RM Winter 2017

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

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

Reading Matters Teaching Matters

Reading Matters | Volume 17 • Winter 2017 | scira.org | scira.org | 47 |

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS