the number of students [I’m told … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Reading, Uncategorized
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Leaders talking teaching and learning!
At this week’s leadership meeting I set the context for our reading of John Hattie’s article on building teacher quality. The article lists a number of key strategies [e.g. feedback] that have the greatest effect size on student learning. It concludes: “expert … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Reading, Teaching, Uncategorized
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2006 PISA results from an Australian Perspective
ACER has just published a national report on the PISA results from an Australian perspective. Schools from all sectors and states are selected to complete the tests. Overall the results are very good in scientific, reading and mathematics literacy and compare … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Reading, Uncategorized
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