RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Teaching Matters
Reading Matters | Volume 17 • Winter 2017 | | |47|
the in-class discussions, including shout-outs, book discussion
circles, and controversial conversations, in which students
debated the inclusion of diverse characters and political themes
in children’s and YA literature. As the semester progressed, we also
modified the structure of the posts to address specific types of
literature; in a post on series reading, for instance, students created
multimodal collages about their own series reading histories.
Literacy Videos: Using Digital Tools to
Connect with Families and Communities
Research on school-based efforts to connect to families
and communities shows that many 21st century collaborative
tools, such as interactive websites and multimedia content, are
often underutilized resources. For instance, Olmstead (2013)
found that most teachers updated their websites only 1-2
times per month, and as a result, parents don’t find teacher
websites to be useful or a good source of information. My
students reported similar concerns; although many said that
they often spoke with parents and families via email or text
message, students were hesitant to utilize classroom websites
and other 21st century collaborative tools. As one student
said, “Every year, my principal tells us to make a classroom
website. And every year, I have no idea what to put up there.”
The Literacy Video assessment required students to design
a short digital video (2-3 minutes) introducing a topic of
their choice (e.g., inferring; fluency, phonemic segmentation,
reader’s theater, disciplinary literacy, academic vocabulary) to
an authentic audience of parents, guardians, and community
members. The assessment was specifically designed to give
students opportunities to critically analyze and identify principles
of effective video communication. After viewing dozens of
sample videos, students and I collaboratively created a Literacy
Video rubric, aligning the assessment criteria with the ILA
Standards for reading professionals related to the development
of effective interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills.
Several of my students continued to build their literacy video
libraries over the course of the year, posting their own students’
reflections on their favorite books, parent discussion guides for
particular texts, classroom snapshots, and how-to videos related
to word games and phonemic awareness. Further, after becoming
more familiar with video creation and editing technology,
several students created video projects for their P-12 classrooms.
I’ve also used the project with pre-service teachers with great
success; in addition to honing 21st century video creation
skills, students can include the videos within their teaching
portfolios to provide prospective employers with a multimodal
demonstration of how they would connect to parents and families.
Literacy Action Plan: Influencing
School and District Policy
Among other South Carolina Read to Succeed initiatives, such as
the Literacy Teacher and Literacy Requirement for both pre-service
and in-service teachers, retention of 3rd grade students who fail
to demonstrate reading proficiency, and the employment of a
literacy coach in each elementary school, R2S requires all schools
and districts to develop and enact Literacy Action Plans (Read to
Succeed Act, 2014). In early 2016, the South Carolina Department
of Education released new guidelines for the school-based plans,
which must be enacted before the 2017-2018 academic year.
During an in-class workshop, students examined the South
Carolina guidelines as well as sample state, district, and school
action plans. Together, we identified five elements that formed
the underlying structure for the Literacy Action Plan: instruction,
assessment, intervention, professional development, and parent/
guardian/family involvements. For each area, students were asked
to identify goals, key components, an implementation timeline,
and an evaluation plan that aligned with credible literacy models
and research-based practices. In preparing their action plans, many
students examined school-adopted core curriculum materials,
drew on student assessment data, conducted interviews with
colleagues school administrators, administered teacher and
parent surveys, and documented informal conversations with a
variety of stakeholders. Students also reflected on roadblocks,
thinking about the feasibility of each recommendation and the
likelihood that the plan would be successful in improving both
student and teacher learning within their particular contexts.
Students’ Literacy Action Plans articulated a vision for
enhancing P-12 student outcomes and improving teachers’ literacy
teaching skills. Some students prepared actionable plans that were
shared with school administrators and/or colleagues, while others
created idealized scenarios where personnel could be added and
schedules can be rearranged in order to allow for more innovative
teaching methods and professional learning models. Adaptations
for novice teachers include evaluating and synthesizing existing
literacy action plans, creating a classroom literacy action plan, or
conducting interviews with teachers and administrators at various
schools to get a sense of current literacy initiatives and policies.
Coaching Observation Reports
Research on effective professional development (Garet
et al., 2001) has identified several practices that can support
fundamental changes to teacher and P-12 student learning—
activities need to be “linked to teachers’ other experiences,
aligned with other reform efforts, and encouraging of
professional communication among teachers” (p. 936). Because
peer observation is one of the most effective learning tools at
a teacher’s disposal, the Coaching Observation Report allowed
students to enact an abbreviated coaching observation cycle:
conducting a pre-observation conference, an observation,
and a post-observation conference (Casey, 2006).
After examining several observational tools, reviewing
video case studies, and engaging in simulated observations
and conferences, my students and I collaboratively developed
a set of observation guidelines: (a) allow the observed
teacher to determine an observation focus; (b) provide
feedback within 24 hours; (c) include concrete strategies
and resources for each area of need. These guidelines drew
upon students’ experiences with observation and focused
on the collaborative nature of a coaching relationship. After
practicing observation and conferencing techniques using
video recordings and in-class simulations, students held a