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I recently started an LLC centered around all things literacy. In my mind, it's going to change the world! My years of wisdom gained through my 27 years of experience as an educator have to count for something, right? I mean, I have so much to share, so much I've learned, so many mistakes I want to help others avoid. And I'm going to single handedly end illiteracy among 4th and 8th grade students. This should be a piece of cake!
But the truth is, I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Sure, I have a business license, this website, and even a Facebook group. But those things do not a business make! That's the part that's super daunting - the business of running a business! Each day, I wake up with a million ideas of what I should be doing. I should blog more. I should post to my group more. I should share what I do on my personal Facebook page more. I'm neglecting my Facebook page. I didn't meet my 3 posts a day quota. My niche is literacy, so I should focus on content around that topic. I need to be smarter about literacy trends so people see me as an expert and invite me to speak or work with their teachers. And don't get me started on the courses I haven't created yet! These thoughts feed my nemesis, imposter syndrome. Maybe it's not a real business. Maybe I need to stick to just doing my 9 to 5 (actually, it's 8:10 to 4:10) and leave all of this other stuff to the "professionals". Maybe I'm all over the place because I don't really have anything to offer, I'm just regurgitating things that people already know. Sigh... Ok, so maybe I DON'T know what I'm doing. But I have to do something. One of my favorite quotes is from Helen Keller. It was our daily affirmation when I was in elementary school in the Bronx. "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can." Funny that I still recite this and have made it a part of my life's mantra. So what's my something? For now, I will be consistent in posting to my Facebook group. I will write authentically about whatever topic feels right. And I will trust that those who are supposed to be helped by my business will find me when they need me most.
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 Recently, I listened to a podcast that talked about the work of Beverley Jennings, a PhD candidate from England whose research focuses on vocabulary and high stakes testing. In her research, she is working to uncover the best vocabulary words upper grade students should be exposed to in order to pass a standardized English language exam.
The podcast was eye opening and affirming all at the same time. Eye opening because I'm surprised to hear that other countries struggle with the same educational dilemmas that we do in the United States. Affirming because it gave voice to something I've noticed about many of the common assessments we give - the vocabulary our students encounter in the daily material we teach is not the same as the vocabulary they encounter on many English Language Arts assessments. Jenning's research sought to answer two questions:
Which brings me to a question that I'll dig into in another blog post - should teachers be exposing students to more classic texts, or should assessments more closely align with the students' current literacy realities? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Jennings, B., Powell, D., Jaworska, S. & Joseph, H. (2024). A Corpus Study of English Language Exam Texts: Vocabulary Difficulty and the Impact on Students' Wider Reading (or Should Students be Reading More Texts by Dead White Men?). Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 67, 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1331  This week, I'm assisting with state testing for our middle schoolers. This looks completely different in the virtual setting! We are a combination of hybrid and in person instruction, with students attending both online and face to face. As a result, we've had to be really creative with the testing process.
On any given day, we have lots of activity going on. There are virtual students coming in for testing only and leaving early. We have virtual students who have opted out of testing following an abbreviated schedule with delayed log in times. Children of employees who attend in person for four days are testing two days and being monitored by connections teachers on the other two days. And everyone is maneuvering around technology issues and changes to the schedule. But I've got to say, it has truly been ORGANIZED chaos! Our AP in charge of testing is a mastermind at pulling off schoolwide testing and makes it look so easy. I've happily rotated between administering tests to students and collecting testing materials. Coaching in a virtual setting can be downright lonely! I've had so much fun laughing and joking around with my coworkers, swapping COVID weight gain stories, and sharing plans for the summer months. It's been great being able to engage in face to face conversations where we're socially distanced - even with the masks on! Today, I had to reschedule two coaching sessions due to another staff meeting, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I had the chance to observe a co-taught lesson and discuss the lesson closure. Additionally, I participated in the 6th-grade planning session, sharing some valuable writing resources. I believe I also logged into 7th grade planning – the details are blending together in this busy but fulfilling week!
I successfully completed a coaching cycle with one of our newer teachers, moving on to her second goal of injecting more engagement into her ThinkCERCA writing lessons - yes! On Wednesday, I met with our new 7th grade teacher to debrief her lesson, concluding another successful coaching cycle. She appears much more relaxed, which she attributes to collaboration with another teacher to navigate ThinkCERCA. She even came up with a creative vocabulary wheel activity using the Concept Circle idea I shared in our last literacy PL! Wednesday was also dedicated to working with our dance teacher again, whose 6th grade students are affectionately known as her "babies." We focused on completing their definitions and word parts in the schoolwide academic vocabulary PowerPoint. These kids are adorable, and it seems they are getting the hang of navigating and using their vocabulary PowerPoint presentations. While a few are still figuring out the location on their computers, the majority seem to have mastered it. As I reflect on this week's accomplishments, I'm genuinely thrilled with the progress made with these teachers, and it's heartening to see our dance students becoming more proficient with the technology and online tools. Looking forward to building on this momentum and continuing to make a positive impact in the coaching journey ahead! What an eventful week it has been! Taking a moment to review my calendar, I am truly amazed at the array of activities and engagements that unfolded. The week began with a faculty e-meeting on Monday – admittedly, some details are a bit hazy, prompting me to recognize the need for improved organization of information from our weekly admin bulletins.
A notable highlight was the opportunity to model a lesson for our dance teacher. We delved into the schoolwide academic vocabulary PowerPoint, guiding students on effective navigation, saving, and sharing with their teachers. While it demanded some time, witnessing the students grasp these essential skills was extremely satisfying. Conducting classes on Monday felt more seamless, thanks to the effort put into identifying specific page numbers for each text and activity in the online textbook. Yet, I find myself contemplating the best method to streamline the process. With students using both physical and digital resources, the challenge lies in establishing a unified space to access all of their work. Various ideas have crossed my mind, such as having students capture a picture of the page in the book and uploading it to the learning platform. Alternatively, the option of everyone submitting their work through learning management system, whether copied and pasted from the online book or as a picture from the text, is under consideration. The only hiccup is that the online book only has limited functionality and requires multiple steps for annotations. It's a puzzle I am determined to solve! Reflecting on the challenges and successes of this week, I am genuinely excited about refining my strategies to enhance the learning experiences for both myself and my students. Cheers to continuous improvement and discovering new ways to overcome pandemic teaching hurdles! Today I held my first official pre-coaching cycle meeting with one of our classroom teachers. I purposely neglected to mention anything about the goals our administrator set for her, and instead chose to just chat and ask about her experiences with coaching in the past. Ironically, she identified the same areas that admin wanted me to focus on and shared her professional and literacy goals for this year as well. This was great and I think it really helped to establish a good relationship for the year.
I've decided to tell each teacher I coach that our conversations are confidential and to share the forms with the teacher before sending them to the administrators. The teacher and I set a date for me to observe, and I actually know what I’m looking for and have a form for that specific thing too. I feel so efficient! I didn’t feel like I did much coaching this week. The coaching meetings I scheduled for Tuesday were derailed by staff meeting. I visited classes virtually but had no real focus or purpose. I purchased some coaching resources from Buzzing with Ms. B on Teachers Pay Teachers – super helpful! These helped get me organized and allowed me to have a real focus for next week’s class visits.
I crafted an email to send to teachers as a follow-up to our one on ones. Actually, I think I'd like to create several emails for different purposes. This way, I'll only have to copy and pasted the text into the body of the emails. I also am in the process of creating a Coffee with Coach Harvey form that has a menu of ways I can help them. Hopefully, this will get them interested in working with me. It's weird, but I kind of feel like I have to advertise my services to the teachers! I started organizing my OneDrive to use as a kind of binder. I was making copies of stuff and printing things when it dawned on me that this wasn’t the most efficient way to do virtual coaching! I’ve started folders for each grade level and content area, as well as a schoolwide folder for lit team and schoolwide initiatives. Working really hard at not feeling like I'm drowning! |
AuthorLover of God and family time. Literacy coach, instructional leader, program designer, trainer, speaker. Lifelong learner. Go Cowboys! Archives
March 2024
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